In this document Peacemakers International is named The Trust for brevity.

Mission Statement

The objectives of The Trust are:

1. To advance Christian principles of living in a spiritual and practical way.
2. To demonstrate God’s love by endeavouring to meet people of all ages at their need level, both at home and abroad.
3. To raise funds to facilitate projects which enable people to overcome poverty at home in UK and in underdeveloped countries.
4. To network across Christian denominations and with other charitable organisations to encourage and enlarge knowledge and skills through working together in the field.
5. To purchase resources and equipment to assist those in the caring professions.
6. To guarantee The Trusts commitment to channel the full amount of donations to sponsor’s chosen projects.
7. To monitor the development and progress of self-supporting projects which impact on the work and lifestyle of all age groups in local communities.
8. To organise and facilitate the delivery of knowledge and skills by qualified trainers and professionals in preventive care for health and social needs.

Membership

Membership of The Trust  is open to any individual (or organisation for Associate Membership) who (or which) supports the objectives contained within the Mission Statement and seeks to become actively involved in the work of The Trust .

A register of Members (including names and contact details) is held by the Secretary.

A meeting of The Trust may, by a majority vote, terminate the Membership of any individual or organisation whose continued Membership would in their view be harmful to The Trust. This may only be formalised following consideration of any written representation by the Member or organisation concerned which is provided within 14 clear days after receiving written notice of a proposed termination of Membership as agreed at a previous Members meeting.

Director/Officers

The Director of The Trust is Brenda Marshall (co-founder with her husband the late Dennis Marshall) who has ultimate authority and sanction of all The Trust’s affairs.

The Trust shall be administered by the following Officers, all of whom shall be Members - Director, Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.  One person may hold more than one role.

The Members of The Trust shall elect the Officers at the Annual General Meeting.

The Chairperson shall act as Chair at all meetings with the exception of the Annual General Meeting, when the Secretary will Chair the meeting.

Director/Officers (Continued)

The Director shall work with the elected Officers and other Members to formulate and maintain policies and guidelines for The Trust.

The Director shall have a casting vote in the event of a tied vote.

The Secretary shall give notice of all meetings and take and distribute the minutes.  The Officer’s annual reports are to be circulated with the notices for the AGM.

The Secretary shall also carry out any correspondence on behalf of the Director as instructed and maintain with the Director the register of Members.

The Treasurer shall manage with the Director the financial records and the bank account of The Trust.  The Treasurer and Director are authorised to repay expenses incurred by Members from Trust’s funds as agreed by a previous General Committee Meeting.

Meetings

Meetings are to commence and finish in prayer.

General Committee Meetings of Members of The Trust are to be held monthly (except August) on the 1^st Tuesday, unless otherwise agreed at the previous meeting.

An Annual General Meeting is to be held in April when the Officers of The Trust are elected by a simple majority vote of Members present.

 The AGM and General Committee Meetings shall determine the policy of The Trust by a majority vote with the Director holding a casting vote.

At each AGM a report is to be presented by the Director and each of the Officers of The Trust.  A  Financial Report by the Treasurer is to include a separate report of the Links and Peacemakers Account and an Income and Expenditure Account for Peacemakers Kenya.

Extraordinary Meetings may be called by the joint written application of a minimum of 3 Members with 7 days’ notice to the Director and Secretary.

The quorum (minimum number) at all meeting shall be 3 Members including the Director.

The conduct and rules governing meetings shall be determined by a majority of Members with changes to the Constitution approved by a 2/3rds majority at an AGM or Extraordinary meeting only.

Property

Property, including goods and equipment, owned by The Trust will be managed and administered by The Trust as agreed by a General Committee Meeting.

Dissolution

In the event of agreement to dissolve The Trust all debts are to be paid from Trust funds and the remainder transferred for the benefit of an organisation as agreed by The Trust.  All property or goods and equipment owned to be transferred or sold by agreement at an Extraordinary Meeting called to arrange the dissolution of The Trust.

Peacemakers International – A Christian Charitable Trust - Charter

 Peacemakers International, www.peacemakers-international.com is a Christian Charitable Trust. Its UK address is 19 Lammas Road, Watton-at Stone, Hertfordshire, SG14, 3RH.

Hereafter in this document Peacemakers International is named The Trust for brevity.

As the Charter is a living documents it will be subject to review and changes on an annual basis which will be carried out by the Officers and Members of The Trust. Details of such changes will appear at the foot of the document.

The Trust works with Churches and other Community groups, primarily in Africa to initiate and support social action projects for the benefit of local people and to share the unity of Jesus Christ. It is an interdenominational Christian organisation.

