2022-12-31-accounts - Seeway Trust

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Seeway Trust Charity No: 1074868

Ford House Eggesford Chulmleigh Devon EX18 7JY

Trustees’ report and financial statements for the year ended 31[st] December 2022

Charity Name :

Seeway Trust

1047868

Charity No :

Principal Address : Financial Year :

Ford House, Eggesford, Devon EX18 7JY 1 January 2022 to 31[st] December 2022

Charity Trustees :

Name Office Mr George Bainborough Chair Mrs Sally Bainborough Secretary Mr Anthony Cordon Treasurer Mr Frank Afriyie Trustee

The charity is controlled by a Board of Trustees who are appointed by a Resolution raised and approved by a majority of the existing Trustees.

Professional Advisers :

Bankers: The Co-operative Bank plc PO Box 250, Delf House, Skelmersdale, WN8 6WT Independent Examiner: Mr Magnus Proctor Lindisfarne, Landkey Road, Barnstaple, Devon EX32 9BW

Report of the Trustees For the year ended 31[st] December 2022

The Trustees present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022. The Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report are set out on page 1.

History, Objectives and Activities of Seeway Trust

Seeway Trust is a Christian Charity constituted under a Trust Deed dated 28[th] February 1999. The Trust is dedicated to rescuing orphaned and abandoned children who live in impoverished areas of the world. The principal aim is to provide these children with food, a home as part of a caring family, a good education and a future in line with the Trust’s objectives which are:

the advancement of the Christian religion world-wide;
the relief of persons who are in need, hardship or distress and
the advancement of education.

This is being achieved by developing strong links with long-term missionaries to identify areas of need, establish orphanages, build and equip medical and education facilities for the public benefit. Where appropriate, non-government organisations (NGO’s) are set up with a voluntary board of directors made up of key local members of the community who work with the missionary to oversee the day to day operations, ensure the funds are used for their designated purpose and report back to Seeway Trust.

The service offered is available to orphaned or abandoned children regardless of race, gender, disability or religion. Projects are developed with regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and the Trustees ensure that all work undertaken is in line with the Trust’s charitable objects and aims.

Both the initial donation and additional amounts donated since have been under terms which allow the Trustees to either retain the amounts as capital or to spend them. The Trust deed gives the Trustees the power to apply the funds in such a manner as they think fit for the benefit of any charitable object or purpose. The Trustees identify projects and organisations they wish to support and the Trust is not in a position to make grants to organisations who apply speculatively.

Governance and Management

The trust deed provides for a minimum of 3 Trustees. Where there is a requirement for new Trustees, these would be identified and appointed by the remaining Trustees. The Trustees are unpaid and details of Trustee expenses and any related party transactions are disclosed in the notes to the accounts.

All Trustees are subject to a check through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Chair of Trustees is responsible for the induction of any new Trustee which involves awareness of a Trustee’s responsibilities, the governing document, administrative procedures, the history and approach of the charity. A new Trustee receives copies of the previous year’s annual report and accounts and a copy of the Charity Commission leaflet ‘The Essential Trustee: What You Need to Know’ together with copies of the previous year’s minutes of Trustee meetings.

Public Beneft

The Charity acknowledges its requirement to demonstrate clearly that it must have charitable purposes or “aims” that are for the public benefit. Details of how the Charity has achieved this are provided in the Trustees’ report. The Trustees confirm

that they have paid due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit before deciding what activities the Charity should undertake.

Procedures and policy for grant making

Seeway Trust is committed to providing long-term financial support to ensure the continuity of care for orphaned and abandoned children – currently in Ghana, Tanzania, Ukraine and Zimbabwe. To this end, the Trustees meet regularly to receive reports and review the level of support based on donations received to date. The Trustees obtain written reports on the actual use of the grants given and the achievements made. Grants to Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ghana are made monthly. Grants to the Ukraine are made annually.

Seeway Trust depends on regular donations to provide consistent support to ensure the continuity of care for orphaned and abandoned children. The success of the work is based on and determined by the relationships between Seeway Trust UK, the existing teams in Ghana, Tanzania, the Ukraine and Zimbabwe and the donors.

While the Trustees are deeply moved by the plight of children in war torn countries, the Trust does not have the resources available to provide emergency funding.

Risk Assessment

The Trust is aware that the worldwide activities are subject to significant risks and therefore review these risks on an on-going basis to ensure adequate systems and procedures are in place. If key objectives are to be achieved, the trustees accept that the management of risk is inevitable. The risks that have been identified are:

Financial - sufficient funds are available to fulfill the aims of the charity.
Operational - risks to volunteers, particularly in areas of unrest.
Achievement - ensuring our aims and objectives and expectations of supporters are met.

In reviewing these risks, we ensure:

Close monitoring of cash flow and adherence to agreed budgets
Regular monitoring of projects oversees through key reporting and visits
Regular assessment to ensuring existing and new projects conform to the overall objectives of the charity.

