The Catherine Bullen Foundation
Annual Report 2021 – 2022
Contents Chairperson, s Report Funding Projects
Chairperson’s Report
The contents of this Annual Report relate to the period from 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2022. However, with regards to Projects, it includes updated information that was available at the time of producing this report.
We have been extremely lucky in that the Foundation’s aims and projects continue to inspire individuals and organisations to support us by attending fund raising events, assisting on fundraising activities and donations.
We were able to carry out a full programme of shop collections and also take part in the round the Island Yard Sale. In addition, we manned the car park at Waldegraves Car boot sale and at long last we were able to attend some events with the china smashing stall. Many thanks to our volunteers who helped at all the fundraising activities. There were two events that did not resume, one being the Indian Lunch and the other the Seafood Supper as there was still a reluctance to attend such events due to Covid-19. However, we have spoken to both Titash and The Company Shed and both venues are happy to carry on. Therefore as a start we will be holding an Indian Lunch on 10 September 2023 but with slightly smaller numbers.
Frustratingly, Namibia remained on the UK Government Red list until October 2021 when the rules were relaxed only to be re-introduced in late November because of the emerging Omicron variant in South Africa. This was like closing the stable door after the horse had bolted and the Government realised the error of its ways and the rules were again relaxed. This meant that at last we could return to Namibia and kick-start the Foundation’s projects.
As with the rest of the world, Namibia has now relaxed all rules and regulations to do with Covid-19 and thankfully cases are relatively low.
Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to our trustees and all those individuals and organisations that have again made this past year a successful one as we emerged into some semblance of normality.
Roger Bullen – Chairperson
11 January 2023
Funding
The Funding report is split into the following categories. Below are the main items and events that contributed to our total. Due to Covid-19, people’s spending habits have changed with the use of a credit card becoming more prevalent instead of using cash. This led to the Foundation investing in a ‘Sumup’ credit card reader which has proved very useful.
Event Stalls
This covers the period from 1 September 2021 to August 2022. We attended three events with our china smashing stall raising a total of £731.10 . There were six stall events, one was the Round the Island Yard Sale - £ 207.40 ( £272.50) raised, a stall at West Mersea Car Boot sale - £90.20 ( £62.70), where we also manned the car park - £160.50 which we lower than expected due to the weather. We also had a cake stall at the West Mersea Queen’s Jubilee celebrations which raised £486.50. We attended a charity stall event at the Clacton Air Show raising £112.90 . Finally we had two stalls during the Christmas period, Mersea Lights up with £323.56 raised and Wix Christmas Fair with £89 raised
Grants and donations from organisations
We have received a number of grants and donations from the following organisations.
Colin Westgate lectures to camera clubs around the country on Zoom. Instead of charging a fee, he asks for donations to the Foundation which were as follows:
Wycombe Camera Club - £25 Windlesham and Cambridge - £25 Hoddesdon Camera Club - £40 RPS Thames - £50 Probus Club - £45 Moulsham Lodge Camera Club - £25 Swavesy Camera Club - £50 Dagenham Camera Club - £25 Leeds Photographic Club - £25 Ware and District - £25
Tomato Fund - £100 Christchurch URC Ladies Group - £150 Leigh on sea church - £72.15 Suni.E.V. (borehole) - £1,641.50 Luton Inner Wheel - £500
Individual donations
Throughout the year the Foundation received individual donations which totalled £26,278 ( £18,450) Each donation receives an acknowledgement of thanks from the Foundation. In addition there were donations by standing order - £1,200 ( £1,260), and donations through the website portals (Paypal, justgiving and Virginmoneygiving) – £6,622.87 (£9,695.90). Total donations were £34,100.87 (£29,405.90) .
Shop Collections
We were able to carry out shop collection from May 2021 onwards.
Collections were undertaken at various Co-ops in the locality and Tesco, West Mersea. Total raised - £2,889.70 (£1,117.81).
Events
Seafood Supper – Company Shed, West Mersea.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions this did not take place
Indian Lunch –Titash
Due to Covid-19 restrictions this did not take place
Virgin Virtual London Marathon 2021
On Sunday 3 October 2021, while 50,000 runners were running the London Marathon, the Foundation had three runners taking part in the Virtual version. Hayley Gladwell ran around Mersea and clocked up a time of 5 hrs 30 mins and raised around £1,000 in the process. Unfortunately, Wendy Hobbs had to quarantine on the race day as her husband had Covid-19, so she ran a few day s later in Colchester with a time of 5 hrs 37 mins and she raised £1,533. Nigel Eden ran a course around Colchester in a time of 4 hrs 54 mins.
