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DISABLED ASIAN WOMEN’S NETWORK
Report
For Year Ended 31 March 2022
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Cardinal Heenan Centre,
326 High Road, Ilford, Essex.
IG1 1QP
Tel: 0203 609 4088
Reg. Charity No. 1163929
Contents
3. Reference and Administrative Information
4. Mission Statement
5. Background
5. Funding Arrangements
6. Chair’s Report
7. Secretary’s Report
8. Staff Report
9. Governing Document
10. Activities
16. Future Plans
17. Evaluation
18. Accounts
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity Name: Disabled Asian Women’s Network
Charity registration number: 1163929
Registered Office and operational address: Cardinal Heenan Centre, 326 High Road, Ilford, IG1 1QP
Management Committee
Mrs H Popat Chairperson Mrs R Atkar Vice-chair Mrs H Bhachu Secretary Ms N Chakraborty Treasurer Mrs M Pandya Mrs M Sohanpal Mrs J Ahluwalia Mrs S Patel Mrs B Kaur Mrs M Dhamrat
Senior Management Team
Mrs N Pahl Project Manager
Independent Examiner –Sukhraj Singh Hanspal , S.S.H. Accountancy Services Ltd101 Wanstead Park Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 3TH
Bankers – Royal Bank of Scotland – Drummond House (BG) Branch, Po Box 1727, Edinburgh, EH12 9RH
Mission Statement
DAWN exists to provide free, good quality support, information/advice service and recreational facilities for Disabled Asian Women, living in the London Borough of Redbridge.
Our objectives are to:
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Eliminate isolation & develop a social network.
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Support disabled women to lead more independent lives by empowering them with knowledge and advice.
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Build confidence.
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Provide a regular meeting place.
DAWN Core values are as follows:
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To actively seek to involve local Disabled Asian Women in the management and running of our services.
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Take in consideration the views of our users to help shape and influence what services we provide and how they are delivered.
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Our services will be open to all Disabled Asian Women who qualify to use them.
Background
Disabled Asian Women’s Network was set up in December 1993 to cater for physical, emotional and mental well-being of disabled Asian women. It was designed to improve the quality of life for the elderly and help them to manage their lives with more comfort and ease which will give them a sense of being part of the community. It also provides a forum for free exchange of information, beliefs and ideas about gender, race and disability.
Attendance and what we provide
We run a weekly Well-being club on Tuesday and Wednesday. Currently DAWN provides a service for over 74 members. Members can take part in a variety of activities, learn new skills, find out about health-related issues and take part in gentle exercise. These include:
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Culturally appropriate activities such as singing and celebrating traditional festivals.
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Talks on health-related issues, helping members understand what they can do to look after themselves better.
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Exercise and yoga classes
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Regular health related clinics/workshops where one can access cheap or free alternative therapies, e.g. massage and reflexology, health checks, mobile opticians, etc.
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We encourage befriending and social interaction among our members
Other activities include:
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Trips to the seaside, picnics or walk around the park
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Visiting the cinema or going for a meal.
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Other interest-related excursions both local and abroad
We offer support and independent living
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We provide support and information whether it is about care or filling in forms about benefit entitlements, etc.
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We offer advice on health and social care
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We sign-post those who need to be directed to the right agencies for extra support, learn new skills and remain independent longer.
We offer Support and Outreach visits to those who are unable to attend the Centre for various reasons like:
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Those members who are unable to attend due to poor health
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Those who have recently been discharged from hospital
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Those who are isolated
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Those who are housebound or not mobile
Funding Arrangements
At the time of printing DAWN has a contract with the London Borough of Redbridge and we look forward to again securing this funding for the following year. In addition to this DAWN is constantly applying to other funders for their short-term projects.
DAWN maintains tight grips on monitoring financial spend across the board and regular reports are presented to the Committee and the Council. This allows opportunity to identify under/over spends in given budget heads and taking remedial action.
