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← Laughter Africa

2024-03-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT 2023/2024

Contents

A. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY

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Charity Name: Laughter Africa

Other names charity is known by:

Registered charity number in UK: 1154712

Charity’s principal address in UK: 124 Princes Boulevard, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 5LP, UK

Charity’s Principal address in Sierra Leone: Laughter Africa, Adonkia, Freetown, Sierra Leone

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity in Sierra Leone:

Trustee name Ofce (if any) Dates acted if not for whole
year		 Name of person (or body)
enttled to appoint trustee (if
any)
Aminata Sherif Chairperson of
Trustees
Amadu Alpha Bah Treasurer
James Tyrrell Secretary
Shellac Davies
Eric Massallay
Mira Koroma
Mariama Doe
Sinneh Bockarie
Alhaji Safeu Bah
Abubakarr B Sherif
Albert Daniel Gbow
Ansumana Konneh

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity in the UK

Trustee name Ofce (if any) Dates acted if not for
wholeyear		 Name of person (or body)
enttled to appoint trustee(if any)
James Tyrrell Chairperson of
Trustees
David Cartmell Treasurer
Mark Neal Secretary
Dr Anne-Marie Stead Started in January
2024

Names and addresses of advisers

Type of Advisor Name Address
Bankers in the UK Royal Bank of Scotland 1 Dale Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L2 2PP
Bankers in Sierra
Leone
GTB		 12 Wilberforce Street, Freetown
Auditor in Sierra
Leone		 Peter Kamaray &Co 20 Wilberforce Street, Freetown

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Moses Sheriff ( Director of Administration and Finance) (Sierra Leone)

Abubakarr Kargbo (Director of Outreach) (Sierra Leone)

Isata Samura (Director of the Interim Care Centre/ Director of Advocacy, Communications and Campaigns) (Sierra Leone)

James Tyrrell (Country Director in the UK in a volunteer capacity)

B. STRUCTURE. GOVENANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Descripton of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document How the charity is constituted

Constitution adopted on 02/04/2013

Charitable Incorporated Organisation

Trustee selection Methods

The existing trustees are responsible for the recruitment of new trustees. Each new trustee must be appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of Laughter Africa.

Trustee training and inducton.

Once a new trustee has been appointed, they will be given all the necessary training in accordance with Laughter Africa’s ‘Trustee Induction Policy’ which outlines the induction, support and training programme involved. As well as training, the following documents will be given to a newly appointed trustee:

A number of publications from the Charity Commission are also provided including the guidance on Charity Law and Public Benefit, the new Charity Trustee Welcome Pack published by the Charity Commission in April 2018 and ‘The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3).’ This ensures that new trustees are aware of the scope of their responsibilities under the Charities Act 2011 and the Charities Act 2022 and to brief them on their legal

obligations.

Risk management

The Trustees in the UK have established a risk management policy for Laughter Africa. The key to Laughter Africa’s risk management policy is the ‘Corporate Risk Register and Assurance Framework’ which identifies the key risks pertinent to Laughter Africa in meeting its objectives and map out the key controls in place to manage them. The Risk Register is updated annually. The major risks to which Laughter Africa is exposed have been identified and reviewed: procedures have been established to mitigate those risks. The Trustees are confident that strong systems and procedures are in place to manage the risks that have been identified. The Risk Register is available for the Charity Commission to see upon request. Appropriate insurance cover is in place for Laughter Africa both in the UK and in Sierra Leone to cover every eventuality. Laughter Africa also insists that all staff and volunteers receive a DBS check (in the UK) or a Police Clearance certificate (in Sierra Leone) as part of the safeguarding policy and procedures. No safeguarding concerns were reported to Laughter Africa in 2023/24 due to the effective and robust safeguards that we have in place.

Trustee’s remuneraton

All of Laughter Africa trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefit for their work with Laughter Africa.

Laughter Africa’s organisatonal structure and how decisions are made

The principles of local ownership and local empowerment are at the heart of all Laughter Africa’s work. We have a local Trustee Board. It is important to everyone at Laughter Africa that only local Sierra Leonean staff are employed; thus supporting national capacity building and the long-term sustainability of our activities. The Trustees both in the UK and in Sierra Leone have delegated the running of Laughter Africa to the five Directors in Sierra Leone. The Directors are responsible for different departments:

All five Directors are responsible for the day-to-day operation of Laughter Africa in Sierra Leone and managing the national staff and volunteers. The Directors report to the Trustees regularly and the Trustees delegate to the Directors accordingly. The Trustees are responsible for the overall direction and decision making of Laughter Africa. The Trustees are ultimately responsible in law for the charity, its assets and activities. They take responsibility in the following areas ensuring that:

Here is an Organogram of how decisions are made currently at Laughter Africa:

Laughter Africa’s Policies and procedures

The Trustees, staff and volunteers are also held accountable by the Laughter Africa constitution and all the internal policies which can be requested via the open information policy. The organisational policies include:

TreatngDonors FairlyPolicy Supporter Promise
Acceptance ofgifs and hospitality Environmental Policy
Data Protecton Policy (now updated to comply
with the GDPR ) and privacy policy.		 Evaluaton Policy
Dignity, Diversity and Equality Policy Complaints Handling Policy and Procedures
HIV Workplace Policy SafeguardingChildren Policy
Bullying and Harassment Policy Positon statement on vulnerability and
inequality
Health and Safety Risk Assessment Communicatons about children policy
Laughter Africa’s statement of Accountability Security policy
Laughter Africa’s safer recruitment statement Security manual
Laughter Africa’s human resources policy for all
staf working in Sierra Leone (This includes our
grievance policy, disciplinary policy, probaton
policy, redundancy policy, maternity leave,
paternity leave, annual leave policy, sick leave pol-
icies etc.. incompliance with Sierra Leonean law).		 Risk management policy
Laughter Africa’s vision, mission and values Trustee Inducton policy
Whistle blowingPolicy Register of Trustees
Staf Code of Behaviour CapabilityProcedures
Laughter Africa's serious incident reportng policy
and procedures		 Natonal staf job descriptons and
contracts
Confict of interestpolicy Trustee Declaraton Forms
Health and safety policy Volunteerpolicy
Security Manual version 2 Gender policy
Vehicle policy Laughter Africa’s volunteer handbook
Supply Chain Manual (procurement policy) Laughter Africa’s Open Informaton Policy
Security country plan for Sierra Leone Trustee Job Descriptons
Grievance Policy Disciplinary Policy
End of Contract Policy Redundancy Policy
Probaton Policy Working tme and ofce hours
Maternity Policy/ Paternity Policy Flexible working policy
Annual leave policy PSEAH policy
Adopton policy Sickness and Absence policy
Retrement Policy Time of for personal reasons policy
Laughter Africa's Social mediapolicy Trustee declaraton of interests forms

Please note that the financial policies are listed under the financial review (section E). Laughter Africa has every

applicable policy recommended by the Charity Commission.

C. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES /? AK•. 1111 T+LEMAT5C MAD

Summary of the Objects of Laughter Africa set out in its governing document The object of the CIO is the relief of poverty, particularly but not exclusively by the provision of housing, and the advancement of education for street children and other children or young people at risk in Africa. An explanation of Laughter Africa’s strategies for achieving the stated objectives Laughter Africa carries out a wide range of activities in pursuance of its charitable aims. The trustees consider that these activities provide benefit to street children aged 0 to 18. Laughter Africa works with street children in Freetown, Sierra Leone to fulfil their aspirations and to help them to bring about positive change in their lives. Laughter Africa delivers this objective through assisting children in leaving the streets, through the following three-phased approach:

  1. Outreach Work. This involves the social workers meeting the children living on the streets through day or night surveys. The first priority is dealing with the immediate needs of the street children. They may be hungry and need food. They may be ill or in need of medical care. They may be lonely or grieving and just need a listening ear. They may have been raped and need someone to talk to. They may be having legal trouble with the police or judiciary and need someone to advocate on their behalf. Whatever they need, Laughter Africa is willing to provide. Whilst Laughter Africa's trained social workers will try to encourage them to leave the streets, they are not forced to do so.

  2. The Interim Care Centre. The Laughter Africa Interim Care Centre is a safe place for street children to live while attempts are made to find their families. At the Interim Care Centre food, clothing, health care, education, counselling, support and other essentials are provided. Activities such as drama, music, sports, cultural dance, arts and crafts and cookery are also available. The Interim Care Centre is a place where the street children can be children and learn to laugh again.

  3. Home-tracing and family reunification work. This is an integral part of Laughter Africa's approach, through which social workers trace the street children’s families in the hope that the parties can be reunited. Reunification with their families is dependent on whether the family situation is safe and secure. If this is not the case, for instance if there is sexual or physical abuse known to have taken place, then an alternative long-term home will be found. Before reuniting a child with their family, we work with both parties to understand the reasons that led to the child turning to the streets in the first place. Our goal is to ensure that the child feels happier and the original issues that precipitated their move on to the streets are resolved. Once the children have returned home, Laughter Africa offers continued support and pays for their school fees and other school support until they finish their WASCE (the Sierra Leone equivalent of A-levels) or pays for vocational training - whichever option the child prefers. Social workers keep in touch with each child and their family to check on their progress and make sure that all is well. If any problems arise then the staff will intervene before the child is tempted to return to the streets again. Social workers visit the children at home at least once a quarter or more often if necessary.

Through its outreach work, establishment of a safe care centre and family reunification activities, Laughter Africa seeks to protect vulnerable children from the dangers of living on the streets, meet their basic health, education and nutrition needs, and ensure their long-term well being.

