2024-03-31-accounts - Project Peru

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Project Peru

Thirty-second Annual Report

and

Accounts

1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024

Registered Charity Number: 1049413

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

Trustees’ report

This report covers the activities of Project Peru in the UK and Peru from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024.

Reference and Administrative details

Project Peru was formally established in May 1992, and in 1995 became a registered charity (Registered Charity number 1049413).

Structure, Governance and Management

Charity name

Project Peru (known in Peru as Proyecto Perú).

Registered address in the UK

1, St. Catherine’s Hill, Guildford, Surrey GU2 4EF, England, UK Telephone: 01483 576093.

Administration address in Peru

Proyecto Perú Administration; Calle Julio Diaz, Centro Poblado Zapallal, Distrito de Puente Piedra, Lima 22, Perú.

Bank

Lloyds Bank,147 High Street, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3AG

Executive Committee and Trustees during this financial year in UK

Carole Hudson (Chair) Helena Cooke (Treasurer) David Hudson Jean Wright

All activities in the UK are on a voluntary basis and the trustees are selected from a core group of volunteers.

In Peru

Our legal representation and local responsibility are in the hands of Karina Alza Gomez and the co-signatory on our Project Peru bank account is Padre Fernando Castellón Asin.

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

Objectives and activities

The principal aims and objectives of Project Peru are to address issues faced by people living in extreme poverty in Peru. We are a small, lively, totally voluntary UK-based charity offering food, clothes, shelter, education, health and fun to those in need in a country where much of the population still exists in extreme poverty.

More specifically:

We support our children's refuge, which we founded and have developed over the years, in one of the desert shanty-towns north of Lima
We develop new initiatives to help those in need in Peru both in the community near to the refuge and periodically further afield
We react swiftly to direct calls for practical help from our refuge
• We send periodic aid shipments ensuring that they reach their destination and are put to immediate use within our refuge or in the wider community
We have funded almost the entire costs of the refuge through a wide range of activities, predominantly in the UK, including sponsored events, educational projects, and crafts sales, as well as through individual donations and sponsorship, and contributions from volunteers going to Peru
We try to involve volunteers of all ages and occupations both in Peru and in the UK
We seek to raise awareness about issues relating to poverty and development
We believe that, despite our more serious purpose, our activities should be fun for all those who take part

Supporting our refuge is our core activity. We are indebted to all our volunteers in the UK and in Peru and especially to the huge faith in our work that is demonstrated by our many individual donors, as well as by our many supporters in the private sector, in educational institutions, churches, voluntary groups and local authorities both in the UK and internationally.

Public information about Project Peru

Our website is https://www.projectperu.org.uk which we constantly keep under review and refresh where possible with topical news items and relevant pages. Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/projectperu.org.uk . Both of these are designed to meet our need to inform the public about our activities in UK and in Peru, as a tool for public awareness, to enhance our fund-raising efforts, to attract new volunteers, while at the same time to respect the privacy and safety of our children.

We regularly update the ‘News’ pages on our website with items about our activities in Peru and in the UK, promoting these News items as widely as we

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

can through our contacts with supporters, principally via email, and on our Facebook pages.

We produce a very limited amount of presentational material and leaflets that are available on request or at fundraising events.

In the past we have promoted the charity actively in the UK through public speaking engagements including in churches and schools, and with Rotary Clubs and other community-based groups, and we encourage our volunteers to do the same. We were unable to do this during the years of Covid-19 and we are still not seeing many of these events taking place.

Achievements and performance

UK achievements

Most of our income comes from our own direct fundraising initiatives and regular donations, as well as from limited sponsorship and contributions made by volunteers before going to Peru, and by other supporters, not necessarily those who have known us before. We want to encourage more of this type of support in future, especially through fundraising initiatives by others. These funds are used specifically for our core work in running our refuge or for our work in the wider community in Peru.

