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← Bhola's Children

2025-03-31-accounts

BHOLA’S CHILDREN

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS For the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025

Pages
Trustees’ Annual Report 1 – 12
Independent Examiner’s Report 13
Annual Accounts 14 – 21

BHOLA’S CHILDREN

CHARITY REG. NO. 1118345 12 Cornwall Grove, London W4 2LB, UK Tel: +44(0)20 8994 6011 Website: www.bholaschildren.org

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

Report of the trustees for the year ended 31st March 2025

The trustees of Bhola’s Children (registered no. 1118345) present their annual report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2025. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes 1 and 2 to the accounts and comply with the charity’s trust deed, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (second edition) and Financial Reporting Standard FRS 102.

Overview

The year has been dominated by two issues of existential importance for the charity:

Objectives and activities for the public benefit

The trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives, in planning future activities, and setting the budget and grant-making policy for the year.

The purpose of the charity set out in its trust deed is to advance education, health and poverty relief among children in Southern Bangladesh, particularly those orphaned or with disabilities. More particularly, it was established in 2007 to provide a permanent source of funding for Bhola’s Children Special School – Bangladesh (“BCSB”), a local charitable trust which runs a single project, a home and school for disabled children on the island of Bhola in Southern Bangladesh.

Background

Bhola is an island of two million people. The high level of poverty has been exacerbated by rapid erosion of the North East corner of the island which displaced families, some multiple times. There are very limited medical facilities on the island. Early marriage, early first pregnancy, poverty, lack of education, and inability to access appropriate medical care and facilities all contribute to high levels of disability. For the children and their families this is made much worse by the terrible social stigma attaching to disability. Disabled children are also more likely to be abused by family or neighbours.

Despite the evident needs, there is no other facility on the island capable of meeting those needs in the way that BCSB does.

The vision

The charity (hereinafter “BCUK”) furthers its charitable purposes for the public benefit by granting funds to BCSB for the purposes of the home and school.

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From the outset the project was unusual in two key respects:

These were key parts of the vision of the founder and first director of the project, Howlader Ali. By having those with different disabilities together the children flourish helping each other. They see that their particular disability does not prevent them being a valued part of the happy “family”. And their actual families see in many cases that their disabled child can acquire economically productive skills. Indeed, the disabled child may be more productive than their siblings who have not had access to training. This is a start to reducing the social stigma attaching to both the child and the family. Reducing that stigma was Ali’s long-term aim.

The trustees are proud of how successfully BCSB has realised Ali’s vision over the last eighteen years and how his successors have built on what he started. This has benefited the public through:

How BCSB realises the vision

1) Admissions policy

The home and school is open to any disabled child from the age of five, regardless of gender, religion, or social, political or financial status of their family. Now that BCSB is so well known throughout the island there is greater demand than BCSB can meet. Admission is based on an assessment of the needs of the child and BCSB’s ability to meet those needs. If demand exceeds the number of places, priority is given to the poorest.

The detailed assessment procedure includes a visit to the family home and looking at the whole family situation.

BCSB is not at present equipped to deal with children under five years old, or who are not capable of self-toiletting, or the most seriously autistic. Also the focus is on disabilities arising before, during or shortly after childbirth. Disabilities resulting from injuries or illness sustained later in life are generally regarded as the province of other agencies.

The aim is to equip the children when they leave to live a productive life with dignity, so far as their disabilities permit, and while staying at BCSB to feel safe, loved and valued for who they are, as part of an inclusive family.

There is an increasing emphasis on support for the family as well as the child. Besides remaining in close communication while the child is in residence, this can be anything from advising on breast feeding a child with a cleft palate to teaching them to sign or to help the child with physio or occupational therapy exercises. This may involve the parent(s) staying at BCSB for a few days. This can also benefit a child who cannot be admitted for some reason or can be admitted only for a short period.

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2) Education

The children who are capable of attending normal school attend a school just up the road in the mornings. BCSB provides classes covering reading and writing in Bangla and English and in Bangla and roman script, arithmetic, art, dance, sign language and (for the deaf) lipreading and vocalisation.

All the children and all the staff have to learn sign language so that the deaf children can communicate freely with anyone in the boundary.

For slow learners there is now a dedicated class called the Sunshine School. This takes non-residential children on a paying basis. The staff have benefited from specialist training provided by Mann, an Indian charity which specialises in training autistic children and young adults and finding them employment.

There is no religious education provided by BSCB, which has no religious affiliation. But the children are able to attend religious instruction at their local place of worship. An indicator of the inclusiveness of BCSB is that the staff, while mainly Muslim, includes two Hindus and, until her recent retirement through ill health, one Christian.

