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← Friends Of Amani Tanzania

2023-12-31-accounts

Annual Report and Accounts:

Friends of Amani Tanzania

Registered Charity Number 1114281 Year Ending 31 December 2023

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Charity Registered Address

Jaycroft, Elm Lane Lower Earley Reading RG6 5UG

Trustees

Professor Ken Spours (Chair) Leslie Green (Treasurer) Bridget Green (Secretary) Catherine Swanson Rachel Derry John Bullock

Bank Details

Royal Bank of Scotland Brunel House 17-27 Station Road Reading RG1 1LG

Account No: 10201087 Sort Code: 16-29-25

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Trustees’ Report

The Board of Trustees of Friends of Amani Tanzania (the Charity) present their annual report for the year ending 31 December 2023 under the Charities Act 2011, together with the financial statements for that year which have been subject to independent examination.

Governance

The Charity was formed in 2005, made its Declaration of Trust on 24 March 2006 and obtained registered charity status on 18 May 2006.

The Trustees are obliged to hold at least two ordinary meetings a year. In 2023 the Trustees met five times via Zoom on:

The Trustees apply the income of the charity in furthering the following objectives:

Banking

On 30 March 2021 the Trustees reviewed the current banking arrangements. The Charity account is registered in the name of the Treasurer with the Secretary as counter signature. In order to allow greater access to Trustees, it was agreed to apply for a business account for the

charity. The Trustees also agreed to amend Clause 24 of the Trust Deed to permit the Treasurer, or other designated Trustees, to act alone to undertake transactions to and from the Charity’s bank account. This would make it easier to operate online banking, an essential requirement for banking post-Covid.

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An application to open a Charity Account with CAF Bank was approved on 1 December 2023. The Authorised Signatories are: Leslie Green (Trustee and Treasurer), Bridget Green (Trustee and Secretary), Ken Spours (Chair of Trustees) and Rachel Derry (Trustee). Any two of the above may authorise payments.

Until such time as all regular donors to the Charity have redirected their payments to the new CAF account, Trustees have agreed to keep both accounts open.

Safeguarding

FOAT remains committed to upholding the integrity of its Safeguarding commitments as outlined by the UK Charity Commission. In a strategic attempt to keep Safeguarding ‘front and centre’ in our Trustee meetings, there is a designated agenda item where an aspect of International Safeguarding is presented and discussed. This is a focus on specific areas where we might mitigate risks to beneficiaries in the course of our work. We have a designated Safeguarding Lead on the Board, who is based in East Africa and works full-time as a Safeguarding officer in another charity, and is also a registered UK nurse. She makes spontaneous visits to Amani on an annual basis to identify any serious safeguarding risks and give advice where necessary. This enables her to align UK Charity Commission standards with culturally relevant and realistic practices on the ground at Amani and in Shinyanga.

Trustee and Associate Visits

FOAT Associate, Barbara Bristow visited the Amani Centre for a period of three weeks in May/June.

Trustees, Bridget and Leslie Green visited the Amani Centre for a period of 11 days in August.

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Trustees held regular discussions with Fr Beatus (Director) and Emmanuel Mlegu (Assistant Director) by WhatsApp.

In addition, Trustees Bridget and Leslie Green visited the Anglican Diocese of Shinyanga in July, to review Care Ministry work there in their capacity as FOAT Trustees and Commissaries of the Bishop of Shinyanga.

About Amani

The Amani Centre for Persons with Disabilities, Morogoro, Tanzania is a non-profit making organization that educates and empowers mentally and physically challenged children and youth.

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Established in 1992 by Josephine Bakhita, Amani has over the last 30 years grown to become a major social partner in the Morogoro area. It aims, with the support of its friends in the UK, to become a model NGO promoting awareness about disability, services for the disabled and broader partnerships for education and care across Tanzania as a whole. In 2010 the Amani Centre ownership was transferred to the Roman Catholic Church and Father Beatus Sewando was appointed Director. He continues in that role and is assisted by Emmanuel Mlegu, a teacher of special needs, now employed as a Schools Inspector in Kilombero District of the Morogoro Region.

Since 2015, Amani has been working in collaboration with the Anglican Diocese of Morogoro on joint outreach projects to families of the disabled in the Morogoro Region.

