1 ## **Manchester Congolese Organisation Ltd (MaCO)** **Annual Report of the Directors for the Year Ended 31 March 2025** **Registered Charity Number: 1142798 | Company Number: 07564748** 2 ## _**1. Directors' Report**_ The Directors present their annual report together with the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025. The company is a private company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 18 February 2011. The overall management of the charity is the responsibility of the Directors, with day-to-day project activities delivered by dedicated volunteers. ## _**2. Charity Details**_ - **Company Name:** Manchester Congolese Organisation Ltd (MaCO) - **Charitable Object:** To promote the benefit of Congolese citisens and other BAME in Manchester through the advancement of education, relief of poverty and sickness, promotion of good health, and provision of recreational facilities to improve conditions of life. - **Registered Address:** Crossley Community Centre, 54 Crossley Street, Manchester M18 8BA - **Banker:** HSBC Bank, 2-4 St Ann’s Square, Manchester M2 7HD - **Independent Examiner:** Louis Boffy, Accountant ## _**2. Directors**_ The Directors who served during the year and to the date of this report are: - Angel Kaseka Kaleta (Chair) – Appointed 15/12/2019 - Augustin Kabeya M’Funyi (Vice Chair) – Appointed 15/12/2019 - Louison K. Kangombe (Secretary) – Appointed 15/12/2019 - Louis Bloomberg (Treasurer) – Appointed 15/12/2019 - Kayemba Mitenga – Appointed 15/12/2019 - Monique Likoy – Appointed 15/12/2019 - John Kayembe – Appointed 15/12/2019 - Lysette Kamuanya Tshimanga – Appointed 15/12/2019 3 _**1. Review of Activities and Achievements**_ - During the year, MaCO continued its vital work supporting the Congolese and wider BAME community in Manchester, focusing on integration, wellbeing, health, education, and employability. Key project outcomes include: ## **a) Education & Youth Development (Homework Club):** - Supported **55 pupils** (Key Stages 1-4) through a weekly Saturday club, improving grades in Maths, English, Science, and ICT. - Fostered social integration and confidence through educational trips, creative arts, sport and physical activities and events like a community picnic in Gorton Park. Improving mental health, preventing violence and crime - Maintained strong attendance (75-90%) and active parental involvement, creating a supportive learning environment for children from diverse backgrounds, including asylum seekers and refugees. ## **b) Health & Wellbeing:** - **Mental Health Project:** Successfully delivered workshops and befriending services at Crossley Community Centre, achieving 75-90% attendance. The project promoted social cohesion and reduced isolation among participants from various African and Asian communities. - **Health Advocacy:** Provided ongoing support to asylum seekers and refugees in accessing NHS and healthcare services, leveraging volunteers' language skills and cultural knowledge. - **Women’s Health:** Continued partnership with the Black Health Agency and NHS to deliver culturally sensitive workshops on HIV prevention, contraception ("WALE" conferences) and cancer prevention ## **c) Employability & Financial Capability:** - Equipped members with job-search skills, CV writing, and interview techniques, leading to successful employment outcomes for some beneficiaries. - Provided financial advice and money management training to promote independence and reduce dependency on benefits. 4 ## **d) Over 50s activities** - Effectively reduced isolation and improved digital literacy among older BAME community members, enhancing their ability to engage with modern society and access services. Recreational activities to improve mental health ## **e) Food Bank** Providing food parcels to beneficiaries in genuine need in partnership with Fareshare Manchester and providing culturally appropriate food parcels in partnership with RAFIKI organisation and BME Network. ## _**2. Impact of the Rising Cost of Living**_ The escalating cost of living has profoundly impacted our community, exacerbating existing disadvantages. MaCO has observed a significant increase in demand for: - **Fuel and Energy Advice:** More families seeking support to manage soaring utility bills and achieve affordable warmth. - **Financial and Debt Advice:** Increased need for income maximisation, benefit checks, and debt management planning. - **Essential Support:** Greater reliance on our holistic advice services to navigate the compounded pressures on household budgets, mental health, and overall wellbeing. Our voluntary advice project is a critical frontline response to this crisis. _**3. Governance, Volunteers, and Partnerships**_ The charity is managed by the voluntary Board of Directors. Our work is delivered by a committed team of volunteers and a small number of paid sessional staff. We are grateful for their dedication. We have strengthened key partnerships with organisations including Manchester Refugee Support Network (MRSN), Manchester City Council, Caribbean Health Network, NHS and Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, Community Assets Transfer Cooperative (CASC) and various local funders, which are crucial to our service delivery. 