2024-12-31-accounts

(SUPPORTING THE EDUCATION AND WELFARE NEEDS OF CHILDREN LIVING IN CAMPS FOR DISPLACED PEOPLE ALONG THE THAI/BURMESE BORDERS)

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2025

INTRODUCING FINANCIAL REPORTS FOR 2024

CONTENTS

CHARITY STATEMENT

CHARITY DIRECTOR’S REPORT

OUR WORK IN THE UK

OUR PROJECTS IN CAMP

 FERGY’S PRE-SCHOOL NURSERY

• SANDRA’S PRE-SCHOOL NURSERY

• PARENT’S CENTRE

 GROW TO EAT

TREASURER’S REPORT

FINAL STATEMENT

KIDZ IN KAMPZ

A short reminder of why we are in business: For and on behalf of the Trustees

Kidz in Kampz is a small registered charity managed in total by volunteers. The Charity was set up approximately fifteen years ago in response to the humanitarian needs of IDP's (Internally Displaced People). Historically protracted conflict led to a massive exodus of Karen and other ethnic minorities fleeing from Burma into refugee camps in Northern Thailand. Following all manner of human rights abuse and brutal atrocities perpetrated by the Tatmadaw (the Burmese Army); thousands of innocent civilians are confined in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions for the

foreseeable future. Educational opportunities are few and medical services inadequate. Without adequate rations or land to produce their own food; poor diet and the constant threat of food instability means that the nutritional status of many

children in camp are destined to remain poor and falls below The World Health Organisations guidelines. Vitamin A deficiency is a symptom of a poor diet and evident from the many children with evident eye-sores and other visible signs of infection. Dysentery, Measles, Dengue Malaria

Kidz in Kampz have stood up to the challenge and plays an important role in address some of these problem; we now are responsible for four child-centred support projects in Nupo camp, located in Tak, Northern Thailand. Tak is a vast mountainous province, with strong Burmese and Karen cultural influences. Tak still remains a wild and relatively isolated district along the Burmese border. 'Death Highway' is the only road through Tak Province. It has long been recognised as one of the country's most accident-prone road for traffic fatalities. Approximately 1,200 blind bends and sharp

curves swing dangerously close to deep gorges; the steep road carves an everascending path through the mountains. These sharp inclines can be treacherous during the rainy season. Mist and cloud on the higher elevations, together with wet, slippery surfaces and frequent landslides means that the title 'Death Highway' endures.

Despite many improvements over the years, the journey to camp is still challenging.

Nupo houses an estimated 14,000 displaced people. Difficult access has meant that Nupo has never received the attention that some other camps along the borders have attracted.

Kidz in Kampz have reached out to the vulnerable children living in this overcrowded, unsanitary, isolated place. The details that follow serve as a testimony to our effectiveness in changing these children's lives.

CHARITY DIRECTOR REPORT

An important question for Kidz in Kampz to consider is: REPATRIATION OF THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED LIVING IN CAMPS ALONG THE BURMESE BORDERS.

Intelligence on the ground would indicate that there will be no forced repatriation by the Thai Government. Those who choose to return to Burma will be free to do so without coercion.

Currently just thirty people out of approximately 18,000 living in Nupo Camp have made the transition back to Burma. These are people whose villages, the Tatmadaw (Burmese Army) have not targeted and have families who will support them. Others

are not so lucky, they have no villages to return to - burned to the ground by the Army; the Jungle has reclaimed their homelands. Particularly the women raised such concerns as:

Where will we live? What about schools, clean water, medical facilities, the lack of employment resulting in food insecurities?

Fear is the dominant emotion expressed - the fear of sporadic raids and outbreaks of fighting and the hundreds of unmarked landmines scattered throughout Karen State.

