Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023
Fly The Phoenix
Registered Charity #1148531 in England and Wales
for
The Phoenix Projects
www.thephoenixprojects.org
Submitted by the Trustees
On 1st May 2024
Registered Address
Wayside House 7 Nethergate Street Clare Suffolk CO10 8NP United Kingdom
Registered Bank Registered Bank Trustees HSBC Santander Moli Griffin 9 High Street Bootle Sharon Hodgkins Bracknell Merseyside Sean Risdale Berkshire L30 4GB Dom Williams RG12 1DN United Kingdom Doreen Williams United Kingdom
Table of Contents
| Executive Summary | 2 |
|---|---|
| The Phoenix Projects in Latin America | 3 |
| Message from the Trustees | 3 |
| Sustainable Income Plans | 4 |
| Ecuador: review and costs | 5 |
| Perú: review and costs | 10 |
| Guatemala: review and costs | 14 |
| The Phoenix Projects: review and costs Fly The Phoenix: review and costs Financial Statement |
19 19 21 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 22 |
1.0 Executive Summary
The Phoenix Projects are a non-profit-making organisation that believes education, daily food and employment opportunities are basic human rights for those who live in extreme poverty. Since 2002 we have promoted these rights in several Latin American countries by starting new schools, supporting others and implementing small businesses within the communities to benefit the local families. We currently work in Ecuador, Guatemala and Perú.
During the financial period between 1st January 2023 and 31st December 2023, £97,466 (£101,120 – 2022) was raised and received through our charity Fly The Phoenix. £95,654 (£101,183 – 2022) was spent on the operating costs of The Phoenix Projects including local teachers’ salaries, food and fruit, transport, educational materials, construction and implementation of sustainable income-generating plans which should benefit many local families in the future.
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2.0 The Phoenix Projects in Latin America
Fly The Phoenix is the registered UK charity for The Phoenix Projects who currently work in Ecuador, Guatemala and Perú promoting full education and employment in various communities. We have previously worked in Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua.
We aim to offer daily sustainable education to hundreds of children, teenagers and adults each year in primary, secondary, college and university by providing local teachers, scholarships and implementing small family businesses from which all the children and teenagers can continue their further education.
Local employment opportunities are created by investing in sustainable income-generating community initiatives which will help pay for the schools in the future and provide for the families’ household costs.
3.0 Message from the Trustees
Having celebrated our twentieth anniversary in 2022 we have continued to put the foundations in place for the next twenty years! Ensuring sustainable full-time education from primary school to University remains our number one priority in the communities where we work.
Over the coming years we will continue to invest in our sustainable community income-generating plans which will become the bedrock of the projects in the future. They will help cover the costs of the projects themselves whilst providing local employment. As each plan grows over time there will be more opportunities to expand our work to other communities.
We are seeing more children of our first students from when we started the projects, entering the schools as students themselves. The majority of the children were the first generation in their family to receive an education. We are now into the second generation which demonstrates the success and importance of our work.
Thank you so much to all our donors for continuing to support our work in Latin America. Without your generous donations we would not have been able to achieve what we have done so far and what we hope to achieve in the years to come.
We, as the Board of Trustees, have approved this report and it has been signed by Dominic Williams on our behalf on 1st May 2024.
Dominic Williams, Trustee
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4.0 Sustainable Income Plans
At present the projects are reliant on donations, fundraising and sustainable income plans. Depending on funding we hope to invest over £50,000 ($60,000) in sustainable family income-generating plans in the communities over the next few years which will ultimately make all the projects self-sustainable financially whilst creating employment opportunities.
The plans range from a variety of small businesses depending on the available experience in the community. We also invest in training sessions if needed. They are generally agricultural-based though we have implemented weaving and internet businesses in the past.
So far over 350 families have benefitted from our sustainable income plans meaning their children’s secondary school, college and university costs can be covered in the future. We plan to increase this number substantially over the coming years.
Once our current projects are 100% sustainable we will identify further communities in need of education and implement sustainable income plans to cover these costs in the future.
