Friends of helper
Reg charity 1129727
Annual Report
2022-2023
Friends of helper
13 Papion Grove
Chatham Kent, ME59BS
Chairperson’s report
Friends of helper has now completed its 14th year as a UK charity supporting the work of Andy Blake’s charity ‘helper’ in Kigoma, Tanzania.
The objectives of helper are:
‘To relieve poverty, protect the health of the poor, assist in the provision of education and encourage greater equality for widows and orphans, & especially disadvantaged people, for example school children in Western Tanzania including support for advocacy and small business loans for women’
We continue to thank God for all He is doing through the work of helper, and for all who pray for and support this ministry. Having set up the charity Friends of helper in 2009 I took over from Peter as Chair of the trustees in 2020. I have struggled with this since Peter’s death, and although I am happy to continue with the accounts and gift aid claims I do not feel able to continue as Chair. I am very thankful to Steve Lewis and Moira Allen for their support and thank Steve that is continuing to help me with accounts despite the fact that he is stepping down as a trustee. I am very thankful to Martyn Saunders and Richard Curzon for joining as a trustees, and Martyn for agreeing to be chair of trustees from 1[st] May 2023.
The last year has been another challenging one. We are thankful for the growth and effective work of helper, but this also increases the financial demands. We continue to meet regularly to pray for the work and God’s provision..
Many Blessings,
Bridget Nightingale, Chairperson
As incoming chair of Trustees for Friends of helper, I am delighted to find myself in a more clearly supportive role for helper’s endeavours in Tanzania. As vicar of St Philip and St James church, Chatham I have come to know helper over many years and yet in getting more involved I am astonished at how much happens on such a small budget.
Do pray with me for greater funding in order to meet the needs and opportunities that exist for seeing God’s kingdom values expressed in Kigoma and surrounds.
Many thanks go to Bridget for chairing the trust through turbulent times both personally and globally, and to Steve for his time as a Trustee and continued willingness to be supportive, albeit in a less formal capacity.
Lord let your kingdom come.
Rev Martyn Saunders.
the helper (msaidizi) trust
Annual Report for Friends of helper 2022- 2023
We continue to thank The Lord for those He has put alongside us and He has used to do this work. It is a privilege to do this work and see the benefit over time in the lives of those The Lord brings us. We thank BritGov for its very generous policy of making Gift Aid tax reclaimable and for Friends of helper in particular for processing it.
It gives me great pleasure to summarize another year of the work of ‘helper’, our Tanzanian Trust, incorporated in 2010, and now in its 13th year. We have enjoyed benefitting from The Lord’s leading and provision for our work, seeing His goodness touch families as they have gained access to medical care, and their being able to enjoy seeing the children they are responsible for progressing spiritually and academically.
We make it clear that one day they will be able to raise their own families without being in poverty, unlike the broken families they come from, as well as being in a position to help those that helped them as they become frailer. We pray that the name of Jesus will be lifted high and that they will give Him the credit for enabling their achievements. ‘helper’s aim must always be to grow these children up into Christ, so they move out into the world, carrying His light wherever He takes them in His purposes and not hiding it under a bowl.
This year we are happy to announce we now have a third student who has won a place at university. What makes this success particularly special is that she is the first one to achieve a place at university from those children who started with us at Sunshine the very first year we opened in 2010. She was aged 7. This was when Beryl Ebbs was with us as Headteacher and Elisia, our current headteacher, her Classroom Assistant. Glory to God! We also have 2 students at Teacher Training College and one who withdrew from the Pharmacy College we sent him to. He is about to start training as an operator of hydraulic machinery! We have two at High School studying for their ‘A’ Levels in the 6th Form and 6 more in 5th Form. helper also continues to support 5 students who are at Secondary Schools in Form 4, which is the ‘O’ Level exam year. We have 2 in Form 3, 13 in Form 2 and 1 in Form 1. There are also 9 primary school students in government schools whose uniforms and personal kit we help with and our own Sunshine Tuition Centre with 55 children. These are all growing, of course, and their continuing academic success clearly indicates the need for a stepchange in support in order that helper can sustainably provide not just for these but also for those The Lord brings to us in coming years.