3) Technical training

Older children are taught employable skills including:

Increasingly, BCSB is seeking to broaden the range of skills training available and increase the standard by forming partnerships with larger local organisations which can afford better facilities and specialist instructors teaching to certificated standards. For example, instruction in computers and IT and in electrical wiring is provided at HEED Technical Training College nearby. This increases the chances of each child receiving training which makes the most of their individual aptitudes and capabilities.

The ablest children are sent for further training in Dhaka where BCSB has close relations with specialist organisations providing training and safe accommodation for the disabled.

The older teenagers are given increasing responsibilities, for example as teaching assistants or interns in the Physio Department, for which they are paid a small salary.

4) Hostel accommodation and pastoral care

The girls and boys sleep in small dormitories on separate floors of the main hostel building.

A house mother and house father provide pastoral care and instruction in personal hygiene for the girls and boys respectively.

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The children are expected to do their fair share of the household chores. They are organised into teams led by older children, which are responsible for cleaning their dormitories and the communal rooms and other tasks on a rota basis.

Until December 2024 the families of residential children only needed to provide soap and toiletries. Everything else was free of charge. In January 2025 a monthly charge of Tk 1,000 (£6.25) was introduced as an experiment, since increased to Tk 2,000 (£12.50) for new admissions. The relief of poverty associated with disability remains part of our aims, so only those who are considered reasonably able to pay are charged. Parents understand the reason for the charge and have generally been happy to pay it. £12.50 is less than the monthly food cost (£15), let alone the overall monthly cost per child including training, rehabilitation and overheads (£85).

5) Medical care

Medical care is provided by local medical services except for physiotherapy and occupational therapy, which are provided on-site by BCSB’s own Physiotherapy Department.

The Physiotherapy Department is run by a qualified physiotherapist with additional diagnostic assistance from an external consultant. There are very limited physiotherapy facilities on the island, mostly of poor quality. BCSB’s Department has an excellent reputation and treats external fee-paying adult patients as well as our children. Those with cerebral palsy or occupational therapy needs are treated daily, others as required. Occupational therapy is particularly helpful for the slow learners. Two of the female staff came to the home as blind children and when older were trained to provide physiotherapy.

BCSB is regularly approached for help with children with deformities such as cleft lips, cleft palates and club feet. When a sufficient number have done so, BCSB arranges for a group of those with clefts to go to Dhaka for free operations. Those with club feet can now get operations at a specialist unit in Bhola City and are referred there. BCSB then helps with follow-up physiotherapy. BCSB also helps by providing or advising on assistive devices.

6) Sport and recreation

Time is allocated every day for play and sport. Depending on the season and weather there may be cricket, badminton, football, swimming, bicycling, board games, chess, carom, hopscotch and many more. There are also regular dance and music classes – it is a joy to see a group of deaf children dancing gracefully and in time to music!

BCSB children are regularly entered for competitions almost invariably winning prizes. In 2024-25 these included:

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Three Big Changes

Change of Director

Sadly on 31st December Zakirul Haque, the Director of BCSB for the last ten years, left to pursue business interests in Dhaka where his family live, although he still remains involved with BCSB as a member of the board. He deserves immense credit for what he achieved in that time. The trustees wish to express their huge gratitude to him for this and wish him and his family well for the future. He had originally come to hold the fort for three months after the previous Director was dismissed, but so loved the project that he ended up staying for ten years.

Ismail Sahib the Accountant and Administration Manager was promoted to Director in his place. It could not have been a more difficult time to take over given the other big changes but from the start he has risen to the challenges well.

Emergency reduction in BCSB Budget

Sadly, because of the problems developing new funding sources, it was necessary in January 2025 to halve the number of residential children, lay off three staff and reduce the salaries of the remaining staff. Non-essential spending was cut. This included most spending on technical training in woodwork, metalwork and agriculture, and funding for external training, but the facilities remain in place. It is hoped that this is a temporary situation – see Financial Review – Fundraising below.

Most of the staff have been in post for many years. To them BCSB is their “home” and their “family”. We are proud to see how committed they are to seeing the project through this difficult time and how they are helping each other out by sharing tasks outside their normal role as say teacher.

Change in BCSB Board

Sadly, in Bangladesh under the previous autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina it became near impossible to do anything without the active support of Awami League politicians. Hence BCSB had Unus, the Chairman of the Bhola City Upazila (district council), as its Chairman. However, the new regime in August 2024 immediately sacked all the politicians and many administrators perceived as their cronies. All those associated with the old regime fled the country or went into hiding and many have since been charged with various offences including Unus.

