Our Story
From our Founder
“Our journey with Nepal began through Rotary. While chairing the International Committee, I was introduced to the desperate need in Nepal by fellow Rotarians. What started as small projects through the Rotary Club of the Himalayan Gurkhas soon became something much larger.”
After losing their beloved daughter Charlotte in 2013, Ann and Barry were determined to create a lasting memorial in her name. Education and her family had always been close to her heart, and supporting children in Nepal felt like a meaningful way to honour her life.
What began as supporting schools by building essential facilities grew into something bigger, building a permanent home and a caring, family environment for orphaned and disadvantaged children. Despite earthquakes and political challenges, “Charlotte’s Haven on Earth” was completed, and today, a decade on, as many as 34 children live and learn there in safety and joy.
Their involvement didn’t stop there. Through the Eifion Trust and the new CHoE Trust, they continued to support education, schools, and wider community projects in Nepal and beyond. Since 2023, many more young people have been given the chance to study with bursaries and scholarships on outreach programmes and through their partnership with QLearning Nepal and its school in Hangdewa. The aim of the Eifion Trust remains simple but powerful: to turn loss into opportunity, and to give children a future filled with hope.
The Founders
David 'Barry' Evans
The Founder and past Chairman of the Trust sadly passed away peacefully in December 2021, leaving a long-lasting legacy of support and funding for many good causes around the world. In his later years, he had helped over 11,500 families and created over 2,500 jobs through his philanthropy, funding more than 30 projects and committing to ongoing support of over £150,000 per annum to CHoE alone which had a special place in his heart.
Barry practised as a Chartered Surveyor in Liverpool before becoming Senior lecturer at Leicester Polytechnic where he was responsible for preparing the degree course in Valuations and Estate Management. He returned to Liverpool to own a successful chain of estate agencies and to become the Founder Chair of the Young Persons Housing Association. Following a move to Cheshire with his young family, he successfully led the fight against the closure of Tarporley War Memorial Hospital. He became the Founder Chair of the Tarporley War Memorial Hospital Trust, a position from which he resigned when he opened a London office covering UK and overseas for financial institutions. During this time, he was a member and Chair of Tarporley Round Table.
He subsequently became involved in the restoration of cemeteries and crematoria and devoted himself full time to this occupation prior to the disposal of his UK business interests. After a short period of retirement, he was an active business partner with a veterinarian in Phoenix servicing veterinary clinics, medical schools and zoos on the disposal of dead animals. Most of the income from this activity was devoted to charitable purposes in the developing world, mainly monitored by local Rotary Clubs. Arising from this, he set up the Eifion Trust through which he and his wife, Ann, channeled part of their charitable resources.
He was a Rotarian in Liverpool and Nantwich clubs, serving in both Clubs on the International Committee and he was a strong supporter of the Rotary Foundation. Throughout his life and alongside his wife of many years, Ann, he devoted much of his time into a wide range of charities both locally in Tarporley and in developing countries particularly those relating to education and health.
Ann Evans
Ann Evans, Patron and Founder Trustee of the Eifion Trust passed away peacefully on 20 February 2022, shortly after the death of her much-loved husband of many years, Barry.
The Trustees would like to record their thanks and gratitude for her selfless commitment to helping people. Her interest in education, health and welfare of women, children and young people were key in establishing the priorities of the trust. Her considerable generosity will continue to benefit those most in need for generations to come and be her lasting legacy.
Ann qualified as a pediatric nurse at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Liverpool where she was the sister in charge of the burns’ unit. For the rest of her life, Alder Hey continued to be a place she held dear and was keen to support.
After having the first of her four children, she retired from nursing and devoted herself to family life, but continuing to be very much involved with charitable activities, initially as a member and Chair of Tarporley Ladies Circle and then as a member and President of the Inner Wheel Club of Liverpool. She was also a member of the Inner Wheel Club of Nantwich and a major supporter of the Rotary Foundation.
Her prime charitable interests were the education, health and welfare of children and young people, particularly in developing countries. Together with her husband, she travelled extensively in South America, Asia, Middle East and Australasia, which kindled a desire to help those less fortunate than herself. She particularly loved visiting Nepal and the children at CHoE.
Ann was a Founder Trustee of the Eifion Trust and the major donor of the Trust.