Your legacy How you can change the world

Children playing in their village in the
Sine Saloum Delta region, Senegal.
PHOTO: Candace Feit/ActionAid
Your legacy
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How you can change the world
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You can change a life forever
Maria Bishop, aged 7, collecting
water in Sambo village, Malawi.
PHOTO: Jenny Matthews/ActionAid
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In India, a child goes to bed hungry. In Ghana, a child cannot go to school simply because
she is a girl. In Brazil, a child dies of diarrhoea after drinking water from a dirty river.
Whilst many people think there can be no solution to such problems, it’s clear that you see
things differently.
You know that together, we can end poverty; one child, one family, one community at a time.
Thank you for sharing in ActionAid’s vision and believing in a future without poverty and injustice,
where every person can enjoy the right to a life with choices and opportunity.
Aminata can drink clean water for years to come
Each morning, whilst her parents farmed their small plot of land,
Aminata began her long walk. With no source of water in their village
in the Bombali district of Sierra Leone, it was miles until she reached
a dirty stream. She’d fill her bucket and return home with the filthy
water – all her family had for washing and drinking.
With each sip she took, Aminata risked getting diarrhoea or cholera,
diseases which could have claimed her life. But this little girl and her
family, like so many others, had no other choice. Now, life is very different
for Aminata. Her community has worked with ActionAid to install a hand
dug well and pump. With villagers receiving training on how to maintain
the well, there’ll be clean, safe water for Aminata for years to come.
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Aminata’s classmates now have safe,
clean water to drink, Bombali district,
Sierra Leone.
PHOTO: ActionAid
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You can make a world of difference
Beth Srey (right), aged 5, with her
classmates at a non-formal school in
the Battambang province, Cambodia.
PHOTO: Nicolas Axelrod/ActionAid
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Give a gift to ActionAid in your Will, and you’ll help make sure our work continues to change lives
for generations to come. Whilst other charities receive up to 50% of their income from legacies, at
ActionAid it’s just 2%. Yet gifts in Wills are vital to us – and that’s why we hope you’ll decide
to give in this way.
By remembering ActionAid in your Will, you’ll help the most vulnerable communities. With funds
available, we can immediately respond to emergencies, like conflicts or disasters. In the longterm, gifts in Wills also offer us the chance to fund larger projects, like building health centres
and schools, bringing lasting change to so many people.
Yang Yim can give her daughter a better life
Yang Yim knows just how important an education is for her daughter,
Beth Srey’s, future. But in the remote village where they live, in the
Battambang province, Cambodia, there is no school for her daughter
to go to. Even if there were, Yang Yim wouldn’t be able to afford the
uniform, exercise books and pens that Beth Srey would need.
Thanks to the efforts of the community and ActionAid, this little girl is
not missing out on her lessons. There’s now a non-formal school in
the village, staffed with trained voluntary teachers and complete with
books and pens. Lessons take place under the shade of a thatch
roof, but the community hope to have a school building one day, so
generations of children will learn the skills needed to escape poverty.
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“I am very happy that my
daughter can get an education.”
Yang Yim, Battambang province,
Cambodia.
PHOTO: Nicolas Axelrod/ActionAid
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You can make the world a fairer place
Austin Donat, aged 5, at a learning
centre in Beheria Village, Malawi.
PHOTO: James Oatway/ActionAid
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With a gift in your Will to ActionAid, you can empower poor people, offering them the chance
to bring about lasting change.
You can help poor communities get their voices heard by governments and influential institutions,
so they can take control of the decisions that affect their lives. And then communities can go
on to claim their rights to the basics we often take for granted, like food, shelter, healthcare,
education and safe clean water. If we all play our part, you, ActionAid and poor communities,
we can end poverty.
Tony can escape a life on the streets
Poverty and hunger have led many children like Tony to the streets of
Malawi’s capital city, Lilongwe. When his father died, Tony’s mother
couldn’t provide for her children. She had no job and being HIV positive
meant she was growing frail. So Tony left home in search of food.
Alone and frightened, Tony was at risk from those who prey on
vulnerable street children. But thankfully, ActionAid found him first. Our
community project for street children has helped reunite Tony with his
family. Tony’s mum has had the support she needs to set up her own
business selling roasted nuts. Now that she can provide for her children,
her son is back home and in school. We hope to build a new children’s
centre in Lilongwe, to help more street children.
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“I don’t go back to the streets now.
I like going to school.”
Tony Phiri (left), aged 14, with his mother,
Lilongwe, Malawi.
PHOTO: Georgie Scott/ActionAid
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8 steps to leaving a gift in your Will
1. Work out the value of your estate. Prepare
a list of the approximate values of everything
you own and all your outstanding debts.
2. Decide on your beneficiaries, the people
or organisations that you wish to leave
property, possessions or money to. Your list
will probably include relatives, friends and,
we hope, ActionAid. Many people choose
to leave a residuary legacy, a share of the
residue of your estate once other gifts have
been made.