So Unus had to resign as Chairman of BCSB and was replaced by another member of the board Shawkat Hossain. Unus, unusually for a Bangladeshi politician, is well regarded as a man of integrity by all parties and is able to move freely in Bhola. We hope that the charges against him will in time be dropped, because there is no doubting his personal commitment to supporting BCSB.

Grant making policy

Grants are made to BCSB in instalments against a pre-approved annual budget which has also been approved by the Bangladesh NGO Affairs Bureau. The grants are subject to BCSB complying with a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between BCUK and BCSB.

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How our grants delivered public benefit

Typically in 2024 the residential children included 30 deaf, 20 slow learners, 10 with physical disabilities, 3 with CP and 1 blind. From January 2025 the numbers were halved.

In the year five children left for jobs and three left to get married.

Besides the children, five of the staff of BCSB are themselves disabled and might otherwise find it hard to find accommodation and employment and impossible to get married. They include two blind, one deaf, one CP, and one acid victim. Three of them have successfully married with the support of BCSB and have children of their own.

BCSB thus provides substantial benefits to many disabled children from mostly very poor families in an island of two million people where there are no comparable alternative facilities. And, as its reputation grows, it benefits the wider community by showing that disabled children can be economically productive and valued individuals who deserve to live and be treated with dignity rather than stigma.

Monitoring of the achievements

BCSB operates as a project of DORP (Development Organisation for the Rural Poor), a large long-established Bangladeshi NGO. This means that the project is subject to detailed monitoring by the Bangladesh government’s NGO Affairs Bureau (“NGOAB”). This includes pre-approval of the annual budget, pre-approval of each payment received from BCUK and subsequent auditing by auditors on the Bangladesh government’s list of approved auditors.

BCSB also has to comply with the monitoring requirements of the Department of Social Welfare, with which it is registered, and with the financial control procedures of DORP through whom the funds are remitted.

To satisfy BCUK that BCSB spends the money received in ways which meet the specific intentions and charitable aims of BCUK the primary controls are:

Sandy Anson visited the project in July 2024 immediately before the political troubles started. Unfortunately, scheduled visits by other trustees in November, January and March had to be cancelled for safety reasons. So we are happy to report that after the year end Sandy Anson was able to visit in July 2025 and found everything in remarkably good shape considering the big changes and difficulties. Staff morale was high. The staff were working well with the new Director. BCSB was getting more income from charges and local personal donations and securing some larger grants from government authorities. And during his visit he was able to get to know and build a fruitful relationship with the new appointees in senior official positions.

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Financial review

Fundraising

Until this year, with one exception, namely a large legacy of £274,000 received in May 2019, almost all the charity’s income comprised personal donations from a core group of UK donors mainly in West London, supplemented by occasional fundraising events including appeals through local churches.

But the running costs of the project have grown sharply in recent years, due to the increased number of children, increased quality of care provided and massive price inflation during and after the pandemic which shows no sign of reversing. These cost increases have far outpaced the amount that could reasonably be raised from the existing donor base. So, if the project in its present form was to be financially sustainable in the longer term, it was clearly necessary to develop new sources of income and/or make radical changes in how it was structured.

While the legacy provided a breathing space, it also made it very difficult to raise new funds during the pandemic, the Ukraine and Gaza Wars and the cost-of-living crisis. A professional fundraiser was appointed for the first time in May 2021, but the results were disappointing with only £20,000 over two years raised by them from grant-making bodies. So that relationship was terminated in March 2022.

Our focus shifted to launching a Sponsor-a-Child scheme and to reducing costs by making the project more self-sustaining both by increasing income streams within the project and by raising funds locally in Bangladesh. Unfortunately the Sponsor-a-Child scheme had to be suspended first because of the security situation and then because of the reduction in administrative staff at BCSB.

Before the regime change it had been decided that BCSB should sell a piece of valuable land which was surplus to requirements. This would have funded 80 children for at least a year and provided a window for other sources of funds to be developed. However, the regime change has had the effect that many people have access to less money because they have moved it abroad or had it frozen in one of the “bad” banks, and, if they do have access to funds, they are not willing to make any decisions until they see how the political situation pans out after the election (expected in spring 2026). For the same reasons people are unwilling to commit to larger personal donations.

The future is potentially much brighter depending on how the political position develops. BCSB has applied several times in the past for its own NGO registration but this has been blocked for political reasons. Those reasons no longer apply and the present regime is processing applications more swiftly. If and when the current application is successful, this will open doors to a much wider range of sources of grants and donations in Bangladesh. BCSB has already in 2025 received more government grants and support in kind than previous years from the newly appointed, more supportive officials. Together with the increased income from charges the project is on its way to becoming more self-sustainable and less reliant on BCUK.

