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FF || Transforming Young Kenyan Lives
. 4 | Registered UK Charity number 1044872
ie ee | karibuni.org.uk
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Karibuni Children
KARIBUNI CHILDREN
Registered Charity number 1044872
TRUSTEES REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
1
KARIBUNI CHILDREN
|
| IndextotheAnnual Trustees’ Report /Accounts | IndextotheAnnual Trustees’ Report /Accounts | IndextotheAnnual Trustees’ Report /Accounts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yearending December2024 | ; | |||
| Legal and administrative details | 3 | |||
| Objects ofthe Charity | 3 | |||
| Structure, Governance and Management | 3&4 | |||
| RiskManagement | 4 | |||
| Kenya's Educational System | 4 | |||
| Karibuni Model ofSupport | 5&6 | |||
| Situation in Kenya | 6 | |||
| Review of Projects and Summaryofthe | the Main Activities duringtheYear | 7-10 | ||
| Financial review and reserves policy | 11 | |||
| Fundraising | 12 | |||
| Voluntaryhelpandeifts inkind | 12 | |||
| Statement of Financial Activities | 13 | |||
| Statement of Financial Activities Position | 14 | |||
| Trustees’ declaration | 14 | . | ||
| Notes to the Accounts | 15-18 | |||
| , | ||||
| independentExaminer'sReport | 19 |
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LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Constituted under a Trust Deed dated 30 January 1995. The charity is a standalone entity, does not have any trading subsidiaries and is not part of a wider group structure.
The Trustees serving during the year and since the year end are:
Mr. David Farmer (Chair)
Mr Steven Kanyatte
Mr Nigel Roberts Mr Lawrence Mrs Joy Murphy Ms Charlotte Roberts Mr Michael Johnston Mr Dennis Readman
Mr Lawrence Dickinson
Dr Hellen Okello
Registered office: Stoke Mandeville Methodist Church, Eskdale Road, Stoke Mandeville, Bucks. HP22 5UJ
Email: office@karibuni.org.uk Website: www.karibuni.org.uk
OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY
As stated in the Trust deed, the objects of the Charity are to relieve children in Kenya who are in need by reason of sickness and distress, in particular children who are homeless, by providing and assisting in the provision of shelter, food and clothing, and to advance the education of such children.
All of the Kenyan partner projects supported by Karibuni Children are run by Kenyans and are involved in education, feeding and community development. Karibuni Children acts as a partner to each project, with day-to-day management being the responsibility of local Management Committees some of which are independent Community Based Organisations (CBOs), and others which are connected to the Methodist Church in Kenya (MCK). Karibuni Children is not itself a faith-based charity.
STRUCTURE GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Policies and operating decisions rest with the Trustees who meet at least five times each year to plan, oversee and monitor the support provided to partner projects in Kenya. This is informed by evidence provided by projects, including on pupil performance and attendance, information from our representative in Kenya, Joshua Katungu, and periodic Zoom meetings with project managers / social workers and local board members in Kenya. Joshua, a Kenyan national and resident who runs his own school in Nairobi is retained by the charity to offer advice and support to the projects during the year.
Within the UK, we employ 2 part time members of staff, one managing our UK Operations and the other focussing on Trust fundraising and international development. Day to day management resides with the Trustees, in particular the Chair who together with subgroups of Trustees and the UK Operations Manager, ensures the smooth running of the Charity. We aim to spend around 85% of income received each year in Kenya, although the exact percentage can vary from year to year.
Karibuni Children has policies covering all aspects of its operations including finance, safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and volunteers, risk management, investments and currency hedging amongst others. The Trustees have regard to guidance issued by The Charity Commission on “Public Benefit” and their guidance on “Charities Working Internationally” as well to HMRC recommendations on “Payments to Overseas Bodies”. About the latter, it should be noted that funding is released either directly to partner projects or, in one instance, via MCK Conference Office, three times each year, against detailed itemised budgets. All partner project bank accounts must require that all disbursements are authorised by a minimum of two signatories.
