Friends of Amasango
c/o 2 Dean Clarke House, 2 Southernhay East, Exeter Devon, EX1 1AP
U.K. Charity No. 1116268
Annual Report for the year 2020/21
1. Overview of the year
During the year the Friends of Amasango (the Charity) has engaged in fundraising for and the facilitation of volunteers to the Amasango Career School (ACS), Grahamstown, South Africa to support in particular the following objectives --
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Food at Amasango
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Clothing at Amasango
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Honoraria to local volunteers
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Past Pupil Support for those at High School
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Overseas fund raising
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Accountancy support
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Capital expenditure on necessary equipment
At the beginning of the year it was known that income would be down and thus very detailed budget projections were generated and plans made at the school, and have in the main been well carried out by the school, to meet these tightened budgets. A total of £31,230 (about ZAR 624,600) was sent to ACS meeting the above objectives as agreed in the Budget. The Charity’s contributions to ACS have been adversely affected by the very difficult fund-raising climate in the UK resulting from the COVID pandemic. The School itself struggled with the pandemic and was closed for much of the time, but in order to continue to help the students the staff provided home working learning kits and home food parcels, funded by The Charity and through all this the school managed to avoid an excess of spend due to good on-site management and reduced administration/accounting costs. During the year, no overseas Volunteers helped at ACS.
Further changes in the School resulted from the Headmistress retiring earlier than expected due to personal family problems but the Deputy Head ably took over and has been running the school very well whilst a recruitment process is run by the Local Education Authority, for which she is a candidate, and the results should be announce in November this year.
In U.K. the Charity received a total of £44,479 during the year. Compared with 2018/19, individual donations were increased whilst yet again corporate donations reduced and there were no legacies for the 2[nd] . Gift Aid tax recovery has worked well. UK bank balances at the year-end were up to £71,054 ensuring the charity has the cash flow resources to meet the needs of the school which start immediately in the new financial year whilst funds only come in during the year. In addition, the charity has agreed to fund the purchase of a specially modified 40ft shipping container fitted out to provide Beauty Salon training for the school pupils which will incur considerable costs for which some of these funds will be used.
The Trustees are continuing to consider ways of reversing the downwards trend in corporate
donations/increase the Individual donations but the Covid pandemic has meant no action could effectively be taken during the year. It is hoped that slightly less stringent budgets for next year will be helpful for the School. However ongoing/increased fundraising is heavily constrained by ongoing delays in South Africa with the building plans for a new school which are outside the control of the Trustees.
To maintain financial prudence but take note of increasing demands in the School a Budget has been agreed for the forthcoming year with revenue expenditure in 2020/21 totalling R 852,576 (about £ 43,722) has been agreed which the Trustees believe can be serviced, and which the school believes is adequate in the current circumstances. This Budget was approved by Members at the AGM held on Monday 4[th] October 2021.
The AGM has again had to be held on line via Zoom this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has also meant that the Principal of the School has, for the second time, not been able to visit the UK and this has potential negative effects on our fundraising ability which has had to be taken account of in our budgets.
Unfortunately, both general Local Government inefficiencies and in the local Department of Education in the Grahamstown area, plus the Covid Pandemic, has meant that no progress has been made with regard to the promised new school. This means that the Department remains under a contempt of a court order for its failure to provide educational facilities, as the South African Constitution requires, suitable for extrinsically disabled children, and it has again been necessary to revert to the NGO lawyers to try and move matters forward, with legal action about to be initiated. All this means, yet again, that another year’s delay on this matter is likely.
The Charity is the largest single donor to ACS.
2. Statutory information
The Charity is regulated by its Constitution which was adopted in General Meeting on 15[th] October 2005.
The Charity’s Objects as stated therein are as a Christian organisation to advance the education of pupils who are street children in South Africa and in particular those attached to the Amasango Career Schools in Eastern Cape Province by financial support through bursaries or otherwise and through assisting in the provision of facilities not provided by the Provincial Government and by facilitating the availability to the Amasango Career Schools of volunteer teachers and assistants.
The ten Trustees of the Charity in 2020/21 were Ian Irvin (Chairman), Hannah Peters (Hon Treasurer), Martin Coombs (Hon Secretary), John Cartmell, Alison Evans, Kate Mier, Mark Newton, Charl Oosthuizen, Rebecca Pennells and Brian Wakeham, none of whom holds any property on behalf of the Charity. Eleven Trustees meetings were held during the year. The Charity’s bankers are Santander Commercial Bank of Bridle Road, Merseyside, L30 4GB. The Charity’s Independent Examiner is Holly Ashenden, 39c Schubert Road, London, SW15 2QT.
This Annual Report was approved by the Charity in General Meeting on 17[th] October 2020 and signed on its behalf by
Ian Irvin, Chairman
Friends of Amasango
U.K. Charity No 1116268 supporting the Amasango Career Schools (ACS) in South Africa
Receipts and Payments Account Accounts for the Year Ended 30 June 2021
| Receipts and Payments Receipts Individual donations Legacies Corporate donations Grants succesfully applied for Gift Aid tax recovered Bank interest Payments Donations to ACS Bank charges Administration Excess of receipts over payments Balance brought forward Balance carried forward Represented by : Bank balances on 30th June Cash in hand |
£ £ 44,479 0 120 0 0 12 44,611 31,230 100 644 31,974 12,637 58,417 71,054 71,054 0 71,054 2021 |
£ £ 2020 |
£ £ 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49,362 0 3,404 0 6,288 287 59,340 44,681 150 1,631 46,462 12,878 45,539 58,417 58,417 0 58,417 |
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| 12,878 45,539 |
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| 58,417 | |||
| 58,417 0 |
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| 58,417 |
Note
This account has been prepared on a cash basis from the records of the Friends of Amasango. "Administration" in the year to 30th June 2021 includes JustGiving administrative charges totalling £216; insurance premium £431 and conference call charges £164.
Approved by the Friends of Amasango in General Meeting on 4th October 2021 and signed on their behalf by :
Hannah Peters….. Hon Treasurer
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Friends of Amasango
c/o 2 Dean Clarke House,
2 Southernhay East, Exeter Devon, EX1 1AP
U.K. Charity No. 1116268
Annual Accounts Y/E 30.6.2021
Examiners/Auditors Report
I have read and checked the Annual Accounts for the Friends of Amasango for the Year ending 30[th] June, 2022 and find them correct and acceptable with no qualifications;
Holly Ashenden.
As approved by the AGM, the Charity’s Independent Examiner is Holly Ashenden, 39c Schubert Road, London, SW15 2QT.