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2022-08-31-accounts

alanLe Annual Report to August 2022 Partnerships for Change

Contents

Message from the Trustees

For Diapalante 2021-22 has been a year of determination, commitment, ambition, challenge and hope. But above all a year when we can be proud of our collective impact. We (that’s you - Diapalante’s supporters, our partners in Africa and us - the trustees) have together helped hundreds of people (approx. 1000) to improve their own futures, moving towards thriving rather than surviving.

We thank our partners in Africa who are improving the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

In Mauritania, our project enables women who are heads of families to start small goat herding businesses. Diapalante’s representative in Mauritania, Diallo, a veterinary officer, is a seasoned participant in similar schemes and he is bringing his learning and expertise into our project.

In Senegal, the Diapalante Community Education Centre has been busy helping schoolchildren to overcome the myriad of obstacles on their path to exam success. Also helping adult learners gain the skills they need for current or future employment and teaching out of school children keen to realise the benefits of learning.

Hillcrest Advisory Bureau and Bursary Fund in South Africa have been able to continue their work thanks, in part, to our assistance with their ability to accept international funding.

We want to be sure to thank all our supporters for being part of this ongoing work, we are dependent on so many people and organisations. Whether you contribute to our funding, cook cakes, donate wanted items, give time and expertise, attend our events, or help in other ways, it all counts and is appreciated, by us and by our beneficiaries. Our strength is our supporters and we wish we were better at showing our appreciation. Read on to see the results of your contributions.

With thanks, Liz Chandler. On behalf of the Diapalante Trustees.

Thank You to Our Supporters

Thank you to the many people and organisations who have supported us this year. These include:

Funding Garden Party Ashwell WI NH Guild of Singers Wedding buffet Local Churches Individuals Community groups Families

The Farthing Trust

Expertise, Goods and Services

The school who Canva, Microsoft, donated Google 34SP computers Moodle The FSI

… Volunteers

Our many VOLUNTEERS in the UK, Senegal and Mauritania

Ethical international volunteering opportunities for young people.

Can You Help

Could YOU be our next volunteer?

Could you use your skills and expertise to support Diapalante?

We are looking to recruit volunteers who have a variety of backgrounds and a range of skills, to join our team and help us go forward.

To discuss the possibilities please email your phone number to liz@diapalante.org.

Information Exchanges

(lifestyle, climate, music etc)

Are you part of an organisation that would like to link with The Diapalante Community Education Centre in Senegal and exchange information in writing, video clips, or live link up?

May be a school, a youth group (eg guides, scouts), a church, etcetera.

To discuss the possibilities please email your phone number to liz@diapalante.org

Please donate your no longer needed Sewing Machine

We can use all kinds of machines old or modern, simple or sophisticated.

We have a particular need for overlocking machines or expert advice about these. Collection Point in Ashwell (01462 743091)

Other Wanted Items

Stacking chairs

Suite of matching computers.

Suitcases (telescopic handles) For more items see website

Diapalante Community Education Centre Kaolack, Senegal

Aim: The Diapalante Community Education Centre aims to help people acquire the skills and knowledge to enable them to lead sustainable and fulfilling lives in Senegal.

What the Diapalante Community Education Centre Does:

Foundations for Learning

Individual Social Responsibility

Life Skills

Education for All

Resources for learning

Adults

Teenagers Children (6+ yrs)

Enhanced Skillset

Learning Support (teens)

Education for All

When the Diapalante Community Education Centre opened twelve years ago it taught basic computer skills when electricity was available and English, the language of commerce, when there was no electricity. At the end of the first year there were about 50 members, mostly older teenagers and young adults. The Centre’s free membership now reaches a much broader range of people, over 700 in total this year, and the subjects offered have increased as you can see from the graphic opposite.

The many activities available this year were organised and led by our 3 local staff, our many local volunteers and 2 volunteers from the UK gap year charity Project Trust.

The Diapalante Centre continued its successful programme of after school activities which help the local primary school children learn French, the language of schooling. Around 100 children attended the sessions run at a local school by Diapalante’s teenage Young Leaders and staff. This programme is especially useful to the many children who have no experience of French before starting school. They enjoy the activities and don’t notice that they are learning French while they play! Their improved school performance is testimony to the programme’s success.

