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2024-12-31-accounts

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Vision & Mission

Vision - Equal opportunities in Northern Peru for everyone to succeed and thrive. Mission - to deliver educational and social programmes for the betterment of people in need in our local communities.

Contents

Word from Our Directors 01 HELP Projects 02 Global G.L.O.W. 08

Partners & Partner Projects 10 STAFF 11 Marketing 14 Recruitment & international relations 15 fundraising, donations & grants 16 Finances 17

Word from the Directors

In 2024, we had all our projects back up and running including HELP Women which had been effectively dormant since Covid-19.

We continued to develop our partnership with the US NGO Global GLOW in Huanchaco. With a focus on girl empowerment, literacy, entrepreneurship, health, and sex education, we served over 150 girls in 4 community groups through recurring and special events.

We ran our HELP Swim programme with our partners Swim Tayka. Starting in January, 51 kids from Huanchacho and the surrounding areas enrolled in these swimming lessons and drowning prevention programme.

We expanded our partnerships with universities, both in recruiting volunteers, and in offering collaborations in research for example we again hosted a small group of Masters students from Sheffield University for in-person Fieldwork Research.

In 2024, we saw some staff change as previous managers left us and new team members joined us. Thanks to Diana who left us in 2024 and Marie & Will who joined us.

Our financial situation continued to be challenging as we didn’t attract as many volunteers as we'd have liked and we did need to make some cost and staff reductions during the year to get back to a sustainable position which was achieved before year end. We were close to breakeven for the full year, and ended 2024 with our unrestricted reserves at a reasonable level, looking forward to further improvements in 2025.

We would like to thank all our staff, teachers, volunteers, donors and partners without whom none of Otra Cosa’s good work would be possible.

Peter & Juany Murphy, Co-Directors Otra Cosa Network

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HELP Projects

HUANCHACO EDUCATION AND LEARNING PROGRAMMES

Otra Cosa Network runs five projects which are all part of the Huanchaco Education and Learning Programme (HELP), namely HELP English, HELP Environment, HELP Literacy, HELP Youth and HELP Women. HELP is dedicated to advancing the education possibilities and resources for lower-income children and adults in Huanchaco and the surrounding areas. The following pages document the achievements and challenges within the projects during the year 2024.

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HELP English

PROVIDING EQUAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH ACCESS TO ENGLISH CLASSES

This year, HELP English was our most popular class at our Recreation & Education Centre (REC), with the highest attendance rate. The children, divided into two groups according to age, have learnt lots of new vocabulary and improved their grammar skills, motivated by the opportunity to learn from and interact with native speakers.

We introduced monthly tests which seem to be effective so far; we will monitor the children's response to decide whether to keep using them. Our partner, Fleming College in Trujillo, has shared its unit plans with us to help our coordinator structure the classes even further.

We are also happy to have started working with Maria del Socorro again this year. HELP English has once again been present at the primary school in Huanchaco, enabling us to provide high-quality, compulsory English language courses.

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HELP Environment

TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

This year, we successfully conducted a series of interactive workshops across diverse disciplines—from making compost and exploring Peru’s rich marine life to crafting plant pots and bird feeders. These sessions not only educate but also instill a sense of responsibility and creativity in our participants.

Our dedication to sustainability and community care remains unwavering. We organised a successful beach clean in February and two litter-picking events around Cerrito in May and July, reinforcing our pledge to protect local ecosystems. Moving forward, we aim to ensure that beach cleans and litter-picking events occur on alternate months, maintaining momentum and community involvement.

Our garden space at the REC remains a cornerstone of our activities. Thoughtfully maintained and augmented throughout the year, it embodies our hands-on approach to environmental education: a place where participants of all ages learn by doing, develop sustainable skills, and witness the direct impact of their efforts. More than just a green space, it represents our commitment to blending education with preservation.

