TABS International Annual Report: April 2022 – March 2023
Overview
This has been another busy year for TABS International and the project in Kiandutu, the focus being around the changes to the Kenyan School system and ensuring the project keeps up with requirements from the education department.
However, the project continues to progress well, with improved exam results again this year compared to last - which has all been possible due to the ongoing faithful support of the school team in Kiandutu, our Friends of TABS network, and donors here in the UK.
Achievements on the ground - Highlights
April 22 - Exam success - Students achieved a mean score of 241.63, which is an improvement from last year’s 226.7, a deviation of +14.93. For the children who live in Kiandutu Slum to really be lifted out of poverty for a lifetime, they need to access secondary school education. We are slowly improving these chances by consistently improving our education offer within the school.
May 2022- New exam books arrived - The education reform in Kenya requires regular provision of new learning materials. The school received new grade 6 curriculum books (crucial to completing the syllabus), newly published 2021 books, and new books for all grades which will increase the ratio of books per learner from 4:1 to 2:1 – improving their access to learning materials and enhancing their learning experience.
June 2022- 5 children received a scholarship - This year 5 children from our project scored over 350 marks on their end of year exams and therefore successfully secured a place on the Elimu scholarship program - courtesy of the Government of Kenya, and the World Bank. They have all joined good secondary boarding schools, and the achievement was recognised by a visit from Cabinet Secretary George Magoha. This has encouraged us to continue working harder to have more children in the community attain the minimum point for scholarship.
September 2022- Construction of the examination hall begins - To be officially registered and recognised as an educational provision in Kenya, the school must have its own examination hall, which needs to meet certain criteria. Over time, having the hall will save the project money as we currently have to pay to send each child to another provision to sit their exams.
The hall will be capable of accommodating 35-45 learners with spacing of 1.5 metres between each during national examinations. It will also be used as an ICT centre and Library room for digital learning and will be a great asset to the school. The space will also be rented out for use by the local community, again bringing essential funding into the school directly.
September 2022 - New Land for Sustainability - After a lot of fundraising efforts we were able to send out the funds to TABS Kenya to purchase a new 3-acre plot of land for the project, which has now been cleared and fenced off. The land is about 50 mins drive north of Kiandutu towards Mnt Kenya, it is rural but
Ellen Sanders: December 2023
1
accessible. The initial plan is to plant fast growing crops such as maize and beans for the school to start reducing the feeding programme costs, but eventually this will also become our secondary school site and vocational training centre. The aim is to give the children an opportunity to see a life outside of the slum to enhance their motivations and aspirations for the future.
The main priority for the land is water. In the short term there is a stream that runs through which can be dammed off during the rainy season, but in the long term we need to install a bore hole. The water table is not too deep in the ground, and there is a need for accessible water in the local community which again will become a sustainable income stream for the project.
February 2023 – New partnership with Boresha Jamii – who are a local charity organization specialising in providing mentoring and counselling to vulnerable young people. They have a team of volunteers who will be offering a range of different support around issues that affect young people – mental ill health, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual health etc.
TABS UK Monitoring Trip – also in February, our Chair spent a week at the project, spending time with staff and meeting with our Kenyan Trustees to ensure we are working to plan and to prioritise activity for the year ahead.
Title Deeds – the local authority has finally recognised the settled status of the slum in Kiandutu and are offering Title Deeds to residents including the school. This is being funded by The World Bank for peoples of informal settlements. This is at no cost to us at all, and the Deeds will be owned by the TABS Kenya charity, this is happening now and is a huge step forward for the project providing the long-term stability we need to develop with confidence.
Friends of TABS
The Friends initiative began in 2017 with the first convention taking place in November of that year. The principle behind Friends of TABS is to develop a network of supporters who raise funds, become prayer warriors, and offer any skills that are pertinent and relevant. Three conventions have now taken place, where Friends come together for half a day. They are updated on progress and have an opportunity to meet Friends from around the country and share ideas on how to support TABS International.
We have also committed to organising a biennial Friends of TABS trip to the Project in Kiandutu so people who have supported TABS get an opportunity to see for themselves how their efforts are being utilised. The uniqueness of this initiative is that individuals experience first-hand the impact of their involvement and efforts, and really feel they have an emotional connection to the Project. They then return to the UK more deeply committed to what we are trying to achieve. Unfortunately, we have been unable to honour the commitment again this year, but we are making plans for a Friends trip in mid-2024.
Some of the activity our Friends of TABS network have arranged this year include – participation in a fundraising triathlon, organising the donation of good quality sports equipment to be shipped out to the project, online and in person Piano Soiree concerts, and many attended a memorial service arranged for our late founder and former chair – Rachel Sanders who passed away in 2020. All this effort raising a significant amount of money for the project.
