2021-03-31-accounts

Wamba Community

Trust

Annual Report and Accounts for Year Ended 31 March 2021

Charity No 1138173

Charity Information

Trustees

Clare Muir Colin Muir Tanya Page Ruby Axelson Ed Armitage Pat Yeabsley Jane Yeabsley David Yeabsley

Patron Robin Ince

Registered Address

Lower Butts Orcop Hereford HR2 8SF 07941470066

www.wambacommunitytrust.co.uk

Wamba Community Trust – Aims and Objectives

• To promote the benefit of young people living in the Wamba district of Kenya, by: o the advancement of education

• the prevention or relief of poverty

• the promotion and preservation of good health

• To advance in life and relieve the needs of young people through the provision of education, support and activities which develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals.

Wamba Community Trust was set up in 2005 and after 5 years of growth, was registered with the Charity Commission in September 2010.

This small family run charity’s ethos is that all donations go directly to the people that need it most, the people of Wamba. We have no paid staff and no CEO, we don’t use your money just to run the charity like many do or to fund trips to Wamba.

• The projects use locally sourced materials, supporting local suppliers and avoiding import costs and duties.

• Local labour is used on all projects, supporting the local community and developing ownership.

A Year with no Visits to Wamba!

With the Pandemic changing the lives of all of us in so many ways, I have not been able to visit Wamba since February 2020 and I’m not sure when I will be able to return. As I write this report (April 2021) Kenya has just gone in to another wave of the virus with additional lockdown measures put in place. Schools are on their Easter break and it is unclear when they will re-open.

Other than grants and regular donations, it has been a year when we have not been able to hold any fundraising activities. Although we have not had to pay school fees for most of the year, rent for those at college and university has had to be paid durning the closures as the girls were unable to travel back to claim their belongings. The cost of transport back to Wamba was inflated due to public transport owners took advantage of the situation. Not being able to travel to Wamba myself to assess different project needs, meant we have not had great expenditure for new and on going projects , and have mainly concentrating on projects that will help with the immediate effects of the pandemic as listed below. Our balance carried forward is very healthy and will help with all the inflated costs of school fees, transport, accommodation, food etc for the coming financial year.

Report on our Achievements this Financial Year

In Wamba there was a lot of fear and confusion in the early months of the Pandemic as people struggled to understand the impact of the virus and the information they were receiving which was often misinformation, but the Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) worked hard to try to calm the communities with education about personal hygiene and social distancing. Wamba Community Trust paid for two bore hole pumps to be repaired to help with access to fresh water and bought 200 water containers for the most needy. We also received funding to mend our Margwe Water Tank which was in desperate need of maintenance before it became unrepairable.

Hunger in Wamba has been a really big issue with people being unable to travel to earn money to feed their families. Wamba Community Trust has been able to respond to this in a small way. Working in partnership with the CHV’s a list of the most needed in Wamba was obtained from the EDOWA Group (Empowering Disabled, Orphans, Widowed, & Aged) and we supplied a months food for 100 people. It was a very well organised project led by CHV Johnson with help from a local Church where the food was distributed and volunteer police and other helpers to make sure it all ran smoothly and social distancing was maintained.

Ruby Pre-School

We received funding during the Pandemic for our project “It’s Hard To Learn When You’re Hungry” to provide Ruby Pre-school with food for the children, so instead of waiting until they returned to school we supplied 42 of the most vulnerable families from the school with a month’s supply of food in July and again in November 2020. They were selected by the Head Teacher and Chairman of the school. It was well organised and everyone was very appreciative of the food. When the Pre-school did re-open in January 2021 we supplied food for the children to have lunch each day.

Another project we have been able to fund has been to rebuild the toilets at Ruby Pre-school. We first funded the build of them 8 years ago, but with extreme rains at the beginning of 2020 they collapsed. Where possible some of the materials from the old toilets was re-used for the new ones.

Empowering Girls and Young Women Through Education

Education in Kenya closed at the end of March 2020 due to the pandemic and students at colleges and universities fled for home before all travel came to a stand still. They left all their personal belongings behind in their rented accommodation hoping it would not be long before they returned.

Most colleges and universities opened again at the end of October 2020 along with a few school year groups that were due to take their national exams. All other school year groups and pre-schools returned in January 2021.

The Lockdown has had a devastating affect on young women in Kenya with record numbers of teenage pregnancies, child marriage and FGM cases being recorded. Studying at boarding school and college offers a safe haven providing critical support beyond education. A report in a National Kenyan newspaper reported that on returning home many girls found households battling starvation due to the pandemic. Many girls have been married off so the family receives a dowry to enable them to feed the rest of the family. In most cases FGM is to be carried out before they are able to marry.

Our funding supports vulnerable young women from Wamba to continue their education. Many families from the Samburu tribe do not value girls’ education so they drop out at the end of primary education and stay at home to help look after younger siblings. Most secondary schools in Kenya are boarding schools, enabling the girls to escape harmful cultural practices such as FGM, beading and child marriage. Education is so vital in making a significant difference to the quality of the young women's lives, promoting equality, enabling them to understand their basic human rights, and disrupting the poverty cycle. We work closely

with the Principle of Wamba High, local Primary schools and Women's groups to identify those that are in the most need of our support. Many of the girls we support are orphans of HIV AIDS and are looked after by older siblings or extended family members, and sometimes just members of the local community looking out for them.

Our support of vulnerable girls from Wamba is proving more and more challenging each year. Once they finish secondary education and move into further education, for most of them the support costs increase considerably. They need accommodation, equipment for their chosen course, costs when they have opportunities to gain experience on placements, and transport costs to and from home during holiday times. As education develops in Kenya most of the students need their own laptop and we also buy them phones so they can contact us via WhatsApp. We try to get the families to take some responsibility for their daughters’ costs where possible, but some are orphans, others have such large families, their families withdraw all help when a sponsor is identified so that they can concentrate on their other children who don’t have a sponsor.

We have seen some wonderful results from the girls we have supported over the years, some of which include:- Samoki who is now in the Kenyan Airforce, Jecinta is in the Kenyan Police Force, Christabell works at the Wamba Catholic Hospital as a nurse, Rosaline teaches at a Primary school in Wamba, Merina teaches science at Wamba Mixed Secondary School, Jane works for social services, and Leah has just completed her education at Rongo University where she completed a degree in Journalism. Read about Leah below.

Jecinta

Christabell

Samoki & Daughter

Leah

I first met Leah in a remote part of Wamba in 2013 where she was wandering around with a friend and I asked her why she wasn’t at school. She told me she was sent home as her fees hadn’t been paid. Being female and from a large family, her education was not valued like her bothers. My daughter Ruby and I got chatting and Leah’s desperate need and desire to get a good education really hit home, so we agreed Wamba Community Trust would sponsor her.

Leah started back at Wamba Girls’ School and then moved to Kisima High School as her grades were so good. After finishing secondary education, her father tried to marry her off and to make her go through FGM, but she refused and ran away. Her family then virtually turned their backs on her and said she was the Charity’s responsibility now.

As Leah’s results were so good, she was able to get Government Sponsorship at Rongo University and Wamba Community Trust would support her by paying for her accommodation and living expenses and equipment needed for university – phone, laptop, camera etc.

Leah is the most determined young woman I have ever met and will face all life’s challenges head on and even when she fell pregnant at University, she has managed to keep her studies up and bring up her child. She is determined to make a good life for them both.

Leah’s Word

“ What I have learnt is that Clare and Wamba Community Trust does not only provide sponsorship to many girls but considering that she has a good heart, I saw a mother in her, mentor and always there when I needed her the most. We have a very good, like mother-daughter relationship, as she was always there even times when I had no one else.

The good news is that, I just finished my final year studying in Rongo University in Kenya, awaiting to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication on 18[th] December 2020. And as a result of covid-19, unfortunately my graduation will be virtual. From there I plan to venture onto the media industry and use my acquired knowledge and skills to better myself and the community at large.

Without the support of Wamba Community Trust, it would not have been possible for me to make my dream a reality. I once again thank you for supporting underprivileged students like me in our education, well-being and investing in our future. I will always be grateful to you. Your kind favour also motivates me to help others in need and will definitely do so in future. May God bless you and your family, and Wamba Community Trust” Yours Sincerely,

Leah L.

Leah & Ruby when we first met Leah’s home in Wamba

Visiting Leah at Kisima High Leah at University

Overall we have supported 58 girls and young women with 33 ongoing and 2 waiting to get their exam results before continuing with further education.

Current Sponsored Students – January 2021

Ntepes Primary Sunday Lemargeroi Napunyu Lekero

DEB Primary Naanyu Lekutai Scolla Lekutai Teresia Lekutai Jane Lekutai

Wamba Girls

Leah Lesurmat Betty Soila Lorine Alvoch Naima Antuan Rose Lenkirira Samwella Lesuper Achichi Lalkalepi Margaret Mkamburi

Wamba Mix

Martha Lesowapir Catherine Lesurmat Nasha Deborah Lenaitalaiyio Beatrice Ngilayon Loloju Violet Loldikir Maurine Dorcas Leikar Lina Lelenguya

Mwangaza Mixed Lynet Lemalita

Amboseli Institute Diploma In Tourisum & Business Studies Mary Paula

Tracom College - Cert in Secretarial Studies Milva Nguyan

Mount Kenya University Dipolma in Community Health & HIV AIDS Ann Naramet

Thika School of Medical & Health Sciences Diploma Applied Biology Merina Napeyok

Chogoria College - Cert in ECDE Christine Nina Lororua

East Africa Institute - Secretarial Certificate Catherine Naanoi

Eclipse College - ECDE Catherine Ledoko

Bahati Tech College Certificate in Information Technology Stella Regina

TIBS College - Diploma Front Office Operations & Administration Ambrail Kawira

South Eastern Kenya Uni Bachelor in Commerce Christine Lesuper

Meru Institute for Business Studies Certificate in Journalism & Media Studies Purity Muthoni Murithi

Jeremia

Jeremia continues to live at the Huruma Children’s Home attached to Wamba Hospital and I asked my friend Kamanga to visit him as I haven’t been able to go to Wamba and he got this lovely photo taken and said he seems happy and healthy.

Further Achievements

Medically we have funded 2 families to have a NHIF Card (Nation Health Insurance Fund) enabling them to get free health care for a year. Christine, one of our sponsored girls has new glasses as her eyesight has deteriorated, and we funded Roseline to have an x-ray and surgery for a lump in her breast.

How we Raised the Money

Most of the money raised is from kind donations from friends and family and we couldn’t achieve what we do without their support. A very big thank you to all that have contributed.

I spend a great deal of my time applying to Trust Funds and Foundations and I am always delighted when applications are successful and the Trustees can see the real benefit the money is making to the community of Wamba. A very big thank you to all that have granted funds.

Wamba Community Trust

Income & Expenditure 1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021

Income Expenditure

Grants	21,781.78	Projects	15,754.79
Donations	6,819.90
Gift Aid	1,103.75
Fundraising	—
Interest	2.73
Total	£29,708.16		£ 15,754.79
Balance b/fw	11,582.20
Balance c/fw	25,535.57

Projects

Projects
School Fees & Associated Expenses	11,627.21
Ruby Pre-School Toilets	665.59
Ruby Pre-school food	590.65
Ruby Pre-school books, pens, volunteer
expenses, misc maintenance	165.81
Food for disabled & vulnerable	580.36
Repair Margwe Water Tank	922.17
Mend 2 bore hole pumps	134.78
200 Tip taps	79.77
Contribution for Jeremia	221.43
Medical & Community support	767.02

Wamba Community Trust Lower Butts Orcop Hereford HR2 8SF 07941470066 www.wambacommunitytrust.co.uk [e-mail]

donate @ http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/wambacommunitytrust

Independent examlnerfs report lo the trustee5 ofwamba CommunltyTntst Charlty no. 1138173 Examinerfs unquallfled report (for a non-company charity preparing receipts and payments accounts) wlth a gross income of £250.ChJO or less In the relevant financlal year I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Wamba Communlty Trust {the Trust) for the year ended 31" March 2021. Responsibilitie5 and basis of report As the charlty trustees of the Trust you are responslble for the preparation of the accounts In accordance with the requirements of the Charitles Act 20111'the ACYI. I report in respect of my examination of the Trusvs accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and In carrylng out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 1451511bl of the Art. Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attentlon in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect.. l. accountlng records were not kept In respert of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Art: or 2. the accounts do not accord wlth those records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention 5hoLsld be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understsnding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Name: Relevant profe551onal qualification or membership of professional bodies lif any): Address: LF LKlkKWQE QOYKT, rJEWIN STlÉ E T SLI %EIA/ Date: IIIkn QCT IOI I