2023-12-31-accounts - Hope, Uganda

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Charity Number: 1146375

Chairman’s Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

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(Front cover – Image of some of the RHC children ‘Together we are one’)

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Hope Uganda (HUG) Reference and administrative information For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Reference and administrative information………………………………………………………………………………3 - 4 Trustee’s annual report……………………………………………………………………………………………………………5 - 13 Independent Examiners Report…………………………………………………………………………………………………14 Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)……………..15 - 16 Balance sheet……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….17 Additional Information…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18-19

Hope Uganda (HUG)

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Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

There has been no change to the reference and administrative information as reported in the previous year.

Charity Number	1146375
Registered / Operatonal address:	19 Tibb Street Bignall End Stoke-on-Trent ST7 8PT
Trustees:	1. Mr Roy FIELD (Chairman) 2. Mrs Vanessa CADE-HUGHES (Secretary) 4. Mr Peter HOWARD (Trustee) 5. Mrs Elizabeth BEARD (Trustee) 6. Mrs Laura SMITH (Trustee) 8. Miss Lyndsey FIELD (Trustee) Appointed August 2022	3. Mrs Rachel MARTIN (Trustee) RESIGNED 12th July 2022 7. Mr Jonathan MARTIN (Trustee) RESIGNED 12th July 2022

Bankers:	Santander Plc 22 Victoria Street Crewe Cheshire CW1 2JS
Accountants:	Aford Bond Holdings Limited	Accountants frst used to

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		31 Wellington Road Nantwich Cheshire CW5 7ED	complete the compulsory ‘Independent Examiners Report’ for year ending 2017.

Hope Uganda (HUG)

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For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Trustees annual report

The trustees present their report and the ‘Independently Examined’ financial accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2023. Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102. Once again this year the accounts have been examined by our accountants, Afford Bond of Nantwich and an ‘Independent Examiners Report’[1] has been prepared in compliance with current UK Charity Commission legislation.

The trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The trustees report the success of each key activity and what if any benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps trustees ensure the charity’s aims, objectives and activities remain focused on its stated purposes.

The trustees have referred to the guidance in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims, objectives and activities and in planning its future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

Public Beneft Statement

In line with current UK Charity Commission guidance Hope Uganda (HUG) recognises the purpose of public benefit within the context of what this charity was a) set up to do and b) what is has done to achieve this.

PURPOSE	PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT	COMMENTS
The purpose of Hope Uganda (HUG) is to provide shelter for the less advantaged children in Masaka District and any other areas in Uganda where HUG may expand in the future. To provide equal opportunites and empower the less economically advantaged children to become self- sufcient. To provide educatonal, vocatonal and other services for the best interest to the less advantaged	In the past 12 months (2023), HUG has contnued to support Rainbow Hope Centre in a number of ways. Financially HUG supplies all the funding for RHC in order that they can pay for food and ancillary items for basic healthy living. It also pays for all the educaton costs incurred by having all the children at RHC in full tme educaton; this includes 5 older children who currently board on a full tme basis. The funding also goes to pay for the ongoing crop growing all year round as well as paying the salaries of 6 members of staf at RHC on a full

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Trustees annual report

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

children in Masaka district and any other areas in Uganda where HUG may expand in the future.	tme basis. The wider beneft goes out to the local community in extra money being spent in the purchase of foodstufs and by the additonal expenditure by the local staf spending wages in the community.

Our purpose and aims

Hope Uganda’s (HUG) objectives, as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association are,

“…To provide shelter for the less advantaged children in Masaka District and any other areas in Uganda where HUG may expand in the future. To provide equal opportunities and empower the less economically advantaged children to become self-sufficient. To provide educational, vocational and other services for the best interest to the less advantaged children in Masaka district and any other areas in Uganda where HUG may expand in the future”.

In operation since 2011, Hope Uganda (HUG) is continually evolving and in 2015, agreed to remove itself from its joint funding of a previous orphanage and vocational training centre and set up a children’s project which they were solely responsible for.

However the trustees wanted to remain true to our mission and values. As a result we set up and funded a new children’s centre in Lukaya, Uganda.

Our mission is to build on the strengths that exist in the centre’s children, staff and local communities so that our children can thrive and grow up to be empowered citizens.

Our values are grounded in work with our partner organisation Rainbow Hope Centre (Children’s Centre), building on local strengths and capabilities to address the failures and gaps in existing protection. We aim to be trustworthy and transparent, accountable to the children, our partners, our supporters and our donors.

Which children do we work with?