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; rr. \ HELP Literacy

LITERACY FOR LIFE: READING, Writing, THRIVING | y j i |||

The HELP Literacy programme celebrated its second anniversary this year! Our programme made meaningful progress in supporting the Spanish language development of children in Huanchaco. We started this year by focusing on reading skills, helping children build confidence and understanding before gently guiding them toward writing practice. After two years, the results speak for themselves: the program has filled a vital gap in the community, and we are proud of the difference it is making.

The children who participated now recognize and use verbs, adjectives, and pronouns — concepts that were unfamiliar to many before. This newfound clarity is a powerful PY ‘i fore. Fats ne id clarity Say step forward, giving them the language tools they need to express themselves and ving thea’ bos riced to cypress them succeed in school. We celebrate this impact and remain committed to growing the @ME es ain OfiimiiKCEG! tO g programme, ensuring every child in Huanchaco has the opportunity to develop Ute @ 3)" fi KC, sthe opporeliniigy to q strong, foundational language skills.

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HELP Youth

HELP Youth: A Space to Grow, Create, and Excel

In 2024, our HELP Youth project remained a vibrant hub for the children of Cerrito de la Virgen, offering a dynamic mix of learning, play, and creativity. At the REC and football court, supervised activities and games continued to provide a safe, inclusive space where children could explore, develop skills, and build friendships.

The programme thrived on diversity, integrating homework support, sports, science, music, and arts and crafts into daily life. Guest teachers once again brought fresh perspectives, inspiring curiosity and introducing children to new passions. Our skate ramp, a perennial favorite, stayed as popular as ever—with kids growing more skilled every day, some even discovering a potential lifelong passion.

HELP Youth in 2024 was more than just a programme; it was a community where young minds flourished, fostering confidence, creativity, and a sense of belonging.

We also received a donation of 10 skate boards from Nils Kunze, which are a great addition at our Skate Ramp.

HELP Women

PROMOTING WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN HUANCHACO

International Women's Day

We organised a workshop for International Women's Day and ran an international day event in February. We covered the transportation costs and food for the women to attend the Women's Day March in Warwick.

HELP Women project in Huanchaco

We have re-started the HELP Women project and are focusing on the women' s priorities. There was a needs analysis with the women in Cerrito. We therefore reinitiated the HELP Women project in our new Recreation and Education Centre (REC) in Cerrito, bringing many projects under one roof close to our beneficiaries homes.

We organised a breast cancer screening in alliance with the Breast Cancer Trujillo team.

We implemented new Women's Entrepreneurial Workshops in our Las Camelias Premises in the second half of 2024, and we continue to work with a key group of women within the community to assess, identify and address their needs as and when they arise, using our current REC as a base. We also ran a 6 months training for young women on Business “Formandose para la vida” in partnership with the Women’s Ministry through

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=413306974360099&rdid=RzSRAVcGi0sYdnRU

We were awarded a Recognition by the Ministry for Women. We were pleased to have the recognition for our work! It was an honour and a great motivation to know that our efforts have been appreciated. We were deeply grateful for the confidence in us to make this a better place for women and girls, and the support in our efforts in bringing about women's equality.

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Global G.L.O.W.

EQUIPPING GIRLS TO BE STRONG, HEALTHY, AND EDUCATED

An NGO based in the US, Global G.L.O.W. partners with NGOs around the world to develop and implement programmes designed to equip girls with the resources to be strong, healthy and educated. GLOW activities throughout the year focus on different aspects of healthy development, giving girls opportunities to become leaders. Over 150 girls in Huanchaco participate.

In 2024 all classes were running normally in our eight clubs: Cerrito de la Virgen, San Carlos; Las Lomas and Las Camelias, each for both primary and secondary. For GLOW Clubs established in 2024, we had on average 150 girls enrolled and 6 mentors (teachers). Our retention rates were 90%. In terms of knowledge we implemented year 1 of the programme in the 8 clubs and achieved our target ‘gains’ and empowerment measures.

Lucy Dieteren a MA from Sheffield University produced a report which identified the transformative potential of safe spaces and supportive networks in nurturing empowerment for girls to challenge gender norms and build brighter futures. By fostering environments that encourage recognition of identity, leadership and gender education, girls can improve their agency. This increases their empowerment and capability, to enhance their life prospects based on the facilities available to them, such as from OCN and Global GLOW.