Gift Aid
Gift Aid was claimed on donations for this financial year, but was not paid out until September, so missed the year end.
Schools
The supporting of charities has been adopted by schools as part of being socially aware to the needs of others. As we are hands on and are willing to go into schools and tell them about the Foundation’s work. Donations from schools were as follows:
St Mary’s Senior School for Girls
St Mary’s are raising money to provide socks and shoes for the children and we are very grateful for their continued support
Partnerships
ATI/Audley Travel
Audley Travel is ATI Holidays largest partner in the United Kingdom selling holidays to Namibia. They were looking for a local Namibian charity to support and the Foundation was put forward for consideration. It was chosen by the Audley Travel Namibia destination experts in London, Witney and Boston as the charity which should benefit from the monies collected from guests travelling to Namibia with them by adding N$100 to each invoice and advising their clients that by travelling with Audley, they were supporting a local charity. ATI were holding N$20,300 for us. (see projects)
Projects
The Foundation continues to monitor past projects to ensure proper maintenance procedures are carried out and are sustained and to encourage best practice.
Omuhaturua Primary School Borehole
When we visited last March, we were advised that the community wanted to impose charges on the school and clinic to pay for the labour involved in pumping water from the borehole which consisted of fuelling and monitoring the diesel engine. The school was reluctant to pay these charges and the Ministry of Health refused to do so.
Steve Kavari, the school principal decided the solution was to replace the diesel engine and old pump with solar panels and the appropriate pump. Not only did this save money on diesel fuel for both the clinic and the school but it enhanced its green credentials. The Catherine Bullen Foundation was approached for funding and it provided seventy per cent of the money with the school providing the other thirty per cent. Part of the Foundation funding came from ATI (see Partnerships).
Otjimanangombe Primary Healthcare Clinic.
We returned for the first time since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in March 2022. The additional beds that were delivered in October 2021 were not required as the anticipated hike in cases did not materialise. They are still there and no doubt will remain so.
It was two years since we had been at the clinic and during this time none of the maintenance issues had been resolved.
We were back again in September, and the contractor who was building the multi-purpose hall kindly offered to mend some toilets and taps.
In October after we had left, a contractor arrived to install water filters and a pump to increase the water pressure. Unfortunately, the pump has proved too powerful and has blown some pipes, one being on the roof of our accommodation. It also seems to have ruptured an underground pipe and there is a major leak which has led to 10,000 litres of water disappearing within two days of the tanks being filled. Therefore the clinic and the accommodation units have no water except that in a small auxiliary tank. The nurses were getting nowhere with the authorities and we are now taking up the problem with the powers that be.
The following maintenance issues identified prior and during March 2020 are outstanding:
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Various bits of window furniture were missing
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Curtains still to be fitted.
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Some equipment still to be supplied
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The yard lights have been repaired, but a number are malfunctioning again.
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Locks broken on the two main doors, which means the clinic cannot be locked and made secure
Catherine Bullen Foundation Ambulance for Otjimanangombe Primary Healthcare Clinic
On our return in March 22, we placed an order with Toyota for the ambulance to be ready for a handover on our return in September. However there was still the staffing issue to be resolved.
When the ambulance was ordered it was agreed with the Ministry of Health that a driver would be provided by rotating drivers from Gobabis. Although not the best solution we agreed to go with it. However, on announcing that the ambulance was ready for delivery the Ministry advised there was not enough money in the budget to pay the driver’s subsistence and travel allowance.
Sister in charge of the clinic, Linea Tomas, pointed out that at the clinic at Epukiro Post 3, some forty-five minutes away, there were two drivers, but only one ‘ambulance’ (termed an ambulance it was actually a Hilux pick-up with a canopy and a mattress in the back for the patient). With time running out and with the assistance of the Governor for the Omaheke Region, Mr Pijoo Nganate and Constituency Councillor Mr Piniel Pakarae an agreement was reached with the regional health authority, that one of the drivers could transfer to Otjimanangombe. There would be no extra costs involved as he was already receiving a subsistence and travel allowance.
On 25 October 2022, the ambulance was handed over to the Minister of Health in the presence of various dignitaries and the local community.
Current Project: Omuhaturua Primary School Hostel - upgrade
Phase 2: Construction of a multi-purpose hall to provide facilities for the school, the hostel and for the community of Otjimanangombe.
At the end of the previous financial year there had been no progress on the construction of this building and it is still had only progressed to the foundation’s having been dug.
There was no communication from the builder from August 2021 onwards until in November when we threatened him with the Police unless he paid back the money that both the Foundation and ISP had advanced him.
In January 2022, he contacted us, wanting to discuss a payment plan to repay the money. It was agreed that we would meet on our return to Namibia. On 8 April 2022, we met with him in the presence of the Governor and his team. The result was that Riaan agreed to pay back the money in instalments of N$10,000 to us and ISP commencing in September 2022. This he is doing and we have both received N$40,000 so far.
While in Windhoek in March, we met with a Fortitude, a Project Management company and over the summer we negotiated with them and came up with a plan and a budget. Contracts were signed and they employed Afrideca a well know construction company to build the hall. Construction commenced at the beginning of September and was completed by end of November. We will officially commission the hall when we return in February 2023.
Goeie Hoop Primary School - Post 10
St Mary’s Senior School for Girls have agreed to carry on raising money to provide socks and shoes for the children.
Provision of a borehole for Donkerbos Primary School and Hostel
Our original project was to drill a borehole for Eiseb Primary School and Hostel. However, we discovered on social media that the government were drilling two boreholes at Eiseb, obviously, ours was no longer required. On Tuesday 22 March, the Governor rang us and confirmed this was the case, but he had an alternative plan. He told us about Donkerbos Primary School and Hostel which was two hours drive away from Otjimanangombe in a south easterly direction towards the Botswana. It had no water supply and the nearest borehole was 6
kms away with the children collecting water on a rota basis. They were rationed to two glasses of water a day and they bathed in rain water in a plastic tub. Currently there were about 30 children from the school isolating in Gobabis Hospital with scabies.
We agreed to meet the Governor at the school in two days time and we were shown around the school and hostel. We were shown the toilets and showers that were built about five years ago by the Namibian German Special Initiative programme, but could not be used as there was no water supply. We also saw the tanks that stored the rainwater from the hostel roofs for the children to wash in. During the visit we confirmed that the Foundation would provide a borehole for them after what we had seen.
Events then moved on at a pace. Arrangements were made by the Governor to enlist a government hydrologist to site the boreholes and on Monday 4 April we returned to the school with Mr Booysen, the driller. The hydrologist whose name was Rudolf checked his coordinates and commences to site the boreholes with his instruments. He was accompanied by four San men from the community eager to see what was happening and to show off their expertise with the metal rod. Two sites were identified, one by the road near the school and the other 450 metres into the bush and these were both confirmed by the San with their traditional methods.
Mr Booysen agreed that he would start drilling on the following Thursday and while he was drilling near the school, the community would clear the bush around the second site. On Saturday 9 April, we learned that the borehole had reached a depth of 219 metres producing 800 litres of water per hour, so it was a big relief all round. Although sufficient for the school needs it would have been better if it had been more. The following Monday, the drilling of the second borehole began and at the end of the day we got a call to say they had reached 160 metres and it was still dry. The next day we had a message from the driller saying that they had drilled to 255 metres producing a yield of 15,000 litres per hour which was a fantastic result. The driller was very pleased and advised that it was the best result he had ever had in the area. This was a huge relief for us as it was always in the back of our minds that the boreholes could be dry.
On Tuesday 26 April, we returned to Donkerbos to celebrate the finding of water and late Independence Day celebrations with the Governor. There was a progamme of speeches and traditional dancing. It was then time to go to the borehole which was down a rough track to where the contractors were erecting the solar panels. A generator was attached to the pump and after a few minutes, clear water came out of the pipe, much to the excitement of the children. We all were invited to taste the water which was not at all salty. The solar panels and pipework should be installed by the end of that week.
It was hard to describe our feelings knowing that we had brought water to this school and community when before that had none and changed their lives forever. Also that we had seen this project through from start to finish within the timescale of a month.
