2024-12-31-accounts - Network For Africa

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Charity Number: 1120932 Company Number: 06317689

Network for Africa

Annual Report and Financial Statements

for the year ended

31st December 2024

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

The trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charitable company’s governing document, the companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective January 2019)”.

1. Objectives and activities

Network for Africa (N4A) supports survivors of conflict and genocide, along with their families, in sub-Saharan African communities that have been left behind once the fighting ends and humanitarian aid moves on. We listen to what these communities tell us they need and train local leaders to identify the most vulnerable, enabling us to provide targeted, sustainable assistance.

By forming long-term partnerships with local NGOs, we deliver mental health services that help individuals address the deep psychological scars of trauma - barriers that often hinder recovery. Our approach also empowers people to build livelihoods, breaking the cycle of mental illness and poverty.

We currently have mental health projects in Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda, where we are bridging the gap in mental health provision by developing affordable, appropriate and sustainable community-led programmes.

The trustees of the charity have given due regard and adhere to the Charity Commission’s guidance in public benefit.

2. Summary and Review of 2024

Across sub-Saharan Africa, countless individuals live with the invisible scars of war and genocide. At N4A we believe that no one should have to face the psychological aftermath of violence alone. By working in partnership with trusted local organisations to provide mental health and livelihoods support, we help people rebuild their lives and communities, and move forward with dignity and strength.

In the wake of conflict, trauma does not disappear when the fighting stops. For millions in post-conflict regions like Rwanda, Sierra Leone and northern Uganda, the mental toll of war lingers for years, often untreated and unspoken. An estimated one in five people in these areas live with mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or psychosis. But in many remote communities, mental health care is virtually non-existent. There are few trained professionals, there is deep-rooted stigma and there are no support systems. Additionally, research shows places that have endured conflict are more likely to have higher numbers of people living in poverty for years after peace – which is another barrier to mental health recovery.

Left untreated, these conditions can strip individuals of their ability to work, care for their families or participate in daily life – deepening poverty and isolation. Without timely, culturally sensitive care, people are pushed further to the margins, and entire communities are left behind in a cycle that is entirely preventable.

N4A offers a simple yet powerful response to this issue: a community-based model that provides both mental health support and practical tools for recovery.

Our approach includes:

Partnering with local NGOs – Our local partners design and deliver mental health services that are affordable, culturally appropriate and trusted by the communities they serve.
Training community-based mental health workers – Local community members and health workers are equipped to recognise symptoms of mental illness, offer psychosocial support, refer serious cases to clinicians and/or counsellors, and challenge stigma from within the healthcare system.
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NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Linking support with livelihoods training – As individuals regain stability, our partners help them build small businesses and income-generating activities – laying the foundations for long-term resilience and independence.

Our model is effective because it is:

Locally driven – A deep understanding of the cultural context ensures that interventions are relevant and accepted.
Sustainable – We build lasting capacity within communities to provide ongoing care.
Integrated – By addressing both psychological and economic recovery, we break the cycle of mental illness and poverty and marginalisation.
Evidence-informed – We have spent over 16 years adapting and improving the model based on what works.

Our impact:

In 2024 in Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda we were able to directly support 3,564 people with mental illness/epilepsy (PMIEs) and their carers, provide 1,077 people with the knowledge and tools to set up small businesses, and reach over 13,957 more people through awareness raising, training and stigma-reduction campaigns. These figures do not include family members of the people we support, who also benefit. We estimate that an additional 25,000 family members benefitted though our support to their relatives with mental illness/epilepsy during 2024.

In Burundi we work with a local non-profit association that is currently entirely run by volunteers, and provides psychosocial support in communities affected by trauma, monitors traumatic events and conducts indirect advocacy work with trusted organisations.

In Rwanda we work with Survivors Fund (SURF), a Rwandan-based NGO which works to rebuild the lives of - survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi. https://survivors fund.org.uk

In Sierra Leone we work with Conforti, a Sierra Leonean NGO based in Port Loko, which supports people with mental illness and epilepsy in Port Loko district, Sierra Leone, to fully participate in life. https://www.instagram.com/pl_conforti/

In Uganda we work with BNUU, a Ugandan NGO that provides mental health support to communities in postconflict recovery in Agago District, north-east Uganda. https://bnuu.org/

Plans for the future – In September 2025, following our pilot trauma counselling training programme in 2024, we will be returning to Burundi, to facilitate a peer-to-peer counselling training programme for a new cohort of local duty bearers who work with those who have experienced trauma. Recognising that funding for international development is now directed to funding local NGOs in the countries where they work, and that there is less funding for UK NGOs in the current climate, we will be reviewing and refining our purpose in line with our new strategic plan. It is a time of great change and uncertainty for the international development sector, and we don’t yet know how it will settle. That said, we will continue to fundraise in the UK where possible to support our partners’ work programmes, as well as offering them support with their own fundraising initiatives, and strengthening their organisational capacity where required and asked for.

3. Achievements and performance

BURUNDI

20 people attended our 5-day pilot training programme on basic trauma counselling skills in Bujumbura in June 2024.
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NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Background

In Burundi, we partner with a local organisation based in Bujumbura run by volunteers, and provides psychosocial support in communities affected by trauma, monitors traumatic events and conducts indirect advocacy work with trusted organisations. Burundi is one of the world’s poorest countries, ranking 187 out of 193 in the UN Human Development Index. A history of violence, as well as natural disasters which are becoming more extreme due to climate change, has left a legacy of mental health issues but there is little mental health support, and the few psychologists available lack proper supervision or training. Burundians continue to uncover unmarked mass graves from atrocities that have occurred in recent history, and enforced disappearances continue, making many reluctant to talk about what is behind the mental health challenges they face.

Mental health

We conducted a successful 5-day pilot training workshop on basic trauma counselling with 20 people in Bujumbura in June 2024. The training was delivered by our volunteer psychologist from the US, Shelly Evans PhD, LPC. The participants had a cross section of professions which included journalists, students, counsellors, teachers, medical professionals, among others. They were selected according to their propensity for sharing the training with others following completion of the trauma counselling course. A survey carried out before the training started and again at the end, showed a significant improvement in recognising the symptoms of trauma and how to address them.

The approach you used to train us was the best – mostly I like the way you always ask how or if it is the same as in Burundian culture. Meaning, you care that it will be easy or practical for us.

Personally, I am a psychologist. I learnt a lot about what I did not know.

The training was highly interactive and participatory, with strong engagement from all the participants. Topics covered included an introduction to trauma; listening and grounding skills; relaxation; safe place; managing intrusive memories; personal safety plan; suicide ideation; and self-support.

Looking ahead – In 2025 we plan to return to Burundi to train a new cohort of 20 people. We will also be providing refresher training for the 2024 cohort, in response to the demand from our local partner.

RWANDA

2024 highlights included:

300 survivors joined 12 peer-support groups (PSGs), with 264 sessions led by 24 trained peer-support counsellors (PSCs).
A new peer-support group for older genocide survivors was piloted, with 23 regular members and a group savings scheme.
110 survivors received one-to-one counselling, and 322 home visits were conducted by PSCs to support families.
Over 1,900 people, including students and community members, received mental health education.
424 survivors received business training; 51 started businesses; and 44 found employment.
35 participants faced trauma crises during the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi but recovered with counselling.
Significant improvements in mental health, with a drop from 72% to 8% in those feeling limited by their trauma.
50 charitable projects were carried out by project participants, including home repairs and agricultural support.
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NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Background

We partner with Survivors Fund (SURF) in Rwanda, where the legacy of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi continues to have a profound impact on the population’s mental health. It is estimated that 27.9% of genocide survivors suffer from PTSD compared to 3.6% of the general population (BMC Public Health 2022). While over half of Rwanda’s population is aged below 30, and so born after the genocide, there is a growing body of research about the impact of inherited trauma among those born since the genocide - especially among children whose mothers were pregnant during the genocide itself, and those born of genocidal rape (Transcultural Psychiatry 2022). Rwanda ranks 161 out of 193 nations on the 2024 UN Human Development Index, and 34% of people live in extreme poverty. Rwanda has 39.8 mental health professionals per million people (WHO 2020). Community-based group approaches to mental health, such as our peer counselling model aim to harness collective strength and promote social integration, and are more appropriate to the local context, rather than relying on western psychiatric models.

