Wishing everyone involved with the Madrinha Trust a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2026, thank you all for your continued support.

Madrinha Trust Christmas Party

Mon 1 Dec 2025 @ The May Fair Hotel, London W1

Madrinha Trust enjoyed a wonderful gathering of our trustees, mentors and partner charity representatives, with our founder, Jania Geoghegan, hosting a warm and insightful fireside-style chat with our special guest speaker, Judge Bibi.

We were also delighted to hear from Mark Telling, one of our Madrinha mentors, as he introduced his scholar mentee, Adjei Mohammed, a Mathematics and Science alumnus from Ghana as they shared their mentoring journey.

Mark Telling has been a Madrinha mentor for over 14 years and was introduced to us by Roger Green (past mentor) through the Institute of Physics and was one of the original team of mentors to support the Ghana scholars from Ada College. Adjei was his original scholar mentee specialising in mathematics and science initially as a teacher, then as a graduate and now Adjei is completing his masters at Lincoln University and is hoping to secure a two year teaching position here in the UK before returning to Ghana to eventually go into a job as an actuary.

The short video clip (below) is the edited highlight from their conversation.

We were deeply honoured to have Judge Bibi join us as our guest speaker—her presence and inspiring words made the event truly special, and we’re so grateful for the time she shared with us. Judge Thaira Bibi is a senior judge in the UK with a notably varied judicial portfolio. She is widely recognised as a prominent figure for diversity within the judiciary, including as one of the first hijab‑wearing judges to sit in the Crown Court.

Please enjoy the link to her talk and conversation with Jania (here).

We had such an amazing group of guests that it was impossible not to share all of our favourite photos from the evening. The positive energy and warmth in the room were palpable, reaffirming the joy and importance of giving back. It is this collective support that helps us all to celebrate the ongoing success of the Madrinha Trust.

It was wonderful to also have His Excellency Kevin Isaac, High Commissioner of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the United Kingdom, as a special guest alongside our past inspirational speakers Dr Casmir Chanda, Mac Chiromo and Ronke Kokoruwe.

The Madrinha Trustees Christmas Photo

Madrinha Trustees: Andrew (Treasurer), Ronke, Sui Chin, S-J (COO) , Amrit, Jania, Ellie, Sarah, Vanessa and Will.
*Not forgetting Casmir who was not able to make the group photo.*
A BIG THANK YOU to our trustees who steer and shape the Madrinha Trust.

ANNUAL REPORT 2025

We have pleasure in presenting the 2025 Annual Report from the Madrinha Trust which we hope reflects the full breadth of all our activities and the achievements of our scholar mentees and graduates and alumni too. We want to particularly thank all our partner charities who make all this work possible.

You can download a copy by clicking the link above.

KHULA students enjoying the Kruger Park Internship.

There have been many highlights this year and particularly our new engagement with Sophia for Children, a new partner charity in Kenya who we are delighted to welcome and with special congratulations to the 3 new scholars who are starting their University education in January 2026.

This year was the first time we ran a collaborative internship programme with Nsasani Trust based out of Skukuza Science Faculty (Kruger Park SA) and KHULA with 10 students attending a combination of 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks internship programmes.

We hope to keep this internship programme going in 2026 with all our partner charities getting involved.

It goes without saying the importance of science and conservation programmes being available to all our bright scholars.

These interactions enrich and connect like‑minded, talented young adults who are the future changemakers. They embody the Madrinha Trust’s mission to develop future leaders in the developing world, creating a powerful ripple effect of opportunity and impact.

Thanking Amrit Singh (trustee) and her amazing team at the May Fair hotel for their kind generosity and wonderful evening.

Thanking Jania, for her vision and support the true “madrinha” to all the scholar mentees and alumni.

With special thanks to S-J our COO who has brought her life and energy to all of us and never stops.

May we hope for peace for all in 2026.

Last words from Jania …

Christmas 2025 (DRAFT)

Summer Newsletter 2025