Governance
CHIT - Governance
CHIT and Christiana Childrens Homes trustees annual joint meeting, 2018
In UK
CHIT depends wholly on its trustees and other volunteers to promote the needs of our Indian partners Christiana Childrens Homes and the Conrad & Norbert Academy. A result of this is that our overheads are very low, roughly 2% of our expenditure, which is comfortably funded by the donations of our trustees. We can confidently promise donors that all their gifts will be sent to the point of need in India.
As UK registered charity number 1112048, all key trust information, including our objects, trustees and annual reports up to 2019, may be found on the Charity Commission website by clicking here.
In India
All activity supported by CHIT is carried out by Christiana Childrens Homes or Conrad & Norbert Academy, state registered charities 211/1988 and 21/1992 respectively. As such they are recognised and regulated under all relevant Indian legislation.
The principal area of overlap of UK and Indian governance is that of data protection, where the legislation is similar but not identical. In India, CCH requests parents or guardians of children to sign a release document to permit the management to judge non matters of personal sensitivity when transferring information, for example in support of sponsoring or publishing on the web. In UK CHIT applies a further layer of scrutiny, quite often using fictitious names and generalising detail.
Additional when volunteers visit to work among the children, CHIT requires a form of safeguarding certification appropriate to their home country. Occasional visitors are accompanied by the CCH or C&NA staff.
Modern technology makes the mechanics of communication very easy. CHIT receives monthly reports on routine matters from the children's homes, also school newsletters and other reports, usually illustrated with high quality photographs. As well as email, we use Skype and WhatsApp, and phone/SMS for more immediate issues. The potential language barrier is largely overcome by Babu's excellent English, as well as that of some of the staff.
Anyone working in India will know that beside the many things we have in common, there are significant underlying differences, which we have had to learn. Annual Trustee visits to India are critical to gain an understanding not just of Indian culture, but also how it is changing.
