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2022-08-31-accounts

M.buildiii) I1J4Jl￿¢o￿ Bull ding a Fouwbdation UK Reglsternd Charity 1158201 Names of Ihe charity trustees Chair Lon Spragg Build on Books (BOB UK) Trustees Annual Report Treasu rer Bnd Hayward Secretary James Lee MacDon ald UK Registered charity nunkner 1158201 Chanty's pnncipal address Build on Books For the period from 1 st September 2021 to 31 st August 2022 38 Oak Tree Road, Martow, Bu cks SL7 3EE

Structure, Governance and Management

Build on Books is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and is governed by a Foundation Model Constitution dated 5th August 2014.

The Trustees who were appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the Trustees and who served during the year are:

Lori Spragg Brid Hayward James MacDonald

Recruitment of New Trustees

The current trustees come from backgrounds in business, teaching, and voluntary work. New trustees are inducted by the Chair and existing trustees. We take advice from other professionals and other organisations as necessary. The appointment of Trustees is conducted with regard to the needs of the organisation, the suitability, and skills of the candidate and by interview of interested parties.

Organisational Structure

Build on Books is an all-volunteer charity which operates to relieve poverty and to aid development in Sierra Leone. The trustees of Build on Books UK (BOB UK) work in partnership with Build on Books Sierra Leone (BOB SL) which is a registered all-volunteer Community Based Organisation in Sierra Leone. Their committee is made up of local headteachers, community leaders and professionals who give their time and expertise freely. BOB UK trustees meet regularly to discuss proposals from BOB SL and other organisations to see how we can work together on projects that help us reach our charitable aims and objectives. The trustees also coordinate and work with other charities working in similar fields to more effectively achieve our goals.

Risk Management

The trustees have a duty to identify and review risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error or harm.

Charitable Objectives and Activities

The objectives of the charity, as set out in its governing document, are the prevention or relief of poverty in Sierra Leone by providing grants, items and services to individuals in need and/or charities and other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty. This is achieved through initiatives in a variety of areas including education, water, sanitation, food security, health, humanitarian aid, community engagement and social mobilisation.

All Build on Books trustees have read the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and always demonstrate regard to it in planning the activities we undertake.

The charity and its trustees work in close collaboration with BOB SL and others to ensure that we respond to the needs of the beneficiaries in the most effective and sympathetic ways possible. Our projects often involve input by the beneficiary communities who might volunteer to lead a project, provide land or be more hands on. All trustees are volunteers and we do not pay for staff or premises. All funds raised are therefore used to meet the charity’s aims and objectives.

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This Year's Aims and Objectives

Build on Books Achievements and Performance 2021-22

Launching the New Technical and Vocational Learning Centre for Kwama

In November 2021 Build on Books opened the doors to the new Orville’s Technical and Vocational Learning Centre at St Clement Secondary School in Kwama. The centre was sponsored by Orville’s Home Appliances (Buffalo, New York) and built by local people under the leadership of Joe Boxall of Home Leone.

We were joined for the ribbon cutting by the community and the Deputy Minister of Education Emily Gogra, and his excellency the Archbishop of Freetown the Most Rev. Edward Tamba Charles. Ms Gogra and the Archbishop were highly impressed by the work being done by Build on Books and St Clement School and could see how this large multi-use Learning Centre would be a great attribute to both the school and the wider community.

Supporting Grassroots Economic Development to reduce poverty in Kwama

The Learning Centre is a hub of activity, used by the school every day for teaching, assemblies, examinations, and other activities. Building on the success of our pilot projects the Learning Centre is now a venue for community events and many educational schemes. This includes adult literacy and numeracy classes for local individuals who may have missed out on education because of poverty.

The centre also offers a wide range of training opportunities for adult learners in the community

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who are eager to develop new commercial skills such as tailoring, baking, cake decorating, hairdressing, computing, and traditional gara tie-dyeing and computing.

This centre is already making a difference in Kwama and the surrounding villages. Adults who have never been to school before are coming to learn to read and write. Those who have struggled to survive as subsistence farmers are developing skills that will help them to become more economically self-sufficient. These new skills are providing hope and opportunity to people who have had few opportunities to earn money to help them care for their families.

This year Build on Books donations have provided funds for learning materials for tailoring, cake making, t-shirt printing, as well as making and shipping furniture for the centre. We also shipped donated laptops and electronic whiteboards to equip the purpose-built computer room at the Learning Centre.

