Rainbows4children - Charter
About us
Why Rainbows ?
2003, the project starts at the
Nicolas Robinson School
Rainbows4children (R4C), a Swiss and UK foundation was set up in memory of Nicolas Robinson, the son of the founder, Max Robinson. With the support of the Tigray Disabled Veterans’ Association (TDVA), an Ethiopian NGO, R4C founded the Nicolas Robinson School (NRS) in 2005, in Mekele, Tigrai state, to educate the children of disabled war veterans of the Ethiopian civil war. The NRS provides education for disadvantaged children in Ethiopia – primarily the children of adults with disabilities such as loss of limbs and blindness.
100% of donations go directly to the educational projects. This is made possible because all the administration work is carried out entirely by unpaid volunteers.
The logo of the school is: “Uplifting Ethiopia”, and its vision is to be the most admired school in Ethiopia, fulfilling each child's unique potential through excellence in education. The school mission is to provide top quality academic and vocational education for any child from the most disadvantaged backgrounds especially those whose parents have disabilities, to provide this education without any entry restrictions of any kind and to develop young individuals who will break the cycle of poverty in their communities and their country.
R4C and the NRS are committed to educating the whole child and to create a community of caring students, educators, parents, and staff.
The patron of Rainbows4children is the renowned BBC journalist, Michael Buerk.
The Foundation is registered in Switzerland no: CHE-111.732.734 and founded in 2004.
Rainbows4Children is registered in the UK with The Charity Commission (no.1116387), founded in 2005.
Rainbows4children was established in 2004 in memory of Nicolas Robinson, 1991-1996
Max Robinson founded Rainbows4children with his wife, Kathryn. Rainbows4children was created to support the building of the Nicolas Robinson School in Mekele, in memory of his son, Nicolas.
Max writes:
“The last drawings that Nicolas made before he died were of these two rainbows. After the funeral service, we were gathered with family and friends around the table for lunch when my elder son, Alexander, suddenly exclaimed “Look – there’s a rainbow !”. The rainbow effect was caused by an ornament in the house that acted like a prism and projected a rainbow of colours onto a wall. As the sun moved during the next hour, so did the rainbow which gradually progressed around the room, shining on each of us around the table. As it shone on Alexander’s face, it was as though Nicolas was saying ” I’m here my darling brother – I can still touch you.”
In a similar way Nicolas has reached out to touch and help many children in need in Ethiopia. I love him and miss him so much, and he inspires me every day of my life.
I hope he inspires you too, to give whatever you can afford to the children of Ethiopia.”
Max Robinson