The Centre’s pilot project teaching literacy and numeracy to 60 talibes had a good second year. The talibes enthusiasm to continue their learning was reflected in the attendance rates remaining stable right through to the year end. Talibes are boys whose families place them in the care of a marabout (religious teacher) to study the Qur’an. The talibes attending our project live in great poverty, far from their families and the daaras rely on their begging

for income. The talibes made good progress in reading and writing in Wolof, their mother tongue and were keen to learn more French than we had planned to teach!

The number of adults attending the Centre has increased this year. The adults generally come to learn skills that are relevant to their current work or needed for work they hope to do. They tend to require more individual attention than younger members: sometimes because their opportunities to come to the Centre do not coincide with the regular lessons, but also because they have a specific target and a limited time in which to achieve it. For example, they may need to gain certain computer skills before job interview.

Diapalante Community Education

Skilling adults for work in a changing world

In Senegal there are many local languages, predominant among them is Wolof. However, the national language is French, it is the written language and is used in school but is nobody's mother tongue. The use of French in school is an obstacle for many and it is a major contributory factor to the low literacy levels among adults.

Fatoumata came to the Centre to improve her reading and writing so she could complete the written sales record (in French) as needed to work as a petrol pump attendant. Her situation shows the increasing need for literacy, even in less skilled jobs. Fatoumata is divorced with three children to care for. Life is difficult and she needs work. Her new skills will also help her to support her children’s learning as they start school.

Makhtar is a motorcycle-taxi mechanic. He is married with three children. Aged 10, he left school to work in his father's mechanics workshop. Today he regrets leaving school early, and prioritises his children’s education.

In recent years, Makhtar had been losing work as he was unable to read, understand contracts or issue the invoices required nowadays. He spoke some French and knew the vocabulary associated with his work but needed to improve his reading and writing skills.

Unable to pay for private lessons, Makhtar started attending the Centre 2-3 times a week. He is progressing well - each newly learnt phrase is relevant to his work and helps secure his livelihood.

Alioune is a nurse. His health post has computers but these were little used because no one knew how to use them. Alioune was aware of the importance of computers in healthcare delivery, so when he hears of Diapalante’s free lessons with flexible learning times he saw his chance. He started making the 100km round trip to the Diapalante Centre on his days off. His aim is to become a competent computer user, so he can do his current job better and progress in his professional role. He will soon start training his work colleagues then the local community will feel the benefits as well.

Kaolack, Senegal

Senegal, West Africa.

Kaolack is 95 miles south of Dakar, Senegal’s capital city.

Population: 16.8m (2021)

Kaolack Population: 181,000

Languages:

Official Language: French Common illnesses (not a mother tongue, understood Malaria, typhoid, by 35% of people) hepatitis B. National Languages: Wolof (Mother tongue 40%, understood by 90%), Malinke, Serer, Diola, Soninke, Pular.

There are many other traditional languages.

Religions:

Islam: 94% Christianity: 5% Traditional beliefs: 1%

Kaolack Ecomony: Peanuts, salt, transport hub

Kaolack Market:

The centre of Kaolack is a huge “covered” market, a labyrinth of narrow alleyways and small stalls.

Local Schools:

Primary: 2 classrooms per year, and 2 classes per classroom per day. Secondary: 6[th] form college:2000 pupils and class size of 50 is common.

Mauritania: Equipping Women to Survive

This project is in one of the many small herding villages in Southern Mauritania. Mauritania is a huge but sparsely populated country twice the size of France but with a population of only 4.6 million. Mauritania is the western-most region of the Sahara desert. Our project helps women who are heads of households to support themselves and their children.

Each woman has the opportunity to earn a small income for her family by building up a herd of goats. The women have each received four pregnant goats from Diapalante. Importantly, Diapalante’s aid will not end there. Diallo, who represents us in Mauritania, is a veterinary officer. He is keen to ensure that these women have a realistic

opportunity to succeed in their new venture. We will therefore continue our involvement by giving veterinary and technical aid for three years as the women establish their herds. Diallo has designed this long term but diminishing support to help the women on their path to becoming independent herders.

Looking to the Future Governance

Period Poverty?

In 2020 our local UK Days for Girls group asked if Diapalante would considered distributing re-usable period packs to girls in Senegal. The women in Senegal were enthusiastic but wary so we posted a few packs. Months later they arrived - one adult and two of the Centre’s teenagers tried the packs. They loved them and the freedom they brought, but a pack donated here is not free, it is expensive to transport to Senegal.