Activities

A summary of the main activities undertaken by Laughter Africa in order to carry out its charitable purposes for the public benefit:

The main premise of the work of Laughter Africa will never change: the outreach work; the Interim Care Centre and the Family Reunification work. As outlined in last years’ annual report, Laughter Africa is divided into five departments:

The Outreach department

The mobile project takes place five times a week from Monday to Friday from 4pm to 7pm. Each day, medical treatment, food, water, and different activities (such as cultural dance, yoga, art and crafts, counselling, education, games and sports) are provided.

The main focus of our outreach work since the last annual report (published in December 2023) has been the mobile projects in Bomeh and Funkia.

We wound up our mobile project in Funkia at the end of January 2024. Altogether we welcomed 305 street children since October 2023. We finished on a high, reunifying 65 young people with their families before we left. 90% of them were girls!

Bomeh was the location of our new Mobile project from February until June 2024. It’s in the Eastern part of Freetown where most rubbish ends up. During the day, the street children scavenge for materials such as plastic or copper while they sleep on the dump at night. Altogether we reached 343 street children during the lifespan of the project. During the project, we noticed that the street children were coming from all over Freetown - not just Bomeh. The boys from Aberdeen even took a boat to come to mobile everyday. Now that is dedication! We confiscated at least three knives from mobile over the last few months and have noticed a rise in knife crimes affecting street children lately. One thing that has become apparent is the danger of the dump where the kids live. Francis talked about his friend Thomas, 15, who died a few months before Laughter arrived. He was dregging for different items like plastic, copper or brass in the dump and he got pricked by a used syringe. Soon after his foot swelled and a month later he was dead. One of the girls, Rasta, also came to see the nurse recently, after stepping on a syringe. Another boy Amara talked about the death of his friend Almammy, 10, in 2020, who ended up being crushed and suffocated by the rubbish which fell on top of him when he was digging in the dump.

Thanks to funding from KitAid we held a sports tournament every month from March 2024 to June 2024. Team Champion, Captain American, All Stars and Young Shall Grow battled it out in games of rounders, badminton, football, volleyball and basketball.

One of the best players in Captain America was 17 year old "Skinny" aka Aminata. After being forced out of her home by her new step father, she’s spent seven years on the streets. She is the mother of 1 year old Ibrahim who is her biggest cheerleader. Sadly she doesn’t get any support from Ibrahim’s father who is addicted to kush. Throughout the tournament she showed no fear and just got stuck into every activity. She said, "I love sport- it helps me forget about my

past. When I am on the streets, no one gives me encouragement, but when I come here I know I will get encouragement. Sport gives me courage to carry on with my life." Meanwhile the youngest team member of Captain America was 10 year old Ibrahim Sorie, said, " I like sport as I can have fun with my friends. I feel free. It makes me happy. On the street we don't play games like this."

‘Captain America’ were the victors in March while Team ‘All Stars’ won the tournament in April! Meanwhile ‘Young Shall Grow’ were the champions in May while ‘Team Champion’ were the winners for June. This means that every team won a tournament once. The members of each winning team received a medal. All the winners slept with their medals around their necks on the streets. That medal is the only thing that they have of their own and they are fiercely protective of it. They guard their medals as if they were the crown jewels. They are just so proud of themselves! One of the highlights over the last few months was a sports day where different events included tug of peace, three legged races, egg and spoon races and my favourite race- carry your baby.

One of the youngsters we welcomed at mobile was 12 year old Karim. In his short life he's faced many challenges; being born with a disability, being orphaned by Ebola, suffering maltreatment with his adoptive family and being in hospital for six months battling cancer. Sports are a favourite at our mobile project and at first none of the other children wanted him on their team. However, Karim shocked them all by being a basketball pro – easily one of the best players on the court. All with a smile on his face. It was lovely to see how Karim through his natural ability won over his teammates and made them realise that they can’t judge someone by a disability. After about two sessions we didn’t see Karim again and learnt he had returned home to his family as he was struggling with the rainy season. His friend Sheku kindly took us to visit Karim at his Aunty's home. The good news is that Karim is now safe and sound and living with his family again. We paid school for him in September 2024 and we have never seen a child so excited to start school again!

Our mobile project in Bomeh ended at the end of June. Between 19[th] February and the end of June 2024 we reached 343 street children. Over the 5 months, we reunified 136 children and young people with their families. One of the boys we reunified with his family in June 2024 was Abdul Salem. In 2017, he was kidnapped and tortured for 9 days whilst living on the streets. The perpetrator put a hot iron on his head, which has left a permanent scar. Abdul Salem recalled vividly the smell of his burning flesh. Abdul Salem has not let this define his life, he is a hero. In May, a girl, Betty came to mobile looking emancipated and hardly able to walk. I have never seen anyone so close to death, she needed a hospital immediately. Abdul Salem lifted Betty onto his back and carried her all the way to hospital, without breaking a sweat. A boy who had been through the most unimaginable torture- who had been left so broken from his experiences-treating this girl with so much love, compassion and dignity. It is a picture that will stay with me for a long time.

Although we paid for Betty to receive medical treatment and reunified her with her family- she tragically died in July 2024.

Another time, one girl Isata was rushed to hospital after she experienced complications during labour. Sadly she lost her baby but what touched me the most was that when the doctors thought that she might need blood, three street children volunteered and offered her their blood straight away without any hesitation. I am so proud of their kindness, commitment and loyalty to each other.

Mr James, a local headteacher, said that there has never been another charity like us in Bomeh before. He said that “ you actually do what you say you will do.” He particularly complimented the staff on their interactions with the children, “The children really love you.”

We will be opening a new mobile project in a new area in February 2025.

Interim Care Centre (ICC)

When children are ready to leave the streets, they stay with us, temporarily, at the Interim Care Centre in Adonkia, a coastal town about nine miles south-west of Freetown. It is the heartbeat of Laughter Africa – we couldn’t do our work without it. The ICC is refuge, a safe place for them to escape, to heal, to learn new skills and most of all let them be children again. It gives them a chance just to be…

Since the last annual report (published in December 2023) until the end of June 2024, we have welcomed 25 children and young people into the ICC - 13 were girls while 12 were boys. All the children lived on the streets of Bomeh. Activities carried out in the ICC are the same as outlined in previous year’s annual reports and include:

We opened the ICC from April 2024 until June 2024. We couldn’t open the centre earlier due to a shortage of funds. In April 2024 we welcomed 12 boys from Bomeh. Our nurse, Rebecca, has moved into the ICC full time so the kids have medical attention 24 hours a day.

Interestingly we are starting to see the societal impact of kush. One boy Francis, 12, who stayed at the ICC in April/May 2024, went to the streets 2 and a half years ago. He said,

“My mum died so I was brought from the village to live in Freetown with my dad. My dad is addicted to Kush. He doesn't

care about me. I would never see him. My dad would go to ghettos for 2 or 3 days, just to smoke kush. He wouldn’t leave

food for me. I would have to dreg for food. My dad loves kush more than me. I am scared that my dad is dead from kush - I have not seen him for a while.”

Sadly we found out that Francis's dad tragically died at the beginning of May 2024. We had to break the news to Francis. Sadly we think that we will be seeing more children turn to the streets because of the effects of Kush addiction on their families. However, Francis’s story does have a happy ending. We reunified him with his family in May 20224 and in September we paid for Francis to attend a new school. Francis was so excited about his fresh start – he couldn’t stop smiling! Meanwhile to celebrate the International Day of Dance on 29[th] April 2024, we had our annual Danceathon with the pupils of Hope Academy in Newton le Willows. The boys in the ICC busted some great moves….

After the boys left to be reunified with their families, we were joined by 12 girls from Bomeh in May. They were later joined by 17 year old Aminata and her 1 year old son Ibrahim, who was suffering from malnutrition. They came after they were discharged from the hospital and he needed some time to recuperate. He is fully recovered now. The girls in the ICC had a ‘design the cake’ competition in June 2024 a few days before Laughter Africa’s birthday party and the winner was 14 year old Samuella. Her prize was to have her design made into our birthday cake. She said,

“I lived on the streets for about 2 years and 5 months. I was living with my mum and dad but my mum died on 14th December 2021. Then I found out my dad had a secret girlfriend. As soon as my mum died he moved his girlfriend into the house. She maltreated me. She lied about me to my dad that I was a thief. She said that I was witch and that’s why I was skinny. My dad would beat me every time my step mum complained about me.”

Laughter reunified Samuella with her aunt in June 2024 and she is about to start SS1 in January 2025 (which is the equivalent of year 12 in the UK).

After the death of Theresa McCarthy, we re-introduced the self-defence classes in the centre. The girls were reunified with their families in June 2024.

Family Tracing and Reunification Department (FTR)

The FTR department duties are still the same as outlined in last year’s annual report. The FTR department’s role is to trace the street children’s families and reunify them. Between 1st January 2024 and 31st December 2024, we reunified 245 street children with their families. The street children came from a variety of places including Funkia, Bomeh, Aberdeen, Grafton and Susan's Bay. If the children that have been reunified with their families stay at home, we pay their school fees or vocational training costs. Between 1st September 2023 and July 2024, we provided school support to approximately 614 young people and paid university fees for 21 young people.

The FTR team also give extra support to the most vulnerable children, which can include transportation costs, lunch, business support, bikes, bags of rice, mattresses, ‘help a baby basket’ support kits, rental costs or wheelchairs. One example of those children who received a bike recently was Lamin (aka chicken leg) who lives in a remote village in the middle of nowhere. Thanks to the gift of a bike he is now able to get to school every day. We first met Lamin living on the streets in 2017 when he was 6 years old. He went on the streets after his mum died and his father wasn't able to look after him properly. On the streets he was sexually exploited by the older street children who assaulted him. Thankfully he came

to our mobile project in town and we were able to reunify him with his uncle in a village outside of Freetown. We have been providing school support for him ever since. During Covid we gave business support to him and his family- they were farmers so we gave them tools and seeds to help their income during tough times. When we had first met Lamin, he had never been to school. Now he has just started secondary school. What an achievement! And he is still as cheeky as ever!!!! When we gave him his bike he said, "Thank you so much for the bike. I am so happy." All the other children in the village were also very excited by the bike and it had a lot of admirers! The bike was the talk of the village that day!

