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2025-09-30-accounts

Registered number 05237506

Asha Trust (Sri Lanka) Annual Review 1 October 2024 30 September 2025

Asha Trust (Sri Lanka) Company Information

Asha Trust (Sri Lanka) is a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

The company is a registered charity.

Trustees/Directors at the date of this report

Glenda Abbott Radhika Bynon Stephen Bynon Stephen Carrick-Davies Katherine De Krester Julie Thompson

Secretary and registered office: Glenda Abbott 141 Capel Road, Forest Gate, London E7 0JT

Bankers: HSBC, South Woodford, London E18

Registered numbers:

Registered Company number 05237506 Registered Charity number 1108536

Governance and management

Asha Trust (Sri Lanka) is a volunteer led organisation, having no paid staff, but an excess of goodwill and commitment from many. There has been wealth of knowledge, inspiration, ideas and hard work both from those in the UK and those in Sri Lanka. This support is Asha Trust’s greatest asset. Asha Trust supports staff in Sri Lanka including project managers, teachers and support staff who are employed by the projects where they work and are not employees of Asha Trust.

Methods of recruitment and appointment of trustees

New Trustees are recruited following their recommendation by existing Trustees or members of the company. Their election must be confirmed by the members of the company in a general meeting.

Public Benefit

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. The beneficiaries of the charity are those who partake in the activities described below. No fees are charged to the participators in these activities. The Trustees do not consider that the charities activities include any potential detriment or harm or that they convey any significant incidental private benefit.

Over the reporting period, the we have continued to strengthen our partnership with the Children, Adolescents and Family Service (CAFS) to deliver meaningful, measurable public benefit to children, adolescents, and families in Badowitha a challenging community on the boarders of Colombo. The Centre’s work has focused on improving educational access, strengthening emotional wellbeing,

enhancing community cohesion, and building local capacity. The activities described demonstrate a consistent commitment to the Charity Commission’s public benefit requirement: providing services that directly improve the lives of vulnerable children while strengthening the community structures around them.

Objectives and Activities

Our Aims

Asha Trust seeks to establish authentic partnerships with local organisations and staff in order to tackle poverty, hardship and distress amongst children and adults in Sri Lanka. Our Objectives

Within Sri Lanka we are working towards:

In the UK we:

 advise and support people that travel to Sri Lanka where they are able to establish relationships with local workers and use their skills for the common good.

Asha Community Centre

Our centre exists to promote the welfare, education, and empowerment of children and young people within a socially and economically disadvantaged community. Through a range of free services—such as after-school education programmes, psychosocial support, skills workshops, and community-led activities—we aim to break cycles of poverty, isolation, and exclusion. The Public Benefit we provide to the community includes:

Our services are open to all within our community, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or background, and aim to benefit particularly those facing multiple disadvantages. By doing so, we contribute to the advancement of education, the relief of poverty, and the promotion of social inclusion—core aspects of public benefit as recognised by the Charity Commission.

Asha Trust supports staff in Sri Lanka including project managers, teachers and support staff.

Introduction

Asha Trust (Sri Lanka) / CAFS Partnership

WE continue to build on our close partnership with CAFS who are contracted to provide key oversight, management and development of the programme at the Asha Centre. CAFS is a not-for-profit organisation which provides a range of services including one to one talking therapies within secure space developed with love and care where children, adolescents, adults and their families experiencing mental health problems, stigma and isolation can access high-quality care and support. In addition, they offer outreach service to schools and centre. WE have now entered into the 3rd year of our partnership.

The partnership between Asha Trust (Sri Lanka) and CAFS is built on a foundation of shared values, including, compassion, community empowerment, integrity, innovation and fostering local strengths. Together, we are committed to creating safe, nurturing spaces where children and young people can access education, psychosocial support, and opportunities for growth. WE seek to hear local voices, working towards sustainable, locally driven change.

Strengthening Services and Educational Opportunities

A central focus of the partnership this year has been to strengthen both the quality and the breadth of services offered to children and young people. Significant progress was made in expanding learning opportunities, improving academic support, and enhancing the overall learning environment. This included the rollout of the Surala Ninja Maths programme strengthened digital learning and numeracy —skills essential for future educational and employment pathways. In addition, targeted academic support was also provided for older students preparing for national examinations, with several students being offered specialised support, particularly those preparing for their O/L and A/L examinations. Alongside these academic developments, improvements to routines and structure contributed to a calmer, more focused learning environment , which is appreciated by both children and staff.