We also began this year with our newly certificated teacher inaugurating our new chekechea (pre-school). This was under the guidance of Aggie, the Head of Lower School. It worked well until Aggie had to leave to have her baby. This left the chekechea and Standards 1&2 weaker. Until now we are doing our best with a temporary teacher and classroom assistants, which is not ideal. Aggie is unable to return at the moment, but we all hope and pray she will be back with us, soon.
We decided we were not in a strong enough position to have another Chekechea until we have the staff to run it and the children who joined the chekechea are now Class One. Classes 4-7 are running well with Class 7 taking their ‘11plus’ national exam in September.
Elisia, our headteacher, married last year to a faithful Christian whom we hope will soon be able to get a transfer to Kigoma and come and live and work here. It is a slow process. Wonderfully she has been able to remain in post in the meantime.
Morning staff bible time has been a time of closeness, learning about The God we worship. It has been more of a blessing than any of us expected it would be. We give thanks to God for His work through The Holy Spirit.
The ‘Saturday Students’ are now a mix of ex-Sunshine students attending Secondary and High School and the others in Further Education together with the government-supported primary and secondary students. Mixing them together has been a great success and hasn’t resulted in a diluting of helper values and attitudes which was in the back of our minds as we merged the two groups. Indeed, after a time of studying The Word, wonderfully, 25 of them came to faith in one day and gave their lives to The Lord, with one more, a classroom assistant, who has been struggling with yielding to and receiving Christ, following a short time afterwards. The group dynamic has been as good or better than before the merger. Glory to God.
Medical Support
We have sponsored 12 operations, which either have been at the local ‘district and regional’ hospitals, or at the three mission hospitals we send to. These three hospitals are no more than a day away by bus. We also sent 4 patients to Dar es Salaam who had more serious issues, having been referred to Dar by the regional government hospital, but who lacked the means to travel there or pay for the treatment. There have also been 2,652 less-serious cases which we the helper (msaidizi) trust Incorporated into RITA in 2010 No: 3899 have sent to local clinics or chemists. This has kept Edisa busy as she runs the office with help from Elisia. And although not strictly a medical issue, we have also helped 3 infants this year whose mothers died in or shortly after childbirth, by paying for the particularly expensive Lactogen Milk. However, one of our Kent supporters wonderfully volunteered to pay for this, bless God. For any who would appreciate it, helper’s externally audited accounts (in Tanzanian Shillings) are available on request.
Andy Blake, Founder Trustee
Andy Blake Founder Trustee the helper (msaidizi) trust
POBox 145, Kigoma Tanzania +255 623 857677 cptandyblake@yahoo.com
Financial Report
We started the financial year with a total bank balance of £4,640.03 and the income to Friends of helper for the year has been £43,215 of which £5,704 was Gift aid rebate. We are very grateful for the generosity of supporting churches and individuals. We thank God for all who pray and give to this work.
Total expenditure in Tz this year was £47,158 of which Friends of helper contributed £42,987 which includes bank charges for transfers (less than 0.29% of total costs.) The average monthly costs for helper are now £3,929. Regular monthly giving is at present £2509 a month (including Gift aid). Additionally, Friends of helper received some on off donations from churches and individuals which covered the overspend most months. The trustees have begun a process to strengthen the support base to enable the vision of helper to continue to be a reality.
----- Start of picture text -----
helper expenses 2022/23
18,000.00
16,000.00
14,000.00
12,000.00
10,000.00
8,000.00
6,000.00
4,000.00
2,000.00
-
----- End of picture text -----
In this financial year Education costs have increased by £4,600. Salaries/ NSSF costs have increased by £2,000. Medical costs have decreased by approx. £600, and miscellaneous by approx. £1000. The increase in total expenditure for the year is £5,071.