Another example of extra support is when the young people have their external exams. We give each young person who asks, financial support for lunch and transportation during the exam period. In May 2024, Zainab came to visit, and kindly brought plantain chips for me as she knows they’re my favourite! She was about to sit her WASCE, so we gave her some money. She burst into tears. I asked her "why are you crying?" and she replied, "You do great for me. You give me what my own dad wouldn’t give me." She was so grateful. I wish I could convey with words how humbling and reaffirming it is. Life on the streets in Susan's Bay is the worst of the worst. For her to stay home for four years and sit WASCE is a massive achievement and I am super proud of her! Next step for her is university!

The FTR department also provides medical treatment for any of the children who remain at home. In fact across all the three departments, we provided at least 465 young people with medical treatment between 1st January 2024 and 31st December 2024. One example is the case of Michael. We first met Michael in June 2015 when we first opened Laughter Africa. He was living on the streets in King Jimmy. He was around 12 years old. He went onto the streets after his step-father maltreated him. Since then Michael has stayed home and been making steady progress at school. In December 2023, Michael fell from a ladder and was impaled by a metal spike. He very nearly died and he needed an emergency operation. He was in hospital for over a month. Thankfully the operation was a success. However, he now has to use a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. At the time, he was told that he will never be able to have children. He reacted in such a mature way. He didn’t go off the rails which we were half expecting. I could never have reacted as maturely as he has. We are so proud of him. He didn’t let this setback affect him and his attendance and results have been phenomenal this last academic year. His school report for 2023/24 was his best yet! He has just started JSS3 and is about to sit the BECE in 2025 which is the equivalent of GCSEs in the UK. At the beginning of September 2024, he came running into the office smiling with absolute joy. He told me that the doctors made a big mistake and he will be able to have children in the future after all. Michael said,

“Thanks so much to Laughter Africa for everything you have done for me. You have been part of my life now for over 9 years. I am proud of you for all you have achieved. Since I became a child of Laughter Africa, my life has been so much better. I love Laughter Africa.”

Good luck in your BECE next year Michael. We know that you will succeed in anything that you put your mind too!!!

Another young person we provided medical care to was 17 year old former street child Ishmael who recovered the gift of sight in his left eye. Ishmael said, "My eyes have been painful for over 1 and a half years. I woke up one day and my eye was sore. My eyesight got gradually worse. Eventually I could only see with one eye. Thanks to Laughter Africa, I had an operation and now I can see again with both eyes! I was blind but now I see. Tenki so much for paying for me to see

again. I love you so much. My dream is to be a doctor. I also want to help others who are blind, see again like the doctors helped me. Happy Christmas everyone. This is the best Christmas ever."

Despite the challenges he faced, he recently passed his BECE (the Sierra Leone version of GCSEs) which was a real triumph. I want to thank our nurse Rebecca who is our unsung hero. Any time, any day, she is always on call and ready to jump into action. Thank you for all you do.

Meanwhile, the FTR department take responsibility for organising our annual mother and baby training. On 7th December 2024, we had our 5[th] annual mother and baby training led by Isata and Rebecca (our nurse). We had young mums or mums to be join us to develop vital skills such as nappy changing, bathing, first aid and soothing practices. Most of all we wanted to teach the girls how to show their child love. Sometimes the girls don’t know how to express their love for their children as they were never shown love by their own families. At every training we teach the girls about positive parenting techniques and non-violent forms of discipline.

One of Laughter’s newest mums is 21 year old Musu aka Pessi. Her mum died during Ebola and Pessi was left to support all her brothers and sisters as she was the oldest child. They ended up living with an aunty but her aunty did not treat Pessi well. Pessi wasn’t able to go to school as there was no one to pay her fees. Instead she was forced into child labour “where I was treated like a slave.” When we first met Pessi at our mobile project in Bomeh, she was pregnant. She said at the time, “I am a

dancer. I used to always dance in the village. Dancing gives me pride and helps me forget about my problems. I am

pregnant and there is only me to bring up the baby. The dad is not around. I am scared. But when I dance, I can escape

reality…even just for a bit.” Pessi was dancing right until she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy in October 2024 and she will be starting to attend vocational school in a few months time. We also welcomed three dads to the baby training for the first time including Ibrahim the welder. Ibrahim became a dad to baby Mohamed 8 months ago. Ibrahim is absolutely besotted with Mohamed and is already shaping up to be a fantastic dad!

Most of the staff receive phone calls from the children and their families. Often the children just phone to say hello but sometimes they might need something or have an issue at home. The team are on call 24/7 for the children and respond immediately whenever they are needed.

Communications, Campaigns and Advocacy

Our Communications, Advocacy and Campaigns department started in September 2016 and it has been in operation ever since. Since we published the last annual report in December 2023, this department focused on the International Day for Street Children.

International Day for Street Children 2024

Every year on 12th April, street children organisations all over the world celebrate the International Day for Street Children (IDSC). This year the theme of the day was ‘Belonging.’ We carried out focus discussion groups with 43 street children at our

mobile project in Bomeh at the beginning of April to find out what did belonging mean to them. For 19 year old Musu, “Belonging is about being accepted, cherished, respected, encouraged and loved.” Musu has lived on the streets since she was 10 years old after her father died and she had no choice but to live with her aunt. Her aunt didn’t pay school for Musu and instead she was forced into child labour. Her best friend Aja died while living on the streets in 2019 after being beaten to death. She said, “I am just looking for a place where I can belong. I just want us to be as one with the community. In Togetherness.”

Meanwhile Ibrahim, 18, who has lived on the streets for two years after the death of his father, said, ”I don’t always feel like I belong, especially in the community. Being rejected makes me feel lonely, discouraged, angry, sad and discriminated against. Laughter Africa is one place that always makes me feel like I belong. I feel happy, good and safe here.”

As a result of the focus group discussions, the young people decided to have a dialogue with local community members which took place on 12th April (Please see the achievements section for more information). This poem was written by Ibrahim and Musu, with the help of Biba, one of our social workers. They performed the poem during the community dialogue. To see a performance of the poem, please visit here: htps://www.facebook.com/reel/1093765608511645

Voice from the Street

In the alleyways where shadows play, I wander lost, in the light of day. With hunger gnawing, and dreams deferred, I navigate this world, unheard. Through the dust and debris, I roam, A silent witness to a broken home. In Sierra Leone's streets, I find my stage, A life of hardship, a silent rage. No mother's embrace, no father's hand, Just the harsh reality of this unforgiving land. 1 dream of books, of pens, of rhyme, But survival takes precedence, every time. Oh, government, NGOs, can't you see? The potential in a child like me. With a little help, a guiding hand, I could flourish, I could understand. On this day, as we gather 'round, Let my voice be heard, let hope abound. For every child like me, with dreams so grand, Deserves a chance to flourish, to take a stand. Together, let's pave a brighter way, For the street children of Sierra Leone today.

Campaign to repeal the loitering laws

On 7[th] November 2024, the ECOWAS Court ruled that Sierra Leone must amend or repeal its loitering laws. It ruled that the law discriminates against poor vulnerable persons who may be going about their normal business at night, and that it also gives the police “excessive” power to arrest and detain, which is open to abuse. It orders that Sierra Leone “as a matter of urgency must take steps to either repeal the law or amend it” to conform to its international obligations under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and other appropriate instruments it has signed up to. It declares that the law violates the freedom of movement under international law, adding that the country should take “appropriate legislative measures to amend, modify or repeal the loitering laws.”

The case was brought by ADVOCAID with Amicus briefs submitted by the Consortium for Street Children and Amnesty International. I am very proud to say that Laughter Africa contributed a lot of research for the Amicus Brief submitted by the Consortium for Street Children so I am very proud of the small part that we played in this historic moment to deliver lasting change for children living on the streets! Everyday I hear from the street children that they have been arrested for loitering. This ruling by ECOWAS is just the first step in making life better for them. We have a lot of work to do but we won't give up. This is just the beginning....

Since the ruling we have been very busy. We contacted all of the five main embassies: the US Embassy, the Irish Embassy, the British Embassy, the German Embassy and the EU. The Irish Embassy agreed to a meeting in mid December 2024 which the Irish Ambassador also attended. It was a big success. It will take years for the law to change but we have made a good start! This will be our main advocacy focus in 2025 and beyond. In particular we are calling on the Sierra Leone Government to repeal the following laws:

By doing this street children will no longer be punished by police officers for sleeping on the streets which currently is a regular occurrence.

Other highlights from the advocacy department

We are active members of the Consortium for Street Children (CSC) and this year we were selected to become members of WASAG (the West Africa Strategic Advocacy Group). The idea of WASAG is to give feedback on different issues in order for the CSC to advocate for West Africa as a whole. In particular we contributed to the CSC response to the ‘Access to Justice’ paper for ‘UN General Comment 27: Children’s Rights to Access to Justice and Effective Remedies.’ Also as a member of the Network for Street Children Sierra Leone (N.S.C.S.L.), we wrote a position paper on the Child Rights Act 2024 which was sent to the Government of Sierra Leone. We took the lead on this position paper and were pleased by the final results. We advocated for the new Child Rights Bill in Sierra Leone to include a section about street connected children as currently they are not mentioned anywhere within the current Bill.