Teaching Practical Skills to help Students prosper

Equally vital to academic education for Sierra Leone is skills training. Head Teacher of St Clement Alphonsus Kargbo has expressed concern that throughout Sierra Leone there are very few salaried jobs available. To give the students an opportunity to succeed he believes they need to be trained for self-employment. That is why we are teaching hairdressing, computing,

catering and wedding planning at the Learning Centre.

As the Learning Centre functions as an events venue for hire, it provides students with opportunities to gain hands-on experience of these new skills. Moreover, the income generated helps to support the running of these classes. These practical skills will support students of the Learning Centre on their path to becoming successfully self-employed, which will be of huge benefit to Sierra Leone overall.

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Laptops for Teachers and Students

The computer lab within the Learning Centre is a valuable resource for both the school and the community, which is not available in many other schools in Sierra Leone. It is filled with laptops, which will help students prepare for tertiary education, and teachers will use them to conduct research, write reports and plan lessons. This will save time for the teachers and enrich learning for all students.

Computer training classes are made easier for large teaching groups by interactive whiteboards donated by Marlow C of E Infants School and laptops donated by Computer Cavern.

We are grateful to Orville’s Home Appliances and all the donors who provided equipment this year, including Marlow C of E Infants School, Spinfield School and Computer Cavern of Marlow, for making this centre possible.

Helping the Technical and Vocational Learning Centre to become Self-Sufficient

We are excited to expand our computer centre in the coming years to prepare St. Clement students and those from other schools for higher education. To achieve this our goal is to make the Orville’s Technical and Vocational Learning Centre self-funding.

We plan to do this by hosting weddings and graduations, as well as bake sales and other events. The celebrants will pay for use of the hall, while the students use the opportunities to learn new skills. The students get valuable hands-on experience, the celebrants will have a beautiful event, and the centre will generate much-needed revenue.

Six New Boreholes for Pepel Island

Water is essential to everyone’s life, but sadly many schools and communities in Sierra Leone still do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. This year Build on Books completed six new boreholes on Pepel Island in less than a month, thanks to the generous support of Orville’s Home Appliances and our in-country implementing partners Willamette International. This brings the total number of boreholes on Pepel to ten, which is life changing for the 12,000 people living there, especially the many vulnerable children. These ten boreholes will help to stop the regular

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outbreaks of cholera that the communities have had to endure every year having previously only filthy contaminated swamp water to drink.

Each borehole has been placed within a specific community or school to ensure no one has too far to go for water. One has been placed just outside of the hospital compound for the use of both the hospital and community. All ten boreholes are included in a maintenance contract with our implementing partners Willamette International, who monitor and maintain the boreholes monthly for a small fee paid by the community. This will ensure that the boreholes will have a considerably longer lifespan than many built by other international charities.

The completion of these boreholes is a major milestone for Pepel and the people living there are incredibly grateful to all of our supporters who made this possible. They are also deeply committed to ensuring that these boreholes are properly maintained so that they will continue to provide clean water to the people of Pepel Island for many years to come.

Building A Community Water Tower for Kwama

St Clement School, which already has over three thousand students, is one of the factors contributing to the village's growth in recent years. Even though Build on Books has built several boreholes in the school and other parts of the village, there were areas where people still needed a reliable water supply. There was an old, partially completed government water tower that was not functioning, so children had to travel far to collect water for their parents. We plan to build housing for teachers in that area, so wholly renovating the existing community water tower was the best option for everyone.

Working with local experts, we dug deeper into the old well and we installed a solar-powered pump which made it possible to draw water from a deeper level, where it was not contaminated with iron and other minerals. We then installed a pipeline to carry the water to the village and to the new teachers' accommodation.

The villagers are delighted with the new well. It has made an enormous difference in their lives because no longer have to walk long distances to fetch water and can use the water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. The children are delighted as the

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solar-powered pump means they do not have to pump water by hand. Instead they can use one of the four convenient standpipes to collect water.

The once-defunct water well is now a valuable asset to the village of Kwama. It has improved the villagers' quality of life and made it possible for them to live healthier lives.

Launching the Build on Books Orphan Scholarship Program

Since 2014 Build on Books has cared for and nurtured many orphans who lost their parents during the Ebola crisis. We have helped them through primary and secondary school. As they grow older, we hope to continue to support them through higher education too.

This year Build on Books began formalizing our Orphan Scholarship Program, setting aside donations for those who wish to attend university or technical college.

We are also helping other orphaned students from St Clement School who have the ability but not the means to continue their education.

Currently Build on Books is supporting the first seven orphaned students entering higher education. We paid their fees and other expenses, sent them laptops, and are giving them practical and moral support to help them with the application process.