In November 2021, Nafi, our female staff member, and Jessie, this year’s Project Trust volunteer, started to develop a long-term project to make reusable period packs at the Centre. They worked together to ensure Nafi learnt the sewing skills needed and developed a suitable design.

In June 2022 they were joined by Pippa, a previous volunteer, returning to Senegal on her final year medical elective, to research the understanding of, and attitudes towards, menstruation in Kaolack, Senegal.

They are all hoping their work will form the basis of a full scale project. But first there is more groundwork to be done starting in the coming year.

Hillcrest Advisory Bureau and Bursary Fund, South Africa

Hillcrest supports its local underprivileged community to move out of poverty through education, personal development and economic and social advice.

They provide advice and financial assistance to families, assist schoolchildren with both mentoring sessions and practical support with school uniforms and help students to enter tertiary education providing mentoring sessions and bursary assistance during their studies.

Diapalante enables Hillcrest to fundraise in the UK.

Governance

Structure

Diapalante is a charitable trust governed by a Declaration of Trust dated 02/08/2005 as amended by Deed dated 04/01/2006 and by Deed dated 15/08/2012.

Diapalante is run by trustees who give of their time freely and no remuneration is paid. Trustees are appointed by the existing trustees and serve for three years after which they may be reappointed. There must always be at least three trustees. At least two ordinary meetings must be held each year to discuss future strategies, projects and fundraising.

The trustees elected to hold their four trustee meetings online. A trustee away day was held in Letchworth on 2nd July to consider succession planning within Diapalante.

Public Benefit

The trustees have had due regard to the commission's guidance on public benefit. We have taken the guidance into consideration when exercising the relevant powers or duties. Our charitable purpose for public benefit is demonstrated by the activities and achievements summarised in this report.

Safeguarding

Diapalante takes seriously its responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of everyone involved in our programmes, particularly children and vulnerable adults. To this end two trustees, Elizabeth Chandler and Pamela Brannigan, together with Mamadou Kane who co-ordinates the Diapalante

Community Education Centre successfully completed two Open University Courses: “Introduction to Safeguarding in the International Aid Sector” and “Implementing Safeguarding in the

Governance

International Aid Sector” and are now updating the Centre’s safeguarding practice, training and documentation. When this is finished our safeguarding policy and code of conduct and procedures will be reviewed so both sets of documents are aligned.

Risk Management

The trustees have continued to review the risks the charity faces and acted to mitigate the most likely these. Coronavirus remains a major potential risk to our fundraising in the UK and to our project delivery in Senegal. The risk of inadequate income due the need to cancel planned fundraising events was averted by diversifying our funding streams. The risk of coronavirus impacting on project delivery in Senegal remains high but was reduced by working outdoors where possible and employing extra cleaning and hygiene measures.

Reserves

in establishing a reserves amount and a reserves policy Diapalante is guided by the reserves guidance from the Charity Commission. Diapalante aims to hold a reserve of unrestricted funds which is appropriate to allow us to meet 6 months budgeted expenditure. For a low risk commitment in 2022-23 the six month reserve of unrestricted funds is calculated at £14,000. In line with this policy our unrestricted fund stood at £14,148 at our year end on 31/08/2022.

Administrative Details, Objectives

Charity name: Diapalante Charity Number 1112875 Address: Kirby Manor 73 High Street Ashwell Herts SG7 5NP

Charity Trustees as at 31st August 2021:

Pamela Brannigan Caroline Chandler Elizabeth Chandler Ian Chandler Emily Charlton Orlando Gibbons Alan Muhr Carol Muhr

Bank HSBC 1 Market Place Hitchin SG5 1DR

Diapalante’s Objectives

To further charitable purposes which relieve or combat malnutrition, hunger, disease, sickness or distress.

To help prevent or relieve poverty or financial hardship by providing or assisting in the provision of education, training, healthcare projects and any necessary support, enabling individuals to generate a sustainable income and be selfsufficient.

[14]

Financial Report

Despite the worsening financial climate Diapalante has had a stable year, thanks to our supporters, who have shown great solidarity and kindness in their financial and practical support of us and our partners. This has enabled us to maintain our outreach and staffing levels at the Diapalante Community Education Centre in Senegal, and also start a small goat herding project for women who are heads of households in a rural village in Mauritania. Both projects bring opportunity and hope. These projects provide us with financial reports, showing how they have spent our money. This is only part of their financial story as we explain below.

