2023-09-30-accounts - The Akili Trust

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THE AKILI TRUST

ANNUAL REPORT October 2022 – September 2023

Charity Name and Number

The Akili Trust: Registered charity number: 1114275

Akili Community Libraries (Kenyan NGO) registered number: OP.218/051/2008/017/5057

Website: www.akilitrust.org

Correspondence Address

119 Victoria Road, London N22 7XG

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Trustees

Pam Dix (Chair) Dan Gavshon Brady (Treasurer) Laura Gavshon Seonaid Macleod Mark Orchard Jenny Pitkin Jess Rolfe Dix Margaret Sills Anne Sofer

HISTORY, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE TRUST

The Akili Trust was established in January 2006 with a remit to establish and support community libraries in Kenya and East Africa . Charitable status was granted in May 2006 and NGO status in Kenya, as Akili Community Libraries, in 2008.

Kilifi County, where the Trust’s libraries are based, is a very rural area . English is the language of instruction in all Kenyan schools, but there are few books available for people to read, many adults cannot afford to buy a newspaper and the nearest libraries are some distance away .

In Kenya, primary schools are universally free. However, this is a deceptive statement: many schools are desperately under-funded and under-resourced, with parents expected to pick up the shortfall through the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) as well as ancillary costs like uniforms, materials, cooks, and so on. The Government has recently capped secondary school fees with a long-term ambition to make this free too. Current costs are still relatively high for families and competition for bursary funding is intense.

The Akili Trust aims to work with local communities to improve literacy and expand access to information and education. In practical terms, this means:

Supporting the existing libraries, establishing new libraries if funding is available and arranging outreach support to other schools
Ensuring that the libraries have suitable collections of books in English and Kiswahili
Ensuring that the libraries have adequate IT provision and run suitable training programmes for the school and the community
Ensuring that the libraries are adequately staffed with locally appointed personnel
Funding librarian salaries and running costs, including daily newspapers in English and Kiswahili
Providing support and training for librarians
Establishing local management committees to run the libraries and liaising with them and with local schools and other relevant authorities

Maintaining a bursary programme for secondary education
Looking at other opportunities for partnership working within the community

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Akili Trust was created by a Declaration of Trust dated 23 January 2006. The Trust Deed provides for a minimum of three trustees, who are appointed for two or three year terms, with the opportunity for standing again. When there is a requirement for new trustees, these are identified and appointed by the existing trustees. The Chair of Trustees and Treasurer are responsible for the registration and induction of any new trustees and for managing the UK bank accounts with CAF Bank.

The Trust Deed gives trustees the power to apply the funds in such a manner as they think fit to further its stated aims. As the Trust aims to spend as much as possible of its funds directly in East Africa, costs in the UK are kept to a minimum. The Trust does not make grants to individuals or organisations that apply for funding speculatively.

Trustees meet at least four times a year to plan developments and monitor progress and finances. The committee reviews quarterly reports and correspondence from the libraries, decides on financial priorities and plans fundraising. Minutes of these meetings are held at the Trust’s address. Sub-committees are formed from time to time as required.

The Akili Trust operates in Kenya through a local NGO, Akili Community Libraries (ACL), wholly funded from Akili in the UK. ACL is effectively the business operation in Kenya. It has its own bank account held at KCB (Kenya Commercial Bank) in Kenya and accounts are audited by independent auditors in Kenya. Annual reports are lodged with the NGO Board and returns prepared for the KRA (Kenyan Revenue Authority). It is agreed that a meeting of the NGO Board will always be held with whichever of the UK trustees visits Kenya. Payroll is managed by a local

provider, who arranges all the necessary tax and statutory deductions.

In Kenya, each Akili Trust library has a Management Committee, appointed from the local community. These Management Committees also include representatives of the primary school where the library is based, normally the Headteacher and the Chair of the Primary School Management Committee, and other community representatives. This Committee provides support, encouragement and advice to the Librarian and Assistant Librarian, as well as being a further point of contact and information for the Akili trustees. They are responsible for the selection of staff, monitoring of staff performance and for the management of the selection process for the bursary students and also a delegated budget for running costs and incidental local spending. The larger sums relating to salary costs, bursaries, and book purchase are managed by the UK trustees through the main KCB account, The libraries are required to prepare a mid-year and end of year financial report.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE TRUST

Kenya’s Covid 19 Context

During this period, the academic years 2021 and 2022 were changed to allow for catch up for the period when schools were closed. Term dates were changed and school holidays reduced. From January 2023 the usual academic year will be reinstated with one point of admission to school.