After the counsellors listened to me and helped me, I felt relieved of the heavy burden I was carrying. For the first time, I was able to talk about my mother’s death, which had always haunted me. My heart used to feel trapped, and full of sadness, but after receiving support and listening to others’ testimonies, I felt some relief. I went to the hospital and received medication, and now I sleep well. In the group, I found friends, like siblings, who visit me and support me. I feel like I’ve gained a wonderful family because we share so much together.

(Young genocide survivor)

Mental health

SURF’s peer counselling programme supports 300 survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda every year to address their PTSD disorder by providing a structured and safe environment where they can share their trauma and experiences. Participants are selected through partnerships with organisations including AVEGA (National Association of Genocide Widows) and AERG (National Student’s Association of Genocide Survivors) to ensure priority access for those most in need. In January 2024, 300 survivors (187 women and 113 men from Huye and Rwamagana districts were enrolled. They formed 12 peer counselling groups , and elected 24 participants to become peer support counsellors (PSCs) , who moderate and lead the fortnightly group counselling sessions, follow up on participants who experience particular difficulties and refer more complicated cases for extra support to SURF’s counsellors. During the year, 264 peer support counselling group sessions were held, plus individual counselling sessions for 110 participants who needed additional counselling. The PSCs visited 61 participants at home, providing family therapy and assistance resolving conflict such as land disputes, infidelity and drug misuse, and provided information about mental health.

In 2024, we ran a pilot peer counselling group for older survivors to address PTSD, depression, anxiety and isolation and to introduce coping mechanisms for age related challenges; strengthen support networks and promote intergenerational healing and reconciliation. The group meetings provided much needed social interaction, and the participants are now running small businesses and have started savings schemes. Bringing the older group together with the younger groups has facilitated dialogue and reconciliation, by providing a platform for elders to share their experiences with younger survivors and assist in rebuilding broken relationships. It has fostered greater intergenerational understanding and empathy , with the younger genocide survivors visiting the elders, assisting them with their vegetable gardens and other household chores. The initiative has proved highly successful.

April 2024 marked the 30[th] Anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. SURF carried out awareness raising in secondary schools to prepare second-generation survivors for the start of the commemoration period and to share information about counselling services. The commemoration events triggered traumatic episodes for 35 participants, who all recovered, through counselling.

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

After some months of meeting in their peer counselling groups the participants became more involved in their local communities and the lives of their peers . In 2024 they assisted fellow group members with 50 small community work projects such as building latrines, planting vegetable/kitchen gardens, assisting with harvests and renovating kitchens. They also visited each other in their homes to support those who were lonely. These are all things that receive no government support, and this sense of community is something that the participants had not experienced before.

In order to be able to measure impact, a baseline and end-of-year survey of 60 participants was carried out at the start and end of 2024. Results showed that whilst 72% of participants initially had thoughts or feelings that prevented them from doing normal everyday activities, this dropped to 8%. Initially 73% of participants concealed their mental health issues from others, dropping to 35% by the year-end. Initially only 2% of participants felt able to cope when things go wrong, increasing to 65% by the year-end.

Community feedback was given by local government representatives who thanked SURF for bringing young survivors together and expressed appreciation for the progress they have made in learning to be independent. They noted that the peer group counselling services assisted in reducing family conflict and supporting national development.

Participants said that the peer counselling programme had brought them together, helped them learn how to save money and problem solve. They are grateful for socialising with their peers because they no longer feel alone. They have learnt to manage and control their emotions, which helps them to think positively. Some peer counselling group members have been elected to local government positions, having found the confidence to put themselves forward. The PSCs are grateful for the support they have received for overcoming loneliness, which has built their self-confidence and enabled them to become role models in their communities.

SURF brought over 1,000 community members together during 2024, to raise awareness about mental health issues.

Livelihoods

Entrepreneurship offers a route to economic independence for young survivors, improving self-sufficiency and reducing marginalisation. It restores a sense of dignity and self-worth as survivors contribute to their communities. Our programme equips participants with financial literacy, business planning and market research skills - broadening employment prospects and fostering collaboration and resilience. Building businesses allows survivors to progress while addressing psychosocial needs.

In 2024, 424 members of the peer support groups were trained in planning and setting up small businesses . This brings the total number of young genocide survivors trained since 2022 to 713. Of these, 229 have submitted business proposals to obtain microloans from the microfinance bank. The vetting is rigorous and combined with the required loan guarantee fund, disbursement of loans has been slow, with 99 awarded so far. Each loan recipient goes through three cycles of borrowing and repaying. After successfully completing the three cycles, they can apply for a commercial loan as they are no longer considered to be a credit risk. They then free up a space for someone else to receive a microloan. 51 young survivors started small businesses in 2024 - 25 using microfinance loans, and 26 using loans from their savings groups. Some of their businesses include transporting goods or people by bicycle, farming vegetables, tailoring, selling animals and repairing mobile ‘phones.

All peer counselling groups started group savings , with each member contributing up to RWF 1,000 a month (50p). This may seem like a small amount, but is significant for group members and eventually adds up to group totals such as £350, which members can borrow at 2% interest.

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

44 young genocide survivors (24 female, 20 male) found employment partly because of the confidence they gained from participating in their peer counselling groups.

SURF’s business development officer monitors participants, offers guidance and supports repayment planning. Microloan recipients also meet regularly with bank loan officers. The 2024 loan repayment rate was 78%, with the remaining 22% due to pre-approved delays, not defaults.

Training and development

Counsellors – SURF’s five counsellors received quarterly clinical supervision to discuss and learn from their counselling experiences. In 2024 they had refresher training in clinical supervision, psychological first aid, qualitative and quantitative research and self-care to avoid burn-out.
Peer Support Counsellors – The PSCs received 4 days’ training in trauma counselling at the start of the programme to gain the skills to recognise and treat the signs and symptoms of PTSD, so they can help the participants develop and use coping mechanisms to manage flashbacks brought on by internal and external triggers. They also had clinical supervision sessions every two months.
Volunteer community health workers – In 2024 SURF focused its mental health training on community health workers, having found that government health workers often moved away. By training volunteer community health workers, we ensure that the training is embedded in the community and is sustainable because these volunteers live locally and have already received training in malaria prevention and treatment and reproductive health, and receive a small stipend from the government. In 2024, 17 such volunteer community health workers received 3 days training in mental health.
Entrepreneurship training – 424 project participants received business/work readiness training and training in entrepreneurial skills. Forty-nine participants joined the intensive 2-year entrepreneurship training programme, learning market analysis, business plan writing, working with financial institutions, marketing and microloan applications.

Challenges

Intergenerational trauma within families affects group members’ progress, as family members lack access to equivalent support. We are mitigating this by introducing peer counselling groups for older genocide survivors, and we now have three groups.
Group members are fearful as perpetrators of the genocide are being released. This is very triggering for some individuals. The counsellors are focusing on this through awareness raising, emphasising good relationships and resilience.
Poverty and unemployment often push young people into drug abuse. This impacts on their ability to achieve their goals and some stop attending the group counselling sessions. The PSCs and SURF’s counsellors encourage them to pursue vocational training and approach their local authorities to find out about any poverty reduction opportunities or schemes. Poverty also reduces the impact of counselling because the participants are hungry, and find it hard to concentrate. Helping them save money and start small businesses has improved this.
The weather patterns are unreliable causing long periods of sun and drought. This increases stress and anxiety amongst the participants. SURF advises participants to work with local agronomists before starting their planting. The dry weather is often followed by torrential rain that disrupts counselling meetings because some people are not able to attend them.
There is still stigma associated with seeking mental health support. We have increased community awareness/psychoeducation to address this.
We were not able to obtain microloans for all the applicants because there is not enough in the loan guarantee fund, and because the criteria for success in obtaining the loans are very strict. This should become easier as more participants repay their loans. We will try to top up the loan guarantee fund.

Looking ahead - This programme is replicable and scalable, and demand for places always exceeds availability. The challenge is finding long-term funding for expansion. We would like to increase the number of spaces and expand to more areas. We would also like to scale up the entrepreneurship programme and boost the loan guarantee fund. We would like to provide top up grants to peer counselling groups’ savings to enable them to disburse more loans to individuals who want to start small businesses.

