**ServeDirect** 

Trustees’ report and financial statements for the year to 31 March 2025 

Charity No. 1138282 

|**Contents**|**Page**|
|---|---|
|Trustees’ report|2-6|
|Independent examiner’s report|7|
|Statement of financial activities|8|
|Balance sheet|9|
|Notes|10-14|



1 



**ServeDirect** 

## _**Trustees’ report**_ 

The Trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025. 

## **Trustees** 

Neil Kirkland Paul Ibbott (Chairman) Sarah Gay (Treasurer) Jerry Dugdale 

The existing trustees appoint new trustees who are fully briefed on their role and responsibilities.   Trustees  regularly  review  the  risks  to  which  the  charity  may  be exposed. 

ServeDirect was constituted by a Declaration of Trust on 15[th] September 2010 and was registered as a charity on 6[th] October 2010. ServeDirect has no paid employees. 

Serve Direct Uganda Ltd (SDU), a charitable company registered in Uganda, is the current main beneficiary of the funds raised by ServeDirect in the UK.  The directors of the company are Jerry Dugdale and Phil Ball (previously a trustee of ServeDirect), who are responsible for the management of the charitable activities.  SDU has no paid employees  and  neither  of  the  directors  benefit  financially  from  their  work  for  the charitable company. SDU holds the title to the land and buildings used by the three key projects in Lukomera, as well as a legally binding Memorandum of Understanding for the project in Gulu. 

Jerry & Elspeth Dugdale were based, for about half of the year, in Lukomera, on site at Wobulenzi Town Academy, to help advise and oversee the projects that Serve Direct Uganda partners with. International NGO, READ for Life continued to help oversee Connect Education Centre Gulu. 

## **Bankers** 

HSBC Plc, 55 Above Bar Street, Southampton, SO14 7DZ 

## **Objectives** 

ServeDirect’s objective is the prevention or relief of poverty and or hardship anywhere in the world by providing or assisting in the provision of education, training, healthcare projects and all the necessary support designed to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income, be self-sufficient and the opportunity to reach their potential. 

In  planning  our  activities  for  the  period,  we  have  been  mindful  of  the  Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and prevention and relief of poverty for the public benefit.  The trustees ensure that ServeDirect’s activities are in line with our charitable objectives. 

## **How we work** 

ServeDirect is a Christian charitable trust.  Our Christian values are the foundation for all our work though  the beneficiaries of our activities include children and families of different faiths and those who have no faith. 

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## **ServeDirect** 

ServeDirect  looks  to  support  local  people  who  are  working  hard  to  change  their communities for the better.  As a trust we come alongside individuals to support them in their  vision.   In  delivering  support  we  ensure  that  funds are  spent  with  the  local community  to  utilise  local  skills  and  materials,  thereby  creating  employment  and increasing wealth in the communities we work in as well as ensuring that projects can be delivered economically and efficiently.  Identifying projects that are sustainable and that can become self-funding in the future is also key. 

## **Activities and achievements** 

ServeDirect continues to support and raise funds for four key projects, Wobulenzi Town Academy (WTA), Connect Education Centre Lukomera (CEC L), The Rock Health Centre and the Connect Education Centre Gulu (CEC G). 

During the period, a major focus was partnering with WTA to help implement the new Uganda secondary curriculum, both at O and A Level. The new curriculum has forced many changes, not only in the way it is taught, but also in the facilities and resources required for its’ support. 

A second focus was on rolling out the READ for Life literacy programme within Luweero District. This is based at the Connect Education Centre, Lukomera. 31 participating schools were identified by Luweero District Council and the training has been implemented. There will be a review during 2026 to assess the success of the programme. 

ServeDirect secured funding for and installed a dedicated solar energy system for The Rock Health Centre. This is a major improvement, especially as power outages have been an increasing problem during the year. 

Practically for WTA, building works were completed to relocate the staff & visitor washrooms to  a  more  suitable  position  next  to  the  new  administration  offices.  This  allowed  the construction of a new Chemistry/Biology lab in their place. SD also refurbished the old Science laboratory into an A Level research room and library to aid in the introduction of the new curriculum. Building works commenced on 8 additional staff houses, a solar energy battery house and a coffee store for a new income producing project based at the school. 

Resource improvements included additional furniture, science equipment, books, computers and printers. Major work also started on improving the solar systems for all projects which will be completed in the coming year. 

Further work was completed on the improved drainage plan to cope with the heavier rainfall, thought to be a result of climate change. 

## **Wobulenzi Town Academy** 

ServeDirect was initially set up to support the work of Wobulenzi Town Academy Orphanage. WTA is a secondary school providing affordable, quality secondary education in Uganda to vulnerable children of both sexes.  WTA is based in Lukomera, which is north of Kampala, an area that few NGOs are working or investing in. Many of the children are boarders and have travelled far to access low-cost education.  About 45% (2023 50%) of the children are day scholars  from  the  local  area.  Day  scholar  numbers  dropped,  mainly  thought  to  be  a temporary result of the poor local economic situation. Just over half of the students at WTA are girls, which is above the Ugandan average of 47%. 

Exam results from the 2024 sitting for O levels were very good considering it was they were the first results for the new secondary curriculum. Given that WTA has no selective entry at 

3 



## **ServeDirect** 

this level and that students learn in mixed ability classes in English, which for many is not their first language, this continues to be a great achievement.  176 sat the exams (2023 159) and 100% of students studying for O level exams passed. There is no direct comparison with previous years as overall divisions are no longer awarded. 

56 students took A levels in 2024 (49 in 2023). Results continue to be good with 42 students (75%) achieving 2 principle passes which allows them access to university courses. This compares well with the national average of 73%. The first Science A level exams were sat in 2016 and emphasis continues to be made to improve Science results generally within the school. The highest overall mark in these exams achieved by a student was 16 points out of a maximum total of 20 (2023 18 points). 

Many secondary schools did not reopen in 2022 due to financial problems following the 2 year Covid-19 lockdown. When WTA reopened in 2022 it was immediately over subscribed and had to turn away many new students. This success was the result of the pent up demand, the student bursary scheme and the improved reputation of the school as many families witnessed how the school continued to support its staff and premises during the lockdown. Enrollment ‘ballooned’ to 849 students in term 1 of 2023. This settled back down in 2024 with an enrollment of 772 and then to 741 in term 1 2025 including 336 day students (397 in 2024), mainly due to the continuing difficult economic situation, especially in rural areas. 

The new secondary school curriculum continued to be introduced nationally for the lower and upper secondary classes. At the start of 2025, WTA opened a dedicated A Level library and research room which immediately proved successful in attracting additional A Level Science students. SDU has been able to help with teacher training and assessments, as the new curriculum is more interactive and aligned to the current system in the UK & Europe. 

The new curriculum requires the use of technology and multi-media in the classrooms. This required more investment in computers, laptops and projectors for the classrooms. One of the limiting factors continues to be the relatively high cost of data, but it is hoped that this will reduce over time as demand increases nationally. 

New technology requires stable electricity. SD has started to improve the solar system at the school to avoid the disruptions caused by the many grid power outages. 

ServeDirect continued to fund a nutritious enhanced diet during the week. 

## **Connect Education Centres (CEC)** 

The first Connect  Education  Centre  (formerly  known  as  The  Bridge Primary  Resource Centre) opened in February 2013 in Lukomera, after a successful pilot. Although Uganda has been successful at enrolling more than 90% of children in primary school only just over a quarter of young people remain in secondary school (Ugandan Bureau of Statistics 2015). 

At present to register for secondary education, pupils must pass an official Primary Leaving Exam (PLE), but poor primary education prevents students achieving this. To help close this gap the CEC was set up to allow local schools access to additional teaching resources, a library and provide pupils with free booster lessons in English and Maths. Later computer facilities were added due to the demand on such resources locally. These sessions have also been attended by local children outside of school hours, keen to join in the activities. Qualified primary school teachers encourage local children to read and enjoy learning using the library resources, educational toys and planned activities. 

ServeDirect opened the new CEC G in Gulu in February 2018. This facility is a much larger regional centre as it is designed to offer additional nursery sessions as well as providing a 

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## **ServeDirect** 

base for READ for Life, an NGO that provides teacher training in approximately 200 Primary and Nursery schools within the Gulu municipality. The CEC G is active 6 days per week as it also provides a library service for local children. 

During the year, Connect Education Centre Lukomera was able to roll out the READ for Life phonics programme to 31 participating schools within Luweero District. The schools were chosen in conjunction with the council and it is hoped that the programme will be expanded to additional schools once the results have been monitored. 

The exciting ‘Mobile library’ project continued to be rolled out to help support literacy in some of the primary schools that the CEC G works with. This involves providing a participating school with a mobile library along with literacy, phonics and read aloud training. This initiative has been  extremely successful and is planned to be rolled out to more schools in the future. This would include introducing the programme within Luwero District. 

Both CECs were open during the holidays for ‘holiday programmes’ to help further boost literacy, numeracy and written work for local children. 

## **The Rock Health Centre** 

In response to local needs, ServeDirect funded the building and running of a health centre adjacent to the WTA site.  As well as treating students at WTA it also serves the local community which has a growing population of approximately 20,000.  Previously the nearest similar health facility was 7km away. 

During the period The Rock proved to be vital to the local community, especially in the continued post lockdown period when many local families were struggling economically. 

The Rock remained busy during the year with a total of 4,835 patients being treated (2024 4,206 patients). 28% of patients were WTA students which is a much lower percentage as the previous year (2024 36%), reflecting the increased benefit that The Rock provides to the wider local community. The dental outpatient service continued during to do well during the year, resulting in 342 patients being treated (2024 370 patients). 1,762 patients (2024 1,365 patients) benefitted from free testing under the initiative to reach out to the most vulnerable people within the local community – ie children under 5 years old and the elderly. Both initiatives have been welcomed by the local community and continue to provide an invaluable service. 

The Rock continued to carry out health talks, health checks and inspections at WTA, when the school was open, in a drive to improve hygiene and general health amongst the students. 

The Rock continues to provide maternity services with 14 births during the year (2024 15 births) in the year. During the period, child immunization services were implemented which should lead to an increase in Antenatal services. 

ServeDirect installed a improved solar system at The Rock, which immediately improved the availability of testing services during the many power outages locally. 

## **Financial Review** 

During the year £108,596 was raised from donations in the UK.  £97,277 was transferred to Serve Direct Uganda to support the projects in Uganda during the year. UK costs remain minimal and the trustees have agreed that reserves should be held equivalent to 3 months of costs. 

5 



**ServeDirect** 

## **Partnerships and volunteer support** 

ServeDirect  has  built  partnerships  with  local  businesses,  churches  and  schools  in Hampshire, connecting local people with the struggles of those living in Uganda.  More latterly  ServeDirect  built  partnerships  with  several  charities  and  churches  in  The Netherlands. These partnerships have been a great source of financial support with many fundraising activities being organised as well as providing people with an insight into the problems of the developing world. 

An important part of ServeDirect’s work is to organise teams to visit and work at their projects.  There are many testimonials of the life changing experiences that people have had from visiting Uganda on our website www.servedirect.org. Volunteers get involved in building and maintenance projects and also in providing educational, sporting and cultural activities for the children, which they would otherwise not be able to access. Often volunteers bring skills in education, health and business that contribute greatly to the planning of projects and in developing the aspirations of the pupils at WTA as well as at the other local projects. Of particular note is the ongoing partnership with UK charity Dentaid with a plan for annual Dental health camps based at The Rock and in Gulu. 

## **The Future** 

In the year, ServeDirect was able to continue to focus activities on Education and Health. 

Investment in improved facilities at WTA are vital to help the school offer excellent value for money secondary education as well as for future proofing. Academic results continue to improve, reflecting the overall improvements at the school. The investment has also enabled the school to properly cope with the increased number of students, especially Science students at A Level. 

However, rapidly increasing food and fuel costs during 2023 and 2024 brought another difficult challenge for the projects. These price rises continue to hit the poorest in society hardest, which include most families that send their children to WTA. Currently all available areas for growing food are being exploited at the school to help offset these rising costs and to keep the school fees as low as possible. In addition, a new income producing coffee project was launched to help finance the school. This situation continues to be closely monitored, but WTA needs to be financially self-sustainability (covering the basic school running costs) to remain strong & viable for the future. 

More positively,  the innovative READ  for Life  literacy  teacher training programme  was successfully launched pilot of 31 Primary Schools within Luweero District. ServeDirect plans to expand this programme, in partnership with Luweero District Council, when the results are monitored during 2026. 

In addition, The Rock continues to expand its services, helping it to become self-sufficient in the near future. 

This report provides a summary of our activities and achievements but please review our website at  www.servedirect.org to read stories about the children and families that have benefitted from our support. 

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ServeDirect

**ServeDirect** 

## _**Independent examiner’s report**_ 

I report on the financial statements of the trust for the year ended 31 March 2025, which are set out on pages 8 to 13. 

## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As  the  charity's  trustees,  you  are  responsible  for  the  preparation  of  the  accounts  in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. 

## **Independent examiner’s statement** 

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: 

- the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or 

- the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or 

- the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (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  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. 

Joel Kirkland 

8 



**ServeDirect** 

## _**Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2025**_ 

||Note|||**2025**|2024|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Incoming**|1|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|Total|
|**resources**||**funds**|**income funds**|||
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|£|
|Fundraising||||||
|income||||||
|Volunteer teams|||**-**|**0**|0|
|Other||**0**|**0**|**0**|0|
|Donations and gifts||||||
|Individuals||**36,061**|**0**|**36,061**|29,134|
|Other entities||**66,922**||**66,922**|70,381|
|Tax reclaimable||**5,613**|**-**|**5,613**|6,776|
|||**__________**|**_________**|**________**|________|
|Total incoming||||||
|resources||**108,596**|**0**|**108,596**|106,291|
|||__________|_________|________|______|
|**Resources**||||||
|**expended**||||||
|Travel Expenses||1,098|-|1,098|1,435|
|Charitable activities|4|99,087|0|99,087|90,700|
|Bank charges||400||400|366|
|||_________|_________|_________|______|
|Total expenditure||**100,585**|**0**|**100,585**|**92,502**|
|||_________|_________|_________|______|
|Net movement in||||||
|funds||8,011|0|8,011|13,789|
|Total funds brought||||||
|forward||37,858|0|37,858|24,069|
|||__________|_________|_________|_________|
|**Total funds**||||||
|**carried forward**|7|**45,869**|**0**|**45,869**|**37,858**|
|||__________|_________|_________|______|



9 



**ServeDirect** 

## _**Balance sheet at 31 March 2025**_ 

||Note|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||2|||**2025**|2024|
|||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|||
|||**funds**|**income funds**|**Total**|Total|
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|£|
|**Current assets**||||||
|Debtors|5|1,911||1,911|3,855|
|Cash at bank||45,056||45,056|35,439|
|||_______|_______|______|______|
|**Total current**||46,967||46,967|39,294|
|**assets**||||||
|**Creditors:**||||||
|**amounts**|6|1,098|-|**1,098**|1,435|
|**falling due**||||||
|**within one**||||||
|**year**||||||
|||_______|_______|______|______|
|**Total current**||||||
|**assets less**||45,869||45,869|37,858|
|**current**||||||
|**liabilities**||||||
|||_______|_______|______|______|
|**Funds of the**|7|||||
|**charity**||||||
|Restricted||||||
|income funds||0|0|**0**|0|
|Unrestricted||||||
|funds||45,869||45,869|37,858|
|||_______|_______|______|______|
|**Total Funds**||45,869|0|45,869|37,858|
|||_______|_______|______|______|



10 



## **ServeDirect** 

The financial statements were approved by the trustees on ……………………… and were signed on their behalf by 

_Sarah Gay_ Treasurer 

## _**Notes (forming part of the financial statements)**_ 

## **1. Accounting policies** 

The accounts presents a true and fair view and the following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items that are considered material in relation to the financial statements of ServeDirect. 

- **Basis of preparation** 

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognized at cost or transaction value and on a going concern basis.  The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014, (FRS 102 SORP) and with FRS 102 and with the Charities Act 2011. 

- **Recognition of incoming resources** 

These are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity becomes entitled to the resources; the Trustees are virtually certain they will  receive  the  resources  and  the  monetary  value  can  be  measured  with sufficient reliability. 

- 

## **Grants and donations** 

Grants and donations are only included in the SoFA when the general income recognition criteria are met. 

In the case of performance related grants, income must only be recognized to the extent that the charity has provided the specified goods or services as entitlement to the grant only occurs when the performance related conditions are met. 

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**ServeDirect** 

## • **Offsetting** 

There has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or income and expenses, unless required or permitted by the FRS 102 SORP or FRS 102 

- **Tax reclaimable on gifts and donations** 

Gift aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor.  Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise. 

## • **Donated services and facilities** 

These are only included in incoming resources (with an equivalent amount in resources expended) where the benefit to the charity is reasonably quantifiable, measurable and material.  The value placed on these resources is the estimated value to the charity of the service or facility received. 

- **Volunteer help** 

The  value  of  any  voluntary  help  received  is  not  included  in  the  financial statements but is described in the trustees’ report. 

- **Governance and support costs** 

ServeDirect incurs no governance nor support costs. 

## • **Liability recognition** 

Liabilities are recognised as soon as it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources. 

## **2. Trustees’ remuneration and expenses** 

There was a payment for flights for trustees in the period of £1,098. 

## **3. Independent examiner’s remuneration** 

The independent examiner has waived his remuneration for the examination of these financial statements. 

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## **ServeDirect** 

||**2025**|2024|
|---|---|---|
|**4. Charitable activities**|||
||**£**|£|
|Serve Direct Uganda Ltd|97,277|90,000|
|READ for LIFE||0|
|Flights/Team trip expenses|0|0|
|Project guardians|0|0|
|DBS Checks|150|0|
|Other|1,660|700|
||________|________|
||99,087|90,700|
||________|__________|
|**5. Debtors**|**2025**|2024|
||**£**|£|
|Tax receivable|1,911|3,855|
|Other debtors|0|0|
||________|________|
|||3,855|
||________|__________|
|**6. Creditors**|**2025**|2024|
||**£**|£|
|Accruals|**1,098**|1,436|
||________|__________|



13 



**ServeDirect** 

## **7. Charity funds** 

**Funds held and movement during the** _**current**_ **reporting period** 

||**Fund**|**Income**|**Expenditure**|**Fund **|**balances**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**balances**|||**carried forward**||
||**brought**|||||
||**forward**|||||
|**Fund names**|£|£|£||£|
|WTA|**0**||||-|
|Connect Education||||||
|Centres (formerly The||||||
|Bridge)|**-**|0|(0)||**-**|
|Rock Health Centre|**-**|0|(0)||**-**|
|Project guardians|0|0|(0)||**-**|
|Restricted funds|**0**||||0|
|Unrestricted funds|37,858|108,596|(100,585)||45,869|
||________|________|________|________||
|**Total funds**|37,858|108,596|(100,585)||45,869|
||________|________|________|________||



14 



## **ServeDirect** 

## **Funds held and movement during the** _**previous**_ **reporting period** 

|**Fund balances Income**|**Expenditure**|**brought forward**||**Fund**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**balances**|
|||||**carried**|
|||||**forward**|
|**Fund names**|£|£|£|£|
|WTA|0|0|0|**0**|
|The Bridge||||-|
|Rock Health|||||
|Restricted Funds||||0|
|Unrestricted funds<br>|**24,069**|106,291|(92,502)|37,858|
||________|________|________|________|
|**Total funds**|**24,069**|106,291|(92,502)|37,858|
||________|________|________|________|



15