5 ## _**4. Financial Review**_ The company is a non-trading organisation. The attached accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime. The Directors confirm that they have complied with the duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission's public benefit guidance. IP4DEPEP4DENT EXAMINER'S RF.PORT TO THE TRiisfEES OF.MANCIIEsfER CONG'OLL¥L ORGknYISATION {M•CXII JIffjY2025 RMw¢tl¥i rnpwlbwlkn •f dlrffhTh ex•mlMr ThE directuB Me r¢Irth￿ble ts the orth* The •￿Ill ￿ Nx wuired fty thty yeu se&MKJn 144f2) oftr* (Thtriliej Ad 2011(trrt 2011 •bJ an Ked¢d. li u my ￿￿IbIlIty 10. • Ex￿1n¢ accwii 144 oftlx 2011 A¢. . To follow Il* lthl in the wen Cknty Jr¥tsi I￿s1orth¢ 2011 ACL b fjllTrd¢pMdth eMml•ff'l rep My ex#minJuon ¢*TKMI out tn tr¢ Dtr¢th'on by th¢Cknty An a rvinvofthe wwlinl kqrt by th ¢hriithle • CuTrpar￿ of tht pyeyffiwj with th)st rrrwdi. li coMhkrtt()n ofany rtoms Mmth*tys￿Sl$l•1*ts L40èl ￿t*s510￿1 O•y•ti*t60Tr Tot•1 Tho CtpAd 1> pandemlc h•s h•d Costs Imp•cts In the ¢41w*tl(rn ol our wyr4￿tIOn. the ￿#r 2020- 2021 •hd 2021 .2022 we IrKurred hiih cn5ts of fi¥qd •SSets a￿*S1110￿% to emtle u5 copE wlth the I0￿MM•￿ lacP￿th￿r* sthorn• and Ix4•tloft. 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CrNdlwd Urquj GM ac Cas¢ Wth31 Tr•ln & SPT4 SVC5 Grtlter m•ll¢￿t￿ GMCVO Pthmlw5 c￿1￿j Pecrle Health Trust marthistero'tyc￿I1 Gr•it4Y 9159 Tthl The accrJLXts (flnanclal stateff(errtsl been pre￿red In ctord•Trc• wlth th• Si•t•m•frt d Recommended Prèc¢lce Accourrtir¥ and Reportln# by CharTtles ￿￿￿•T1￿ th￿r accowts In •eccrt•Trc• wlth the F*Mncl•l ReP￿in￿ StarxS•r%l •ppllrable In th and Aepublic ol Ire1•t￿ IFRS 10211ssued ITr October 2019 and the Fin•nri•l R•portlw Starjdard awllcable In the Unlt•d KIngd￿Tr •nd RepublTc of Ireland IFRS 1021 and Charltfjes Act 2011 •vKI UK G•nerally ￿cepted Ftractlct •$ It *pplles frryn l Janlwry 2019. 04dty Is * crrnwvyy Ilmlted by *L￿r•I￿te¢. fft•mts•rx ot tk* company are Ihe Tru*i•s n8m•d on pag• General funds •re Ur￿￿￿1￿rt•d f￿d8 whlth af• •wll•i4• for use •t th• dlscretlon of th• Trustees In f1xrhera￿& of th* 8•n•rnl £>bAects d the O*sl8n*ted funds ccYnKXiSe unrestrlcted l￿d$ tP6at have been set •sld• by the Trustees for partltular purposes. Th• •lm •nd tsse ol eath dÈ5i8VWted fund Is set rArt the nate5 to th• financlal statsrnents. Restricted funds •r• funds whlch arn to ts• used •ec4)rd•nce wlth swdllc r•strfctlons Smp¢x¢d donors or wNch h•v* r•15ed bv th• (￿rIty for p•rtJoJlar purP￿e$. TP•• ¢tsst ¢1 rnlslni and a(kninl$terl•• suth lurKIs •Te £h•ryed •48lnst the 5peclfi£ f4wKL Thè •l*n •T￿ use of each T*strlrt•d fund Is set ifi the Th)te5 to th• fln•nel•l statetnerrts. All Intn l# Id•d at rntè5 calculated to wrft• Lrff cx>st d flxed *5sets. less th•lr •stlm*t•d rnsidual value. ovw •XP*rt•d Ihys ￿ lolbw>: Furntrture. fitti￿$ and e￿I￿ert- 5 y*•rs J ￿4￿% All flx*d asstts costiry m¢>re th•n £4(Kl •rn ￿PItalI$•d. C•mpAW SI*￿aTe costs ar• nat upltslls*d. 12 ## _**5. The company’s policy on reserves**_ When creating a reserve policy, we are particularly interested in creating a pot of money that is available to cover gaps in funding – cash flow and meeting costs such as volunteer transport allowances. The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirement of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of account. These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime. ## _**6. Principal Challenges and Future Outlook**_ The principal challenge remains **financial constraint** , which has limited the full operation of some projects, such as our Socio-Cultural programme. Securing sustainable core funding is essential for our future. Despite this, MaCO has demonstrated resilience and a strong track record of impact. The Directors are committed to building on this year's successes, consolidating partnerships, and seeking further funding to continue and expand our vital services for the community. 13 Manchester Congolese Organisation would like to thank the following Organisations for their support during the year 2024/2025 BBC Children in Need Big lottery (Awards for all) Manchester City Council CASC Manchester Phoenix Way Foundation Baobab Foundation NHS GMCVO Manchester BME NET. Many thanks to our members for their continual support, and we thank to every individual supporter and other local organisations who have been supporting us during the year 20242025 The directors declare that they have approved the directors’ report above Office Contact Details: ## _**Crossley Community Centre**_ 54 Crossley Street Gorton, Manchester M18 8BA Tel: 01615469926/ 07951425054