The early days of Plan Moo in Ecuador
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5.0 Ecuador
In 2005 The Phoenix Projects began working in three local Kichwa-speaking indigenous schools in the communities of Huayrapungo, Muenala and Urcusiqui. In 2007 we started work in Larcacunga. All above 3000m (10,000 feet) in the Andes mountains each school had one or two teachers working across all 7 grades and little access to educational resources. Following a government overhaul of the education system in 2014, rural schools were centralized and we concentrated on the school in Urcusiqui which also received students from Muenala, Huayrapungo and Achupallas.
Huayrapungo
Since we started our financial support for local University students studying teaching in 2016 in exchange for them working in the school to ensure one teacher per class we have helped seven students with their long-term educational costs. Dozens of younger students have benefitted from them being in the classroom over the years receiving a dedicated education.
As well as providing local teachers, daily food and fruit, educational materials and internet in the school we have built energy-efficient stoves and started Plan Ironwoman aimed to improve the diets of pre-natal mothers. Sustainable plans including the purchase of cows (Plan Moo) and guinea pigs (Plan Cuy) which were started in 2008 now help cover further education costs of many of the children in the communities. In total around 200 children and teenagers can receive primary, secondary, college and University education either in the centralized school or helped by income generated from the family sustainable plans.
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Local teachers
In January classes got back underway after the short mid-year break over Christmas with daily meals now cooked on the new stove we purchased in 2022 using the limited ingredients provided by the government each month or so.
Every Easter we provide the supplies for Fanesca, a traditional soup made from bacalao (cod), various types of beans, vegetables, eggs, herbs and more which the mothers prepare. As plenty is made, once the children and mothers have eaten, the leftovers are taken back to the families to be shared with the elderly relatives.
As is custom Pawkar Raymi was celebrated, asking Pachamama (Mother Earth) for a good harvest. Unseasonal heavy rains had negatively affected the crops with landslides causing damage.
Pawkar Raymi
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Parents of all four communities got together to celebrate Mothers’ Day in May in the school with folkloric dance and food. We provided the ingredients for a full meal for the mothers and the children. Graduations marked the end of the school year in June.
Mothers’ Day
The new school year restarted in August with our six local teachers staying on thanks to our charity challenges and Plan Moo beginning to cover some basic costs.
An El Niño/climate change dry spell hit the communities in October causing us to pause the purchase of cows in Plan Moo until December. As is tradition we celebrated Day of the Dead with colada morada (fruit drink) and homemade bread with the students and their families.
In November and December we helped a new family build a house with members of the community also putting in some materials as well as the labour. They were “huasipungueros” (live-in workers on a farm) in another community up in the mountains though due to the economic downturn they had to move with no place to live.
Building the house with the community
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5.1 Ecuador costs 2023
| 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£39,886 | -£39,592 |
| Local teachers | -£28,100 | -£27,600 |
| Sustainable Plans | -£6,050 | -£6,706 |
| Food and celebrations | -£2,850 | -£2,756 |
| Materials and internet | -£1,811 | -£2,530 |
| Construction | -£1,075 | -£0 |
5.2 Ecuador forecast costs 2024
For the next financial year we forecast that the basic running costs for Ecuador will be £32,000 excluding investment in sustainable plans.
We will continue to pay for six local teachers in the school. Four of these teachers are University students we are helping with their studies. We will continue to pay for internet in the school and essential materials each month as well as funding cultural celebrations.
The purchase of cows in Plan Moo will continue as we strive to sustainably cover some of the project's core costs so we can help out with more one-off critical projects.
We will invest in a large school vegetable garden which will not only provide daily food for the children though also help offset some of the costs of food with cultural celebrations.
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£32,000 | -£39,886 |
| Local teachers | -£28,000 | -£28,100 |
| Food and celebrations | -£2,000 | -£2,850 |
| Materials and internet | -£2,000 | -£1,811 |
| Sustainable Plans | -£tba | -£6,050 |
| Construction | -£tba | -£1,075 |
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5.3 Ecuador sustainable plans
Plan Moo (cows) – Introduced in 2008 with families receiving a cow and the income derived from milk sales and subsequent calves' milk helping to cover our local teachers’ salaries and further education costs of their children.