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Trustees visit the projects each year at their own expense. They review the year’s activities, adequacy of financial support, establish future priorities and assess compliance with standards of governance including visits to several sponsored children’s parents or guardians in their homes to ensure that they are from the very poorest backgrounds. All Trustees, relevant volunteers, and participants in work parties at the projects are required to undergo Disclosure and Barring Service checks.
The current Trustees are shown on page 3. New candidates are considered by the existing Trustees, taking account of their skills and experience in relation to the Charity’s objectives and any areas of expertise where it is felt that recruitment would be beneficial. Care is taken to fully brief new recruits through individual meetings with the Chair, and often new Trustees will act as volunteers for a period prior to appointment.
RISK MANAGEMENT
There were no reportable incidents in 2024. The Trustees have throughout the year reviewed comprehensively the risks to which a small charity operating in Africa is exposed. The register is divided into five categories - Top Risks, those potentially with the highest significance and impact; General Management UK, Office Based UK, Financial, Kenya Operational. Each risk identified is accorded a weighting based on considered likelihood and severity of impact. The risk register is an agenda item at each board meeting.
KENYA'S EDUCATION SYSTEM
The Kenyan education system has largely transitioned away from an 8-4-4 curriculum - 8 years of primary school, 4 years of secondary school and 3 (or more) years of vocational/university education.
By the end of 2027 the Kenyan government will have phased out the 8-4-4 curriculum entirely and replaced it with a new system (2-6-3-3) which consists of 2 years of pre-primary (for ages 4-5); 3 years of lower primary and 3 years of upper primary (for ages 6-11); and 3 years of junior secondary as well as 3 years of senior secondary (for ages 12-17 years).
The new structure follows the Competency Based Education (CBE), which seeks to nurture every learner’s potential by ensuring that all acquire the core competencies. The CBE emphasises formative rather than summative evaluations. It is mandatory for all Kenyan children to continue in education beyond primary. For those that are less academic and unlikely to thrive in secondary education, vocational training is seen as an acceptable and preferable route.
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Kenya’s New Curriculum
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The changes ought to have been accompanied by a classroom building programme in secondary schools, but this has not happened. Consequently, children are in many cases remaining in their existing primary schools for Junior Secondary School. However, these primary schools lack many of the structures needed such as laboratories and domestic science facilities.
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KARIBUNI MODEL OF SUPPORT
The model continues to evolve, but we retain a single criterion for deciding which children and families _to support - the poorest of the poor; no bias for gender, faith, tribe or academic potential. Currently the Karibuni model identifies children from the most challenging backgrounds through advertisement, and the contacts that project social workers (paid for by Karibuni) have with the local Chief or Children’s Officers. Eligible children very often outnumber the places available, with the final choice resting with each local Management Committee.
Some 700 children, who might otherwise miss out on education altogether, are currently being supported. Children start in pre-primary (ages 4 to 5) and progress through primary (ages 6 to 11) usually within the state system where education is free (although there are costs for uniforms, feeding etc.). Costs in the early years are therefore low, but Secondary education (ages 12 to 17) is not free and although each child receives a base level of government support, this is significantly below cost, with the balance having to be found by parents, guardians, or charitable organisations like Karibuni Children. Costs increase further as children progress into tertiary education, not helped by the constant changes in the Kenyan government financial Tertiary support model. Funds permitting, Karibuni aims to support children to reach their full potential and equip them for employment, but the fact that all children must now remain in education until age 17 has led to costs in Kenya rising at a significantly higher rate than Karibuni’s income in the UK. Generous legacies have enabled us to continue to support many disadvantaged children through their education while we take steps to narrow the gap between expenditure and income.
