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Concept
The Gurkha Welfare Trust
Summary
The Gurkha Welfare Trust is a British charity (Reg. Charity No. 1103669) established in 1969. It is the principal UK charity for the provision of aid to Gurkha ex-servicemen and their dependants in their homeland of Nepal, and increasingly in the UK and elsewhere.
Nepal has limited industry, agriculture and infrastructure. It also lacks an effective public social welfare system. This means that the work of the Trust is critical in improving conditions for ex-servicemen and their dependants, who are often unable to work through age, illness or injury.
The Patron of the Trust is Charles III. The Trust has three Vice Patrons; Field Marshal the Lord Bramall of Bushfield KG GCB OBE MC JP DL, Field Marshal Sir John Chapple GCB CBE DL and Joanna Lumley OBE.
Each year, by tradition, all serving officers and other ranks in the Brigade of Gurkhas contribute a day's pay to the Trust.
In 1969, it was realised that a great number of Gurkha soldiers and their dependants or widows in Nepal faced destitution in old age. Many of these soldiers had served in the Second World War; however they had not served the 15 years needed to qualify for an army pension. Unlike their British counterparts who could rely on the welfare state in old age, the Nepalese Gurkha had no such safety net.
In recognition of the country's debt of honour to these soldiers, a public appeal – organised by British Gurkha officers – raised £1m to establish The Gurkha Welfare Trust. It began to create a network of bases in Nepal to distribute financial aid to retired soldiers who had met with disasters such as landslides and floods. The Trust also bought land for ex-Gurkhas to become subsistence farmers and provide enough food to support their families.
In an arrangement that endures to this day, the Trust agreed on a deal that its administrative costs would be largely met by a grant in aid funding from the Ministry of Defence.
Today, the Trust's field delivery arm – The Gurkha Welfare Scheme – employs around 400 staff members in Nepal.
Official source
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