A key achievement during the reporting period was the enhancement of holistic services that support children’s wellbeing and readiness to learn. Recognising the importance of nutrition for healthy development, the centre improved the quality of meals served despite budget constraints, ensuring that children received balanced, nourishing food. Staff noted that several children attend primarily for the healthy meal, underscoring the critical social benefit of this service.

Service delivery was further strengthened through the recruitment of a highly experienced Learning and Development Coordinator, Dinesha, who introduced activity-based learning stations, informal assessments to better group students by learning level, and digital record-keeping systems. Importantly, she introduced emotional regulation strategies that contributed to a calmer, more positive learning environment. She also coached staff in modern pedagogy and provided one-on-one mentoring to build teachers’ confidence and skills.

Finally, the recruitment of a dedicated Psychosocial Support Coordinator expanded the centre’s capacity to support students facing emotional and cognitive challenges. This role has strengthened the centre’s ability to tailor learning and support services to individual needs, ensuring that children receive lessons at the appropriate level.

Building Community Ownership and Voice

The centre continued to serve as a hub for positive community interaction. Cultural celebrations, such as, Deepavali, Eid, Vesak and Christmas, brought children and families together for a dose of festive fun, sharing food, and enjoying some singing from the children. . These events foster cultural pride, mutual respect, and social cohesion. These events, often planned and led by the children themselves, exemplified the participatory spirit at the heart of ASHA-CAFS’s approach.

Supporting Youth leadership was another key achievement. Older students took on roles as tutors, assistants, and event organisers. Young people like Seha, a Grade 9 student, who became a Centre Assistant and Peer Tutor, supporting the younger children to engage in both learning and cultural activities. She flourished in the role bringing “a helpful and familiar energy to the space.” This model not only benefits younger children but also builds pathways for the older cohort to develop skills and confidence

The centre also encouraged children to take ownership of the space, assisting with the set up and organising the space, plus simple meal preparation, and other responsibilities which helped build confidence and a sense of belonging. Kaushi a senior coordinator stated ‘Using a Reward system and providing children to take up responsibilities… helped significantly with the management of difficult behaviours.”

WE will continue to develop this programme providing greater opportunities to our young people as their leave school and seek training opportunities for future employment.

Revitalising the After School Club

The After School Club (ASC) also underwent major revitalisation. Traditionally focused on free tuition classes, the programme was restructured to emphasise active, experiential learning. Lessons moved away from rote memorisation toward engagement, creativity, and holistic development. Over the reporting period 147 children attended the centre, with 1847 attendances.

WE continue to develop the After School activities moving away from the classic subject based method to a Project Based Learning Curriculum. In order to do this we have invested heavily in staff development to ensure long-term sustainability and quality of services. The new centre coordinator with support additional trainers supported staff to move towards this change with confidence . She provided psychosocial training, covering topics such as learning difficulties, emotional regulation, and basic psychosocial skills. In addition teachers received one-to-one support to improve the pedagogy, bringing it in line with the new Project Based approach EG Being student centred, bringing collaboration and relevance to real life situations. .

In addition, time was taken to listen to feedback from staff to “identify challenges, explore available resources, and encourage meaningful reflections.” These efforts aim to strengthen teaching quality and align curricula more closely with children’s needs.

In addition, as mentioned young community members began stepping into leadership roles. For example, Razeena, a former student, demonstrated such strong initiative and care in supporting younger children that she was promoted to Centre Assistant — an inspiring example of capacity building in action.

One to one support was provided to staff and a mentoring system was introduced for the newer/ younger members of the team. This has benefited Razeena who was unconfident with her IT skills. She received support each week from a more experienced member of the team - “every Tuesday,

Anne… dedicates one hour to teaching her IT and Excel skills,” . Now Razeena manages all her duties with convenience. . Her progress demonstrates the long-term benefit of investing in local capacity.

Strengthened Emotional, Mental, and Psychosocial Wellbeing

A major development this year was the strengthening of psychosocial support. The centre welcomed a new Counsellor and Psychosocial Support Officer, who began regular one-to-one sessions with children. These were “short 15–20 minute slots… designed to help the kids feel comfortable… and build trust over time.” Importantly, every child is rostered for a session, reducing stigma and ensuring equitable access to emotional support.