Karibuni Children has 30 years of experience, strong local partnerships, and a proven model. We offer high-impact, community-focused interventions that transform lives. Our data indicates significantly improved educational outcomes compared to national averages. The graph below illustrates the cumulative percentage of grades attained at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) level by learners supported by Karibuni Children (shown in green on the left), alongside the national average (shown in purple on the right) in 2024.
Under the current Kenyan education system, children who achieve a grade of C+ or higher are eligible to pursue a degree at university. In 2024, 44% of the children we support achieved a grade of C+ or higher, compared to a national average of 25%. Considering the extremely challenging family situations, and that partner projects apply no bias towards potential at initial recruitment, we regard these results as remarkable and a testament to how these children can thrive when given the opportunity and proper support.
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KCSE 2024 Sitters
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Whilst the provision of education can itself be transformative, and has led to some outstanding cases of success, there are challenges. These include the length of time (20+ years) for a child to complete their education, and the risk of creating dependency and disempowering parents / guardians. Increasingly we recognise that the path to improved and faster outcomes - retention rates, keeping girls in education, transitioning from education into the world of work etc - lies with greater parental / guardian involvement and creating a more conducive home environment.
We are therefore focusing increasingly on the wider family unit and seeking to address the root causes of why these families are unable to educate their children without external support. The most common root cause is that many parents and guardians did not complete their own education owing to a lack of resources or a family crisis during their own childhoods. This means that they do not have a skill with which to generate a reliable income and so are reliant on finding unpredictable casual work. These interventions need to be tailored to each project’s local economy, but our experience, for example at our Tharaka and Dagoretti partner projects, suggests that this leads to improved outcomes for the children that we support, and provides the opportunity to break the intergenerational poverty cycle more quickly.
We plan to develop this approach further in 2025, as we believe that not only will it lead to improved and faster outcomes in Kenya but will also be key to ensuring the financial sustainability of Karibuni Children in the medium term.
SITUATION IN KENYA
Economic conditions in Kenya following the pandemic have improved with opportunities for casual labour - cooking, housework and clothes washing - on which many parents or guardians relied gradually re-emerging. However, they remain an inadequate source of income with which to support a young family.
Whilst the 2022 Presidential elections and transfer of power passed off relatively peacefully, 2024 saw a high level of community unrest, particularly among the Gen-Z population, leading the Government to rethink its planned Finance Bill. Whilst the situation seems to have calmed down, many of the issues causing unrest remain unresolved and in June 2025, on the anniversary of the original protests, there was further unrest.
’ Kenya's State of Climate Report 2024 indicates that 2024 was the warmest year on record for the country, with most regions experiencing above-normal temperatures. The report also highlights significant rainfall variability, with western and central highlands experiencing above-normal rainfall, while other regions, like northeastern Kenya and coastal areas, were drier than average. These climate extremes, including both drought and flooding, have had substantial socio-economic impacts, particularly affecting agriculture, infrastructure, and energy production.
The Kenyan annual average inflation rate to December 2024 was 4.5%, although it was as high as 7.5% at the start of 2024, significantly impacting our 2024 costs, particularly in core areas such as food.
US aid, primarily through PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), has been a major provider of HIV medication and support in Kenya over the last 10 years. A recent freeze on foreign aid by the US government, including PEPFAR, has caused concern and disruptions to HIV programs in Kenya, potentially impacting the availability of life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. While some reports indicate ongoing issues with drug supply and distribution, others suggest that the Kenyan government and other partners are working to mitigate the impact of the funding cuts. Currently, over 10% of the children that we support are orphans who require higher levels of financial support to progress through education. The data provided by our partner projects suggests that this figure could rise to 25% should the supply of these life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs not be secured. In addition to the human tragedy, this would lead to significant upward pressure on our costs.
6
REVIEW OF PROJECTS DURING THE YEAR
MCK Kibra Tusaidie Watoto Nursery School
Kibra is the largest urban slum in Africa, where some 750,000+ people live with few basic amenities in an area of 2.5 square kilometres. Half of those aged 15 - 40 years are said to be HIV+. Many children come from extremely deprived and unstable backgrounds.