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Thanks – We would like to thank the Blackfriars Overseas Aid Trust for supporting the Entrepreneurship Programme, the James Tudor Foundation, C.B & H.H. Taylor 1984 Trust and Veronia Houghton. We would also like to thank all those who donated to our Big Give Appeal: The Step Up Fund, Faith Ramsay, the Bliss Family Trust, Maxwell Gibbs, Olivia Warham, David Russell, David Gye, Frida Critien, Robert Woodfield and Annabel Harris.

SIERRA LEONE

2024 highlights included:

271 clients received epilepsy medication. 80% contributed towards the cost of their medication.
899 new clients received counselling. Depression (21%) and trauma/PTSD (19%) were the most common diagnoses.
Men’s and women’s groups continued, with 161 women and 126 men regularly attending to discuss domestic violence, gender roles, and support.
432 people were reached through community education, with 79% improving understanding of mental health and epilepsy. Youth engagement grew due to concerns about substance abuse.
1,430 women and 782 male partners attended sessions, a significant increase in male participation from 2023.
6,912 students and 621 teachers took part in school assemblies. Teachers were trained on adolescent mental health, stigma reduction, and early intervention.
367 people with mental illness/epilepsy (PMIEs) and caregivers actively participated in 15 self-help groups (SHGs). By October, those with livelihoods had increased savings by 543% since 2021, those without by 369% . 129 members of six of these SHGs received livelihoods support in November.
100% of SHGs with livelihoods feel able to meet their basic needs, and school attendance among children of SHG members doubled .
SHGs successfully advocated for mosquito nets, anti-bullying measures in schools, and road improvements.

Background

In Sierra Leone we work with Conforti Port Loko in Port Loko district in northwest Sierra Leone, where 71% of people live in multidimensional poverty (facing challenges with financial, health, housing issues etc.), and 81% depend on agriculture for their main source of income. Sierra Leone’s 1991-2002 civil war resulted in 70,000 casualties, created 10,000 child soldiers, displaced over 2 million (almost half the country’s population at the time), and left an estimated 25,000 amputees. The 2014-16 Ebola epidemic, which infected almost 14,000 and killed 4,000 (including over 200 health workers), decimated the health system, economy and social structures, and increased poverty. People lost businesses, possessions, food, homes and family breadwinners. Sierra Leone has pervasive poverty, very little mental healthcare provision and one of the world’s weakest health systems in general.

I was diagnosed with depression by Conforti at the maternal clinic. The man who was my boyfriend denied my pregnancy, and my parents had abandoned me. I was living with an old woman when I heard about Conforti. I attended the maternal clinic, and told them my story. They gave me counselling, and I was able to join a self-help group. Both of these helped me a lot and improved my mental state – I felt less alone. When I gave birth, I was able to borrow some funds from our group savings to buy items for my baby. I feel lucky that I came across Conforti.

Mabinty, aged 26

Mental health

During 2024, 294 people attended the mental health and epilepsy clinics in 5 health centres, with 271 people receiving epilepsy medication, and 23 presenting with other issues. By December 2024, 80% were able to pay a small contribution towards their medication - a significant increase from 29% at the end of 2023. This is partly attributable to the introduction of livelihoods to six SHGs in November, resulting in increased income.

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

In 2024, Conforti provided counselling to 899 new clients. Their most common diagnosis was depression (21%), followed by trauma/PTSD (19%), substance abuse (19%) and anxiety (17%). The remaining clients presented with a range of other disorders such as epilepsy, stress or psychosis. Notable changes included the rise in clients presenting with substance abuse issues from fewer than 5% in 2021, and the drop in epilepsy presentations as Conforti reached more people in its operational area. The greatest number of referrals of new clients in 2024 came from traditional healers (22%), followed by religious leaders (15%), friends or family (11%), Conforti’s social workers (11%), and chiefs/mammy queens (9%). Over the course of the year, 63% of counselling clients exhibited a reduction in anxiety symptoms, and 70% a reduction in symptoms of depression.

The men’s and women’s groups introduced in 2023 to tackle neglect of pregnant women, domestic violence and related mental health impacts continued to meet monthly in 2024, with 161 women and 126 men in regular attendance. 148 participants joined during 2024. The groups provide a platform for discussion and introduce positive gender role models.

During 2024, Conforti held 36 community education sessions attended by 432 people. 79% of community members demonstrated improved understanding of the signs, symptoms, causes and treatment for mental illnesses and epilepsy following the sessions, and 77% of PMIEs reported reduced stigma from their community. An increasing proportion of attendees in 2024 were young people (18-35-year olds), partly due to their concerns about increased substance abuse among young people.

1,430 pregnant women and new mothers, as well as 782 of their male partners attended maternal mental health sessions . By comparison, in 2023 such sessions were attended by 202 male partners in total. This represents an improvement from one man per 5 women in 2023 to one man per 2 women in 2024.

6,912 students and 621 teachers and other school staff were reached in 2024 through school mental health assemblies led by Conforti, including the mental health nurse. Conforti’s work now includes a greater emphasis on training duty bearers in Port Loko district to provide awareness raising and community support. In November, teachers received training in child and adolescent mental health, early identification and intervention, combating stigma and culturally appropriate mental health approaches. Training materials were developed collaboratively by Conforti, our mental health specialist and the district mental health nurse.

SHGs, supported by Conforti’s Field Officer, achieved small advocacy successes in 2024. A SHG in a remote community managed to secure mosquito nets from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation for every household in their village, as they were facing higher rates of malaria. Another SHG raised the issue of bullying of PMIEs in schools with the District Education Office, which developed a Memorandum of Understanding with all headteachers to act against those stigmatising PMIEs at school. A third SHG successfully lobbied for improvements to the road to their village, which was previously impassable during the rainy season.

The annual stakeholders’ meeting in June 2024 was attended by 30 representatives from Port Loko district government and communities. Conforti presented its work and invited project participants from SHGs to speak. This gave SHG members a platform to speak to those in authority, presenting their achievements and challenges and making them aware of the work, while giving stakeholders not directly involved in the project the opportunity to provide feedback on its impact in their communities and district.

6,912 students and 621 teachers and other school staff were reached through school mental health assemblies led by Conforti and the mental health nurse. Conforti’s work now includes a greater emphasis on training duty bearers in Port Loko district to provide awareness-raising and community support. In November teachers received training in child and adolescent mental health , early identification and intervention, combatting stigma, and culturally appropriate approaches. Training materials were developed collaboratively by Conforti, our mental health specialist and the district’s mental health nurse.

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Livelihoods

367 PMIEs and their caregivers (173 male, 194 female) actively participated in their 15 SHGs throughout 2024. Nine groups had already received livelihoods prior to 2024 – by the end of 2024, members of these groups had an average of SLE 5,341 (£184) in savings. This is a more than a five-fold increase since they received livelihoods 3 years ago. The six remaining groups received livelihoods support in November, and by the end of the year, their savings averaged SLE 2,509 (£86) per person.

Members of all 15 SHGs had successful harvests in the first half of 2024 from vegetables planted in late 2023, enabling garden expansion and food production through fast-growing crops like peanuts and twice-yearly rice varieties. However, the rainy season was especially intense in August, waterlogging some farmland and preventing some groups from expanding as planned.

Average daily income per SHG member increased by nearly 400% between baseline in 2021 and endline in 2024 – with average daily incomes reaching £3.83 and therefore above the World Bank’s measure of extreme poverty (£1.75/day). Those able to meet their basic needs increased from 52% to 100%, whilst those feeling valued in their families rose from 0% to 94%, and those feeling self-worth increased from 35% to 89%.

The number of children of SHG members attending school more than doubled from 147 to 299 children, thanks to their families’ income from their livelihood income.

Training and development

The team received regular training, supervision and professional development every 2-3 weeks in person, with follow up on Zoom/WhatsApp. Conforti’s team has had 1:1 30-minute sessions with N4A’s mental health expert, enabling team members to voice their challenges with counselling, and reflect on their own professional development. The team is also provided with supervision on their visits to communities including SHG meetings, maternal mental health sessions, and men’s and women’s groups, to supervise and provide feedback. The district mental health nurse and her assistant also attended training with the Conforti team.
Key topics/activities covered during 2024 included: safeguarding; one to one supervision; approaches to working with traditional healers; substance abuse; pharmacological management and medication; and developing training for school teachers in child and adolescent mental health.
One of Conforti’s counsellors attended a week’s training on ‘early adolescent skills for emotional development’ run by UNICEF/WHO in Freetown, to which she was invited by the Ministry of Gender & Children’s Affairs. She says the training has given her tools to support improvements in relationships between caregivers and their children, and enabled caregivers to better support their children who are experiencing emotional distress.