Understandably, they fear for their children's safety and future prospects. The majority of families prefer to stay in camp until UNSAID and other large NonGovernmental Organisations try to negotiate a safe transition for them. This raises challenges for camp residents too: since funding has been redirected into Burma,

many supporting projects have withdrawn from camp. The opportunity for repatriation to a third country is no longer available. Many who grabbed this opportunity were mainly teachers, academics, or former professionals, certainly educated. This has created a 'brain-drain'. Generally, those left behind are the uneducated and poor; those who cannot speak out or support themselves. It is Kidz in Kampz mission to offer places at our projects to children from this group of people - those who are the most needy.

I am pleased to report that for a small voluntary organisation like ours - we are right on target:

Feeding, educating and clothing, three hundred two to four year olds in our two preschool nurseries:

Providing nutritious food, training, washing facilities, clean clothes and hygiene products to the young Mothers attending our Mother and Baby Unit:

Providing food, clothes, educational equipment and hygiene products to 60 young people in our two safe Boarding Houses.

At our 'grow to eat' project initially supported by Hyde Park Methodist Church, we are growing enough organically grown vegetables for three of our projects. The new sprinkler system installed last year has significantly increased our yield. We now have four pigs on two sites; we breed catfish at Fergy's School and have recently introduced a small chicken farm.

Apart from the above --with your help and support:

Kidz in Kampz provides organic- meat, fish, vegetables - and soon chicken and eggs to those in need of nutritious food.

During this visit, land was designated for our Boarding House students to grow their own vegetables.

Slightly outside our normal projects in camp, earlier this year we made the decision to support two exceptional students who were offered the unprecedented opportunity to attend Tak University. Their financial statements and receipts will be available for the Trustees attention at the Annual General Meeting.

I hope this information about our fantastic achievements warms your heart and makes you feel proud of yourselves. I am proud too. I need to pinch myself when I visit camp and realise that we provide everything I see. All I can add is WOW! If you would like to talk to me about anything at all - I'm never very far away.

Thank you all for your loyal and generous support.

Madge

Our Work in the UK

The Shop

Our Shop in Raynel Approach is small and friendly, it provides our main source of income. The shop caters for all demographics within Leeds 16 and the surrounding areas, and is managed in total by volunteers... Donations are carefully sorted, we aim to sell only the best clothes, and household goods (good quality, low price) our mantra.

Our Community Outreach Programme

Kidz in Kampz has been serving the Holt Park community for several years by providing good quality items at affordable prices. We accept referrals from the local community police officers, carers, housing, schools and other interested officials. O.P.A.L (Older People's Aid in Locality) are aware of our services:

We are able to offer warm clothes and boots to the vulnerable elderly in the Leeds 16 and surrounding districts.

We are in a position to donate household goods to those in need i.e. new tenants awaiting Social Security payments, people re-entering the community from prison or rehabilitation centres. Our volunteers are always happy to assist the elderly, blind and disabled customers to locate suitable items. Walking sticks will be donated to those in need on request.

Examples from actual cases we have been involved with:

A local woman was admitted to hospital without adequate clean clothes, we supplied clean nightwear, slippers, underclothes and outdoor clothes for the duration of her stay. We provide underclothes, bedding and incontinence sheets on a regular basis to the elderly and infirm as requested by a local carer.

Full and on-going support has been extended to a local couple who are fostering their three grandchildren after they were rescued from an abusive situation at home. Nursery equipment, a pram, bedding, children's clothes and other essential items are donated on request.

Some referrals to assist newly housed refugees came from Ireland Wood School Social Care Team. Clean donated school uniforms will be donated here to be distributed to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We have helped many people in the area since we started this community Scheme and continue to respond to the most vulnerable and needy in and around our shop in Holt Park.

A full record of our case-load is available on request, although we reserve the right of anonymity for our customers.

We attract customers from well outside our local area, many are unemployed; some are single parents, others just like a bargain. We know from comments and surveys conducted in the shop that we are an asset to the local community and greatly valued by them. We are all volunteers here; we have created a warm and friendly environment for our customers, many elderly and lonely people call in the shop to discuss problems or pop in daily just for a chat, or to ask for help with form filling in. Our survey shows that many consider our volunteers to be their friends, and I know that our volunteers recognise this as an important and necessary service.