The Diapalante Community Education Centre is a typical ground floor apartment, designed for family living. The garage (donated by the upstairs flat who only keep a motorbike in it) and a small corridor are full of chairs, stacked to the ceiling which are hired out to give a modest income. This income covers some expenses, such as those of volunteers who help at the Centre. There is no hire fee for chairs used at funerals as “funerals come after high medical bills and other costs and are unplanned expenditure”. People who attend the Centre are not asked to pay for classes but they contribute what they can - many give their time and skills while others give a small amount of money.

The building layout means the Centre’s classes have to be small. The largest area, a yard accommodating 35 people, has been covered for shade from the sun so it can now be used during the daytime as well as for evening sessions. The computer room accommodates 14 learners, though the younger children double up and share computers. More small groups meet in the library, in another room and in the corridor which runs the length of the building. The staff are very good at stretching the capacity of the building but even they have reached the limits of their ingenuity. They are considering the options for the future: different premises would allow them to reach more people but would this be cost efficient? Would it make the Centre’s future more or less secure … ?

Accounts (wiy tg 1112875 ON Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Forthts period 01L)912021 3110813) Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted fLmds Restricted fuNIs EndowmBnt funds Tot& fL￿d5 Last yeaT toth• n￿rest£ toth• £ roth• n￿rISt£ A1 Rocoi F￿ld9 6,E07 6,6Tr7 $03 29.024 1,50D B,SB1 UK AdMiniÈrab 503 28.024 1,5UO Community Educ4l¢ffj Caitre, Swegal Medioal Grants, Seneg Mosquito net5 South Afnca. Hi1C￿StAd￿rE and ButSWy FL 14.096 220 3.500 3.500 8.759 Sub totallGross Mjcome for ARI 6.607 34.526 41.133 31.664 A2 Asset inbpstmert sales, $&0 iabl& Trtal rncelpts 6,607 34526 41,133 31,664 ort G￿er$ Funds UK Administratirl 3YO 3gD ISS Community Educ4tr¢ffj ¢￿tre, s￿egal Medical Gtants. Seneg GD3t P[￿eCt South Africa. Hi1c￿StAd￿￿p and ButSWy Fund 7,323 15,020 32,342 1,506 1A25 g9,741 2.B1B 1A25 15DO 3,500 8,759 Sub total 8.748 30.416 39.1fj4 31.271 A4 Assot in¥8Stm8tX Lrchas8s Sub total 8,748 3Q416 39,1 31,271 Net of reCe1pts/(payTr￿ntsj . A5 Translèrs be￿ten fund$ A6 Cashfunds last y6ar end Cash funds thls year end 1141 4.110 1,969 39 14,148 12.00 6,422 10,533 20,571 21540 20,177 20.571 CCKX Rl accounts ISSI 0110112023

20 Accounts Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricied funds Restri£ted funds Endobvtnenl funds to n•arest£ Categori8s Details B1 Cash funds 12.fyQ7 IOA33 rotsi cash funds 12,007 1Q,533 ar￿ pmeTht Unrestricted funds tonear•5t£ R8stricted funds to Mar•st E Endowment fund5 ton•ar•st£ B2 Oth•r monètary ass•ts F￿d to 4BSèt b•lon Curttni ¥alug ion D&tail$ B3 Inv•sknènt assots F￿￿ io wtrh as5•1 b•lon Details co￿ IOPti¢JMI Currnni valu ion B4 Assets retained for the charity's ovdn use FuThdlO wNch r•lat Details onal BS Liabilities by one orlwo trustees on of all Ihts Itustses Signature Prfnl Nan Data or roval CCXX R2 ¥uwnts1551 0110112023

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Please consider donating to our work

Every donation counts, every £1. Please help us to support The Diapalante Community Education Centre as it enables and encourages adults and children gain the skills needed to secure better futures for themselves and their families.

However, if you can give a little every month, this allows us to plan ahead responsibly and ensures that The Diapalante Community Education Centre can continue to help people today, tomorrow and into the future.

400 supporters giving £5 per month would provide this income or 200 supporters giving £10 per month or

100 supporters giving £20 per month

If you feel more comfortable giving one off donations then please do that.

We are grateful for every penny, and all the people who help Diapalante in many different ways. If you can support us financially – please do. If this isn’t for you then keep in touch, all support and encouragement is valued by us.

To donate

Name: Diapalante, sort code: 40-28-14, account no: 51576712

Kirby Manor 73 High Street Ashwell Herts SG7 5NP

Charity No: 1112875