Plan Cuy (guinea pigs) – This was introduced in 2011 with the building of cuy houses and the rearing of guinea pigs for sale. The income helps with further education costs.
Plan Ironwoman – This was started in 2012 with the aim of providing sustainable iron-rich crops for pregnant mothers to fight infant malnutrition. Investment was made in materials, tools and seeds.
Plan Huerto (vegetable gardens) - Started in 2013 with the aim to provide regular food for school meals and the community. Larger scale harvests were trialled in 2014 with potatoes and will be trialled with beans in 2024.
Plan Pollo (chickens) - Introduced in Muenala in 2015 with the sales of eggs being shared between the families for further education costs. The old classrooms were used after the centralization of the schools.
Plan Chancho (pigs) - Introduced in 2021 by purchasing young pigs to fatten up and sell after six months with profits going to the families.
Large-scale Plan Huerto
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6.0 Perú
The Phoenix Projects began work in Perú in both kindergarten and primary schools in the Quechua and Aymara-speaking desert communities of Triunfo and Maldonado in Sachaca on the outskirts of Arequipa at 2,400m (7,800 feet) in 2006 and later in Chiguata, Chivay and Machahuaya. Since then we have employed local teachers and cooks so the children could have one hot meal a day as well as fresh fruit.
We have built extra classrooms, energy-efficient stoves and kitchens in the schools, awarded materials scholarships for further education and communal water tanks due to the scarcity of water. In 2013 the government became more proactive with food programmes and teachers so our work is now concentrated in Maldonado.
Sachaca
Summer school was held in January despite the political and social crisis which gripped the country to bring the children up to speed before classes started back up in March. The harvest began on the second cycle of Plan Huerto in the school as we trialled different types of vegetables and herbs. Spinach, onions, coriander and tomatoes have all been successful.
Classes got back underway for the new school year in March. As with each year we supplied each student with their own textbooks which they can work from during the year. The new classroom built by Impington International College in 2022 was inaugurated bringing our total number of classrooms to four.
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Classes back underway
Mothers’ Day was celebrated in May with a display of folkloric dance by the children as well as gifts and food. In June the annual community work trip with Impington International College, Cambridge, UK was undertaken with twenty-seven students fundraising and working in the school. One of the major projects was the funding and building of three more toilets for the children. Previously there was one toilet for the teachers and one for the students.
Work was also undertaken to double the size of the school vegetable garden and install drip-irrigation, dig a long trench and seal the bottom wall from dampness and concrete a new pathway outside the new classroom. The school’s first orchard was planted with drip-irrigation so in a few years the children should be enjoying avocados, apples and peaches. Thanks to fundraising we were able to take on a member of the community to help with monthly maintenance.
New toilets
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The Inca Trail Charity Challenge was undertaken in July with some great funds raised for the projects in Latin America.
To mark the end of the school year we restarted the annual beach trip for the students and mothers which for the majority was the first time they had seen (and been in) so much water as they live in the desert at 2,400m (7,800 feet). The last trip was in 2019 with subsequent visits not possible due to the pandemic and the protests in 2022.
Beach trip
6.1 Perú running costs 2023
| 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£30,723 | -£35,856 |
| Local teachers | -£10,864 | -£7,964 |
| Charity Challenge costs | -£8,258 | -£14,357 |
| Celebrations & food | -£3,537 | -£2,821 |
| Classroom materials | -£2,364 | -£1,364 |
| Construction | -£3,420 | -£6,100 |
| Sustainable Plans | -£2,280 | -£3,250 |
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6.2 Perú forecast costs 2024
For the next financial year we forecast that the basic running costs for Perú will be £15,000 excluding investment in sustainable plans and construction.