Peacemakers had its beginnings with Dennis and Brenda Marshall who were the leaders of Stevenage Christian Fellowship until Dennis’ death in 1998. Dennis had met Sammy Gitungu from Kenya whilst teaching in Kvinisdal Bible College in Norway and Sammy had invited Dennis to Kenya to teach in the Meru District, which is on the south-east side of Mount Kenya.

From that first visit the Peacemakers vision evolved.

Peacemakers International vision is to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ by meeting the Spiritual and Practical needs of people both at home and abroad. Brenda continues the work and is The Trust’s Director. For more information about the history and development of Peacemakers, please see the website.

The Trust is in partnership with two other groups:

1. Links International www.linksinternational.org.uk, a registered charity, number 327000 which connects with partners in the West and in developing countries to inspire, empower, train and resource individuals and communities to break free from poverty and disease. Links handles The Trusts finances and collects Gift Aid on its behalf through an Act4You account. In this way The Trust can guarantee that every penny donated will go to its intended beneficiary.

2. Peacemakers Kenya, a partner organisation and a registered Community Based Organisation (CBO) in Kenya with a separate, currently acting Board of Trustees (as of December 2011), with its own Constitution but which operates under the guidance of The Trust.

Peacemakers Kenya has a further partner, Campaign Against Drug Abuse (CADA) which is applying for CBO status.

The Trust owns the Dennis Marshall Foundation Peacemakers Community Resource Centre, an Interdenominational Prayer House and other buildings which stand on 1 acre of land at Kivumburi, Kivuria; Plot 6171, Runyen’jes, Embu, Kenya. Peacemakers Kenya employs two Askaris (night watchmen) on the site and is responsible for paying the Askaris salaries. The Trust is responsible for the upkeep of the land and buildings and hiring of the buildings. Peacemakers Kenya is responsible for the hiring of other equipment in order to generate funds.

There are 3 Officers of The Trust, each being committed to the vision of Peacemakers which is defined in the Peacemakers Constitution.

1. Director

Brenda Marshall, who gives spiritual guidance to the other Officers and Members of The Trust and Peacemakers Kenya Board of Trustees.

2. Treasurer

Responsible for the finances of The Trust which has one bank account with Lloyds TSB in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. This account contains money that is not subject to Gift Aid. All other money is lodged with Links International.

3. Secretary

Responsible for calling meetings as instructed by the Director, minuting meetings and submitting the minutes for approval to the Director. The minutes, once approved are distributed to all Officers, Members, Supporters and to anyone else upon request.

Other Individuals Supporting the Trust

Project Director of the Resource Centre in Kenya

There is one person working at The Dennis Marshall Foundation on a semi-permanent basis, Christine Gibbard who is funded by The Trust and its supporters. She is accountable to the Director, takes instruction from the Trust and coordinates the work in Kenya.

Members

These are participants, also committed to the Peacemakers vision, who partake in meetings and advise, take action and support the Officers of The Trust.

Supporters, Associate Members and Sponsors

These individuals are not necessarily Christian but are involved in one way or another in the activities of The Trust.

Activities

In the United Kingdom these consist of fundraising, planning and encouraging people to visit Kenya to help with the development of the Resource Centre in Kenya.

In Kenya activities are many and varied, but have involved the following: Aids Awareness, Primary Healthcare, Drugs awareness Training and Seminars, Cultural and Sports events, Micro Enterprises including the purchase of livestock, boreholes for water and other Community projects. These are resourced and managed by The Trust, with help from Peacemakers Kenya.

 January 2012,  Document introduced.      M Gordon/D Bissell


Charter in Adobe PDF format

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1/  To advance Christian principles of living in a spiritual and practical way.

2/  To demonstrate God’s love by endeavouring to meet people of all ages
      at their need level, both at home and abroad.

3/  To raise funds to facilitate projects which enable people to overcome           
      poverty at home and in under developed countries.

4/  Networking across Christian denominations and linking up with other    
     charitable organisations to encourage and enlarge the knowledge and               
     skills through working together in the field.

5/  To purchase resources and equipment for people in the caring
      professions.

6/  To guarantee our commitment to channel the full amount of donations
      to sponsors’ chosen projects.

7/  To monitor the development and progress of self-supporting projects
      which impact on the work and lifestyle of all age groups in local
      communities.

8/  To organise and facilitate the delivery of knowledge and skills by
      qualified trainers and professionals in preventative care for health and
      social needs:  Aids and Drugs awareness seminars, animal husbandry.