Administration and safeguarding department

The duties outlined in last year’s annual report remain the same for the administration department. The main responsibility for this department is the Sierra Leonean accounts. Their role is to also oversee compliance with different Government laws and regulations including re-registration with the ministries, SLANGO and MOPED. We are delighted to announce that in May 2024 we officially re-registered as an NGO. It is a long and bureaucratic process that takes place every two years but it means that we can continue working in Sierra Leone.

Trustees

The Trustee Board were delighted to welcome Dr. Anne-Marie Stead to the Trustee board in January 2024. Anne Marie has been a Laughter volunteer for 9 years. She helps write most of the applications to Trusts and Foundation. She said, "I am absolutely honoured to be a Trustee for Laughter Africa. I hope I do you all proud!” We would also like to continue to expand our Trustee board in 2025 order to make it more diverse.

Some of the Trustees also attended three webinars ran by the Charity Commission in October and November 2024:

To see more information about our work please visit our facebook page or our website.

Public beneft

The trustees of Laughter Africa have complied with their duty in section 17 (5) of the Charities Act 2011 and The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant. The Trustees paid particular attention to the guidance when reviewing, planning and shaping Laughter Africa’s aims, objectives and activities for the year ahead. The trustees have considered how the charity’s planned activities would contribute to the aims and objectives that had been set.

Volunteers and Fundraisers

The trustees would like to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers and fundraisers. However, special thanks to the following people who have gone the extra mile for Laughter Africa this financial year:

D. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE WEL O¢qE p,,Ir

Achievements

The Internatonal Day for Street Children

One of the biggest highlights since the last annual report (December 2023) was the International Day for Street Children 2024. On Friday 12th April 2024, the street children in Bomeh performed a show for the community members. Over 200 people attended the performance. The idea behind the performance was to initiate a dialogue with the community members in order to foster a sense of belonging for the street children in their area.

The show was absolutely amazing! It was electric. The crowd was buzzing. It was over 2 hours long. The performance included acrobatics, juggling, singing, cultural dance, poetry, drama, modern dance and miming, interspersed with stories from some of the young people about their lives and what belonging means to them.

Two of the community leaders, Mr James and Mr Kemoh also spoke during the performance about what belonging means to them. Mr James was very complimentary about Laughter Africa’s work. He thanked Laughter Africa and told the street

children,

“ We see you. We accept you. You are wanted. You belong. We are one.”

Most of the street children had never performed in public before but they still had the audience enthralled. They were so proud of themselves. Amara, 13, who went on the streets after the death of his father, was one of the young people who spoke during the show. He said afterwards,

“This is the first time that me and my friends have done something like this. A chance to share our story. A chance to share our talents. For the first time, I really feel like we have been accepted by the community now. Like we belong. They now see us not just as street pikin, or kush users, or thieves. They see us as human beings. As children and young people. A child with potential. A child with talent. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to let our voices be heard and our stories told.”

The show we put on for the community left a big impression. Mr James said that the community loved the show and kept stopping him to talk about it. He said that there has never been anything like that before in Bomeh.

To see a video of some of the performances, please click here:

htps://f.watch/s-JnmfEDFO/

Our vocatonal educatonal programme

One of our proudest achievements is that since the last annual report (December 2023), thirteen more of our young people have graduated from vocational school.

On Saturday 9th March 2024, Hawanatu, Isatu, Jariatu, Hannah and Rebecca all graduated from GISA Vocational School in either tailoring or hairdressing. Each of them received different equipment so that they could establish their own businesses. We met them all through our mobile project in Susan’s Bay in 2020-2021.

One of the girls who graduated in tailoring is 18 year old Isatu. Isatu lived on the streets from the age of 12 for three years until Laughter reunified her with her aunt. She went on the streets after her brother brought her from the village, promising to pay her school fees. He never paid. Instead he and his wife forced Isatu into child labour. If she lost any money- they would beat her. One day while living on the streets Isatu was stabbed in the face by a man who wanted to steal her money. She says,

“ I thought I was going to die. I can’t describe the pain I felt. He stabbed me on the right side of my face. The knife went right through to my mouth.

She continued,

“When I used to look in the mirror all I saw was the scar. Its how people would describe me. The girl with the scar. It was all I was known for. I thought that was all I would ever be. But I knew I was more than that. The scar was a constant reminder of the street and what I had been through. Now when I look in the mirror I see a business woman. A tailor. A

Somebody who deserves respect. A woman who has her own business. The scar reminds me that I survived. It reminds me how far I have come over the last 3 years. I have taken back control. Now people describe me in a different way. I am no longer the girl with the scar. I am the girl with the business. I am the girl whose just graduated from vocational school. I am more than just a scar.”

Isatu had a special message for Laughter Africa,

“ Plenti tenki for paying for my vocational school fees and the tools for my new business. If it wasn’t for you, I would be dead.“

Congratulations to all the girls who graduated – we can’t wait to see your new businesses grow.

Meanwhile a big congratulations to Abdulai, Aminata, Naomi and Ramatu who graduated from Use-Us Technical and Vocational Institute on Saturday 24th February 2024. They have been studying tailoring for the last 2 and a half years. All four of them received business support last year and have since set up their own tailoring businesses. We first met them at our mobile project in Portee in 2021 and now look at them …

Life has not been easy for the four of them. Both Abdulai and Ramatu were orphaned by Ebola while Naomi lost her father to the same disease. The deaths of their families had a huge impact in them turning to the streets. Naomi, 23, was delighted to be joined at the graduation by her 5 year old daughter, who she gave birth to while living on the street. She said,

“I am so happy that I have finally made my daughter proud of me. Now she can stand up tall and say my mummy is a

tailor. I want to be a role model for her and give the opportunities that I never had.”

Meanwhile, Ramatu, 19, said,

“I tell God tenki that Laughter pulled me off the streets. If not for Laughter, I would be dead by now. Thanks to Laughter I have a future. I have hope.”

Meanwhile Abdulai graduated in Electrics from Muraldo Vocational school in May 2024. What I love most about Abdulai is his kindness to the most vulnerable. For instance, he always carries Fatmata, who has a disability, from Portee all the way to the centre in Adonkia on his back whenever she needs anything. It’s about 2 hours away. Although she has a wheelchair- it’s easier to travel on public transport without it. Whenever he arrives, he is exhausted and drenched in sweat but he really puts himself out. He also brings children from Portee who might be sick to the Interim Care Centre. He puts himself out for anyone, at any moment. When I asked him why he shows such kindness to the most vulnerable, he said,

”I have a heart that feels sorry for those who might not have anyone to defend them. I need to help them- just like

Laughter helped me. I had no one on the streets to look after me so I know what it feels like. They are my friends from inside laughter. They are my family.”

He is a great example to others. Abdualai is 23 and lived on the streets for 7 years because his mum and dad died of Ebola. We are so excited to support the young people whose lives were significantly impacted by the horrible pandemic. We gave business support to Abdulai last year and his business is booming!

In September 2024, Adama, who lives in Bo, received her new business start-up kit after recently graduating from vocational school in tailoring. Adama turned to the streets after the death of her mother, and suffering maltreatment from her Aunty. She lived on the streets of Freetown for three years and faced many challenges, all whilst raising a child, Abubakarr. Abubakarr is now 6 years old! She reflected,

"Ever since I met Laughter Africa, my life turned around for the best. They paid vocational school for me and that has changed my life in so many ways. I want to express my deepest gratitude to Laughter Africa. You guys have no clue what you’ve done for me. How you have changed my life and the life of my son. For the first time in his life, he is really proud of

his mummy and that is what I am most happy about. Abubakarr has not had an easy life so far but from now on I am determined to give him the world. Thank you for making this possible!"

On 30[th] November 2024, Rugiatu and Isatu graduated from Divine Vocational School in Grafton. We gave them both a sewing machine and materials to kick-start their tailoring businesses. 21 year old Isatu lived on the streets for three years. She said,

“After the death of my mother, my dad remarried another woman. She was horrible to me. She wouldn’t give me food. She forced me into child labour. She would beat me. She didn’t pay school for me. She made my life a living hell. She made me feel like I didn’t belong.”

Isatu went through a lot while living on the streets.

“ While I was on the streets, I gave birth to my son called Moses. He’s 4 years old now. I raised him all by myself without any help from anyone. I had to do things you couldn’t even imagine just so I could provide for him. Moses is so proud of me. He is going to be at the graduation cheering for his mummy.”

“For the first time in a long time, Laughter made me feel like I belonged- that I had someone in my corner who cared. I can’t believe it. Two years ago I was on the streets- now I have my own business. My dream is to have my own tailoring shop and I know that one day I will make it happen.”

Isatu had a special message for Laughter supporters,

“Tenki Tenki. You have provided for me. You took me off the streets. You paid for me to learn work and now you have paid for me to have a business. This is not just a sewing machine for me. It’s a way to provide for me and my child for life. I am so happy that I can look after myself and my child and never worry about money again. I am proud of you and appreciate you!”

For the academic year 2024/2025, we have paid for over 160 young people to attend vocational school. One of the young people we have paid vocational school for this year is 17 year old Mohamed. After living on the streets in the rubbish dump of Bomeh for over 4 years, we took him and his sister, Kadeja, home in June 2024.

Mohamed did not have a safe time on the streets. He said,

"On the streets, I became a member of the Blacks (a local gang). We would constantly fight the Reds (a rival gang). We would fight with bottles, sticks, stones, cutglass and chappers. My weapon of choice was a bottle and I would smash it over peoples' heads. One day, my friend OrCombeh went for a walk by himself and he was killed by a rival gang. They stabbed him to death. I would take different drugs on the streets including cocaine, kush, jamba, tramadol and tappa. I got in trouble with the police lots and I once even spent a week in a police cell."

