Ethos
Epiphany Trust is a charity (no.1006653) dedicated to helping disadvantaged people globally who are often marginalised or forgotten by providing aid, healthcare, education and residential care. We believe in working with local partners to ensure long-term impact and self-sufficiency.
The Trust seeks in particular, though not exclusively, to serve the needs of disabled or disadvantaged children and young people, by means of material aid and by assisting the adults who serve them.
Partners
We work closely with trusted partners to facilitate projects around the world. Below is a short synopsis of the work of our partners and a link to their websites.
Child Action Lanka (CAL): Child Action Lanka works to assist and transform the lives of disadvantaged children in Sri Lanka. Many of the children live and work on the streets as beggars; as such, they are often socially excluded and deprived of opportunities and respect.
Jubilee Campaign: Jubilee Campaign combines effective lobbying with transformation charitable action for Children at Risk worldwide. Epiphany Trust partners with Jubilee on various projects including Jessie’s House Academy in Zimbabwe and our anti-trafficking work.
Tauri Foundation: Tauri Foundation in Bangladesh was born out of the sufferings and fortitude of a couple, which felt with heart that their disabled child had every right to lead a meaningful life. In addition to two special schools for children with Autism & Differently Able and two Inclusive School operations, Tauri Foundation also has been providing home based therapy to children with disabilities in rural areas.
Chrysalis Holidays: is a non-profit social enterprise which operates under our subsidiary Epiphany Trading. It provides year round supported residential holidays for people with disabilities.
Karen Education Department: oversees hundreds of schools in the Karen State and administers 8 schools for Epiphany. It is responsible for delivering our funding, returning school reports and providing accounts.
Burmese Migrant Workers Education Committee: administers schools for the children of migrant workers in Maesot, a town on the Thai-Burma border.
Peniel Mission Trust: provides social welfare activities to the poor and suppressed sections of society in the slums and rural villages of Tamil Nadu, India.
Our Team
Bill Hampson OBE
Bill has been quietly inspirational in establishing one of only a few local international charities, changing social attitudes to the disabled and disadvantaged both within the project countries and within the UK. He is a director of Chrysalis Holidays, a social enterprise, running themed and educational holidays for adults with a learning disability in the UK. A former founder member of the Jubilee Campaign. He was made a Freeman of Wigan in 2000 for his work, particularly in Eastern Europe. Bill was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Lancashire in 2005 and he was awarded an OBE in in the New Year Honours List 2020 for services to vulnerable people overseas. Fittingly the year 2020 marked 30 years of charitable work, driven tirelessly by Bill himself.
Bill’s background is in surveying in which role he has worked in Europe and the Middle East. Bill is President of Lowton Independent Methodist Church. Bill is married to Pam, they have three children and four grandchildren.
Director, Bill Hampson founded the Epiphany Trust in 1991. Initially providing vital support after the Romanian orphanage crisis of 1990. In the years since he has encouraged more than a thousand people to travel there to see for themselves what can be achieved by ordinary people. During the same period, Bill has overseen Epiphany’s projects throughout the world.
Back in the 1980’s he worked tirelessly in the pro life and human rights field helping to free many dissidents in the then Communist regime. This he has continued to the present day, helping young children to be released from a life of bonded labour in India. Currently he is spearheading awareness of child trafficking. In Lahore, Pakistan he has seen first hand the best and worst effects that a developing economy has on disabled young people. Establishing lasting relationships and financial support to a school for children with learning difficulties.
Sharon Ainscough
In large due to her experiences in Romania, Sharon decided to go into special education and work with children with severe and profound learning disabilities. In her first teaching post at Chatsworth High School in Salford, she taught her specialist subjects of Music and Drama and became an established Arts Award Advisor. Sharon developed a specific interest in Autism and took her next post in the same school as a teacher of students with Autism. Sharon moved to Piper Hill Specialist Support School, Manchester in 2011 accepting the post of ‘Assistant Headteacher’ where she was responsible for leading the Key Stage 3 department, transition, the Arts, and teaching the full range of National Curriculum subjects. Alongside her teaching job, Sharon studied a Masters Degree in Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Education and graduated with distinction in 2012.
Sharon remained a friend and volunteer of Epiphany Trust, and visited Romania once or twice every year. She was also supported by Epiphany Trust to become a member of the International Young Leaders Network, established to identify and train young and emerging leaders. Sharon and husband Martin spent the summer of 2011 in Sri Lanka, where they worked as volunteers in the street centre in Kandy. In April 2014, 10 years after first becoming involved with Epiphany Trust, Sharon resigned from her teaching role and was appointed as Deputy Director of the Trust. Sharon and Martin live in Lancashire with their three children.
Sharon is a director of Chrysalis Holidays, a not for profit company running themed and educational holidays for adults with learning disabilities in the UK. She is also President of Epiphany Association, a not for profit organisation in Romania.
Sharon first became involved with Epiphany Trust in 2004 when she was introduced to Bill Hampson (Director and founder of Epiphany Trust) on a big band tour to Romania with Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra. At the time she was studying a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Manchester. In early 2005 she met with Bill to discuss volunteering opportunities and after graduating in July 2005, Sharon flew to Romania in the August to help establish Epiphany’s new project ‘The Arc’ in Sinaia, Prahava Valley, which was set up to support young adults with learning disabilities who had previously grown up in the orphanage in Lugoj, Timisoara. Sharon returned to England the following July and worked for a brief spell in the Epiphany office before embarking upon a postgraduate course to train as a teacher.