Our volunteers are mainly all retired and come from all backgrounds. Working in the shop provided purpose and an opportunity to use skills learned in a previous environment to benefit the Charity. Most enjoy the social contact with colleagues and customers.

Over the years, we have given meaningful employment to people from the refugee community, non-British Nationals who need to improve their English, and in addition to this the disabled. We were participant of the local governments 'back to work scheme' i.e. providing work and experience to people who have been unemployed for two years or more. In providing training and encouraging a renewed work ethic, most of our visitors earned a reference from us and went on to meaningful longterm employment. However, this initiative has now been discontinued by interserve.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is another initiative that we are happy to participate in; we take youngsters from each level of the course.

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Our Projects in Camp

Pre-school nursery 1 - Fergy’s Pre-school nursery 2 - Sandra’s Parents centre (Mother and Baby unit) Grow to eat Project

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FERGY'S PRE-SCHOOL NURSERY

Fergy's has been running for over 15 years now and is well established, one hundred and thirty children aged between two and four attend the nursery daily.

Prime objectives here, are to provide very small children a place to play; serving as respite from the harsh conditions in camp. Learning through play is key to the curriculum, along with basic Health and Hygiene instruction and the provision of nutritious food. The children learn from a variety of activities i.e. story-time with books and puppets, basic

Burmese, English and native Karen is taught by singing and rote exercises. Bricks, Lego and other shape finding activities assist hand eye coordination and manual dexterity. Social integration and team building, along with developing respect for each other is paramount and learned through team dependent games.

The atmosphere in the nursery is highly charged, but controlled. Discipline is fair and non- physical. The thirteen teachers employed at this project (selected from our Boarding Houses if possible), are young, energetic and well motivated. It is obvious that the children are eager to

learn and enjoy attending; they eat well, play hard and look well nourished. On arrival at the Nurseries, the children are provided with fruit on three days and biscuits on the other two.

Three years ago, we added a small separate building to house play equipment i.e. a slide, roundabout and several bikes. This building proved too small to accommodate increased intake. The land adjacent is very uneven making it unsafe for the children to take the equipment outside. The year before last, the playroom was extended. A further two

individual rooms were constructed within the financial year for small group play. We have used one of these rooms to create a small library. The atmosphere in the new library is wonderful. The children can choose a book themselves and relax here whilst looking at new picture books.

SANDRA'S PRE-SCHOOL NURSERY

This project began at the same time as Fergy's, and accommodates 100 children aged between two and four. Both projects follow the same curriculum.

Beneath the building, a small play area houses play equipment similar to Fergy's. Similar problems have arisen in the building i.e. the play area is too small for the numbers attend the project. Previously the building was extended to accommodate a larger play area. Both nursery schools

are impressive, and make a valuable contribution to the health and welfare of the children participating. After leaving the nurseries, there are limited places available at the Baptist Nursery School in camp.

However, the children from our pre-school nurseries are given precedence. I am informed from teaching staff at the Nursery that children who have previously attended our pre-school nurseries, settle down quickly, are well behaved and focused. This is an unforeseen additional bonus.

In addition, the current block teaching methods has been modified in order to manage a higher intake of children. The rotational teaching method, introduced previously appears to be working well. This teaching method is providing variety and stimulation for both pupil and Teacher whilst utilising the available teaching space more efficiently.

Both of our pre-school nurseries are now full to capacity.

The land surrounding both building needs further development in order to grow more produce. The vision is: that the children take an active part in the preparation, maintenance of the growing process to include the care of two pigs and a fishpond; providing much needed protein foods for their own consumption.

The budget supports the provision of clothing twice a year at both sites, and the distribution of warmer clothes as the winter closes in. Stocks of new or clean clothes are available when needed.

