2026-04-08-accounts

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JUST SMALL CHANGE RECEM>TS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUMT FOR TFE YEAR EIKIEO 8 APRIL 2a26 Yw Y• 01.04.21126 Vnrn&trSctsd Unr•8trl¢tod Rgthtod 08.04.202S Total lund• Totsl f¥nO• RECEIPTS Donations wts 20.996 14.370 35.386 21,685 Gift Ai4 138 138 202 Dcnalions Irusteej lor bank cthr¢J 241 241 267 Paypal Gharity sales jrtt4n? 52 TOTAL RECÉIPTS 21,375 14.370 35.745 22,156 PAYMENTS Charitable tiV Programmes in 8udBkg. ud# 20.842 14,370 35.012 37,724 Bank ¢h0rges 241 241 257 PuTchag•s ol mal•iials 35 22 TOTAL PAY141ENT8 20.918 14.370 35,288 36,003 NET RECEIPTSI IPAYMENTS> 457 457 11 S,8071 Tran8f•r tetrween lunds 110.0121 10.012 Cash fvnd$1o$1 year 38.397 9,478 47,875 83,682 CASH FUNDS This YeAR ENO £ 28.842 £ 19.490 £ 48,332 t 47,876

JUST SAIALL CHANGE STATEMEN7 OF ASSETS AfrID LIABILITIES AS AT B APFUL 2026 2026 Total fun(ts 2025 Total funds CASH FUNDS Cash al bank HSDC aNrent acAAJunl 42.581 42.089 Paypal aco)unl 5.751 5.786 TOTAL CASH FUNDS £ 48.332 £ 47,875 REPRESENTED BY Uniéstrlcled funds . general . designated 28.842 19.490 38,397 9,476 Irth 2) Reblricted funds (r 3) TOTAL CHARITY FUNDS £ 48.332 £ 47.875 Approved by the TTu¥ioe8 on 5 June %)26 and sgned on th1 behalf by . M J OONAGHUE .

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Annual report April 25 - March 2026 Registered Charity 1154462 www.justsmallchange.org.uk info@justsmallchange.org.uk

Some of our VSLA group members

1 Increasing impact through synergy

2 Our mission and work

3 Meet the people of Budaka

Our work in detail

4 Village Savings and Loans Associations
5 Goat rearing to improve livelihoods 6 Community Healthcare
7 Child Nutrition
8 Regenerative agriculture
9 Outputs 2025-2026
10 Planned work 2026-2027

Finance and management

11 Reserves policy
12 Risk management
13 Charity details and governance 14 Financial review of the year

1.Increasing impact through synergy

Goat rearing to improve livelihoods of the most vulnerable families

Village Savings and Loan Associations to encourage resilience and enable small businesses

Village Health Teams to improve health awareness, spread good hygiene practice and reduce disease

Cooking skills and training in child nutrition to tackle child malnourishment and stunting

Training in regenerative agriculture to improve crop yields, food supplies and income

2.Our mission and work:

to enable the very poor to build sustainable pathways out of poverty.

Through projects which build skill sets, strengthen livelihoods and improve health, we aim to unlock the personal and economic potential of the poorest families and communities. Through training and support, our projects empower the very poor to achieve a life free from severe poverty, with dignity and purpose.

Since 2011, we have been working in sub-Saharan Africa. We are currently working in Budaka District, Eastern Uganda.

The treasurer and secretary of a VSLA group arrive for a meeting

Since our last report, our work in Budaka District, Eastern Uganda has expanded in size, depth and scope. This is in response to growing demand from the local population for the skills training our projects provide.

Although the Ugandan economy is making progress, the gains are concentrated in urban areas and among the better off. Recent (2024) Government data shows that rural communities are slipping farther behind. Budaka is a rural, partly swampy area of around 140 hectares with a population of around 280,000, half of them children. Most households rely on subsistence farming for survival. With no surplus to sell, most have no income to spend and are unable to meet their daily needs. They live below the international poverty line of $3/day. Over 70% of households suffer moderate to severe food insecurity. The people of Budaka are falling into even deeper poverty as climate shocks, erratic rainfall patterns and soil erosion threaten their crop yields, reduce food supply and income and increase health risks such as heat stress and spread of disease.

With large families, sometimes up to 20 children in polygamous families, poor child nutrition is widespread. Over one in four children under five are stunted, leading to poor health, low disease resistance, long term development problems and far poorer life chances.

