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Our Story

We came up with the idea for Humanity Direct when Katrina and Marc’s wife Natalie both had to undergo emergency c-sections during childbirth. We were incredibly lucky to have access to great medical care and it made us reflect on people in the developing world who do not have this medical backup. We wanted to help make a difference, and we thought we could improve on the traditional charity model by creating a platform where donors could see who they are helping and 100% of donations go directly to fund the necessary medical care. We started off raising money ourselves completing over 40 marathons, triathlons and challenges between us to help fund operations, and to date Humanity Direct has funded more than 500 surgeries. We continue to fundraise while encouraging other people to join us and help change the lives of the young patients who need our help. It is a simple idea, which we hope will have a big impact.

-Nick Swift, Founder

Our Team

Nick Swift

Founder of Humanity Direct
Nick runs a successful property company.  A keen runner, Nick has recently entered several ultra races including Vasa Loppet and Birkerbeinerrennet ski races and various half and full ironman races to raise money for Humanity Direct patients.  The next fundraising challenge for Nick and Katrina is the Swim to Freedom from Robben Island in South Africa (across shark infested waters).  Nick is married to Katrina and they have three children.

Katrina Swift

Co-Founder of Humanity Direct
Katrina is mother of three children, a solicitor and a keen amateur triathlete helping to fundraise for Humanity Direct.  Katrina works from home and races most triathlons together with Nick, having completed enough races between them to fund 29 operations.

Marc Shalam

Co-Founder of Humanity Direct
Marc was born and raised in New York and moved to London in 2005 where he now lives with his wife Natalie and their son Jacob.  Marc runs a successful property portfolio.  Marc is a keen donor to charity and has worked on teaching programs and building projects in poor communities in South Africa.  Marc also volunteers for Open Age, a charity that helps the elderly gain computer skills.

Medical Partners

China California Heart Watch
East Africa Aid Foundation
American Foundation for Children with AIDS (IFCA)
The Edna Adan University Hospital, Somaliland
Hospital Central de Nampula, Mozambique

Hospital Geral Marrere, Nampula, Mozambique
Haydom Hospital, Tanzania

Kilimanjaro Young Girls In Need, Tanzania

Medical Partners

The Edna Adan University Hospital, Somaliland

The Edna Adan University Hospital, Somaliland

The Edna Adan University Hospital was built by the former First Lady of Somalia and UN Diplomat Edna Adan, who cashed in her UN pension and car to build it. The hospital has 69 beds and places special focus on maternal and infant mortality, as well as fighting the practice of genital mutilation. However, due to demand the hospital also conducts operations from cataracts to skin grafts.
Haydom Hospital, Tanzania

Haydom Hospital, Tanzania

Haydom Hospital covers a population of almost half a million people, it has 400 beds and a handful of doctors but still manages to perform over 4000 operations a year from brain surgery to skin grafts.
Kilimanjaro Young Girls In Need (KYGN), Moshi, Tanzania

Kilimanjaro Young Girls In Need (KYGN), Moshi, Tanzania

Kilimanjaro Young Girls in Need is a Tanzanian non-profit organization dedicated to helping young girls work towards better futures in Moshi and Mabogini. In this rural region of northern Tanzania, poverty, abuse, and the loss of parents often create unsafe home environments and force many girls to escape home, quit school and start looking for work at very young ages. KYGN strives to provide these girls with a stable environment and help them to fully realize their potential.
East Africa Aid Foundation

East Africa Aid Foundation

The East Africa Foundation is a New York based NGO running multiple educational and healthcare projects in East Africa.
From schools for disadvantaged children to providing medical supplies, the foundation manages a number of projects in the region. Their mission is to provide an opportunity, a helping hand, for those who have little or nothing to live by and learn with.
China California Heart Watch

China California Heart Watch

China California Heart Watch is a public charity that researches the extent of heart disease in rural Yunnan province, one of the poorest areas of China, and provides free teaching and cardiac and preventive care to primary health care workers and to impoverished farmers and their families.
Containers 2 Clinics (C2C)

Containers 2 Clinics (C2C)

C2C reduces maternal and child mortality in low-income countries by providing access to sustainable primary health care for women and children. C2C deploys modular, financially self-sustaining health care clinics made from shipping containers to low-income communities.
By creating self-sustaining primary health care with the help of free market enterprise, C2C can swiftly replicate its model elsewhere to provide life-saving care for vulnerable low-income women and children everywhere.

Get In Touch

If you have any questions that we have not given an answer to in our FAQ or if you wish to speak to us further please feel free to contact us.

Get In Touch
Humanity Direct
Email: hello@humanitydirect.org
Mobile: 07725 813 010

Charity Number 1152275
2015© Humanity Direct
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