2020-12-31-accounts

Joshua Orphan and Community Care Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Registered Charity Number: 1114727

Introduction from our founder, Sylvia Avgherinos

In 2020 Joshua planned to continue with the development of its Early Childhood Education that had been so successful in 2019, but unfortunately our progress was hindered by the pandemic, Covid 19.

Fortunately, the numbers in Malawi have been very low, thanks to the strict measures enforced by the Government. However, schools were closed and exams postponed so that it was almost impossible to continue with our projects and make the same progress as last year.

In spite of the problems, Joshua maintained links with our communities and assisted them whenever possible. Our Field Officers have been working in the villages around Blantyre and with the second DfID grant, they were able to advise the communities of ways to avoid infection. Our whole team worked with great dedication and we all appreciate their commitment. Many thanks to you all in Malawi.

Our thanks also to the numerous supporters, some of whom have been assisting us for years and have made a huge difference to our progress. We really appreciate your loyalty to Joshua. Thank you also to the numerous supporters who regularly donate, fundraise and help us in a multitude of ways. We hope that 2021 will bring an end to the pandemic and a return to normal for everyone.

Sylvia Avgherinos

CEO

Our approach

Joshua Orphan and Community Care (JOCC) is a UK based Charity working to fund JOCC Malawi. Joshua’s Mission is to support community driven, sustainable development programmes that assist vulnerable children and their families in and around Blantyre.

Joshua believes children and their communities should have the resources, skills and knowledge to grow up in communities free from hunger and with access to quality education and health care. Joshua is a caring foundation focused on long-term development and change, developing projects in the areas of Education, Nutrition and Health.

JOCC’S registered charitable Objectives are:

• a) Advancing the education of orphans and other vulnerable children in Malawi – in particular, but not exclusively, in the area of Blantyre and its surrounding villages -by the provision of schools and materials, funding teacher training and sponsorship programmes.

• b) The relief of poverty and hunger in Malawi – in particular, but not exclusively, in the villages surrounding Blantyre – by the provision of feeding centres and income-generatng projects.

• c) The relief of sickness and the promotion of good health through education programmes.

• d) Assisting in the provision of safe water to the communities.

The Trustees are aware of and apply the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. All JOCC’s income is raised in the UK, the USA or Malawi is applied towards the Charity’s objectives.

www.joshuainmalawi.org.uk

Our Strategic Objectives for 2020

• 1) Provide Early Childhood Development and Education along with critical nutrition to children under six years old through our community-based childcare centres.

• 2) Improve access to quality Education through development of educational facilities and provision of school sponsorship

• 3) Support the communities with basic Health Services and improved access to safe water.

Emergency response to COVID-19 in Malawi

In March 2020, the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic globally led to many countries taking severe measures to prevent infection. In Malawi, this led to the closure of all education settings – including universities, schools and community-based child centres. The impact of this will be evident for years to come.

We successfully applied for a Rapid Response grant from the UK government Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office which underpinned our response to COVID-19 in our projects. We also had an immediate concern about food security and the impact of rising prices on the supply of the essential likuni phala in CBCC and the consequences for children’s nutrition. Activities delivered through this grant included

• Public information campaign about COVID-19 throughout 2020 as the pandemic developed.

• Distribution of essential hygiene and PPE equipment to communities

• Support to 4 communities to manufacture their own likuni phala, including provision of irrigation and gardening equipment and training of volunteers

The impact of COVID-19 on our key areas of work is reported on further throughout this report.

Early Childhood Development: Achievements and Impact in 2020

• 1200 Take Home packs distributed in 12 communities. Packs contained kidney beans, cooking oil, salt, soya pieces and maize flour. Packs were distributed to vulnerable families during education closures

• Home learning groups set up in Kachumbe

• 4 community-based childcare centres received training to grow and produce their own fortified porridge.

• 23 volunteer caregivers received training and earned certificates in Early Childhood Development.

• An average of 1000 children regularly received likuni phala either in

• person or via Take Home packs

Early Childhood Development continued to be the major focus of our work, encompassing early years education, nutrition and health care. We are currently working with 16 community-based childcare centres. During the year Milo centre, which used to be part of the Joshua Group but was closed for various reasons, was re-instated and recei ved some assistance from Joshua.

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The provision had to pivot due to the COVID-19 closures. We organised take home packs of the likuni phala to support children’s nutrition. In some locations, we were able to start outdoor home learning groups. This proved particularly effective in Kachumbe, where we are working with Teach the World Foundation and using tablets and digital applications to support learning. In June 2020, we were able to start to bring the older children to support their transition to primary school. Where possible, we also provided training for the volunteer caregivers.

Education: Achievements and Impact in 2020

• 128 students were supported to stay in Secondary School

• 30 girls and young women benefitted from extra support through an enhanced bursary programme, including computer skills training and life skills training

• New science laboratory completed at Chigumukire Community Day Secondary School

In 2020, we continued to support 128 Secondary School students to access secondary education. , However, all education institutions were closed from March 2020 to prevent COVID-19 tranmission. Full reopening was not until the end of 2020, and this lengthy gap in provision has been devastating for education in Malawi. Normally, students who fail exams for two consecutive terms are withdrawn from the programme and parents become responsible for their fees, but they can be reinstated if the student’s performance improves. However, this year was very different, and it was impossible to apply the usual

norms. Unfortunately, some girls became pregnant and some students had to earn money for their families, so that when the schools did re-open it took time for everyone on our list to be accounted for.

