2021-03-31-accounts

The Zuri Project Uganda UK Registered Charity No. 1160649 [e-mail]

The Zuri Project Uganda Trustees Annual Report For the period ended 31 March 2021

Reference and administrative details

Registered charity number 1160649 Principal address 36 Wychwood Avenue, Knowle, B93 9DG Email address [e-mail] Telephone [phone]

The trustees shown have held office during the period from 1 April 2020: Ross Young (Chair) Robert Young (Trustee and Treasurer) Danielle Young (Trustee) - resigned Kate Purchase (Trustee and Treasurer) - resigned Joe Matthews (Trustee) - resigned Alex Thompson (Trustee and Head of Fundraising) – appointed 31 October 2021

For more information

If you would like to keep up to date with our work, or would like some more information about what we do in Uganda, then you can:

Visit our website: www.zuriproject.co.uk

Read our blog: https://thezuriprojectuganda.wordpress.com

Like us on Facebook: The Zuri Project Uganda

Follow us on Twitter: @zuriproject

Charity Structure, Governance and Management

The Zuri Project Uganda is run by its board of trustees and is governed by its constitution adopted on 26 February 2015. We hold between four and six trustee meetings every year to discuss the ongoing progress of the charity in relation to the strategic plan that we developed in 2015 upon our registration. Minutes from each meeting are recorded and signed by the chair of the board. The day to day running and administration of the charity is the responsibility of Ross Young, as agreed in writing by all trustees. We have recruited a team of volunteers in the UK to help us with fundraising, event organisation and marketing of our charitable objectives. At every trustee meeting we discuss our roles as trustees and consider the feasibility of recruiting new trustees in accordance with our Equal Opportunities Policy. Trustees are appointed or reappointed at our Annual General Meeting.

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The Zuri Project Uganda UK Registered Charity No. 1160649 [e-mail]

The Zuri Project Uganda Trustees Annual Report For the period ended 31 March 2021

Objectives and Activities

The objectives and activities of The Zuri Project Uganda are:

• The prevention and relief of poverty in Uganda by providing: items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty.

• The prevention and relief of poverty in Uganda by providing or assisting in the provision of education, training, healthcare projects and all the necessary support designed to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income and be self sufficient.

In planning our activities for the year we kept in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit at our Trustee meetings.

Achievements and Performance

Purchase of Science Equipment for Kihembe Community Vocational Secondary School

At the start of 2020, we were thrilled that we had completed the construction of the new science lab at Kihembe Secondary School. And in spite of the Ugandan school closures enforced as a result of Covid19, we pressed ahead with our project and were able to purchase the tools, equipment, and various other accessories that ensured the science lab could be used by students as and when they returned to school.

First and foremost, local carpenters from Kihembe skilfully created benches, stools, and a teaching desk that transformed the lab into a teaching space. Then, we put up a partition at the back of the lab to serve as a place to store the new equipment that we had purchased. The new equipment includes things like Bunsen burners, solar chargers, scales, and various other items that are required to teach practical science lessons in Uganda.

We were also thrilled to spend the £500 that we received as a donation from Coventry Jubilee Rotary Club on a water tank that now serves the science lab, as it’s important for the success of lessons for the teachers to have a reliable and constant water source throughout the term. The tank can also be used by the nearby school kitchen, which will save the staff a lot of time when it comes to fetching water for meal preparation.

Although schools remained closed in Uganda until January 2022, we look forward with huge excitement that the pupils will be able to use the new lab to complete their studies, and we hope this will yield an improvement in the final grades that the students achieve when it comes to their end of year exams.

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The Zuri Project Uganda UK Registered Charity No. 1160649 [e-mail]

The Zuri Project Uganda Trustees Annual Report For the period ended 31 March 2021

New Classroom Block at Kihembe Vocational Secondary School

After the success of the science lab, we were thrilled to start construction on a new classroom block at the secondary school site. Eventually this classroom will serve as a computer lab and library, and we hope it will be operational by the re-commencement of teaching at schools in 2022. We have exciting plans in place to donate books and laptops to the school now that solar is available, and thanks to many generous donations, we’re a step closer to making this a reality.