Most children grow up with layers of support around them. During our review in 2015 we decided to increase our focus on children facing extreme marginalisation in already poor communities, children whose support and protection has been stripped away, leaving them seriously at risk. Many finding themselves alone, migrating from village to village, town to city, deprived of adult care. In many cases while governments have developed elaborate policies, their implementation is lacking, denying children any state support.

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The challenges facing these children are widely documented. Their strengths are not. Hope Uganda (HUG) encourages children to recognise their own strengths and capabilities to overcome the challenges they face.

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Hope Uganda (HUG) Trustees annual report For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Our Approach

Hope Uganda’s approach relies on first and foremost providing a secure, clean and safe environment to live and sleep in. Our partners, Rainbow Hope Centre staff are committed to child rights and understand the context of children’s lives. They share and deliver programmes that change the lives of children for the better. We work with them to secure the appropriate foodstuffs, educational needs and parental care they all lack in. We develop monitoring and reporting systems to support them with education, mentoring, learning and social care and etiquettes. By working with our staff and other local organisations we avoid the potential risk of imposing unsuitable ‘outsider’ solutions on local issues.

We are engaging with the local schools in the education of our children, the local town council in relation to health, welfare and safeguarding of our children, the District Social and Probation Officer and local Police in respect of security issues.

Where do we work?

With millions of children worldwide denied their basic rights, we decided that it was important to continue on from our previous work with the disadvantaged children in Uganda. As a result we choose to work in the same area of Lukaya, Uganda that we are all familiar with and know of the deprivation faced by these children. This area is on the main central African highway which sees a huge number of lorries and people travelling through the area. This has led to high levels of prostitution and the consequences this brings in unwanted children.

Achievements and performance

All of Hope Uganda’s work aims to achieve change for children in a number of areas:

Children’s health and well-being
Provision of good, clean and safely managed accommodation
Access to quality education
Livelihood options
Provide local youth group options (Boys Scouts, Guides) for the benefit of the children
Provide adequate funds to our children for their overall benefit
Provide support to our staff in Lukaya, both in financial training, support in regular visits to the centre by trustees and by regular correspondence.

We have in essence been able to help financially a total of 30 people, these funds go into the local economy of Lukaya and further the economic wealth of the local townspeople.

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Trustees annual report

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Other similar assistance projects are envisioned for the future with some local Ugandan nationals identified for assistance. One such example is our builder David Kabito, we aim to assist in getting him academic qualifications in relation to ‘Master builder’ status. This partnership approach helps to bring the work at RHC very much into the wider community and shows what can be achieved with very little money and having locals who are keen to thrive when given the opportunity to do so.

Food Sustainability

The home grown fruit and vegetables started in late 2016 is now reaping rewards for the staff and children in that they are getting additional quality and healthy supplementary food which would ordinarily be out of reach to most. This gives the children a valuable boost to their overall health and nutritional intake.

The centre now has a full 12 month rotational food programme of bananas, mangos, jack fruit, lemons, oranges, water melon, avocados, and pineapples, with an even wider range of vegetables. The food programme has been refined to spread the same source vegetables throughout the year and not have everything ready for harvesting at the same time. This has the knock on effect of reducing waste as the harvested food is consumed in a timely manner and not allowed to rot. In comparison to 2017 RHC is now producing more ‘home grown’ food and as a direct consequence HUG is sending less to cover the provision of food supplies.

Noticeably the children have suffered less in the way of common ailments in the last 12 months than in the previous year, again evidence of the balance dietary and nutritionally balanced feeding programme in place. The children have all undergone a full immunisation check-up and where necessary they have been given the relevant immunisation. This is in accordance with latest Ugandan national health guidelines for children’s centres.

Volunteer Group

The last trip to the centre was back in September 2023 with 9 volunteers. The group overall raised a substantial amount of money before the trip which enabled them to help the surrounding community and also the centre. This year the group reached out to the local hospital and maternity wards, handing out clothing and cuddly toys and also helped the surrounding community by the centre and in the bush. We managed to re-paint the building and buy new supplies for the centre, mattresses and beds, cooking essentials and much more. We also bought a water pump so that the toilet water storage container did not have to be filled up by hand. So much was done and achieved while over at the centre which made the trip worth while and the work continues.

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Trustees annual report

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Education & Schooling

The children’s schooling continues with marked improvements across the age spectrum of the children. They have now been in continuous education for 8 full years.