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This is the largest project supported by Karibuni, where we are the sole funder. It is a very successful
project based with onsite provision of high-quality early years education covering the pre-primary 1
and 2 years. The majority of children then progress to the nearby state Olympic Primary school.
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----- End of picture text -----
Photo Credit: Nick Spollin - Gathering Voices UK
In addition, 17 secondary school children from the Kawangware project are now administered through this project together with 53 children from our Embakasi project, although they both retain their dedicated social worker.
Embakasi
In early 2024, with very short notice, the Board of MCK Embakasi Academy decided to close the school and focus on pre-primary education. Whilst this led to a period of disruption and uncertainty, the majority of parents, supported actively by Johnson, their social worker, were able to secure places in local state primary schools. There were some exceptions in the key exam years, and in these cases, we provided additional funds to allow these children to complete their primary education in private schools, before reverting to state school for their secondary education.
In 2025, 4 children are being supported at pre-primary, 25 at primary, 10 at junior secondary, 8 at secondary school, and 6 in tertiary education.
We will continue to support these children through to the completion of their education but will not ; be undertaking further recruitment in the Embakasi community, concentrating our resources at our remaining partner projects.
7
MCK Limuru Methodist Academy
Limuru is a town some 20 miles from Nairobi on the way to Nakuru. It is in a tea-growing area and local people can sometimes get casual labour picking tea and in local firms. The school recently benefitted from a new ablutions block funded by a generous supporter, who had previously visited Limuru as a member of a work party. No new children have been enrolled for support for four years, but through Miriam, the project’s social worker, we will continue to support all those already enrolled on their educational journey.
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MCK Wesley Empowerment Centre - Njoro
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In 2025, 18 children are being sponsored in nursery and pre-primary, 39 in primary, 17 in junior secondary, 3 in senior secondary, with 4 young people being supported through tertiary education.
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Meru Children and Adult Welfare Community Based Organisation (MECAWE)
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Photo credit: Nick Spollin - Gathering Voices UK
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Mercy has also driven the development of a small garment manufacturing social enterprise which
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in the project.
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At this project Karibuni supports up to 6 new children each year from extremely disadvantaged | backgrounds who tend to join the pre-primary at the well regarded Consolata Catholic Mission School.
In 2025 Karibuni supports 7 children in pre-primary, 32 in primary, 26 in junior secondary, 13 in senior secondary, and with 8 young people undergoing skills training. Karibuni also funds teaching aids and materials for craft activities for children in a special educational needs class at nearby Mwithumwiru Primary School.
Tharaka Women and Children’s Welfare Programme
Tharaka District is a “hardship” area towards the east of Kenya where Marimanti is the main town. Unemployment is 60% and life expectancy 51 years. Farming is mostly subsistence.
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At this project Karibuni supports up to 6 new children each year from extremely disadvantaged
backgrounds, who tend to join Kamatungu Primary. In 2025 9 children are supported at pre-primary,
47 at primary, and 19 at junior secondary, 24 at senior secondary, with 14 young people being
supported through tertiary education. Karibuni also funds teaching aids and materials for craft
activities for 20 children in a special educational needs class at nearby Kamatungu Primary School.
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The International Tree Foundation has provided significant funding that has led to the cultivation and planting of some 103,000 trees since 2020 on small plots cultivated by many of the care givers. These individual “food forests” are a mixture of neem, mango and papaya trees, and will lead to a sustainable source of income in future years.
Ten artisan workshops have now been built around the perimeter of the site which has enabled the establishment of a school uniform workshop as well as opportunities for those graduating from schools or college to enter employment or start their own business.
In 2025, it is planned to add a pitched roof to the to the CRC to provide additional meeting space and also to facilitate the installation of solar panels to provide the certainty of power availability. This will make the CRC more attractive to external hirers and should provide a more reliable income stream.