Each student is following their own path and is at a different stage of their education. We have a student studying to be a pharmacist, three to be social workers, one a teacher, another a doctor, and finally an accountant. We plan to continue to add new students each year from our group of Ebola orphans and other orphaned and disadvantaged children who need our help.

Every child deserves the opportunity to follow their dreams regardless of their circumstances. Our Orphan Scholarship Program is just one way that we are working to make that happen, but it will require ongoing support from our donors. We are incredibly grateful to our donors who have set up regular giving for the orphans and those making one-off donations to help us continue this program for many years.

School Supplies and Christmas Party for Ebola Orphans

Our annual Ebola Orphans Christmas Party was a huge success and a day the children will remember for a long time. In addition to the entertainment, the Build on Books team served up a delicious Sierra Leonean-style Christmas lunch followed by singing, dancing and games. The 136 children also went home with goody bags filled with gifts that we knew they would love, such as rucksacks, notebooks, toiletries, pens, clothing, shoes, and treats.

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However, the most important part of the day was getting together with their old friends. The children at the party had lost their parents in the Ebola crisis of 2014, so it was important for them to have a chance to connect with others who shared their experience. These enduring connections help them to feel less alone, especially during the holidays.

We are so grateful to everyone who helped make this party possible. We could not have done it without the generous support of our donors and the BOB SL team of volunteers who hosted the memorable event.

At the beginning of the academic year Build on Books provided school uniforms for the 136 Ebola orphans. The children are growing rapidly, and many are now in

secondary school. When it is time to go back to school they come to the library excited to show the BOB SL team their glowing report cards and receive their uniforms. It is always a joy to know that Build on Books is helping them to feel more confident and prepared for school.

We have also supplied students with shoes. For low-income families who earn only a small living from subsistence-level farming or sand mining, new shoes are a luxury. Many children go to school barefoot, which raises the potential for injuries and parasitic diseases, which a good pair of shoes can prevent.

In addition to helping the Ebola orphans we also gave sacks of rice to the Fatima Cedar Orphanage in Kwama which is sited close to St Clement School. The orphanage helps many abandoned and disabled children some of who attend our school.

Maintenance for St Clement Secondary School (Winner of the National Presidential Award for Best Secondary School in the Country)

On 21st July St Clement was once again awarded the National Presidential Award for Best Secondary School in the Country. This will encourage even more students to attend, so it is very important to keep up the maintenance.

St Clement Secondary School, with over 3000 pupils, experiences a lot of wear and tear. This year we helped the school undertake some much-needed maintenance, including resurfacing the floors and repainting the walls. St Clement generates some of its own revenue from the Build on Books sewing workshop, t-shirt printing, as well as other economic activities. The school governors were able to use school funds to cover most of the costs, with Build on Books making up the difference.

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Teacher Training Sponsorship benefits both Teachers and Students

Build on Books is currently sponsoring seven teachers from St Clement, IYBAS and Our Lady of Kwama Primary School who are in their final year of teacher training college, three of whom have now graduated.

Before the scholarships, these teachers were volunteers who received a small stipend and in-service training. This type of training does not keep them up to date with advances in education and can leave them struggling to manage large classes. Without their certification they cannot receive a salary from the government and must rely on the small stipend from the school, which is not sustainable.

With the help of Build on Books, these teachers have gained the education they need to be qualified and have acquired valuable up-to-date teaching skills. This is a considerable improvement for both the schools and students. The teachers can now better manage their classes, engage students, and deliver high-quality education. Significantly, as each teacher graduates, they become eligible to apply for a government teacher's salary, which will give them the security and fulfillment they deserve.

Encouraging Young Scientists of the Future

When Build on Books first began helping Sierra Leone in 2008, science education was one of the greatest concerns of the Ministry of Education. Without proper science equipment in schools, students were not able to take their practical examinations to gain the qualifications required to proceed to higher education. This would mean a shortage of university entrance in the fields of medicine and pharmacology. At that time Sierra Leone had very few doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

Fortunately, Build on Books was able to procure a donation of a considerable amount of laboratory equipment for St Clement. In 2012 the Government of Sierra Leone deployed 4 fully-qualified science teachers to the school, which was unprecedented. Since then, St Clements has been able to secure an excellent pass rate for all students in the science stream.

However, there is always a need for consumables in the science classroom, such as reagents. These are expensive and cannot be shipped from the UK because of safety regulations. This year we were delighted to receive a £1000 donation to spend on all the consumables needed for the practical examinations.

