Cameroon Catalyst Trustees' Annual Report 2020/21
1a. Charity Details
Charity Name:
Cameroon Catalyst
Registered Charity Number: 1155758
Charity Principal Address:
27 Hawker Close Longbridge Birmingham B31 2GU
Trustee Details
Trustees are elected for a term of three years by the Cameroon Catalyst constitution. The following trustees currently serve the charity:
-
Laura Cannon – Chairperson (from 31 Aug 2020)
-
● Andy Hopkins – Treasurer (from 31 Aug 2020) ● Pat Mballa – Trustee and Co-Founder ● Thomas Edwards – Trustee (from 31 Aug 2020) ● Claire Gott – Trustee and Co-Founder ● Mikey Harper – Trustee (resigned September 2020) ● Charlie Steer – Trustee (resigned September 2020) ● Thomas Dutton - Trustee (from 19 January 2021) ● Sebastian Denner - Trustee (from 15 Feb 2022, after this FY)
2. Structure of the Charity
Governing Document: Constitution, latest version enacted March 2016 Charity Constitution: Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) Trustee Selection: Elected by charity members at AGM
3. The Report
This Trustee’s Annual Report accompanies the accounts submitted by Cameroon Catalyst to the Charity Commission, covering the 12-month accounting period from 01/09/2020 to 31/08/2021. It highlights the aims of the charity, the work we have undertaken in the period and summarises the outcomes of our efforts.
4. The Charity
The object of Cameroon Catalyst is to empower village communities across east Cameroon, West Africa and improve living conditions and wellbeing, especially through the provision of water, education, health care, affordable housing, renewable energy, and microbusinesses.
Cameroon Catalyst is an international development charity, focused on promoting sustainable development in the Eastern region of Cameroon. The charity was founded in 2009 by University of Southampton students, with the aim of putting their knowledge and skills to use in improving infrastructure in the developing world. The charity brings together students, engineers and specialists to develop projects which are carefully researched, well designed and fulfil a real need.
From 2009 to 2014, Cameroon Catalyst worked in the rural village of Bambouti, in Eastern Cameroon. Careful consultation with the village was key to the development of a Medical Centre, a school, a carpentry and mechanical skills workshop and a solar-powered electrical hub, which provides sustainable electricity to the village primarily for the medical centre. A small business venture charging battery-powered lamps and mobile phones has also come about as a result.
Research conducted in 2013 showed that water and sanitation remained the major issues in the wider region around Bambouti. After careful consideration, and consultation with experts, the charity embarked in 2014 on a new five-year scheme of works, scheduled between 2017 and 2021, aimed at addressing WaSH with a range of measures, including the construction of new wells and latrines.
The Charity now operates out of three Chapters, the existing one in Southampton, and one at the University of Birmingham founded in 2016, and Imperial College London founded in 2019. Each Chapter is responsible for the research, design and delivery of a different project that falls within the current WaSH programme, detailed in the 2017-21 Business Plan. Ongoing restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic have slowed fundraising progress in the Student Teams, however the return to some on campus learning has enabled the student teams to continue elements of their design work face-to-face, the rest facilitated online.
5. Charitable Activities in the period
Access to Water:
- In Spring 2021 the Southampton Team delivered their seventh clean water well to the village of Garoua Yaka, as selected on the 2019 Summer Trip. The Imperial Team continued the development of their rainwater capture and harvesting solution as an alternative source of clean water in the villages. They have developed a proposal for a trial scheme that will be delivered in 2022.
Improved Sanitation:
- The Birmingham team are reaching the end of the detailed design of their communal pit latrine which seeks to address the lack of sanitation and hygiene facilities in the region. They are also preparing to develop a trial project to be delivered in 2022.
Annual Student Research Trip:
- In light of the continuing COVID-19 travel restrictions and uncertainty in Africa, there was no Annual Student Research Trip in 2021. We continued to engage with our local volunteers in Cameroon to monitor the construction of the well and investigate site options for the two projects due in 2022.
6. Financial Review
Reserves Policy: Cameroon Catalyst endeavours to hold reserves to help cover the next year of charitable activity and provide contingency. The current cash reserve is £19,549.