Ellen Sanders: December 2023
2
TABS International UK
As our Trustees are spread right across the UK we meet as a Trustee team 3 times a year online, coming together once a year face to face for our AGM.
Sadly, one of our trustees, Jenna Gill decided to step down in her role as treasure and trustee this year. Jenna has been a trustee with TABS for over 10-years since she came out to Kenya as a support worker for some vulnerable young people she was working with and was hooked by the TABS vision. We are immensely grateful for the input she has given to TABS over the years.
Our website and TABS Facebook page, continues to be the best places for supporters and others to find out what TABS is up to and focusing on.
Development Plan & Priorities for 2023-24
The school system in Kenya is changing from a basic primary and secondary split, to a lower and upper primary, and a junior and senior secondary model. Therefore, the school needs to be able to accommodate a junior secondary school on the current site - until we can move this out to the new land. The current Grade 8 students in the primary school will be the last, there is no grade 7 class and the current grade 6 students (which is now the last year of primary education) do not have anywhere to progress onto. Even though education is technically free in Kenya, the reality is that most children in the slum cannot afford to get to a secondary school and their parents / carers cannot afford the uniforms, or the added costs that they are asked to pay – so they do not attend.
Proposed Solution – we will therefore be separating the current primary school site into a primary and Junior secondary school as there is space for this to be done, and we plan to build 3 x permanent stone structures and create a separate entrance into the Junior secondary area. Planning and starting this work will be our focus for the coming year and means our current grade 6 children will have a school to progress into in Jan 2024. We plan to operate a means tested approach for the secondary school as some parents within the slum can afford to pay some fees. Also, as the standard of education in the school is now well regarded within the area, we will be able to attract some full fee-paying students into the school, building the longterm sustainability of the project, and enabling us to continue to offer free education to those most in need.
All this is going to take a lot of planning and fundraising and will take up most of our efforts for the coming year – we’d best get to work!
Signed: Date: 15/12/2023
Ellen Sanders
Chair of TABS International on behalf of the Trustee Board
Ellen Sanders: December 2023
3
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ TABS INTERNATIONAL members of On accounts for the year 31 MARCH 2023 Charity no 1120418 ended (if any) Set out on page 1-2
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/2023.
- Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report 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 carrying out my examination, I have followed 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 in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
-
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and 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.
Date: 16 January 2024 Signed: Name: Chaweevan Williams FCCA Relevant professional Chartered Certified Accountant qualification(s) or body : Address: Verdant Accountants Limited 20-22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU
CHARITY COMMIS510 FOR INGIAND AND WAI TABS INTERNATIONAL 1120418 Recelpts and payments accounts CC16a For tho porlod from 0110412022 To 3110312023 Section A Receipts and payment8 Uiirostrlclo fundB 11&6lriLlad fund• lun(J• Totsl fund• L*ty to th• É loth• e to th• nMr•rt£ A1 Rrt•lpts Ir GNin9 794S 0279 5?0 J.269 1.494 420 3.781 3269 1A94 410 J.735 Al S•ts ChuTth 3.781 &Jb total{Gross incom8 forARJ A2 Asset and inVestmt sales. ,Isee tabl•l. 28,120 28.120 18.120 Sub total Totalrecwpts 28.120 28.120 16.120 A3Pa ments Sth(x4 Revenue cos Schocl Caprtal [Xt 24.031 24llJl 13,940 42D 13,940 420 Sub tota 38,391 36.391 22.156 A4 Asmt and in¥esbn•nt purcha1,158• tabl•l Sub tot• 38.391 .391 22.156 Netof ro¢elpts/{p•yments) A5 Trnn•f•r• b•twwn fund• A6 C••h fundB I1 y••r •nd Cash fund• thls y••r •n 10,2711 110,271 16.0361 29,933 19,682 29,933 t9,062 35.969 29,933
Endo•rrt fund• Calegorle Dolnll fundA lunds B1 C¥h lund8 Ca•h il Total cosh lunds 19,662 rryAiifA8 ni PnynionlA Unrg•trlc¢•d Endowm•nt lund• fund• to n••r••l£ Dota115 lo n•41••t t IÉ B2 Oth•r mon•tary ¥ss•ts FurKI lo whl¢h ••Mt b•long• 83 Inv•$tmont ass•ts Fund lo whlch aH•t b•long• C¥rMnt ¥alu• loplbondl D¢tallJ 84 Ass•ts r•tln•d for th• ¢h•rlty's own us tu Whlch Wh•D du• Detalls Ioptyon) B5 U•bllltl•• Shw•d by or Iruts•J on b8harf of all I IDJ8lw8 Prfnt Name Date of ap roval stgnature Ellen Sander8 11