Finally, it can be said that DAWN provides value for its money. Staff and the Management Committee work extremely hard to provide a valuable service with limited funding relieving the burden of the already stretched Social Care Services.
Being a unique group it provides a specialist service to Disabled Asian Women of all cultures and communities across the London Borough of Redbridge.
Governing Document
The charity is operated as a Charity Incorporated Organisation (CIO).
Overall management of the charity is the responsibility of trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the constitution. Day to day project activity is managed and carried out by paid staff and volunteers.
Recruitment and appointment of management committee
As a CIO the members of the management committee are elected from DAWN’S members and other Trustees with appropriate skills and experience may be appointed to benefit DAWN’S cause.
At the AGM Trustees are appointed or reappointed as laid out in our constitution.
Due to the nature of its work the charity inevitably focuses on elderly Disabled Asian women. The Management Committee ensures the needs of this group are appropriately reflected through the different cultural backgrounds and any disabilities that they may have.
All members of the Management Committee give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity.
Organisational Structure
DAWN has a Management Committee of up to 12 members who meet quarterly and are responsible for the running of the organisation. Some elected members may volunteer to attend on both days (Tuesday and Wednesday) to volunteer their time when the day centre is in operation.
Duties are put in place and day to day responsibility for the provision of the services rest with the Project Manager along with the Chairperson. The Chairperson is responsible for ensuring the charity delivers the services specified and that key performance indicators are met. The Project Manager has responsibility for the day to day operational management of the centre.
Risk Statement
The Charity has considered a range of risks to which it could be exposed and the Trustees regularly review the policies and procedures which aim to minimise those risks, ensuring that these are adequate, appropriate and complied with fully.
Who uses and benefits from our services?
The charity benefits members of the public by providing a drop-in session every Tuesday and Wednesday for Disabled Asian Women living in Redbridge who are isolated and frail, who enjoy coming to the centre to socialise, gain confidence, make friends and gain knowledge and awareness.
We also work with other organisations to gain training, fundraising, networking and for educational awareness.
Summary of main achievements during the period
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Successfully keeping contact with all members via telephone
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Successfully offering support and advise to members and their families via a telephone link.
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Made 10 outreach visits (in between lockdown ease) and offered support.
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Kept on-going support to families via telephone and visits (in between lockdown ease). They were emotionally distressed due to their loved ones being admitted into hospital or who had died.
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Successfully completed the risk management of all members returning to DAWN.
CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT
Yes! As predicted we survived the lockdown and emerged victorious in opening our doors 6 months later to all our members on 5[th] October 2021. No doubt it has been a horrendous journey for our members - some locked away in their homes and unable to go out and some felt stifled by families keeping them indoors on a ‘tight reign’ and those who did manage to venture out were checked upon by their children on their outings, scared they might bring in the coronavirus.
However, it was not all doom and gloom – many members found their way into the local parks and I received many reports that they had befriended other like-minded people who had made little walking groups and were happy to see each other on a regular basis. One or two even reported meeting in a local café for a cup of tea which was very enlightening.
The committee, myself and staff have also kept in touch with each other via the telephone and now many were calling each other quite regularly and catching up with the latest gossip. This was all very encouraging and I thank all our members for participating and keeping each other’s spirits high.
With regard to opening up again, a lot of work has been done by staff working on the risk assessments, posting individual letters to members and follow-up phone calls to get the group up and running again and for that I wish to thank Neelam for all her hard work and the Committee for their input and support.
Ending my report on a happy note I want to share that 1 member who we nearly lost during the lockdown has finally had her fatal tumour operated on and is recovering well at home. We wish her a speedy recovery and hope to see her at the Centre soon.
Harsha Popat
Disabled Asian Women’s Network
SECRETARY’S REPORT
I am so glad that DAWN has re-opened its doors once again. I am a member first and a Secretary second and, believe me, Covid has had a great impact on my wellbeing. I live alone with my grandson and unable to go out earlier on, I was one depressed and lonely person. However, I thank God for all the friends that I have made at DAWN over the years that I am able to talk about this. I just want to take this opportunity to thank them all for keeping my spirits up via the telephone including some outdoor visits. I also want to thank the Chair and other Committee members who also made an effort to keep me cheered up. I hope I have done the same for all our members.
For the first 6 months most of the work I have carried out with the Management Committee has mainly been through our regular Zoom meetings and any limited decisions have been in consent with the Chairperson.
Overall it has been a long learning experience for us all. It has been a difficult task enticing old members to return to the Centre and it will take some time to build everyone’s confidence again but we hope this Covid related experience will eventually make us more resilient and able to cope better in future.
Harminder Bhachu Secretary
STAFF REPORT
I returned to the office in April 2021 (having worked from home until then) and worked in isolation catching up with office based work. When I realised that we could look into opening in Sept/October, I started working on the risk assessment and related paperwork. With the help of the Chairperson, we formulated a covering letter informing all our members about our decision to open and letting them know of the ensuing changes that would take place. This was followed with individual phone calls to all our members and then receiving paperwork back which needed recording, etc. A new register was collated for all those members who wished to re-attend and, those, who wished to attend at a later date. All this was very time consuming but I am happy that the members have slowly trickled back despite the rigorous checks at every visit.
Unfortunately, the pre-arranged Diwali and Christmas events, which I had worked so hard to organise had to be cancelled due to the Omicron virus threat but our members didn’t mind these being brought forward to a later date when they could all attend and participate in and have fun.
I have focused on regularly calling some members to check on their well-being - helping the most vulnerable to accept change and working to optimise their health, eating well, exercising and having their medication on a daily basis. In between the lockdown I have managed to do some home visits to see the very sick, had familybased discussions and offered support and advice to all of them.
I have been attending Zoom meetings with the Chair and Management Committee and dealing with any admin based queries, updating policies and procedures, data base and related queries.
Neelam Pahl
Project Manager
ACTIVITIES
All our charitable activities focus on benefitting Disabled Asian Women and providing them a space to learn, grow and socialise. Our activities deliver public benefit by the main activities we have described below . The following are a record of DAWN being in operation for only 6 months of the year (Oct. 2021 – Mar 2022) and bearing in mind that no official outdoor activities could take place during Spring and Summer in order to safeguard our members from the threat of Covid infections:
Activities this year have included the following:
Yoga and Exercise
On this occasion, DAWN members doubled up to offer exercises at these sessions with support from each other.
Talks (formal)
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Covid virus – its impact in the Community and safeguarding yourselves.
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Covid rules update
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Dial-a-Ride – New rules updated
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Rememberance Day – commiserating Covid victims of DAWN
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Rules and checks to keep Covid outbreak at bay
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Safeguarding yourself against Covid at home and outside
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Omicron virus awareness
Talks (informal)
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Building up your immune system
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What does ‘Mahashivratri’ mean
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Why Hindus celebrate Holi – its spiritual meaning
Discussions
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Latest scams Update – members’ experience
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Mobile scams Update – members’ experience
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Tribute to Lata Mangeshkar
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Ukraine Crisis and fundraising
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Protection against burglaries
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Benefits of Methi Seeds
Other Activities
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Bhajans and hymns
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Sing-along
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Joke session
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Kirtan and Shabad
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Bingo
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Antakshari
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Card Game
Festivals
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Diwali
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Christmas
Other Celebrations
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Navratri
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Gur Pur
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Mahashivratri
FUTURE PLANS
Marketing and Advertising
DAWN has decided that it was again time to start advertising our services in the local community and build members’ confidence to return and enjoy the activities provided. It was also hoped that networking along with some poster distribution in the local GP surgeries, local organisations, etc. and a range of activities planned in the future may also encourage new membership also.
Counselling Services
On listening to some members’ terrible experiences of dealing with illness, death and bereavement over the Covid lockdown period it was now imperative to offer some kind of Counselling service to those in need. For this reason, DAWN will be talking to the relevant professionals to help set up some sessions for the benefit of these members.
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Annual Evaluation
Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic followed by the Omicron virus, attendance at the day Centres were remarkably reduced. (Members attended for only 6 months of the year (from October 2021 – Mar 2022). This was expected as most of our members are elderly and few who did attend did not attend regularly. A proper evaluation was, therefore, impossible to make. Overall, those who attended were really happy to be back and enjoying the activities being provided.
The Committee decided against the evaluation until the following year as it did not reflect a proper picture of members’ input.
D15abled Aslan Women's Network Charlty No: 1163929 Flnanclal Statements For the Year Ended 31 Marth 2022 Contents Pa8• Independent Examlner'5 Report Income and Expendlture Account B•lince Sheet Notes to tht Accounts
Independent examlnerfs report onthe auounts Sertiom A Report to thetru5tee5/members of Independent Examlner's Report DISABLED ASIAN WOMEN'S NETWORK On i¢ftyJntsforthe yeorended Set out on pages Re$pertl¥e re5ponslbintles of trustees, and exarnlner 31st Marth 2022 Charlty no Ilf any) 11639Z9 2to4 The charlty's trustees are re5P0fi51bleforthe prepiratlon forthe accounts. The charlty'5 tru$tees' consider that an audit Is not requlred for the year under sectlon 43121 of the Charrtles Art 1993 Ithe 1993 Attl and that an Independent examlnation Is needed It is my responslblllty to: x•mlno tho ac¢oun* under SeOrt 43 ofth? 1993 Act lo follow Ihg procedur•s lald down In th• gen¢ral DIr8¢ortS glven by tho Charlty Cornmisslon lunder so¢tlon 4317llbl of tho 1993 A¢L and 'to state whether partSGul•r matters hav• come to my attention. Basls of Independert My examinatlon wa5 carrled out In ac¢ordonce wlth exarnlnerfs ststement general Directlon5 given by the Charlty CommI5on. An examlnatlon includes a Tevlew of the presented wlth thost record5. 11 olso Include5 nsIderation of any ufiusual Item5 •rdlsdosLJres in the accounts. and seeklnz explanationsfrom the trustees concernlng any such rnatters. In our oplnlon. the ac¢ounts present true ond falr vltw of the Charlty ar It's flnandal affalrs It)dependent examiner's 51atement In connertlon wlth my examlnation, no matter has me to my attention (other than that d15¢1osed below l. which glve5 me reasonable cause to belleve that In any material respecL the requlrements.. to keep •c¢ountlng re¢ords Sn a(cordon wlth 5e¢tlon 41 of the 1993 Art: and to prepare aaUnts whlch attord the accountlng rewrd$ and comptywith the auouThilng requlrements ofthe 1993 Act h•ve not been met: or 2. to whlth. In my oplrsloni attèntlon should be drawn In order to en•ble a proper undeystandlng of ihe accounts to be reathed. Slgned: Date: 04 012022 Name: Relevant wofe551onal Ruallficatlonslsl Jagde CHARTERED AD OR, cfA. ATT IFELLOWI. FFTA IM8mb¢tshlp No 889681 6 St. Georges Avenue, 5outhall Mlddlesex U81 IPZ Address..
