The Vinjeru School Trust - Charity No: 1135234
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the period ended 31 December 2021
The trustees present their annual report and the independently examined accounts for the twelve months ending 31 December 2021.
Name and principal address
The name of the charity is The Vinjeru School Trust and the principal address is 17 Sayer Way, Knebworth, Herts SG3 6BN.
Trustees
The trustees who served during the period were: Ross Power – Chair Roberta Power – Vice Chair Martin Hodder – Treasurer Jonathan Field – Secretary Gillian Hodder Adrian Bright Andrew Young Malcolm Pickard
Objectives
The objectives of the Trust are:
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To raise funds for the building and establishment of a school based on Christian principles in the town of Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia.
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To provide education and bring hope to the underprivileged children in Kapiri Mposhi who would otherwise not be able to afford education.
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To raise funds to operate an effective bursary scheme to enable a quarter of the students to have a reduced fee or a free place.
The School is accessible to all, regardless of race, religion or gender. The school endeavours to provide quality, holistic education which will be of benefit to the students and to the wider community in the area around Kapiri Mposhi.
Review of Activities
2020 –2021 continued to present significant challenges for the Trust as the Vinjeru School had to deal with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in Zambia.
Pandemic
The ongoing pandemic in Zambia has led the government again to close schools in times of significant outbreak. This has had detrimental effects on the education of the children but the teachers and students have looked for creative means to continue education.
Examinations
League Tables for examinations shows that Vinjeru Trust School is positioned as 84th (out of 3,000) in the country, 10[th] in the province and 4[th ] in district. Vinjeru is outperformed only by highly selective schools,
however, Vinjeru accepts students with lower scores and ability than selective schools.
The Vinjeru School Trust - Charity No: 1135234
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the period ended 31 December 2019 (continued)
Building
Female students moved from their temporary accommodation into the new boarding facility at the start of 2021. Building has started for the male accommodation block and it is anticipated that it will be ready for students at the start of the academic year in 2022.
Initial work on a new DT block was started but this work will be concluded in 2022 when additional funding is received.
Micro Farming
The Zambian economy often experiences high inflation which can lead to challenges operating businesses. The Trust provided the school with grants to establish a chicken coop and a piggery so the school can feed boarding and day students without challenging economic factors.
Resources
The Trust arranged for materials (including tables, chairs, uniforms and science equipment) to be sourced and transported to Zambia in a container to facilitate the operation of the school. This method of sourcing resources is becoming increasingly expensive so local sources will be sought in the future.
Funding
The Trust has continued to support the school with some operational costs due to the growth phase of the school and the affects of the pandemic. Financial processes and recent results indicate the school will be self sufficient in terms of operation in the near future.
The Trust held a Zoom quiz fundraising event as well as a tea and cake afternoon to engage supporters in 2021. The Trust applied for funding from the Holy Trinity Meole Brace Trust. This funding will contribute to the building of the new DT block and be allocated to student bursaries.
The Trust has continued to receive large and small donations which has enabled the school to continue operating and has added funds to be building projects.
Many sponsors have continued to support students at the school through the Vinjeru School Trust Bursary Scheme. The scheme currently supports 60 students who would otherwise not be able to attend secondary education.
Website
The trustees have spent considerable time updating the Trust’s website to reflect the larger scale of the school. This allows supporters in the UK to find more up to
date information and gives parents of potential students in Zambia faster access to information and contact details.
Supporting the School Leadership Team
The Trustees have not been able to visit the school this year due to travel restrictions but have maintained frequent contact with the Senior Leadership Team through remote meetings and telephone conversations. The trustees look forward to returning to the school in 2022.
Volunteers
The Trust has been working with a number of individuals who will become long term volunteers at the school from 2022.
Governance
The Trustees have continued to work with individuals in Zambia to establish a Zambian trust to oversee the operational governance of the school. The intention is that the UK trust will be solely responsible for raising money and providing grants to the school in Zambia for building and running their bursary scheme.
Future Work
The Trust is looking to finalise the new DT block and then return to building classrooms from 2022.
Signed on behalf of the trustees on 30th January 2022
Ross Power
Chairman
The Vinjeru School Trust – Charity No: 1135234
The Vinjeru School Trust
Charity No: 1135234
Receipts and Payments Account For the 12 months ended 31 December 2021
| As at: | Unrestricted Restricted Total funds funds Funds £ £ £ 30184 30184 2126 2126 8700 8700 15835 15835 19304 19304 3 3 |
Year to: 31/12/2020 £ 50475 4611 15285 18431 28 |
|---|---|---|
| 31/12/2021 | ||
| Receipts General fund donations Building fund donations Uniform Fund Simbeye fund donations Bursaries fund donations Interest income Payments Grants paid - School operations Grants paid - Bursary Grants paid - Building works Uniforms Simbeye support Bank and finance charges Professional fees Fund-raising Costs General administration expenses Net receipts / (payments) Transfers between funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
||
| 30186 45965 76151 |
88830 | |
| 15206 7905 23111 19365 19365 33750 33750 16415 16415 17871 17871 251 251 0 0 48 48 |
31182 36652 14445 0 0 0 116 |
|
| 15505 95306 110811 |
82395 | |
| 14681 -49341 -34660 -46306 46306 37674 8010 45684 |
6435 39249 |
|
| 6050 4974 11023 |
45684 |
Statement of Assets and Liabilities 31/12/2021
| Cash funds HSBC |
Unrestricted Restricted Total funds funds Funds 0 0 6050 4974 11023 |
|---|---|
| 6050 4974 11023 |
Malcolm Pickard Trustee /Treasurer
INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS, REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE VINJERU SCHOOL TRUST ChArlty nllmber 1135234 I rewrt on the accounts of the charity trusiees for the yw end¢d 3111 December 2021. which are set out on the artached accounts. Respective responsibilities of irnstees IlDd eLqmiDer As the charity's trustee5, you are resl1t51b1e for the preparntion of the COUnts. you consider thal the audit requirement of section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Act) does not apply, and that an indep¢nd¢nt ¢X8mination is r¢quired. It is my responsibility io examine the accounts under se¢lion 145 ofihe Act, to follow the procedures specified in the general Direaions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5Xb) of the Act. and to state whether particular matteTS have come to my attenlion. B*sls of Indtptndent exgmlnera, ststement My examination was carried out in accordance with the general DIrtionS given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accountin8 records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presenled with those ttcords. It also in¢lud¢s consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seekin8 explanations from the truslees con¢¢ming any such matters. The procedures undertaken do nol provide all lh¢ ¢vid¢nc¢ that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to wheiher the COUnts pr¢s¢nt a'tru¢ and fair" vi¢w and the report ts limited to ihose m&tt¢rs set out in the slalem¢nt below. IDdependent examlners. sl•lement In connection with our examination, no matteT has come to my attention.. (i) which gives me reasonable se to believe thai in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Act. and b) to prepare accounts which accord with the accountin8 records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Act have not been met. or (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper und¢rstsnding of the accounts to be reached. Ms M C Richardson FCCA Richardson & Co Accountants Cornish & Sussex Suite House 3 Lynderswood Business Park Black Notley Essex CM77 8JT 26. April 2022