Bridget Nightingale
FRIENDS OF HELPER FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2023
| RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT Incoming Resources Receipts from donors Gift Aided Giving Non Gift Aid Giving Gift Aid Repayment from HMRC Bank Interest Resources Used Charitable Activities Helper (Note a) Andy Living Expenses Bank Fees Excess of Payments over Receipts Funds brought forward at 1st May Funds carried forward at 30th April 2023 |
Unrestricted Designated Funds Funds £ £ 20,735.00 - 16,762.79 - 5,704.00 - 13.39 - |
Total Total 2022/23 2021/22 £ £ 20,735.00 18,708.00 16,762.79 13,862.00 5,704.00 4,089.75 13.39 0.63 |
|---|---|---|
| 43,215.18 0.00 |
43,215.18 36,660.38 |
|
| 39,600.00 - 3,263.04 - 123.75 - |
39,600.00 35,700.00 3,263.04 3,263.04 123.75 168.75 |
|
| 42,986.79 0.00 |
42,986.79 39,131.79 |
|
| 228.39 0 4,640.03 0 |
228.39 -2,471.41 4,640.03 7,111.44 |
|
| 4,868.42 0.00 |
4,868.42 4,640.03 |
FRIENDS OF HELPER
FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2023
| Cash Funds a/c ref Bank Community Account 80931551 Bank Bus Premium 1 13788326 Bank Bus Premium 2 33976386 Represented By Unrestricted Funds Designated Funds Assets Gift Aid from part of tax year due to be claimed Liability |
2022/23 2021/22 469.96 471.75 1,371.21 1,147.62 3,027.25 3,020.66 |
|---|---|
| 4,868.42 4,640.03 |
|
| 4,868.42 4,640.03 0.00 0.00 |
|
| 4,868.42 4,640.03 |
|
| 1,430.75 2,168.50 |
|
| 1,430.75 2,168.50 |
|
| 0.00 0.00 |
|
| 0.00 0.00 |
Except where indicated from the statement of receipts and payments or above, all the assets and liabilities are in respect of the charity’s unrestricted funds
Independents Examiners report to the trustees of Friends of Helper
I report to the trustees on my examination of the account of Friends of Helper (the Fund) for the year ending 30th April 2023.
Trustees' Responsibilities
Under the Charities Act 2011, the trustees are required to prepare a statement of account for each accounting year.
They are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to ensure that such accounts and records comply with the Charities Act 2011.
They also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable
steps to detect fraud or other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurances that:
-
1.The charity is operating efficiently and effectively
-
Its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition
-
Financial information used within the charity or for publication is reliable
-
The charity complies with relevant laws and regulations
Independents Examiners Statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
- accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the
Act; or
- the accounts do not accord, with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:….………………………………………………...….. Russell Poynter 483 Lower Rainham Road Rainham, KENT ME8 7TN
Date: 19/08/2023
Notes to the Financial Statements Receipts Analysis
| Receipts Analysis | ||
|---|---|---|
| Helper* Students education Salaries Family Support/Medical Rent & Utilities Legal Support/Tax Checkechea Nursery School Miscellaneous |
Unrestricted Designated Total Funds Funds 2022/23 £ £ £ 15,247 - 15,247 13,091 - 13,091 5,114 - 5,114 3,781 - 3,781 494 - 494 - 0 1,873 - 1,873 |
Total |
| 2021/22 | ||
| £ | ||
| 11,873 | ||
| 11,861 | ||
| 6,197 | ||
| 4,194 | ||
| 444 | ||
| 99 | ||
| 1,032 | ||
| 39,600 0 39,600 |
35,700 |
*Please note:
-
Helper reports spend in TZS which is converted into GBP
-
Not all funds used at helper come from Friends of helper