EXETER ETHIOPIA LINK ANNUAL REPORT JANUARY- DECEMBER 2024 Enabling communities to help themselves ## ANNUAL REPORT - CONTENTS ## **2024 PROJECT UPDATES** - LIBRARIES & LITERACY - YEAR OF THE TEACHER ## **CHARITY UPDATES:** - MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS - TREASURER’S REPORT - GOVERNANCE, PEOPLE & ROLES ## **2025:** - 2025 AGM PROPOSED RE ELECTION OF TRUSTEES - STRATEGY FOR 2025 - YEAR OF THE RURAL SCHOOLS FOCUS 2025 ## **INTRODUCTION FROM SECRETARY** 2024 was a of within our reduced We year working budget. consolidated our projects, focussing heavily on our core objective of providing libraries to the area in which we excelled and further extended our reach in both footfall and books lent. We continued our other projects where funding allowed. Huge thanks to Murti and her team. The project committee is to be thanked for their keen attention to the details of the projects and budgeting. The Year of The Teacher raised £2056 which was a great achievement and covered the cost of 650 books. We chose The Year of Rural Schools as our focus for 2025. Our newsletter continues to evolve and be a vital form of communication. In Nekemte there continued to be challenges with security issues and we thank the whole team for their resilience and determination to keep projects running where it is safe to do so. Murti has worked tirelessly to ensure the safe and efficient continuation of the work. We are delighted to have secure two significant grants in 2024. Thanks to Mark and Murti for their skilful proposals. I would like to extend sincere thanks and appreciation across the spectrum of EEL. From our members and supporters through to our board of trustees and treasurer, our project committee, our volunteers Lee and David and our Nekemte team working with our teachers, librarians and local communities. Thank you for your continued support. Murti is growing our engagement with schools and has restarted the linked schools’ initiative. This is an area of great potential and her regular schools newsletter is proving a big success in raising interest. Dawn Swettenham ## **2024 PROJECT UPDATES:** 2024 was a hugely challenging year because of the political and security situation in and around Nekemte with regular armed conflict around and at times in Nekemte. Nekemte was declared (and still is) an area which the FCDO advises against all travel to. However, EEL is continuing to work with the EECMY CSDASSC. It puts the security of the team as a total priority but uses local knowledge to identify areas where it is safe. Thank you from the team in Nekemte ## 1) LIBRARIES - In 2024, EEL supported 40 primary school libraries: - **35 librarians were employed** (27 Females) in the context of the area where the unemployment rate is 30%. This enabled them to access a monthly income often paying for their studies. - **5** librarians were employed by the government (an additional 3 librarians compared to 2 in 2023). The project supports the schools by providing librarian training. - The libraries had a total average monthly footfall of **27,400 students** and an average of **2,056 books** were lent each month. **LIBRARIES** ~~ee~~  VY|, oe3 ~ HweeA im el # oe , We have planned to extend the project agreement for an additional year, starting in June 2025. Under this siti = ¥ be , a va we are planning to: - Support an average of 20,000 students a month to access class libraries - Employ 35 librarians each year - Carry out support visit to disability associations or parent support groups with VSLAs which were set up in previous years. ## 2. LITERACY  **12 teachers were trained** in the teaching of early grade reading from four rural schools.  We have continued **girls’ literacy tutorials in four schools** . This resulted in **85** girls who otherwise were not achieving literacy in mainstream classrooms to reach a minimum word level of literacy and out of this **71** girls to become fluent in reading. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Grade 2 Girls' Literacy Assessment in
(2024/5)
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31%
5% 60% 46%
18%
22%
9% 9%
Illiterate Sound recognition Min fluency Fluent reader
(letter) (word)
| Baseline % | Endline %
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## 3. GIRLS’ BIKE PROJECT  8 girls from two secondary school have been training in our girls cycling club. They meet three times a week with Coach Takele, a former professional cyclist, to build their skills and confidence. **----- Start of picture text -----**
8
Girls attending
Year In Numbers
cycling club
53 People accessing
savings and loan
>
Girls attending
210
literacy tutorials
os
35 Librarians employed
Dp
2,000 Average number of books
borrowed monthly
a
27,400 Average monthly
library use