Through our partners in Uganda, Just Small Change delivers a broad range of interlinked projects which tackle these issues and enable the people of Budaka to make progress in improving their lives and livelihoods.

For the most vulnerable, goat breeding improves food security and income. The self-help support network created by our Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) builds community trust and resilience. The VSLA provide financial inclusion, enable saving and borrowing and give members more control over their small resources. Training in regenerative agriculture, which is provided for all communities where VSLA are set up, tackles the challenges of poor soil and climate change, reduces hours spent in the field and also greatly improves crop yields. Meanwhile, recognising that better health underpins improvements in living standards, one of our healthcare projects focuses on maternity care, care of infants, home health and hygiene and prevention or treatment of common illnesses. Our second healthcare project addresses the ever-present issue of child malnutrition.

Together, these interlinked projects are creating a powerful impact in Budaka, improving living standards, building participants’ confidence and agency, strengthening community bonds through shared experience and knowledge and empowering people to take some control of their lives and futures.

Our work follows the recommendations of the World Bank:

Poor and vulnerable households can be supported through…. livelihood programs designed to reduce negative coping strategies such as reducing food intake, selling productive assets, and pulling children out of school. In the longer term, these programs can help households increase income, build assets, and develop resilience. World Bank Uganda Economic Update Dec 2023

It also supports the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

One of our VSLA groups

Why work with us:

We always work at the grassroots level, through a trusted and highly skilled local partner
All our work is in response to requests from local communities, providing resources and training programmes designed locally to meet identified needs
Our projects interlink and support each other, leading to greater impact than each project could achieve alone
Our projects are designed and implemented with sustainability in mind, to maximise their long-term impact
We always check the results of our projects, so we can work on making them even more effective and so we can report back to you
All our work in the UK is done by volunteers, for free. All donations and gift aid we receive is spent on our projects in Uganda.

3.Meet the people of Budaka:

We work directly with over 2600 households in Budaka, and indirectly with many more.

90% of Savings Group members and all the beneficiaries of the goat programmes are women.

32% of our participants are single heads of household, struggling alone to provide for their families. One in five is a widow. All households live in deep poverty.

Houses are made of brick or mud, with a thatched or sheet metal roof. Three in ten households have no access to a latrine, and one in five has no local source of safe water.

Four in ten households live in a single room, while a further four out of ten have only 2 rooms.

Average household size is 8 but can be as high as 27. In a typical household there will be two under-fives and three older children at school. One in five households has more than 10 members. In our goat programme, 16% of households include orphans, who may be grandchildren or children of relatives or of neighbours.

Three in ten of our programme participants find every day is a struggle to provide for their family’s needs, with a further third struggling most days to do this. One in six households frequently have ‘hungry’ days when they don’t eat. A third of the remaining households only eat once a day. Four out of five households cannot afford meat, fish or eggs, so just eat carbohydrates with vegetables.

4.Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA)

This is a simple but powerful project which gives members more control over their money, enables planning ahead and increases resilience. Members work together, pooling their small savings so that some can borrow and then repay with interest. Many borrowers use their loans to set up a micro business to boost the family income, as most households survive on subsistence farming and very little else. Others borrow to manage schooling costs for their children, or for emergency medical expenses. All members of new associations receive training in money management and basic business skills. Additional training is given to the group’s officers. Ongoing supervision and refresher training is also provided.

Associations are self-selecting and choose their own officers; members trust and support each other, vetting would-be borrowers and advising on each other’s business ideas. Everyone benefits from earning interest on their savings. Cash is kept in a strong-box with three key holders, chosen by the

group. After twelve months, members’ savings are returned to them with a pro-rata share of the interest earned. Then the whole cycle starts again. Some members choose to reinvest their savings, but most use the funds they have accumulated for a large project such as home improvement (often replacing thatch with a tin roof, or replacing mud and wattle walls with brick), buying a plot of land or starting or expanding a business. Testimonies show that being able to plan for and attain such ‘big ticket’ items is truly life changing for many members and consequently for their families too.

VSLA members often speak about the importance of the friendship and support they find in their savings group. Homesteads are widely scattered in rural Budaka, so the weekly meetings add an important new social dimension to the lives of many members, increasing their sense of wellbeing and their selfesteem. Advice and support within the group builds

confidence, enabling some women to start a small business for the first time.