Investment policy and performance

The trustees’ policy is to invest surplus funds in bank fixed deposits with up to one year’s maturity and/or notice accounts, while ensuring that all the funds are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. There have been no surplus funds since June 2024.

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Interest received in the current year was £483 (last year £2,376).

Expenditure

It has been the trustees’ policy that all of the money raised from donors and the net amount raised from fundraising activities should be applied for the benefit of the children in Bhola, except for money spent on:

The trustees personally have borne, and continue to bear, all the other administration costs. In particular they bear the considerable costs of travel and accommodation when visiting BCSB on charity business.

Expenditure – grants to BCSB

Expenditure on grants to BCSB is shown in the accounts on a cash basis. This is because grants are not confirmed until paid and they cannot be paid until both the annual budget and the individual payment have been approved by the NGOAB. BCSB’s accounting year is the calendar year, whereas BCUK’s is the year to 31st March. As NGOAB approval is not received until two, three or even four months into the year, the first payment for the year may be before or after BCUK’s 31st March year end. Also the amount of the first payment may represent anything between three and six months expenditure depending on our judgement of future exchange movements and, for example, the need to complete building work ahead of the monsoon. For these reasons the cash figure can be very different from the costs incurred in the year by BCSB.

Financial summary

Results per the accounts This year Last year
£ £
Personal donations 44,848 22,649
Grants from foundations/trusts 3,000 13,000
Investment income 483 2,376
Total income 48,331 38,025
Cost of raising funds 190 487
Cost of grants paid to BCSB 55,872 106,336
Total expenditure 56,062 106,823
(Deficit) per accounts (6,409) (68,798)
Total funds at end of year 22,902 29,311
of which restricted funds 0 29,311

If the grant expenditure had been accounted for on an accruals rather than cash basis:

The restriction on the restricted funds was that the funds were intended as a working capital reserve to cover adverse temporary cashflow fluctuations and the trustees were expected (but not legally bound) to replenish the reserve within twelve months of drawing on it. In

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March 2024 the trustees drew on this £40,000 reserve for the first time to the extent of £10,689 at the year end. During the current year the donor removed the restriction so that all the reserves became unrestricted.

Going concern basis

The chances of the charity ceasing to be a going concern are minimal, so long as there is a surviving trustee and the charity has banking facilities. The charity’s administrative expenses are almost all borne by the trustees personally. Grants are only finally approved at the time they are paid and they are only paid if the funds are available. The trustees therefore consider it is appropriate to present the accounts on a going concern basis.

Risks

It is a regrettable fact of modern life that Anti-Moneylaundering Legislation and Charity Commission rules and guidance are becoming ever more stringent. Any involvement with Bangladesh is of itself sufficient to raise the authorities’ concerns. The trustees are confident that under the current rules they can satisfy enquiries made by the banks at their annual reviews of the charity’s accounts or by the Charity Commission, but it is impossible to predict how those rules and the attitudes of the various authorities and the banks may develop in future. If the worst were to happen and the charity’s banking facilities were withdrawn, this would prevent the charity from operating.

The chances of the grantee ceasing to be a going concern are more significant. In particular:

The charity aims to have sufficient reserves to provide emergency financial aid in the interests of the children in any such circumstances, but there is no binding legal obligation to provide that support. In such circumstances, even if it had the funds, there is no guarantee that there would be a legal means of delivering them to where they were needed.

Under the MOU BCSB is required to have a safeguarding policy which meets UK requirements. In the UK the requirement now is to have a policy which safeguards not just vulnerable children and adults but anyone within or who comes into contact with the organisation.

BCUK has its own safeguarding policy. Before authorising visits by BCUK trustees the trustees consider the security and health risks to the visiting trustee, who also has to be personally satisfied that the visit is safe.

Reserves policy

For the time being the trustees are prioritising passing on all the money they raise to BCSB. Keeping the project alive is considered more important at this juncture than building up reserves. That is subject to retaining £5,000 to cover any costs involved in winding up BCUK, if it should come to that.

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As and when the funding situation is sufficiently improved, the trustees will consider what level of contingency reserve it is appropriate to designate in the light of the then political situation, mix of UK and local funding, exchange rate volatility, and any other relevant factors. Meanwhile there is some flexibility in that BCSB’s budget continues to include a 5% contingency provision.