Achievements and performance of the Trust

The Trust continues to work in partnership within Africa and the Ukraine.

1. GHANA

The Countryside Children’s Home in Bawjiase has been supported by the Trust since 2000. As each young person has either left the Home to pursue further education or to attain work, those who have moved on still revisit the Home and the Trust retains an interest in their personal development. Consequently a small monthly gift is given to the Head of the Home for general use.

SEEWAY Trust with the CTIW (Children & Teens in Worship). The team has been registered as an NGO in Ghana from February 2020 and seeks to improve the educational and spiritual development of children. See the separate report on Nemanwura.

See also on You Tube: Seeway Soundbites March and September 2022 the Seeway Academy.

The North (working with Christ Love Community Church) CLCC. In 2022 the Trust can report that the previously established projects of 2020-21 continue on.

Specific funding for support toward an Agricultural manager to oversee the continued success of the projects have been given by the Trust for 2022.

The SEEWAY Academy Nemanwura.

To date, this Academy has been the biggest project undertaken by Seeway Trust in the 22 years that it has been working in Ghana.

Birthed out of a God given vision to the Chair of Trustees, and profoundly funded in its entirety in a miraculous way, the town of Nemanwura can now proudly claim a ten classroom School from Kindergarten age to upper Primary school age, equipped and staffed. The Trust is especially pleased with the appointment of the Academy Manager, who was a rescued child in the Bawjiase Childrens Home 20 years ago, who went on to complete her education, obtain a degree and is now married. The CTIW NGO with whom the Trust is in partnership, equipped the Academy with desks and chairs collected and shipped to Ghana from the Netherlands, and IT equipment obtained and set up.

2. TANZANIA

The Partnership enjoyed with Seeway Tanzania has now been in existence since 2005. It is a hugely successful work in northern Tanzania whereby rescued children of all ages to adulthood have been supported, cared for and educated. Families have also been supported by the building of goat sheds and giving other stock so as to grow on and bring extra incomes in for themselves.

Gradual visits have been reintroduced to Seeway Tanzania in 2022 by other educational partnerships.

The JSS (Junior Secondary School) and Residential Nursery unit have both gone from strength to strength since its opening.

The Seeway Tanzania web site offers all the up to date information for anyone to visit.

3.UKRAINE

In the twenty one years that Seeway Trust has been involved and supporting Pastor Lena and the Ozerne Church in western Ukraine, 2022 has undoubtedly been the most difficult and soul searching year for the Trust in geographical terms and for those with whom we work in trying to maintain the essential feeding and support of both children and adults amid what has become a war-torn country, devastated from the east to the west, and from the north to the south.

Telecommunications have been sparse and for short periods only, however with much prayer and fore sight the Trust has managed to continue to support this precious work. To date we have received news that, all those with whom Seeway is part of, remain as well as can be and continue by Gods grace to be a blessing in their community.

4.ZIMBABWE

It has indeed been a pleasure to welcome Mark Nicholson to the UK during 2022 for a support and update visit to those who so wonderfully give of themselves to fund Mark and his family in the Rehoboth Ministry,based in Bulawayo.

We all join together in thanking God for continued provision both here in the UK and in Zimbabwe, so as to enable the Nicholson children to be fed, loved, and educated to the best of their abilities, but also as the family receive, so they give of themselves and their resources to support others in their community in dire need too. Through their Church Mark and Dorcas are very involved with the homeless and hungry, the social welfare and educational committees in schools of which Dorcas has often been a leading influence for change.

In summary

Abroad, Seeway Trust continues to develop relationships with like-minded indigenous people in developing countries who have a heart to “rescue children”. We are extremely grateful to all our supporters who are so generous in their giving. Through their financial support, we are able to provide vulnerable children with a safe home, a hope and a future, while showing them the practical outworking of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ thus enabling them to become responsible adults, capable of caring for their own families and being an influence for good in their communities.

At home, Seeway continues to work with individuals and local Churches who practically partner with the Trust to enable so much more to be done. On a personal level, micro financial initiatives have yielded funds, used to further the work of the Trust, eg supporting a pastor in Pakistan to enable families to be bought out of slavery and given an opportunity with support and help, to be self sufficient and live a dignified life once again, - rescued children unto the Lord.

Contributions made by volunteers – The Trust is very grateful to all its volunteers who provide their time and expertise.

Benefit in kind – Office space is donated with a contribution towards the telephone/internet costs being the only liability. Heat, light and water are included in the donated space.

Future plans

The Trustees intend to continue providing personal grants in a similar way while retaining flexibility as to the timing, and scale of grant making.

The Trust seeks to continue its mandate of being “called to rescue children” regardless of age.

Statement of Trustees' responsibilities

Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which show a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and its financial activities for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operational existence.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Independent Examiner

The Trustees intend to invite the existing independent examiner to undertake the independent examination of the Trust in the following year.

Signed on behalf of the Trustees

………………………………… Mr George Bainborough (Chair)

………………………………… Date