DISABLED ASIAN WOMEN'S NETWORK INC ME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR END IMAR H 2021 re5trlcted Funds unre5rt1rted Funds lotal 2021 INCOME 33.628 Grants Fund Ra151nK & donjtlons 2,064 Job Rettntlon Scheme Membershlp Refund 33000 -2084 33.000 2,084 1,015 1015 Donallon 25 Interèst o¢counts fees wrltten bad¢ 35,718 30,916 1,015 31,937 EXPENDITURE rèstrkted Unrestrtded TOTAL Funds Funds 14.289 staff s•liry •mployer8 nl¢ 3,789 rentlhalllutllty & hlre of offlc• 28 Sesslonal stalf Socl?l actlvltles 12,233 12,233 8,182 6,162 conaultancy tralnlni 437 Insurance5 705 Telephones Outdoor trfpsls0¢1•l actlvltles St•ff travel Fltsf Akl 14 Sundrlesld15posable ¢upslpl•teslspoon5181fts 40 Subscrlptlon5 Prlntln8 * 5tatlonary & photo¢opylWposiays 103 Computer Consumables 190 Hospltaiitylrèfr•shmentslfestlvals Tran5POrt Charlty 315 Payroll servke5 Ltoal St•ff 1,080 Indèpendent examlner DonatIonS Dlsclo$ure Serrflce 372 Depreclailon 21.362 477 477 74 74 71 40 400 125 525 1.428 1rt28 460 460 205 205 1.080 1,080 280 23478 22A71 727 Surplus Idtfidt Iforthe year Net Oufflowld•ficlti 8.445 288 8.459 136,262 Total Funds Brought Forward 150.618
01 BIED AN WOMEN514ETWORK 8AL4N ESH ASAT31 MAR 021 FIMed assets 8oard¥amés etc computer NssetsladditiL Less 1.SSS 1,278 588 1278 1.995 1,715 L118 Cwrenta5sets Debtors Redbr CouKil Ban current accou 97.497 62.609 49 If),1$5 89,689 62.602 55 152.346 Reserve account Cash ltt hand Totslfixed and ¢¥rrerf ès5ets 160.993 153,464 les5current liabilit*5 PAYEINIC independ•nt examiner fees PAYE 1080 155 680 1080 wale5 1.761 1.916 2,846 Net assets IS977 150.618 Aepresenied b¥ ACCUMUiATED FUND 8alance brou¢ forward Add 5urptusldefitiil fty theyear 1SO.618 136.262 14.356 150.618 159.077 information and eWan•tiun nKessJrykq thelr preparatvjn TREASURER Ms Nikki Chakrobarti 0111011022 Mrs Hamiinder Bachu Secr•tary 14. 10.TrZ Mrs Harsha Popat ChairperJon
Disabled A51an Women's N Noted to the Acmunts for the yearended 31 Marth 2022 l. Auourttl Pollcies These accounts have been prepared under the htstQflcal tost con¥ÈntloTr uslngthe •c¢ruaE5 basls. FSxed assets have been deprrflated at 25% on ¥ stralght ne baslk Z. Credltors 2022 2021 Accrued wa8es.paye photocopylng charg08 Payroll Ch•r8es Rent Independeni Examlnatbon 835 1,766 1,080 1,080 J. There has been •n decre¥5 In lundlr41 from the london eorou¢h of R•dtrKld lor the year endlni 3110312022 comp•red wlth wevlous y•r 4. Statement olTrustees' ResponsIblles The trustee's are requlfed undèrilkt Charte$ Art 1993 to prep•re statements for e•£h flnandal year whleh glv• • tru• and falr vl•w of thtr ¢harlty• flnancl•l actlvltl¢• durbng th• yr ond of Its flnancll posltlon al the •nd of th• year. In prnp#rlng finan¢lal •tstem•nt• glvlng • tN• And falr ¥l•w. the IrusteeJ should follow bMt prncti¢• and.. selert sultable ¥ccountlnK polkbe5 and apply them conslstently. 111 make lydgements and estlmates that ale reasonable and wudent 1111 $tste where applicable accountlnB standards and statements of recommended practkes an41 been followed, 5ublert to 4ny departures d15dosed and explalned In the fin•ncl•l statements lvl Prepare the flnanclal st•tern•nts on a golnl concern bask unless It 1% lTrwpwoprl•te to presume th•tthe tharlty wlll contlnue In •per•tlwi. Thetrustee5 are responsible fi>r keeplrq accoundn8 record5 whlth d15cIMe wlth reasonable accuracy ¢harlty and whlch •nable thèm to nsure that the financial ststements comply wlth •ppllcable law and regulations. They are also responsibl• for safeguarding the a$s•ts If th• charfty and henet tsklng reasonabl? $tsps for the prèvtntson and detteon of fraud and oth?r irYegularitleJ.
