The Mary Wood Trust
Annual Report –2024/2025
Charity Name
The Mary Wood Trust Registration Number ----- 1144311
Registered address --- 9 Handforth Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 2LX
Charity Structure, Governance and Management
Trustees
Chairperson --Clare Ramsden Treasurer — Dr Peter Wood
Trustees — Kath Smith, Ann Gover, Pippa Hutchins, Rachel Wood Trustee selection method – By personal invitation and approval by existing trustees.
Our Aims and Objectives
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1.To provide scholarships for education and training with a view to improving disadvantaged young peoples' life skills and opportunities in Uganda.
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2.To advance education and relieve poverty by providing sponsorship, training, funds or items for disadvantaged children, young people, and those in need in Uganda.
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To develop facilities in Kinkiizi, Kanungu district, in particular but not exclusively, at Nyakabungo Girls Secondary School (NGSS) and Ruth Memorial Nursery School (RMNS), in order to achieve the aims outlined in 1 and 2 above.
Three trustees’ meetings were held during the year – in June, October and March, all via Zoom.
These regular meetings are essential for the smooth running of the charity. As well as keeping all the trustees up to date with the activities in Uganda, we also make decisions about finances, forward planning and how best to fulfil our aims and objectives.
There is full transparency about how our money is spent. We endeavour to make sure that the money we send out to Uganda, and spent there, is fully accounted for, receiving copies of receipts wherever possible.
Money sent for student sponsorship or building projects at NGBSS is channelled via the Diocese of Kinkiizi, where the contacts we have there are trusted and reliable, the relationship having been built up over many years. The fees for university and further education tuition are sent directly to the individual respected institutions. Where this is not possible the money is sent direct to the student and she sends a receipt to us for the fees paid.
The trustees all give their time freely for their involvement in the charity and any trips made by trustees to Uganda are totally self-funded.
Activities and Objectives
Activities over the past year
Ruth Memorial Nursery School (RMNS) is situated in Kihiihi. It continues to provide a basic primary education for approximately 75 young children from the local area. All the children come from poor families, many of whom have been affected by AIDS/HIV.
Ephraim Tumwesigye is the founder and director of the nursery school. It is named after his wife Ruth, who was a teacher, who sadly died in a traffic accident some years ago. He is a retired headteacher and he and his board of management (which includes family members) are responsible for the smooth running of the school. They make sure that all local guidelines and restrictions are followed. The school staff consists of a headteacher (who has some nursery qualifications and many years of experience) and 4 other women who are not formally trained. There is a night watchman, and we pay the salary for the cook.
It is a constant struggle to pay the staff as many parents and/or guardians cannot always afford the meagre fees that are charged. However, the children are assured of a good, nourishing meal each day as the Mary Wood Trust pays for the milk, maize flour, beans,
rice and pancakes which they receive. We are most grateful to a generous sponsor who enables this.
We have continued to pay for all the stationery needs that are requested as well as soap to help with ongoing hygiene. During our visit in April, we were able to hand over donated polo shirts for all the children, as well as new footballs, colouring books and pencils. Over the past year we have also mended a number of the outdoor metal seesaws. These break very easily with their constant use. It is hoped that in future there may be the chance to provide some more contemporary outdoor play equipment, made locally, which could withstand the energetic play of 75 young children.
Nyakabungo Girls Boarding Secondary School (NGBSS)
This is a Church of Uganda school, and it is the only girls’ boarding school under the umbrella of the Diocese of Kinkiizi. Its rural situation, on sometimes impassable roads, makes it very difficult to access, particularly when it rains. This emphasises the importance of its boarding status as many students live some distance away.
The Mary Wood Trust has been involved with the school since 2002 and has continued to grow in its sponsorship of students and improving the infrastructure of the school. This is seen by all the additional buildings and facilities provided by the MWT over the past 22 years.
We continue to support 40 girls at the school, most of whom are chosen from very needy backgrounds. Many would not otherwise get the chance to continue their secondary education.
We provide mosquito nets to all new girls entering the school and we are also managing to continue with our commitment to provide sanitary towels to all girls and female teachers during term time. The new incinerator is now up and running and put to good use.
The sewing room is being well used, especially with the government’s new policy on offering vocational subjects. We provide the salary for the part time sewing teacher.
Each year the school celebrates Mary Wood Day on March 8[th] to coincide with International Women’s Day. We provide a cow for that day, so that the girls and staff
can enjoy a meal that includes meat which is a huge change from their daily diet of beans.