We will continue with our local teacher. We will supply individual textbooks for the children and continue to provide daily fruit and gas for the meals the government sends the products for. Vegetables from our Plan Huerto will enhance the daily diet of the children with extra produce being shared with the families in their homes.
We will fund cultural celebrations during the year and continue to employ a member of the community part-time to look after the garden as well as help with maintenance when it is needed. Mothers will also help out in the garden in exchange for vegetables to take home.
The Impington International College school trip in June will continue their work on Plan Huerto as well as construction projects in the school and one-on-one teaching.
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£15,000 | -£30,723 |
| Local teachers | -£10,000 | -£10,864 |
| Celebrations & food | -£3,000 | -£3,537 |
| Classroom materials | -£2,000 | -£2,364 |
| Charity Challenge costs | -£tba | -£8,258 |
| Construction | -£tba | -£3,420 |
| Sustainable Plans | -£tba | -£2,280 |
6.3 Perú sustainable plans
Plan Huerto (vegetable gardens) - Started in 2022 with the aim to provide regular food for school meals and the community. It uses drip-irrigation and hydroponic systems due to limited water supply.
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Drip-irrigation school vegetable garden
7.0 Guatemala
The Phoenix Projects began in Kaqchikel-speaking communities in Chimaltenango and Sacatepéquez in 2002. Since then we have built schools for children to receive primary education, invested heavily in sustainable income plans, provided daily food and fruit as well as educational materials. We have also constructed energy efficient stoves to help reduce in-house air pollution, provided materials to rebuild homes and food supplies after natural disasters including Hurricanes Stan and Agatha, donated fertilizer for family crops, provided food and fruit-trees to the elderly population, reforested tens of thousands of trees and awarded hundreds of scholarships for further education. During this time over two thousand children had the opportunity to receive primary education.
Now that primary school is freely available through the state system we have concentrated on secondary school, college and university education since 2019 with particular attention to students with serious underlying health issues and those living in severe poverty in Sololá.
Over 300 children and teenagers now have the opportunity to continue their education through the scholarships we provide as well as from the income generated from the sustainable plans we have implemented over the past several years.
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Further education for girls
In January we expanded our scholarship programme to include students from other villages around Lake Atitlán. We are also helping primary school students from very poor backgrounds with extra utensils and workbooks.
Educational utensils for primary school students
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Whilst the government provides basic supplies there is always the need for more which is difficult for many families living in rural areas to provide. It is hoped that these students will then become part of our scholarship programme in the future rather than losing interest and dropping out just because they didn’t have sufficient school supplies.
Regular meetings were held to discuss education and issues with the parents. As part of the scholarship programme they, along with the students, get involved in community work including litter clearing during the year.
Our scholarship students were involved in our annual reforestation programme planting over one thousand trees which aims to neutralise our carbon footprint from our work in Latin America including flights taken by participants for charity challenges and transport in-country. By buying and planting the trees ourselves along with members of the communities we can ensure that the reforestation is being undertaken responsibly.
The students were involved in inter-school sports competitions in July and came out winners in several categories and one of our students was chosen to participate in Riiy Rumaam Tz’utujil Po’p, the election of the community queen. She came second.
Riiy Rumaam Tz’utujil Po’p
One of the successes of the scholarship programme is seeing so many more girls staying in education past primary school and going on to graduate from both secondary school and then college.
Many of our graduates have already secured well-paid work which will help them and their families for years to come.
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7.1 Guatemala costs 2023
| 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£11,384 | -£10,067 |
| Education & scholarships | -£10,967 | -£8,400 |
| Sustainable income plans | -£417 | -£1,667 |
7.2 Guatemala forecast costs 2024
For the next financial year we forecast that the basic running costs for Guatemala will be £11,000 excluding investment in sustainable plans.
We will continue with the scholarship programme aiming to help one hundred secondary and college students. We aim to purchase school materials for over one hundred primary school students who cannot afford the basics in spite of the government providing some items at the beginning of the school year.
