Heal Kids Foundation

676. Duncan Mundell

Duncan Mundell is the driving force behind the Heal Kids Foundation, a charity that supports orphaned, abandoned and disabled children in the most deprived regions of Southeast Asia. A successful businessman, Duncan founded the charity in 2008 after a holiday in Myanmar, where he saw at first hand the abject poverty that local children were living in.

Since then, the charity has expanded from its initial purpose, helping street children, into supporting a huge number of projects aimed at improving the lives of children across Southeast Asia.

By the end of 2016 the Foundation had built 28 schools, opened orphanages, clinics and libraries, built wells and toilets in schools and villages, and arranged and funded 40 major surgical operations for young people.

In a personal letter to Duncan, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

“Your work with the Heal Kids Foundation is transforming the lives of thousands of orphaned and abandoned children across Southeast Asia. You should be enormously proud of having set up a charity which is having such a tangible impact upon so many young people in need.”

Duncan said:

“Thank you for the honour of this award. I started HEAL Kids in 2008 after witnessing the plight of the Burmese people. The country was at the time suppressed by the military junta and had the lowest charitable input in the world. Although there have been some changes over the past few years, Burma (Myanmar) still remains on Global Finance Magazine’s list of the poorest countries in the world, with minimal spend on healthcare and education. Our small team in Burma has worked tirelessly to make a huge impact on the lives of thousands of sick, undernourished and disabled children.

I hope that this award will bring awareness of the situation in Burma and that more organisations will consider assisting those gentle, charming people who have suffered so much and are greatly in need of more international aid.”