The weekly meetings of the VSLA provide a valuable forum for training delivered by social workers or health professionals. This covers important topics including childcare, home hygiene, family planning, menstrual health and many more. Members enjoy these sessions and often ask for more.

Our VSLA project has expanded in response to huge demand. As at end March 2026 there were 74 associations with a total of almost 2600 members. Four are mixed gender and four all male, with the remainder being all-female groups. A further 35 VSLA with around 1200 new members will be set up in the twelve months to March 2027.

In 2025 this project was boosted further by the training and employment of five local field workers who each monitor their own area, making sure the VSLA members and their officers have all the support they need. Our field workers also collect monitoring data for our reports.

Before the savings group came, I was not a respected woman in the community. I was despised and I had little hope. But when I was able to borrow a little money, I bought a few kilos of broken rice and sold it by the cupful. Each time I sold out I reinvested the profit and now my stock is fifty kilos! (Single mother, four children) ‘We are saving and using our loans to educate our children and improve our homes. We are so proud of what we are achieving, thank you for bringing this project to us’ Chairwoman of Ebenezer group (below)

Joining the group woke me up. Before I wasn’t doing anything, I didn’t realise what was possible if you save. After the training, I saved and I borrowed and now I run a small café. With the profit I have been able to rent some land where I am growing crops to eat and to sell. (Young mother of five)

We are starting businesses which enable us to feed our children. I sell chapatti at the trading station. I make 10,000 shillings a day (£2). This feeds my family, buys clothes and pays school fees’ Treasurer of the We Work Together group (below)

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74 groups – Average
Average
2590 interest
loan size in
members in earned in
2025 £15
total 2025 £2.3 4
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----- Start of picture text -----
Average In 2025, 850
savings per members
member iin took small
2025 £13 loans
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5. Goat rearing to improve livelihoods

This project benefits the poorest families, improving income, welfare and diet. Goats are hardy and can thrive even during food and water shortages. They breed twice a year and often produce twins.

The 30 initial beneficiaries of each group each receive a local nanny goat. The project also provides a buck goat from a stronger breed (Boer). Through cross breeding, the size and strength of kids can be improved, increasing their value. Beneficiaries can earn income from small-scale goat-rearing. The goats provide useful manure for vegetable gardens, improving families’ diets and often also providing an income through sale of vegetables.

The project provides a buck shed, built on stilts for safety, and a local buck keeper who supports the beneficiaries in their care of their goats. The bucks are rotated between groups every eighteen months to prevent inbreeding. Training is provided for both keepers and beneficiaries.

Rose, buck keeper of the Mugiti goat group, has learned a great deal from her training and is happy to be serving her community.

Each beneficiary is enrolled in a Village Savings and Loan Association so that, when her goat generate income by producing kids, she can save and borrow. The project is designed to grow sustainably. Each beneficiary returns a crossbred kid to the buck keeper, to be gifted to another needy recipient. This happens after weaning, when the kid is six months old. The ability to gift is a real source of joy and pride to both giver and receiver.

An upbeat mood as members of a group gift their kids to new beneficiaries Currently we have nine goat groups running in Budaka.

In total 178 kids have been gifted by the 300 original group members to new beneficiaries. To unlock even more impact from the project’s resources, Just Small Change also funded 70 extra local nanny goats, ten for each of seven of the groups, so there are now 548 goat beneficiaries. Each has been chosen because of her acute poverty. Some are very elderly and/or infirm, while many others have been widowed or abandoned and are struggling alone to support children. Their goats and the kids they produce provide a muchneeded buffer against the hardships and unpredictability of their lives. The

goats are also a source of self-esteem and means of social inclusion in communities where the most vulnerable women are often disregarded.

An outreach worker teaching new beneficiaries about care of nanny goats

Mother of five children: I am so grateful to have received a goat. She has given birth to 2 kids. I was able to sell one and I used some of the money to buy some turkeys, which have also produced, so now I have two goats and ten turkeys! I am so excited about what I have achieved because of the goat.

Single mother of 7: My goat produced two kids. I will return one to the project and will sell the other to pay school fees. The best thing is that my goat will have kids every year which will help me to sustain my children’s education.

Widow: We truly appreciate the generosity of the people who have sent us these goats…..now we have hope.

Mother with seven children :

Before I had my goat people did not value me much, but when we learned to use goat manure I began to grow different kinds of vegetables in my garden. Now lots of women come to ask me for advice about growing and this makes me very happy.

