What is the AAR Beckmann Trust All About?

Leveraging on AAR's expertise in health delivery, and combining it with the Beckmann family's commitment towards health around the world, we bring programmes that provide hands-on opportunities for East African communities to improve their environment, and engage in income-generating and sustainable activities to attain access to health.

Principles:

• Bottom - up approach
• Participatory learning
• Transparency and accountability in all actions
• Working in coordination with partner organizations

Our Lady of Nazareth School - Mukuru kwa Njenga slum

The Trust has been closely working with schools (e.g.Our Lady of Nazareth (OLN) in Mukuru, among others), for some years now to facilitate planting of trees on school grounds. These trees are then harvested or to be harvested to be used towards the energy needs of the school. AAR Beckmann Trust wants to see the funds generated used towards the health needs of the school community for bi-annual de-worming school programmes; this will increase the academic output of the children; one can spend more to improve toilet facilities as well as providing better access to water.

Importance of trees and the needs they address

• Trees are a source of energy to the school, mitigating unnecessary expense to buy firewood from the outside
• Re-forestation of our country
• Trees create wind breaks
• Trees absorbs carbon dioxide emissions
• Trees are a source of oxygen to the school and the community around
• By harvesting the older trees improves and allows for younger trees to expand
• Trees provide shading
• Trees are a source of beauty
• Trees, if indigenous, attract birds