7. Declaration
Signed on behalf of the Trustees of Cameroon Catalyst
Signature:
Name: Andy Hopkins Position: Treasurer Date: 29/06/2022
| Cameroon Catalyst | Cameroon Catalyst | Cameroon Catalyst | Cameroon Catalyst | Cameroon Catalyst | 1155758 | 1155758 | 1155758 | CC16a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For the period from |
1/9/2020 | To | 31/08/2021 | ||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ |
Total funds to the nearest £ |
Last year to the nearest £ |
||||
| Voluntary - Sponsorship Voluntary - Other Donations Fundraising Activities Grant Income Gift Aid |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
||||||
| - 15,926- |
- -- |
- 15,926- |
- 4,402- |
||||||
| - 2,739- |
- -- |
- 2,739- |
- 861- |
||||||
| - -- |
- -- |
- 1,000- |
|||||||
| - 209- |
- -- |
- 209- |
- 605- |
||||||
| - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
|||||||
| - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
|||||||
| - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
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| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | - 18,874- |
- -- |
- -- |
- 18,874- |
- 6,868- |
||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- Sub total- -- - -- - -- - -- - -- Total receipts - 18,874- - -- - -- - 18,874- - 6,868- A3 Payments Charitable Activities (Cameroon): Well Construction - 5,972- - -- - -- - 5,972- - 6,027- |
|||||||||
| Charitable Activities (Cameroon): Well Construction |
- 5,972- |
- 6,027- |
----- Start of picture text -----
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see
table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 18,874 - - 18,874 6,868
A3 Payments
Charitable Activities (Cameroon): Well
Construction 5,972 - - 5,972 6,027
----- End of picture text -----
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
6/29/2022
1
| Charitable Activities (Cameroon): Trip Support | - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charitable Activities (UK): Student support | - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- 2,121- |
|||||
| Bank Fees | - 177- |
- -- |
- -- |
- 177- |
- 215- |
||||
| Insurance | - 3,092- |
- -- |
- -- |
- 3,092- |
- -- |
||||
| Expenses for fundraising activities | - 280- |
- -- |
- -- |
- 280- |
- 325- |
||||
| Effect of currency change | - 1- |
- -- |
- -- |
- 1- |
- -- |
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| - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
|||||
| - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
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| **Sub total ** | - 9,522- |
- -- |
- -- |
- 9,522- |
- 8,688- |
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| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
|||||||||
| - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
||||||
| - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
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| Sub total Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end **Cash funds this year end ** |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
|||||
| - 9,522- |
- -- |
- -- |
- 9,522- |
- 8,688- |
|||||
| - 9,352- |
- -- |
- -- |
- 9,352- |
- 1,820- |
|||||
| - -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
- -- |
|||||
| - 10,197- |
- 7,170- |
- -- |
- 17,367- |
- 19,187- |
|||||
| - 19,549- |
- 7,170- |
- -- |
- 26,719- |
- 17,367- |
|||||
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | |||||||||
| Categories B1 Cash funds |
Details Bank Current Account: Main UK account Bank Current Account: Uni. Southampton Bank Current Account: Uni. Birmingham Bank Current Account: Uni. ICL |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ - 17,337- - 863- - 1,079- - -- |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - 6,170- - -- - 1,000- |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|||||
| Bank Current Account: Main UK account | - 17,337- |
- 6,170- |
- -- |
||||||
| Bank Current Account: Uni. Southampton | - 863- |
- -- |
- -- |
||||||
| Bank Current Account: Uni. Birmingham | - 1,079- |
||||||||
| Bank Current Account: Uni. ICL | - -- |
- 1,000- |
- -- |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Unrestricted | Restricted funds | Restricted funds | Endowment | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | |||||||||
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | ||||||||||
| B1 | Cash | funds | Bank Current Account: Main UK account | - | 17,337- | - | 6,170- | - | -- | |||
| Bank Current Account: Uni. Southampton | - | 863- | - | -- | - | -- | ||||||
| Bank Current Account: Uni. Birmingham | - | 1,079- | ||||||||||
| Bank Current Account: Uni. ICL | - | -- | - | 1,000- | - | -- |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
6/29/2022
2
| Bank Current Account: Cameroon | - -- |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Held in Hand | - 270- |
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| B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account (s)) Details Details Details |
- 19,549- |
- 7,170- |
- -- |
|||
| OK | |||||||
| Unrestricted funds to nearest £ - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- Cost (optional) - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- Cost (optional) - -- - -- - -- - -- |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| - -- |
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| - -- |
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| - -- |
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| - -- |
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| - -- |
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| - -- |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| - -- |
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| - -- |
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| - -- |
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| - -- |
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| - -- |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| - -- |
- -- |
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| - -- |
- -- |
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| - -- |
- -- |
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| - -- |
- -- |
CCXX R3 accounts (SS)
6/29/2022
3
B5 Liabilities
Signed by one trustee on behalf of all the trustees
| - | -- | - | -- | |||||||
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| Fund to which | Amount due | When due | ||||||||
| Details | liability relates | (optional) | (optional) | |||||||
| - | -- | |||||||||
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| Signature | Name | Date of approval | ||||||||
| Andy Hopkins Treasurer |
30/06/2022 |
CCXX R4 accounts (SS)
6/29/2022
4