Challenges

We planned to introduce “drug banks”, based on our Ugandan model, whereby SHG members who take mental health/epilepsy medication pay into a restricted fund used to purchase medication during shortages in government health centres. However, there is no state provision of mental health/epilepsy medication, so rather than a drug bank just serving as a backup supply, it would need to function as funding the whole supply of medication. Secondly, the only medication that Conforti can procure and oversee distribution of in Port Loko is epilepsy medication – not for any other mental health conditions – limiting potential contributors to drug bank funds. These factors have prevented us from introducing drug banks.
Conforti has had to extend support to the growing number of people abusing the synthetic drug “kush", because there is virtually no institutional support. N4A’s mental health expert, who has experience of working with people with addiction, provided Conforti with training on substance abuse disorders, addiction, and dealing with the symptoms of abuse and withdrawal so they are now able to provide mental health support to people before they turn to self-medicating.
The peak of the rainy season was especially intense in August 2024. This made some farmland waterlogged and unsuitable for planting, which meant not all SHGs were able to propagate their vegetable gardens as planned. However, choosing a mix of different vegetables to grow, that can be propagated and harvested at different times in the year, has mitigated the impact of this.
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NETWORK FOR AFRICA

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Demand for mental health support from Conforti in Port Loko district continues to outpace Conforti’s capacity to provide it. There is always a temptation for the team to overstretch itself by trying to provide support to everyone who needs it, however we continue to ensure the team knows they cannot help everyone, and that their own self-care is the first priority.
The high levels of poverty in Port Loko and in Sierra Leone mean that there are many more people with mental health issues wanting livelihoods support than we have supported so for. For example, many additional people came forward during the distribution of livelihoods to SHGs in November seeking support. Some of these we hope to support in future through new SHGs.

Looking ahead

Local fundraising – We will support Conforti Port Loko to develop its fundraising. The organisation secured its first grant from the Swiss funder, the Pro Victimis Foundation. We hope this will be the first of many more.
• Website – We will work with Conforti Port Loko to develop its own website, to build on its online profile and visibility. This will help its fundraising drive.
Strategic plan – We will work with Conforti Port Loko to complete its strategic plan.
Independent organisation – We will support Conforti Port Loko to become an independent NGO which will clarify its identity, mission and vision and strengthen its governance.

Thanks – We would like to thank the Addax and Oryx Foundation, the Pro Victimis Foundation and Henry Tinsley for their continued support. We would also like to thank Melanie Harris who kindly donated to our livelihoods appeal for Sierra Leone.

UGANDA

2024 highlights included:

75 clinics were held across 8 health facilities, treating a total of 1,103 clients of whom 254 were new clients in 2024.
303 new clients received individual counselling and 476 group counselling, with 97% showing significant improvement by year end.
669 people were visited at home, by BNUU and village health teams.
2,242 students in mental health clubs and 1,072 young people receiving group counselling, with a focus on violence, trauma, and family issues.
BNUU hosted World Mental Health Day, engaging 1,685 participants and reducing stigma against people with mental illness.
93% of SHG participants with livelihoods reported improved ability to meet basic needs, with incomes increasing by 60%.
346 SHG members have vegetable gardens, helping alleviate hunger.
75 people accessed essential medication via drug banks during shortages at health centres.
BNUU counsellors had 25 debrief sessions, enabling them to share challenging cases and best practice.
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Background

In Uganda, we work with BNUU in Agago District - a remote and neglected corner in the north-east of the country. The area was a battleground of the 21-year civil war, characterised by severe atrocities, including the abduction and forcible recruitment as child soldiers of tens of thousands of children. Depression, anxiety and PTSD are rife: 35% of Ugandans suffer from a mental illness, and 15% of them require treatment (Molodynski et al, 2017). The prevalence of HIV in the north is 7.6% compared to the national average of 5.8%, with rates higher among women than men - a legacy of the war when thousands of women and girls experienced sexual violence. Studies have linked better mental health with better HIV outcomes - people with better mental health are more likely to adhere to HIV treatment. Uganda ranks 159 out of 193 countries in the 2024 UN Human Development Index, and 35% of the population lives in extreme poverty (World Data Lab, 2024), with the north of the country being poorer than the national average as a legacy of the LRA conflict (World Bank, 2019). Uganda has 25.7 mental health professionals per million people (WHO, 2020).

Mental health in Uganda is underfunded, making up 2.9% of overall national health spending. Uganda has 25.6 mental health workers per 1 million people, including 0.9 psychiatrists and 17.6 mental health nurses per million. The country has 16 mental health hospitals and 120 psychiatric units in general hospitals. Uganda hosts Africa’s largest refugee population, at 1.7 million people, whose rates of depression are 10 times higher than the general population.

Thank you, BNUU, for walking this recovery journey with me. I am so happy that things are falling into place. I now have custody of all my children, and the father of my children is coming back to me after separating from his co-wife. You gave me hope when I had none.

Mary, BNUU client

Mental health

During 2024, BNUU continued to work across 10 sub-counties in Agago district, providing mental health services and livelihood support to self-help groups (SHGs) and mental health programmes in schools. It strategically reduced its community awareness raising work in 2024, to manage demand for its mental health services which was becoming unsustainable. The majority of referrals come from existing clients and direct community encounters with BNUU’s counsellors. BNUU also integrated mental health outreach and psychoeducation sessions into the health centres’ existing family planning, immunisation and malaria testing services.

BNUU held 75 mental health clinics across 8 health facilities (consisting of both health centre IIIs and health centre IIs) in 2024. A total of 254 new clients were enrolled, while the cumulative total number of clients treated was 1,103. In 2024, 75 people benefitted from the self-help groups’ drug bank medication (dedicated group savings fund) during times of shortages in the health centres, ensuring there were no gaps in their treatment. BNUU continued to hold talks on mental health clinic days in health centre outpatient departments - reaching 1,164 people in 2024 (both clients, and people attending the health centres for other reasons).

BNUU provided 1:1 counselling to 303 new clients in 2024, and group counselling to a total of 476 women. BNUU has established that men prefer 1:1 counselling as they don’t want other people to know about their problems. The main mental health diagnoses among new clients in 2024 were: depression (64%); PTSD (28%) and epilepsy (5%). 443 clients terminated their treatment during 2024, due to having progressed enough that their symptoms were no longer above the clinical cut off for mental illness. The main triggers for female counselling clients’ mental health struggles in 2024 were: violence resulting from alcohol misuse; neglect of family responsibilities; economic violence; and a high family burden. The main triggers for men were disputes over land. By the end of the year, 97% of counselling clients showed significant improvement in their mental health symptoms through treatment (medication and/or counselling).

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669 people were supported through home visits during 2024. These were carried out by BNUU’s counsellors and psychiatric nurse, supported by village health teams (VHTs) which BNUU has trained. Of those clients visited at home, 98% said they no longer feel stigmatised, which they attribute to greater community awareness of mental health. During the first half of 2024, the majority (68%) of clients visited at home were able to afford to eat and feed their families twice per day. However, in the final quarter 100% of those visited at home were only eating once each day, due to the prolonged dry weather which caused increased crop failure towards the end of the year. This situation should improve when the 10 SHGs in Adilang and Lapono sub-counties receive livelihoods inputs in 2025.

BNUU led the World Mental Health Day celebrations in Agago District in Patongo Town Council in October. The overall objective of this celebration was to raise awareness of mental health and to mobilise efforts in support of mental health. The events included a community campfire, a mental health run, a football match, and talks by community leaders and stakeholders, and were attended by an estimated 1,685 participants (1,134 female, 551 male) with representation from the central government, regional leaders/leaders from regional referral hospitals, local government leaders, implementing partners, political leaders, BNUU project participants and community members. The event was officiated by the Chief Justice of the Republic of Uganda.

Community members, local leaders, and project participants attended a community stakeholders’ meeting held by BNUU. It was reported that the level of stigma against PMIEs has dropped since they started their livelihoods – community members support their businesses and associate freely with PMIEs. The wider community impact includes increased goods availability and reducing time women spend seeking food and household goods elsewhere.