PARENT CENTRE

(THE MOTHER AND BABY UNIT - NUPO)

• The prime objective for this initiative was to provide both a social and

• educational environment for young Mothers and their vulnerable babies. Thirty Mothers with their young babies attend the Centre each day for

• approximately one month. The Mothers themselves are then organised into an outreach programme i.e. visiting those who have completed the Course. Mothers who are identified as still vulnerable and unable to manage effectively are invited back to the unit for a further training sessions. Health and personal hygiene education is central to this

• programme; economical food preparation, child development, conflict resolution and social networking are also integral to the curriculum. Providing nutritious food daily within a social setting improves the Mothers' general health and well-being. All our babies are breast-

• feeding. Breast milk is identified as the best way towards normal growth and development, especially for vulnerable and potentially malnourished infants.

• The project also supports a washhouse facility with water piped from the river. Here, Mothers' can wash themselves and bath their babies each day. Soap, soap powder, shampoo, clean towels and clothes are all

• readily available. In addition, we carry a supply of clean clothes. This facility is not only for the Mothers currently participating in the

• programme; we are happy to welcome all those Mothers who have completed the course to return to this facility in order to maintain cleanliness.

Overall, the aims and objectives of the programme are being met. However, places on this course are in high demand as a result we are slightly overcrowded. We have extended the building as far as possible. We are still unable to increase numbers to the unit, but at least we have more room for the existing Mothers in attending the project. The unit is full to capacity and successfully meeting our targets.

'GROW TO EAT PROJECT'

Initially financed by Hyde Park Methodist Church

Lah Kin Moo has proved to be an ideal candidate for the role of Deputy Project Manager, with specific responsibility for developing the 'grow to eat' project. Despite the current drought, plants were still flourishing. The vision behind this is:

The 'grow to eat' project should harness support from all our students and staff to encourage full involvement in producing enough vegetable

products to feed all our dependants. The main problem here is the labour intensive watering methods. Last year we installed a sprinkler system for use during the dry season. This has increased the yield; we produce enough vegetables for three projects. We have two pigs at this site and further two at Fergys. I have initiated a chicken run at this site. When this projects is underway, we will have access to both chicken and eggs to add to the children diet.

We are meeting our targets

• It is clear that both our mission statement and our aims and objectives are being reached We are making a big difference to people's lives in Nupo Camp. However, we should not overlook the fact that there is absolute poverty, food insecurity and abysmal living conditions for

• thousands of others living in Nupo Camp. Without any doubt, our help will be needed here for the foreseeable future.

TREASURERS REPORT

Bank Balance	31/12/2024	A/C 1	£66,172.55
Bank Balance	31/12/2024	A/C 2	£35,211.22
			£101,383.77
INCOME
Shoptakings(cash)	£20,342.45
Card taking	£25,925.40
Donations	£336.00
Ebay	£1,780.02
Rags	£2,186.72
Refund	£338.98
			£50,909.57
EXPENSES
LCC	£169.66
Card machine	£524.89
Ebay	£155.04
E.ON	£1,531.81
Mobile mini	£938.51
Busiess Stream	£0.00
Scotish waters	£261.82
Unicom	£1,068.51
Amazon(stationery)	£1,942.90
AWM	£1,181.22
pettycash	£591.00
Labour	£8,757.00
Campmoney	£34,110.00
Buildingworks / Safetychecks	£1,697.32
Insurance	£647.68
Returned,sent byaccident	£250.00
Christmas do	£55.00
			£53,882.36
SUMMARY
StartingBalance	£66,172.55
Income	£50,909.57
Expenditure	£53,882.36
End Balance	£63,199.76

We are meeting our targets It is clear that both our mission statement and our aims and objectives are being reached We are making a big difference to people's lives in Nupo Camp.

However, we should not overlook the fact that there is absolute poverty, food insecurity and abysmal living conditions for thousands of others living in Nupo Camp. Without any doubt, our help will be needed here for the foreseeable future.