We enrolled Mohamed at vocational school in September and he is now learning hairdressing. He said,

"Since Laughter took me home, I have stopped taking drugs and being a member of any gangs- that's all in my past now. If Laughter hadn't taken me home- I would be dead by now. I am proud of the life that I live now. Allah helped me and I have changed. I want better for my life. My mum and my sister motivate me to change. I want to make them proud of me. I changed everything when I left the streets behind. I am determined to make life better for me and my family.”

Mohamed is very enthusiastic about his course and his future. He continued,

"I love hairdressing. I have never seen another man plant or cut hair before. I am learning how to make different hairstyles, apply make up, how to do pedicures and manicures and how to attach eyelashes. My dream is to have my own salon and be a hairdresser for men and women."

Mohamed had a special message for Laughter supporters. He said,

"Tenki for your help. Please keep helping us. Don’t give up on me. To change is not easy. But with Laughter by my side - I know that I can face whatever challenges might come. Thank you!"

Amie

We have mentioned Amie in previous annual reports. In 2021 we met a girl called Amie living on the streets. She had lived on the streets for 2 years. Today she is playing football in the Sierra Leone Female Premier League, playing for Ram-Kay. Her dream has always been to represent her country and now that moment has finally happened.

Amie was asked to represent her country for the first time as part of the National Sierra Leone football team in the Ramkay Female Tournament (Women's day Cup) which took place in March 2024. Sierra Leone scored 8 points altogether in the tournament which was enough for them to clinch the trophy! Amie even scored a goal in the final game. She says,

"After I scored the goal, I cried because I have been so desperate to wear that jersey and play for Sierra Leone for such a long time. Its all I have ever dreamed of. Then the first chance I get to play for my country and I score a goal. I cried tears of joy. I couldn't believe it. I feel so good."

You can see Amie's amazing goal here (Its at around 59 minutes into the video) :

htps://www.facebook.com/61556068204876/videos/394199963242235

Amie was also selected to represent her country again in Senegal in May 2024 for the CAF qualifier and in Sierra Leone in December 2024 for the Mano River Union Female Tournament. Amie received 26,200 leones from the government as prize money for taking part in the tournaments. Amie has bought land in Wellington and is slowly building a house for herself with any money that she earns. She also earns a monthly salary while playing for Ram K in the national league which is more than enough to provide for her and her daily needs.

Thank you to all the Laughter Africa supporters who sent in photos, videos and messages of support for Amie. She was

really touched to know that people were watching her from all over the world in solidarity and support! She says,

"Sometimes I feel sad when I watch the other girls - they are surrounded by their families being cheered on and I have

no one. But then I remembered all the messages of support and I realised that I am not alone and I do have a family.

Thank you!"

Our University Programme

Our university programme has been a great success. Two of our young people, Amidu and Osman graduated from Milton Margai University on 14[th] December 2024. They are our first young people who have ever graduated from university.

Amidu received a diploma in Social work. He completed his internship at Laughter Africa in November/December 2024. He inspired all the children at Laughter he met as he showed them it is possible to achieve their dreams. He literally was one of them in 2017 and now look at him!

Osman, our resident artist, received a diploma in laboratory diagnostic studies. He has just completed an internship at Kono Government hospital. This comes fresh after he was nominated for student personality of the year at the ALMS-SL dinner & awards night. Osman had a special message for Laughter Africa's supporters,

"Laughter Africa has done so much and I will be forever grateful. Thank you so much- you really have done very great work in my life. From living on the street to becoming a graduate. I am really blessed to have met you. There is no amount of words or phrases that expresses how happy I am for this kind of transformation that you have done in my life."

In 2023/2024, we paid for over 20 young people to attend university and this year we have another 12 young people eager to further their education via a variety of University degrees. They are studying a variety of subjects including para-legal studies, nursing, midwifery, public administration and human resources. So far 4 young people have been accepted into university while the others are still waiting for their acceptance letters.

One of our newest university students is James. After a tough three years on the streets following his mother's death, James started at UNIMAK to study a diploma in para-legal studies in November 2024. His eventual aim is to be a lawyer.

"I want to be Laughter Africa's lawyer. I have suffered a lot and I want to fight for those less privileged who are suffering too. I know what it’s like to be ignored and have my rights trampled on."

James had a special message of thanks to Laughter Africa supporters,

"I am overwhelmed. Even though I don’t know you- I am so appreciative of what you have done for me. I promise that I will make a difference and not let you down."

Another new student is Faith who has just gained admission to the School of Midwifery in Kenema. She lived on the streets for over two years in Funkia. She has been through a lot in such a short space of time….

After the death of her mother and father in the village, her sister brought her to Freetown and paid school for her. Tragically Faith's sister died in a traffic accident coming home from Guinea. She said,

"After the death of my sister, I had to live with my uncle. He married a new woman and the woman maltreated me. One

day my uncle tried to sleep with me so I ran away for my life."

The streets were not easy for Faith but now Faith is extremely excited about her future. She said,

"So many women here die in childbirth and I want to help. They die because we don't have good facilities or trained professionals. I want to save lives."

She wanted to pass on her thanks to our supporters for making this possible,

"Tenki. I promise that I will make you proud."

Another new student is 19 year Isatu who is about to start studying nursing at EBK University in Makeni. We met her living on the streets in Portee in 2021 during our mobile project. She lived on the streets for three years. Isatu went on the streets after her mother remarried another man after the death of her father. Her step father maltreated her, including beating her with a cable. Isatu said that she wants to be a nurse because she wants to save lives and help the nation. Isatu also had a special message for Laughter Africa supporters,

"I really appreciate what you have done for me. I appreciate your effort. Since I started at Laughter I have seen plenty of positive changes in my life. Thank you!"

One of the young people who is still waiting for an acceptance letter is 20 year old Gibrilla. We first met Gibrilla in 2018 and fast forward 6 years later, he is hoping to start an accounting diploma at IPALM. He first went onto the streets at age 13 and lost three of his friends while living on the street: one was beaten to death while another died after he fell sick and his face swelled. Gibrilla had a special message for Laughter Africa supporters,

“ I tell you plenti tenki for all the help you have given me over the last 6 years. If not for you, I wouldn’t be here. Whenever I have been sick, you have always come to my rescue. Thanks to you I have now achieved what I have always dreamed of. I wouldn’t have gone to school if it was not for you. I would have been a drop-out. You have helped me greatly in life. My dream is finally starting to come true. This is just the beginning…. Thank you!”

The success of the School support programme

We are delighted with the success of our school support programme. The children and young people are really benefiting from our support. We are still in the middle of providing school fees, vocational school fees and uniforms so we haven’t got any final totals yet for the 2024/2025 academic year. However, so far, since September 2024, we have provided:

This is the most young people we have ever supported on the school support programme so far. Our support is making a difference. At the end of November 2024, the Government released the BECE results (the Sierra Leone equivalent of GCSEs) and all of our young people passed with flying colours.

One of the young people who passed was 17 year old Jamil. We first met Jamil nearly 5 years ago at our mobile project in Town. He was one of the lucky boys who was selected to go on our bowling trip all those years ago just before Covid hit. Jamil first went on the streets aged 12, after the death of his father left his family without any money to survive. He lived on the streets for over one year and went through a lot including sexual assault and begging for food. Jamil is one of the most dedicated young people we have when it comes to his schooling. Although his family still do not have much (they don’t even have a phone), he has such passion and enthusiasm for his education. He is determined to be a lawyer.

One girl who benefitted from the school support programme was Salome. We met Salome after a fire destroyed her shack in Cockle Bay on 17th October 2022. Nine street girls lost their home that day. Salome moved in with her uncle. She recently passed her WASCE University entrance exams and she is just looking at the university courses available. Her dream is to become a nurse. Salome said,

“I lost everything in the fire. I had lost all hope. Everything was destroyed. Then Laughter Africa came to my rescue and found me a new place to live. They were there when I had no one else. And now I am about to go to university. Laughter Africa changed the worst day of my life into the best day. Thank you!”

Jamil and Salome are just two examples of some of the 630 children who we have provided school supplies for. Most of them have similar stories, similar dreams and we are proud of every single one of them.

The successes of the young people we work with

Whenever one of the young people we work with succeed, we share their joy. Here are some of their most amazing successes since the last annual report (published in December 2023):

Albert and Ramadan

We have witnessed firsthand the impact of the business support over the last few months. One boy Albert, who we paid a driving license for, is still happily driving his kekeh – he gave me a lift recently. He makes around 3,000 leones per month. Meanwhile Ramadan, whom we provided with a tailoring machine last year, has now saved 25,000 leones in a bank account - a combination of his work in the curtain shop and his tailoring business. We are super proud of them both! The latest recipient of tools was Sheriff. After being reunited with his family two years ago after living on the streets of Waterloo, Sheriff is currently studying electrical engineering at Muraldo Institute and he desperately needed tools for practical lessons. I will never forget the screams of excitement when we gave him them in February 2024 as a late Christmas present. It was like we had given him the world!

Fatmata

Fatmata lives with a disability, and we’ve been supporting her for the past three years, including through her recent

children in her community who she wants us to help saying , “Five 0 you helped me go to school. There are so many street children in Portee now. You need to help all the others too. They are suffering.” It takes her over two hours to get here

from Portee but she still made that sacrifice for people she barely knows where she doesn’t get anything in return. Empathy shines out from her. We are very proud of her and her kindness to others. It has been an honour to support Fatmata over the last three years and we are happy to confirm that we have just paid JSS1 (the equivalent of year 7 in the UK) for her at a new school.