The new classroom block at the secondary school sits atop the hill behind the science lab that we recently constructed, and it is a standalone building. We asked the builders to lay the foundations for two more classrooms at the same time, as we have ambitious plans to fundraise for them in the near future.

Throughout 2020, our team were busy monitoring the building progress and we were ecstatic that we managed to get the new classroom finished on time and in budget. The next step for the team is to fundraise for the purchase of books and computers in order to transform the new classroom into a computer lab and library, and we will also need to focus our efforts on equipping the classroom with furniture and all the necessary equipment to transform it from an empty space into a functioning classroom.

Kihembe Food Outreach During Covid-19 Crisis

In Kihembe – as in other parts of the world – it came to our attention that the Covid-19 lockdown was causing extreme hardships for families who were struggling to feed their children. As such, we collaborated with the church and other local stakeholders to identify 170 of the poorest families in and around the secondary school site, to contribute something for them to feed their families.

As a result of a dedicated fundraising drive, we were able to purchase 10kg of maize flour, 5kg of beans, 1kg of salt, and one bar of soap for each of the families selected for food aid. And although we don’t normally provide individual support in this way to people within the community – our projects typically focus on holistic community development – the trustees considered it a necessary intervention given the extreme hardship that had presented itself as a direct result of Covid-19.

Many of the families that were selected for food aid sent their students to the secondary school, and it was our way of contributing to the students and their parents during these extremely trying times. We were delighted with the response that we received after making the donation, and we’re extremely grateful to our donors for stepping up and providing the funds for this food aid project at such short notice.

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The Zuri Project Uganda UK Registered Charity No. 1160649 [e-mail]

The Zuri Project Uganda Trustees Annual Report For the period ended 31 March 2021

New Kitchen Block at Kishunju Nursery and Primary School

Just before the nationally enforced lockdown due to COVID-19 began, our team in Uganda was busy constructing a new kitchen block at Kishunju Nursery and Primary School. Back at the beginning of March, we held a meeting at Kishunju with the board members of the school, the teaching staff and members of the PTA to listen to their concerns and to learn about their priorities for the school going forward.

The meeting was fruitful and we heard lots of ideas about how the school could be developed. However, there was consensus from all parties regarding the biggest priority – they wanted a new kitchen block and the latrines renovated. The original kitchen block at Kishunju was actually built as a result of the efforts of Zuri co-founder Martin and Rebecca Kealey. When they were in Uganda on one of their first visits (before Zuri even existed) they helped to construct a kitchen block using local materials.

The parents and teachers were incredibly grateful to Martin & Rebecca for the work carried out and it served as a kitchen block for more than six years. However, in recent times, due mainly to heavy downpours and termites, the building has become increasingly unstable and the stakeholders within the school wanted to make improvements to the building.

Therefore, together with Opportunity Africa, we put together a budget to construct a new kitchen, this time using bricks and timber to try and make a more permanent structure. Although our work was slightly disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak, we’re delighted to say that the structure has been finished, and once schools are permitted to reopen, the kitchen block will be put to good use. We were able to recycle the doors and the iron sheets for the roof from the previous structure, which allowed us to complete the project in a cost effective and timely manner.

Workshop for Girls During Covid-19 Outbreak

In partnership with a local NGO called Girl Power Foundation, The Zuri Project launched a series of educational workshops in the summer of 2020 that were aimed at encouraging girls to stay in school. The reason that we decided to launch these projects was a direct result of the Covid-19 lockdowns, as we learned that school-age girls in Kihembe were suffering as a result of the stay-at-home directive.

The workshops – initiated by Girl Power facilitators – were exceptionally well received and reinforced many important messages to the girls, particularly in relation to life skills and caring for themselves at home in the village. Although this was another project that we initiated as a direct result of Covid-19, our Ugandan team is keen to look at the possibility of delivering regular workshops to girls when schools reopen again in 2022.