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We had the support of a psychologist in the clubs who gave training to the mentors. We had big events such as 28th Sept International Day of the Girl summit and a Christmas summit.

A highlight of the year was our visit by Samantha from the Global GLOW’s U.S HQ and Katherine’s visit in June 2024 for our Summit.

The visit from Samantha in Huanchaco. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI13B Kx4UdA

Partners & Partner Projects

WE WORK CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNERS IN AND AROUND HUANCHACO

HELP Swim, supported by Swim Tayka & PCMF

The programme took place in Huanchaco during the local summer lasting 8 weeks. We received funding from Swim Tayka and the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation (PCMF) to cover the costs of the programme. The costs included renting the pool each day ; payments to the 3 teachers and transport for all staff, volunteers, and students.

The programme reached a total of 51 children from 7 to 16 years old. The classes consist of both swimming & drowning prevention lessons and environmental classes. They consist of a presentation, explaining the topics and activities they have learnt about. For the practical swimming sessions in the pool, assessments are carried out throughout the whole programme using agreed criteria. The

teachers keep a record of progress after the sessions, including positives, negatives, suggestions for improvement, the number of kids, teachers, and volunteers.

The show at the end is for the students to demonstrate what they have learnt practically and the impact it has had on their perspective of the environment, for example looking after the local beach.

We also carried out a few interviews with the children to see how they felt they had progressed during the 8 weeks. This was a good opportunity to see what the kids had learnt and assess their knowledge prior and post programme. Through this we also saw a change in attitudes towards environmental care and awareness from the kids we managed to interview.

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Teamwork

our staff and volunteers make all the difference

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Staff

We’d like to thank Diana Garcia, Marketing and Projects Manager, who left us in early 2024, for her good work with us in 2023 & wish her all the best for the future.

In Quarter 2 2024 we were joined by Marie Besson-Damegon as Projects Manager and Will Nickell as Country Manager.

Country Manager, Will Nickell

Will is originally from the UK and joined OCN in June 2024. He holds a degree in International Development, and has worked for charities of all sizes in several countries including New Zealand and Nicaragua. Immediately before coming to Peru, he was working as a Project Manager for the UK charity Sense.

He looked after our Peru finances and our Peruvian operations, including responsibility for our various projects.

Project Manager, Marie Besson-Damegon

Marie, originally from France, joined us in May 2024. After securing a double degree in Law, she completed a specialised training in Coordination of Humanitarian Programs. She had experience in the volunteering sector in France, Spain & Romania.

Marie led on the Global GLOW project, where she was also a mentor and on the HELP Women project.

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Global GLOW Mentors

Yaqueline Delgado

Cerrito Primaria, Las Lomas

Lia Delgado

Las Lomas

Alexandra Terrones

Las Camelias

Ana Cristina Guevara San Carlos

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Marketing

USING STATE-OF-THE-ART MARKETING TOOLS TO ENGAGE WITH OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY

Website Performance

More than 26 000 visits have been to our ever improving website, beating 2023’s record by more than 6 000 visits.

This performance resulted in 249 application forms being submitted through the website alone. We will continue to provide fresh and engaging content on the site to encourage more visitors to engage with us.

Social Media impact

Overall, the impact of our communication is very positive. On Facebook, despite similar watch time compared to last year, we elicited five times more interactions with our content. Instagram is undoubtedly our most significant sign of improvement, with an 800% increase in the number of people reached, reaching over 26,000 viewers this year alone. Our LinkedIn presence grew significantly as well, bringing our total number of followers to nearly 900.

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Recruitment

New Partnerships & Collaborations

We established partnerships with new UK universities and initiated connections with potential partners in France, including a psychology school and France Volunteers. Discussions are also underway with universities in the US and Canada.

Innovative Initiatives

This year, we launched a new system of “housing packages” system, designed to support volunteers in securing accommodation and fostering a smoother transition into their roles.

