RWANDA GROUP TRUST (A charitable trust registered in England and Wales under number 1074656)
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES For The year ended 31[st] December 2020
OBJECTIVES OF THE TRUST
The trust was established by deed on December 9[th] 1998 to advance the education and relieve the poverty and sickness of people in Rwanda. The Trust took on the work of its predecessor organisation, The Rwanda Group, which had been working with the same objectives since 1983.
RWANDA
Rwanda is a small landlocked country in Central Africa. It has a predominantly rural population of approximately 12.5 million people. It is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa.
2020 saw the 26th anniversary of the 1994 genocide when an estimated one million people lost their lives. Much progress has been made in overcoming this disaster but there is still much more work required to complete the task.
Rwanda is a poor country with the bulk of its population living in considerable need. World Bank figures show the average life expectancy at birth as approx. 69 years with 24 out of every 1000 children dying before reaching their fifth birthday.
TRUSTEES
The trustees are responsible for the assets, administration and work of the Trust.
Mr Joseph Bamber together with his wife Rosemary, R.I.P., and fellow trustee Sister Mary McCarren FCJ, began the work in 1983 after a visit to Rwanda and seeing the difficulties under which its people laboured.
There are currently 6 trustees who meet together at least once per quarter. The current chairperson of the trust is Mr Joseph Bamber. The other trustees are Bernadette Roberts, Veronica Sanders, Mark Ibison, Myra Gregory and Michael Donlan.
STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TRUST
The donor strategy is to fill some of the many gaps in provision left by the major aid charities with relatively small but effective gifts. The help given is designed to be in the nature of help to friends by friends. This is being accomplished by –
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1) Building friendships with communities, schools, individuals and families in need and providing help to them in this spirit.
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2) Establishing committees of Rwandans in the provinces of Rwanda to advise on need, opportunities to help and to assist in the distribution of grants.
The trust works to achieve these objectives through the excellent cooperation of 4 committees – in Kigali, Cyangugu, Gikongoro and Nyundo. The funding strategy of the Trust is to make Rwanda, its people and their difficulties known to wider audiences and to accept donations of cash and goods for resale from those sympathetic to the objectives of the Trust.
The administrative strategy is to keep the work of the Trust as simple as possible and incur a minimum of expense in carrying it out.
ACTIVITIES
The year 2020 proved to be a year of considerable change for the Trust. In April the Covid 19 pandemic forced the decision to permanently close our charity shop after 20 years of successful trading. This of course resulted in a serious reduction in income and the decision was only made after much discussion. The trustees wish to take this opportunity to thank our customers and also give a sincere thank you to our marvellous volunteers who kept it thriving for many years.
At the same time the pandemic was also exacerbating the plight of the poor in Rwanda and we were determined to keep the charity viable. The remaining stock was sold on the pavement outside the shop as well as at car boot sales. Other fundraising events have included a sponsored walk, projects to encourage donations for the purchase of goats and the production of a quarterly newsletter sent to an ever increasing mailing list. A grant of £10,000 from H.M. Govt. was also a great help.
Grants and Expenditure
In 2020 the Trust made grants of £24,000 to the four committees in Rwanda for distribution to the poorest in their communities as deemed appropriate by them and in accordance with the trust's objectives. The Trust also made grants of £6,920 towards various projects in Rwanda and a further £2,300 specifically for pandemic relief.
The net income of the Trust was £36,535 a decrease of approx £12,200 on 2019, a total residual bank balance of £8,283 was carried forward to 2021. The total expenses in 2020 were approx £2,730 a reduction of £4,670 on 2019.
Fundraising
This year the major income sources of the Trust have been cash donations, shop takings and the H.M. Govt. grant.
Cash donations for 2020 amounted to a total of £14,280 an increase of approx £2,000 on last year. The proceeds from the Trust's shop were unsurprisingly greatly reduced, due to its April closure at approx £8,280 a reduction of £22,300.
COMMUNICATION & FUTURE PLANS
Clearly the Covid 19 pandemic this year has caused a marked change in the trust’s activities and consequently has meant a change in emphasis for its plans for the future.
It is hoped with Covid 19 restrictions permitting to continue to sell some donated items through such as car boot sales and seasonal fairs.
Also we have plans to develop our website to increase its versatility for information giving and easier ways to donate to fundraising events which take place. We will continue to produce information leaflets and submit articles in local magazines and newspapers as well as advertising in supermarkets and churches throughout the Lancaster diocese.
Donations can continue to be given through the methods explained on our website at:- Rwandagrouptrust.blogspot.com
We are always looking for potential opportunities to promote our work in the wider community.
The trustees agreed, as last year, that our priority will continue to be our ongoing commitments and only to take on new projects when funds are available.
KEEPING IN TOUCH
The address of the Trust is: 17 Mayfield Road Ashton Preston, PR2 1EX
Email: rwandagrouptrust.org@gmail.com Website: rwandagrouptrust.blogspot.com
This Report was approved by the Trustees & Signed on their behalf by the Chairperson.
Joseph Bamber 20[th] April 2021
RWANDA GROUP TRUST
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 2020
RECEIPTS
| Balances as at 1st January 2020 Santander current account Santander savings account Shop takings Donations Gift Aided Donations Non Gift Aided Donation Legacy Gift Aided Small Donations Gift Aid Refund Recycling Bank Interest Repayment Bulb Energy Preston City Council Refund HM Govt. Covid 19 Grant Total Income PAYMENTS Bank Charges Preston City Council Shop Insurances Rwandan Projects Rwanda Committees Rwanda Covid Relief Shop Rental Electricity United Utilities Water Total Expenses Bank Balances as at 31st December 2020 Santander current account Santander savings account Total Bank Balances |
£ £ 789.94 6,911.31 8,277.57 10,555.00 2,728.00 1,000.00 675.57 2,036.42 1,055.20 8.73 109.97 89.04 10,000.00 36,535.50 36,535.50 125.00 00.02 264.33 6,920.00 24,000.00 2,300.00 1,906.68 256.00 180.92 35,952.95 35,952.95 8,263.77 20.03 8,283.80 |
£ 7,701.25 44,236.75 44,236.75 |
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Ms A M Waddingham Independent Examiner Date
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts •• Section A Independent Examiner 5 Report Report to the trusteesl members of Chari'y On accounts for the year ended Charity no Irf any) Set out on pages /1 /k>k/ l <JmorryLYr Io ID¢lLe the paoe numb&r% JI additiondl shEtrLhls, I report to the trustees on my examination of the aounts of the above d)arity (kne Trust-) for the year ended Da ,' MPI.I I YYYY. Rosponslbilitiès and As the charity trustees of the Trust. you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts In alxordance the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 rtt Acr). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 A- t and in carrying out rny examination. I have followed the applicable Dlreclions given by the Charity Cammission under section 145(SXb) of the A( t. I have compleied my examinatio.i. I confim that no material r4atters have come to my a,tention (other thap that disclosed below.) in cornection with the examinalirm which gives me -Ause to believe that in, any In8terial respect." accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the ac(A)unts do not accord with the aoUnting record8 Independant examlnerfs statement I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the exaniinalion to which attention should be drawn in orGer to enable a proper undetstanding of the accounts to be aChed. ' Please delete the words in the )rackets rfthey do not 8ppIy. Signed: Date: Name: Relevant prolesslonal quallfication{s) or body (If any): Address: