## _**Solace**_ ## _**International**_ **www.solace.international** **(No. 1162864)** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 1** ('Solace') The 2021 Solace Intemational Trustees Annual Report pg.2 taste better and You were alw8NS The 2021 Solace Intemational Trustees Annual Report pg.3 ## Solace Trustees Annual Report (2021) **S.T.A.R. ‘21** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 4** _Owing to current coronavirus-related restrictions this Report has been prepared for presentation online in lieu of the Organisation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM)_ _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 5** **In line with established** _**Solace**_ **organisational practice, this document also serves as** _**Solace International**_ **’s Annual General Report for the Year of our Lord, 2021** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 6** _What Marvels the LORD Worked for us; indeed, we are glad!_ – Ps 126:3 CJB _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 7** ## **All We See Is Beauty** The way by which we’ve come Seems onerous to some But as we look now back Along that winding track All that we can see Is beauty and more beauty… It never was once easy We felt strained and stressed and queasy But on and on we pressed Though we’d been sorely pressed Knowing that our duty Was one of love and beauty… Solace International So brave and strong and rational _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 8** We fight in the Name of Perfection God our True Protection Who Gives us the True Booty Of boundless lovely Beauty! _– Joseph Dos Santos_ **----- Start of picture text -----**
Contents [1]
Item Page
All We See Is Beauty 7
Our Mission Statement 9
Foreoword 10
In His Footsteps 11
Resolution12 12
SOLACE INTERNATIONAL: Solace in brief 13
The Organisation’s charitable objects 14
Its aims and activities 14
Activities (What the charity does) 15
Who the charity helps15 15
How the charity works16 16
The Solace journey thus far: Reasons to smile 17
The Solace journey thus far: Scratching our heads 35
The Solace International journey thus far: Important 42
updates
Conclusion 53
References 54
Appendix A: Financial report; Appendix B: Countries
where at least one person has benefited from Solace
57, 58,
International; Appendix C: Statement of Beliefs (the
60, 61,
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1 This unique style of laying out a Table of Contents is the brainchild of Joseph E.G.D. Dos Santos (2019) and therefore duly acknowledged. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 9** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Nicene Creed); Appendix D: The Solace Training 64
Programme; Appendix E: Snapshots from the Solace
International Gallery
Final Word 84
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## _**Our Mission Statement**_ With the Lord Jesus Christ as our Flawless Role Model, _Solace’_ s Mission is to provide an excellent service positively impacting lives and always glorifying to God. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 10** ## _**Foreword**_ Welcome to S.T.A.R. ‘21, the 2021 Trustees Annual Report for _Solace International_ (‘Solace’[2] ). In this report we have by the Grace of God, outlined the progress of _Solace International_ (‘Solace’) in achieving its aims and objectives. As is our wont, despite being a standalone document, S.T.A.R. ‘21 is presented as distinct from – and yet in continuation of (therefore building upon), previous annual reports of the Organisation. As such, to the Glory of God Who Alone is the Perfect, AllTranscending and Eternal Solace of all Creation – by His Love and in His Wisdom, this report uses in part or in whole at various points throughout, portions and sections which can also be found in previous reports, including but not only, last year’s and that of the year before. We in fact hope in Him, that this shall continually be the case, for as long as _Solace International_ abides. May it Please the LORD that this Organisation shall > 2 _The name_ ‘Solace’ _is generic – the aim being to serve as an umbrella name for the Organisation wherever it may be found. At present,_ Solace _is registered in the United Kingdom, as_ **Solace International** _and in the Republic of Kenya, as_ **InterSolace Organisation** . _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 11** long outlive its Founder and his contemporaries by as many generations as the Second Coming[3] tarries by. Long live _Solace_ …long live _Solace International_ ! ## _**In His Footsteps**_ Like our Unfailing Role Model Jesus, the Only Christ, we aim to be – but positively so, different things to different people. Each of our actions will mainly seek to enhance the holistic advancement of any communities wherein as it Pleases the LORD, _Solace_ is engaged – whether directly or otherwise. As was the Wont of our Lord Jesus Christ in Whose Footsteps we follow, _Solace_ will always put the service user/client/customer (‘needy’) first; the needy will always be who, as well as what, drives us on and our services will generally be moulded around the needy as Guided by the Holy Spirit, Who alone Understands to Perfection our every need 3 See Matthew 25:31-46; Lk 1:9-11, etc. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 12** as individuals and as people. As our Unfailing Role Model Christ also Did, _Solace_ will always aim for the highest standards with God the Highest Standard, our Guide and Focus. We want to be unique in everything we are engaged in; we want to be well-known for our overall excellent quality of service and marvellous personnel; we want to maintain an unassailable position among the best in our chosen fields of endeavour. Simply put, we just want to be the best. By the Grace of God, we _will_ be the best. ## _**Resolution**_ Following its Quarterly Meeting for Autumn 2021, the _Solace International_ Board of Trustees (hereinafter referred to as ‘The Solace Board’, ‘The Board’ or ‘The Trustees’) resolved as follows: - 1.) The Report covered by this resolution and contained in this document shall form the main body of the Organisation’s Annual Report for 2021; - 2.) The Report shall be designated and known as ‘The 2021 Solace International Trustees Annual Report’ or S.T.A.R. ‘21; - 3.) The Report shall be presented at the Organisation’s next Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held online; _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 13** - 4.) The 2021 AGM is to be held before Christmas Day, 2021; - 5.) In keeping with _Solace International_ (‘Solace’) convention established in the Year of our Lord 2017, S.T.A.R. ’21 shall be deemed officially complete and therefore closed, after Christmas Day, 2021; - 6.) Official completion and closure shall include insertion of the accompanying report from _InterSolace Organisation_ (‘Solace Kenya’) and any other Solace branch or affiliate in other countries as the case may be; - 7.) It shall only be declared complete and closed also, once there is no possibility of updates as requested or mandated by the Governments (or relevant departments) of the countries where _Solace_ actively operates. Signed………… D.N. Mnyasa ………………………………………. Dephrose N. Mnyasa (for: Board of Trustees, _Solace International_ ) ## **SOLACE INTERNATIONAL:** _**Solace**_ **in brief** Here in ten bullet-points, are a few things to know about _Solace International…_ - 1.) The term ‘solace’ is roughly synonymous with words like: _calm, comfort, consolation, encouragement, help, peace, relief, soothing, succour and support_ . - 2.) In that light, the word ‘solace’ reflects our chief purpose: to bring the effect of these synonyms to bear in the lives of many. - 3.) _Solace_ was conceptualised in the United Kingdom (UK), but began operating first in Kenya, in 2012, securing both UK and Kenya registration two years later. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 14** - 4.) In Kenya, _Solace_ operates as ‘InterSolace Organisation’. In the UK, it is ‘Solace International’. Solace is not registered anywhere else at present. - 5.) _Solace_ operates by the Grace of God, using Holy Bible Principles, although we are not part of any church. Nonetheless (in the UK and to a lesser extent, Kenya), we conduct our own (Christian) religious services and activities. - 6.) We also believe in collaboration and so continue to work with others (individuals/organisations/groups). - 7.) We aim to further the Christian Faith and to alleviate poverty. - 8.) We also seek to touch at least one life in every nation and territory on Earth. - 9.) There are over two hundred nations and territories in the world. So far, _Solace International_ has supported individuals and groups in only thirtynine (39) countries.[4] We therefore, still have a long way to go. - 10.) By the Grace of God, once we are sure we have touched at least one life in every nation and territory on Earth, we shall start the cycle again. ## _**The Organisation’s charitable objects**_ The objects of _Solace_ are: a.) To benefit the public; - b.) The advancement of the Christian Faith and - c.) The prevention or relief of poverty. 4 See Appendix B. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 15** ## _**Its aims and activities**_ We seek to honour God the Almighty Creator of All Life and Owner of Everything. We also seek to and testify of His Greatness and Goodness through our actions and activities in that light – and hoping to work in collaboration with other similar-minded groups or individuals, the aims of _Solace International_ are chiefly to: - Be and remain, an international organisation operating across several continents of the world; - Further the Christian Faith through the use of apostolic and deaconate means; - Empower people and groups against poverty in all its forms, using a prudent but radical understanding of ‘poverty’. ## _**Activities (What the charity does)**_ _Solace_ in furtherance of its aims, engages in general charitable purposes as well as the following: a.) Education and training; b.) Prevention and relief of poverty; c.) Religious activities; - d.) Economic/community development; - e.) Promotion and support of diversity, equality, human rights, racial harmony, and religious tolerance. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 16** ## _**Who the charity helps**_ _Solace International_ helps the general public and Mankind. In other words, we are not particular or discriminatory about who we help. The help we give is however subject to variables, such as: (1.) The availability of relevant human, financial and other resources; (2.) Strict criteria as set forth in the Organisation’s Constitution, Beneficiaries Policy and/or other governing documents; (3.) Any other criteria laid down by the _Solace International_ Board of Trustees. ## _**How the charity works**_ There are several ways by which we work to achieve the above, the main one being that: a.) _Solace International_ makes grants to individuals and to organisations;[5] b.) We also develop and provide human resources; c.) _Solace International_ offers governance and capacity-building support; 5 We do not offer loans. We have experimented with doing so (offering interest-free loans in support of small businesses and serious family challenges), but discovered that lending money although potentially of greater value/benefit to those who receive them, generates levels of dishonesty and ill-will almost impossible to describe – or even understand. Lending is in our opinion, for a small charity such as this, more trouble than it is worth and so the decision has been made to ditch the idea. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 17** d.) We are engaged in community-relevant training delivery, business support, as well as the facilitation of seminars and workshops; e.) Finally, _Solace_ provides advocacy and advice/information as well as other services relevant to individuals in need and to communities. In keeping with practice established in the original _Solace_ Trustees Annual Report and maintained thereafter, as well as for ease of communication, this report uses the information bulleted under _Activities: What the Charity does_ as subheadings in the two sections (‘Successes’, ‘Failures’) below. Also, in line with established _Solace_ convention, the information under the other subheadings (e.g. ‘Who the charity helps’, ‘How the charity works’ and ‘The Organisation’s charitable objects’, etc.) contributes to fleshing out the report in the relevant sections. ## _**The**_ **Solace** _**journey thus far:**_ **Reasons to smile** God Honours us with the Favour of Letting us experience success in a range of areas, as we improve on strides already made in years gone by. Even so, the below-stated successes are presented keeping in mind the Undying Words of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Recorded in the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke: _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 18** LIKEWISE, WHEN YE SHALL HAVE DONE ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE COMMANDED YOU, SAY: “WE ARE UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS: WE HAVE DONE THAT WHICH WAS OUR DUTY TO _”[6]_ DO As noted in last year’s Report, the vastness of what by the Ever-Bountiful Hand of God, we have so far achieved, is reflected in the Organisation’s continued lack of corporate funding, regular donations or high publicity. We can never appreciate the LORD Almighty enough regarding His Goodness as Demonstrated through this charity in in the following pages. As continually we have pointed out, the key barometer by which _Solace International_ evaluates achievements, regrets and areas for improvement is the list of what we set out to achieve. ## **Area 1:[7]** _**Education and training**_ _**Activity**_ _**Details**_ 6 Lk 17:10 7 These areas are marked with numbers for purposes of making the list easier to read. They do not reflect any kind of order or priority list. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 19** **----- Start of picture text -----**
We believe that it is the Will of God, for people to be
well educated, better informed and more empowered.
“My People perish” He Says, “from lack of knowledge”. [8]
Thus, it is the position of Solace International that the
more educated one is, the better able they would be to
Seminars serve God optimally by among other things, contributing
and to the community and doing their best for their loved
ones. Solace also holds, that the most effective antidote
workshops
to the maladies of corruption, poverty and wanton
violence (be it domestic, political, religious, ethnic or
other) is through education. For this reason, Solace
regularly puts on free training programmes. Depending
on the topic and space, the programmes last from half a
day (e.g. ‘Helping children settle in their new
surroundings’) to twelve weeks (e.g. ‘ Solace Enterprise
Empowerment Programme’).
As part of the training programmes we deliver (usually
completely free of charge [9] ) Solace uses the Christian
Sacred Scriptures (commonly known as ‘the Holy
Bible’), together with a creative mix of written and non-
written sources. The training we offer especially in
business support and set-up will from next year, focus
less on Christian principles and more on generally
applicable ones. We aim in doing so, to make the
training more attractive and accessible to a wider
clientele. A full list of what programmes we offer
accompanies this report (see: ‘Appendix D: The Solace’s
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8 Hos 4:6 9 Where fees are applied, these are usually nominal and generally waived or reduced if the debtor so requests. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 20** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Training Programme’).
Solace has collected and distributed since 2014, close to
five thousand books. These have come from a myriad of
Books sources including Joseph Dos Santos (the Organisation’s
Founder), members of the public, abandoned
publications, donated misprints, Solace International
purchases, etc. The books tend to be mainly educational
with a heavy bias for primary school-age readers.
However, we have also distributed a good number of
entertainment books such as novels, novellas and
periodicals. We believe that reading enhances
education, but reading would not be easy if it had to be
without entertainment. For this reason, we have not
restricted our work in this area to only academic
textbooks or Christian religious publications. Solace
continues to negotiate with schools and bookshops, both
Christian and non-Christian, for more donations. In line
with our aim of furthering the Christian Faith, the
Organisation has also distributed so far, around a
hundred bibles.
In 2021, we have also engaged in storytelling and story-
writing for children. Next year, Solace International
hopes to work with selected parents on supporting
children to tell and even write their own stories. Some
of these stories will with their permission, be printed
and published under the ‘Solace International
Publications’ banner.
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 21** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Area 2 : The prevention or relief of poverty (UK)
Activity Details
In 2021, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there
has been a rise in manifestations of poverty across the
United Kingdom – such as rough-sleeping, dumpster-
diving and begging. As previously noted, several reports
Foodbank and research findings share the consensus that many
UK families are unable to afford decent meals – even
where the families have one or more gainfully employed
breadwinners. [10] It has also been noted, that one sign of
neglect in child abuse cases is the continuous starvation
and/or malnourishment of the child (Dos Santos, 2019).
It has also been consistently found, that in a host of
cases, families are unable to combine food purchases
with paying of rents, utility bills, insurance and other
costs.
While (thanks to God) there are many food banks and
other food provisions (e.g. soup kitchens and food hubs),
some families are too embarrassed, ashamed or even
afraid to visit food banks or openly express their need
for help with food, creating an added vulnerability. In
response, Solace International has supported the H2G
Food Hub and is negotiating with several parties, to
establish in 2022, a soup kitchen which could also serve
as a one-stop shop for support in other areas (e.g. CV
reviews, benefits advice and signposting). Furthermore,
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> 10 As the references below demonstrate, there are several reasons for this. _Solace International_ will God Willing, issue a report on the matter later this year (2021). _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 22** the Organisation continues to operate its flagship _Foodbank With A Difference_ wherein by means of a floating foodbank we go in search of the needy instead of waiting for them to find us. We are in doing so, walking in the Footsteps of Jesus Christ our Chief Role Model Who did not always Wait for those in need to approach Him: He more often than not, Moved around, Making Himself both available and accessible to those in need of His Goodness. _Solace_ continues to support schools in Kenya, to educate orphans and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The level of support has however been scaled down in _**School**_ deference both to the Organisation’s lack of resources _**support**_ and the Organisation’s decision to reduce its involvement and presence in Kenya, effective 2021.[11] _Solace_ ’s schools support varies, depending on the institution – and can range from supporting children through school by paying for their school fees, school uniforms and other school-related needs, to availing them and/or their families, money for extra tuition, school meals and boarding. _Solace_ continues to support parents experiencing poverty to deal with their situation by breaking free from the cycle/bondage of poverty. The priority is in light of the current global health situation, no longer on single parents. Instead, we continue to generalise our > 11 The _Solace International_ Board of Trustees later rescinded this decision as a result of which, Kenya continues to be the main focus of our work and resources. This situation is to be however, regularly reviewed between now and 2025 when by the Grace of God, a final decision on the matter would have been made. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 23** ||**_Poverty-_**
**_busting_**|support in this area, on a case-by-case basis. Small cash
grants have been made (UK and elsewhere), but other
forms of support such as the supply of foodstuf,
arrangements with restaurants and pharmacists
(Kenya), as well as signposting (UK and elsewhere) have
become the hallmark of our work in this area as the
Organisation adjusts to what has come to be known as
‘the new normal’ (Maragakis, 2020). Nonetheless, the
Organisation’s fagship_Solace_Enterprise Empowerment
Programme (SEEP) which was temporarily shelved, has
resumed since in our opinion, it is important to support
as many people as we can, to stand up against COVID,
its system, government and religion, by refusing to
dwell in manufactured poverty, but instead breaking
free through enterprise and self-employment wherever
possible. This is to the Glory of God Whose Will it is that
we “prosper and be in good health”12. The SEEP will
however as noted hitherto, shortly begin to diversify its
conten, with the vision of making it more benefcial to a
wider populace. In addition, we are working on an
online version which hopefully would cost less and reach
more: cost us less money and resources to deliver, but
reach many more people.|| |---|---|---|---| 12 3Jn: 2 _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 24** **----- Start of picture text -----**
We are building relationships with other organisations –
including corporate, charitable, academic, religious and
unregistered community groups both in Kenya and the
UK. [13] This will allow us to help even more people in
other areas without having to take on the financial and
other costs of registration and opening offices
everywhere. It is also a chance to support other
Collaborati
organisations towards achieving their own visions, aims
on
and objectives. We are for instance, working with
groups and individuals in Uganda, Sri Lanka, South
Africa, Nigeria, Nepal, Namibia, Kenya, Ghana,
Botswana and elsewhere. In light of current resource
realities which the Organisation is currently having to
live with, the collaborations have been largely informal
and even indirect – such as our arrangements in
Botswana, Ivory Coast, Ghana, etc. As with our
collaborations in Vietnam, Pakistan, Jamaica, India,
Barbados, etc., some of the arrangements are still at a
very foetal stage. However, interagency working
remains a key aspect of Solace International ’s modus
operandi. In the UK and Kenya, Solace continues to be a
part of and/or engaged with: ACTS Church, Born Again
Revival Tabernacle International, Kenya (BARTI-K),
Croydon BME Forum, Croydon Voluntary Association
(CVA), Deliverance Church International, Faiths
Together in Croydon (FTiC), Groots-Mathare (Kenya),
Hope Africa Community, Kingston Voluntary Action
(KVA), Lambeth Voluntary Action (LVAC) Restoration
13 Our letterheads reflect this as we tend to include at the bases of the documents, logos
of most organisations we have worked or partnered with. Some groups are yet to be
added though. They will be inserted as time goes on, subject to approval by the Trustees
acting on the advice of the Chief Administrator.
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 25** ||_World Revival Church _(RWRC) and _SOS Children’s_
_Village Buruburu_(Kenya) among others.
Sadly however, for a variety of reasons highlighted by
single words in the related footnotes, we have had to
end or suspend our relationships with the following:
_Africa Youth Development Association _(AYDA),14 _Be_
_Diferent 365_,15
_Born Again Revival Tabernacle_
_International, Malawi_(BARTI-M),16 _Born Again Revival_
_Tabernacle International, Croydon_(BARTI-UK),17 _Circle_
_of Parents_(CoP),18 _Croydon Food Network_(CFN),19
_Citizens,20 Full Gospel Churches of Kenya_ _Burburu_,21
_Heads2Gether_(H2G),22 _House of Prayer For All_
_Nations,_23
_Kenya Assemblies of God,_24
_Parent_
_Champions25 _and Winners Chapel.26A short report
explaining these reasons will be available before
S.T.A.R. ’22, God Willing.| |---|---| 14 Self-focus. 15 Self-focus. 16 Corruption. 17 COVID. 18 Confusion. 19 Defunct. 20 Ambiguity 21 Dishonesty. 22 Corruption. 23 Defunct. 24 Dishonesty. 25 Confidentiality-breach 26 Achieved. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 26** **Area 3:** _**The prevention or relief of poverty (Kenya and elsewhere) Activity**_ **Details** Street children, ‘street kids’, or c _hokora_ as they are known in Kenya, are minors (typically aged between six and fifteen years old) who for a variety of reasons (e.g. _**Street kids**_ abuse, being orphaned, victims of crime, running away from home, drug addiction, etc.) are forced to live on the streets. They can sometimes be spotted moving about the country’s urban areas in dishevelled packs of five-to-fifty strong. They are particularly vulnerable to violent criminals and are also usually easy targets for lynch groups when a theft or other petty crime has occurred but the perpetuators are unknown or unclear.[27] Criminal and terror gangs also find them easy to aim for. We do not have the capacity for rehabilitating them, but _Solace_ has provided food and money to many _chokoras_ , as well as companionship which in the absence of formal counselling, has proven quite helpful – especially in the cold and lonely – even dangerous hours of the night when most law-abiding adults are home, law 27 This is not to say that the street children are entirely innocent. In their desperation, they have been known to commit serious crimes such as violent robbery, severe assaults and the occasional rape. However, _Solace_ takes the position that nonetheless, street children are as a whole (despite the unfortunate and opprobrious actions of a minority within the group), quite vulnerable, being easy targets for every kind of criminal and violent person (which in part explains why street children tend to move in packs…safety in numbers). It must also be remembered, that they are minors. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 27** **----- Start of picture text -----**
enforcement agents are scarce leaving the streets bare,
dangerous and lonely.
In addition, Solace International has this year, appointed
an official whose role is to find more ways of supporting
children and parents whose levels of need force them
onto the streets to beg or scavenge for sustenance.
Between 2014 and 2021, Solace International has
supplied more than eight thousand free clothes and
shoes to those in need. Although in the past, Solace has
also arranged for several individuals and groups to visit
Solace premises to collect further consignments of
Clothes
clothes, in 2020, the focus was on ensuring that in the
supply face of the current global health situation, no person
who needed clothes was turned away empty-handed
after coming to us. For the first time since the
Organisation began this project in 2014, we have
however completely run out of clothes as our stock
numbering several thousands of clothes was emptied
while we addressed the needs of those who turned to us.
The supply of free clothes is a very important aspect of
our work in the prevention or relief of poverty in Kenya
where a large section of its people live below the
poverty line and the buying of clothes is such a
mountainous problem for many families. A small
percentage of our clothes were given out in the UK as
for only the second time in our history, we have had
cases of people coming to Solace in England, for help
with clothing. The only other time this has happened,
was in 2015 when users of our then-static UK foodbank
almost routinely made requests for clothes. The key
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 28** difference was that in 2015, _Solace International_ gave out around 45% of its clothes collection in the UK, whereas in 2020, the UK figure stands at around 25%. The UK requests were this time round, also often distinct from rather than connected to, food requests, unlike in 2015, when not a single request for clothes in the UK came from persons who did not also require help with food. As already indicated, _Solace International_ continues to make cash grants to those in need. The Organisation _**Cash**_ does not however, give loans. Our reasons for this can _**grants**_ be found in the TAR for last year and the year before – although we have added a supplementary-cumcomplementary reason in this Report.[28] That said, is an inevitable aspect of the Organisation’s work that we make cash grants wherever and whenever we can. The grants are however, usually small and even so, only where there is no other alternative. All grants are subject to the availability of funds as well as strict criteria as laid out in our Beneficiaries Policy and the decision of the Trustees. This year, _Solace International_ has made grants to beneficiaries in Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Nepal and Nigeria. ## **Area 4:** _**Religious activities**_ ## _**Activity Details**_ In spite of the restrictions on movement across the > 28 Please, see: _How the charity works_ , above _. Thank you._ _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 29** world in general and Kenya as well as the UK in general, the Organisation has managed to support a church in Kenya with this unique capacity-building tool. As indicated in previous TARs, every year since 2012, _Solace International_ has contributed to the capacity- _**The**_ building of at least one church. The support offered in _**‘Towards’**_ this regard ranges widely from helping to set up a youth _**Reports**_ and teens ministry ( _Winners Chapel_ , Malindi, Kenya), through to observing what could be going wrong in a church and suggesting ways to put it right ( _Hope Africa_ , Syiokimau, Kenya) to simple church planting ( _Born Again Revival Tabernacle International_ [BARTI] UK). In all, we have so far provided such support for more than ten churches and Christian ministries. The support usually culminates in a report with a title that begins: ‘Towards’ (e.g. ‘ _Towards_ A Better Youth Ministry’, ‘ _Towards_ Clearer Communication’, ‘ _Towards_ A Stronger Church’, etc.). The reports allow us to build, maintain and present a colourful portfolio of our work in this unique area of Christian ministry, while furnishing the ministries involved, their leaderships as well as others corporate and individual, who may learn from them, with the unique tool of an interested outsider’s keen eye as they seek to glorify God and meet people’s expectations through the work they do in His Name, by His Grace and to His Glory. It must be added here however, that as part of our diversification approach, the ‘Towards’ reports have not been strictly restricted to supporting churches. For instance, in 2016, we prepared one for _Ashleys Hair and Beauty Academy_ (Kenya) and this year, we prepared one _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 30** **----- Start of picture text -----**
for Heads2gether aka ‘H2G’ (UK).
Although we are an intrinsic an inextricable part of the
Preaching Church – the Bride of Jesus Christ, Solace International
engagemen does not refer to itself as a church and is not affiliated
ts to any church. Our work nonetheless, is centred on
furtherance of the Gospel. This has brought us to the
attention of several Christian leaders who have been
glad to honour our Founder and by extension, Solace
International , with the privilege of speaking God’s Word
from their pulpits, altars, sanctuaries and other
exclusive platforms. Since 2020, there have been over a
hundred of such engagements. Solace International also
has its own Christian fora – such as its WhatsApp -based
daily preaching and prayer platforms.
In the area of evangelisation, Solace continues to work
Evangelisat with other entities in reaching out to God’s People on
ion the streets of not only Kenya and the United Kingdom,
but Botswana, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Nepal, Pakistan,
Portugal, Sri Lanka and South Africa. In addition (as
already indicated above), our training programmes
(especially those to do with leadership, counselling skills
and enterprise empowertment) generally contain Bible-
based material, although (as also indicated above) we
are working on a non-Bible-based alternative.
Solace continues to acquire through a variety of means
including purchase and donations, bibles which are then
Bible distributed free of charge, to those who need but cannot
afford to buy them. In 2019, Solace received from St
distributio
Francis Anglican Parish , Monks Hill (Selsdon, Surrey),
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 31** **----- Start of picture text -----**
n the generous donation of ten bibles. These wonderful
gifts are passed over to those who need them. Tis year,
we have made available, two children’s bibles –
continuing a practice dating back to 2017, since when
we have supplied over fifty children’s bibles – especially
(though not only) in Kenya. This year, we have managed
to supply so far, only one adult bible. Such unique
efforts are of course, quite expensive in terms of time
and funds, but we are as always, quite glad as well as
humbled and honoured, to serve the LORD and His
People in this way.
Although not as part of any formal agreement or
arrangement, Solace International continues to support
directly and indirectly, with cash and other resources, a
Other
variety of Christian charities. We also work hard to
support for sensitise Christians to the fact that giving to other
the wider Christian charities is part of the obligation of giving to
the Work of God. This year alone, we have made an
Church
estimated forty-plus calls via our channels, encouraging
our friends to support other charities. While
endeavouring not to favour any, we have specifically
mentioned Open Doors which supports the persecuted
Church around the world – and for which Solace
International organised an awareness night a few years
ago. As noted in last year’s report, since 2019, we have
been adding profiles of Christian charities at the backs
of our publications. As indicated in last year’s TAR, our
newsletter, social media platforms and website all
reflect this. In addition, Solace continues to support
even more ministries across the world with a monthly
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 32** tithe on income generated, as mandated in the _Solace_ Tithe and Tithing Policy. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Area 5: Economic/community
development/employment
Activity Details
This year, we have in Kenya mainly, supported around
fifteen small-scale businesses. We have backed them
Collaboration with money and other resources. In addition, we are
s supporting five groups to register formally as charities
or charitable organisations in the UK, Nigeria and
Kenya. This shows that our range of collaborations has
undulated colourfully - even as we have ended certain
collaborations and taken on new ones, while continuing
a few others. [29] The support we have given includes but
does not stop at: free use of our office in Kenya, free
secretarial and registration services, professional and
semi-professional advice on operating in the voluntary
sector, financial support, free or low-priced policy
drafting, etc.
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## **Area 6:** _**Human rights, religious or racial harmony,**_ 29 Please see ‘Collaboration’ under Area 2 above. Thank you. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 33** **----- Start of picture text -----**
equality or diversity
Activity Details
In addition to the contents of this section in last year’s
Report, we note that the appointment of an official
Domestic
dubbed ‘Acting Director of Women’s Affairs and
violence
Families’, [30] will go a long way in supporting people to
deal more effectively with domestic violence and its
fallout. Much of our work in this area will for now be
concentrated in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (as it has
done so far), but it is anticipated that this would soon
change – expanding over the coming years, to include
Europe and the Americas.
The abuse or maltreatment of employees is a
socioeconomic problem which transcends all races and
Employee
cultures across the world. We are actively engaged in
abuse
supporting victims wherever and whenever we can. For
reasons of confidentiality and sensitivity however, we
regret that we will not give any details in this document,
other than to state that this is a problem that has
actually resulted in threats to Solace staff, but which
irrespective of the dangers involved, we will continue to
challenge – and challenge with firmness, to the Glory of
God Who has Ruled that all employees must be treated
fairly and considerately. [31]
One of the aspects of poverty not often viewed as being
connected to the problem, is advocacy. Many people are
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30 A title which is likely to change slightly, to make it less of a mouthful, in the coming months. 31 The Holy Bible’s Gospel According to Saint Luke (Lk) 10:7 and Saint Paul’s First Letter (possibly) to Timothy col 4:1; 1Tim 5:18; Jas 5:4, etc. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 34** ||**_Letters and_**
**_advocacy_**|poor because they have no strong voice and no one to
speak out/up for them. At_Solace_, we have continued
however, to provide understated but quite efective
support in this area for members of the public. We have
found though, that the need for this service tends to
vary according to country and culture. In addition.
_Solace_continues to help many prospective job seekers
in the production of very presentable CVs, cover letters
and personal statements. In 2021 alone, we have given
written/writing support to over ninety people and
groups – most of them from the UK. Since 2014, we
have supported close to one thousand – and hope to
cross the one-thousand threshold before the end of
2021.|| |---|---|---|---| **----- Start of picture text -----**
Area 7: General
Activity Details
Solace provides a free service in which we bring
estranged family members back together. One of our
greatest successes was the reconciliation in 2017, of a
father and daughter who had not spoken for almost
Family
fifteen years, having lost contact with each other during
that time. The daughter approached us and through
social media as well as other lines of enquiry, we
managed to track him down in another part of the
country and link them with each other again. Another
area covered by this section of our work, is regarding
men who deny paternity of children it is reasonable to
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 35** **----- Start of picture text -----**
believe they have sired. We work to bring resolution to
these situations as this ensures that irrespective of the
rancour which may have overshadowed their parents’
relationships, the children caught up in such situations
can receive the support which as the Holy Bible Makes
clear, they are entitled to from their fathers.
It is still the case, that Solace works with individuals as
Targeting well as communities in support of those who though in
need, fail to meet specific criteria and so are unable to
receive the help they need. We endeavour where
possible, to identify such individuals and then provide
relevant support within reason and according to our
means.
Solace has continued to enhance its capacity-building
through the compilation and application of relevant
Policies
policies. We now have a total of twenty-five policies.
These include:
 Accounts
 Beneficiaries
 Child Protection and Safeguarding
 Complaints
 Conflict of Interest
 Data Protection
 Enterprise Empowerment
 Equal Opportunities
 Food Hygiene and Safety
 Health and Safety
 Holiday
 Invoice
 Office Share
 Tithe and Tithing
 Volunteer policies.
Despite the almost indescribable financial pressures we
are under, Solace has refused to cut corners such as
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 36** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Integrity engaging in bribery. Bribery has remained an almost
immovable issue in Kenya. In the UK, Solace invariably
returns or rejects (i.e. refuses to collect or accept) all
donations where doubts exist or persist, as to the source
and/or motive of the donations in question.
For the second year running, Solace International has
managed to generate revenue from beyond the UK.
WoW Sanctuary based in Juja (Kenya), pledged in
August this year, to be making regular monthly
Expanded
donations to Solace until February 2022 when this shall
reach
be reviewed. A revenue drive across some of the nations
we are engaged with is also planned for later this year.
This year also, we have supported people in India,
Namibia and Pakistan. We are seeking to do the same
for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in light of the
volcanic eruptions occurring there, as well as Lebanon,
Peru and Venezuela, following the near collapse of their
economies. As always, Solace International is acting
with wisdom rooted in reality. We therefore remain
aware, that we cannot do much for any country as a
whole, but we can at the very minimum, bring relief –
solace in fact, to at least one person in each country. By
the Grace of God our Everlasting Provider and Guide,
we hope to find reliable partners in these and other
places before the publication of our next Annua Report.
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 37** ## **Let us remember…** …that these reasons to smile, are only a selection taken from a beautiful range of many more. _Solace International_ remains firm, focused and fired up as we seek by the Grace of God and to His Glory, to keep labouring in the Divine Vineyard, while receiving in all humility, such Victories as it Pleases Him to Grant us. We know that there are – and will always be, many other organisations which as the LORD would Have it – although better-resourced than _Solace International_ , have been unable to achieve this much. That realisation is however balanced against the equal Truth, that there are – and will always be, other organisations with even far less resources than God has Granted this Organisation, which have performed far better than _Solace International._ That said, successes are always worth celebrating – no matter what size, shade or shape they come in, since all good things Flow to us on Earth from Heaven Above, to the Glory of God the Father of Lights, with Whom there is no shadow of turning.[32] He Guides us to aim for more and for higher, even when we find ourselves looking at some of the mountains before us – and scratching our heads… 32 Jas 1:17 _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 38** ## _**The**_ **Solace** _**journey thus far:**_ **Scratching our heads** It has Pleased the LORD in His Infinite Wisdom, that we should be humbled by several areas for improvement, some of which are outlined below. The same format as in the case of our reasons to smile above, has been used here. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Area 1: Education and training
Activity Details
Despite the huge need for same, we still are unable to
acquire enough books for distribution to those in need.
The demand far outstrips the supply. Surprisingly, this
Books
issue has never made it onto the agenda of any of our
Trustees meetings – and the Organisation’s
Administrators have not discussed it either. The failure
here therefore, is not simply in our inability to acquire
more books, but in the fact that we do not have any idea
why this situation persists (despite the observations on
the matter made in last year’s Report). Clearly, there is
room – and need, for improvement if we are to
adequately and appropriately address this issue.
This year, the challenges we faced in this area have
been not only different from those of last year, but
Training
singularly unique. The current global pandemic has led
programme to a rise in online education and training which has in
s turn generated a greater uptake of online academic and
empowerment services. For reasons as yet unclear,
Solace International has not taken advantage of this
new and truly exciting opening, despite its potential for
better publicity, higher revenue generation and greater
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 39** reach. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Area 2: The prevention or relief of poverty (UK)
Activity Details
The alleviation and ultimate defeat of poverty remain a
huge part of our work; it is a job the Organisation takes
quite seriously. Thus, as hitherto noted, Solace
Material
International provides to those in need, material reliefs
and cash such as clothes and financial support in the form of
reliefs small grants. This it may be argued, is a laudable
approach (Blattman, Fiala, and Martinez, 2014; Mora,
2017) . Going by expert opinion in some quarters
however, this approach is nonetheless, dubitable
(Aizenman, 2017). It has in fact been noted, that:
“(Although) giving money directly to poor people works
surprisingly well…it cannot deal with the deeper causes
of poverty” (Orton, 2013). Give Dir e ctly is an
organisation which simply gives money to the poor (Give
Directly, 2020). It has however been suggested that
while the Give Directly approach is unique, direct and at
least a provider of short-term relief, raw cash gifts
cannot on their own solve the problem of poverty. (Starr
and Hattendorf, 2014). As noted last year, Solace
International is still struggling to formulate an effective
poverty alleviation approach – one that would not weigh
the Organisation down as we endeavour to support
those in need.
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 40** ## **Area 3:** _**Religious activities**_ **----- Start of picture text -----**
Activity Details
Solace International is still working almost exclusively with
mainly Pentecostal churches. This is a poor reflection of our
broad outlook in which we seek to favour no denominations
and to work with all. We are in addition, unable to
Pastors’
recommence Solace Pastors’ Breakfasts which we
breakfasts completely stopped shortly after last year’s Annual
and other Report. It is true that the COVID-19 situation has had its
impact on many religious organisations’ activities,, but
activities
as an Organisation which prioritises the Law of God
Above those of Man, believes firmly in His Promises and
trusts totally in the Divine Protection as Highlighted in
Sacred Scriptures [33] and beyond, we know that no
disease or threat should stand in our way. We refuse
therefore to blame anything but ourselves for this
shortcoming which at any rate, we intend to address
squarely by August, 2022, having failed to reach a
decision on the matter at the Solace Trustees’ meeting
billed for Spring, 2021. Our bible distribution still
inadequate and would therefore need improving as well.
The policy to govern collection and distribution of bibles
is also yet to be drafted, despite assurances given in last
year’s Annual Report.
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33 For instance, various Psalms (e.g. 1, 34, 91, etc.), Is 54, Jer 29, Jn 19:11, etc. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 41** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Area 4: Economic/community
development/employment
Activity Details
We have long recognised, that working together is an
aspect of charitable work which will benefit all
stakeholders greatly and so should be encouraged and
Collaborati
promoted with gusto. It is also an essential aspect of
ons Christianity which places great emphasis on unity “for
there has God Commanded the Blessing”. [34] It is indeed
true that Solace continues to see the benefits of
collaboration; it is also true however, that we are yet to
reach our full potential regarding such engagements,
with like-minded organisations in the UK, Kenya and
elsewhere. [35] In some cases, negotiations for working
together appear to be taking too long. For instance (as
noted in our previous annual reports), a collaborative
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34 Ps 133:3. 35 As last year’s TAR showed, the feelers we sent out to various groups Christian and otherwise, have yielded mixed outcomes. Even now one year on – probably due to the global pandemic (although this would be too simplistic and sweeping a factor to be accepted as solely responsible), arrangements with potential partners in places such as Barbados, Jamaica, Pakistan, Rwanda, St Lucia, Vietnam and Zambia remain at a germinal stage – although to the Glory of God, our solid relationships with groups and individuals in Ghana, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria and South Africa are looking good. The orphanage in Uganda which we were supporting, remains under sanction though, following their abiding failure to demonstrate transparency in the use of the financial and other resources we sent them in past years. The Trustees determined last year, on the advice of the Organisation’s Chief Administrator, that sanctions against the orphanage will remain in place until the conclusion of a fact-finding mission which we plan for after the current COVID-19 situation eases. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 42** effort between _Deliverance Church_ , Kahawa, Kenya, took eighteen months to arrange, while over two years following initial talks, our attempt at collaboration with several corporate bodies in different countries (including but not only, Kenya and the UK) are yet to yield any real fruit. The challenge for _Solace_ here is not simply the stalled, staggered or stopped negotiations, but the very crucial need for gaining a clearer awareness of the collaboration landscape, as this would enable the Organisation to choose prospective partners more carefully, while steering clear of drawn-out negotiations which are often ultimately unnecessary, but a truly frustrating waste of precious (and in some cases – irreplaceable) resources such as confidence, esteem/respect, focus, scarce funds, time, etc. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Area: General
Activity Details
Our fully operational website [36] is now about one year old
– although establishing a viable social media presence
continueas to be a challenge – despite our presence on
several platforms. [37] Sadly however, we have had to in
Publicity
some respects, fight to maintain our social media
presence – the keyword being surviving rather than
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36 www.solace.international 37 We are now on: WhatsApp (+447904027127 – three platforms), Twitter (@a1solace), Telegram, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook (Solace Kimataifa). _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 43** _thriving_ . This is chiefly because of the deliberate sabotage we had to endure at the hands of _Solace_ staff who had grievances against the Organisation or its personnel (their colleagues) which were not resolved to their satisfaction. In their ire, they sought to damage or eliminate our internet capacities.[38] In addition, we are for these and other reasons under review, still failing to ensure _Solace International_ and the wonderful work we do, receive as much publicity as possible, so the Organisation remains unnoticed by – and/or unattractive to benefactors. We remain optimistic all the same, that by the Grace of God, before S.T.A.R. ‘23, these issues would have been successfully resolved. The point has been made in previous TARs, that _Solace International_ is not in receipt of funding from any source. The Organisation considers this to be a failure _**Funding**_ because there is always funding available, even if _Solace International_ has neither identified nor applied for any so far. We have also not registered for Gift Aid – a failure which has potentially denied us thousands of Pounds. The matter has unfortunately persisted in the sense that we have not received any funding – although 38 Our Website Administrator chose to disengage with the Organisation and stopped working with the web designer whom we had contracted (part of the Web Administrator’s role was to support this person); the web designer on his part, began issuing threats effectively suggesting he could pull our website down; he also tried pitting some of the Organisation’s officials against each other, while our Admin for the Facebook page _Intersolace Organization_ actually deactivated the page, so that if we had not maintained _Solace Kimataifa_ (and under a different Admin), we would have been at least temporarily, without a Facebook presence. Thanks to God, we have dealt with the situation firmly, fully and (we hope) finally by first breaking the hold of all three persons over the Organisation’s social media and other potential. We have also re-established our internet presence and firmed up the governance structure to ensure we would never have to face such issues again. The search for a new web designer is however, still on. We are confident that in His Own Time and Way, the LORD will Guide us to a new and highly reliable person. Amen! _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 44** thank God, compared to past years when the Organisation’s funds sometimes nosedived steeply, our income for the moment continually shows improvement.[39] ## **Let us also remember…** …that these points whereupon we are left scratching our heads, are in no way, reasons to be despondent or to lose hope. We take great strength from the stories of other groups and individuals – both in antiquity and in our day, whose lives and times have borne out the Divine Truth in the Question: “…Who has despised the day of small things?”. At _Solace International_ , we know that although we are not always sprinting, we are at the very least, moving; what is more: we are moving in the right 39 That said, the situation remains, that in the absence of funding, the Founder a freelance writer, donates around ninety-five per cent of all his income to _Solace International._ It is also a failure on the Organisation’s part that despite our formal and informal engagements in over thirty countries (see Appendix B), a sizable portion of the Organisation’s income continues to be spent on our work and interests in Kenya. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 45** direction – all by the Grace of God, by Whose Love and Wisdom we are Reminded of an old poem which talks of small steps and heavy loads: _Have you ever seen a tortoise going slowly on its way – Slowly creeping, slowly crawling – fifty yards in half a day? Why so slowly – oh so slowly, does it creep from place to place With that very – oh so very, tired look upon its face? It is not because it’s lazy – or because it’s old and slow: If you were carrying a house on your back – how quickly would you go?”_ – Author unknown Thus, even as we find ourselves scratching our heads while we stand looking at some of the mountains before us, we shall continually bear in mind, that as long as we keep moving the LORD in Accordance with His Promises – Promises that never fail, will Bless us with so many Favours, including among other things, important updates… ## **The** _**Solace**_ **journey thus far: Important updates** ## **1.** _**Partnerships and collaborations**_ _Solace International_ has entered into partnership with several organisations. Most of these partnerships are either informal or semiformal. We have for instance, worked with Heads2gether (H2G) in Croydon, UK, to support single parents and families on low income towards acquiring their own housing and solving their housing problems. We have also agreed with Great Bridge College in Nairobi, Kenya to _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 46** support people who want to go back to school but have passed the ‘normal’ school age. Some people are above the age of 18 but want to go back to school to complete their grades, whether KCSE or KCPE. The arrangement we have with the Great Bridge College is one in which students who come through us but can't afford the fees will be supported by Solace in collaboration with the particular school. Great Bridge College has also agreed that students who come through us will get a 15% discount on their tuition fees across every academic year. In addition, the organisation is working very hard with individuals and other groups to achieve its aims. However, this year, a decision has been made not to work very closely with churches especially in Kenya due to flagrant cases of dishonesty. We have had situations where church leaders do not keep to agreements; almost routinely, they do not tell the truth and they tend to be very selfish, as well as very stingy. Many of them want us to do things for them but they never want to do things for us and they want money from organisations even charitable groups like us but wouldn't do anything to help us either raise funds, acquire funds or receive funds from them or through them. We also have found out that many church leaders are not really keen on empowering their members, so when we try to work with them to support congregants towards empowerment in terms of acquiring some of the skills they might need to become better in Life, churches have actively worked against this. For this reason, we have decided that from 2022, we will not be working with Kenyan churches as eagerly as we have been doing in the past. We will continue to work with them as organisations but shall not be giving them priority in anything. We are also working with _Groots Mathare_ in Kenya which has been restructured and so we find that the previous informal arrangement we have with them is no longer valid. Thus, we are working to achieve something new with them. The challenge here is being able to determine _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 47** who to speak to and how to flesh out a new arrangement based on a new relationship. _Groots Mathare_ and _Solace_ at the time of going to press, are still locked in negotiations. We are also trying to develop partnerships with a couple of banks. We have sent feelers out to _Housing Finance, Family Bank and Cooperative Bank_ , all of Kenya. We have also sent out feeers to _Barclays Bank_ of the UK. Our efforts so far have not yielded much fruit, but we feel that there is hope in these areas if we can push a bit harder. The intention of _Solace_ therefore, is to redouble our efforts across the next twelve months. We are also working in collaboration with the Croydon BME Forum to support people who need help with their CVs and employability skills We are also hoping from next year, that people who come to us through Croydon BME Forum that are in need of help with their DBS check will be supported by _Solace_ . We intend to support at least one person per month on average. That means twelve people in a whole year for the whole of 2022. ## **2.** _**Missionaries**_ We have also continued to work with missionaries. This is different from working with churches. Churches are fixed institutions or fixed buildings or fixed organisations but we also have missionaries who are also doing the work of God but they are working as independent individuals – either as part of an organisation (semi-independently), or on their own (independently). Our engagement with individual missionaries has allowed us to further stretch our arms to different parts of the world. This year for instance, it has Pleased God that we have found ourselves working with missionaries in India, Pakistan, as well as South Africa – in addition to the previous places such as but not only Malawi, Nepal and Sri Lanka. As such, the number of countries that _Solace International_ has been working with so far or supported people in any way at all – _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 48** including Christianity issues, education, employability, enterprise empowerment and/or poverty alleviation and so on, has stretched to around thirty-nine (39). It has not always been easy working with people from most of these places – partly because the fact that we are an NGO (nongovernmental organisation) or charity and we are UK based has sometimes led to the impression that we have a lot of money to throw around. Thus, part of working with different organisations has inevitably involved lowering these inordinately high expectations. Doing so is not always simple, given that we have to lower the expectations while at the same time encouraging greater expectations of diligence, transparency and accountability – even though our standards can sometimes be at odds with local traditions and understandings of issues such as bribery, corruption, shortcuts, etc. – often leading to suspicions and allegations that _Solace International_ is imposing or seeking to impose British or Western values on others. We are also hoping by the end of this year to be working formally, with groups or organisations in Jamaica and Namibia. God Willing, we are stepping up from next year, our work in Nigeria and Ghana. However, Kenya continues to be our chief priority and so about 80% of our resources continue to flow into Kenya. ## **3.** _**Structure and restructure**_ _Solace_ is run by a set of Trustees and administrators. The administrators are led by the Chief Administrator below whom are Administrators including: Fieldworker Administrator, Volunteer Administrator, Publicity (and Web) Administrator, etc. This year as we aim for greater efficiency, we have restructured the Organisation and as part of the process, made a few personnel changes. First of all, the _Solace_ officials including the Trustees and Administrators have come together in a _WhatsApp_ group, _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 49** allowing the officials to keep interacting regularly and somewhat less formally. It is anticipated that this shall allow the Organisation’s Trustees and other officials to work together seamlessly without having to go through rigid protocols in order to get things done. It will also allow for decisions to be made more quickly and for the officials to understand each other better. Secondly, we have created two committees that would help us in deciding how to support those in need: the _Solace_ Finance Committee (SFC) as well as the Awards and Benefits Committee (ABC). With effect from this year, whenever anybody comes to us with a need, they must now go through the ABC. Prior to that, the _Solace_ official whom they speak to will link them up with the officer who is directly involved with what they want. For instance, if it is something to do with volunteering, they would be directed to the Organisation’s Volunteer Administrator; if it is something to do with families, women and/or children, we would link them to the Solace Director of Women’s Affairs and Families, and so on. Through the relevant official (or their subordinate), the prospective beneficiary would complete an Initial Response Form. Once completed, the official would forward it (or a report based on it – that is, the Initial Response Form) to the Awards and Benefits Committee. The ABC would then meet and consider whether that person's issue can be taken up or what else should be done, for example, ask the person for more information, contact some other people who have been mentioned in the form, or signpost the person in another more productive direction (such as to one of our partner organisations, etc.). If the ABC feels that their matter meets our criteria (based in part or in whole, on the _Solace_ Beneficiaries Policy and/or rulings of the Organisation’s Trustees Board) and so can be taken up by the Organisation, it will be escalated to the SFC ( _Solace_ Finance Committee), whose main job in this respect is to look at what finances are available and then decide how much we are _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 50** willing as well as able to invest in supporting this person or this group, as well as how long we will give that support. The _Solace_ Finance Committee can also decide to prioritise that person/group, different from what the Awards and Benefits Committee has decided. For example, the ABC might decide that there are ten people who need help but this particular person or group should be Number Two or Three on the list; the SFC could decide instead, that based on how much money would be involved and what financial resources are available to the Organisation at the time, this person/group should drop down to Number Nine or go to Number One. The _Solace_ Finance Committee's decision overrides that of the Awards and Benefits Committee. Both committees would then decide on any other terms and conditions where applicable. These terms and conditions will be recommended to the Board of Trustees which will have the final say. The final outcome would then be communicated to the person or group in question through the Organisation’s Secretary and/or through the _Solace_ official via whom the process originated. It is anticipated that this new structure would enable us to be more accountable, cut down on beneficiaries’ dishonesty and enable us to utilise scarce resources better with minimum loss or waste. It will also mean that there are enough checks and balances in place before we can disburse funds. The new system is such that we can stop giving support at short notice if such a need arises – especially as there are structures in place to make sure that we keep checking from time to time, in effect using the tools of monitoring and reviewing to achieve its goal of supporting people out of poverty. ## **4.** _**Appointments**_ _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 51** This year – for the first time ever, _Solace International_ has also appointed an officer to be in charge of matters to do with women and families. We discovered that a lot of work we have been doing in Africa and Asia, particularly in countries like Nigeria, Nepal, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan India, Tanzania, etc., one of the chief issues is that women are in many ways being suppressed or not empowered. We emphasise here, that this is not necessarily a negative reflection on men in these places, but an encapsulation and presentation of current realities to the best of _Solace International_ ’s current understanding. _Solace International_ research and statistics strongly suggest that mostly women are the ones who look after the children in a vast majority of societies where we are engaged. This in turn means that the woman who is suffering is not just suffering on her own; she is suffering with children – or children are suffering with her. Other research to which _Solace_ is privy also indicates that children who grow up knowing that kind of life are likely in turn, to reproduce children who would in all likelihood, go through similar kinds of situations, whether they like it that way or they don't. the decision was therefore made by the Organisation this year, to specifically target the women and see how much more we can do for them. Notwithstanding, we have planned programmes also for the men – although this is not expected to be an easy aspect of our work since in our experience, women are compared to men, more forthcoming, or pushier in requesting what support they need and more articulate in presenting the challenges they face. Women come to our offices; they ask questions; they boldly seek for help; they follow up consistently and they give feedback. On the other hand, men are generally so reticent and reluctant to engage that we have to go looking for them. Very rarely do we have men coming in to ask for help, while women come on behalf of themselves, their children and their families. So, we have decided to appoint an officer who is directly going to be working with women, in solving issues affecting not just women but families. _Solace International_ also reasons that if the _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 52** woman is involved with families, whether or not she has a husband, boyfriend or lover, and/or children – whether she is a single parent or part of a double-parent family, supporting her will benefit the men somehow. We have also appointed some new Trustees and we are seeking to appoint some others. The new Trustees are Rose Adhiambo and Esther White. They are both Kenyans. We are also likely to be appointing a few other people. In addition, we have changed the signatories in our accounts, both in Kenya and in the United Kingdom. Both changes were forced upon us by circumstances beyond Solace’s control. The UK signatory (Lorraine Agang Podiephatshwa) was removed due to issues to do with financial impropriety, dishonesty, conflict of interest and her personality, as well as her inability to remain calm in the face of provocation, and her failure to control vengeful personal feelings while engaged in official duties. Solace International rightly considered therefore, that it would not be safe for the Organisation to have this person as one of our officials and/or bank account signatories. She had earlier been removed as a _Solace_ Trustee, but hoping for some positive change in her attitude and overall character – especially in terms of honesty, and not wishing to antagonise her, the Organisation had retained her as a signatory. Lorraine however demonstrated in addition to an unfortunate penchant for corruption, a vengeful and pugnacious personality which left some of her colleagues in the Organisation afraid of her, necessitating the activation of measures to ensure their protection through the termination of her role – and eventually, her expulsion from the Organisation.[40] > 40 Other measures included ending our support for _Heads2gether_ (‘H2G’) of which Ms Podiephatshwa is the Chair and recalling the _Solace_ official whom we had seconded to _H2G_ as Policy and Training Coordinator, since 2018. Ms Podiephatshwa in turn responded by calling an AGM which she turned into an impromptu vote of confidence where the _Solace_ official was formally removed from office. She also wrote to the Organisation asking to be removed as a bank account signatory – even though she had been removed from that role a month or so earlier and she had been notified of this. Ms Podiephatshwa who was our liaison officer for Southern Africa, also shut down our Botswana operations, _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 53** Her situation was not helped by the discovery that Ms Podiephatshwa stands accused of misusing funds in another organisation, for which her privileges as a signatory in another organisational bank account had been suspended. Given the controversies and complexities surrounding her, it was finally decided that it would make sense for _Solace International_ to remove her and replace her with somebody else – especially as in addition to the issues concerning her honesty and temperament, she opted to demonstrate bitterness and truculence rather than try reaching amicable solutions. Clearly therefore, it was not going to be healthy for the Organisation to have a signatory who would be holding the Organisation to ransom. Ms L. A. Podiephatshwa has been replaced as UK bank account signatory, by Margaret Nakasango. Ms Podiephatshwa is from Botswana; Ms Nakasango is from Uganda. ## **5.** _**Finances and the future**_ _Solace International_ plans on generating more funds from those countries where it is putting in most of its efforts or resources. In this case, Kenya is the first of these because Kenya is receiving about 60% of all the funding that _Solace_ is putting in. The remaining 20% is distributed between the UK and the other countries and we feel that it only makes sense for Kenya to contribute a bit more towards the funds that we are having. We also believe that getting other countries and other people to participate in what we are doing is very helpful because it will give them a sense of commitment. They will be able to take or share ownership of the dream – the vision of _Solace International_ but it will also reduce unnecessary dependency because what we have discovered in some countries especially in Kenya is that our generosity gives them the impression that we have so much money to waste. This creating thus, the need for _Solace International_ to find a new way of operating in Botswana and its neighbouring nations. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 54** has attracted all manner of negative attitudes towards us. Some of these negative attitudes have included people not keeping their promises, not doing what they ought to do and not supporting us the way that they should. As a result of that, we are planning a fundraising drive for next year. We hope it will be a better one compared to previous ones. We have had some fundraising drives in Kenya and the UK, previously but they have not been successful. We are however hoping to have a better one in the coming year. Also from next year, we are shall be placing limits on the range and period of support or help that we give to people. The full length of limits is yet to be discussed by the Board of Trustees, but it is anticipated that when they do reach a decision, support for any person or group would become restricted to a limit of months ranging from one month to twelve months and these will be subject to constant review, as well as stricter terms and conditions. This means that even when we are supporting people with school fees for example, we will not be supporting them throughout their academic life but will restrict the support to probably a term of a few months – and then that will be reviewed again. Also, we are going to be stricter in the way we disperse funds. In practical terms, what this means is that we have policies in place and are going to insist on _Solace_ officials following the policies to the letter. People and groups seeking our support would also be required to complete Conflict of Interest declarations so that we may know what interest people who come to us have in _Solace_ and/or any of its officials. We would especially seek to clarify whether they have anybody in _Solace_ who is related to them, whether by blood or otherwise. The Organisation’s Women and Families Coordinator will be supported and encouraged to raise independent funds pursuant to that branch or aspect of _Solace’_ s work because supporting women and families is a very challenging task – so challenging that it will require a lot of specially _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 55** dedicated resources – including to start with, the building of a team to support the Coordinator. It will also require a lot of moving around, transport as well as the organising of seminars and workshops, besides giving material and emotional support. _Solace International_ anticipates however, that this part of our work is going to be built up slowly across the next one to five (1-5) years. We hope that the next 1-5 years will give us a strong foundation for supporting women and families across the world. ## **6.** ## _**Weekly activities**_ By the Grace of God, wth effect from next year, _Solace International_ plans to hold weekly activities. They will not always be elaborate and may not be in the same countries – but they will always be beneficial to local communities and to many individuals. We shall update all relevant platforms such as social media and newsletters, with the activities as they happen. More details will appear in our next Report. ## **7.** _**Fightback**_ The point has been made above, that we have struggled to attract funding. It is important to point out here however, that this has not been for want of trying. A review concluded shortly before the completion of this Report has raised some seriously concerning issues which we must deal with if we hope to stand any chance of attracting funding in the United Kingdom. Last year, _Solace International_ applied to the _National Lottery_ ’s ‘Community Fund’. Our application was supposedly put through ‘scrutiny’, but when we carefully considered it against those of some other Organisations – at least one of which did not have strong governance structure and clear policies like _Solace_ – nor was it able to put together a coherent application, we reached the unpalatable but inescapable conclusion, that sometimes funding is a matter of luck and timing as encapsulated in who is considering your application on behalf _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 56** of the funders. The lady who ‘liaised’ – or rather toyed, with us on behalf of the _National Lottery_ , made us go through a mini-hell, answering questions and meeting demands some of which were preposterous and unjustifiable,[41] but which we met nonetheless – only to be told (verbally – without a written update or explanation) that our application “is not likely to succeed”. This year, we applied for the UK Government’s HAF (Holiday And Fun) funding. We put in a very strong application[42] which was rejected by a person who was either very intoxicated, quite confused or strongly biased against us (which in turn raises issues of corruption). Unlike the _National Lottery_ however, the HAF Grants Team at least, wrote back to tell us – not only that we had been unsuccessful in our application, but why. Unfortunately, the reasons they gave for rejecting our application made so little sense that we could only conclude they were talking about someone else’s application – and had therefore most probably, awarded another group – knowingly or unknowingly, monies which should in any sane or fair assessment, have been ours. We made this point to them as clearly and as politely as possible, having been given a fortnight to appeal. Our appeal was not even acknowledged – raising the possibility that the Croydon HAF Team had already pre-decided who to award the monies.[43] 41 For instance, she wanted to know if we could be contacted late at night and on Sundays; she also wanted to know whether we have plans to make women the majority on our Trustees Board. 42 Copies of the application and its associated correspondence are available upon request – subject to the discretion of the Organisation’s Trustees. > 43 Our review showed that the _Solace International_ application like any other application, had its flaws. We were also able to identify what those flaws were. Had the HAF Team based their rejection on those flaws (which being an Organisation which operates in the fear of the LORD, we were honest and brave enough to identify as well as acknowledge), we would have had no serious misgivings about the rejection – even if given the triviality of those flaws, we may still have wondered if the HAF Team was not being too harsh or simply overreacting against us. As it turns out, the HAF Team did not identify any of those _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 57** We have taken the decision therefore, not to let this kind of thing happen to us again. Henceforth – and until further notice as decided by the Organisation’s Board of Trustees, _Solace International_ will fight back against any perceived bias or corruption in the award of grants or other funding. _Solace International_ is especially considering the presentation to Croydon Council, of a Freedom of Information request in pursuance of this goal. The outcome of this request will determine our next move and hopefully, form part of the Organisation’s next Annual Report. ## **Let us in addition, remember…** The updates here mark a key difference in comparison to previous reports where updates were rarely if ever included. The decision has not yet been made on whether this would be from now ion, a permanent or flaws – or in any manner whatsoever, engage with them. On the contrary they virtually accused us of making errors which in our response we made clear to them, did not exist. In other words, the HAF Team was in effect, lying. They had simply decided not to award us the grant for whatever reason (presumably nepotism, predetermination of favoured awardees or some other kind of corruption). Thus they did not care what excuse for rejecting our application they used. They were in fact, either too careless, too lazy or too malevolent to at the very least, read through our application and find a genuine or at least factual – even if puerile reason, for turning down the _Solace International_ application. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 58** common feature of our ‘S.T.A.R.s’, but it is probably best to let the times decide. In effect, if there is any need in next year’s Annual Report, for a section specifically dedicated to updates, such a section shall surely be included. ## **Conclusion** As this detailed document demonstrates, the year since our last Report has been for _Solace International_ , replete with dynamism – even if it has not always been exciting. There can be no doubting the fact however, that _Solace International_ is remarkably and laudably punching far above its weight, given the paucity of its resources. At the moment however – even as by the Grace of God we move ever so steadily towards marking our first decade as a registered and official organisation on two continents, _Solace International_ has neither the time nor the inclination to engage in self-acclaim. We still have quite a long way to go in attaining our goal of touching at least one life in every nation and territory on _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 59** Earth, to the Glory of God our Ever-Giving Lord and Father. By His Grace and Guidance, our achievements and attractiveness will blossom. We will never forget though, that serving the LORD by serving the underprivileged, is an honour. We will therefore always be humble, faithful and thankful to not only our course – and cause, but to most of all, God the Almighty, Who Alone Is – and Provides, Solace. ## **References** Aizenman, N. (2017): 'How To Fix Poverty: Why Not Just Give People Money?'. Available at: - https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/08/07/541609649/how to-fx-poverty-why-not-just-give-people-money Blattman, C., Fiala, N. and Martinez, S. (2014): 'If You Give the Poor Cash, Does it Help? - Giving poor people money gives them tools to invest in their job prospects, their future, and a more industry and serviceoriented local economy'. Available at: _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 60** - https://www.poverty action.org/sites/default/fles/publications/If_you_give_the_poor_cash_does _it_help.pdf Borgen Magazine (2015): 'Why Maternal Health is Vital to Poverty Reduction'. Available at: https://www.borgenmagazine.com/maternalhealth-vital-poverty-reduction/ Cosmopolitan (2008): '21 Things Women Can Do That Guys Can't'. Available at: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/advice/a2634/21-things-womencan-do-that-men-cant/ Dos Santos, J. (2019): _Glorious Generations – A Handbook For Parents and For Professionals Engaged in the Learning Environment_ Nairobi: Solace International Publications Dos Santos, J. (2019): _Released To Soar – A Book Of Pointers For Entrepreneurs, Based On Bible Principles_ Nairobi: Solace International Publications Maragakis, L. (2020): 'The New Normal and Coronavirus'. Available at: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-anddiseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-new-normal _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 61** Mora, A. (2017): 'Yes, Giving Money to Very Poor People Will Make Their Lives Better — Just Ask Ecuador'. Available at: https://unu.edu/publications/articles/giving-money-to-very-poorpeople.html Orton, I. (2013): ‘Cash to the poor: Pennies from heaven’. Available at: https://basicincome.org/news/2013/11/the-economist-cash-to-the-poorpennies-from-heaven-giving-money-directly-to-poor-people-workssurprisingly-well-but-it-cannot-deal-with-the-deeper-causes-ofpoverty/#:~:text=The%20Economist.-,%E2%80%9CCash%20to%20the %20poor%2C%20Pennies%20from%20heaven%3A%20Giving %20money,the%20deeper%20causes%20of%20poverty %E2%80%9D&text=The%20Economist%2C%20%E2%80%9CCash%20to %20the,poor%20people%20works%20surprisingly%20well. Pacella, S. (2017): '15 Things Women Can Do That Men Can't'. Available at: https://www.therichest.com/technologies/15-things-women-can-do-thatmen-cant/ Raley, A. (2011): '10 Things Men Do That Women Can’t'. Available at: https://houston.cbslocal.com/2011/06/15/10-things-men-do-that-womencant/ Skalle, A. (2017): '15 Things Men Can Do But Women Can’t'. Available at: https://www.theclever.com/15-things-men-can-do-but-women-cant/ _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 62** Solace International (2019): _S.T.A.R. ’20: The 2020 Solace International Trustees Annual Report_ London: Solace International Publications Starr, K. and Hattendorf, L. (2014): 'GiveDirectly? Not So Fast'. Available at: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/givedirectly_not_so_fast The Holy Bible – New King James Version Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers (1982) _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 63** ## **Appendix A** ## **Financial report** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Month Money In Money Out
October (2020) 1532 1423
November (2020) 540 434.26
December (2020) 800 1048.60
January (2021) 1067 1028.08
February (2021) 645 532.65
March (2021) 1101 1188.58
April (2021) 146 577.83
May (2021) 706 663.32
June (2021) 671 695.77
July (2021) 1340 1441.84
August (2021) 1909 1227.22
September (2021) 800 835
Total 11,257 11,096.75
Net total = £160
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## **Appendix B** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 64** ## **Countries where at least one person has benefited from** _**Solace International**_ **----- Start of picture text -----**
No Country Formal/Infor
. mal
1. Zimbabwe Informal
2. Zambia Informal
3. Vietnam Formal
4. United States Informal
5. United Kingdom Formal/ Informal
6. Uganda Formal/ Informal
7. Trinidad and Tobago Informal
8. Tanzania Informal
9. Syria Informal
10. St Vincent and Grenadines Informal
11. St. Lucia Formal
12. Sri Lanka Formal
13. South Africa Formal/ Informal
14. Sierra Leone Informal
15. Rwanda Formal
16. Romania Informal
17. Portugal Formal/ Informal
18. Pakistan Formal/ Informal
19. Nigeria Formal/ Informal
20. Nepal Formal
21. Namibia Informal
22. Mozambique Informal
**----- End of picture text -----**
_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 65** **----- Start of picture text -----**
23. Morocco Informal
24. Malawi Formal/ Informal
25. Liberia Informal
26. Kenya Formal/ Informal
27. Jamaica Informal
28. India Informal
29. Ghana Formal/ Informal
30. France Informal
31. Equatorial Guinea Informal
32. Congo (Kinshasa) Formal/ Informal
33. Cote D’Ivoire
34. Cameroun Formal
35. Bulgaria Informal
36. Brazil Informal
37. Botswana Formal/ Informal
38. Barbados Formal
39. Angola Informal
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## **Appendix C** ## **Statement of Beliefs (the Nicene Creed)** _**[44]**_ We believe in One God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, of all that is – seen and unseen. We believe in One Lord, Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God, Eternally Begotten of the Father: God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, Begotten, not Made; of One Being with the Father – Through 44 This Statement is under curren review. _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 66** Him all things were Made. For us and for our Salvation, He Came down from Heaven; by the Power of the Holy Spirit, He Became Incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was Made Man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He Suffered death and was buried. On the third day He Rose again in accordance with the Scriptures. He Ascended into Heaven and is Seated at the Right Hand of the Father. He will Come again in Glory, to Judge the living and the dead and His Kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the LORD, the Giver of Life, Who Proceeds from the Father and the Son. with the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified. He has Spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. ## **Amen.** ## **Appendix D** ## **The Solace Training Programme** ## _**Topic What does it cover?**_ **1** What is abuse? **2** Kinds of abuse **3** Signs and symptoms **4** Stereotypes and myths **5** What to do when a child expresses concerns to you **6** Consequences of **1.** suspected and/or actual child abuse for children and _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 67** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Abuse their families 7 The real victims of abuse 8
Consequences of false allegations 9 Some questions
worth asking when deciding whether, when and/or how
to report suspected abuse.
1 Factors which influence behaviour of children and
2. young people; 2 Guides to effective behaviour
Behaviour management; 3 Essential skills for effective behaviour
management management; 4 Some instances of behaviour which may
Basics require effective management skills; 5 Issues to
consider in dealing with challenging behaviour.
3. 1 What CT is; 2 Advantages, demerits and applications
Circle Time (CT) of CT; 3 Where (other than classrooms) can we apply
CT? 4 Ways to make CT (even more) exciting;
5 A few things to consider while (or before) making use
of CT.
4. 1 What really is bullying? 2 Myths and facts 3 Case
Dealing with studies 4 Probable causes 5 Some effects of bullying; 6
bullying Where bullying takes place; 7 Do’s and don’ts.
5. 1 The greatness of the Internet 2 How it is especially
Feeling and staying great for our kids 3 What’s there to be careful about on
safe on the Internet the Internet? 4 How we can help our children stay safe
on the Internet 5 Some cyber myths and facts.
6.
Helping your child 1 New environments as capital; 2 Things your child can
settle well into a do; 3 Things your child should do; 4 Where you come in;
new environment 5 Myths and facts.
7. 1 Advantages of homework and home study; 2
The joy of Disadvantages 3 Some excuses for not doing homework;
homework (and 4 Some of the real reasons for not doing homework; 5
home [or private] Ways to help our children study or do their homework
study) and enjoy it; 6 Things to keep strict control of while
your child studies; 7 Things to keep close by while your
child studies; 8 Key questions parents might ask; 9
Myths and facts.
8.
When things go 1 Why it matters to know this; 2 What could possibly go
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 68** **----- Start of picture text -----**
wrong: How best to wrong? 3 The Fifteen-One Method; 4 Getting the facts
deal with your straight 5 Understanding and working with procedure 6
child’s school and The Golden Rule Approach 7 The value of thanks and
other authorities** praise.
9. 1 Why am I here? 2 What can go wrong? 3 What will go
Surviving your right (no matter what happens)? 4 Forces that matter; 5
placement/apprenti The right mien 6 Getting it right; 7 Looking well ahead
ceship of here and now.
10. 1 Who needs stress? You need it. We do – all of us! 2
Stress management When stress becomes stressful; 3 How did they
manage? 4 How you too can manage; 5 Born to conquer
– living above it.
11. 1 Who needs teams anyway? 2 Identifying your team; 3
Team play: Getting Ideal team v your real team; 4 Like clockwork: Making
the best out of your the different parts work; 5 Keeping it that way;
team 6 What I need to be; 7 And after that?