Schools mental health

The mental health clubs held in schools had 2,242 young members. They discussed topics such as conflict resolution techniques; managing peer pressure; coping with challenging family situations; the purpose of education; friendship formation; and tools for resilience. Club members used poetry, music, dance, and drama during school assemblies to raise awareness about mental health. They also continue to design and display educational messages in classrooms, to ease access to mental health information.

Group counselling was provided in schools by BNUU’s counsellors, supported by 60 teachers who had been trained by BNUU, to 1,072 young people in schools during 2024. Additionally, 212 young people received individual counselling as they were experiencing mental health issues that needed more direct and targeted support than they would get in a group setting. The main issues that came up during schools counselling sessions in 2024 were violence resulting from alcohol misuse by parents; neglect of parental responsibilities (e.g. failure to pay school fees, provide food, sanitary pads, clothing and medical care); forced marriage; loss of parents; living with abusive step-parents; and intergenerational transmission of trauma from parents who experienced the war.

BNUU’s psychiatric nurse engaged with 2,257 participants in school in 2024, including parents, young people, teachers, local officials, and community leaders, providing talks on topics including mental health definitions, stigma reduction, parental roles, and psychoeducation for parents of children living with depression and anxiety.

A joint stakeholder monitoring of BNUU’s school mental health project brought together 35 stakeholders from different schools and district leadership, and highlighted key project achievements like improved academic performance of students who have been part of the project, reduction in school dropout cases, and improved family care systems. There was a strong appetite to scale up this project up to other schools, which has been communicated to the funder, Grand Challenges Canada .

Livelihoods

A year after receiving livelihood start-up items, the 240 individuals in 12 SHGs registered a 60% average increase in their income, and 93 participants felt they could meet their basic needs. The 10 newest SHGs in Adilang and Lapono sub-counties saved a cumulative total of UGX 4,002,300 (£852), and borrowed UGX 3,320,500 (£760) from their group savings. The most common reasons for borrowing funds included paying for school fees and buying school materials, purchasing agricultural inputs, restocking income generating activities, and paying for medical care.

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Vegetable gardens were supporting 346 SHG members in 2024. Heavy rain coupled with flooding caused much disruption to crop farming at some points, however SHG members’ selection of quick-maturing crops for their vegetable gardens, such as okra and beans, has meant produce can be harvested more frequently in shorter windows, and thus has alleviated some of the hunger they faced during previous floods.

Training and development

Supervision - BNUU’s psychiatric nurse, supported by the Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial hospital, provided further clinical supervision, mentorship and support to health workers from the health centre IIs and IIIs that BNUU works with monthly. This has contributed significantly to improved health workers' skills, treatment effectiveness, client retention, staff confidence, and overall clients’ satisfaction. Additionally, Gulu regional referral hospital mental health unit provided supervision to BNUU’s psychiatric nurse and Dr Ambrosoli’s psychiatric clinical officer on a quarterly basis.
Debrief sessions – BNUU’s counsellors held 25 debrief sessions across the year, in which they came together to share challenging cases that they have come across, and share best practices. The most challenging cases were cases of clients with multiple conditions e.g. depressed clients living with epilepsy, clients with depression and chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDs. The debrief sessions gave them more confidence and ideas to address such cases.
Training, supervision, mentoring, team building - BNUU continued to receive quarterly visits from Dr. Lynda Nakalawa, a psychologist from Makerere University. In 2024, some of the activities and topics covered included: Team-building activities – these provided an opportunity for bonding, as well as making many team members feel "seen" and encouraging them to keep up their contribution to the larger team.
Group therapy training – this set out group therapy techniques (such as cognitive behavioural therapy) during which the team agreed on the structure that the counsellors would use for their group therapy sessions. Group therapy in practice – A practical demonstration, supervised by Dr Nakalawa, with students from Kalongo’s St Mary’s midwifery training school who acted as clients. Although the participants were not clients with a diagnosis of depression or anxiety, the session uncovered several challenges that they faced, and they found it very useful. Cognitive behavioural therapy to support clients with PTSD. Enhancing counselling techniques on trauma informed counselling.

Challenges

Security threats rose again, due to renewed insurgency by cattle rustlers which affected home visits and counselling. The counselling team plan to continue conducting some counselling sessions at the health centre IIs which are nearer to clients, and will allow more clients to be reached safely with counselling sessions. Also, having village health teams continue supporting counsellors to conduct home visits helps with the security of the team.
Self-withdrawal - Some clients stop attending counselling appointments too quickly when they start improving, which puts them at risk of relapse. This has delayed successful recovery of some clients. BNUU is emphasising the importance of completing treatment.
There was a problem with sudden unexpected shortages of some drugs in health centres in the final quarter of the year, leading to 4 clients registering side effects from sudden changes in medication.

Looking ahead

We will support BNUU to undertake more fundraising in Uganda and with funders funding directly in-country.
We will help BNUU with strengthening its organisational development.
We will work with BNUU to build its visibility and communications.
We will collaborate with BNUU to develop its mental health work in Agago District and beyond.

Thanks

We would like to thank the Bloom Foundation, Fondation d’Harcourt and the Guernsey Overseas Aid and Development Commission. We would also like to thank The Kenneth Miller Trust who kindly donated to our vegetable garden appeal for Uganda.

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4. Safeguarding

N4A believes that everyone we come into contact with, regardless of age, gender, identity, disability, sexual orientation or ethnic origin has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation. N4A will not tolerate abuse and exploitation by staff or associated personnel. We expect all staff contracted by N4A to abide by our safeguarding and associated policies. This includes staff working for our implementing partner organisations who are actively involved in the delivery of programmes and projects designed and funded by N4A. This also applies to associated personnel whilst engaged with work or visits related to N4A, including but not limited to the following: consultants; volunteers; contractors; programme visitors including journalists, celebrities and politicians. We will continue to actively engage with safeguarding developments and make sure that our policies are kept up to date. The following policies are available on our website: www.network4africa.org:

Code of Conduct
Safeguarding Policy
Dealing with Safeguarding Reports
Safeguarding Complaints Policy
Malpractice Policy
Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy
Fraud & Corruption Policy

Our partner in Rwanda held a face-to-face safeguarding training session in 2024. Regular follow-ups and refresher training was provided to all three of our partners throughout the year.

5. Fundraising

N4A has traditionally focused its fundraising on both trusts and foundations and high value fundraising. This provided the best return on investment given the small staff team and available resources for fundraising. We have had to revise this strategy as the funding priorities for many trusts and foundations have now shifted to funding almost exclusively in-country, with very little available funding for UK international development NGOs. In addition, a lot of trusts and foundations are revising their strategies and have paused their grant-making. It is a challenge currently being experienced across the charitable sector, not just in international development. We continue to be successful with fundraising from smaller foundations with which we have longer-standing relationships, that are still directing their international funding to UK NGOs. Our founder and trustee, Rebecca Tinsley is very successful with high value fundraising, and we are lucky to have a number of generous and committed donors who understand the value of unrestricted donations. We participate in the matched giving campaign “The Big Give” every year, using these funds to support the peer counselling programme of our project - partner Survivors Fund (SURF) in Rwanda https://survivors fund.org.uk/. In addition, we have a place in the London Marathon which provides us with unrestricted funds.

As our organisation does not engage in significant face-to-face fundraising or employ fundraising methods requiring adherence to a Code of Conduct, registration with the Fundraising Regulator is not considered necessary.

6. Strategic Plan

N4A has a new 3-year strategic plan covering the period 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2027. It was decided to focus on the next three years rather than five years, to allow us to focus on how trusts and foundations develop their own funding strategies and the impact on smaller development NGOs and the wider sector. We hope that this will provide us with more certainty about the future landscape of international develop to inform our next strategic plan.