The political situation in Bangladesh

In July 2024 students took to the streets in Bangladesh protesting against the reinstatement by the courts of a preference for the grandchildren of those who fought for independence in 1971 when applying for government jobs. Many others joined the protests out of dissatisfaction with the increasingly autocratic and corrupt government. 1,200 people were killed by the police attempting to suppress the riots before the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina fled to India. The police and anyone associated with the regime fled or went into hiding. Since then an interim government has been formed under the internationally respected Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Whether he will succeed in steering the country through the economic, political and constitutional reforms necessary before fair and safe elections can be held remains uncertain. It is not made easy by frequent large street protests making demands with the potential for violence if they are frustrated.

As of now, the possibilities include:

The latest indication from the government is that it hopes to hold elections in April 2026. BCSB has politician friends in both main political parties and the board has positioned itself, as far as it can, to be in favour with either.

Plans for the future

An overarching aim is to make the project more self-sustaining financially by raising funds locally through grants and donations and generating income from sales of services and goods and so making it less dependent on UK funding. The island of Bhola is undergoing rapid economic development following the development of substantial gas fields. Completion of a bridge to the mainland in the next few years will further accelerate development. It is anticipated that this will create significant markets for BCSB’s services and goods, bring businesses to the island who will want to be seen supporting local good causes and make it easier to hire qualified staff.

Assuming that sufficient UK and local funds are raised to tide the project over the next two years an immediate priority is to continue building up capacity at the Sunshine School and Physiotherapy Department, as these are self-funding and there is no one else on the island providing professional physiotherapy or autism services.

Another aim is to develop the production of handcrafts with a view to generating more income from this source. But progress on this must await the resumption of full technical training.

We have identified a range of other investments in people and buildings that would widen and strengthen the quality of the services BCSB provides in ways that would be invaluable to those on the island and/or make the project financially more sustainable. But it is impossible to make plans for these while the political situation remains on a knife edge.

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Structure, governance and management

BCUK

BCUK is run by a board of the eight trustees listed below.

The board contains trustees with a range of relevant skills and experience and the balance of these skills and experience is kept under review.

There are no staff. All the work is done by the trustees with occasional assistance from other volunteers in connection with fundraising events and IT.

Office facilities are provided by the Chair from her home.

BCSB

BSCB is a Bangladesh charitable trust with a board of eight trustees who are all wellrespected members of the local community. The board, however, needs to be restructured as explained above.

BCSB is registered with the Social Welfare Department.

MOU

The MOU between BCUK and BCSB was last revised in January 2023. It sets out various matters that must be agreed jointly by the two parties. These include the appointment of the Director of BCSB, terms of his or her employment and any changes thereto. In practice there is email, telephone and Zoom contact between the Chair of BCUK and the Director, at least weekly and often daily. Since the pandemic there have also been occasional joint meetings of the BCUK and BCSB boards on Zoom.

The purchases of the land and original buildings were funded by a group of individual donors including the current chair of BCUK. The subsequent buildings were funded by BCUK. All the land and buildings are now registered in the name of BCSB, but under the MOU BCUK must agree to the disposal of any interest in the land and buildings.

The MOU also requires both parties to share minutes of their meetings.

DORP

Pending BCSB getting its own NGO registration, which can take years, BCSB became a project of DORP (Development Organisation of the Rural Poor) a large long-established Bangladesh NGO. DORP handles the considerable work in dealing with the NGO Affairs Bureau in respect of the project in return for 3% of the funds remitted by BCUK. Otherwise it is supportive of but plays no part in the management of the project. The involvement of DORP was a necessary price for BCSB being allowed to receive funds from BCUK through the banking system.

Reference and administrative information

Trustees

Dinah Wiener, Chair of Trustees Alexander (“Sandy”) Anson FCA, Treasurer Nicholas Breeze (resigned 05/05/2025)

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Bruna Colombo-Otten (resigned 06/05/2025) Freda Graf Anne Hamilton Andrew Hogan Barnaby Wiener

Registered Office and Principal Office : 12 Cornwall Grove, London, W4 2LB Charity Number: 1118345

Independent examiner: Michael Godbee FCA, 99 The Avenue, London, W13 8JT Bankers : CAF Bank Limited, 25 Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4TA

Trustees’ responsibility in relation to the financial statements

The charity trustees are responsible for preparing a trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, of the charity for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the applicable Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations, and the provisions of the Trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity’s website in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements.

Approved by the trustees on 28th July 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Dinah Wiener, Chair of Trustees Alexander Anson, Treasurer

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Independent examiner’s report on the accounts

Report to the trustees Bhola’s Children of: (Charity no. 1118345) On accounts for the 31st March 2025 year ended: Set out on pages: 14 to 21

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31st March 2025.