Building on insights from staff, the centre introduced a new series of sessions focused on self-worth and emotional wellbeing. A psychologist led a session using the story of Coranelis the caterpillar, emphasising that “each child has value and worth, regardless of past experiences or occasional difficult behaviours.” Children created butterflies representing their strengths and made thumbprint medallions as reminders of their uniqueness. This activity, described as “meaningful and joyful” , supports emotional literacy, confidence, and peer relationships.

Safeguarding and health education were also strengthened. A workshop delivered by the Colombo South Teaching Hospital taught children about boundaries, safety, and hygiene. The session covered “how children can safeguard themselves from inappropriate touch… and personal hygiene.” . These sessins are conducted with sensitivity and care, whilst equipping children with essential knowledge to protect themselves.

We continue to build on our holistic approach to wellbeing—addressing emotional resilience, safety, and self-esteem alongside academic development.

Other Key Achievements

Administrative processes were made more inclusive through the redesign of the Centre’s registration forms, which now accommodate multiple languages, flexible attendance, and diverse family structures.

Major community events, such as Children's Day and the Christmas Concert, brought together students, parents, and staff in celebration of creativity, achievement, and cultural expression. These events, often planned and led by the children themselves, exemplified the participatory spirit at the heart of ASHA-CAFS’s approach.

Conclusion and Looking Forward

In every initiative undertaken in this reporting period , ASHA-CAFS sought to embody its guiding principles: compassion, community empowerment, integrity, innovation and foresting local strengths. Together we have learnt lessons as we continue to seek new and innovative ways to build the children and young people's life opportunities.

Looking ahead to the next reporting period, ASHA-CAFS is committed to building on this momentum. Planned priorities include strengthening youth leadership pathways, expanding open-access activities such as organised sports and creative clubs, and deepening community participation through new projects and partnerships.

The year has shown that by working together, with respect and humility, it is possible to create spaces of hope, growth, and dignity — even in the most challenging contexts. We extend our

deepest thanks to our staff team, volunteers, funders and partners for their unwavering support and look forward to continuing this important journey together.

Charity Name No (if any)
Asha Trust(Sri Lanka) 1108536
Receipts andpayments accounts CC16a
Period start date
For the period
from
01/10/2024		 To Period end date
30/09/2025
Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest
£
25,421
1,594
6,244
-
-
-
-

33,258
-
-
-
33,258
3,893		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total funds
to the nearest £
25,421
1,594
6,244
-
-
-
-
33,258
-
-
-
33,258
3,893
18,852
-
219
-
-
-
-
22,964
-
-
-
22,964
10,294		 Last year
to the nearest £
VoluntaryIncome 25,421 14,410
Investment income 1,594 1,548
HMRC Gift Aid 6,244 -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)
33,258		 15,957
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
- -
~~Sub total~~ - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
15,957
Asha Foundation 3,893 - - 3,893 -
Child,Adolescence and Familyservic e18,745 107 - 18,852 6,820
Contract worker - - - 3,806
Support Costs 219 - 219 438
- - -
- -
- - -
- - - - -
**Sub total ** 22,857 107 - 22,964 11,065
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
-
-
**Sub total ** - -
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end
11,065
10,401 10,294 4,892
- - -
82,665 84,755
93,066 95,049
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Categories Details funds funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

23/06/2026

1

B1 Cash funds
Community: 41240552 1,686 - -
MoneyManager: 91240544 91,380 1,983 -
Total cash funds 93,066 1,983 -
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s)) OK OK OK
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Details f
d
to nearest £		 to f
d
nearest £		 f
d
to nearest £
B2 Other monetary assets - - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Details Fund to which
asset belongs		 Cost (optional) Current value
(optional)
B3 Investment assets - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Details Fund to which
asset belongs		 Cost (optional) Current value
(optional)
B4 Assets retained for the - -
charity’s own use - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Details Fund to which
~~liability relates~~		 Amount due
~~(optional)~~		 When due
~~(optional)~~
B5 Liabilities -
-
-
-
-
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees		 Signature Print Name Date of
~~approval~~
Radhika Bynon
Stephen Bynon

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

23/06/2026

2

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees Charity Name Asha Trust (Sri Lanka) On accounts for the year 30/09/25 Charity no 1108536 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1-2 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 30/ 09/ 2025. Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Date: 6[th] July 2026

Signed: Name: Caroline Busby Relevant professional Institute of Chartered Accountants (England and Wales) qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 38 Alacross Road

1

Oct 2018

IER

London

W5 4HT

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

2

Oct 2018

IER