2023-03-31-accounts

A rendezvous of giving and receiving

Annual Review & Account 2022-2023 SOUTH PEOPLE’S PROJECTS-SOPPRO Registered Charity 1120469 1

SOUTH PEOPLES PROJECTS (SOPPRO) is a British African Diaspora organisation established in 2004 by and for Francophone asylum seekers, refugees and migrants living in and for the projects in the UK, especially and not exclusively from and for the international projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroun, Guinea-Conakry, etc.

Mission

To ensure the African diaspora in the UK has a space and opportunity to learn, voice themselves, contribute and make available their skills for their new community while also being involved in back home African challenges.

Objectives

1. The relief of poverty amongst African people in the UK and Africa, including but not limited to asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.

2. The advancement of the education and training of those granted refugee status and their dependents in need thereof to advance them in life and assist them within a new community.

3. The advancement of the education of the public in general about the issues relating to refugees and those seeking asylum.

Motto

“When settling in a village, avoid starting to dance with your left foot while the inhabitants themselves start their dance with the right one. You have first to learn their way of dance starting with the right foot and, once dancing with them, teaching them your way to dance starting with the left foot. You and the village will be richer and benefit from those both ways of dancing” (Congolese Proverb).

Partners

1. AFFORD: African Foundation for Development

2. BAWSO: Black Association of Women Step Out.

3. Black History Wales

4. CDP: The Congolese Development Project

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1. CMRB: Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging, University of East London.

2. Hub Cymru Africa

3. Life for African Mothers

4. SSAP: Sub-Saharan African Panel

Contributions: projects and activities

1. Rooted in the UK and recognised as one of the successful community organisations, SoPPro quarterly delivered many community, research and cultural projects and activities, linked with many umbrella organisations, and contributed to public, government and international community dialogues, conferences and summits.

2. SoPPro also bridged beneficiaries with workshops and learning opportunities and keeps contributing specifically to cultural, community, multicultural, and multireligious dialogues and even on issues related to back home Africa sociopolitical analyses and understanding.

3. SoPPro specifically played an important role during the last COVID-19 pandemic as its members and volunteers used their ICT skills they already delivered to the community to solve the then communication, information and learning gaps created by the pandemic.

4. SoPPro has been developing for a while special expertise in digging and sharing the common history between the United Kingdom and the entire British Isles with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other central African countries previously parts of the former Kongo Kingdom divided into three post-colonial countries: Angola (former colonial Portuguese Kongo), the Democratic of the Congo (former Belgian Kongo) and the Democratic Republic of Congo or Congo Brazzaville (former French Kongo), especially by revisiting explorers, travellers and missionaries as some of them worked and dedicated their lives for the Congo while other even died and buried in Congo.

5. Most of those projects on Henry Morton Stanley, the greatest explorer of Africa born in Denbigh (Wales), Rev. Pastor William Hughes who

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returned from the Congo in 1885 with two Congo Boys, Nkanza and Kinkasa (they died and were buried in Colwyn Bay, becoming the first Congolese buried in the UK), the first students of his Congo and African Training Institute (1889-1911) revolutionary projects in his city of Colwyn Bay (Wales) whose particularity was to bring black youth from Africa and America, to teach and to train them in several subjects and skills and to send them back in their country where most became real changemakers and leaders in several activities, including preaching Gospel, and now revisiting Edmund Morel and his Congo Reform Association (1904-1914) who fought for the Congolese by stopping the Belgian King Leopold II Congo atrocities famously known as the “rubber”.

1. SoPPro, members and volunteers play important roles in the now history and cultural narrative revisitation by voicing Africans and Blacks when dealing with their history and culture and to give them a space and place which is rightfully theirs in the worldwide environment.

2. Contribution to the Wales Biography project and many community history and cultural conferences and activities

3. SoPPro joined also the now DR Congo embassy's vision of setting up the first-ever Congo Cultural Centre in London.

4. Books and booklets published, contributions to number of community projects and evidenced by press releases and organisations reports.

TWO UNFINISHED AND ONGOING PROJECTS:

1. The now Project “BO’BISO” - Congo/UK Common History Task Force Revisiting Edmund Morel (1873-1924) & The Congo Reform Association (1904-1913) awarded by Heritage Lottery Fund.

Midterm Outcomes:

1. The Congo-UK Common History Task Force formed and networked;

2. Projects ICT materials available

3. Volunteers recruited and actively involved and contributed to the project

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1. Exhibition and end of the project learning materials, booklet, leaflets and map available.

2. History and cultural books and materials donated and ready for the next Cultural Centre in Newham

3. Connection and links with specific Congo history archives, library and museum (SOAS, Tervuren and Congo Memory and Library respectively in Brussels and Liege.

4. Participation in the film project with the Tervuren Museum.

5. Design the first even Cong/UK Common history sites map now in need to be digitalised.

6. The design of the first even Congo/UK Common History plaques to be offered and displayed by those sites and spaces.

7. Donations and specific Congo history books copyright permissions from the Tervuren Museum so that SoPPro could reprint them for the Congolese.

2. One Family/One Bike sponsored by a philanthropist: Andy Morgan

Midterm Outcomes:

1. 60 second-hand bikes bought and already shipped in the Congo, waiting for the coordinator to travel for their distribution and kick-off of the project.

2. The project was joined by two back-home Congolese local political and social leaders who agreed to support some fees and to contribute to the next funds' steps, especially for the need to train some members and volunteers in fixing and repairing bikes.

Main Weakness, Threat and Issue:

Last year October 2023, at the end of the Project “BO’BISO” - Congo/UK Common History Task Force Revisiting Edmund Morel (1873-1924) & The Congo Reform Association (1904-1913) awarded by Heritage Lottery Fund, as we are ready for the end of the project exhibition planned in December 2023, our coordinator was diagnosed with a disease and had an operation in December made him standing outside its work and follow a sick leave and has only started work at 50 per cent since June; the project will now end in October with a major exhibition.

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Even the organisation has also suffered from this state of affairs because the annual reports can only be sent now. This unfortunate situation had a serious negative impact on both the projects and the organisation.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31/03/2023: Income and Expenditure

penditure
	Unrestricted Fund(£)	Restricted Fund(£)	Total fund 2022(£)
INCOME
Balance on 31st March 2021 Heritage Lottery Fund, 2st Grant (Bo’biso: The Congo/Uk Common History Task Force Revisiting Mo- rel and The Congo Reform Asso- ciation (Ref: OM-20-07540)		7,814.00 22,100.00	7,814.00 22.100.00
Andy Morgan Donation	4,000	0,00	4,000
TOTAL INCOME	4,000.00	29,914.00	33,914.00
EXPENDITURE
Charity activities	4,110.00	4,567.00	8,777.00
Staff/Coordinator salary (31/04/2022-31/03/2023) Secretary and treasurer consul- tancy fees/transport	0.00	21,214.08 2,390.00	21,214.08 2,390.00
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	4,110.00	28,171.08	32,281.08
BALANCE ON 31st March 2023			1,632,92

Coordinator	Approved by Trustee
Norbert MBU-MPUTU	Natalia Ufert
London, 17 July 2024	Newport, 18 July 2024.

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