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The Zuri Project Uganda UK Registered Charity No. 1160649 [e-mail]

The Zuri Project Uganda Trustees Annual Report For the period ended 31 March 2021

The payment of salaries and facilitation for Ugandan team

One thing that we’ve been incredibly proud of over the past few years is the fact that we’ve been able to create local jobs in the community in which our projects are delivered. In addition to sourcing all of the labour and equipment in the village or the local areas to complete our projects, we also employ a team of talented, dedicated project managers to oversee the work and conduct research in the vicinity.

All members of the Ugandan team are from the village of Kihembe and they are incredibly passionate about the work that they carry out. Although they are not paid a great deal, the salaries offered to them is enough to cover their transport costs and allows them to have some left over to support their families. While all of those involved in The Zuri Project in the UK are volunteers, we’re incredibly proud of the fact that we can support a small team in Uganda, and we plan these costs into our fundraising target every year.

Financial review

Reserves policy

Our free reserves, held as cash at bank, was £5,812 (2020: £5,653). These funds are held in order to meet any unforeseen expenditure that may occur and to fund the next phase of projects whereby a more substantial amount of finances are required. We aim to hold at least £1,000 and no more than £15,000 in reserves at year end.

The principal funding sources are individually led small scale fundraising events such as cake sales, pub quizzes and sponsored physical challenges; personal monthly and annual donations via direct debit; corporate partnership monthly donations; donations via the Charities Aid Foundation, The Rotary Club for £1,497 (2020: £2,800), Arden Academy £4,136 (2020 - £nil) and Bora Coffee Co. £2,631 (2020 - £nil). All donations received are unrestricted.

1 Trustee (2020: £3,287) received expenses in the year of £291 (2020: £3,287) to cover travel and computer costs incurred.

Going concern : COVID-19

As COVID-19 arrived at the end of this financial year, it presented us with many challenges, as one would expect. That being said, we were able to continue our operations and were productive throughout the year of 2021. While we lost some funding in some areas, we were able to make it up in others, and we were able to conduct many of our practices and projects that we planned.

The Trustees have concluded that they can continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual report and accounts.

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The Zuri Project Uganda UK Registered Charity No. 1160649 [e-mail]

The Zuri Project Uganda Trustees Annual Report For the period ended 31 March 2021

Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ Report above. Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees on 30 January 2022.

Ross Young

Chair

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The Zuri Project UK Registered Charity N

THE ZURI PROJECT UGANDA

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Period ended 31 March 2021

Uganda 10. 1160649

Report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2021

See "WORD" document

1

The Zuri Project Uganda

The Zuri Project Uganda Receipts and payments for the year ended 31 March 2021

Income Donations received Fundraising Total income Expenditure Costs of raising funds Fundraising costs Charitable activities: Kishunju Primary School Kihembe Secondary school Kiheme Food Outreach Workshop for Girls during Covid-19 Salaries and facilitation for Ugandan team Support costs: Stationery Computer costs Bank charges Travel Governance costs Total expenditure Net (expenditure)/income Net movement in funds Fund balances brought forward Fund balances carried forward	General Fund unrestricted £ 11,365 868 Year ended 31 March 2021
	12,233
	(89) (2,452) (4,362) (1,740) (419) (2,490)
	(11,463) (34) (149) (48) 0 (291)
	(522) (12,074)
	159 159 5,653
	5,812

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The Zuri Project Uganda

General Fund unrestricted Year ended 31 March 2020 £

16,778 374.00

17,152

(50)

(10,313) (7,228) - - - (17,541)

(47)

(483) (71) (2,669) 0 (3,270)

(20,861)

-3,709

-3,709

9,362

5,653

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The Zuri Project Uganda Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the year ended 31 March 2021

	General
	Fund
	unrestricted
	31 March
	2021
	£
Current assets
Cash at bank and in hand	5,812
Net assets	5,812

Signed on behalf of all the Trustees on 30 January 2022

Ross Young Chair

NOTES:

The Trustees confirm, in accordance with the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (General) Regulations 2012, that at the year end the CIO have any outstanding guarantees to third parties nor any debts secure of the CIO.

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General Fund unrestricted 31 March 2020

£

5,653 5,653

O did not ed on assets

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