3. Appoint your executors. These are the
people named in your Will who are
responsible for making sure your wishes
are respected. It is advisable to appoint at
least two executors and no more than four.
Your executors can be members of your
family, friends, a solicitor or even your bank
manager. It’s also possible for an executor
to be named in your Will as a beneficiary.
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4. Visit a solicitor to have your Will drawn up.
It must be signed in the presence of two
witnesses and there are rules about the
process. Follow your solicitor’s advice.
5. Make a copy of your Will for future
reference and note where you keep the
details of any bank accounts, investments,
insurance policies, credit cards or other
financial information related to it.
6. Keep your Will in a safe place, like your
bank. Your solicitor will often store it
without charge. Or for a small one off fee,
you could store it at The Records Keepers
Department. Call 020 7947 6948 to request
an information pack.
7. Make sure a relative or close friend knows
where the original copy of your Will is stored.
8. Send ActionAid your completed pledge card
giving us notice of your intentions.
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Your legacy can live on for years to come
Give a gift in your Will to ActionAid and your vision of a fairer, more just world could one day become
a reality. You’ll help us continue to work together with poor communities to end their poverty and help
them claim their right to life’s basic essentials, like food, clean water and an education. The projects
you see in this leaflet are just a few examples of how together, we can change lives from generation
to generation.
Did you know?
• ActionAid was founded in 1972, we have over 35 years’
experience in working with poor communities to end
their poverty.
• ActionAid works in over 50 countries across the world.
• 98% of our staff are from developing countries. They
know the region and local areas and are best placed
to work alongside poor communities.
Jan Truscott,
Legacy Co-ordinator, ActionAid.
PHOTO: ActionAid
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“If you need any information on making
a Will, or amending your current one, just call me on
01460 238023, or e-mail [email protected].
I’ll be happy to help.”
Jan Truscott, Legacy Co-ordinator, ActionAid
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A gift that can do so much...
Knowing that we have your support for the future is vital to us. That’s a pledge Miss Annie Miller
made, and the gift she left ActionAid in her Will has helped so many poor communities.
Miss Miller’s generosity has made it possible for us to undertake many vital projects. Together with
communities in Somaliland and Malawi, wells have been built and local families now have water
pumps, dams or storage tanks which offer clean water all year round.
In Sierra Leone, fifteen schools now have a fresh water
supply and hygienic facilities to reduce the spread of
disease. And in Tanzania, poor rural farmers have piped
water all year round, drastically improving their crop yields.
“
My aunt gave to ActionAid because she cared
deeply about those less fortunate than herself. By
leaving a gift in her Will, she can continue to help
those in need for years to come. It’s the most fitting
”
tribute to her kindness and compassion.
Christine Macdonald, Miss Miller’s niece.
Rose Kuyeni, aged 11, by the
water pump in the Lifidzi area,
Malawi.
Now it’s your turn to change the world…
PHOTO: Georgie Scott/ActionAid
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Once completed, please return your pledge form in
the envelope provided. Any information you share with
us will be treated as confidential and not legally binding.
ActionAid
FREEPOST BS4868
Chard
Somerset
TA20 1BR
For further information, please contact Jan on
Telephone: 01460 238023
Email: [email protected]
Or visit our website at www.actionaid.org.uk/legacy
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Frequently asked questions
Can I save tax by leaving a legacy to
ActionAid? A gift to ActionAid in your Will doesn’t
attract inheritance tax, which may save tax your
executors would otherwise have to pay.
What type of gift in my Will would best help
ActionAid’s work? Any gift to ActionAid will make
a difference. Leaving a Residuary Legacy – a share
or percentage of the residue of your estate once
other gifts and payments have been made means
that your gift keeps pace with inflation.
If you would like to leave a residuary legacy to
ActionAid, we suggest the following wording: ‘I give
[enter percentage] percent of my residuary estate
to ActionAid (registered charity number 274467)
Hamlyn House, Macdonald Road, Archway,
London, N19 5PG to be applied for its general
purposes and I declare that the receipt of the
finance director or appropriate officer shall be
Make a decision today that
can help change the world
for the next generation.
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a complete discharge to my trustees.’
If you would like to leave a pecuniary legacy –
a cash sum – to ActionAid, we suggest the following
wording: ‘I give [amount] to ActionAid (registered
charity number 274467) Hamlyn House, Macdonald
Road, Archway, London, N19 5PG to be applied for
its general purposes and I declare that the receipt
of the finance director or appropriate officer shall
be a complete discharge to my trustees.’
Can I leave a gift in my Will to a specific project
or type of work? Yes you can, but the work that
most needs our support changes over time. So,
your gift is most effective if it is flexible and can be
used for general purposes. That way, we can use
it where the need is greatest.
Is making a Will different in Scotland?
Yes – you will need to ask your solicitor for advice.
The contents of this booklet do not constitute legal
advice and we suggest you seek the advice of a
solicitor when drawing up or amending your Will.
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