Engagement & Awareness

To further raise our profile, we signed up for four UK careers fairs this autumn. Additionally, Juany will deliver three online presentations, sharing our mission and opportunities with a broader audience.

International Relations

We welcomed three girls from Juany’s class Health and Wellbeing Practice at Coventry University. They volunteered in January.

Young university students must learn by collaborating to solve global problems in real-life scenarios. This is a life-enhancing journey and transformational experience. We managed to get Turing grant funding for all of them.

This year we managed to bring 17 students from the USA with 3 teachers. We provided a full intensive week of activities and a meaningful travel experience to Cusco. They did their voluntary work at Maria del Socorro teaching English as well as taking part in cultural activities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQtVXy1UKc0

This year we welcomed four MA researcher students. Juany led the research with four MA students from the Geography Department of Sheffield University. There is no better way to understand present-day and predict future changes than to look at what happened to the history and geography of Peru.

OCN offered 7 weeks of immersion with structured interviews to local beneficiaries, professionals and knowledgeable lectures from Trujillo University. They learnt about the community, doing interviews, completing their research and enjoying Peru!

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Fundraising, Donations & Grants

We would like to acknowledge and offer special thanks to our generous partners & donors who contributed to help our charity and our various projects in 2023. Without the support of these donors, we would be unable to continue our projects and help our range of service users. Thank you all.

Grants Total grant income was £29,387, well down on the exceptional level of 2023, as the large 2022/23 grant for the once-off British Council project came to an end, but grants still formed a vital 37% of our total income. Our major grant donors were: • Global GLOW £18,216 for the girls’ literacy & personal development programme • Ashworth Trust £3,000 to support & develop our work at our Recreational & Education Centre (REC)

Fundraising Fundraising & donations need to be considered together. Total fundraising was a healthy £2,832 including local fundraising in Peru of an impressive £851. A Christmas fundraising dinner in the UK generated total income of £1,981, offset by £930 of fundraising costs giving a net surplus of £1,051 for one night's hard work (plus planning and preparation).

Other Donations

Overall donations were substantially up on 2023 at £8,907 and taking donations & fundraising income together the 2024 total was over double the 2023 total. Major donations were from:

We also received a donation of 10 skate boards from Nils Kunze, which are a great addition at our Skate Ramp. 16

FACTS & FIGURES OTFP.CqIA 17

Finances

FINANCIAL COMMENTARY

These 2024 accounts have been prepared using the UK Charity Commission’s Receipts and Payments accounting conventions, so OCN funds received and payments made between 1st January 2024 and 31st December 2024 are included.

Income

Total receipts were £78,586 in 2024, down by £2,303 against 2023. Grant income was substantially down by £22,875 to £29,387 as the one-off British Council grant came to an end. However, partly offsetting this, donations were substantially up on 2023 at £8,907 and taking donations & fundraising income together the 2024 total was over double the 2023 total. Donations from the Amanda Geissler memorial foundation provided a very generous £5,278 to continue & develop our work at our REC. Volunteer payments were up by £709 and Housing income by £4,858 reflecting slightly higher levels of volunteer arrivals and better occupancy at the Volunteer house. Group travel income was up by £8,219 with a US group of students visiting us & including a trip to Cusco etc in their plans, although it should be noted that Group travel expenses were also up by £7,742 reflecting the costs of their trip. Other income was up by £577.

Expenditure

Total expenditure was reduced by £2,853 to £76,018 in 2024. Project expense, predominantly grant funded, was lower by £20,023 in line with the £22,875 reduction in grant funding above. Group travel expenses increased by £7,742 in line with the £8,219 increase in group travel income above. Salaries & benefits increased by £6,473 as we rebuilt the Peru management team from 2 to 3, only to have to reduce it again later in the year as a necessary cost saving as we were getting low on unrestricted funds. Overall, the reduction in total expenditure of £2,853 more than offset the £2,303 reduction in total income enabling us to stay cash positive and slightly improve on 2023’s small net surplus.