Additionally, during the school holiday periods, Steven Hisborn who was previously a headmaster at a vocational college works with the children in all aspects of their education in order to raise the children’s educational baseline as they are effectively playing catch-up with their peer groups in school. HUG is able to provide funds to pay for additional resource books to facilitate the additional ‘centre’ based schooling outside of term time.

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Hope Uganda (HUG) Trustees annual report For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Major Changes – Ugandan Legislation

In May 2018 we were made aware of major changes within the government of Uganda in relation to the care given to orphaned children. The Ugandan government state this is in response to widespread child abduction and sex trafficking of children from and to other countries neighbouring Uganda.

The Government is now proactively enacting the 2016 Children’s Act (Uganda)[2] in which the main aim is to restore orphaned children into family units. Of course they recognise that not all the children will be taken in familial units and some will have to remain at an ‘Approved Children’s Home’ (ACH). The direct impact on RHC is that we will now need to seek official ‘ACH’ status. This is envisaged to be a costly and lengthy process. RHC is and continues to be registered and recognised as a private Children’s home by the local Lukaya Town Council.

The children that remain at RHC or any future children coming to RHC means that RHC will have to apply to the courts in order to officially become the legal guardians of the children. However this is the last resort, the main aim is to facilitate the children back into their extended families. In the case of our children, most have no extended family so it would be a case of applying for guardianship of them. By taking future children from the district council then we actually have a head start in the process of taking children in under the new regime.

The new children’s Act imposes a raft of administrative responsibilities on RHC staff including training, first aid, health and safety, record keeping, medical care, security of the children and many other aspects. Fortunately when RHC was set up in 2016 the Trustees baseline assessment of what was required in relation in how to run a children’s centre was based on the systems in place in the United Kingdom. As a result of adopting UK based criteria we have most of the administrative processes already in place and it is envisaged that on initial government inspection these good working practices will be endorsed by the Ugandan authorities.

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Hope Uganda (HUG) Trustees annual report For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Income

HUG’s regular monthly income from standing order donations rose from less than £350.00 (January 2016) per month to over £1,000.00 per month (December 2023). Since the project at RHC has been brought to life HUG has effectively trebled the amount of monthly standing order donations. This is combined with a number of fundraising events throughout the year.

With the home-grown food programmes being such a success both financially and nutritionally, our outgoings are now reduced to paying for essential food stuffs crop seedlings, the children’s education and staff wages. Even with the increased regular monthly donations HUG is just able to fund these outgoings. This is due to the extreme rise in essential food stuffs (Rice, Beans, Maize, Meat and Fish) Additionally there are limited contingency funds to pay for any additional or unforeseen expenditure and is in compliance with the Charity Commission guidelines on having Cash Reserves[3] .

Child Sponsorship

The trustees have been able to implement a child sponsorship programme and a large proportion of the children had child sponsors. This is an exciting aspect and by product of our work and enables the charity to raise additional funds. This is managed by HUG trustee member Laura Smith, any exchange of information between the sponsor and child is managed through the charity.

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Trustees annual report

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Feedback/Performance

The HUG trustees regularly receive feedback from our staff and supporters in the UK and it is a testament to the trustees as people from all over the UK are interested in the charity. Also through regular newsletters sent out we get supportive feedback. People are genuinely interested in what HUG does and amazed at how achievable what we have done is. Lukaya town councillors regularly visit RHC in relation to safeguarding and how RHC looks after the children and the centres’ facilities. They are very encouraged and complimentary in what they have seen in relation to the care, health and well-being of the children.

The volunteers themselves and their family members have all reported back the organisation, set up of both HUG as a charity and how professional it operates as well as how well RHC operates as a children’s centre in a very positive light.

The trustees give talks in local churches, schools and with other interested groups in order to raise awareness of the charity and its work. These have always proved popular and lead to additional sources of materials being donated.

This very positive and supportive feedback is further enhanced by the transparency of trustees in providing detailed information on a regular basis about all aspects of the charity, its goals, how it operates and its longer term aims.

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Trustees annual report – Financial Aspect

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Fundraising Events

April 2023 – Quiz and Ploughman’s evening - £545.00

September 2023 - Sponsored Charity Walk (Holyhead) - £4,454.00

October 2023 - Andy Kind Fundraising comedy night - £857.00

Gift Aid

During 2023 a gift aid rebate via HMRC was available to collect through charitable donations for the year ending 2023 and is detailed below:

1[st] January – 31[st] December 2023 Rebate
£ (Rebated in 2024)
As of 17.04.2024 – Gift Aid not received from HMRC.

