International Aid Trust was founded in 1991 by Rev. Bernard Cocker, following a life-changing visit to the former Soviet Union. Deeply moved by the poverty and suffering he witnessed, Bernard returned to the UK with a vision to bring practical help and Christian hope to those in greatest need. To support the work, the charity opened its first three shops in the UK, helping to fund the delivery of three trucks of humanitarian aid each year.
In 1992, International Aid Trust opened its very first office — a tiny old caravan in the car park of Cocker’s Garage in Withnell, near Chorley.
By 1995, the charity had opened its Ukrainian headquarters in Motovylivka. This became an office, distribution centre and warehouse, as well as the base for a church, a home for rescued children and a home for elderly people.
During this decade, the work also grew to include youth summer camps, prison and hospital ministry, and a rehabilitation centre for people struggling with addiction. And with Gods help it grew from here.
In 2001, we moved our UK warehouse to Longton. This gave us the space to expand our work both overseas and here in the UK, including supporting the rehabilitation of long-term offenders on day release.
In 2004, following the tsunami, we carried out significant work in Sri Lanka, helping to build a village of 84 houses, along with a village centre and an orphanage.
Our work in India began in 2007, when we opened two schools to provide education for children from disadvantaged homes. We also supported local communities through free health camps and the Hands of Dorcas tailoring programme, which provided training for women.
In 2008, we began training pastors in India, reaching unchurched communities by planting churches across five different states. We also dug water wells, helping to provide clean water for local people.
That same year, our work began in Sierra Leone. We opened New Hope Primary School, and New Hope Church soon grew out of the school. Today, the church sends out evangelists and plants churches in other villages. We also began funding a nurse and a midwife to support the local community.
Throughout the decade, our work continued in many other places too, including Eastern Europe. We delivered aid to many different nations, supported church planting, and helped establish Bible schools.
In 2010, our work began in Transylvania in partnership with Prison Fellowship Romania. Since then, we have sent shoebox gifts, food, clothing, bedding, bicycles, toys, sports equipment, and camping equipment to support Roma communities.
In 2012, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and Donbas regions in Ukraine brought great pain and distress to our projects, including the loss of our camps in Balaclava. We also began supporting refugees fleeing the invasion, which became a huge and ongoing project.
That same year, we began sending food, clothing, bedding, toys, and medical supplies to churches in Moldova, helping them distribute aid to disadvantaged people and refugees.
In 2015, we saw an increase in medical care camps through our clinic in Lungi, Sierra Leone, enabling more people to receive much-needed healthcare.
In 2017, following the Ebola crisis, we built Emmanuel House Children’s Home in Sierra Leone. We also expanded our Hands of Dorcas Tailoring Training Centre there, alongside the training of missionaries.
In 2018, we increased our medical aid to hospitals and rehabilitation centres in Ukraine.
Throughout the decade, our aid shipments to various nations continued to grow, made possible through the generous support of our sponsors.
In 2020, we moved our Head Office into the old Croft Mill on Pall Mall in Chorley. This marked the beginning of our Croft Mill Community Hub, created to serve and support the local community. We also opened our Furniture store on the ground floor.
Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, our aid work increased dramatically. Since then, we have sent a greatly increased volume of aid by articulated lorries, distributed by our teams to some of the most vulnerable people. This has included medical aid for more than twenty hospitals and clinics caring for the injured.
In just four years, we have sent over 1,300 tonnes of food, clothing, medical supplies, generators, bicycles, and many other essential items to Ukraine. We have also sent more than 100 emergency vehicles, including ambulances and 4×4 pickups, since the start of the war. The total value of aid sent has exceeded £23 million.
In 2023, we constructed and opened our new secondary school in Sierra Leone, New Hope Academy. It has already become a wonderful success story, providing new opportunities and hope for young people.