Mabinty

Remember Mabinty, the disabled girl we met living on the streets in December? We mentioned her in the last annual report. Mabinty is a 19 year old with a disability who was living on the streets in Funkia after she was rejected by her family. In December 2023, we had to get her medical treatment after she was thrown from her wheelchair. Fast-forward a year and Mabinty is like a different woman. She is always beaming. She is back living with her mother and we provided her with a bed in February 2024.

Mabinty gave birth to a bouncing baby boy at the beginning of May 2024. We bought her lots of essential items for new born babies as she literally had nothing. She has named the baby, Moses, after my Godson MJ. She is really looking after baby Moses brilliantly and she is a wonderful mother. In November 2024, we paid for Mabinty to attend vocational school. She is learning hairdressing and is loving it! What was shocking was how hard it was to find a school for Mabinty to attend as unfortunately most schools in Funkia rejected her as they do not have disabled facilities, particularly toilets.

Our stafs’ successes

Whenever one of our staff succeeds and achieves their dreams, we share their joy. With this in mind, we want to wish Isata Samura a huge congratulations. Isata has worked for Laughter Africa since 2016. She graduated with a degree in Public Administration from Milton Margai University in December 2024. Isata achieved a first class degree and got the highest mark in her whole department. Her dissertation was based on street children in Susan’s Bay. Isata- you are a superstar! Training and building staff capability is important to us. In February and March 2024, Lamin, Isata, Biba and James received training from the Consortium for Street Children about ‘Trauma informed approaches to street work’ and ‘Introduction to Street Work.’ This follows on from the training they had in October 2023.

Positve Feedback from other reputable NGOs

We have a fantastic reputation among other reputable NGOs who have visited our projects. For instance, one Doctor from

Germany said, “Your project is a wonderful project! Of the NGOs I know, the work of you is - next to the IIMC in Calcutta - the best I have ever come across. You are truly inspiring! You are also doing a great job! Thank you very much for your

commitment, because this is not a matter of course.” We have also had other similar comments from different NGO

workers from abroad including staff from Helen Keller, Cap Anamur and Agiamondo. It is nice to be recognised by our peers.

Social media views

We are very happy with the growth of our social media following. In just December 2024 alone, we had 17,000 views on facebook and Instagram.

Challenges

The deaths of some of our beneficiaries

Since the annual report (published in December 2023) we tragically lost seven of the young people that we have worked with:

Theresa McCarthy

On 3rd June 2024, one of our girls from mobile, Theresa McCarthy tragically lost her life. She was found lying dead at the side of the road in Upgun, from a suspected sexual assault. Her body was removed and buried straight away. This means that no postmortem or police investigation took place so no one can know for sure what happened to her. To honour Theresa, we carried out a memorial service at mobile so that her friends could have a chance to say goodbye. They all wrote messages to Theresa. Through their tears, her friends shared their memories of Theresa as well as said Christian and Muslim prayers. We finished by singing Theresa a song. What makes it even more tragic is that we were about to reunify Theresa with her family again after 10 years on the streets. She was really looking forward to starting vocational school and having a fresh start. Rest in Power Theresa McCarthy! We will miss you!

Alpha James Kai

On Tuesday 9th April, we received some sad news. Two of the boys we support Alpha James Kai and Sallu Turay were in a serious vehicle accident. Sadly Alpha James died instantly. Sallu was in critical condition. Sallu and Alpha were joined at the hip-they were best friends and did everything together. As soon as we heard the news, our nurse Rebcca and myself rushed to Sallu and took him to hospital for treatment. Thankfully he was given the all clear. He stayed in the Interim Care Centre while he received medical attention. We also bought him clothes as his own clothes were covered in blood. Alpha had lived on the streets for at least 3 years. He was 20 years old. While living on the streets, he raised money for his school fees by engaging in different jobs. Despite all these challenges, he got a fantastic mark in his school exams which shows his strength of character and determination. In May 2023, we reunified him with his family. He started attending university in January 2024, studying Public Health.

On the way to Alpha James’s funeral a few days later, we passed the site of the accident. The ruins of the truck still remained at the side of the road -the truck was completely pulverized. It’s a miracle that Sallu survived the accident. Only him and one other man survived out of seven passengers. Alpha’s funeral took place in Grafton on 11th April 2024. Over 2000 people came to bid farewell to Alpha and another boy Wurie (the brother of one of the girls we support) who also died in the same accident. At least 200 Laughter Africa children came to say goodbye to their friends. It was a very emotional, overwhelming day.

We have known Sallu since 2019. He is 19 years old and he went on the streets in 2016 after his dad and step mum maltreated him. Sallu has been through a lot recently. In January 2024, his mum died in a car accident. And then he lost his best friend Alpha. Only a few months later, Sallu had to sit the WASCE (the Sierra Leone equivalent of A-levels) which was not easy for him after all the trauma he had suffered this last year. The good news is that in October 2024, Sallu received his exam results and he got the results he needed to attend university. He will be applying next year. Sallu said,

“Thank you so much for you all your prayers and thoughts. I still have no idea why Allah spared me. But I promise I will make a difference in my life. I want to be a lawyer and I promise that I will honour Alpha and Wurie everyday by my actions. I will never forget them and what they meant to me. Thank you for paying for my medical treatment. I would be dead if it wasn’t for Laughter Africa."

Mohamed Lamin and Fatmata

The first week in May 2024 was particularly tough - we lost two of our young people who lived at home with their families. Mohamed Lamin died on 5th May 2024. He was 20 and he left behind a 7 month old daughter called Adamma. He was studying tailoring at vocational school in Grafton. He was out with friends when he suddenly collapsed and began foaming at the mouth. It is looking likely that he was poisoned. The police arrested the suspects. We lost Fatmata in Portee on 4th May 2024. She was 22 and she died of AIDS related illness. She was sick for a long time so she decided to visit a traditional healer upline and that’s where she died. We visited both the families of Fatmata and Mohamed Lamin to offer our condolences and to pay a contribution towards their burials. Rest in Power Mohamed and Fatmata!

Rasta

It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of Mohamed Tarawallie aka Rasta. He was one of the first children we worked with in 2015 and sadly his life was cut short following a lifelong battle with sickle cell disease. He died on 22nd June 2024. Rasta was such a chilled-out and relaxed person, so this is a big loss to the Laughter Family. He was a talented tailor and was always making clothes for his friends and family. The last time we saw him was at our birthday celebration a few weeks ago. It was like he had come to say goodbye. We told him that we were proud of him and how loved he was. We attended his burial and commiserated with his family members. Bakarr one of the social workers carried his coffin. Rasta- rest in peace buddy. You will be missed and never forgotten. Thanks for being an original!

Alhaji Koroma

The new year started sadly for Laughter Africa when one of our old boys Alhaji Koroma died on 8th January 2024. He was 18 and a half. He died after a long battle with sickness. We first met Alhaji at our mobile project in Portee. He came to the ICC in July 2021 after living on the streets for one year. We reunified him with his mum. His nickname in the ICC was Blues boy and he was an open and cheerful young lad who had so much left to give. He had so many friends because of how kind he was. Lamin, one of our social workers, went to visit Alhaji's family to give our condolences and to give a small contribution towards the funeral so that Alhaji could get the send off he deserved.

Betty

We first met Betty at the mobile project in Bomeh in May 2024. When she arrived at mobile, she was very, very sick and could hardly walk. She was diagnosed with HIV and TB. However, she started treatment and we thought that she was on the road to recovery. We reunified her with her family who live in a village outside of Bo on 2nd July 2024.

Sadly our nurse Rebecca received a call on 22nd July that Betty’s condition was deteriorating rapidly so the nurse travelled immediately to see Betty. Although we took Betty to hospital and tried our best to save her, Betty tragically died on 24th July surrounded by her family. She was in a lot of agony so at least Betty is at peace now. By the end she couldn't even feed herself. She had to be fed spoons of water. Although this story has a sad ending, there are also moments of hope. Betty died knowing that she was loved and cared for by us and her family. Her family were just so grateful to be reunified with her before she died- so that they could say their goodbyes.

Mustapha (a former staff member)

Tragically one of our former staff Mustapha died in May 2024. Mustapha worked with us from 2015 until 2017. We want to thank him for his contribution into making Laughter what is it today.

Kush

Although we mentioned kush and the effects on street children in the last annual report, over the last year we have noticed it affecting the young people who have been living at homes with their families as well. Some of them have been home for 8 or 9 years and are now turning to kush despite the fact that they are sitting their exams or have set up their own businesses. They are turning back to the streets to feed their addictions. Its soul destroying to witness and makes me question whether happy endings ever truly happen here. We even had one boy turn up from our old mobile project in Funkia, S. His legs have been completely decimated by his use of kush. The smell is revolting and we are trying our best to find him treatment. Kush makes our job ten times harder and it is like we are fighting a losing battle. This 10 minute film clip appeared on channel 4 news. Its all about the affect of Kush in Sierra Leone. One thing that even shocked me while watching the video was the fact that now people are mixing kush with human bones. I hope that you find the video as informative as I did: htps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKc3SDBoFtA

Cost of living crisis

As we mentioned in the last annual report, the cost of living situation is deteriorating rapidly in Sierra Leone. Things are still so expensive. In conjunction with this, the cost of living crisis is also hitting the income of Laughter Africa. We have noticed a huge reduction in the numbers of donations received in 2023/2024. To counter-act this, the Trustees have decided to diversify our income streams, particularly focusing on Trusts and Foundations more in 2025. We also decided to temporarily close the Interim Care Centre and mobile project from July 2024 until January 2025. Instead we focused all our resources on the provision of school starter packs, uniforms, school fees, vocational school fees and on university fees for all the former street children we support. However, the street children still came to the ICC for medical treatment even when we are closed.