Responsibilities and As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report 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 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 I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that, in any material respect:

I draw attention to pages 7 to 10 of the trustees’ annual report where the trustees’ give more explanation of the financial situation of the charity and their reasons for preparing the accounts on a going concern basis.

With that exception 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.

Signed: Date:

Name: MICHAEL GODBEE

Relevant professional FCA qualification:

Address: 99 THE AVENUE, LONDON, W13 8JT

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BHOLA'S CHILDREN

Charity No. 1118345 Annual accounts for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025

Statement of financial activities

Note
Income and endowments
from:
Donations
3
Grants
3
Investments
3
Total
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
4
Charitable activities
4
Total
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Other recognised
gains/(losses)
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
–		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
funds
£
£
£
46,670
-
46,670
2,500
-
2,500
483
-
483
49,653
-
49,653
190
-
190
55,872
-
55,872
56,062
-
56,062
(6,409)
-
(6,409)
29,311
(29,311)
-
22,902
(29,311)
(6,409)
-
-
-
22,902
(29,311)
(6,409)
-
29,311
29,311
22,902
-
22,902
––––––– Current year –––––––		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
funds
£
£
£
46,670
-
46,670
2,500
-
2,500
483
-
483
49,653
-
49,653
190
-
190
55,872
-
55,872
56,062
-
56,062
(6,409)
-
(6,409)
29,311
(29,311)
-
22,902
(29,311)
(6,409)
-
-
-
22,902
(29,311)
(6,409)
-
29,311
29,311
22,902
-
22,902
––––––– Current year –––––––		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
funds
£
£
£
46,670
-
46,670
2,500
-
2,500
483
-
483
49,653
-
49,653
190
-
190
55,872
-
55,872
56,062
-
56,062
(6,409)
-
(6,409)
29,311
(29,311)
-
22,902
(29,311)
(6,409)
-
-
-
22,902
(29,311)
(6,409)
-
29,311
29,311
22,902
-
22,902
––––––– Current year –––––––		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
funds
£
£
£
22,649
22,649
13,000
-
13,000
2,376
-
2,376
38,025
-
38,025
487
-
487
106,336
106,336
106,823
-
106,823
(68,798)
-
(68,798)
10,689
(10,689)
-
(58,109)
(10,689)
(68,798)
-
-
-
(58,109)
(10,689)
(68,798)
58,109
40,000
98,109
-
29,311
29,311
––––––––– Prior year –––––––––		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
funds
£
£
£
22,649
22,649
13,000
-
13,000
2,376
-
2,376
38,025
-
38,025
487
-
487
106,336
106,336
106,823
-
106,823
(68,798)
-
(68,798)
10,689
(10,689)
-
(58,109)
(10,689)
(68,798)
-
-
-
(58,109)
(10,689)
(68,798)
58,109
40,000
98,109
-
29,311
29,311
––––––––– Prior year –––––––––		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
funds
£
£
£
22,649
22,649
13,000
-
13,000
2,376
-
2,376
38,025
-
38,025
487
-
487
106,336
106,336
106,823
-
106,823
(68,798)
-
(68,798)
10,689
(10,689)
-
(58,109)
(10,689)
(68,798)
-
-
-
(58,109)
(10,689)
(68,798)
58,109
40,000
98,109
-
29,311
29,311
––––––––– Prior year –––––––––
(6,409) - (6,409) (68,798) - (68,798)
29,311 (29,311) - 10,689 (10,689) -
22,902 (29,311) (6,409) (58,109) (10,689) (68,798)
- - - - - -
22,902 (29,311) (6,409) (58,109) (10,689) (68,798)
- 29,311 29,311 58,109 40,000 98,109
22,902 - 22,902 - 29,311 29,311

There were no endowment funds at any time in either year.

14

Balance sheet At 31 March Current year Prior year Current assets.. Stock Debtors Investments Cash at bank 180 7.186 240 3,464 20,186 5,421 29,311 15,480 22,846 Total current assets Credrtors Total cuffent liabilities Net cuffent assets 22,846 29,311 Total assets less current liabilities 22,846 29,311 Net assets 22.846 29,311 The funds of the charity: Endowment and restricted income funds Unrestricted funds Total charity funds 12 29,311 13 91,700 98,109 Approved by the trustees on 2nd January 2025 and signed on their behalf by: Position Name nature Chair of the Trustees Dinah Leah Carlotta WIENER co Treasurer Alexander Lothian ANSON 15

Notes to the Accounts

Note 1 Basis of preparation

1.1 Basis of accounting

These accounts (financial statements) have been prepared under the historic cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with:

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

1.2 Change in basis of accounting

There has been no change in the basis of accounting in the current year.