We had another successful year as shown in our Treasurer’s report, due to sustained help from many of our long-term supporters, with the result that

we have again met our target of sending sufficient funds to support our refuge in Lima
we have provided funds to maintain and refurbish our existing buildings in Peru, to further develop the facilities in our refuge and to support our special projects in the wider community
where funds have been raised in the UK for specific projects in the refuge or in the wider community we have been able to ensure that these have been completed
we continued to retain funds in the UK as a contingency reserve at the previous year’s level and receive interest on our savings accounts. We keep these deposits under review and update our accounts where needed. We aim to ensure that we have at least a reserve of two years’ funding for our refuge and for our work in Peru

The funds we have raised have specifically enabled us to:

Provide food and facilities for the children who live in our refuge
Pay the wages in Peru for our full time and part time employees and provide staff training and support
Develop educational, social, sporting and cultural activities in our refuge
Meet the educational costs for our children particularly, and to continue to support the further education of some of our older girls after they

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

have left school, including where appropriate their access to university courses

Continue to develop the structural facilities at our refuge, maintaining and refurbishing the existing buildings, to provide safe, comfortable and appropriate facilities that are fully compliant with the local health and safety requirements, which can change frequently
Continue to develop our special projects, our kitchen garden project providing fruit and vegetables for the refuge, and our library project enabling our children to grow up with access to reading and reference materials
Participate in community initiatives including the distribution of emergency food supplies, and particularly making new contacts with local ‘ ollas comunes’ , the chain of soup kitchens in the shanty towns, which provide urgent food supplies and hot meals in response to the rapidly rising prices and increasing food shortages
Fulfil our long-term ambition to build a residential hostel for up to eight of our teenage boys as well as staff accommodation, currently for our Director and her family. This was achieved by securing funds from a variety of sources as outlined in our previous report. The new accommodation was built on part of the land we hold for our kitchen garden and was fully completed and operational soon after the start of the period covered by this report.

Project Peru’s fundraising events and activities in the UK

Sales of Peruvian crafts
We held our regular craft stall in Guildford in June 2023 through the Rural Crafts Association, as part of the Guildford Summer festival. A number of our supporters have also bought our crafts and cards which we promote regularly on our web-site, and we have had an increasing amount of online sales. We again had a successful special campaign to promote our sales of Christmas cards made in Las Laderas.
Volunteers

We were prevented for several years by the pandemic from involving our volunteers either in UK or in Peru and we have not yet seen the number of volunteers and visitors to the project in Peru reaching prepandemic levels. However we have been able to restart this process during this year.

This support provides income for us through individual sponsorship as well as providing income locally in Peru through contributions by volunteers. In addition to raising money for us before they go to Peru we hope we can also encourage everyone who visits our refuge to continue to make a contribution to the charity in future years.

Container to Peru

This procedure had also been stopped by the pandemic. In normal times we have received large quantities of donated goods in the UK

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

which we sort, pack, load and deliver for onward shipment to Peru in an annual consignment. We try to respond to the direct needs expressed by our colleagues in Peru with whom we are in close contact on a regular basis. We continue to rely on the generosity of commercial, educational and private donors, of our volunteers, and of the shipping and road transport companies who have supported us over many years. We normally distribute goods far beyond our own refuge and are continuing to develop a wide range of contacts with isolated communities in need of these goods and have been identifying new ones. This process has restarted and the first shipment, sent in June 2023, duly arrived safely and has been a welcome resource for the refuge and in the wider community.

Achievements and performance in Peru in 2023-4 (based on reports from our Director in Peru, Karina Alza Gomez)

During the 2023-4 year we continued with our commitment to offer a safe environment and opportunities for their development for all our children and adolescents, while being aware of the real social and economic situation they live in. Thanks to the support we offer we have achieved the following:

In 2023-4 at the refuge we cared for 39 children and adolescents including 21 boys and 18 girls, with 4 at nursery level, 23 at primary level and 12 at secondary level.

Four students from the previous year had received the government’s Beca-18 scholarship in 2023 allowing them to start university studies and to lead an independent life, while continuing to visit the refuge at weekends to help support activities at the refuge.

Also with the support of a grant to Project Peru from Amoria Bond, at the start of this year we completed the building of a hostel for a small group of our adolescent boys to enable them to remain living at the refuge. In this facility five boys were able to live in an environment where they were able to develop responsibility and independence through activities regarding both personal care and working together as a way to prepare them for adult life.