The school celebrated its 40[th] anniversary in 2024 and trustee Clare Ramsden (with her husband Oliver) were honoured to share in the celebrations to mark this event on April 16[th] . The newly formed school band were put through their paces and provided suitable music to mark the occasion. The new A- level and Fine Arts block, “Margaret Block”, was officially opened. This three class-roomed building was built using a donation from the Linden Trust, given in memory of Margaret Pearson, founder of the Linden Trust, and great supporter of the Mary Wood Trust. Providing this wonderful facility has given much needed classroom space as well as uplifting the status of the school.
Nyakatare Health Centre
Situated in Kanungu Town, NHC is a Diocesan Health Centre and provides good quality medical and maternity care to the local community. We continue to offer limited support to the health centre, recently financing the mending of the portable ultrasound machine. We continue to enable community health outreaches from the clinic where resources are taken out into the local villages. Most people have no form of transport and so by taking the services to the people they can receive ante- and post-natal care, family planning advice, HIV testing, dental and health education and child immunisation.
Further Education
The majority of the girls we sponsor at NGBSS, stay and take their A level exams. Many of them do well enough to be considered for further studies. We are in a position to be able to offer support to a few of those who wish to go on and study further at a local university. We have to make difficult decisions as to who to sponsor and this is usually done by choosing those with the best grades achieved in the exams. This year one of our girls is studying to be a lawyer and another has secured a place at Makarere University to study for a degree in Business Statistics.
We provide each girl with a reconditioned laptop and make sure that they have reasonable accommodation and adequate resources to study well. We also encourage some input from them and their families, so that everyone has a stake in the girls’ success.
We are very proud of all our girls who make it this far and we keep in touch with them and follow their progress.
Where possible the money for their fees is sent direct to the university. Where this is not practical the girls receive the money from us and then send us receipts from the university once the fees etc are paid. We are satisfied that the money we spend on these girls is well used and will benefit them in the long run.
Newsletters and raising awareness
It is very important to keep all our supporters up to date with what is going on with the charity and how we are spending the charity’s money. This year we have sent out 2 newsletters and also published an article in the St Bartholomew’s Church, Wilmslow, parish magazine. One of our trustees has also given a presentation to a Women’s Institute group in Plumley.
Our supporters and regular donors are very loyal, and we are very grateful for this.
We also use Facebook as a way of updating our supporters on various events and activities that we are involved in.
Future Plans
At NGBSS there are a number of needs such as a providing a new main hall, and renovating an existing classroom block, which has leaking roofs and cracking walls. There is also a plan in place to introduce a bakery project and also a soap making enterprise when funds allow.
We will continue to provide sanitary products to all the girls at NGBSS as well as mosquito nets for all new students.
We hope to be able to offer more support to NHC, especially now that they have had substantially reduced funding because of the withdrawal of US Aid from Uganda.
Financial Review
Overview of the year Financial Review 2024/2025
We have continued to be blessed by receiving regular donations from many individuals.
Income
Our total income fell by £29,837 to £52,170, as in 2023-2024 we have received a sizeable one-off donation for the new A-level Block. Principal sources of funds Most of the Trust’s income came from: Charities - £7,200 (£7,000 from the Linden Trust and £200 from the Redsetter Trust) Individuals - (direct giving - £26,671, via PayPal - £4,218) HMRC - Gift Aid reclaimed - £4,707. Interest on Investments - £4,988 eBay Sales - £163
Expenditure
Our expenditure of £48,408 is similar to levels two years ago. Our main areas of expenditure were: NGBSS Building work £15,091 Further Education Students - £10,287 NGBSS Student support - £9,684 Nyakatare Health Centre - £2,111 Ruth Memorial Nursery School Food etc - £4,794
Fundraising
Plant and cake stall Presentation to women’s group e bay sales Facebook marketplace
Reserve funds
In the unlikely event of the charity having to fold, we hold reserve funds specifically for this purpose. This would enable the charity to fulfil the commitments that we have made to the students at NGBSS, RMNS and the various institutes of further education, so that students could finish their respective educations.
How expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity.
By providing sponsorship for 40 girls at Nyakabungo Girls Boarding Secondary School (NGBSS), all of whom come from needy backgrounds, we are helping to ensure that they have a good secondary education and therefore a good start in life. This in turn
will improve the standard of their own families and hopefully uplift their whole communities in the future.
By providing mosquito nets each year to all students, we are ensuring that the girls have the best chance of staying healthy.
The provision of sanitary towels to all girls and women at the school ensures that no one is left in need and their dignity is maintained.