1.3 Changes to previous accounts

There have been no changes to the figures for last year.

Note 2 Accounting policies

2.1 INCOME

Recognition of income

Income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when:

Offsetting There has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or income and expenses, unless required or permitted by the FRS or SORP.

Grants and donations Grants and donations are only included in the SoFA when the general income criteria are met (5.8 to 5.12 FRS102). In the case of performance related grants, income must only be recognised to the extent that the charity has provided the specified goods or services as entitlement to the grant only occurs when the performance-related conditions are met.

Tax reclaims on donations Gift Aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid and gifts declaration from the donor. Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.

Donated goods Donated goods are measured at fair value (the amount for which the asset could be exchanged) unless impractical to do so.

16

Notes to the Accounts

Donated services and Donated services and facilities are included in the SOFA when facilities received at the value of the gift to the charity provided the value of the gift can be measured reliably. Volunteer help The value of any voluntary help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the trustees’ annual report. Income from interest, This is included in the accounts when receipt is probable and royalties and dividends the amount can be measured reliably. Investment gains and This includes any gain or loss on the sale of investments and losses any gain or loss resulting from revaluing investments to market value at the end of the year.

2.2 EXPENDITURE AND LIABILITIES

Liability recognition Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that
there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the
charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation
can be measured with reasonable accuracy.
Governance and support
costs		 Governance costs comprise all costs involving public
accountability of the charity and its compliance with
regulation and good practice. Support costs include costs of
grant-making and subsequent monitoring. All governance and
support costs in the year other than bank charges were borne
personally by the trustees in accordance with their policy of
not charging such costs to the charity.
Grants with performance
conditions		 Where the charity gives a grant with conditions for its
payment being a specific level of service or output to be
provided, such grants are only recognised in the SoFA once
the recipient of the grant has provided the specified service
or output.
Grants payable without Where there are no conditions attaching to the grant that
performance conditions enables the donor charity to realistically avoid the
commitment, a liability for the full funding obligation must
be recognised.
Deferred income No deferred income has been included in the accounts.
2.3 ASSETS
Fixed assets and The charity had no fixed assets or investments in the current
investments or prior year.
Stocks Stocks held for sale as part of non-charitable trade are
measured at the lower of cost or net realisable value.

17

Notes to the Accounts

Note 3 Analysis of income and endowments

Donations and legacies This year
Last year
£
£		 This year
Last year
£
£
Donations andgifts – unrestricted 37,595 13,041
Donations – restricted - -
Expenses waived bytrustees 1,822 6,986
Gift Aid tax recoverable 7,253 2,622
**Total ** 46,670 22,649

The trustees' expenses above and in Note 4 were expenses incurred on travel and subsistence in the course of their duties when visiting the project in Bangladesh (this year 1 trustee, last year 4 trustees). The Trustees waived their right to claim these expenses. The Trustees also incurred and waived other expenses in the course of their duties on, for example, the provision of home office and telephone facilities and travel to meetings, but it was not considered economic to identify and quantify these.

Grants
Grants fromprivategrant-makingbodies
Total
Investment income
Bank interest
Total
Costs of raising funds Commission and fees paid in respect of
donations received through the CAFDonate
website
Printing
Website maintenance and development
Bank charges on foreign donations and account
maintenance
Total
Charitable activities
Grantspaid to BCSB
Trustees' expenses for visits to BCSB(Note 3)
Bank charges on foreignpayments
Total
Note 4 Analysis of expenditure		 Grants fromprivategrant-makingbodies 2,500 13,000
**Total ** 2,500 13,000
Bank interest 483 2,376
**Total ** 483 2,376
This year
Last year
£
£
Commission and fees paid in respect of
donations received through the CAFDonate
website		 8 16
Printing - 60
Website maintenance and development 102 300
Bank charges on foreign donations and account
maintenance		 80 111
**Total ** 190 487
Grantspaid to BCSB 54,000 99,250
Trustees' expenses for visits to BCSB(Note 3) 1,822 6,986
Bank charges on foreignpayments 50 100
**Total ** 55,872 106,336

Grants paid to BCSB vary significantly from year to year because of timing differences in when they are paid. See the Trustees' Report for more details.

Bank charges are the only costs borne by the charity in respect of grantmaking.

18

Notes to the Accounts

funded by grants to BCSB
Approved expenditures		 2024
2023
£
£		 2024
2023
£
£
Buildings and equipment 3,339 6,152
Staff salaries 37,490 27,913
Food,medecine and healthcare 17,214 17,935
Education,trainingand rehabilitation 7,296 4,013
Travel 2,223 2,308
Utilities and security 2,138 1,797
Administration and audit 942 1,150
Contribution to DORP 1,620 4,937
Total 72,262 66,205

These figures are on a cash basis and are based on the audited accounts of BCSB for the calendar years 2023 and 2024 converted at the average exchange rate for the year concerned.

