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Case study: How Glad’s House uses local currencies to enhance overseas projects

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1 June 2016

Written by
Claire Hogarth

Marketing Executive at Ebury. English Literature graduate from the University of York and a motivated professional.

“Every penny we’re able to raise has a direct impact on the lives of young street children in Mombasa. That’s why we work with Ebury – it is so important that we make the most of the money we have.”
– Vicky Ferguson, CEO, Glad’s House

Background

Glad’s House works with street children and young people in Mombasa, Kenya, providing them with the resources and means to leave the streets permanently and reintegrate into society.

As part of this process, the charity provides care packages for children caught in the prison system and rehabilitating sports programmes for children living on the streets of Mombasa.

Glad’s House also works to influence wider societal change around the perception of street children in the city.

In a country where one care package, put together by the NGO for a child in prison, costs just £2, every pound really counts.

Ebury solutions

Glad’s House now accesses the Kenyan Shilling direct and has insight into the exact amount of local currency that will reach their projects overseas. This enables better financial planning and is backed by expert currency analysis.

The charity saves £60 per transaction by working with Ebury. This has a significant and tangible impact because it funds 30 care packages for children or a home visit for a child leaving the streets or 14 days’ worth of meals for all the children in the Glad’s House centre.

Commenting on the difference that Ebury has made to the NGO, Vicky Ferguson, CEO of Glad’s House, said:
“When we worked with traditional banks, not only could we not guarantee that we would receive the best exchange rates, but the banks also charged us £27 per transfer. Although we aim to transfer money only once per month, the charges meant there was no flexibility as we could not risk the extra funds.

“Working with Ebury, not only is there no fee for transferring money, but they save us about £60 per transfer which makes a huge difference to the operation of the charity. It makes life easier and any unforeseen costs less damaging.”

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