7. Online presence

We use our website (https://network4africa.org/), Facebook, Bluesky and email newsletters to communicate with current supporters, demonstrating the need for the work and its impact. We regularly publish blog posts about our work on our website and via our email mailing list, as well as using Bluesky, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook to promote our projects and attract new supporters, whilst also raising awareness of developments in global mental health and other relevant issues, engaging with others who are posting about mental health and development. We have updated the website of our partner in Uganda to make it clearer and easier to navigate. We would like to support our partner in Sierra Leone with a website in 2025.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

8. Financial review

Our annual accounts for 2024 showed income of £378,190 and expenditure of £432,342 - a deficit of £54,152 against the budgeted deficit of £95,487, providing a positive variance of £41,355. This was primarily a result of securing unbudgeted grants in the last quarter of the year which increased our restricted reserves balance as expenditure will mainly fall into next year, together with funding projects from existing grants by no cost extensions. We ended 2024 with a healthy bank balance of £103,451 (£148,017 in 2023), and overall reserves remain at a high level of £120,300 (£174,453 in 2023). This amount is broken down as £71,258 (£107,127 in 2023) restricted to our ongoing projects for future disbursement and £49,042 (£67,326 in 2023) unrestricted.

9. Risk

We have examined the major risks to which N4A is exposed and we review them at each Board of Trustees meeting. The CEO and the Chair, under the supervision of the Board, maintain the Risk Register. Below is an overview of the major financial and operational risks we were facing at the time of writing this report (June 2025).

Risk	Explanation	Impact	Probability	Management
Lack of funding opportunities	Funders are either directing their funding in-country or pausing their funding while they review their strategies.	High	High	Monitor this closely. Revise our strategy with project partners, providing mentoring and support rather than grant management. Support partners with their fundraising. Foster relationships with current funders.
Loss of key programme staff	Uncertainty with funding encourages staff to look for employment elsewhere.	High	High	Monitor this closely and keep in close contact with the programme managers. Provide support with fundraising and communications to ensure greater visibility.
Climate change affects food production and causes food insecurity and inflation	Increasingly unpredictable weather patterns make it harder to guarantee harvests that provide much needed income and a source of food for clients. Food shortages negatively impact on the mental health of clients, especially those on medication. Poverty creates stress and anxiety that can trigger mental illness.	High	High	Strengthen livelihood opportunities that are not dependent on agriculture. Provide items for cultivation of vegetable gardens to mitigate against food shortages and provide potential extra income. Keep abreast of research and developments relating to climate change and mental health.

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Risk	Explanation	Impact	Probability	Management
High inflation impacts our partners’ operating budgets	Inflation was running high in Sierra Leone, but has now stabilised.	High	Medium	Monitor exchange rate gains and check with funders as to whether we can use any gains to offset the impact of inflation.
Conflict and insecurity in countries where N4A has programmes	Our programmes are disrupted or under threat from conflict and staff members are at risk.	High	Medium	Have a safeguarding strategy in place in the event that programmes need to shut down temporarily or relocate elsewhere.
Safeguarding incident in one or more of our programmes	It would be extremely damaging for our project partners and for N4A if there was a safeguarding incident.	High	Medium	Check monthly with our project partners for safeguarding updates. Ensure that all N4A’s safeguarding policies are reviewed annually. Ensure that our project partners have safeguarding training and that it is part of their regular staff training.
Loss of key staff at N4A	N4A has a very small staff team and any staff losses would pose a threat because of a loss of institutional knowledge to delivery of projects.	High	Unknown	Ensure that there are appropriate consultants to add support if and when necessary. Ensure that N4A offers inflation proof pay rises where possible that recognise talent. Enable flexible working. Provide continuing professional development and other opportunities to encourage staff retention. Ensure that there is succession planning in place.

10. Reserves policy

The trustees have established a policy whereby the intention is that unrestricted funds should be maintained at a level equivalent to a minimum of three months’ core operating costs (£48k). This is currently on track with free reserves at the year end being £49k (2023: £67k).

11. Plans for the future - Plans for 2025 include:

Programmes:

Burundi – Replicate the pilot peer-to-peer trauma counselling training programme in Burundi with a new cohort of 20 people, and provide refresher training for the 2024 cohort. Develop a system for monitoring and evaluating the success and reach of the programme. Raise the funds to offer more such training.
Rwanda - Continue to support SURF’s peer counselling and entrepreneurship programmes in Rwanda to provide group counselling services to 250+ genocide survivors using our peer counselling model; continue to provide entrepreneurship training to graduates of the peer counselling programme and increase the loan guarantee fund in order to increase the available number of business loans. As always, we will try to secure longer-term funding to expand the programme and have it fully funded for 3 years.
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Uganda – Work with BNUU to continue its journey to become fully independent by supporting it with its fundraising, communications, profile and visibility, monitoring and evaluation, strengthening its organisational capacity and implementing its strategy. We will continue to work with BNUU on the implementation of its livelihood grants, and try to secure long-term funding to further develop its mental health programmes.
Sierra Leone – Work with Conforti to support implementation of its mental health programme, including livelihoods for its self-help groups. Support its continued growth by building on its success with fundraising; develop its strategic plan; become an independently registered NGO in Sierra Leone; and develop a website to increase its profile and visibility. Conforti will continue to fundraise for a programme for mental health in schools and continue to expand provision of medication and support for people with epilepsy in Port Loko district.

Governance – Diversify the composition of N4A’s board to reflect greater representation from the countries where we have programmes.

General – Explore other options for providing start-up capital for self-help groups e.g. micro-loans; complete the mapping of mental health provision and consolidate our networks in the geographic areas of Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda where we work; support our project partners with training in fundraising and grant writing; work with our project partners to develop their online presence and visibility; continue to develop strategic partnerships with other NGOs e.g. Health Poverty Action, to enable consortium funding bids, shared learning and increased support in-country; keep safeguarding policies up to date and maintain regular dialogue with project partners and share training materials with them; continue to develop N4A’s profile and voice in the mental health NGO community; implement our new 3-year Strategic Plan.

12. Structure, governance and management

N4A is registered as a company limited by guarantee (without share capital) no. 06317689 and a registered charity no. 1120932. Its governing instrument is its memorandum and articles of association. The directors are the members of the company and each member, during his or her membership or within one year afterwards, undertakes to contribute a sum not exceeding £1 to the assets of the company in the event of it being wound up.

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during 2024 were:

F Critien D Gye (Hon Treasurer) D Russell (Chair) R C Tinsley J Hogwood H Walters

New trustees are appointed as required and receive comprehensive induction on the activities of the charity. We carry out an annual audit of trustee skills to ensure that we have the required knowledge on the board. We are developing a strategy for recruiting future trustees from the countries which we work, and/or with lived experience of the issues we exist to address. The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.

How N4A is run

N4A is a charitable company, registered in England and Wales with both the Charity Commission and Companies House.

This structure, which is used by many charities, allows us to have all the advantages of charitable status, and simultaneously to limit the trustees’ liability through the company’s ‘limited’ status. As a charity and a company limited by guarantee, N4A has no share capital and therefore cannot be owned by anyone.

The charity is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association, dated 19 July 2007. A Board of Trustees heads N4A. For company-law purposes, the trustees are also the directors of Network for Africa Ltd.

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The Chief Executive Officer undertakes day-to-day management of the organisation. The Board of Trustees has authority over and responsibility for the organisation and acts as its legal guarantors. The effective involvement of the Board of Trustees is considered crucial to the success of N4A and is dependent on shared goals, the development of sound and creative working practices and significant time commitments.

The Board meets four times a year, to assess the charity’s progress since the previous meeting, and to set milestones to be achieved by the next meeting. The CEO attends each Board meeting and provides an update to the Trustees on the charity’s progress, and assists in the setting of goals. Trustees also provide valuable assistance to the CEO and other members of staff when necessary. Current trustees are:

David Russell (Chair): David is Founder and Director of The Social Enterprise, which advises an array of charities and social businesses. From 2009 to 2013, David served as Director of Survivors Fund (SURF), which represents and supports survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and to this day continues to advise the organisation as the UK Coordinator.
Frida Critien : Frida is a strategic communications professional, with experience of managing a wide range of campaigns. Formerly a Global Corporate Communications Director at Unilever, she is currently studying for a Masters in Psychology.
Rebecca Tinsley : Rebecca founded N4A. She is a freelance journalist and a novelist and a former BBC politics reporter. Together with her husband Henry, she was asked by President and Mrs Carter to start the Carter Centre UK.
David Gye : David has recently retired as an adviser on financial aspects of the energy and infrastructure sectors, working with government and private sector worldwide. He became independent in 2009 after a 25year career with Morgan Stanley and other investment banks.
Jemma Hogwood : Jemma has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from University College London in the UK and is registered to practice as a Clinical Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council in the UK. She has been living and working in Rwanda for the past 8 years, mostly working for the Survivors Fund (SURF), supporting survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. She is currently working for Solid Minds, offering individual, couples and family therapy.
Hannah Walters : Hannah is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Comic Relief where she designs and manages a range of international funding programmes which invest in local organisations and focus on early childhood education, maternal health and gender justice.