Our local teacher will continue to work in the communities, offering help with homework and advice as well as managing the sustainable plans.
We plan to expand Plan Costura (sewing business) to help single mothers and University students cover extra costs of their education. Plan Huerto (school vegetable gardens) will provide quality food in the schools and Plan Reforestation aims to offset the carbon footprint of The Phoenix Projects including all internal local teachers’ transport and international flights for Charity Challenges and the Impington International College school trip to Perú.
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£11,000 | -£11,384 |
| Education & scholarships | -£11,000 | -£10,967 |
| Sustainable income plans | -£tba | -£417 |
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7.3 Guatemala Sustainable Plans
Plan Reforestation - Started in 2002 working with a women's group in Chimaltenango funding a tree nursery producing and planting 25,000 trees a year. The plan was handed over to the women as they found their own clients. This, as well as community litter clearing, was reintroduced in 2021 at Lake Atitlán.
Plan Huerto (vegetable gardens) - The investment in seeds, fertilizers, fencing and tools for small family gardens and on a larger scale with tomatoes and green beans from 2012.
Plan Moo - The purchase of cows started in 2013 with the income from milk staying with the family.
Plan Negocio (business) - The purchase of machines in 2013 that grind basic maize into the dough needed to make tortillas. The machines were handed over to the families.
Plan Costura - The purchase of large weaving looms for "cortes" (the indigenous traditional dresses) and investing in training for the women in 2015. This plan was increased in 2019 with the purchase of sewing machines.
Plan Pollo (chickens) - Started in 2015 with the investment in infrastructure including pens, feed and chickens with the income from the sales of meat and eggs (after costs for reinvestment) staying with the families.
Plan Costura
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8.0 The Phoenix Projects Management costs 2023
| 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£8,500 | -£8,500 |
| Management costs | -£7,500 | -£7,500 |
| Transport costs | -£1,000 | -£1,000 |
8.1 The Phoenix Projects Management costs 2024
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£8,500 | -£8,500 |
| Management costs | -£7,500 | -£7,500 |
| Transport costs | -£1,000 | -£1,000 |
9.0 Fly The Phoenix costs 2023
Fly The Phoenix is run voluntarily by founders Dom and Doreen Williams.
| 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£5,161 | -£2,850 |
| Charity Challenge deposit | -£2,650 | -£0 |
| Communications and media | -£1,750 | -£1,750 |
| Bank transfer charges | -£761 | -£1,100 |
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9.1 Fly The Phoenix costs 2024
Fly The Phoenix will continue to be run voluntarily by founders Dom and Doreen Williams.
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | -£2,500 | -£5,161 |
| Communications and media | -£1,750 | -£1,750 |
| Bank transfer charges | -£750 | -£761 |
| Charity Challenge deposit | -£tba | -£2,650 |
The objective of Fly The Phoenix
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10.0 Financial Statement
From 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023
| 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Balance | £11,851.00 | £11,914.00 |
| Restricted funds | £93,145.00 | £100,050.00 |
| Unrestricted funds | £4,321.00 | £1,070.00 |
| Total funds received1 | £97,466.00 | £101,120.00 |
| Total expenditure | -£95,654.00 | -£101.183.00 |
| Ecuador | -£39,886.00 | -£39,592.00 |
| Perú | -£30,723.00 | -£35,856.00 |
| Guatemala | -£11,384.00 | -£10,067.00 |
| Honduras | -£0.00 | -£4,319.00 |
| Project Management | -£8,500.00 | -£8,500.00 |
| Charity Challenge deposit | -£2,650.00 | -£0.00 |
| Communications and media | -£1,750.00 | -£1,750.00 |
| International Bank Charges | -£761.00 | -£1,100.00 |
| Assets | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Liabilities | -£0.00 | -£0.00 |
| Net Balance | £13,663.00 | £11,851.00 |
1Includes Gift Aid
We, as the Board of Trustees, approved this financial statement on 1st May 2024 and it has been signed by Dominic Williams on our behalf.
Dominic Williams
Trustee
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