Further infrastructure developments are in course of planning including a borehole to provide a clean supply of water to children of the project and in neighbouring schools. This is also likely to provide a further source of income that can be reinvested within the project.
Mahali Pa Watoto - Dagoretti
This is our newest project, starting in 2025, which builds on the wonderful legacy of the Mahali Pa Watoto nursery school site. It is a collaboration with Karen Street Children and Friends of Dagoretti, existing NGO tenants of the building, as well as other strategic partners in the local communities. The project is led by Catherine Muguro, who has a deep understanding of the local community, having served as the lead social worker for Friends of Dagoretti and Karen Street Children for many years.
Following some thorough community research in 2024, we are focusing on adolescents and all aspects of their well-being, along with youth leadership and professional training aimed at empowering them to make informed choices that will enable them to pursue roles in the formal job market or as selfemployed. We will also provide skills training and livelihood development, such as tailoring, along with — financial literacy training so that families can secure a more reliable income stream, budget effectively, and save for their children's future. Our work in nearby Kibra has always been constrained by space, and this site will also allow our Kibra project to work more actively with the wider family unit and reduce the risk of a dependency culture developing, while also providing a safe space for Kibra children to receive extra tuition and psychosocial support during school holidays. : aSa We; ia ' 44 ae oe Le JY = hg :oeweg? ae ©.ee / ae ~~ te “Ans
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FINANCIAL REVIEW AND RESERVES POLICY
Income for the 12 months to 31.12.2024 was £281,759, down from £313,606 in 2023. This reflects some high value donations in 2023 that were not repeated in 2024 together with a lower number of fundraising events in 2024, as we prepared for increased events in 2025, our 30" anniversary year.
Expenditure was £310,115, down from £371,416 in 2023, leading to a reduced deficit of £28,356 before revaluations. This was a lower deficit than budgeted, due to the receipt of a substantial legacy towards the end of the financial year. Notwithstanding the headline numbers, our costs in Kenya in local currency have continued to increase, but we were able to take advantage of the weak Kenyan shilling exchange rate at the end of 2023 to reduce the sterling equivalent of our Kenyan spend. The legacy received right at the year end plus the lower sterling equivalent of Kenya spend led to our percentage of donor income spent in Kenya reducing to 78% (2023 93%); our target ratio is around 85%. However, if you include the £16,000 designation made by Trustees for part of this legacy for 2025 spend in Tharaka, that percentage would increase to 84%.
Measures taken in 2021 to reduce costs through a gradual withdrawal from minor projects, stopping further recruitment at Embakasi and Limuru, and capping support for tertiary education have had a positive impact, but the inflationary pressure on costs, particularly in Kenya, remains. Significant effort has been put into 2025 events to mark our milestone 30® anniversary, and it is hoped that increased income from those will allow us to further reduce our deficit in 2025, and perhaps even reach breakeven. There is also a strong focus in 2025 on securing new regular donors.
Restricted donations must be dispersed in accordance with the terms under which they are donated and are not therefore available for general purposes. In some cases, there will be a timing difference between when the income is received and when it is spent, resulting in balances being held in these funds at year-end. The purpose of the various restricted funds is outlined in note 14,
Unrestricted reserves are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees in the furtherance of the charity's objects. If part of unrestricted reserves is earmarked for a particular project it may be designated as a separate fund, but the designation has an administrative purpose only and does not legally restrict Trustees’ discretion to apply the fund. Trustees designated £16,000 of the Daphne Giacomelli legacy towards our partner project in Tharaka for the construction of a new roof and these funds will be spent in 2025 (note 15).
The Trustees have established a general reserves policy to have a level of comfort in the charity's ability to provide continuity of activities in the event of material fluctuations in income. The Trustees are also mindful that in recruiting a child into our support at Pre-primary (2 years), Karibuni is likely to need to support that child-as s/he progresses through Lower and Upper Primary (6 years) and thence into Lower Secondary and Senior School (6 years) or through skills training. Additionally, depending on the charity's overall finances, the Trustees award scholarships for those who secure offers of Tertiary courses. Although these are fully discretionary, to date Karibuni has been able to meet all scholarship requests.