Exams did eventually take place, and the Joshua students performed relatively well with reasonable results.

During 2019 we had successfully fundraised for a new classroom and science laboratory for Chigumukire Community Day Secondary School. This project was completed in 2020 and was being used by students when school reopened in October 2020.

www.joshuainmalawi.org.uk

Health, Well-being & Community: Achievements and Impact in 2020

• 18 mobile health clinic sessions

• 475 children took part in child growth monitoring

• Seeds for maize and some fertiliser were again distributed to vulnerable elderly community members

• 30 community members training on garden irrigation and cultivation of groundnut and soy bean.

Distribution of PPE to communities and public awareness campaign about COVID. Over 12000 people reached with COVID awareness community broadcasts.

Despite the challenges posed by COVID, we were still able to continue our health programmes and the monitoring of child health and growth continued as much as possible in our communities. Members were trained on garden irrigation and cultivation of specific crops to help improve food security.

Fundraising report

Volunteer groups

Due to COVID-19, our usual voluntee r programme was badly affected and no volunteer trips were able to take place. This has severely curtailed our building and maintenance programme.

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Supporters

We are so lucky to have continuing invaluable support from the Hurst Footballers, Roger Woodward of Woodward Associates, Saltburn PCC and Elizabeth Cracknell & the Buckland Community. We are also grateful for support from community groups and organisations, including churches, Rotary clubs and schools. The 2.6 challenge proved popular with many of our locked down supporters – with Sylvia and other Trustees leading the way with innovative challenges to raise much needed funds.

Tonbridge Grammar School raised over £18,000 which, in spite of their volunteer group not being able to travel to Malawi, still donated the full amount to fund our vital services.

We took part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge for the second time time in December 2020 raising much-needed funds for early childhood development work.

Trusts and Foundations

A breakdown of funding sources is provided in the financial report. We are grateful to the following trusts and foundations who supported our work in 2020:

Jessica Mathers Trust, Scotia Educational Trust, Souter Charitable Trust, Sterry Family Foundation, Waterloo Foundation & the Dinning Trust.

Our Foreign & Commonwealth Development

Office Community Partnership grant supporting some of our early childhood development work started its third and final year. Sadly, this funding was affected by UK government aid cuts resulting in a significant loss of 25% of funding for the year. This decision has created many difficulties at a point where we hoped to be documenting the impact of the project.

We were fortunate in receiving an additional grant from Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office to support response to COVID-19 in Malawi.

We are also immensely grateful to all the individual supporters who continue to support our work. Whether this is through regular donations, participating in sporting challenges or organising fundraising events, our work could not continue without you!

Resources & Financial Management

In 2020, JOCC raised £179,681; fundraising through Aid Agencies, Trusts, Volunteer Groups (in spite of no visits, they still kindly donated), Philanthropists and individuals.

JOCC operated with the very lowest overheads ensuring that the vast majority of funding goes to the neediest in the community. We consistently evaluate all costs to identify areas for savings without compromising on the services we provide.

The table and graph below show the breakdown by source of the £179,681 fundraised for JOCC in 2020.

www.joshuainmalawi.org.uk

Receipts
Restricted One off donations (inc Trust Funds)	£110,431
Regular donations	£26,698
One off donationsgeneral	£18,553
GroupProject Donations	£16,388
Gift Aid receipts	£5,285
Sponsorship	£2,220
Other(Interest and Charitecards)	£106
Total Receipts		£179,681

The table and graph below show the breakdown of how funds raised were spent in 2020 for JOCC. 94.72% of funds were sent directly to Malawi with 4.02% going towards staff costs (including some Malawian staff) and only 0.12% going directly towards fundraising.

www.joshuainmalawi.org.uk

Payments
Transfers to Malawi	£170,415
Employment costs	£7,229
Other	£1,091
Insurance	£764
Fundraisingcosts	£211
Bank charges	£210
Total Payments		£179,920

Legal and Administrative Details

Legal Status

Registered charity in the UK, charity no. 1114727. Registered NGO in Malawi with the Malawi NGO Board and the Council for NGOs in Malawi.

Principal Address

15 Gatton Road, London, SW17 0EX

www.joshuainmalawi.org.uk

Trustees who served in the year

Beth Chapman (Chair) Sarah Charlton (Secretary) Laura Hussell (Finance) Rachel Blackamore Sylvia Avgherinos Michael Ellis Berry Butler (Donations Secretary) Rachel Aucott

Independent Examiner

Marie Cottam, member of the Institute Chattered Accountants of Scotland

2. Charitable Objectives

• Advancing the education of orphans in Malawi, in particular but not exclusively in the area of Blantyre and surrounding villages by the provision of schools, teachers, school materials and grants

• The relief of poverty in Malawi, in particular but not exclusively in the villages surrounding Blantyre by the provision of feeding centres .