Widow with 8 dependents: I have never been able to grow maize before, the soil is so poor. But now with the manure from my goat, the maize is growing well, I am hopeful of a good crop.

Elderly widow with 7 dependents: I’m so happy. The community and our neighbours see us differently now. We have sources of income now and some of us do business, so we are no longer dependent on other people. Before we were despised but now people admire us as they see we are doing well.

Widow, five children: I collect all the manure from my goat and put it

in my vegetable garden. Now I can grow enough vegetables for my whole family and even have some left over to sell! I am putting the extra money from this into my savings.

Mother of 5 children: Our house has no garden. When I am able to sell one of my kids, I will rent a garden to grow food to feed our family.

6. Community Healthcare

Improvements in health awareness and healthcare make a huge contribution to reducing illness and improving families’ wellbeing and living standards. In Budaka, as elsewhere in rural Uganda, the greatest threats to life and health are pregnancy and birth complications and communicable illnesses such as malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS, respiratory diseases and diarrhoea. There is often little knowledge of basic hygiene and of how to avoid transmission of disease. Uptake of maternity services is low.

Rural healthcare provision in Uganda relies on Village Health Teams (VHT) who provide a crucial link between their communities and local Health Centres. VHT members are volunteers who complete a one-year Government healthcare training programme. They work within their villages, teaching their neighbours about hygiene and sanitation, the benefits of pre- and post-natal care and immunisation and care of infants. They help with Government health programmes in the community and make referrals to Health Centres.

VHT William encouraging a young mother and father to visit the Health Centre for immunisation for their new baby

JSC has trained 66 VHTs in Lyama sub-county, where previously there were none, and provides monthly Continuing Professional Development (CPD) delivered by health professionals. The impact of the VHTs work is clear. Household visits by VHTs have increased fourfold, from around 2,500 per year in 2023 to over 10,500 per year in 2025. Their work has contributed to a significant reduction in malaria cases (down from over 13,500 in 2022 to an estimated 4050 in 2024), to greater uptake of Health Centre maternity services and to a larger proportion of households with refuse pits, handwashing facilities and access to pit latrines. Cases of diarrhoea in children under five have fallen. Cases of measles have also fallen, from 700 in 2022 to 246 in 2025 as more children are immunised against this killer disease.

Jacob, one of the Lyama VHTs told us:

The young mother told us:

A neighbour who was four months pregnant had not attended antenatal care but was experiencing pain. I persuaded her to go to Lyama Health Centre, where she was referred for a scan. Her husband initially hesitated, but I explained to him that pregnancy is not something to take lightly and encouraged him to support his wife in going for the scan. She eventually went and is now receiving treatment.

The support made a significant difference in my life. Previously, I did not attend antenatal visits regularly because the hospital was far from my home. The nurses explained that missing these visits may have contributed to the miscarriages I experienced in three previous pregnancies, at three, four and five months.This has helped me understand the importance of regular antenatal care and has motivated me to attend the clinic .

Through helping with the Nutrition project, 28 VHTs have been trained in the basics of child nutrition and in how to identify cases of malnutrition so these can be referred for treatment. They have gained valuable experience of how to spot and tackle the issue, which is widespread in this area, and are sharing this in their villages.

Eighteen of the VHTs were selected as Operational Health Level Workers (senior VHTs) in 2025 and completed an intensive five-week full time training course in the first half of the year. They are able now to offer more advanced and much needed services within their communities, such as first aid, antenatal care, at-home immunisations for mother

and child, family planning advice and supplies and early diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. Meanwhile, as well as continuing their own work as VHTs, each supervises and supports the other VHTs in their local areas, improving performance and motivation.

We look forward to seeing even greater improvements in the health of communities in Lyama in the years to come, as a result of this strengthening of the VHT team.

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A nutritionist teaches VHTs
about child nutrition.
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On his daily round, VHT William found a mother who had given birth to her fifth child at home just the day before. He asked about the mother’s wellbeing and checked the baby. He arranged for one of the senior VHTs to visit the next day to vaccinate the baby at home, as local tradition requires the baby to stay indoors for the first month

VHT William walks from homestead to homestead in his community.