The Trustees believe that it is important to provide projects with certainty of funding for a whole academic year and have accordingly identified the necessity to hold £280,000 as a general reserve to cover 12 month’s costs in Kenya and the support office in the UK. Currently reserves exceed this figure. ;
.
Reserves over and above the reserve policy result from a large legacy (£300,000), received in 2016, which is enabling the Trustees to support manageable operating deficits so that all children enrolled in our projects can be supported through their education, whilst income is increased and / or costs reduced. However, with the consequences of increasing the number of children taken into sponsorship in 2013 who are now entering the expensive stage of their education, together with increased upfront costs spent on skills training for caregivers, it is likely that we will need to dip into reserves in the next 3 years to meet these increased costs.
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11
.
FUNDRAISING
The environment for raising donor funds is as challenging as ever. CAF reported that in 2024 the percentage of the UK population who donated to charity fell to 50% (down from 61% in 2016). Raising money from grant making trusts was particularly competitive in 2023, with many focusing on charities delivering interventions within the UK, and so in 2024 we submitted a reduced number of applications whilst we evolved our Kenyan support model to include a more sustainable focus. This will be an area of particular focus in 2025 and 2026,
Every opportunity is taken to raise funds through the sale of merchandise, running events, making presentations about our work or otherwise directly engaging with church or community groups that have long supported our work.
Whilst we have a good number of loyal regular donors, who have supported the charity for many years, we are conscious that our income is also quite heavily dependent on a relatively small number of major donors. We are seeking to manage this risk actively.
VOLUNTARY HELP AND GIFTS IN KIND
We would like to thank all our dedicated trustees and volunteers for their work this year. Volunteers have continued to help with administration, attendance at events, website management and online sales of merchandise.
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,
KARIBUNI CHILDREN
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| Note | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds | 2023 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Incoming resources | |||||
| Incoming resources from generated funds | |||||
| Voluntary income | 1 | 243,233 | 13,231 | 256,464 | 278,585 |
| Activities forgenerating funds | 2 | 22,242 | 22,242 | 33,495 | |
| Investment income | 3,053 | 3,053 | 1,526 | ||
| 268,528 | 13,231 | 281,759 | 313,606 | ||
| Resources expended | |||||
| Grants to projects | 3 | 207,536 | 12,731 | 220,267 | 294,842 |
| Raising funds | 4 | 23,968 | 23,968 | 15,088 | |
| 5,6& | |||||
| Office expenditure | 7 | 65,880 | 65,880 | 61,486 | |
| 297 384 | 12,731 | 310,115 | 371,416 | ||
| Net surplus /expenditure before investment | losses | (28,856) | 500 | (28,356) | (57,810) |
| Revaluation ofinvestments | 6,790 | 6,790 | 8,021 | ||
| Revaluation ofcurrency forward contracts at | 26,474 | 26,474 | (7,658) | ||
| fair value | |||||
| Netsurplus /(loss) fortheyear | 4408 | 500 | 4908 | (87,447) | |
| Fund balances brought forward | 359,932 | 9,000 | 368,932 | 426,379 | |
| Fundbalancescarriedforward | 364,340 | 9,500 | 373,840 | 368,932 |
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KARIBUNI CHILDREN BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER
2024
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||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Note|Unrestricted|Restricted|Total|Total|
|funds|funds|funds|funds|
|2023|
|£|£|£|£|
|Fixed|assets|.|
|Tangible|assets|8|-|-|
|Investments|Sg|109,789|409,789|103,438|
|109,789|-|109,789|103,438|
|Current|assets|
|Stock|633|633|2,360|
|Debtors|10|17,813|17,813|68,137|
|Cash|at|bank|and|in|hand|11|230,647|9,500|240,147|212,786|
|249,093|9,500|258,593|283,283|
|Liabilities|
|Creditors:|amounts|falling|due|within|one|
|year|42|6,855|6,855|3,628|
|Net|current|assets|242,238|9,500|251,738|279,655|
|Provisions|
|Forward|exchange|contract|
|assets/ (liabilities)|13|12,313|12,313|(14,161)|
|Net assets|364,340|9,500|373,840|368,932|
|Funds|of the|charity:|.|
|Restricted|funds|14|9,500|9,500|9,000|
|Unrestricted|funds|15|364,340|364,340|359,932|
|Total|charity funds|364,340|9,500|373,840|||368,932|
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The notes on pages 15 to 18 form part of these accounts
Approved by the trustees on 25 SEPPEMBER BOSand signed on their behalf by:
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(___--Nanig David Patrick Farmer ———
Position: Chai
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.