Staff team

N4A has three permanent staff members:

Annabel Harris (CEO) is responsible for the overall management of N4A, including international projects, fundraising, budgets, strategy and governance. She is responsible for reporting to statutory donors and is a steering group member of Bond’s Mental Health and Psychosocial Disability group.
Lesley Eaton (Office Manager) works part-time (2 days a week) and is responsible for office management, donor management, online fundraising, policies including safeguarding, bookkeeping, N4A’s website and social media communications.
Thomas Doughty (International Programmes and Research Manager) is responsible for the management and development of our international projects and works closely with our international partners, supporting them with their work and capacity sharing. He manages the monitoring and evaluation of our projects, and carries out research for project development and proposal writing. He is also a steering group member of Bond’s Mental Health and Psychosocial Disability sub-group.

In addition, we are supported by:

Michael Davis (freelance and 1 day a week) who manages our finances. In addition to managing N4A’s annual budget, Michael also manages our international programme budgets, and prepares all our financial reports for our funders and our board.
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Christa Bennett (Director of N4A USA) who manages all aspects of our branch in the USA. Christa helped start N4A in 2006 and oversaw the successful application for non-profit status for N4A USA.
Robert Woodfield , our Management Accountant who has supported N4A since it was started.

We use consultants to help with grant writing and reporting.

Volunteers

N4A’s success, work and growth would not be possible without the loyal support of our volunteers. We are so grateful to Rebecca Tinsley for her incredible fundraising and formidable writing skills; our Chair David Russell for his advice, support and encouragement of the staff; Dr. Barbara Bauer and Dr. Shelly Evans for their professional oversight of our mental health programming; Liam Dempsey for his development and maintenance of N4A’s and BNUU’s websites; Robert Woodfield for his financial overview of our operations.

13. Thanks

In addition to the donors recognised above, we would like also to thank our supporters in the UK: Philippa Ball, Michael Davis, Annabel Harris, the van Mesdag Fund, the Rebecca and Henry Tinsley Charitable Trust, Howard White, Alex Critien, Julia Wisdom and one anonymous donor.

We are grateful to Kevin McDonald, Fiona Jeffery-Sinclair and Beatriz Mucambe for running the Big Half and everyone who donated to their campaign - Debra Jeffery, Leon Perez, Luke Parker, Cole Uwineza, Adam Saber, Emma Lundholm, James Mcnulty, Rhodri Skyrme, Nancy Walter, Aastha Walia, Andrew Cull, Connor Howell, Dinushan Karunakaran, Michelle Nadim, Ryan Woods, Mac Wellington, Rory Lipscombe, Jill Masterson, Ross Sturley, Jaz Davola, Megan Hansen, Adam Hodgkiss, Marc Christophides, Jen Rodrigues, Joan Morel and several anonymous supporters.

Thank you to Thomas Doughty who ran the Mumbai Tata Half marathon and to everyone who donated to his campaign - Richard Swan, Rachel Nicolaou, Rebecca Tinsley, Lesley Eaton, Julie Lawrence, Simon Boyden, Kevin Onabiyi, Deborah Doughty, Sarah Hardy, Philippa Doughty and several anonymous supporters.

We would also like to thank our supporters in the USA:

Michael Abate, Sara Aldape, Tracy Bollag, Ken Collamore, David Boyd, Martha Elliott, Susan Gibson and Mark Bergman, Diane Giles, Mary Harvey, Jody & Mel Heyman, Erica Jackson, Jewish Communal Fund, Betsy and David Kain, Carol Kline, The Laurie Campbell Foundation, the Lohrisch family, Stephen and Carol Lombardi, Stacey Lydon, Karen Pick, Lorraine Sheinberg, The Schwab Charitable Foundation, Brian Silverman, Sasha Spielvogel, Sharon Sutton, Pell Tanner, Samuel Totten, Paul Warwick, Elisabeth Weber and Syd Walker.

And our supporters in New Zealand: Veronia Houghton and Christine Thomas.

14. Disclosure of information to auditor

Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.

This report has been prepared having taken advantage of the small companies exemption in the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees’ report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

………………………………………………………………………..

D Russell Trustee

Dated: 11 September 2025

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TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

The trustees (who are also directors of Network for Africa for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare the financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent:
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF NETWORK FOR AFRICA

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Network for Africa (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet and the notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. lf we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

20 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

TO THE TRUSTEES OF NETWORK FOR AFRICA

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:

the information given in the trustees' report, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the trustees' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purpose of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but ls not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

Enquiry of management and those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims;
Discussion with management whether there have been any known instances, allegations or suspicions of fraud;
21 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

TO THE TRUSTEES OF NETWORK FOR AFRICA

Obtaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the charity;
• Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance where available;
Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
Performing audit work over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for bias.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

The primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of irregularities including fraud remains with those charged with governance and with management.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Benjamin Hayes BSc FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Wenn Townsend Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor

11 September 2025

22 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

	Unrestricted	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
	Notes	Funds	Funds	Funds	Funds	Funds	Funds
		2024	2024	2024	2023	2023	2023
		£	£	£	£	£	£
Income from:
Grants and donations3		157,799	220,130	377,929	158,461	260,652	419,113
Interest receivable	4	261	-	261	136	-	136
Total income		158,060	220,130	378,190	158,597	260,652	419,249
Expenditure on:
Raising funds	5	200	360	560	137	282	419
Charitable activities	6	170,690	261,092	431,782	171,307	264,639	435,946
Total resources expended		170,890	261,452	432,342	171,444	264,921	436,365
Net incoming/(outgoing)
resources before transfers		(12,830)	(41,322)	(54,152)	(12,847)	(4,269)	(17,116)
Gross transfers
between funds	13	(5,454)	5,454	-	5,006	(5,006)	-
Net income/(expenditure)
for the year		(18,284)	(35,868)	(54,152)	(7,841)	(9,275)	(17,116)
Fund balances at
1 January 2023		67,326	107,126	174,452	75,167	116,401	191,568
Fund balances at
31 December 2023		49,042	71,258	120,300	67,326	107,126	174,452

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

23 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

			2024		2023
	Notes	£	£	£	£
Current assets
Debtors	10	32,639		38,068
Cash at bank and in hand		103,451		148,018
		─────		─────
		136,090		186,086
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year	11	(15,790)		(11,634)
		─────		─────
Net assets			120,300		174,452
			═════		═════
Charity funds
Restricted funds	13		71,258		107,126
Unrestricted funds			49,042		67,326
			─────		─────
Total charity funds			120,300		174,452
			═════		═════

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The accounts were approved by the Trustees on 11 September 2025.

D Russell Trustee

Company Registration No. 06317689

The notes on pages 26 to 34 form part of these financial statements

24 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 Accounting policies Charity information

Network for Africa is a private charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 14 St Mary's Street, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 2DF. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are included in the Trustees’ Report.

1.1 Accounting convention

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees' continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions imposed by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.4 Income recognition

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

For donations to be recognised the charity will have been notified of the amounts and the settlement date in writing. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.

Donated facilities and donated professional services are recognised in income at their fair value when their economic benefit is probable, it can be measured reliably and the charity has control over the item. Fair value is determined on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity. For example, the amount the charity would be willing to pay in the open market for such facilities and services. A corresponding amount is recognised in expenditure.

No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP. Further detail is given in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

Investment income is earned through cash balances on account and includes dividends and interest which is recognised using the effective interest method.

25 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 Accounting policies (continued)

1.5 Expenditure recognition

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:

Costs of raising funds
Expenditure on charitable activities
Other expenditure

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.

Grants payable to third parties are within the charitable objectives. Where unconditional grants are offered, this is accrued as soon as the recipient is notified of the grant, as this gives rise to a reasonable expectation that the recipient will receive the grants. Where grants are conditional relating to performance then the grant is only accrued when any unfulfilled conditions are outside of the control of the charity.

1.6 Support costs allocation

Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, administrative payroll costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include project management carried out at Headquarters. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.

The analysis of these costs is included in note 7.