Politcal instability

Although Sierra Leone is a lot more stable than the previous two years, there are still times of great unrest. For instance, on the 19th June 2024, there were rumours of a nationwide strike. People stayed in their homes due to fear and although nothing actually materialised - the whole country was on a knife edge. This was because of the tripartite report and the politics surrounding the report. There were further rumours that the strikes would last nearly a week but this didn’t happen. However, the strike did effect our plans for mobile as the safety of the staff and the young people is paramount. There were similar rumours of a protest in December 2024 but again nothing came to fruition.

E. FINANCIAL REVIEW

Brief statement of the
charity’s policy on
reserves
The Trustees of Laughter Africa have established a general Reserves Policy
which is in place to protect our overseas programme work from risk of
disrupton at short notce due to a lack of funds and other fnancial risks that
the organisaton faces, while at the same tme ensuring that we do not retain
income for longer than required. The trustees have determined that Laughter
Africa’s general reserves should be equivalent to approximately three months’
running costs and expenditure for each country programme where Laughter
Africa is based. The trustees believe that the reserves should be maintained at
this level as it will ensure that Laughter Africa’s core actvites could contnue
for at least 3 months during a period of unforeseen difculty. At the moment
Laughter Africa is only working in Sierra Leone so the reserves are quite low.
However in the future, the Trustees hope to expand Laughter Africa’s work in
other African countries too which would increase the reserves needed.
Laughter Africa reserves are held in our UK bank account. The Trustees have
estmated that 3 months running costs for Laughter Africa’s work in Sierra
Leone is around£5000.The trustees will review Laughter Africa’s reserves
policy each year, ensuring a balance between spending on the immediate
needs of our charitable programmes and setng aside a reserve to protect
Laughter Africa and our work by providing tme to adjust to changing fnancial
circumstances. The basis of determining the target reserves level is kept under
periodic review and will be adjusted as perceptons of risk and other factors
change. By the end of this fnancial year, our reserves were £5003.74.
Details of any funds materially defcit
Not Applicable

Laughter Africa’s principal sources of funding and how expenditure has supported the key objectves

Laughter Africa’s principal sources of funding in the financial period came mainly from donations from supporters, schools, small businesses/companies and churches. In the financial period the total raised from

supporters was £66,716.09 (unrestricted). £11,757.78 (unrestricted) was raised from Gift Aid. £4.15 (unrestricted) was earned through bank interest. £35,000 (restricted) was raised from Trusts and Foundations. In total, £113,478.02 was raised in 2023/24. Laughter Africa had £8,224.86 (unrestricted) remaining from the previous financial year. In total, £121,702.88 was available for Laughter Africa’s use in 2023/24.

None of the money we have received from supporters is spent in the UK (apart from bank charges for the transfer of funds to Sierra Leone). All money received is spent directly on in-country operational costs and we are proud of the fact that Laughter Africa is managed entirely by volunteers at the central level, with no administration, fundraising or organisational support costs.

The trustees have purposely decided to stay away from government institutional funding sources such as the European Union or the UN for the time being. The trustees have also decided that Laughter Africa will not fundraise via direct marketing methods or telephone fundraising and instead will concentrate on generating funds via individual supporters, schools, churches, community groups, businesses/companies and trusts or foundations.

We are committed to achieving the highest standards in fundraising. We comply with all relevant statutory regulations, including the Charities Act 2011, the Charities Act 2022, the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 and the Telephone Preference Service. We adhere to and comply with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice and the Fundraising Promise, which set the standards for fundraising activity throughout the UK. We also comply with laws relating to health and safety, the environment and UK data protection legislation including the General Data Protection Regulation (May 2018). Laughter Africa does not use any third party fundraising agencies otherwise known as ‘Professional Fundraisers’ to undertake fundraising on our behalf. Our ‘Treating Donors Fairly Policy’ outlines how we manage fair treatment of all supporters and potential supporters and how any individuals who may be in vulnerable circumstances or are unable to make an informed decision are protected. We log and respond to all complaints. In 2023/24, we received no complaints related to our fundraising activity.

donation to Laughter Africa in 2023/24:

----- Start of picture text -----
CHAU
iene
Pat Newman
Memorial Trust
----- End of picture text -----

We have already received funding from the following Trusts and Companies in the 2024/2025 financial year; Let yourself Trust, Schroders, The Gilchrist Education Trust, The Trelix Trust, KitAid, Webmart and the Benefact Group. Thank you so much. It is through your generosity that we are able to continue our work.

Thank you so much to everyone for your support over the last 9 years. We have the best supporters and friends ever. Our existence is testament to your never-ending loyalty and solidarity. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have nothing to repay you with apart from my thanks and appreciation. I still can't believe that we have survived 9 years! Its a miracle! Here's to another 9 years....

Discussion of how Laughter Africa spent the money and how this expenditure has supported the key objectves.

Laughter Africa’s total expenditure in the financial period was £110,330.71 and there was £8,164.35 held in the bank accounts and petty cash at the end of the financial year. A total of £118,495.06. Laughter Africa lost £3,207.82 via multi currency exchange rate losses. A total expenditure of £121,702.88 was spent in the 2023/2024 financial year. You can see a full breakdown of our costs in the table below:

Expenditure in Sierra Leone

Type of expenditure Cost (Pounds)
Rent for the Interim Care Centre for 1 year £8482.30
Salaries for Natonal Staf £11,220.49
Food £4567.96
Non- food items £4,095.47
Skills trainingcosts £2900.87
Staf travel costs during reunifcatons £2778.82
Educatonal equipment £23,742.85
Generator fuel for the ICC £709.04
Street children travel costs £1715.98
School fees/vocatonal training £23,388.97
Medical costs for the street children £4,349.61
Volunteer costs £1653.25
Travel subsistence for staf £194.31
Family support for the street children £8311.27
Clothing £423.77
Campaign and Advocacy £179.96
Toiletries £152.29
Staf travel accommodaton £346.87
Travel subsistence for the street children £17.45
Audit Fees £1296.49
Water supplies £752.34
P.0. Box (legal requirement in Sierra Leone) £13.80
Staf Welfare £79.49
Bank Charges in Sierra Leone £451.06
Hire of Premises for Mobile £285.99
Rent Tax £727.01
DBS and safeguarding costs £3.55
End of Service Beneft £925.22
Electricity for the ICC £211.72
Insurance (legal requirement in Sierra
Leone)		 £97.93
Work permit and residental permit (legal
requirement in Sierra Leone)		 £218.73
Annual leave allowance for Natonal staf
(legal requirement in Sierra Leone)		 £1629.80
Medical Treatment for Natonal Staf (legal
requirement in Sierra Leone)		 £1276.13
Country Registraton fees £67.95
NASSIT (legal requirement in Sierra Leone) £1161.88
Telephone costs £221.23
PAYE (legal requirement in Sierra Leone) £973.86
TOTAL £109,625.71

Expenditure in the UK

Type of expenditure Cost (Pounds)
Bank Charges in the UK £705
TOTAL £705

All the above expenses are part of our charitable objectives, without them, Laughter Africa couldn’t function.

Costs associated with all three departments: Outreach, the Interim Care Centre and Family Tracing and Reunifcaton

(FTR)

Some of the costs overlap between the three different departments. For instance, medical care is provided for all children at the mobile project, the Interim Care Centre and for those who have been reunified with their families. The total cost of medical care was £4,349.61. Similarly, food is provided at both the mobile project and the Interim Care Centre. The total cost spent on food in 2023/24 was £4,567.96. Coupled with this is the cost of non food items (both at mobile and the Interim Care Centre) which totalled £4,095.47. Non food items include things like coal, washing powder, towels, bleach and plate/cups etc….. £2,900.87 was spent on skills training activities including art & craft materials, hairdressing materials, cultural dance and yoga at both mobile and the Interim Care Centre. The travel costs of the street children across all three departments was £1,715.98. Meanwhile staff travel across all three departments reached £2,778.82. This travel was for the payment of school fees and reunifications. All the social workers in all three departments are given monthly phone credit. This is because the street children are constantly phoning the social workers about different issues so the social workers need credit to phone them back. The total spent on telephone costs was £221.23. Water supplies for the children at the ICC and mobile totalled £752.34 for the year.

Costs associated solely with the Outreach department

The only payment solely associated with the outreach department was £285.99 for the rent for the mobiles in Funkia and Bomeh. All the other expenditure such as food, non-food items, medical care and games and entertainment are listed above.

Costs associated solely with the Interim Care Centre

The main expense connected to the Interim Care Centre is the rent which was £8482.30 for one year. Connected to this is the rent tax which is a legal requirement in Sierra Leone. The rent tax totalled £727.01. Other costs associated with the interim Care Centre include clothing (£423.77) and toiletries (£152.29) for the street children. Meanwhile the cost of electricity for the ICC totalled £211.72 while £709.04 was spent on fuel for the generator for the ICC. All the other costs are listed above like medical expenses, food/non-food items and income generating skills. Without an Interim Care Centre, we would not be able to carry out our key objectives: it is crux to our work.

Costs associated solely with the Family Tracing and Reunifcaton Department

The three major expenditures in the Family Tracing and Reunification department (FTR ) were school fees/ vocational training (£23,388.97), educational equipment (uniforms, school bag, school shoes, stationery, equipment for vocational schools, text books) (£23,742.85) and family support for the most vulnerable street children once they have returned home (£8,311.27). This support could be a mattress, a bag of rice, a wheelchair, business support, baby support or rent. It is expected that these costs will increase in the next financial year as Laughter Africa will continue to pay the school support for the children we worked with between 2015 and 2024, as well as the new children with whom we will work in 2024/25. Family reunification is a key objective of the work and paying for school support is a major factor in keeping the street children at home. Other costs associated with this strand of work include; travel accommodation for staff during the reunification process (£346.87); travel subsistence for staff during the reunification process (£194.31); and travel subsistence for street children during the reunification process (£17.45).