7. Child nutrition

Child malnutrition and stunting is widespread in Uganda affecting a quarter of children under five, severely impacting their immune system, long term health, brain development and life chances. In Budaka, deep rural poverty, failing harvests, large family size and poor child feeding practices combine to intensify the problem. In response, the nutrition programme was introduced in Spring 2024. In 2025-26, the programme has been run in six parishes. This project aims sustainably to reduce malnutrition among the under 5s by changing mindsets, teaching caregivers about the importance of a balanced diet and teaching them how to cook nutritious meals from foods they can grow themselves.

A mother waits to have her children checked

At a community day, all families are invited to have their children’s growth checked. Caregivers with malnourished children are invited to join the year-

long programme which is run by trained local nutritionists and supported by the local JSC Volunteer Health Teams. The local VHTs all receive five days training in child nutrition and how to identify malnourishment.

Over a twelve-day period the nutritionists, VHTs and caregivers cook together to feed the children a wide variety of foods including vegetables and protein, all cooked by steaming. Local traditional practice is to feed small children only on maize porridge as it is believed other foods will be harmful. This fear is overcome as caregivers see their children respond to their improved diet, gaining appetite, energy and weight. As well as daily demonstrations of how to provide and cook balanced meals, each day talks are given by a social worker on a family-related topic. Areas covered include good parenting, birth control and menstrual health, the importance of hygiene and sanitation and how to provide clean water for drinking and home use.

Traditional cooking method Steaming method used in the project

The caregivers learn to make a variety of nutritious steamed

For a further twelve months, the local VHTs support the caregivers in following the new feeding practices and improving home hygiene. They also monitor the children’s growth.

The seriousness of the problem within this area was clearly visible from the numbers arriving for the Community days. 433 under-fives were assessed of whom over half (244, or 56%) were found to be malnourished. Eight acutely wasted children were immediately referred to the malnutrition ward of the hospital in Mbale, but four very sadly were beyond help and did not survive.

Overall, there has been a great improvement in the health and well-being of most of the children with weight gain, energy and growth as they enjoy a better diet. The caregivers value what they have learned and are telling others in their villages. One has even run her own twelve-day cooking class! 35 VHTs have received valuable training and learned the cooking skills too. By using this new knowledge in their everyday community visits they will extend more widely the much-needed impact of the nutrition programmes. More programmes are planned for 2026-27 Children tasting new foods and waiting for millet porridge to cool down

Listening to a talk on child . nutrition-

8. Training in regenerative agriculture

The people of Budaka survive by subsistence farming, which has become even more difficult in recent years. Unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change, soil degradation caused by poor cultivation methods and soil erosion following tree clearing and floods have all combined to reduce harvests and food supplies. This project is vital in helping them overcome these challenges.

Since early 2024, all VSLA members have been offered training in regenerative agriculture. This has led to great improvements in crop quality and yield, improving their food security, diets and livelihoods (as many now have surplus crops to sell). Workload is also greatly reduced; a much smaller area of land is needed than is traditionally used to produce food for the family and the no

dig-method is used. This is a huge bonus in two ways. Firstly, the women save time and energy which they spend elsewhere, regaining some control over their lives. Secondly, should they wish to, many are now able to grow cash crops for the first time on the land they own or rent, since less land is needed to feed the family. This is another empowering step forward for many women, who find they have a source of income for the first time.

Learning to plan crop spacing to increase yields

In response to huge demand from the communities we serve, we have expanded this project. In 2025-26, 1058 women were trained in these techniques.

Regenerative agriculture aims to restore soil integrity, reduce pests, increase crop yields and widen the variety of crops grown. This leads to better biodiversity, better nutrition, improved food security and income from crop sales. Training includes crop planning and seed selection, the no-plough

method of planting, mulching, irrigation management and composting. A demonstration garden is planted by participants, who see the results of these methods within the half year growing season and go on to apply them in their own gardens. Many teach the techniques to neighbours who have not been able to attend a course, but who see the quick improvements in yields and want to learn.

This is a really effective programme which is renewing the fertility of Budaka to the great benefit of its population. All participants belong to a VSLA, and many are also beneficiaries of the goat project. The three programmes together create a powerful synergy, with waste material from crops providing goat fodder, goats providing essential manure, and the VSLA providing a safe place to save income, build capital or borrow to rent land or buy seeds.