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This donation will make a huge difference to the lives of the students at St Clement. It will allow them to get the practical experience they need to succeed in their studies and to become the doctors, nurses and other health professionals that Sierra Leone so desperately needs.

IYBAS Primary School Football Tournament

IYBAS Primary is a small school in Whitestone that Build on Books has supported for many years. Last year we were fortunate to help IYBAS Primary School start their own football team, IKFC, with the support of generous donors Ian and Kay Vickerage. They donated funds to buy the initial equipment and this year BOB UK sent lots of football boots, donated by Burford and Cookham Dean primary schools,to enable as many boys and girls as possible to learn to play football.

IYBAS teacher Alusine Sesay leads the training program and football is now part of the school curriculum and is open to all children, regardless of their ability. The program has successfully developed the students' skills and kept them fit and healthy. Head Teacher Sarah George said that having the opportunity to play football encourages even more parents to send their children to school instead of keeping them home to work or look after the house.

This year, under the guidance of our BOB SL Treasurer Rosetta Kargbo, Alusine Sesay organised a Community Football Tournament sponsored by our donors Ian and Kay Vickerage so that the IYBAS children could play against teams from all around the region. It was a huge success. The tournament united the community and gave students and teachers great pride in their school.

Humanitarian Aid - Extra help for those in crisis

Life is a struggle for many people in Sierra Leone. Even in the best of times, resources are short and there is little opportunity to prepare for times of crisis. So when death, illness, or natural disaster strikes, the effect on a family can be even more devastating. Children often go without food, and families can be torn apart.

That's where the Build on Books Humanitarian Aid Fund is most valuable. We provide food, shelter, and medical care to families in urgent and critical need. This year, we have provided funds for medical treatment for several people who were extremely ill with malaria and typhoid, we distributed sacks of rice to people in need, and we helped Build the Books carpenter Ahmed get urgent treatment within minutes of him having a stroke and rehabilitation afterwards. Timely, life-saving care has made all the difference to people at their most vulnerable.

What’s next for Build on Books?

Teacher Housing for Kwama

During Trustee Lori Spragg's visit to Kwama in November 2021, a meeting was held with the staff of St. Clement Secondary School. The majority of the 40 teachers employed there do not live

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anywhere close to the village, and so they struggle to get to school each morning and back home to Freetown each evening. Kwama is about 21 miles east of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, but can take several hours by bus, which is highly unreliable.

This is because of the desperate shortage of public transportation in the region. Those that can find a bus or a ride on a bike to get to school often have to wait an extremely long time and are vulnerable to accidents. This makes retention of teachers a challenge. The teachers unanimously agreed that if they could live closer to the school, they could spend more time with the students in teaching and lesson planning, and that would benefit everyone.

So, Lori Spragg and Joe Boxall of Home Leone worked with the headteachers, Alphonso Kargbo and Emelda Moijue, and the teachers to design a purpose-built housing block with running water, sanitation, and solar power. This would be a vast improvement on the conditions in which many teachers live in Freetown. We hope this will attract them to stay at the school for many years to come and improve their safety and wellbeing.

The ground was kindly donated by Mr Francis Moijue and, after careful pre-planning, was broken in February 2022. The Teachers Accommodation building, which is being funded by Orville’s Home Appliance and built by local people under the guidance of our implementing partners, Home Leone, will be completed in 2023. In the meantime, the BOB UK team will be collecting furniture and kitchen and bedding supplies to ship to Kwama to ensure the teachers have everything they need when they move in.

Thank you to all our donors who have made all this possible Build on Books would like to thank all our donors and implementing partners in the UK and around the world for helping us to fight poverty in Sierra Leone. Your contributions have given children and adults the opportunity have a better life and a better education.

Statement of Charity’s Policy on Reserves

As we aim to reduce poverty our policy is not to hold excess funds in reserve, but to use them for the purpose intended as soon as possible. However, £800 of the charity’s capital is held in reserve for shipping books and other goods that we have collected during our appeals. We do not pay salaries or rent, so it is not necessary to keep a surplus.

Our main sources of funds come from appeals and donations from grant making and charitable organisations, charitable clubs and individual donations. We want to thank the many groups and individuals who responded to our appeals this year and who donated funds for our work fighting poverty in Sierra Leone.

Donations from the USA

On some occasions our boreholes are funded by donors in the USA through our implementing partners Willamette International who are an US 501c3. The full funds are then used by Willamette to build the boreholes in Sierra Leone.