Presently the Amani Centre:

About Shinyanga

Projects amongst disadvantaged communities led by the Anglican Church of Tanzania in Shinyanga and supported by Friends of Amani Tanzania (FOAT) are independent from those at the Amani Centre, Morogoro. Funds for these projects are deposited into the FOAT account and

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ring-fenced for Shinyanga. Payments are made to the Shinyanga Care Ministry Account which is administered by the Diocesan Bishop, Diocesan Secretary and a named church volunteer. In July 2021 Bridget and Leslie were appointed as Commissaries of the Bishop of Shinyanga and in November 2023 both were invited to be Lay Canons of St Stephen’s Cathedral, Shinyanga in recognition of their work in support of Care Ministry in the Diocese. It is expected they will be officially inducted at a service to be held in the Cathedral during their planned visit in 2024.

What follows is a summary of achievements by Friends of Amani Tanzania for the financial year ending 31 December 2023.

Fundraising and Awareness

The Charity (FOAT) has five major strategies for fundraising and raising awareness:

1. Educational partnership and support.

2. Corporate donations and bids to charitable trusts.

3. Regular giving and gift aid.

4. Harnessing the good will of UK Amani volunteers.

5. Events and initiatives.

Examples of each are given below.

1. Educational partnership and support

The Charity has developed a range of important partnerships with schools, colleges, universities and churches. Perhaps as importantly, the number of young people whose awareness of poverty and educational circumstances in Tanzania has been raised by the work of the Charity is significant. The hope is that those young people in the UK who are involved in either fundraising or visiting the Amani Centre will continue to be committed to its work in the future, having learned a great deal in the process. In addition, the links with schools, colleges and universities in the Morogoro and Mvomero regions of Tanzania will not only lead to better resourcing for these institutions, but also to visits for some to the UK.

All student volunteers have spoken highly of their experience on their return whilst offering

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valuable constructive feedback on how certain procedures that could be organised with greater efficiency. A volunteer legacy for Amani Centre and FOAT is the regular giving by those who are able.

Over the years FOAT has been in existence, Trustees Bridget and Leslie Green have developed a network of individuals through their local church (Redlands Parish Church in Reading) keen to support Amani’s work. Since 2020, Bridget and Leslie have developed a further network of supporters, including from other churches, sponsoring Care Ministry work amongst the disabled in Shinyanga.

Trustees are pleased to work closely with an associate, Barbara Bristow who has her own network of supporters in the UK. Barbara normally visits Amani annually.

2. Corporate donations and bids to charitable trusts

Trustees and volunteers have worked hard to present their work to companies and other charitable organizations who might be interested in donating to the charity. In 2023 the Charity received funds from:

3. Regular giving and gift aid

This year for Amani we collected £10,830 from regular donations including the child sponsorship and the social fund (an increase of £1,000 on 2022). In 2023 we had 25 regular monthly givers (a decrease of one on 2022) and a further seven annual givers. The child sponsorship scheme generated £5,100 (an increase of £440 on 2022).

By the end of 2023, FOAT had eight regular donors for the Care Ministry work in Shinyanga, giving a total of £4,246, for the year. This includes £1,290 for the education of two girls with albinism who attend Mwadui Anglican Primary School and £1,840 for a young man with albinism to study for a Certificate in Computer Studies.

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The Trustees have tried to ensure that regular givers and as many donors as possible, sign gift aid declarations in order to maximize the income to the Charity. In 2023 the Charity received a tax rebate of £7,257. This includes Gift Aid on donations made for Shinyanga projects. In addition further Gift Aid was received via Just Giving amounting to £1,275.

4. Harnessing the good will of UK Amani volunteers

Several of the former Gap Year students and other young people who have undertaken voluntary work at the Amani Centre have gone on to retain links with Amani and to fundraise for the Charity.

New volunteers and supporters, often with professional and medical skills, come forward from time to time, either via the former volunteers’ universities or places of work, or through the Facebook web pages of Friends of Amani and the Amani Centre itself. While this is something that the Charity is keen to support, we recognize the need both for the young people to play an active and constructive role, and for the Amani Centre to provide relevant project work for them to undertake.