Each resident enjoys adequate space and a balanced diet supervised by local nutritionists. Also their health is regularly monitored and included all essential vaccines including Covid-19, flu and other appropriate vaccinations.

For any health problems they can access the medical sevices at a local ‘polyclinic’.

We are able to offer educational materials and workshops in art and culture including dance, music, drama and singing. Also we arrange outings to the zoo, beaches and sporting events but we especially focus on reading workshops appropriate for age and reading ability.

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

Our youngest enjoy stories and songs as well as handicrafts such as origami. The older children explore Peruvian and world literature including through writing précis and making illustrations of the texts to extend their reading comprehension.

As in every year in February all children and staff went for a beach holiday to Las Tortugas near Chimbote north of Lima to spend ten relaxing days at the beach, and at other times we visited the zoo at the Parque de las Leyendas and a local swimming pool.

Throughout the year we maintained active communication with all the families or guardians of the children, reinforcing family links through meetings and visiting days. This is a fundamental way to renew family relationships and ensure that families are kept aware of their responsibilities.

Our staff includes our House Mothers caring for the children, support teachers, maintenance staff, a psychologist, a social worker, and workshop leaders. In addition the NGO Cambiando Horizontes [Changing Horizons] offers regular staff development training for our staff team through virtual sessions which helps them improve the care they offer.

International volunteers from England collaborated in recreational activities enriching our experience and bringing to the refuge more cultural diversity. Additionally with their support we were able to completely rebuild an existing soup kitchen in one of the most vulnerable communities in the eastern part of Zapallal.

Local Peruvian volunteer groups helped us with specific activities including the supply of school materials, school uniforms and with activities such as our Christmas festivities or the children’s birthdays and any other key celebrations.

Thanks to collaboration with various food banks we were also able to donate some surplus supplies from these sources to help support a number of soup kitchens in the community as well as some vulnerable families and individuals.

We carried out regular maintenance to the buildings including painting, as well as fumigation and renewal of fire equipment to improve the safety of our installations. As well as the completion of our boys’ hostel we continued developing our kitchen garden both as a fundamental resource for providing us with fruit and vegetables, but also for education and recreation.

After three years’ interruption due to Covid-19 we received another container cargo from England containing supplies of clothing, toiletries and cleaning materials and other items invaluable both for our residents and vulnerable people in the local community as well as in distant communities in the Andes.

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

In 2023 the marginalised urban zones experienced an increase in child abandonment reaching 15% in some areas reflecting the growing need for integrated support. The refuge responded to this situation by offering a safe physical environment and both emotional and educational support to young people in need.

Thanks to our joint efforts the refuge continues to be a space for hope and for the development of all our children and adolescents.

Plans for the next 12 months

Main goals

To react to the longer-term social and economic issues both in the UK and in Peru
To fund our ‘core’ work in Peru relating to running our refuge and to develop more community activities, enabling us to maintain the number of children we can care for, and to further improve the living and working conditions at the refuge and in the local communities
To provide educational support and to improve educational opportunities for our younger children, with more extra curricular activities where possible
To work towards assuring a better and more secure future for our children as they reach their late teens and need to run their own lives
Where possible to secure access to government grants in Peru for funds for higher education for disadvantaged people especially individual grants under the government’s Beca-18 scheme to enable our older residents to study at university
To develop new advice systems and opportunities for employment for those leaving the refuge
To develop new and more specific opportunities for volunteering in the refuge and in the wider community
To undertake more social initiatives in the local community and further afield
To look for fresh or innovative ways of fundraising in the UK
To explore new ways to seek local funding and donations in kind in Peru for the project and to encourage Peruvian individuals, organisations and institutions to become more involved

Our ongoing work

fund raising in the UK and in Peru to cover the running costs for our children’s refuge in Peru
maintenance and upkeep work on the buildings at our refuge
fund raising for new projects at the refuge and in the wider community
UK sponsored events set up by individual supporters, sales of our crafts, educational and cultural and public awareness activities, and recruitment of volunteers

PROJECT PERU

Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

In particular, to encourage others to undertake fund-raising initiatives, such as sponsorship for their individual challenges

Longer term plans and activities will, it is expected, be broadly similar in future years. Funding for all activities will continue as outlined in the Annual Report.