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Hope Uganda (HUG)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Hope Uganda (HUG) for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust 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 giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

Accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. The accounts do not accord with those records.

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.

Paul Edwards FCCA CTA

On behalf of Afford Bond Holdings Limited

31 Wellington Road Nantwich Cheshire

Date

CW5 7ED

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Trustees annual report – Financial Aspect

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

INCOME: 2023 2022

StandingOrder Donatons	£12,620.00	£12,124.00
Donatons	£3,070.44	£10,580.53
Event Fundraising	£5,856.85	£0.00
Craf Stalls	£430.70	£1,009.87
Gif Aid	£3,331.17	£2,806.70
Volunteer Trip	£0.00	£1,410.00
Commission VFX(Spectle)	£0.00	£539.68
Amazon commission	£39.71
Just Giving	£565.68
Totals	£25,914.55	£28,470.78

Total Income for Year 2023 is less than the total Income for 2022			£2,556.23

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EXPENDITURE: 2023 2022

	HUG Accountants/Running Costs	£0.00	£660.00
	HUG Public LiabilityInsurance	£283.43	£270.20
	HUG Craf Stall Hire	£70.00	£65.00
	HUG Craf Purchases	£500.00	£500.00
	HUG Expenses(Ball -Band Travel)	£0.00	£0.00
	HUG Ball - Room Hire	£0.00	£0.00
	HUG - Internatonal Bank Charges	£0.00	£0.00
	RHC BuildingCosts	£0.00	£0.00
	RHC – Food Supplies *	£11,249.17	£7,500.83
	RHC – Miscellaneous Supplies *	£746.05	£5,266.69
	RHC School Fees *	£6,538.85	£5,300.70
	RHC Wages(6 x Staf)*	£4,019.73	£3,812.70
	RHC Legal Fees (TINS, FIA&NGO)**	£98.43	£562.12
	HUG/RHC Volunteer Trip*	£0.00	£1,364.06
	Website Costs	£268.00	£268.00
	StatonaryHUG	£6.85	£0.00
	Exchange Rate Diference Paid	£13.18	£92.31

	Money transferred to group trip	£3,192.88
	Totals	£26,986.57	£25,662.61

	Total Expenditure for 2023 is more than total Expenditure for 2022			£1,323.96
The overall result for year ending 2023 is a shortfall of -£1072.02

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Trustees annual report – Financial Aspect

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

RHC Legal fees relate this year to further changes with the national governance functions of our host country. TINS relates to the registration of members of RHC for taxation purposes and FIA is the Governments anti money laundering Financial Intelligence Agency. All businesses in Uganda have a requirement under law to be registered with the FIA.

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Hope Uganda (HUG) Trustees annual report – Balance Sheet For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

	31.12.202331.12.2022
	£ £
Monetary assets
Bank current account	8,111 9,183
	`──────` `──────`
	£8,111 £9,183
	`──────` `──────`
Total assets less liabilites	£8,111 £9,183
	`══════` `══════`
Accumulated fund
Balance at 1st January 23	9,183 6,375
Excess of expenditure over income for the year	(1,072) 2,808
	`──────` `──────`
	£8,111 £9,183
	`══════` `══════`

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Trustees annual report

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves Details of any funds materially in deficit

HUG believes that it is right and proper to have in the order of approximately 10 percent of the charities income held in reserve as in accordance with the Charities Commission guidance on financial reserves. This enables the charity to plug any unforeseen gaps in funding or give additional funding where the need arises.

N/A

Further financial review details (Optional information)

 You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising); 
how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
investment policy and  objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

HUG’s principal sources of income come from primarily, individual monthly donors via standing orders. Additionally, there is a comprehensive Child Sponsorship programme where a number of the children are financially sponsored by regular monthly fixed donations. Additional fundraising activities through sponsored events and the selling of Ugandan craft items at events throughout the year.

Funds are sent every 3 months (in advance) to cover the cost of Schooling, Foodstuffs, charcoal and miscellaneous items. Also wages for all the staff. These funds are what effectively turn the wheels of RHC and without these funds RHC could not operate. There are no outside income streams.

The charity is only a small entity and by virtue, small in terms of income. The majority of the income is spent in pursuance of homing, feeding and educating the children and as a result there are not sufficient remaining funds to invest.

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Hope Uganda (HUG)

Trustees annual report

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature:

Full Name(s): Roy Field

Position: Chair

Signature:

Full Name(s): Vanessa Cade-Hughes

Position: Treasurer

Date:

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