In September 2022, we visited the school to see what progress had been made. Although the teacher’s houses had been connected to the water and there were stand pipes in the hostel yard, the showers and the toilets in the dormitories had not. When asked why, the Principal advised that they did not have the necessary funds to buy the pipe work and fittings. We immediately asked for quotes and we used part of Riaan’s money to purchase the items. When we return in February we hope to find everything connected.
Eiseb Primary Primary School and Hostel
We did not visit the school this year, but will do so during our next visit.
The Catherine Bullen Primary Healthcare Clinic, Oshivelo
During our visit we met with the person responsible for clinic maintenance and it was agreed that a programme would be drawn up splitting various items to be done between the Ministry and the Foundation.
Conclusion
As mentioned in last years report, the Foundation in the future will concentrate on supporting Omuhaturua Primary School and Hostel, Eiseb Primary School and Hostel and Donkerbos Primary School and Hostel together with both clinics. This would not involve any large infrastructure projects as these were becoming too costly-.
We are pleased to advise that the Government have replaced part of the canteen roof at the Good Hope Primary School Hostel which was partially destroyed by a gale in 2016.
The Catherin Bullen Foundation
Annual Accounts
– 1 September 2021 31 August 2022
The Catherine Bullen Foundation Annual Accounts 2021 - 2022
Notes: The accounts are in two parts, a sterling account and a South African Rand Account. The majority of fundraising and grant donations are facilitated in the UK and monies are paid into the sterling accounts.
When the exchange rate is favourable, monies are transferred from the Sterling accounts to the Rand Account.
Our projects in Namibia a priced in Namibian Dollars and are on parity with the Rand, which is also accepted in Namibia. All payments for our projects are made in Rands.
Due to Covid19, there has been a lack of activity on our projects and therefore expenditure has been low. The majority of the funds held in the accounts are for projects that have been delayed until the next financial year.
Charity Name Catherine Bullen Foundation
No (if any) 1110516
Receipts and payments accounts
Period start date 1-Sep-21
Period end To date 31-Aug-22
For the period from
CC16a
Section A Receipts and payments
| Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 50,462.91 2 - - - - 50,465 - 50,465 290 211 86 292 34,500 35,379 |
Restricte d funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Endowmen t funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 50,462.91 2 - - - - 50,465 - 50,465 290 211 86 292 34,500 35,379 |
Last year to the nearest £ 41,953.00 4,452 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| - | |||||
| - | |||||
| - | |||||
| - | |||||
| 46,406 | |||||
| - | |||||
| 46,406 | |||||
| Calendars and postage | 290 | - | - | 290 | 318 |
| Bank Charges Etc Inc O/Seas | 211 | - | - | 211 | 89 |
| London Marathon fee | 86 | - | - | 86 | 84 |
| San Jewellery | - | - | |||
| Public Liability Ins | 292 | - | - | 292 | |
| - | - | ||||
| Transfer to Rand Acc no 68000922 | 34,500 | - | - | 34,500 | 40,000 |
| - | - | ||||
| - | - | ||||
| - | - | ||||
| 35,379 | - | - | 35,379 | 40,491 |
| A4 Asset and investment | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| purchases, etc. | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Total payments | 35,379 | - | - | 35,379 | 40,491 | ||||||
| Net of | |||||||||||
| receipts/(payments) | 50,465 | - | - | 50,465 | 46,406 | ||||||
| A5 Transfers between | |||||||||||
| funds | - | - | |||||||||
| A6 Cash funds last year | |||||||||||
| end | 9,019 | - | - | 9,019 | 3,512 | ||||||
| Cash funds this year end | 23,715 | - | - | 23,715 | 9,019 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories
B1 Cash funds
B2 Other monetary assets
B3 Investment assets
Details
Barclays Bank plc PayPal Cash Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details
Details
| Unrestricte d funds to nearest £ 22,923 762 30 23,715 OK Unrestricte d funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs |
Restricte d funds to nearest £ - - - - OK Restricte d funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - |
Endowmen t funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| OK | ||
| Endowme nt funds to nearest £ |
||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| Current value (optional) |
||
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - |
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use
B5 Liabilities
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
| Details Details Signature |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name L S Bullen |
Current value (optional) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
|||
| Date of approval |