Planting maize in rows, using natural fertilisers such as wood ash and compost

These ladies are delighted with their plentiful maize harvests

‘Tomorrow, we will not be struggling to find something to eat’

After the training, I planted one kilo of tomato seeds in my salad bed. When I transplanted them to the garden, I used compost and manure to feed them and treated them with a home-made natural pesticide which Peter had taught us to make, it’s much safer and cheaper than using artificial pesticides. I

have sold so many tomatoes! So far, I have earned 800,000 shillings (£178) and the customers are still coming!

My maize crops have been very good since I started using the new skills I learned. After the first harvest I was able to sell a lot of the

maize, as well as feeding my family. I earned so much that I was able to buy a plot of land in the trading centre. Now I am selling some of my second maize harvest. I have bought bricks and with my husband, we are building this shop on the plot. There is still much to do, and I am excited about the future now.

Peter, our teacher, taught us new modern farming methods, how to plan in rows, how to mulch and feed the plants. Then I planted four types of beans, using six and a half kilos of bean seeds. I have harvested 163 kilos of

beans! I am so delighted. As well as feeding my family, I can sell these beans to earn income (one kilo of beans sells for about 4000 shillings, which is 90p in sterling) Thank you for bringing this knowledge to us.

9. Outputs April 2025 to March 2026

What has been achieved with spending in the period:

Goat project

70 additional nanny goats provided to existing groups
61 kids handed on to new beneficiaries
Training and support provided to all new beneficiaries and to keepers
Village Savings and Loan Associations
32 more VSLA established in Budaka District, bringing the total to 74 groups with over 2600 members in total
All new members were trained in basic financial skills
665 VSLA officers trained in book-keeping and leadership skills
Monthly support visits carried out to all groups by field workers

Healthcare

66 Volunteer Health Team (VHTs) members continued to provide basic healthcare support and advice to their communities
Quarterly training sessions on specialist topics were provided for all VHTs throughout the period
27 VHTs also received a full five-day training in child nutrition, and in the identification and treatment of malnourishment in children
18 VHTs attained senior VHT status by completing a five-week intensive full-time programme in more advanced healthcare skills and knowledge. They now supervise their VHT colleagues and offer an extended range of healthcare services, strengthening provision of front-line healthcare in the communities of Budaka

Child nutrition

Six extended cooking workshops were completed, which trained the caregivers of 244 malnourished under- fives in how to provide a balanced diet from foods they can grow themselves
Follow-ups to all participating families is continuing for twelve months

Regenerative farming

Two full days training in small scale regenerative agriculture methods was provided to 1220 subsistence farmers from our VSLAs
Maize and bean seeds were gifted to all attendees
Two days training was given to attendees at one of the Child Nutrition courses and a wider range of seeds gifted to the caregivers.
Follow up visits to all groups have been made by the trainer

Monitoring programme activities

Baseline assessments have been carried out for all participants in VSLA, Sustainable Agriculture and the Goat project. These are used to determine which projects to introduce and where to expand
The work of the healthcare team has been monitored through data collected by the local Health Centre and reviewed by us each year
The progress of children who attended Child Nutrition courses has been monitored for twelve months by our VHTs and the results reviewed by the nutritionist and her team.
Data on the achievements of the VSLA have been collected at the annual sharing of each group and at the half year point.
Data on the progress of goat groups has been collected through halfyearly visits to the buck keeper of each group

Capacity building

To strengthen support and monitoring of our VSLA and goat groups, five local field workers have been recruited and trained.
To improve the range of services offered in our Community Healthcare project and to support the Volunteer Health Teams, eighteen of the 66 Volunteers have been trained and have qualified at the next level of healthcare operative (Operational Performance Level)
27 members of the Volunteer Health Teams have been trained in the basics of child nutrition, in how to spot cases of malnutrition and in how to advise caregivers about child nutrition

This report is based on data available up to end March 2026.

- 10. Planned work: 2026 27

35 more Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) will be set up, training 1225 new members in basic financial and business skills. As requested by several communities, this will include some all-male groups
All newly established VSLA will be trained in regenerative agriculture. This training will also be completed by any of our earlier-established VSLA which have not yet participated in this programme
At least two nutrition programmes will be run in identified areas where child malnutrition is acute
To strengthen supervision/monitoring and build capacity for JSC’s livelihood projects in Budaka, one more community support worker will be recruited and trained, bringing the total to six.
quarterly CPD training will be delivered to the sixty-six Volunteer Health Team members in Lyama sub-county, Budaka.
quarterly CPD training will be delivered to the eighteen senior Volunteer Health Team members in Lyama, Budaka.
The goat project will move into a new community-led phase, with local people taking ownership of its management. This strengthens independence, builds local confidence and helps ensure the project’s benefits continue sustainably long into the future.

