Nicaragua Education Culture and Arts Trust
Trustees Annual Report
2024
Page 1
Charity Commission UK Reg. No. 1114483
| Section A | Reference and Administration Details |
|---|---|
| Charity Name | Nicaragua Education Culture and Arts Trust |
| Other names for | NECAT |
| the charity | |
| Registered | 1114483 |
| Charity Number | |
| Charity's | 47 Boddington Rd. Wendover, Aylesbury, Bucks. HP22 6HY |
| principal | |
| address | |
| Names of the | Martin Charles Roger |
| charity trustees | |
| who manage | MaggieJo St. John |
| the charity | Monika Christine Schiffer |
| Retiring trustees | No trustees retired during the year |
| Incoming | None |
| trustees | |
| Names and | None |
| addresses of | |
| advisors | |
| Section B | Structure, Governance and Management |
| Type of | Trust Deed |
| Governing | |
| Document | |
| How the Charity | Trust |
| is constituted | |
| Trustee | By invitation |
| selection | |
| methods | |
| Additional | None |
| Governance | |
| issues |
- Section C Objectives and Activities Summary of the The advancement of education through culture and the arts objects of the charity The alleviation of poverty and hardship The geographical focus for the work of the charity is the pacific coast of Nicaragua
Summary of the The charity operates in the city of León, Nicaragua where it supports the work of Hypatia, main activities a local NGO with a focus on education. Hypatia has an education centre based in a in relation to deprived neighbourhood of the city where it runs a variety of education projects including these objects after-school clubs, health education projects and teacher training. In addition the centre has a library that acts as a resource for the children who attend the centre. During the year children who enrolled at the centre benefitted from a ‘merienda’ a meal equivalent to a school meal. Since 2021 the teaching method has been the Montessori methodology where the structured approach to teaching has produced beneficial results for the children.
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Charity Commission UK Reg. No. 1114483
Grantmaking policy
The work of the charity is dedicated to achieving its objectives through initiatives of its partner organisation, Hypatia. Projects are developed and implemented by Nicaraguan staff directly employed by Hypatia with support from local and international volunteers. A part time representative is employed in Nicaragua by the Trust who supervises the centre and employs the teachers, child psychologists or other contract staff as required.
1 Group Activity at the NECAT Centre, Leon, Nicaragua
Contribution by volunteers
Section D
Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year
In the UK all the work of the Trust is done on a voluntary basis. In Nicaragua local and international volunteers assist the project.
Achievements and Performance
During the year the charity focussed on supporting the operation of a Montessori class with funding support for the salaries of two of the teachers from a group based in Hamburg, Germany. The salaries are paid directly by that organisation (NicaraguaHamburg Verein) and NECAT is very grateful for their support.
Infrastructure:
Property : The charity does not own and/or lease land or property directly but has a beneficial interest in a freehold property in Leon, Nicaragua which is used in pursuance of its objectives. The building, which is situated in the Guadalupe district in the south of the city of Leon, benefits from having a large covered auditorium, side and rear offices, a kitchen and store rooms and gardens with covered areas where the children who attend the centre can play and learn in a secure environment.
Over the years improvements have been made to the interior and exterior decoration of
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Charity Commission UK Reg. No. 1114483
the building and to make the premises more secure. The centre is physically dividable using a foldable partition into two separate areas so that different activities can be carried out in the two areas simultaneously.
Children attending the centre had a wide range of resources available to them such as books from the library and specialised Montessori teaching materials.
Nutrition Project: In 2024 Blackfriars Overseas Aid Trust (BOAT) once again supported our programme of providing meals for the children who attended the centre with a donation of £4000. The objective of the project is to provide the children with a balanced and nutritious diet throughout their time attending the centre. Many of the children attending the pre-school come from poor families where regular meals are not always available. The food (which typically comprises tortillas, rice, beans, cereal and a drink) is prepared by the children's mothers on a rota and is distributed at a convenient time during the day. The variety of the meals is improved by supplying meat, fruit and vegetables from time to time.
Infrastructure Improvements – ‘Rancho’ Repairs : The centre has gardens where there is an enclosed and covered area (called ‘rancho’ in Spanish) where the children can participate in informal activities. During the month of June 2024 the thatched roof collapsed following a storm. An appeal was launched and together with available funds was replaced using zinc sheets. The original thatch lasted less than five years as that type of material deteriorates rapidly in a tropical climate whereas the zinc sheets should have a lifetime of at least 20 years. During the refurbishment it was discovered that some of the support pillars were affected by termites and these had to be replaced or reinforced using steel stanchions.
2 Refurbishment following the 'Ranch' roof collapse
3 Refurbishment in progress using zinc sheeting
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Charity Commission UK Reg. No. 1114483
Section E
Section E Financial Review Reserves Policy It is the policy of NECAT to only hold the minimum amount of reserves commensurate with meeting our in-country project and staffing commitments.
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Exchange Rates Due to its focus on Nicaragua the bulk of the charity's financial expenditure is handled in US$. Receipts and payments originating in US$ have been translated into pounds sterling at the average exchange rate prevailing during the year, with outstanding funds at 31st December 2024 being translated at the year-end exchange rate.
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Financial NECAT is committed to paying the salary of its representative in Nicaragua. Other staff Commitments are employed on an annual contract. At the time that the charity acquired its centre an informal loan of $15,000 (£11,500) was agreed with a supporter. The loan was discharged in full in 2022.
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Principal The principal sources of funding for NECAT are grant funding from charitable trusts, sources of churches and donations from individual supporters.