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Fundraising by Annie Bainbridge and members Annie, as usual, ran her stall at The Respect Festival. She also organized a walk and talk and attended South Molton Market to sell hand made knitted items kindly donated by a member. Money raised was added to our Big Give campaign and doubled! Our trustee Ken organized a stand at Exeter University Fresher’s Week to raise awareness We had 30 sign ups P ° ## **2024 FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN:** ## **UPDATE** **----- Start of picture text -----**
£2056 raised
2,680 books donated
to libraries
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## EEL UPDATES: ## **MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS** **----- Start of picture text -----**
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A big thank you to all our members whose subscriptions help fund our much needed and appreciated projects in and around Nekemte. We have 20 more members than in 2024 and of course our aim is to increase membership year on year. The annual fee is £10 single and £15 joint membership. It is easy to subscribe online through our website. I would also like to thank those who are not members but give their time and energy to the Respect Festival and other fundraising activities. Please email me if your contact details have changed .... membsec@exeterethiopialink.org Annie Bainbridge Membership secretary We have focused on inviting friends and followers to sign up to our newsletter. We hope that this is an easy step towards membership. We currently have 147 people signed up to our newsletter. ## **CURRENT MEMBERS = 164** ## **TREASURER’S REPORT** The trustees have approved the accounts and Emerald Davies in the process of examining our accounts for January to December 2024 in line with financial legislation and submit her report to the Trustees. Exeter Ethiopia Link has finished 2024 with total funds of £20,384 (2023: £32,119). We raised a total of £21,997 compared to £20,042 the previous year). This slight increase is mainly due to an additional grant we received. We again carried out a very successful Big Give campaign in which we raised £9,837. Money from this is included in both fundraising and donations lines (from our match funders Ethiopia Aid and Enable Ed CIC) of our Statement of Financial Activities. We spent £33,732 of which 90% went as grants out to Ethiopia and 7% as a stipend and expenses to our volunteer project manager in Ethiopia. Currently the accounts for Exeter Ethiopia Link are declining, with totals of £12,965 in unrestricted funds and £7,419 in restricted funds (£20,384 in total). **EEL has finished 2024 with total funds of £20,384 (See separate Financial Report for detail)** ## **What’s Next:** Our projects come to an end in June 2025 but with a recent grant (Feb 2025) of £10,000 from the Waterloo Foundation we will be continuing our projects and Murti is developing a project budget for sign off initially with the project committee. By Mark Smith EEL Treasurer. ANNUAL ACCOUNTS APPROVAL ## **GOVERNANCE, PEOPLE AND ROLES** OFFICERS: |OFFICERS:|| |---|---| |**Role**|**Officer during 2024:**| |General Secretary|Dawn Swettenham| |Treasurer|Mark Smith| |Membership Secretary|Annie Bainbridge| |Fundraising, social media, publicity|Lee Davies| |Website Editor|David Scarbrough| |Project committee chair|George Dexter| |Project committee|Penny Pullen, Liz Horsefield, Aynsley Jones
Jordan Jones, Sue Parks, Marc Zuiderveen
Joanne Keenahan, Sue Parks, Murti Uma, Mark Smith| ||| ## **GOVERNANCE, PEOPLE AND ROLES** TRUSTEES: **Trustees during 2024 Changes During Year:** Penny Pullen (honorary/ ex officio) Liz Horsefield Dawn Swettenham George Dexter **Trustee Changes at 2025 AGM** Dawn Swettenham Standing down George Dexter Standing down Cynthia Palmer For re election by rotation Ruth Smith Nominated to become trustee Selam Uma Cynthia Palmer Kenechukwu Leonard **Ex-officios** Selam Uma Secretary Mark Smith (Treasurer) Treasurer (non trustee) ## **2025/6 STRATEGY** ## **Build on Our Strengths** - Continue empowering partners who work diligently on the ground despite limited staffing. - Encourage trustees and members to sustain fundraising through community networks and events. - Strengthen our partnerships with UK schools and explore additional collaborations. - Support and celebrate the growing number of students using the school. - Harness the enthusiasm of librarians to further enhance student support. ## **Seize Opportunities** - Proactively engage with other schools to exchange knowledge and foster collaboration. - Create more platforms for sharing experiences within and beyond our network. - Deepen connections with the local community to build mutual trust and support. ## **2025/6 STRATEGY** ## **Address Weaknesses** **Prepare for and Mitigate Threats** - Improve social media presence to enhance visibility and outreach. - Stay informed and adaptable in the face of political arrests, ensuring the safety of staff in