11. Reserves Policy

We are a very small charity. Therefore, even though we have a stable and generous base of regular supporters, our income fluctuates considerably from year to year, as it is disproportionately affected by grant and gift inflows, which are by their nature unpredictable. To safeguard the charity from unexpected fluctuations in income, it is our policy to hold as reserves at the start of each year sufficient funds to cover the whole year’s planned activities. The level of reserves at the year-end was above the amount required to fund planned activity for 2026-2027.

12. Risk Management

Principal risks and uncertainties:

Liquidity risk: the Trustees’ policy is to have funds in place at the start of the financial year to cover all planned expenditure for that year.

Funding risk:

fundraising, particularly from private individuals, may dip due to the cost of living crisis. We monitor income closely so that we can seek to mitigate any losses. In our reserves, in addition to keeping funds to meet our other 2026-27 commitments, we have designated a sum to cover our largest planned 202627 commitment, which is advanced training for health workers.

Operational risk:

we are constantly working to improve reporting and recording processes for project operations and for financial management. We liaise with our implementing partner on a weekly basis throughout the year by email and Teams. We have strengthened our monitoring and reporting process by employing five local support workers who collect data from our projects. This data is sent to us regularly by our partners in Uganda. We visit our projects annually (at the trustees’ expense) to monitor progress, check records and audit spending. We are confident of the integrity and professionalism of our partners in Mbale, Uganda.

13. Charity details and governance

Just Small Change was established with the UK Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 5 November 2013. Our charity number is 1154462.

Charity’s principal address:38 Orchard Way, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 9QE

The activities of Just Small Change are managed and overseen by the trustees, all of whom were in post for the entire year:

Peter Joseph Donaghue Chair
Mary Jane Donaghue Treasurer
Gerard John Adams
Andrew William Maher

The power to appoint additional or replacement trustees rests with the existing trustees

Public benefit

The work of Just Small Change provides the following identifiable benefits: Just Small Change establishes savings and loans associations (VSLA) and goat rearing groups as well as training community health volunteers to raise standards of health and hygiene in their neighbourhoods. Beneficiaries are also trained in sustainable agriculture and in child nutrition. Members of our goat and VSLA programmes can for the first time access a safe place to save. Many take small loans to invest in an income generating activity or to help them manage better the many demands on their small resources. All savers benefit from the interest earned by the savings pot. Incomes generated and knowledge gained from all these programmes enable beneficiaries to better feed and educate their families, manage external shocks and sustainably raise their living standards, improving economic resilience. Their increased standing in the community gives beneficiaries greater agency and confidence, with many women reporting improved relationships at home and in the community and some taking up leadership positions for the first time. In choosing our projects, all trustees have had regard to the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.

14. Financial Review

Income from grants and monthly donations performed very well this year, rising by 137% and 20% respectively. Total funds raised from supporters was 63% greater than last year. Gift aid has not yet been claimed on this year’s donations. This will be done in 2026-27. Spending on programme activity was 7% lower in 2025-26, because the figure for 24-25 included the cost of medical training for our eighteen newly qualified senior Volunteer Health Workers.

Our accounts have been independently examined by HL Barnes (Chartered Accountants). Their report and a full copy of the accounts is presented separately. A summary of income and spending is included below.

	Year to	Year to
Annual Accounts to year ending 8 April	08.04.2026	08.04.2025
Receipts
Donations and grants	35,366	21,685
Gift Aid	138	202
Paypal charity sales income	0	52
Donation from trustees for bank charges	241	257
Total receipts	35,744	22,196
Payments
Charitable activities	35,012	37,724
Bank charges	241	257
Purchases of materials	35	22
Total payments	35,288	38,003
Net of receipts/(payments)	457	(15,807)
Cash funds last year end	47,875	63,682
Cash funds this year end	48,367	47,875
of which: held at bank	42,581	42,089
held in Paypal account	5,751	5,786
Total	48,332	47,875
Notes to accounts:

It is the Trustees’ policy that funding for each year’s planned project activities must be in place at the start of that financial year.
A designated reserve of £19490 has been created to fund health worker training planned for 2026-7.

Beneficiaries of a goat project with some of their children

We and everyone involved in our programmes in Budaka thank you for your interest and support.

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