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| L S Bullen | |||
Charity Name Catherine Bullen Foundation
No (if any) 1110516
Receipts and payments accounts
Period start Period end date To date 1-Sep-21 31-Aug-22
For the period from
CC16a
Section A Receipts and payments
| Unrestricted funds to the nearest Rand 698,802.00 - - - - 698,802 - 698,802 - 10,000 6,750 838,350 1,001,658 1,001,658 - - - 2,858,416 |
Restricte d funds to the nearest Rand - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Endowmen t funds to the nearest Rand - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest Rand 698,802 - - - - 698,802 - 698,802 - 2,851,666 6,750 838,350 1,001,658 1,001,658 - - - 2,858,416 |
Last year to the nearest Rand 809,252.00 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 809,252 | |||||
| 809,252 | |||||
| Donations Made | - | - | - | - | |
| Renovations at Otjimanangombe Clinic |
10,000 | - | - | 2,851,666 | |
| Payment to Komeho Namibia | 6,750 | 6,750 | |||
| Donkerbos Borehole | 838,350 | - | - | 838,350 | |
| Ambulance | 1,001,658 | - | - | 1,001,658 | |
| Omuhaturua Primary School and Hostel–Multi-purpose hall |
1,001,658 | - | - | 1,001,658 | |
| Construction projects | - | - | - | - | 8,300 |
| School uniforms for Good Hope Primary School |
- | - | - | - | 113,595 |
| - | - | - | - | ||
| 2,858,416 | - | - | 2,858,416 | 121,895 |
| A4 Asset and investment | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| purchases, etc. | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Total payments | 2,858,416 | - | - | 2,858,416 | 121,895 | ||||||
| Net of | |||||||||||
| receipts/(payments) | 689,802 | - | - | 689,802 | 809,252 | ||||||
| A5 Transfers between | |||||||||||
| funds | - | - | |||||||||
| A6 Cash funds last year | |||||||||||
| end | 2,714,850 | - | - | 2,714,850 | 2,027,493 | ||||||
| Cash funds this year end | 555,236 | - | - | 555,236 | 2,714,850 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories B1 Cash funds
Details
Barclays Bank plc
Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))
Details B2 Other monetary assets
Details
B3 Investment assets
Details
| Unrestricte d funds to nearest Rand 555,236 - 555,236 OK Unrestricte d funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs |
Restricte d funds to nearest Rand - - - - OK Restricte d funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) |
Endowmen t funds to nearest Rand |
|---|---|---|
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| OK | ||
| Endowme nt funds to nearest £ |
||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| Current value (optional) |
||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| Current value (optional) |
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use
B5 Liabilities
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
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| - | - | ||||||||
| Fund to | Amount | When due | |||||||
| which | due | (optional) | |||||||
| liability | (optional) | ||||||||
| Details | relates | ||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
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| Signature | Name | Date of approval |
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| L S Bullen | |||||||||
ACCOUNTANTS’ REPORT TO THE DIRECTORS ON THE UNAUDITED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS OF THE CATHERINE BULLEN FOUNDATION
We report on the financial statements of The Catherine Bullen Foundation for the year ended 31 August 2022 as set out in the receipts and payments accounts as submitted to the Charity Commission. The accounts comprise the Receipts and Payments Account and the Statement of Assets and liabilities as at August 2022.
This report is made solely to the company’s board of directors, as a body, in accordance with the terms of our engagement. Our work has been undertaken so that we might compile the accounts that we have been engaged to compile, report to the Company’s Board of Directors that we have done so, and state those matters that we have agreed to state to them in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Company and the Company’s Board of Directors, as a body, for our work or for this report.
Respective responsibilities of directors and reporting accountants
The company’s directors are responsible for the preparation of the accounts showing a true and fair view and they consider that the company is exempt from audit.
Report
We report that, in accordance with your instruction and in order to assist you to fulfil your responsibilities to the Charity Commission, we have examined, without carrying out an audit, the accounts of the charity and from such examination and information and explanations supplied to us, we consider the accounts to be accurate in every respect.
A R Alexander
Professional Accountant Flat 5, South House 2 Queen’s Road Frinton-on-Sea Essex CO13 9BJ
6[th] June 2023