Net cash surplus and reserves

In 2024, we made an overall cash surplus of £2,568 compared with £2,018 in 2023. However, on unrestricted funds we made a net deficit of £1,960 and this was only achieved by applying some substantial cost savings to avoid our unrestricted reserves going too low. We ended the year with £7,793 in General Reserves (unrestricted funds). Compared with our underlying Unrestricted spend of £44,185 (excluding Group Travel expenses) this gives us 2.1 months cover, against our General Reserves target of 3 months. This is considered sufficient to allow for any short-term financial issues, but we need to grow income levels and continue to control costs in 2025 to rebuild reserves.

Finances

2024 ACCOUNTS

2024 FINANCIAL STATEMENT

2024 2023 over/(under)
Income (£) (£) (£)
Volunteer payments 10,056 9,347 709
Housing income 13,422 8,564 4,858
Fundraising 2,832 4,649 -1,817
Grants 29,387 52,262 -22,875
Donations 8,907 880 8,027
Group travel income 12,149 3,930 8,219
Other/Sundry income 1,833 1,256 577
Total Income 78,586 80,889 -2,303
Payments
Project Expenditure - Revenue 23,289 43,312 -20,023
Salaries & benefits 23,492 17,019 6,473
Housing/accommodation/ food expenses 12,433 13,110 -677
Promotion & fundraising 2,286 989 1,297
IT expenses 609 316 293
Telecommunications 292 0* 292
Legal/accounting expenses & professional fees 1,836 488 1,348
Office supplies 278 21 257
Capital Expenditures - buildings 0 0 0
Transport 1,328 931 397
Group Travel Expenses 7,883 141 7,742
Other expenses (incl. ex rate losses & revaluations) 2,293 2,543 -250
Total Payments 76,018 78,871 -2,853
Net cash Surplus/(deficit)
2,018
Telecoms now included under IT expenses as a unified package
Note: These accounts include all transactions from 1st January 2024 to 31st
December 2024.
2,568*
N		 Note: These accounts include all transactions from 1st January 2024 to 31st
550
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Finance Appendix

SUMMARY OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

Income 2024

Volunteer Contributions Housing income Fundraising Grants Donations Group Travel Income Other income

Total Income

10,056 13,422 2,832 29,387 8,907 12,149 1,833 78,586

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Finance Appendix

SUMMARY OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

Expenses 2024

Project expenditure - Revenue 23,289
Salaries & benefits 23,492
Housing/accommodation & food expenses 12,433
Promotion & fundraising expenses 2,286
IT expenses 609
Telecommunications 292
Legal/accounting expenses & professional fees 1,836
Office supplies 278
Capital expenditure - buildings 0
Transport 1,328
Group Travel Expenses 7,883
Other expenses (includes ex rate losses & 2,293
revaluations)
Total Receipts 76,018

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Otra Cosa Network Peruvian Charity Registration Number 11126841 UK Charity Registration Number 1133680

info@otracosa.org

CHARITY (OMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteosl members of okcck Coscx NL Bl, F ID of On accounts for the year ended Charlty no (if any) 133L8TJ Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (Ihe Trust") for the year ended 3111910 As the charitys trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounls in accordance wilh the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Wie Act"). Respon6lbllltle8 and basls of roport I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Chanty Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent examlnerfs statement 8ppl1e￿￿j. Delete [ ] rfnot applicable. I have completed my examlnation. I confim that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination telheTr dise1￿￿.} which gives m8 cause to believe that in, any material respecl: the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act: or the accounts did not accA)rd with the accounting records,. or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the fonn and content of accounts set out in the Charlties (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair. view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in Drder to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Please delele the wonls in the brackets il they do not apply. Slgned: Dats: 1025 Name: fo4x o Relevant professlonal quallflcatlon(s) or body JIA IER Oct 2018

(If any): Address: 3 3F ¥MoC' Section B Disclosure Only complete rf the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concem (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Glve here brlof detalls of any Items that the examlner wishes to dlsclose. IER Oct 2018