The improvements to the fabric of both NGBSS and Ruth Memorial Nursery School (RMNS), gives everyone a clean and safe environment for the children and young people to learn in.
Our continued ability to support some girls beyond NGBSS is hopefully going to produce useful and educated and informed citizens who will make a difference in their own families and the community beyond.
By providing daily food and milk for 75 children at RMNS we are ensuring that the children have daily nourishment. The provision of soap for hand washing helps to keep the children from becoming ill. Replacing broken play equipment and providing new footballs gives the children a chance to enjoy healthy exercise. Providing all the stationary needs for the school is important in keeping up the standards of the school.
Supporting Nyakatare Health Centre with its community health outreaches has a farreaching benefit to the wider community.
Privacy Policy
The Mary Wood Trust has written a privacy policy which is available to view on our website.
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Gya-)| CHARITYFOR ENGLANDCOMMISSION AND WALES The Mary Wood Trust
Receipts and payments accounts
For the period from| 06/04/2024 05/04/2025
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Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Endowment Laat Gear
funds Restricted funds funds Total funds y'
to the nearest£ tothe nearest£ tothenearest£ tothe nearest £ to the nearest£
A1 Receipts
[AMAZONSMILE TC TTC—CtSYdSE CU
[CHARITABLETRUSTS[CHURCHJCAFVOUCHERDONATIONS CTCTC| |TOO}oO | | |ee 4,000 be)7,200) 7)|38,200
lepaysalesTCC‘ee C183}| ||3,491
1,956 a7ei}{ | 4,707 109
|PERSONALDONATIONS|PERSONALDONATIONSVIAPAYPAL|PAYPALGIVINGFUND||[|] SBTC8514 ||SOB]HB]22,157|| | | |BT1633]27,671] ||8,51432,492) [2,780] |
STEWARDSHIP 1220)
uD total (Gross income forAR)} 12586} | [39584)] 2,170 82,007
A2 Asset and investment sales
ee
Total receipts (aeisecsmaeaiisiea 52,170) 82,007
A3 Payments
INVAKATAREHEALTHCENTREKINKIZISTUDENTSUPPORTFURTHEREDUCATION [|| {aaa40,287} |{||[10,287CC‘ 1,277} |744
NessWORK}BUILDING [48,081] SSSCSCdESSSata][~——) [ |,
INGSSFINEARTS CC |SSCs48,001] [4209]
INossNetsCC
INGSSSAMARITAN, TC Ea]80a] | |a) |
INGSSSEWINGROOMesTSTsetat] a ||ereery)
INGsssupPORT_CdSS™~~“‘“S~~S po 9,684] [sia
IRMSFOOD Tn CdESCCC‘“‘(’#™COCC‘é | CC
GENERAL : Sub ee27 PO 24} [23]
a total 724) [arg]47,684 L_ 48,408)7 76,593]
A4 Asset and investment
Total peyment [7] —
AS Net of receipts(payments)|_11,862] L762 [CSA
A6 Transfers between funds ay} [a eS |
Cash fundsCashlastcadeveerend |70,717; 088]| a | 194,806 109,391
y 82.538 118,567] | [114,805)]
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Unrestricted Restricted funds Endowment
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
81 Cash funds CO-OP BANK (CURRENT) rT [__eo]{][ CT][ Ce]
CO-OP BANK (SAVINGS) _—) |S| eee
REDWOOD BANK (SAVINGS) ee) ee
CGLA (SAVINGS) ee |
{agree balancesTotalwith receipts cash funds and Unrestrictedfunds Restricted funds Endowmentfunds
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest
Details payments account(s)) ¢
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B2 Other monetary assets a neieee | Ee | |MEERmeena | ||eeeaE2
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Details Fund to which asset Current value
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B4 Assets retained for the aS |EA
charity’s own use ann |he
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Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of
all the trustees
g! e [| [—_Carerameden] Print Name || [tas] Dateof approval
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- CHARITY COMMISSION! FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A
Independent Examiner's Report
Report to the trustees/ members of |!he Mary Wood Trust On accounts for the year Charity no ended | 5" April 2025 (if any) | 1144311 Set out on pages | CC16a | report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 05/04/2025. Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of basis of report the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act”). | 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, | have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent examiner's _| have completed my examination. | confirm that no material matters have statement come to my attention (ether-than-that-diselesedbelow-*) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: e accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or e the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
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| have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with
the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a
proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
rene delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
awa
Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body
(if any):
Address: | 166 Beeches Road
Chelmsford
Essex CM1 2RZ
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IER
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October 2018
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