Trustees in the UK continued to maintain close contact with staff in Kenya using ‘Whats app’ group calls, so that the ongoing Covid situation could be monitored and solutions to issues discussed.

The libraries

Dabaso Library is now firmly established both in the school and as a part of the local community. It is well used by students from the school during the school day and by students from the nearby local secondary schools. It has a good number of regular adult borrowers, who use the

library for book borrowing, for reading the newspapers and for learning to use the computers. The chair of the Dabaso library committee , an exbursary recipient, is helping to push forward developments with a particular focus on helping the staff to develop and deliver a range of reading promotion activities in both schools.

Kakuyuni Library plays a significant role in contributing to the life of the school and work with the library is very well integrated into the school programme.

The comparatively new Watamu library is run and managed by the Dabaso Library staff working with the school management team. It is housed in a separate room and the librarians attend once a week to run sessions.

Books

The libraries are stocked with a mixture of books shipped from England and books bought locally, in English and Kiswahili. There is an inexhaustible demand for more local books and for course books and revision guides.

Akili Trust Bursary Programme

The bursary programme is now well established and well known and respected in the local area. During this year we supported 28 bursary students. Each year we offer a minimum of two bursaries, one for a girl and one for a boy, in each of our two main schools. We have added Watamu Primary School to the bursary funding programme.

Bursaries are funded from the general Akili Trust budget,together with funding from individual donors, and two trusts, The Sir Ernest Cassel Educational Trust and the Hutton Dabaso Trust. The students are selected at the beginning of the Kenyan school year, through a very carefully monitored process. This selection timetable has been adapted to fit the current alteration of the school year as part of the Kenyan Government’s Covid 19 response planning.

The progress of the students is closely monitored and supported by the library staff and reported on regularly to the Akili trustees. The librarians carry out this responsibility with considerable care, attending regular meetings with the secondary schools. They have arranged school transfers, applied sanctions or additional support to students when necessary. An annual meeting is held individually with each student and this is used to produce an annual report on the bursary programme, which is available on our website. In addition, the librarians arrange an annual meeting for all current and past bursary students. This gives an opportunity for students to share their experiences, concerns and needs and for the older students to mentor the younger ones.

The students are required to work in the library at certain points during the academic year, carrying out general library duties and helping younger students with their schoolwork.

Other Activities of the Trust

Regular enewsletters and website

Our website and regular newsletters are our main ways of communicating with supporters of the Trust.

Akili Stories

During the school closure period we worked with a number of local students to collect folk tales and stories they had been told growing up. These were written in their own words and produced as a book which we have sold widely.

Trustee visits

Trustee visits are self-funded, though we are able to support trustee members with some financial support towards costs when necessary. No trips have been possible during this period, though close contact has been maintained through calls and zoom meetings.

NGO

Our payroll provider in Kenya is responsible for all issues to do with staff pay and tax and also carries out the annual audit and NGO returns. This is supported by the NGO trustee board in Kenya.

CHARITY COMMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Our statutory policy requirements are reconsidered every year.

FUNDING

The Trust’s funding comes from a variety of sources.

There are a number of key donors with regular standing orders, together with a good network of occasional donors.
Grants from charitable organisations are applied for whenever possible.
Fundraising events are run throughout each year. These also help to maintain interest in our work amongst the Akili ‘community’ in the U.K.

RISKS AND CHALLENGES

It is clear that, with the war in the Ukraine, the enormous cost of living increases and fluctuating exchange rates, budget monitoring is a priority to ensure that the Trust does not become over-committed.

It is also clear that we need to monitor the local situation when planning any travel to the region.

We recognise the challenge of managing staff and keeping in touch with developments from a distance.

FUTURE PLANS

Our priorities for the next year include:

Working on our fundraising strategies
Recruitment of up to two more trustees, particularly one with fundraising experience
Planning an annual visit by Trustees if travel seems to be safe
Looking for opportunities for partnership work with other organisations based or working in Kenya
Developing a regular staff training programme including visits to other libraries
Looking at strategies and ideas for promoting a reading culture to sit alongside the more academic focus of much of the library work
Looking at other funding opportunities in Kenya
Continuing to provide funding for the purchase of relevant books, especially books in Kiswahili and featuring African writers and those important for the Kenyan school curriculum
Looking at the future opportunities for our bursary students and seeking advice about work experience, university and HE opportunities in Kenya

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Incoming Total income – £27,304* Standing orders - £3,970

Donations – £15,119 Bursary donations - £3,475 UK Events – £4,506 Bank interest - £19 Banking error - £215

Outgoing Total outgoing – £26,215 KCB – £24,000 Bank Charges - £211 Shipping (for books) - £956 UK Events (costs) – £1,048

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Signed: M. Shepherd

Name: Malcolm Shepherd Date: 12[th] August 2024

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS FOR Y/E 09/23

The charity’s trustees consider than an audit is not required for this year (under section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act) as amended by s.28 of the Charities Act 2006) and that an independent examination in needed.

My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the trustees have not met the requirements to ensure that:
proper accounting records are kept (in accordance with section 41 of the Act); and

accounts are prepared which agree with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Act, or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: M. Shepherd

Name: Malcolm Shepherd Date: 12[th] August 2024

Relevant professional qualification or body (if any): AAT Level 2 Certificate in Accounting

Address: 8 St James Square, Chichester, PO19 7HX

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Charity Name No (if any) The Akili Trust 1114275 Receipts and payments accounts For the period 10/1/2022 9/30/2023 To from

CC16a

Section A Receipts and payments

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts StandingOrders 3,970 Donations 15,119 Bursarydonations 3,475 UK Events 4,506 Interest 19 Bankingerror 215 Sales Gift Aid - - 27,304 - - Sub total - Total receipts 27,304 A3 Payments 24,000 Bank charges 211 Shipping 956 UK Events costs 1,048 Books & Resources - Other - - - - Sub total 26,215 - - Sub total - Total payments 26,215 Net of receipts/(payments) 1,089 A5 Transfers between funds - A6 Cash funds last year end 11,306 Cash funds this year end 12,395 Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ *Sub total*(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). KCB(transfer to Akili CommunityLibraries) A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)	to the nearest £ Restricted funds	to the nearest £ Endowment funds	Total funds to the nearest £	Last year to the nearest £
	- - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - -	3,970 15,119 3,475 4,506 19 215 - - 27,304







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	- - -	- - -	- - -
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	-	-	27,304	-

	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -	24,000 211 956 1,048 - - - - - 26,215

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	-	-	26,215	-

	- - - -	- - - -	1,089 - 11,306 12,395	-
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	Details Cash in Charity bank account Details N/A Details N/A Details N/A Details N/A Signature *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	to nearest £ to nearest £ 12,396 - - - - - 12,396 - Agreement Error OK to nearest £ to nearest £ N/A - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional)	to nearest £ Endowment funds
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			OK
			to nearest £ Endowment funds
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			Current value (optional)
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			Current value (optional)
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			When due (optional)






			Date of approval

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Charity Name No (if any) The Akili Trust 1114275 Receipts and payments accounts For the period 10/1/2022 9/30/2023 To from

CC16a

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Donations & Legacies 22,564 Charitable activities - Other tradingactivities 4,506 Investments 234 - - - - 27,304 - - Sub total - Total receipts 27,304 A3 Payments Moneyspent in UK 1,258 Moneyspent in Kenya 24,956 - - - - - - - Sub total 26,214 - - Sub total - Total payments 26,214 Net of receipts/(payments) 1,090 A5 Transfers between funds - A6 Cash funds last year end 11,306 Cash funds this year end 12,396 Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ *Sub total*(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)	to the nearest £ Restricted funds	to the nearest £ Endowment funds	Total funds to the nearest £	Last year to the nearest £
	- - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - -	22,564 - 4,506 234 - - - - 27,304	N/A
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				N/A
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	- - -	- - -	- - -
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	-	-	27,304	-

	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -	1,258 24,956 - - - - - - - 26,214	NA
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	- - -	- - -	- - -

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	-	-	26,214	-

	- - - -	- - - -	1,090 - 11,306 12,396	-
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	Details Cash in Charity bank account Details N/A Details N/A Details N/A Details N/A Signature *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	to nearest £ to nearest £ 12,396 - - - - - 12,396 - OK OK to nearest £ to nearest £ N/A - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional)	to nearest £ Endowment funds
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			-
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			OK
			to nearest £ Endowment funds
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			Current value (optional)
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			Current value (optional)
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			When due (optional)






			Date of approval

Signed:

M. Shepherd

Name: Malcolm Shepherd

Date: 12[th] August 2024

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS FOR Y/E 09/23

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the trustees have not met the requirements to ensure that:
proper accounting records are kept (in accordance with section 41 of the Act); and
accounts are prepared which agree with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Act, or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: M. Shepherd

Name: Malcolm Shepherd

Date: 12[th] August 2024

Relevant professional qualification or body (if any): AAT Level 2 Certificate in Accounting

Address: 8 St James Square, Chichester, PO19 7HX