12. 1 Who eats fussily? 2 Why people do it; 3 Can it be
Fussy Eating outgrown, tamed, stopped? 4 Fussy eating myths; 5
Do’s and don’ts
13. 1 Why you need a job; 2 What it takes to get one; 3
Get a Job – Keep A Is your CV right? 4 Interview tips; 5 Keeping your
Job job; 6 If things get hot; 7 When things go wrong;
8 Looking ahead – “Learn from the wicked
servant” 9 Getting fired gracefully; 10 No place
for God.
1 Scriptures on Prosperity; 2 Enterprising Quotes
from outside the Scriptures; 3 Networking and what
it does for you; 4 Seed-sowing: What it really is and
what its role is; 5 Divine Principles of sowing; 6
Prosperity’s Divine Keys; 7 Getting noticed: the Role
14. of communication and good interpersonal skills; 8
Enterprise How to prospect successfully for clients/customers; 9
Empowerment Personal qualities you need for success in enterprise;
10 Traps and pitfalls to avoid 11 Charting your way:
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 69** **----- Start of picture text -----**
the value of a (good) Business Plan; 12 How to write
a Business Plan 13 Contents of a good or strong
Business Plan 14 How best to treat your Business
Plan.
15. 1 Some definitions of DV 2 Why does DV happen? 3
Dealing with Challenging the common/popular narrative 4 A matter
domestic violence of values? Considering what different cultures think, say
(DV) and do about DV 5 Why we mustn’t accept DV 6 What
can you do about it? 7 Why intervention is not
interfering 8 the Bible-based Christian take on DV 9 You
are too good for nonsense.
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_**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 70** ## **Appendix E** **Snapshots from the** _**Solace International**_ **Gallery** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 71** taste better and SOLACE You were 8lw8iS Solace: Walking in the Master's Footsteps The 2021 Solace Intemational Trustees Annual Report pg. 72 ## _**Solace**_ **Donations: The fight to defeat COVID-19** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 73** ## _**Solace**_ **donations: Food and clothes parcels for the needy** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 74** ## **Specially wrapped longlife food parcels from** _**Solace**_ _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 75** ## _**Solace International**_ **: always glad to help with employability** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 76** &¥1 is (xw wlace The 2021 Solace Intemational Trustees Annual Report pg. 77 ## _**Solace International**_ **, good taste and loveliness make a palatable team!** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 78** ## **Furthering the Christian Faith:** _**Solace International**_ **prayer meetings** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 79** ## **A** _**Solace**_ **training programme** **Standard text: This is the SEEP’s main textbook (alongside the Holy Bible); it is also used to generate funds for the Organisation** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 80** Some of Solace's fieldworkers The 2021 Solace Intemational Trustees Annual Report pg. 81 ## **Faces of the future – faces of hope: Pupils from one of the several schools** _**Solace**_ **is supporting** ## **Collaboration at work:** ## _**The Hub, Solace International, H2G, Croydon Council, Brick by Brick…**_ _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 82** ## **Spreading the word about other organisations: one of our less publicised strengths** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 83** ## _**Solace**_ **speaks:** ## **Some official statements issued by the Organisation on issues of the day (A)** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 84** ## _**Solace**_ **speaks:** **Some official statements issued by the Organisation on issues of the day (B)** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 85** Solaee Internatlonal He4¥¥G￿PeoPts-4JhOfdJ¢ Firyh Ifoyu". Tel.. 444741742 5958, +2547133 14 14 7, 56a Mitcham R03d CRO 3RG Email.. 5OLic￿nternat1Q￿a1&hIVj0.C0.uk.' info@50Liie.international F*. 09￿3021 keofE 1921-J Ill%￿tr aThJ ty sèjw and Cnn&yt to Klwty Et&th11 d the Un*0 Kiwkn rrf &ea erta"n 1rd￿d. Fhs Roya H*Jhness Ph"fip, of Ethrbty, IlaThThth aTrJ B¥on Wjuntsth, rt Ph"fippx ofthe tha Prrte pass￿ h￿ed yw c4d. by the MatNe5s cl Coj aTrJ b H5 Etuna thy. frun F￿ 1921 Lrtl Frity 9, 2021. DL*eof Ethr￿Ulgh was Ltsthings. th UThtd ￿"r￿￿￿'S￿•s￿lln9C￿Crt crfEthnMh haj a ChId￿01 and 4)brirKJrKJ r&man prcdth* rn FKth)n li L* is etter. cf for Aryse. Cclxrf￿, Fe tlayed a nw li shw cmpt cl the Biitsh ity. con&?th)us thIser(e. wth'ry o)nfith in ffjyatr. KrnK bk thre, it is pthwy Safe b) w. tha ttE Ikes of Ph"Ip. lx￿ of Ethnbw wteseen aJan. fft ertre &*efJrly offer5rt5 Roya Roy* inits enwy &% tt) ￿ r* ￿ (l)wnrrts dtr¢ Ur*d n*ths dtre KI￿ trt prawd h)r prir￿ Ph41. Ouw sui5￿c.,nttrrnO11o￿orIs o UK regiJle.'edcFprily INO. IIG286JI ROYDO Solace speaks: The 2021 Solace Intemational Trustees Annual Report pg. 86 ## **Some official statements issued by the Organisation on issues of the day (C)** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 87** ## **Images from the** _**Solace International**_ **Administrative Headquarters in Kenya** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 88** The 2021 Solace Intemational Trustees Annual Report pg. 89 ## **More images from** _**Solace**_ **’s international Administrative Headquarters, Kenya** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 90** ## **Some** _**Solace**_ **-branded t-shirts** ## **Faces from a** _**Solace**_ **general meeting** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 91** ## **A** _**Solace**_ **publicity flier** _**Solace International:**_ **The Glory is God’s – and His Alone.** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 92** ## **Final Word** _Solace_ will later in the year publish its business plan outlining what we hope to achieve over the next period of years. It will be split into three, outlining our plan for the next one year, the next three years and the next five years but this plan is not going to be part of the current report. It is going to be part of the next report and will likely take effect from 2022. The plan will demonstrate among other things, our determination to do more in support of men. This should help to address – as well as draw attention, to a looming but barely noticeable catastrophe: a coming disempowered and disgruntled male populace. Today, the emphasis of many charitable and community groups around the world is mainly on women and children. This is we believe, laying the unfortunate and dangerous foundation for a more serious problem in the future. Understandably, the reason why a lot of people have been supporting women and families is their belief that in the past men have benefited most from – and/or dominated, the best of the world’s resources, while women and children have been losing out. Copious as well as consistent historical and statistical data back this belief up and thus justify actions taken as a result. However, _Solace International_ does not believe that the best solution to the perceived historiacal dominance by men of the world’s resources is supporting women and children so much that men in turn begin to lose out – otherwise, in the next few decades – or even years, the world will find itself in a situation where women and children _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 93** are quite empowered while men are greatly disempowered – thus forcing Humanity to start again, coming up with a programme to support and (re-)empower men. Thus, the earlier we start on that, the better; as such _Solace_ is working on programmes that aim to support men as heads of families and as fathers – as well as in dealing with issues such as anger management, domestic violence, child-rearing, etc. **Dated Saturday, this twenty-fourth day of September, in the Year of Our Lord, 2021.** _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 94** _"The LORD has Done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes". (Ps 118:23)_ NIV _**The 2021**_ Solace International _**Trustees Annual Report**_ **pg. 95** The 2021 Solace Intemational Trustees Annual Report pg. 96 |**Solace International**|**Solace International**|**No (if any)**||| |---|---|---|---|---| |**Solace International**||||| |**Receipts andpayments accounts**||||**CC16a**| |**For the period**
**from**|01-Oct-20
01-Oct-19|30-Sep-21
Period end date
**To**||| |**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**1,532**
**540**
**800**
**1,067**
**645**
**1,101**
**146**
**706**
**671**
**1,340**
**1,909**
**800**
**11,257**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**11,257**
**2,906**
**1,028**
**533**
**1,189**
**578**
**663**
**696**
**1,442**
**2,062**
**11,097**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**11,097**
**160**
**-**
**160**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**1,532**
**540**
**800**
**1,067**
**645**
**1,101**
**146**
**706**
**671**
**1,340**
**1,909**
**800**
**11,257**
11,257
**-**
**-**
**-**
**11,257**
**2,906**
**1,028**
**533**
**1,189**
**578**
**663**
**696**
**1,442**
**2,062**
**11,097**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**11,097**
**160**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**| |Oct-20|**1,532**||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**||**565**| |Nov-20|**540**||||**1,315**| |Dec-20|**800**||||**1,278**| |Jan-21|**1,067**||||**1,505**| |Feb-21|**645**||||**680**| |Mar-21|**1,101**||||**845**| |Apr-21|**146**||||**2,195**| |May-21|**706**||||**1,135**| |Jun-21|**671**||||**885**| |Jul-21|**1,340**||||**1,065**| |Aug-21|**1,909**||||**495**| |Sep-21|**800**||||**190**| |**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|**11,257**||||**12,153**| ||||||| |**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**|||||| ||**-**||**-**
**-**
**-**||| ||**-**||||**-**| |**_Sub total_**|**-**||||**-**| |**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||| ||||**-**||**12,153**| ||||||| |Oct-Dec 20|**2,906**||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**||**2,953**| |Jan-20|**1,028**||||**1,530**| |Feb-20|**533**||||**695**| |Mar-20|**1,189**||||**835**| |Apr-20|**578**||||**2,194**| |May-20|**663**||||**1,130**| |Jun-20|**696**||||**880**| |Jul-20|**1,442**||||**1,055**| |Aug-Sep2020|**2,062**||||**594**| |**_Sub total_ **|**11,097**||||**11,866**| ||||||| |**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||| ||**-**||**-**
**-**
**-**||| ||**-**||||| |**_Sub total_ **|**-**||||**-**| |**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||| ||||**-**||**11,866**| ||||||| ||**160**||
**-**||**72**| ||**-**||**-**
**-**|**-**
**-**|**-**| ||||||**-**| ||**160**||
**-**|**160**|**72**| CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 28/09/2021 1 ## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period** |**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**|S. Wamweya
Signature
N. Lamptey
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Agreement Error
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Naina Lamptey
Samuel Wamweya|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| |---|---|---|---| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||OK| ||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**When due**
**(optional)**| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||Date of
approval| ||N. Lamptey|Naina Lamptey|22-Sep-21| ||S. Wamweya|Samuel Wamweya|**22-Sep-21**| CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 28/09/2021 2