We are fortunate to continue to be supported in our work by Catherine Swanson, who until December 2018 was resident in Morogoro and volunteered a day a month on Amani’s Home Visiting Outreach programme. Catherine is a Safeguarding Officer for Africa Inland Mission International (AIM). She is still based in East Africa (Kenya) and her work with AIM brings her to Morogoro from time to time; she visits Amani whenever viable. In her wider Safeguarding role she endeavours to connect Amani with other similar organisations and charities. An example of this is a Safeguarding WhatsApp group which grew out of the May 2022 training: here is an accessible medium whereby resources, ideas and training examples can be shared.

We are delighted to report that a young 17 year old student visited Amani with Bridget and Leslie Green in 2023. She is keen to retain a link with Amani, to visit as a student volunteer in the coming year or two and to sit as an observer on the FOAT Board to understand better the workings of the charity.

5. Events and initiatives

Trustees are pleased to report fundraising initiatives they have organised and/or participated in during 2023.

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Following the success of the ‘meals to your door’ initiative which Bridget and Leslie Green began in 2021, they repeated this twice during 2023 and raised £1,315 for various projects at Amani. In addition, they have provided meals to various friends on an ‘ad hoc’ basis in exchange for a donation to the Care Ministry work in Shinyanga. This raised £380.

A total of £6,471 was raised through the efforts of Barbara Bristow (FOAT Associate). Among other things this contributed towards the construction of a medical testing laboratory (Maabara) at Amani and the purchase of a microscope and medicines.

Funds received by the Charity through on-line shopping such as Giveasyoulive raised £128. This is a decrease of over £100 on 2022.

Projects and Funding for Amani

In 2020 and 2021 the Covid-19 pandemic significantly affected the ability for all charities to hold fund raising events. To a certain extent, we were limited in 2022 but despite the opening up of opportunities for fundraising, FOAT has found it hard to generate income through events. In addition, the global economic situation continues to make it hard to obtain grants from Charitable Trusts outside those already known to FOAT.

At Amani, local support has picked up but FOAT has still needed to focus on plugging the gap to provide staple items for survival and support the existing self sustainable projects. Trustees would once again like to express their thanks to the Rotary Club of Reading for their assistance. Whilst the members of the Club have resumed ‘in person’ meetings, this is only on a fortnightly basis; they have been allocating their lunch money saved from the intervening weeks to support a number of charities. The Amani Centre is one of four charities that receive a monthly donation towards their food costs. The Club has donated a total of £877. This is a reduction of £308 on 2022.

1. New Amani Centre at Magubike

A new Amani Centre is now in situ at a fourth site in Magubike. It comprises a reception area, a hall/physiotherapy room, staff house and toilets. Phase 1 was completed in September 2023 following a final donation of £700 to connect the water tanks. The Magubike Centre can now provide vital support, guidance and therapy for those in need in the Magubike/Berega area.

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1. Community-based rehabilitation work and economic sustainability projects at the Amani Centre.

A total of £38,535 was donated to Amani, a decrease of £3,795 on last year. Of the £38,535, £31,925 was directed towards supporting the core mission of the Centre.

FOAT donated £6,000 from the Child Sponsorship Scheme. There was an average of 38 children residing at Amani (Chamwino) who are part of this scheme. A total of 23 of these children have regular sponsors; some sponsors support more than one child. Sponsorship averages £20/month per child. This provides a source of regular income to support the children who reside at Amani’s main centre in Chamwino. All monies from this are collated and used to purchase food, clothing and medicines for all 38 children. All sponsors are encouraged to gift aid their donations. Trustee Rachel Derry, monitors the Child Sponsorship Scheme, communicates with the sponsors and takes the lead on seeking new sponsors. Rachel communicates frequently with Emmanuel Mlegu, Deputy Director of the Amani Centre, in order to obtain regular updates about the children to ensure the information is kept up-to-date.

Each year FOAT pays towards the costs of a community Christmas Party at the Amani Centre which, not only raises awareness in the community of issues of disability and the work of the Centre, but also serves as a way of thanking volunteers and local donors, for their generosity. In 2023, £580 was donated for the party and £125 for small gifts for the children.

Funding is also provided to support a range of economic sustainability projects both agricultural and enterprise that involve members of the Amani staff developing their leadership capacities to provide sources of income that reduce dependency on overseas donors.

2. School/College fees for young people

The Amani Centre provides a home for able-bodied young people from some of the most rural areas in the surrounding district and pays for their education. In return, these young people assist in the care of the children with disabilities at Amani. In 2023, the final year of construction training for one of the young people from Amani was funded by FOAT.