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Likewise, the building of the technical and vocational learning centre in Kwama was funded by Orville’s Home Appliances of Buffalo NY, USA through our implementing partners Home Leone USA who are also a 501(c) .They received the US funds and made all the payments in Sierra Leone. Hence these amounts are not included in the Build on Books UK accounts.

Financial Review

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This Trustees Annual Report ¢overs the perlod from 151 September 2021 to 31st August 2022. The Iruslees de¢L8re Ihal Ihey have approved Ihe Trustees Report 3tM)ve. Lori Spragg, Chair Date.. 14105123 James MacDonakl, Serxelary Dale.. fjiv IJJ Brid Hayward. Treasurer Oate.. -'Ltr/LIti/13 12 12

CHARITY COMMISSION Independent examinerfs report on the FOR ENGLAND AND WALES accounts Sèction A Indep8ndgnl Examin¥rfs Report Rgport tr> th• truste BUILD ON BOOKS On a¢¢ounts for the yar 31 AUGUST 2022 ended Charity no Ilf any) 1158201 S•t out on pag•s If.ElJde po99 llur.bgfs o¥¥ddit)rwlBtrwtsl I report lo the trustees w my examination of the accounts of the above chanty Illhe Trust'l for year rMled R•sponslbllltl•s and basis of r•port As the charty'5 truste85, yOLt are responsible fgf th? preparation of t accounts in accordance vnth Ihe requirements of Ihe Charrties Act 2011 I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts camed out dw secty.on 145 of the 2011 Act and in ¢arying out my examination. I have lollowed all the applicable Dirtttions given by the Charty CommissKJn undw se￿10￿ 14515llbl of the Act. Independeni tThe tharrty's gross incomè exceed￿1 £250.000 l #m qualrfied 1¢ axaminerfs ststemeni undwtake the examinafion by ￿"n9 a 9ualified rrmber ol linsert name of applicable listed bodyll. Delete I l rfnot appliable. I havè Complet￿ my èxamination I confirm that no materi81 matt•rs ha come to my attention in COnn￿tIon wth the examination (other than that disdosed below ') whth gives me cause to b￿￿ve that in. any malefial respect. acctyJntJ"ng r8coftls not in 8eeordance wrth sttion 130 of the Charities Act." or the acctyjnts di¢J not accord thè accounting raeords," or the accounts di¢J not CLvnply with thè applicabl réquiremènts conceming the ftsmi content of accounts sat tyJt in tha ChaIrt￿S IAcry)unts arKI Repwt51 Regulatiorts 2008 other than any requirement thal the a¢￿￿nts give a Irue and fair. VEW which is not a Matter conYered as part of an iThJewdenl examinats'on. I have no corwns and have come ac¥oss no other mattws in connection wilh the examinalion lo vthi¢h attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understar¥JitYJ ol the accounts to be r￿hed. dekte •wds in the bwkels rfthey {) mt appty. Slgned: IW-05-2o13 Name: SSU WILL R8levanl professional qualifi¢a¢ion{$) or body CA IER Oct 2018 13

{il any): Address: LDF Section B Ois¢losurè Only complete If the examiner needs 10 highlighl material mailers of concern 13ee CC32. Indetwdent examinat￿ of chanty accthjnts. directions a￿1 guKlance for examine￿) Giv• here brlef details of any item$ that th• •xaminer wSsh•s to dlsclos•. IER Oct 2018 14

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND A14D WALES . JILD Ot4 BOOKS 1158201 Receipts and pa ments accounts CC16a Fot th ￿￿1)￿ from Jl-Aug-22 Section A Receipts and payments End¢wrneni fund toth rarost Toi•1 hjr A1 Rec•6 .ts70 JASS 11.12$ Sub totall ross ttJcom6 1¢ AR) 070 iU2S A2 Asset and Invejlmeni sa 1¥19 t4blel. Sub tolal roi81 re¢elpts iU75 A3Pa SI Cwnenl 1.101 947 47 130 P￿￿e Liti?ry 1*3 i•J 441 Sub totthl urchawJ, see table Sub lotal 9.970 12,22S Nei oIrn¢elpW￿ymentsJ A5 Tr4n$l•rn fvn A6 ¢•$h luNl$ 148t yo4t •Ad 9A13 9.413 lJ 9.139 CCX¥ R1 accimll ISS) 15

Section B Ststement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Et&dowm•kt nds lund& B1 C48h fund¥ .513 511 nds lumds DDtsil D•tsil B3 Invosth)ent xsots FL￿ tothh ¢urypntv• B4 Assets r8tslnvd lor the ¢harity'$ own use BS Liabilitigs D*tr of CCU R2aruJwl%lSS) 141)V2023 16