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Funding
How
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a. The advancement of education through culture and the arts:
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expenditure has By supporting a local NGO (Hypatia) in operating an education centre for pre-school children in a deprived neighbourhood we presented children with educational
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supported the opportunities which would have otherwise been unobtainable. The children participated in
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key objectives many artistic and cultural activities which promoted their education. The use of of the charity Montessori teaching methodology provided a structured learning experience for the children which has been particularly appreciated by the participating families.
b. The alleviation of poverty and hardship: By concentrating our support on underprivileged sectors of society and in areas of the city where family incomes are very limited we were able to alleviate poverty in those communities.
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c. The charity will operate in the Pacific Coast region of Nicaragua:
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All of our support went to the city of León and its suburbs, situated on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua.
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Investment There are no investments other than funds held in the UK and Nicaraguan current policies accounts awaiting use on relevant projects.
Section F
Other Information
In order to conform to Nicaraguan regulations for the establishment of independent NGO’s NECAT, with support from the German organisation Nicaragua Verein Hamburg, applied for registration in Nicaragua for a new legal entity. The application has been made using the name ‘Hypatia’ and has been approved by the Nicaraguan authorities. Now fully established this entity operates independently under the control of a local board of trustees.
The full process is lengthy and requires the organisation to obtain a registration number (called RUC or ‘Registrado Unico Contribuente’) as well as an NGO registration number. As of June 2021 the organisation is registered in Nicaragua as Asociación Hypatia, RUC J0810000407811 and Charity registration number 6941.
Annual accounts for Hypatia are submitted to the Ministry of Governance (MINGOB), Managua and continued operation of the organisation is dependent upon their approval.
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Charity Commission UK Reg. No. 1114483
Section G
Declaration
See below
Declaration:
The trustees hereby declare that they have approved the trustees’ annual report for 2024.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees by:
Signatures: Signature, first trustee Signature, second trustee Full names: Printed name, first trustee Printed name, second trustee Date: Date of signing Date of signing Position/Role (e.g. Secretary, chair etc.) Trustee Trustee ~~ee ee~~
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Charity Commission UK Reg. No. 1114483
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|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Charity Name|No (if any)|
|Nicaragua Education Culture and Arts Trust|1114483|
|Receipts and payments accounts|CC16a|
|SS|For the period|Period start date|To|Period end date|
|from|01/01/2024|31/12/2024|
|Section A Receipts and payments|
|Unrestricted|Restricted|Endowment|
|Total funds|Last year|
|funds|funds|funds|
|to the nearest £|to the nearest £|to the nearest £|to the nearest £|to the nearest £|
|A1 Receipts|
|UK Donations|22,655|22,655|16,818|
|UK Bank Interest|-|-|-|4|
|UK Grants|-|4,000|4,000|4,000|
|2,272|-|2,272|2,053|
|UK Gift Aid (allocated to unrestricted funds)|
|Nicaragua Bank Interest|14|-|14|9|
|Nicaragua Donations|227|227|1,952|
|Sub total|25,168|4,000|29,168|24,836|
|A2 Asset and investment sales,etc.|-|
|————--|Total receipts|25,168|4,000|29,168|24,836|
|A3 Payments|
|UK Expenses/Affiliations|
|50|-|50|-|
|UK Bank Charges/Intermediary fees|
|432|77|509|97|
|Nicaragua Admin/Office/Security|
|3,417|-|3,417|3,952|
|Nicaragua Monitoring costs|
|8,350|-|8,350|8,161|
|Nicaragua Bank Charges|
|256|-|256|166|
|Nicaragua Direct Project expenditure|
|9,948|2,003|11,951|9,481|
|Exchange rate Movements|
|853|152|1,005|1,072|
|-|-|
|Sub total|
|23,306|2,232|25,538|22,929|
|A4 Asset and investment|
|purchases, etc.|-|
|Total payments|23,306|2,232|25,538|22,929|
|——-|
|Net of receipts/(payments)|1,862|1,768|3,630|1,907|
|A5 Transfers between funds|-|-|-|
|A6 Cash funds last year end|2,353|1,104|-|3,457|1,550|
|Cash funds this year end|4,215|2,872|-|7,087|3,457|
|===2==|
|1|11/01/2026|
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CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
11/01/2026
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
Details The Charity does not own and/or lease land or property directly but has a beneficial interest in a freehold property in Leon, Nicaragua which is used in persuance of its objectives. Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Signature UK Nicaragua Details Details Details Property in Leon, Nicaragua |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,642 | - | |||
| 1,573 | 2,872 | |||
| - | - | |||
| 4,215 | 2,872 | |||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
11/01/2026
2
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| plinaell sate | :
g“ses| CHARITY COMMISSION
| nyy FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
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| ; Independent examiner's report on the accounts
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Report to the trustees/ | sede Howey , , |
members of | Nicaragua Culture, Education & Arts Trust (“NECAT”) |
On accounts for the year | 31 st December 2024 | Charity no | 1114483 |
ended | | (if any) | |
Set out on pages | 1&2
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Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts.
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responsibilities of The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year
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trustees and examiner under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. it is my responsibility to:
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e examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, e to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
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e to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
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Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given examiner’s statement by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accouniing recorus Kepi by ie Charly ang @ Cormpatisun of tie 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 no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and tair view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
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Independent [n connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my
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examiner's statement attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: e accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Chertios Act or
- e the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
| have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
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Signed: |_« nuettin ate~ | Date: (2/J)/2f
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Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body | |
(if any): |
Address: | 45 Walton Road, Aylesbury, Bucks HP21 7SR
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IER
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December 2017
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Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32,
Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for
examiners).
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examiner wishes to | fo |
disclose. | / |
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IER 2 December
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December 2017