Costs associated with the Campaigning and Advocacy department

In 2023/24, the communication and advocacy programme for Laughter Africa revolved around the International Day for Street Children (12th April). The total cost spent on advocacy and campaigning was £179.96.

Costs associated with stafng

Laughter Africa spent £11,220.49 on national staff salaries. Without staff Laughter Africa wouldn’t be able to complete its work or charitable objectives. It is Laughter Africa’s policy that only national Sierra Leoneans will be appointed as staff. Laughter Africa will never employ an international staff member in Sierra Leone. At the time of writing this report (December 2024), Laughter Africa employed 11 full time staff. We have achieved gender equity in pay. All our female staff are paid the exact same as their male counter parts in the same roles. All staff are paid above the minimum wage and receive medical care (£1276.13) and GPA insurance (£97.93). Laughter Africa also paid NASSIT (£1,161.88) and PAYE (£973.86) which are tax payments and are legal requirements from the Sierra Leone government relating to staff. Similarly Laughter Africa complied with all the labour laws in Sierra Leone including annual leave allowance (£1629.80) and End of Service benefit (£925.22). The staffs’ work has been greatly enhanced by the work of volunteers. Costs associated with the volunteers totalled £1,653.25. We spent £79.49 on staff welfare and £3.55 on DBS and safeguarding costs.

Country registraton and other associated fees

In this financial year we had to pay re-registration fees to Freetown City Council and Western Area Rural District Council. The total cost of re-registration was £67.95. The audit costs were £1,296.49. Another legal requirement is that any international volunteers must have a residential permit/work permit so this was purchased for the founder James. This cost was £218.73. To be recognised as a registered charity in Sierra Leone, one must have a PO Box. Laughter Africa has one at a cost of £13.80 per year.

Bank charges in Sierra Leone

The bank charges in Sierra Leone were £451.06.

Bank charges in the UK.

The only expenditure in the UK is for bank charges when money is transferred to the Laughter Africa Sierra Leone Bank Account. This is because the Trustees believe that the money entrusted to us by supporters should not be spent on fundraising or administrative costs in the UK but on the street children themselves. The Trustees see each donation as an honour and a privilege as there are so many other charities which people could chose to support instead. The total cost of bank charges in the UK was £705.

Principal Financial policies in force throughout the year

Laughter Africa has the following financial policies in place:

Laughter Africa’s Earmarking policy Foreign currency and exchange rate policy Laughter Africa’s Paying staff policy Sierra Leone Financial procedures Reserves and investment policy Anti- bribery policy Fraud and loss policy Acceptance of donations policy Policy on safeguarding resources from terrorist abuse Credit card policy Authorisation of expenditure policy Payment of expenses policy Internal financial controls policy Laughter Africa’s Accountancy manual

The trustees have also prepared financial templates and documentation for Laughter Africa including assets registers, chart of accounts, budgeting templates etc. All are available upon request.

Investment Policy

At the moment, Laughter Africa has no investments as the charity is still so new and we use every penny we receive for our work in Sierra Leone. However, there is an investment policy in place for when the charity is ready to make investments. This policy governs how cash resources are managed, which institutions may be used, security ratings and risk management etc. The policy is as follows:

The objective of the investment policy is to maintain high liquidity while ensuring maximum security by avoiding risk to capital. This is to comply with Laughter Africa’s ethical standards and to achieve the best possible return within these limiting parameters. To meet this objective, the charity plans to invest in sterling deposits with financial institutions that hold a high security rating, ordinarily spreading the total invested across fixed terms from overnight to 12 months, and limiting the amount invested with any one financial institution. In response to the increased risks highlighted by the credit crunch, Laughter Africa plans to have limited deposits to UK domiciled banks for shorter periods to enable the charity to react more quickly to the fluctuating financial environment. The Trustees annually review Laughter Africa’s investment policy. The charity has no long term investments.

F. OPTIONAL INFORMATION

Future Plans

political instability within the country. We will just continue our normal outreach, Interim Care Centre, Family Tracing and Reunification work and our Advocacy and Campaigning work.

Mobile

So far our mobile project has taken place in Susan’s Bay, Regent Road in Town, Portee, Waterloo, Grafton, Bomeh and Funkia. For 2025, we hope to focus our mobile projects on the Eastern area of Freetown. In particular we are thinking of focusing on Wellington Wharf. Wellington Wharf would encompass all the areas nearby Wellington including PMB, Old Wharf, Calaba Town and Congo Water.

In the years further ahead, we also hope to have mobile projects in Tombo, Lumley and Aberdeen as they are the only big areas which have a large congregation of street children where we have not had mobile projects yet. Then we plan to start all over again and work in the same areas where we have worked previously particularly Susan’s Bay, Mill Street and other areas in town which have a high concentration of street children.

ICC

For the ICC, we don’t have any specific new plans as such. We plan to just keep doing what we have always done. We have a strong rehabilitation programme in place and know that it is successful.

FTR

The school support is one of our most successful components and is the reason why so many children remain home after they are reunified with their families. We will keep doing what we have always done as we know it works. We are hoping to repeat the success of our vocational training programme including the provision of business support equipment again in 2025.

Advocacy, Campaigns and Communications

The repeal of the loitering laws in Sierra Leone will be our primary campaign issue for 2025 and beyond. We plan to be lobbying MPs and different Ministers and Ministries, training the street children and training the police so that they are better trained in their interactions with street children.

Work in the UK

Laughter Africa is ten years old in 2025. It is a real achievement for us to have survived for so long. We hope to hold special events throughout the UK to celebrate such a landmark.

G. DECLARATION

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) ~~ee~~[saidicital] ~~—_~~ Full name(s) James Francis Robert Tyrrell Mark Quentin Neal Position (e.g. chair or secretary) Chairperson Secretary Date 27/12/2024 27/12/2024

Section A Receipts and payments
1154712
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~~—————~~
Unrestricted
funds		 Unrestricted Restricted
funds		 Endowment
funds		 Total funds Last year
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Donations 66,716.09' - - - 66,716.09' 102,740.50
Gift Aid 11,757.78' - - - - - 11,757.78' 14,790.60
Trusts and Foundations 35,000 35,000 - - - 35,000' - - -
Bank interest 4.15' - - - - - 4.15' 0.25'
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Sub total(Gross income for (Gross income for
AR) AR)78,478.02' 35,000 35,000 - - - 113,478.02' 117,531.35'
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).		 —_— —_— —_— —_— —_— —_— —_— —_— —_—~~——~~ ~~——~~ ~~——~~ ~~——~~ ~~——~~ ~~——~~ ~~——~~ ~~——~~
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)78,478.02'
35,000
-
113,478.02'
117,531.35'
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sub total -
-
-
-
-
Total receipts
78,478.02'
35,000
-
113,478.02'
117,531.35'
A3 Payments
—_—~~——~~
Charitable Activities
72,878.16'
35,000
-
107,878.16'
109,695.59
Bank charges (UK)
705'
-
-
705'
811
Bank charges (Sierra Leone)
451.06'
-
-
451.06'
469.42
Governance
1,296.49'
-
-
1,296.49'
110.25
Multi currency exchange rate loss
3,207.82'
-
-
3,207.82'
5,347.79
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sub total 78,538.53'
35,000
-
113,538.53'
116,434.05'
ee~~n~~
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sub total -
-
-
-
-
Total payments
78,538.53'
35,000
-
113,538.53'
116,434.05'
Net of receipts/(payments)
'-60.51'
0'
-
-60.51'
1,097.30'
A5 Transfers between funds
-
- -
-
-
A6 Cash funds last year end
8,224.86
- -
8,224.86
-
Cash funds this year end
8164.35'
0'
8164.35'
8,224.86
SSS~~5=~~
SS
—

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

05/01/2025

1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Unrestricted
Restricted
Endowment
Categories funds
funds
funds
Details
to nearest £
to nearest £
to nearest £
B1 Cash funds 1,363.44'
-
1797.17'
-
-
5003.74'
-
-
8,164.35'
-
-
OK
OK
OK
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
to nearest £
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Funds in Sierra Leone
Funds in the UK
Reserves
Details
SS=
B2 Other monetary assets -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
Current value
(optional)
Details
————
B3 Investment assets -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
Current value
(optional)
Details
nee
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
B5 Liabilities
B4 Assets retained for the
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Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)
When due
(optional)
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Date of
approval
20/05/2024
20/05/2024
Details
Print Name
James Francis Robert Tyrrell
Mark Quentin Neal
Signature
mie
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In accordance with the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (General) Regulations 2012 the Trustees confirm that:
a) the CIO has given no guarantees, where any potential liability under the guarantee is outstanding at the date of the statement of assets and liabilities;
and b) the CIO does not have any debts outstanding at the date of the statement of assets and liabilities which are secured by an express charge on any of the assets of the CIO
CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 2
05/01/2025

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Laughter Africa On accounts for the year ended 31°, March 2024 Charity no (if any) 1154712 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended 31103 12024. Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report 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 the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below ') in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Please delete the vvords in the brackets if they do not apply. Signed: Date: 28lr Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sierra Leone Address: Peter Kamaray & Co 20 Wilberforce Street Freetown, Sierra Leone IER

Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concem (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Gi.ve here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IIP¥ S'"REET IER October 2018