FOAT continues to seek supporters through its networks to assist with the education of young people at Amani.

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Many of the families of children who attend Amani Mvomero Special School cannot afford the school fees. In 2021 a donation of £6,176 by the Park Family Trust was received to support the education of four students for the four years of their secondary education at Amani Mvomero School. The second payment of £1,500 was sent to Amani in July. FOAT is actively seeking sponsors for other pupils.

3. Five-year Surgery Enablement Programme

We are delighted to report that once again the Park Family Trust supported the surgery enablement programme. The grant of £9,124 will enable five children from Amani to receive vital surgery each year for four years, thereby facilitating their rehabilitation to their families and to the community at large, and freeing up capacity for Amani to support more children with disabilities. The first cohort of five children received surgery at the CCBRT hospital in Dar es Salaam in November/December 2023.

5. School projects

Primary education – the Special School at Mvomero was finally registered and officially opened in August 2018, although it had been in operation for three years before this. The first intake of students completed their seven years of primary education in December 2021. A second group completed their Standard 7 exams in December 2022 and a further group of five students in December 2023. The School has now achieved its initial and main aim of becoming a fully functioning primary school, focusing on children with a hearing impairment and other special needs.

Secondary education - with no provision for students with special needs to study at secondary level in the Morogoro Region, Amani took the decision to initiate a special needs secondary school on the Mvomero site in 2021. Following discussions with FOAT, it was decided to do this as a phased approach; by seeking funds to build a classroom (essential for the first cohort of secondary level students to use at the start of 2022), with a second classroom and dormitories following soon after.

Thanks to a grant of £3,865 from the Park Family Trust to complete the boys’ dormitory, the first phase of the secondary school is now complete.

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6. Economic Social Empowerment Projects (ESEPs) around Amani Mvomero

Following the death of Helena Green in 2017, her parents (Trustees Bridget and Leslie Green) set up a memorial fund to establish economic social empowerment projects in eight wards around Amani Chamwino. In 2023, a grant of £800 enabled further training on microbanks and a top up to each of the eight groups.

7. Ecumenical Economic Social Empowerment and outreach projects

Since the establishment of the Ecumenical Project in 2014, whereby the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches agreed to work together to further the aim of supporting families of the disabled in the community, the Lutheran Church has joined the Project.

At the Ecumenical Steering Group meeting in August 2023 attended by representatives of all three churches, it was agreed that the work of the group should focus on fundraising for Amani, rather than conducting further outreach at this stage.

Projects and Funding for Shinyanga in 2023

FOAT continues to support Care Ministry Projects in the Anglican Diocese of Shinyanga in particular those focussing on community development including families of the disabled. By the end of 2023, FOAT had a total of eight regular donors to Care Ministry in Shinyanga.

1. Projects

1.1. Education of two girls with albinism at Mwadui Anglican Primary School

The two girls with albinism who live with the local priest at Mwadui are continuing to have their education sponsored by a UK donor. Both girls have settled well and are benefitting from extra support given by the teachers at Mwadui on a voluntary basis.

1.2 Further education training for a young man with albinism

A young man with albinism was sponsored by a UK donor in 2023 to attend a four month Computer Access Course.

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1.3 Training

FOAT and the Shinyanga Care Ministry Team would like to express their thanks to the Trustees of the John Pitman Charitable Trust for a grant of £2,000 towards mission training at Ndala Mission and Evangelist Training Centre (METC). The training includes modules on support and care for families of the disabled. The first cohort of evangelists completed their training in September and are now working in community development roles throughout the Shinyanga Diocese.

1.4 Buhangija Fire Appeal

Following a fire at Buhangija Special School in one of the girls’ dormitories which killed three children with visual impairments, an appeal for funds of £3,500 was launched in November 2022. A total of £2,794 was raised by FOAT in 2022 and a further £700 early in 2023.

2. Developing support networks in the UK

In June 2021, Bishop Johnson of Shinyanga confirmed the status of ‘Bishop’s Commissaries in the UK and Beyond’ on Bridget and Leslie Green. In this role, Bridget and Leslie have been working to develop links with churches and individuals in the UK to support Care Ministry in Shinyanga.

