Wonder of wonders thanks to the joys of modern travel, the easing of covid restrictions and being able to finally to obtain a POC card (permitting visa free entry to Pakistan) I was at last able to visit Karachi.
The good news is that under the guidance of our manager in Karachi Mr. Asif Raza Al-Ansar is thriving. Mine was a short visit, there were people I was unable to meet and places I didn’t have time to see but at least it enabled me to view at first hand the progress being made.
I wasn’t able to visit any of the schools where Al Ansar is working due to time constraints in what was a very short visit but despite much disruption and closure due to covid Al-Ansar continues to fund the teachers who run the computer labs in several schools. The ongoing work in support of the underfunded government schools in Orangi Town continues under our agreed MoU.
Motor Bikes remain the main form of transport for many people and Al Ansar has been able to donate motor bikes to five families to facilitate travel to work. The bikes remain the property of AlAnsar but are a huge benefit to those using them
An important part of the history of Al-ansar began in 2006 with Iffat visiting an eye shop in Badhurabad. Here she met the owner optometrist Mr Ibrahim Barry who explained that his parents Nasim and Iqbal were recently deceased and he was looking for an opportunity to do some charitable work in their memory. Introductions and a speedily arranged visit to Orangi Town followed and the rest, as they say is history! A huge commitment by Mr Barry (IB for short) has led IB to make the long journey for the weekly Nasim Iqbal Eye Clinic countless eye medicines and spectacles dispensed and approximately 10000 cataract surgeries all fee at point of delivery to needy patients Thousands of eye patients have good reason to be thankful for the presence of Al-Ansar and in particular for the dedication of IB in his quest to illuminate cataract problems form Karahi.
Surgeries are mostly performed in our Orangi town facilities with sterilisation taking place the day before and a surgeon visiting from the government Civil Hospital.
Karachi relies heavily on volunteers and charitable organisations to do much of the work that the National Health Service would provide in UK. IB would be one of those dedicated volunteers who has my utmost respect and admiration
If all life hangs by a thread then this is doubly true for thalassemia patient Iqra who has relied on AlAnsar to sponsor her treatment for the last 12 years. I was able to meet Iqra who doesn’t seem to have grown much but seems a happy child playing with her cousins.
Treatment medication to control iron levels and regular blood transfusions doesn’t come cheap and increases as the patient gets older. The good news for Iqra is that where a few years ago life expectancy was such that she would not have lived much beyond her fifteenth birthday with modern medication and treatment there is no reason why she cannot live happy and fulfilling life.
Iqra’s family is very poor and the means to finance her treatment well beyond them so for me to once again meet Iqra and her mother is to really appreciate what Al-Ansar is all about.
The Reverse Osmosis (RO)plant continues to function processing over 3000 litres (approximately 660 gallons) of drinking water per day (which is stored and dispensed from two overhead tanks) Each family can take 30 litres per day at a cost of Rs1 for 2 litres although many do not pay. This money goes toward the salary of the staff member deputed to dispense the water and manage the site. Some families take water every day while those living further away may take several days supply at one time The RO process also generates 50/60% saline water which is also stored in our
underground tank and can be used for certain cleaning functions - no charge is made for this water. Most families rely on water delivered by tanker trucks expensive and often of poor quality which makes our IO plant a most valuable service.
The Hali Library has taken on a new lease of life with Asif offering free computer education. The uptake has been amazing with 90 students completing the first three months course and an equal number half way through the second course. There is also a long waiting list for the next course.
The course is run by a qualified teacher who also prepared the syllabus, using a network of sixteen lap tops. The success can be measured in the fact that over 95% of those enrolled completed he course. An advanced course for those students showing the most aptitude is at the planning stage.
At a function to mark completion of the first course former Mayor of Karachi Mustafa Kamal presented certificates of participation to all students completing the first threemonth course.
One fantastic offshoot of this course is that seven students have with al-Ansar support obtained places on Hunnar Foundation vocational training courses. Hunnar Foundation is very much at the forefront of organisation offering vocational training facilities. Students will on completion of their courses have gained skills that will enable them to earn a living and play a useful role in their communities
Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure) for the year ending 31st March 2023
|**Incoming Resources**
General Donations
Inland Revenue Tax reclaimed (Gift Aid)
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES
+b/f from 2021-22
TOTAL DISPOSABLE FUNDS
**Charitable Expenditure**
Expenditure in Pakistan*
Secretarial expenses
Other UK expenses
Bank Charges
TOTAL CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE
Total disposable Funds -
Total Charitable Expenditure
Carried Forward to 2023-24
|**£**
58583.45
6866.25
65449.70
20829.54
86279.24
73700.00
900.00
1154.85
318.23
76073.08
86279.24
76073.08
10206.16|
|---|---|
* Please see attached sheet for details for details of expenditure in Pakistan
Al-Ansa
Education and
Welfare Trust
Reg.Charlty No. 1089280
##
|SectionA|lndependentExaminer's Report|
|---|---|
|Reportto thetrustees/membersof|(harityName
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|andexaminer|trusteesconsiderthatanauditisnot required for this yearundersection144 ofthe|
||Charities Act 2011(theCharitiesAct)andthatan independent examinationisneeded.|
||Itismy responsibilityto:|
||.examine theaccountsunder section145oftheCharities Act,|
||.tofollow theprocedureslaid downinthegeneralDirectionsgivenbytheCharity|
||Commission(under section 145(5Xb) oftheCharitiesAct),and|
||.tostatewhetherparticular mattershave cometomy attention.|
|Basisofindependentexaminer's|Myexamination wascarriedoutin accordancewithgeneralDirectionsgivenbythe|
|statement|Charity Commission.An examinationincludes areview of the accountingrecords|
||keptbythe charity andacomparisonoftheaccountspresentedwiththoserecords.|
||It alsoincludes cons;derationof any unusual items ordisclosures intheaccounts, and|
||seeking explanations from the trusteesconcerninganysuchmatters.The procedures|
||undertakendonot provide all the evidencethat wouldberequired inanaudit,and|
||consequentlynoopinionisgivenasto whethertheaccountspresenta'trueandfair'|
||viewand the reportislimitedto those matters set outinthestatement below.|
|lndependentexaminer'sstatement|ln connectionwithmy examination, no matterhas cometomyattention(other than|
||thatdisclosedbelow"):|
||(1)whichgivesmereasonablecausetobelievethatin,any materialrespect,the|
||requirements:|
||.tokeep accounting records in accordancewithsection130 ofthe|
||Charities Act;|
||.toprepare accountswhichaccordwith theaccountingrecordsand comply|
||withtheaccountingrequirementsoftheCharitiesAct have not been met;or|
||(2)to which, in my opinion, attention shouldbedrawn in ordertoenableaproper|
||understanding of theaccountstobe reached.|
||"Pleosedeletethewordsinthe brocketsiftheydonotopply.|
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