Mission Statement
Ecologia Youth Trust is an international charity that promotes the welfare of young people by providing safe secure learning environments where they can discover and develop their potential to make a contribution to their communities while protecting the environment.
We:
* Improve conditions for homeless, abandoned and
socially impoverished children.
* Provide foster homes and therapeutic education for orphans.
* Promote inter-cultural co-operation and friendship.
* Protect the natural environment through education.
* Offer volunteering and cultural exchange programmes.
We endorse the Declaration of Human Rights, that
"all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights... and should act towards one another in a spirit of brother and sisterhood."
Where we are nowOver the last sixteen years, Ecologia has developed its support for disadvantaged young people. We now have projects in three countries.
Read our latest Annual Review here
Read More >In Russia, we continue to support Kitezh Children’s Community in many ways. We support the children to grow, develop and go on to higher education. We help to broaden their minds and to make a connection with young people in other countries through our Youth Exchanges and Volunteers programme. We also support the dedicated young adults who work there to increase their professionalism with training in Russia and abroad. Although the communities are now relatively self sufficient on a day to day basis, they need to grow, and we raise funds for development.
In Georgia, working with the charity Braveheart, we are supporting Datuna to have life saving medical treatment in Scotland.
In Thailand we are supporting thousands of migrant workers from Burma to have access to the normal human rights that are due to every human being – access to education for their children, decent living and working conditions, and respect from their neighbours in their communities.
How we beganIn 1995 Ecologia Trust was registered as a Scottish Charity. Liza Hollingshead, the founder and director, had previously been organising youth exchanges and ecology education field work in Russia. In 1993 Liza met Dmitry Morozov, the founder of Kitezh and was instantly inspired by his vision to rescue children from orphanages to give them homes, families, and education in a supportive community. Five years later the Russian economic crisis hit and banks folded. Liza says, "I was crazy with worry about the children at Kitezh so Ecologia came into its new raison d'être. Fundraising! That year we raised £20,000 for Kitezh. The village doubled in size…."
Read Liza's story here
Read More >
Our OrganisationOur Board of Trustees: Henrietta Rose, Rose Baring,
Tom Disney, James Findlay, Michael Schnadt, Catherine Brislee,
Our Staff: Liza Hollingshead, Nikki Taylor, Bruno Ancelin
Our Therapeutic Education Consultant: David Dean OBE
Our Partners:Kitezh Children's Community Russia:
Alexander Varaksin, Kitezh; Maria Pichugina, Orion
Braveheart Georgia:
Madge Bray & Nana Mzhavanadze
Sathirakoses Nagrapadipa Foundation Thailand:
Somboon Chungprampree