We expect that many of the UK-based fund-raising activities will remain similar to those outlined in the above report.

Financial report by the Treasurer

Results for the year

Total receipts for the year were £107,583 which was £19,167 lower than last year’s level of £126,750. Overhead costs were, as always, kept to a minimum and £83,000 (2023 - £123,000) was sent out to Lima to cover the running costs of the refuge.

Analysis of receipts

Voluntary receipts; these include gifts and donations and the related tax reclaimed under gift aid. During the year £54,972 was raised from voluntary receipts of which £17,628 (2023 - £20,146) was from regular donations. This year’s income included a one-off donation of £20,000.

Activities for generating funds

Activities include fund raising activities and sponsorship along with the related tax reclaimed under gift aid, providing goods and services that are not for the charity’s beneficiaries, and income from selling bought in goods. Income in this category was £42,505 (2023-£85,601) – last year’s number included £50k from one-off events.

Trading activities

Income from selling Peruvian goods at various craft markets throughout the year raised £3,000 which was broadly in line with levels seen in the previous year.

Analysis of payments

Direct charitable payments included £83,000 of funds sent to Peru to cover the costs of running the refuge.

Other costs

As always costs have been kept at a minimum and are in line with last year.

Payroll

The charity has no paid staff in the UK and relies entirely on volunteers for the organisation and administration of the charity, fund raising activities and the promotion of the charity.

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

Accounts for the 12 months to 31 March 2024

Receipts and Payments

	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total funds	Last year
	£	£	£	£
Receipts
Voluntary receipts	54,972		54,972	36,363
Activities for generating funds	42,505		42,505	85,601
Trading activities	2,853		2,853	3,497
Bank interest	7,253		7,253	1,289
Total receipts	107,583		107,583	126,750

Payments
Direct charitable expenses	84,636		84,636	123,599
Cost of generating voluntary funds	3,172		3,172	959
Fund raising costs	1,005		1,005	3,149
Total payments	88,813		88,813	127,707

Net of receipts and payments	18,770		18,770	(957)

Transfers between funds
Cash funds last year end	255,380	80,000	335,380	336,337
Cash funds this year end	274,150	80,000	354,150	335,380

Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted funds	Total
	£	£	£
Cash funds
Current accounts	112,219		112,219
Deposit accounts	161,931	80,000	241,931
Total	274,150	80,000	354,150

Signed on behalf of all trustees

C Hudson [signed]

Chair 10th January 2025

H Cooke [signed] Treasurer

10th January 2025

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

Notes to the accounts / Accounting policies

These accounts were prepared on a receipts and payments basis.

Accounting policies: the accounting policies have not changed since the previous year and are summarised below:

1. Receipts

Recognition of receipts – receipts are accounted for when the charity receives the cash.

Receipts with related expenditure – the income and related expenditure are reported gross in the receipts and payments account.

Tax reclaims on donations and gifts – tax reclaims are accounted for when the cash is received.

Gifts in kind – gifts in kind are not given a value as this is impractical. Proceeds of the sale of any such gifts are shown in the category of activities generating funds. Gifts include second hand clothing, household goods and tools and are shipped to the refuge in Lima and either used in the refuge or distributed directly to those in need in the local communities. Gifts in kind also includes shipping, the use of garages for storage granted by Guildford Borough Council, and the waiver of hire charges for venues used for fund raising activities.

Volunteer help – the value of volunteer help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the trustees’ annual report.

2. Payments

Recognition of payments - payments are recognised when the cash payment is made.

3. Assets

Tangible fixed assets for use by the charity are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year and cost more than £500.

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

Independent Examiner’s Report

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ Project Peru members of On accounts for the year 31 March 2024 Charity 1049413 ended no

Set out on pages 10-11

Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The responsibilities of charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under trustees and examiner section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the 1993 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 43 of the 1993 Act,
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 43(7)(b) of the 1993 Act, and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given examiner’s statement by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention examiner's statement 1.

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the 1993 Act; and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 1993 Act
have not been met; or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Corinne Sloan

Date: 30[th] December 2024

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2024

Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:	Corinne Sloan

	Chartered Accountant

	44 Kensington Park Gardens
	London
	W11 2QT

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.