14
,
KARIBUNI CHILDREN NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
Accounting policies
a) The accounts have been prepared on the historic cost convention and in compliance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing the accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), and the Charities Act 2011.
b) Income is recognised when the charity becomes entitled to the resources and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability
c) Gift aid reclaimable on donations to the charity is included with the amount received, where known
d) Other expenditure is included in the accounts on an accruals basis. Irrecoverable VAT is charged to the SOFA as incurred
e) Carvings and textiles are bought from Kenya to sell in order to raise funds. Some carvings remain in stock and are valued at £0. Textiles are valued at cost.
f) Grants to projects are included when the amount is released to partner projects
g) Kenya shillings held at the year-end are recognised at cost in sterling as they represent spend already committed and are released to projects early in the new financial year.
Taxation
gainsKaribuni whereChildrenthey areis aappliedregisteredfor charitycharitable andpurposes.accordingly is exempt from taxation on its income, and
15
KARIBUNI CHILDREN NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
Income
1 Voluntary income includes supporter donations and sponsorship with gift aid tax attributable, grants, donations from private trust funds and legacies received. Grants and Trusts £8,810 (2023 £10,250). Legacies £58,598 (2023 £26,000}
2 Activities for generating funds includes income from sales of merchandise and cards and receipts from organised events.
The charity received no income from Government grants or contracts.
The largest individual supporter donated £ 17,760. No income was received from Corporate donors.
No income was received from outside the UK
Expenditure
;
3 Grants to projects
All charitable activities were delivered in Kenya, in line with the original Trust Deed. Grants are paid directly to the Kenyan bank accounts for all partner projects in line with the agreed itemised budgets; the one exception is MCK Limuru Academy, which is distributed via the Methodist Church in Kenya (MCK). Grants include support costs and expenses for Karibuni's Kenyan representative of £3285 (2023 £4,023). Funds are remitted to partner projects in Kenyan shillings through foreign exchange dealers and payment providers, Convera (previously Western Union Business Services). Whilst regulated by the FCA, Convera is not part of the regulated banking system, although its own bank accounts are held with Barclays within the regulated banking system. Most remittances are covered by forward exchange contracts, which are put in place roughly 12 months ahead of when the funds will be needed. Written agreements are in place with some partner projects.
4 Raising funds
Includes cost of merchandise, costs of staging events and attending events including sponsored events and online costs of giving. £15,000 of employee costs involved solely in obtaining grants is included.
5 Other expenditure
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Office costs | £ | £ |
| Employee costs | 45,856 | 45,184 |
| Stationery, postage and printing | 2,169 | 2,764 |
| Telephone and internet | 1,137 | 972 |
| Database costs | 2,194 | 2,754 |
| Rent of office and storage | 3,675 | 3,672 |
| Insurances and data protection | 1,086 | 1,078 |
| Websitecosts | 6) | 120 |
| Fee for independent examination | 3,060 | 1,440 |
| Payroll fees | 872 | 1,257 |
| Training | 1,821 | 705 |
| Recruitment costs | 2,420 | 598 |
| Laptop, phone and printer | 640 | 500 |
| Sundry costs | 950 | 442 |
| 65,880 | 61,486 |
16
;
Six trustees visited Kenya in February 2024 to review and assess the projects being supported by the charity; they paid their own travel and accommodation costs. The newly recruited Trust Fundraising Manager visited Kenya with the Trustees, and her costs were also paid for personally by the trustees.
