Who we are

The Makhad Trust is registered by the Charity Commission for England and Wales under the Charities Act of 1993, Charity Commission number 1100377. It is a Company limited by Guarantee, registration number 04583140.

The address of its headquarters, as registered with Companies House, is:

Wolseley House
Oriel Road
Cheltenham GL50 1TH
+44 (0)1242 544 546

The Makhad Trust was registered by the Ministry of Social Affairs in Egypt as a Foreign Non-Government Organisation (NGO) Number (49) issued on 18 August 2005. The Makhad Trust’s Cairo office telephone number is:

+20 (0)2 3303 0981/2/3

The Makhad Trust also has a Bedouin Sinai Manager in St Katherine’s, South Sinai. Mobile: +20 (0)10 05 693 184

The Makhad Trust, as a not-for-profit organisation, has a structured management system in place and is managed by a Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees:

Chairman: Mr Michael R Ratcliffe
Trustee: Mrs Helen Cranston
Trustee: Mrs Rachel Devas
Trustee: Mr Richard Stainer
Trustee: Dr Sherif Samra

Meet the Team

All the Trustees are involved in facilitating projects and Journeys on the ground, while our Chair, Michael Ratcliffe usually visits once or twice a year.  Our Egyptain trustee assists with guidance on bureaucratic matters.

UK Project Manager: Helen Cranston

Helen manages the project admin in UK and on the ground in Sinai.  Her first contact with the Trust was when she joined a dam building journey in 2008 and has felt drawn to the Sinai ever since. She has organised and accompanied groups from UK going to Sinai to build dams and to enjoy retreats in the desert.  In 2015 she took over as Project Manager from Susie Drummond who started the wells project. Helen aims to visit Sinai four times a year.

Sinai Manager:  Mahmoud Ahmed

Mahmoud is a Bedouin and has lived in St Katherine’s all his life.  He started working for the Trust in 2008, assisting with journey organisation on the ground, then helping to facilitate all the projects, visiting all the completed wells once every two years, and accompanying Helen on her trips.

Faraj Fox

In Sinai we are supported by Faraj who drives us to very remote and difficult to reach places and he advises us on local matters.

Sheila Pullin

Sheila is an experienced fundraiser and has been working with the charity for more than 10 years.  We share Sheila and her expertise with our sister charities, IT Schools for Africa, and the Isbourne Foundation. Sheila has visited Sinai and enjoys hearing all the news.

Makhad Journeys Ltd:

The organisational arm of Makhad Trust is Makhad Journeys Ltd.

Data Protection

Any personal details received by the Makhad Trust, Makhad Journeys and Friends of Makhad over the internet will comply with the Data Protection Act of 1998. Management controls for safeguarding personal data are carefully observed.