Note 5 Details of certain items of expenditure

All the trustees who incurred expenses in the performance of their duties
waived their right to claim those expenses. See Note 3.
Total amount claimed
Number of trustees who claimed expenses
5.1 Trustee expenses		 Thisyear Lastyear
None None
£0 £0
5.2 Fees for examination or audit of the accounts
Other fees (for example: advice, consultancy, accountancy services) paid
to the independent examiner
Independent examiner’s fees for reporting on the accounts		 This year
£		 Last year
£
0 0
0 0
This year
£		 Last year
£
Leaflets and Gift Aid envelopes 180 240
180 240

Note 6 Stocks

Note 7 Debtors and prepayments

Amounts falling due
within one year		 Amounts falling due
within one year		 Amounts falling due
after more than one
year		 Amounts falling due
after more than one
year
This year
£		 Last year
£		 This year
£		 Last year
£
Accrued bank interest 1 935 0 0
Gift Aid recoverable 7,185 2,529 0 0
Total 7,186 3,464 0 0

19

Notes to the Accounts

Note 8 Investments

This year
£		 Last year
£
Bank 100-daynotice deposit 0 20,186
Total
0		 20,186

Note 9 Cash at bank and in hand

This year
£		 Last year
£
Cash at bank 15,480 5,421
Cash in hand 0 0
Total
15,480		 5,421

Note 10 Creditors and accruals

Note 10 Creditors and accruals and accruals
Amounts falling due
within one year		 Amounts falling due
after more than one
year
This year
£		 Last year
£		 This year
£		 Last year
£
Creditors –CAFDonate fees 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0

Note 11 Transactions with related parties

11.1 Remuneration and benefits

No remuneration or other benefits were paid to a trustee or other related party during either year by the charity or by any institution or company connected with it. See notes 3 and 5.1 regarding trustees' waived expenses.

11.2 Loans

No amounts were owing to or from the charity’s trustees or other related parties by the charity at either year end.

11.3 Other transactions with trustees or related parties

Name of the trustee or
relatedparty
Relationship to the
charity		 Description of the
transactions		 This year
£		 Last year
£
Bhola's Children Special
School Bangladesh ("BCSB")		 Bangladesh charitable
trust which operates the
home and school funded
bythe Charity
Grants paid by the
Charity to BCSB for the
purposes specified in
Note 4		 0 0

20

Notes to the Accounts

Note 12 Endowment and restricted income funds

CURRENT YEAR

Restricted income Fund Fund brought
forward
£		 Added
£		 Utilised/
Released
£
Carried
forward
£
Workingcapital fund 29,311 - (29,311) -
**Total restricted funds ** 29,311 - (29,311) -

PRIOR YEAR

PRIOR YEAR
Restricted income Fund Fund brought
forward
£		 Added
£		 Utilised/
Released
£
Carried
forward
£
Workingcapital fund 40,000 - (10,689) 29,311
**Total restricted funds ** 40,000 - **(10,689) ** 29,311

There were no endowment funds in the current or prior year.

The £40,000 Working Capital Fund was intended to cover adverse short-term cashflow fluctuations in income and expenditure. There was an expectation but not a legal requirement that amounts drawn from the fund were repaid within 12 months. This restriction was withdrawn by the donor during the year.

Note 13 Unrestricted funds – designated

CURRENT YEAR

CURRENT YEAR
Designation Reserve
brought
forward
£		 Surplus/
deficit for
the year
£		 Transfer
from
restricted
£		 Newly
designated
£		 Utilised/
Released
£
Reserve
carried
forward
£
Windingupcosts - - - 5,000 - 5,000
Undesignated reserve 68,798 (6,409) 29,311 (5,000) - 86,700
Total unrestricted funds 68,798 **(6,409) ** 29,311 - - 91,700

PRIOR YEAR

PRIOR YEAR
Designation Reserve
brought
forward
£		 Surplus/
deficit for
the year
£		 Transfer
from
restricted
£		 Newly
designated
£		 Utilised/
Released
£
Reserve
carried
forward
£
Legacy contribution to
running costs		 40,000 - - - (40,000) -
BCSB staff provident fund 6,300 - - - (6,300) -
Undesignated reserve 11,809 - 10,689 - 46,300 68,798
**Total unrestricted funds ** 58,109 - 10,689 - - 68,798

21