Including Trustees, the charity benefits from the contribution of around 12 volunteers on a regular basis.
6 Trustees remuneration and expenses
No Trustees received any remuneration as Trustees during the year or claimed allowable expenses.
The aggregate amount of unconditional donations made by Trustees in 2024 amounted to £7857 (plus attributable gift aid tax).
7 Employment costs
A part time UK Operations Manager and part time Trust Fundraising Manager were recruited in February 2024. The UK Operations Manager was replaced in June 2024. At the year end, the charity had 2 part time employees, and no employee received more than £60,000 within the reporting period. The average number of employees during the year was 2 (2023 - 2)
8 Tangible assets
All computers and electronic equipment are written off in the year of purchase. The charity rents office space and owns no physical property.
9 Investments
As at 31 December 2023, £38,494 was invested in M&G Charifund; as at 31 December 2024 the value was £41,962. As at 31 December 2023,. £64,944 was invested with Quilter; as at 31 December 2024 the value was £67,827.
The movement in fair value is recognised in the income statement.
10 Debtors
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Accrued income- gift aid tax | 11,794 | 15,940 |
| Transferred projectfunds | ||
| Kenya | 6 | 16,762 |
| Prepaid expenses | 3,573 | 1,012 |
| Income banked after yearend | 2,440 | 17,423 |
| Converasecuritydeposit | 0 | 17,000 |
:
:
17,813 68,137
This includes £6 held in Kenya Shillings with the Karibuni bank account with the Methodist Church in Kenya. The exchange rate used is the rate at which the currency was purchased. The gift aid tax has been claimed and repaid by HMRC in 2025.
11 Cash
;
The cash balance includes £103,337 held in Kenyan Shillings (KES 20,076, 524). They are valued at cost and were submitted to partner projects in Kenya during the first quarter of 2025.
17
12 Creditors
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | ||||
| Accruals | and | deferred | income | 6,855 | 3,628 |
13 Provisions
The charity's annual grant funding is provided to recipients in Kenya in Kenyan Shillings, while the charity's income is predominantly in £sterling. To hedge against the risk of exchange rate fluctuations, the charity has taken out forward exchange contracts to the value of anticipated grant funding over the next 12 months. As at the year-end these forward contracts are valued at fair value. At the year-end there was a profit on revaluation of £12,312 (2023 Loss: £14,161).
14 Restricted funds
Ascheme started in 2015, relates to the sponsorship of specific students in higher education and vocational training. Payments are made to support individual students through the projects to which they are related. Donations received for this purpose are regarded as restricted. Where the sponsor has provided funds in advance for the entire period of education the balance is held to be charged to each year’s accounts. During 2024 other funds were received from individuals towards specific projects supported by the Charity and regarded as restricted to those projects. Most of the funds were remitted to the projects during the year, with balances. carried into future years as appropriate
15 Designated Unrestricted Funds
The Trustees have designated £16,000 of the Daphne Giacomelli legacy received in 2024 for capital expenditure on a new roof for the Tharaka Community Resource centre in 2025.
18
KARIBUNI CHILDREN
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF KARIBUNI CHILDREN
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024 which are set out on pages 13 to 18.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
:
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination | have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
| have completed my examination. | confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
-
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
-
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination
| have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
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Mr Tim Fulker BSc(Econ)FCA
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Seymour Taylor Limited 40 Oxford Road High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP11 2EE
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,
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Dates 2 2 Saptekembas B2Ors-
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