1.7 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

1.8 Financial instruments

The charitable company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 'Basic Financial Instruments' and Section 12 'Other Financial Instruments Issues' of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charitable company's balance sheet when the charitable company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

26 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 Accounting policies (continued)

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charitable company's contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

1.9 Employee benefits

When employees have rendered service to the charity, short-term employee benefits to which the employees are entitled are recognised at the undiscounted amounted expected to be paid in exchange for that service.

The charity operates a defined contribution plan for the benefit of its employees. Contributions are expensed as they become payable.

1.10 Foreign exchange

Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are recorded at the average rate ruling during the month of each transaction.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. All differences are included in net outgoing resources.

1.11 Tax

The charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charitable company's accounting policies, the trustees as the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

27 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

3	Income from grants and donations
		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
		funds	funds	funds	funds
		2024	2024	2024	2023
		£	£	£	£
	Donations and gifts	7,356	28,900	36,256	20,716
	Grants	150,443	191,230	341,673	398,397
		─────	─────	─────	─────
		157,799	220,130	377,929	419,113
		═════	═════	═════	═════
4	Interest receivable
				Unrestricted	Unrestricted
				funds	funds
				2024	2023
				£	£
	Interest receivable			261	136
				═════	═════
5	Raising funds
		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
		funds	funds	funds	funds
				2024	2023
		£	£	£	£
	Online facility costs	200	360	560	419
		═════	═════	═════	═════
6	Charitable activities			2024	2023
				£	£
	Direct activity costs			393,161	397,371
	Share of support costs (see note 7)			32,921	33,175
	Share of governance costs (see note 7)			5,700	5,400
				─────	─────
				431,782	435,946
	Analysis by fund
	Unrestricted funds			170,690	171,307
	Restricted funds			261,092	264,639
				─────	─────
				431,782	435,946
				═════	═════

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NETWORK FOR AFRICA

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

7 Support costs

Support costs
	Basis of Allocation	Support	Governance
		costs	costs	2024	2023
		£	£	£	£
Accountancy	Charitable activities	28,526	-	28,526	27,711
Office costs	Charitable activities	3,619	-	3,619	4,730
Payroll bureau costs Charitable activities		460	-	460	398
Bank charges	Charitable activities	316	-	316	336
Audit fees	Governance	-	5,700	5,700	5,400
		─────	─────	─────	─────
		32,921	5,700	38,621	38,575
		═════	═════	═════	═════
Analysed between	charitable activities	32,921	5,700	38,621	38,575
		═════	═════	═════	═════

8 Trustees

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received or waived any remuneration, benefits or reimbursement of expenses incurred, from the charitable company during the year.

9 Employees

Number of employees

The average monthly number of employees and full-time equivalent (FTE) during the year was:

	2024	2023
	Number	Number
Chief executive officer	1	1
Staff	1.4	1.4
	─────	─────
	2.4	2.4
	═════	═════
Employment costs
	2024	2023
	£	£
Wages and salaries	131,086	126,776
Social security costs	8,367	7,767
Other pension costs	9,636	11,726
	─────	─────
	149,089	146,269
	═════	═════

Employee costs are allocated to restricted funds on the basis of the percentage of their time spent on each project.

There were no employees who received total employee benefits (excluding employer pension contributions) of £60,000 or more (2023: none).

29 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

10 Debtors: amounts falling due within one year

10	Debtors: amounts falling due within one year
		2024	2023
		£	£
	Other debtors	10,211	5,000
	Prepayments and accrued income	22,428	33,068
		─────	─────
		32,639	38,068
		═════	═════
11	Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
		2024	2023
		£	£
	Other taxation and social security	3,573	3,638
	Accruals	12,217	7,996
		─────	─────
		15,790	11,634
		═════	═════

12 Retirement benefit schemes

Defined contribution schemes

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund.

The charge to the statement of financial activities in respect of defined contribution schemes was £9,636 (2023: £11,726). Costs have been allocated between restricted and unrestricted funds on a percentage of employee time spent.

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NETWORK FOR AFRICA

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

13 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:

Year ended 31 December 2023

		Movement	in funds
	Balance at 1	Incoming	Resources	Transfers	Balance at 31
	January	resources	expended		December
	2024				2024
	£	£	£	£	£
SURF Rwanda
- Group Counselling	-	34,850	(45,153)	15,303	5,000
- Entrepreneurship	-	4,000	(8,675)	4,675	-
- Childcare	1,000	-	-	-	1,000
Livelihoods Uganda	59,448	147,655	(149,501)	(12,491)	45,111
Mental Health Port Loko	46,678	33,625	(58,123)	(2033)	20,147
	─────	─────	─────	─────	─────
	107,126	220,130	(261,452)	5,454	71,258
	═════	═════	═════	═════	═════
Year ended 31 December 2023
		Movement	in funds
	Balance at 1	Incoming	Resources	Transfers	Balance at 31
	January	resources	expended		December
	2023				2023
	£	£	£	£	£
SURF Rwanda
- Group Counselling	-	30,917	(36,282)	5,365	-
- Entrepreneurship	4,000	4,000	(10,004)	2,004	-
- Childcare	1,000	-	-	-	1,000
Livelihoods Uganda	76,145	150,000	(156,212)	(10,485)	59,448
Mental Health Port Loko	35,256	71,424	(59,002)	(1,000)	46,678
Vegetable Gardens Uganda	-	4,311	(3,421)	(890)	-
	─────	─────	─────	─────	─────
	116,401	260,652	(264,921)	(5,006)	107,126
	═════	═════	═════	═════	═════

SURF Rwanda is a project that addresses post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety in young survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, through counselling.

Livelihoods Uganda is a grant received from the National Lottery Community Fund to provide training and livelihoods to the people with mental health conditions who we have been supporting through the Comic Relief grant.

Mental Health Port Loko is a project that will improve mental health services for vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Port Loko in Sierra Leone by developing and supporting existing community structures.

Vegetable Gardens Uganda is a project to help 442 beneficiaries in northern Uganda to plant vegetable gardens and avoid food shortages inflicted by Covid-19. Our participants will have enough to feed their families, and any extra can be sold locally to generate some additional income. We also want to provide extra soap and handwashing facilities so that our clients can meet in safety.

Motorcycle Appeal is an appeal to raise funds to purchase a new motorcycle for the team in Port Loko. The appeal was so successful that the purchase of three new motorcycles was possible.

All projects are described in more detail in the Trustees' Report.

31 -

NETWORK FOR AFRICA

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Analysis of net assets between funds
Year ended 31 December 2024
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
	funds	funds	funds
			2024
	£	£	£
Fund balances at 31 December 2024 are
represented by:
Net current assets	49,042	71,258	120,300
	─────	─────	─────
	49,042	71,258	120,300
	═════	═════	═════
Year ended 31 December 2023
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
	funds	funds	funds
			2023
	£	£	£
Fund balances at 31 December 2023 are
represented by:
Net current assets	67,326	107,126	174,452
	─────	─────	─────
	67,326	107,126	174,452
	═════	═════	═════

15 Status

The company is limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. The directors are members of the company and each member, during his or her membership or within one year afterwards, undertakes to contribute a sum not exceeding £1 to the assets of the company in the event of it being wound up.

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NETWORK FOR AFRICA

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

16. Related party transactions

Remuneration of key management personnel
	2024	2023
	£	£
Aggregate compensation	70,241	72,416
	═════	═════

Transactions with related parties

During the year the charitable company entered into the following transactions with related parties:

Trustees (and their spouses) donated a total of £13,300 to the charitable company in the year (2023: £3,000). Key personnel management, who are not trustees, donated a total of £710 to the charitable company in the year (2023: £Nil).

During the year the charitable company entered into the following transactions with other related parties:

The charitable company received donations of £100,000 (2023: 85,000) from the Henry and Rebecca Tinsley Charitable Trust, a charity in which R C Tinsley is a trustee.

D Russell is a consultant at SURF, with J Hogwood serving in an occasional advisory capacity. During the year payments totaling £52,787 (2023: £46,004) were made to SURF to help fund the SURF Rwanda counselling and entrepreneurship projects.

A Harris was previously a member of the parochial church council of the S Nicholas Church, Compton. An unrestricted donation of £Nil (2023: £1,000) was made to Network for Africa by the church during the year.

33 -