Nekemte. - Identify and recruit a dedicated individual or team for fundraising to ensure availability of funding . - Develop strategies to cope with inflation, such as budgeting adjustments and alternative resource sourcing, to keep children at school i.e. attendance and enrolment **2025 FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN: UPDATE** We have chosen rural schools as our fundraising focus for 2025. Rural schools have lower attendance rates compare The purpose of our fundraising is to purchase essential classroom equipment such as school desks, blackboards and bookshelves. We are seeking a volunteer to help us to promote this cause and to organise fundraising events. Dawn **Could you organise an event and give the gift of education which will last a lifetime?** Could you support our rural schools? A sponsored event : • An opportunity to reach a personal goal • An opportunity to improve your fitness A coffee morning / book swap or supper: • An opportunity to meet up with friends **AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE** ## **Exeter Ethiopia Link CIO** Charity Number 1154085 Annual Accounts and Financial Statements for the Year Ending 31 December 2024 Unaudited Accounts ## **Exeter Ethiopia Link CIO** ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts for the year ending 31 December 2024** The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to: examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. My examination was carried out in accordance with general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements: to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met. Signed: Dated: 12[th] July 2025 ## **Exeter Ethiopia Link CIO Charity Information** ## **Charity Address:** 333A Willenhall Road Wolverhampton WV1 2HD **Charity Number** 1154085 ## **Trustees** Dawn Swettenham Annie Bainbridge George Dexter Penelope Pullen Elizabeth Horsefield Selam Uma Kenechukwu Osanakpo Cynthia Palmer ## **Independent Examiner** Emerald Thomas MAAT FCCA ## **Exeter Ethiopia Link CIO Balance Sheet as at 31/12/2024** |||**Total**|**Total**| |---|---|---|---| |||**Funds**|**Funds**| ||**Notes**|**2024**|**2023**| |**Current Assets**||£|£| |Bank Account ...5188||18,528|26,549| |Bank Account …7900||1,857|5,570| |||20,384|32,119| |**Creditors**|||| |Liabilities Falling Due Within One Year||-|-| |**Net Assets**||**20,384**|**32,119**| |**Funds of the charity**|||| |Unrestricted funds||12,966|21,259| |Restricted funds||7,418|10,860| |**Total Funds**||**20,384**|**32,119**| **Approved by the Board of Trustees on 17/7/2025** **and signed on its behalf by** ## **Exeter Ethiopia Link CIO** Statement of Financial Activities for year ending 31/12/2024 |||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|| |---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**Notes**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**Total Funds**| |||**2024**|**2024**|**2024**|**2023**| |Grants Received|||5,000|5,000|2,200| |Donations|||4,500|4,500|5,064| |Subscriptions||3,144||3,144|3,132| |Fundraising|||6,659|6,659|5,478| |Gift Aid||2,694||2,694|4,168| |**Total Income**||**5,838**|**16,159**|**21,997**|**20,042**| |**Expenditure on:**|||||| |Fundraising costs||504||504|280| |Grants out||11,277|18,990|30,267|23,664| |Travel costs Ethiopia||91|610|701|-| |Volunteer Stipend||1,800||1,800|1,470| |Volunteer Expenses||||0|191| |Room Hire+ Refreshments||148||148|241| |Insurance||242||242|251| |Donation||70||70|30| |**Total Expenditure**||**14,132**|**19,600**|**33,732**|**26,127**| |Net Income/(Expenditure)||(8,294)|(3,441)|(11,735)|(6,085)| |**Reconciliation of Funds**|||||| |Total Funds brought Forward||21,259|10,860|32,119|38,204| |Total Funds carried Forward||12,966|7,419|20,384|32,119| **EXETER ETHIOPIA LINK CIO NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31st December 2024** ## **Accounting policies** - 1.1 These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value. 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 (FRS102) issued on 16 July 2014 effective 1[st] January 2019 ## Project Fund Balances Below are the fund balances. Trustees took the decision to simplify the project lines. In the Unrestricted Funds, funds were merged into one. For Restricted funds a number of fund lines were spent out. If future grants are obtained, these will be managed on separate project lines. |**Unrestricted Funds**
General
**Restricted Funds**
Ferguson
Souter Charitable
Trust
Sponsorships
Travel Fund
Librarians
Year of Teacher
EEL Project Fund
**Total Funds**|**Jan-24 Income**
**Expenditure**
**Dec-24**| |---|---| ||| ||21,259
5,838
14,131
12,966| ||21,259
5,838
14,131
12,966| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||5,000
3,000
2,000| ||2,041
2041
0| ||580
580
0| ||610
610
0| ||3,553
8,866
7,000
5,419| ||936
936
0| ||4,076
1357
5,433
0| ||10,860
16,159
19,600
7,419| ||32,119
21,997
33,731
20,384|