DISABLE IAN WOME NETWORK INCOME AND EXP£NDmJRE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31-03-2022 2022 2021 EXPÉNDrruRE Wates empfoyers ni¢ Renvroom hlre (for 31 12233 12 EMPLOYEES) 14289 6162 HIRE OF HAiL (LONDON BOROUGH OF REDBRIDGEI 3789 Flrst Aha 74 Se55ional staff CARER51 YOGAaA55ES 28 Insuranos COPllENTS-PU8UC4MPLOYEE UABIUIY 437 Telephone and Wo8¢ 477 PH014É OILLSl5fAMPSIPOSTAfjE 705 0d¢0 t/51131 actfvltie5 otrrDOOR TRIPWNEMAS-RE5fAURANTS Management Cost MANAGEME14TCOST Tralnlng TRAINING Computer Consumables COMPitrER CONSUl4lABLES 103 Sundries Sundrf¢sldlspos•bletypslpiate5lspwns/81ft5 68 Sundrfuldlsposabbecup5lplateslspoDnsl8ifts 14 Subsutptlon5 Printing and Stationary 525 PRINTING-sfATIONARY Trnn5POrt Hosplto11ty & refreshments 1428 190 Payroll seThlce5 205 315 Dortatlon Don•tlon Independert e¥#miner 1080 1080 Depredatl¢Jn 280 ON BOARD GAMES & romputer 372
Indepondthtexarnlnels rewt onthe •etounts Sertlon A Report tothe tru5tetslmembeTh of Independent Examlnerfs Report DISABLED ASIAN WOMEN'S NETWORK On accwnts fortheyear eEKled Set Out on pages Respectlve respon51bilitles of tru#ees' and eiamlner 315t Marth Z022 Charfty no Vf arryl 1163929 2to4 The thartys trustees are reswslle for the tParatl forthe accou1. The tharIStnttes, conslderthat #n audlt15 not requlred forthe year under sedlon 43121 of Charf¢l¢sArt 19931the 1993 A£tl and thatan independerrt examinion h needed Itls my responstblllty to: "eh•nlne th8 accounts urMIBrse¢llon 43 ofthe 19P3 Act lo follow tho procodurns tald down In the o¢n•ral DlreGiItyB glvon by Ihè ch8rSty . CommlMlon lund•rs¢ctlon 43(7Mbl o1th8 1993 A¢i and o stste whethèr partjcular mattern havè come to my attentlon. Baslsof Indepetht PWexamlnathnwas rarrfed wt In a((¢ydan with examlns slatement An exarninatyon includesa of the prestnted wSth those records. ft also tndudes consideratlon of any unusual Items or digdosures in the •¢¢ouThts. and seekin8 explanatn5 from the tN5tees ¢oncernl any suth mitttrs. In (wr owThon. the ar£OUr iyesent a twue •ndfatrblew of the Chaflty and l¢'s finandal affalr5 Independent eXae¢S statement In wnnealon wFth my e0mlnatl. matttr has ¢ome to my attention (other than that d1$dred belty * L T•hkh glves me reasM•bte£auseto belle¥e that In any rnaterial resrt the requlrements: to keep ac(ount1 records In acrdanCe wlth secl•)n 41 ofthe 1993 Art: ènd to wepare •¢¢ounts whkh accord the a(Unti rectyth and (47mptywiih the a¢¢ountlng requirtrnentsoltre 1993 Aci habp not been m¢t" or i towhkh. In rny opnim. wentlon should be drawn In orderto en•ble a Fwer underst•nL4r of the aroyuntsto be read1. Slgned: Date: 04 OR022 alla Relevant professional gu•llft¢atlons151 CIIARTEREDTAX AD crA IFELLOWI, FFfA (Memb8r5hlp No 889681 6 St. Georgès Avenue. Southall Middlesex UBI IPZ Address: