2025-03-31-accounts - Project Peru

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Project Peru

Thirty-third Annual Report

and

Accounts

1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025

Registered Charity Number: 1049413

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

Trustees’ report

This report covers the activities of Project Peru in the UK and Peru from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025.

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.

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

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

and fun to those in need in a country where much of the population still exists in extreme poverty.

More specifically:

We support a children's refuge which we founded and have developed and supported with our funding over the years, in one of the desert shanty-town areas 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
When possible, we send aid shipments ensuring that they reach their destination and are put to immediate use within the 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 the refuge is our core activity. We are indebted to all our volunteers and supporters in the UK and in Peru and especially to the huge faith in our work that is demonstrated by our many individual long-term 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 can through our contacts with supporters, principally via email, and on our Facebook pages.

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

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

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 funding the running of the 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 the refuge in Lima
we have provided funds to maintain and refurbish the existing buildings in Peru, to further develop the facilities in the 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 the 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 the 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 the refuge
Meet the educational costs for our children particularly, and to continue to support the further education of some of our young adults after they have left school, including where appropriate their access to university courses
Continue to develop the structural facilities at the 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

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

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

Project Peru’s fundraising events and activities in the UK

Sales of Peruvian crafts We held our regular craft stall in Guildford in June 2024 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 number 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 were able to restart this process during the previous year and have two international groups of volunteers due in Peru in summer 2025, one on a building project in the community and another with an optometry project.

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. It also enables us to make further contributions to our work in the wider community.

Container shipment to Peru
Shipments to Peru had also been stopped by the pandemic. In normal times we have received large quantities of donated goods in the UK 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 have distributed goods 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 restarted and the first shipment was sent in June 2023, but it was not possible to send a consignment this year.

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

Achievements and performance in Peru in 2024-5 (based on reports from our Director in Peru, Karina Alza Gomez, translated from Spanish)

The year 2024-5 for Proyecto Perú has been a time of learning, attainments and experiences which has filled us with pride. We started the year with 35 children, all from families living in extreme poverty and vulnerability. 12 of these children go to secondary school, 18 go to primary school and five are in nursery. Since we began, our agreement has always been and still is, to offer the children a safe home with education, health, fun and emotional support.

We started in March 2024 with celebrations for the Día de la Mujer [Women’s Day] during which the children and teenagers composed signs in praise of the value of women’s role in society. But this was only the beginning of a year full of significant events.

In the field of education, we continued strengthening the field of ‘educational support’ which is offered to all the children at whatever level they are in school, while being a great help to their teachers. A standout fact is the graduation of several of our children from primary school and we are especially proud of one of our teenagers from secondary level who had the honour of winning a grant [Beca 18] from the Peruvian government and is following a career in law at the University of Applied Sciences [UPC]. This last fact fills us with hope because it means that our children’s dreams can be transformed into reality.

In order to reinforce our educational tools, in April we acquired three computers and two printers for use in the library, in the psychology department and for our social services department in the refuge. These new acquisitions not only have improved the administrative department but also helped with our children’s learning.

In the area of health, we have worked with the local health centre on the development of four campaigns; two on oral hygiene, another on height, weight, nutrition and vaccinations, as well as organising a campaign to acquire free electronic DNI [personal identity] documents. Several teenagers from the government’s ‘Special Protection Unit/ Unidad de Protección Especial’ received treatment from their Mental Health Unit as part of their recovery after breakdowns in their family relationships. One of our most challenging moments was in July when one of our girls had to go to hospital. The team from our refuge were with her every day including nights to ensure she made a positive recovery. As the hospital was a state hospital we also had to provide food for our patient,

Emotional well-being and basic training are keys to life in the refuge. We organise workshops in music, dance, theatre, reading, sport, hairdressing, dressmaking and gardening, which not only develop skills but also selfesteem and self confidence in both children and teenagers. Apart from this we celebrate special days, such as a party for three teenagers’ 15[th] birthdays,

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

their ‘quinceñeara’ , a Latin American traditional celebration for girls, full of happiness and symbolism.

In the field of support to the wider community we carried out several activities giving social support such as, for example, in May, travelling to visit communities in the Andes in Ayacucho and Andahuaylas, and in July going to Cuyacu, a village community in the Tingo Maria area. In all places we gave out donations to children and adults alike.

In November we went away to Churín for team building sessions for all the staff, which was very positive for all, strengthening all the links between and among staff members.

One of our most significant experiences was our supportive Christmas, at which time not only did we celebrate with our children but we also included 300 children from the shanty town community near us, as well as 300 people from the local soup kitchens, showing that the refuge continues to extend its work beyond our walls.

During January, while our children were with their families the staff in the refuge supported adults from the community with daily lunches. We also took advantage of this time to paint walls, repair furniture and organise different areas in order to ensure that our refuge is always at its best.

In the field of the management of an institution we had monthly training organised by the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations [ MIMP] which served to strengthen the workers’ efforts. In December following the constant unannounced visits by the Ministry we received a most surprising piece of news; both the Ministry and the Ombudsman’s Office [ Fiscalia _ Ministerio Público y Poder Judicial ] congratulated us and renewed our certificate of registration; thus, we were the first Residential Reception Centre to formally achieve a dual mode of working, enabling us to receive children both through the government’s Special Protection Unit of MIMP [UPE-Unidad de Protección Especial] as well as through our own family agreements. Basically, this is now an experimental or pilot project, but in fact this is how we have been working for several years.

Our successful team-work is reflected in our links with external institutions and businesses. The Puente Piedra local authority supports us with some donations of food. The Food Bank as well as KFC both provide us with weekly supplies which provide a significant saving of funds. As do Aliados Perú and the supermarket Metro with further donations of food.

Amoria Bond from UK visited us again with a team of volunteers to build small wooden houses in the shanty towns, while enjoying recreational activities, outings and a meal out with the children. White Lion Foods have also cooperated regularly with donations of food hampers at Christmas which are distributed widely among the staff, the children’s families and in the local

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

community. Loyal local supporters such as Violeta and David have supported us with donations of new trainers and various other donated items.

We must mention too our organic kitchen garden which has produced lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, bananas and much more to ensure that the children have a fresh and healthy diet. This initiative not only helps with sustainability but also teaches the children the value of work and a healthy life-style.

As for our staff team we continue to work with our three house mothers [madres guías], teachers, our psychologist, our social worker, kitchen and maintenance staff, workshop leaders and gardeners; all of whom keep an eye on the children day to day. The way everyone works together is encouraged by staff training sessions, planning meetings, outings and leisure activities: all of this helps with facing our daily challenges.

Considering all we have been through we can say that this year has been full of challenges, learning curves and many achievements. We do not talk about limitations but of the opportunities which encourage us to grow. As a refuge our Casa Hogar as a whole makes us feel that with every step made, every child who progresses and every family that grows, these are the real goals in life. Our challenge is to go on adding more, to keep on dreaming and to go on transforming reality for everyone who needs it most.

For this reason our plans for next year are clear: to extend our resources, strengthen our psychological support for the children and maintain and improve our physical spaces to continue to make them more secure and welcoming.

With pride and gratitude, we thank you all for making this possible. Your support is reflected in the smiles of each and every child in the hope that is always being renewed and with the conviction that we are building a better future.

Our Committee in Peru has continued as in recent years, the committee being Karina Alza Gomez as Director and Legal Representative of Project Peru, Timoteo Ramos, Rosa Romero . and Gladys Espinoza.

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 the 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

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

To provide educational support and to improve educational opportunities for our younger children, with more extracurricular activities where possible
To work towards assuring a better and more secure future for the children as they reach their late teens and need to run their own lives
Where possible to secure access to national government grants in Peru for funds for higher education for disadvantaged people, especially individual grants under the Peruvian government’s Beca-18 scheme to enable our young adults 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 the children’s refuge in Peru
maintenance and upkeep work on the buildings at the 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
In particular, to encourage others to undertake fundraising 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 fundraising activities will remain similar to those outlined in the above report.

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

Financial report by the Treasurer – to 31 March 2025

Results for the year

Total receipts for the year were £70,447 which was £37,126 lower than last year’s level of £107,583. Overhead costs were, as always, kept to a minimum and £75,000 (2024 - £83,000) 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 £33,704 was raised from voluntary receipts of which £15,157 (2024 - £17,628) was from regular donations. Last year voluntary receipts were £54,972 and included a one-off donation of £20,000.

Fundraising : activities include fundraising 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 £25,396 (2024 - £42,505). Apart from one-off donations seen last year fundraising has been generally slower this year.

Trading activities: income from selling Peruvian goods at various craft markets throughout the year raised over £2,000 which was broadly in line with levels seen in the previous year.

Analysis of payments

Direct charitable payments included £75,000 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, fundraising activities and the promotion of the charity.

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

Accounts for the 12 months to 31 March 2025

Receipts and Payments

	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total funds	Last year
	£	£	£	£
Receipts
Voluntary receipts	33,704		33,704	54,972
Activities for generating funds	25,087		25,087	42,505
Trading activities	2,562		2,562	2,853
Bank interest	9,094		9,094	7,253
Total receipts	70,447		70,447	107,583


Payments
Direct charitable expenses	75,631		75,631	84,636
Cost of generating voluntary funds	1,898		1,898	3,172
Fundraising costs	981		981	1,005
Total payments	78,510		78,510	88,813

Net of receipts and payments	(8,063)		(8,063)	18,770

Transfers between funds
Cash funds last year end	274,150	80,000	354,150	335,380
Cash funds this year end	266,087	80,000	346,087	354,150

Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted funds	Total
	£	£	£
Cash funds
Current accounts	101,301		101,301
Deposit accounts	164,786	80,000	244,786
Total	266,087	80,000	346,087

Signed on behalf of all trustees

C Hudson [signed]

Chair Carole Hudson Dated: 08.01.2026

H Cooke [signed] Treasurer Helena Cooke

Dated: 08.01.2026

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

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 fundraising 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 2025

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 2025 Charity 1049413 ended No

Set out on pages 11-12

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: 22 December 2025

PROJECT PERU Annual report – for the year to 31 March 2025

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.