Future Plans for FOAT’s support for Amani

FOAT will:

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Future Plans for FOAT’s support for Shinyanga

FOAT will:

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Financial Review for the Year

The financial position of the Charity at the end of its 18[th] year of operation is satisfactory when considering the economic situation worldwide. Grants have been received from John Pitman Charitable Trust, The Park Family Trust, The Rotary Club of Reading and Earley St Peter’s Church (for Shinyanga). Barbara Bristow continues to work closely with FOAT as an Associate. She raised £6,471 in 2023.

Once again the Trustees have been encouraged by the extent of charitable giving received from:

Income for the year was £60,062.

Expenditure for the year was £55,039. This included:

Just Giving costs and Web Fees for 2023 are yet to be paid.

There was a surplus of income over expenditure of £5,023 for the year. This compares with a surplus of £2,699 in 2022.

The Balance sheet at 31[st] December 2023 showed cash balances of £17,313 and net assets of £16,917.

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A tax rebate of £3,449 was received in 2023 for funds donated between October 2022 and March

  1. A further rebate of £3,808 was received in October 2023 for the period between April 2023 and September 2023.

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Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 December 2023

INCOME
Regular Giving (incl. school fees)
Child Sponsorship Scheme
Card Sales
Bristow Initiatives excl. Just Giving (JG)
Charity Donation
Park Family Trust
Social Fund
Ecumenical project
Rotary Club of Reading(Food)
SEN School (Mvomero)
Shinyanga ACT excl. JG inc Buhangija Appeal
Shinyanga Education inc
Mwadui
Just Giving & Virgin Money
Giveasyoulive & Amazon Smile
Gift Aid receipts
Interest
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Sundry Expenses
Bank Charges
Donations
Note 2
TOTAL EXPENSES
NET INCOME
Funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
3,820
500
4,320
0
5,100
5,100
105
0
105
0
1390
1,390
2,546
1,058
3,604
0
12,989
12,989
0
1,410
1,410
0
700
700
0
1627
1,627
0
611
611
0
10,161
10,161
0
3,134
3,134
182
7,156
7,338
128
0
128
1528
5,729
7,257
188
0
188
8,497
51,565
60,062
932
0
932
26
81
107
7,391
46,609
54,000
8,349
46,690
55,039
148
4,875
5,023
104
11,790
11,894
252
16,665
16,917		 2022
£
4,200
4,660
640
250
7,220
6676
960
1797
1,686
8934
15,805
1,445
5,265
212
7,801
25
67,576
389
238
64,250
64,877
2,699
9,194
11,893

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Friends of Amani Tanzania Charity No: 1114281

Balance sheet as at 31 December 2023

ASSETS
Cash and Bank Accounts:
Friends of Amani Tanzania
Less:Creditors
TOTAL NET ASSETS
FUNDS
Unrestricted funds: general
reserves
Restricted funds
TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY		 2023
£
17,313
396
16,917
252
16,665
16,917		 2022
£
11,893
0
11,893
103
11,790
11,893

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Friends of Amani Tanzania Charity No 1114281

Notes forming part of the Financial Statements

1 Accounting Policies

Income and expenditure is accounted for mainly on a receipts and payments basis with an accrual made for fundraising expenses, is expressed in £ sterling, the operating currency of the charity.

Unrestricted funds - these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees Restricted funds - these are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor, or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

2 Grants Paid in the year to 31 December 2023

Grants Paid in the year to 31 December 2023
Amani
General Funds
inc. CBR , Food and School fees
Child Sponsorship
Ecumenical and Sustainable Projects
Education Projects
Medical Fees
Sub Total
Shinyanga
Buhangija Appeal
Medical Fees
Care Ministry
Education Projects
Sub Total
TOTAL		 £
15,787
6,000
6,285
6,610
3853
38,535
1,132
740
10,876
2,717
15,465
54,000

Approved by the Board of Trustees:

Ken Spours (Chairperson)

Date 12 May 2024

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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Friends of Amani Tanzania

I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31[st] December 2023, which are set out on pages 17 to 19.

Responsibilities and basis of report

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity for the year ended 31[st] December 2023

As the charity’s trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“The Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts varied 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 examiner's statement

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

other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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.

Nigel Gowing BSc BFP FCA MBA

Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

118 Netherton Road, Abingdon, OX13 5LA

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