• The relief of sickness and promotion and preservation of good health.

Public Benefit

The Charity has complied with the public benefit requirement in accordance with Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011. The Charity Commission in its Charities and Public Benefit Guidance requires that key principles be met in order to show that an organisation's aims are for the public benefit. Firstly, there must be an identifiable benefit, and secondly, the benefit must be to the public or a section of the public.

Joshua Orphan and Community Care works with 19 communities in rural and peri-urban Malawi. To provide public benefit to these communities, projects are focused on communities where the majority of households are dependent on subsistence farming and live on less than $2 per day,. Our approach aims to ensure that projects reach vulnerable families and communities such as those affected by HIV and AIDS, female and child-headed households, and children and young people who have been orphaned.

Our Impact

The preceding pages outline the impact we were able to make in 2020 in relation to strategic objectives.

Statement about trustees

Joshua was registered as a charity in June 2006. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Regular trustee meetings take place at least every two months.

There is a separate independent board in Malawi.

Governance, organisational Structure and Staffing

There is no physical UK office as the trustees have chosen to focus all resources to work in Malawi. Joshua’s UK fundraising is supported by a freelance fundraiser. There is a small office in Blantyre, Malawi with a small staff team. Sylvia Avgherinos is CEO of Joshua, providing guidance on strategy and

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project development. Susan Cabon has continued in post as Country Manager through 2020 supported by Joseph Chiundiza as Programmes Manager and local Field Offiers. Specialist staff include Early Childhood Development teacher, and Digital Learning Officer. Lino Solomoni joined as Finance and Office Manager in 2019 and has continued in this role. Staff are supported by John Gomondo, driver.

Safeguarding

Joshua’s work has a strong focus on working with vulnerable children and adults and there is a continued focus on safeguarding across the organisation. Staff training on the safeguarding policy was carried out through the early part of 2020. At project level, safeguarding training and awareness work took place with CBCC caregivers and volunteers.

www.joshuainmalawi.org.uk

Joshua Qrphan and CornmuTLIty Caro RBf-. 1114727 2020 Accounis Rpcei is and Pa ments a¢GouTht5 RpEelpt Regulardnnations 'SponsorsNp Group Project Donation5 One off rkn8llons¥eneral R&sii*ied One ow Jon811onG Ilnc Tru51 FuTh151 Gjtt AKI reGEipIS Otner Ilnleresl and Charite￿[￿S) 26.698 2.22Q 16,358 110,431 5265 106 Totsl Rgcolpts 179,881 Payments Tran$fers to Ma1￿ 86nk thttrges Empkymeni tos Ofllce ienlal (210) 17,2241 G05ts Insurance other j7fj41 Tgtal Pawllent5 1179.920) Net of RecelptsllPaymentsl 12391 Casn funds iasi year end 91,820 Cash lunds Ihis ye4r end 91.580 atementof assets Iiablllttos as at 31J1212D Cash fun Lbyds b3nk.'curroni L￿Y4$ b?rU¢.88 Inst Online A&L CAF 59.987 31,592 TDf41 ca$h funds ,580 NOTE.. 2003 2004 200$ 2DOB ZD07 2QO&' .5,Oal ÉY.634 soz 14.942 14.219 117.109) 59.285 126.3791 2Q.995 8.644 1,124 121.81A} 121.0365 28.004 -27.4a8 12,91T) 31.704 201D 2011 2D12 2013 2014 2015 2D16 2017 2018 2019 2020 91,

I CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Secllon A Indop•nd•nt Examlnefs Rewt Report to th• trust•esl member5 of Ll I V c_￿￿￿ On accounts for th• yoar ended Charity no {If any) (ilW717 Set out on pagès I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounis of the above charity {'Ihe Trust-) for Ihe year ended ? I R•spon8lbllllles and basis of report As Ihe charitys 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 Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination. I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515)(b) of Ihe Act. Indop•nd8nt ￿he charity's gross income 8xceeded £250.000 and l am qualified to examift•r's statement undertake the examination by being a qualified member of {insert name of applicable listed bodyll. Delete { l if not apphcable. I have completed my examinaiion. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below ') which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance w￿h section 130 of the Charities Act; or the accounts did not accord with the accountin9 rewds: or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the Iofm and content of accounis set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'tme and fair. view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and have come across no other matter5 in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in thi5 report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ' Please delete the words in the brackets rfthey do not apply. Slgn•d: Date: 202) Namo: MaQE ￿T1p Relevant profossional quallfication(s) or body &STIWIE (HfvQTtXkY) fi((pdfvJ ¢oft IER Oct 2018

rrf any): Address: Se'ction'.B'_ Pise105ure ,,,- ,.. Only complete if the exarniner D￿d5 tr) highllght material matters of concem .15ee CC32. Indepgndentexamination ol (*arity zc¢ounts- directsons and gttidanGe for examinersk Give here briof detals.ef any items that the examlnerwishes to di5¢1ts IER tsct 2018