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2022-12-31-accounts

NGOKO CHARITABLE TRUST

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

CONTENTS

CONTENTS
**01 ** EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
02 WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO 2
03 ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE 6
04 FUTURE PLANS 11
05 FINANCIAL REVIEW 13
06 ACCOUNTS SUMMARY 15
07 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT 17
08 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT 18
09 REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS 20
10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 21

Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

01 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2022 was a big year for Lesedi. After 2 years blighted by Covid, life returned a little closer to normal. The brand new and very smart Lesedi Secondary school opened to 67 new learners in February and the Primary school recorded an amazing 91% Grade 7 pass rate in December.

The journey continued:

Financially we had a very positive year with our highest ever annual level of donations received. We generated a net surplus of $46k (£38k) in the year.

This surplus was primarily from significant donations in December 2022 to fund construction of the Block 3 and 4 double classrooms at the Secondary school in early 2023.

Our achievements have only been possible due to the amazing team we have at Lesedi and the ongoing support and generosity from our wider Lesedi family who continue to provide essential financial and moral support. A huge and heartfelt “Thank You!” to everyone on this journey with us.

Graeme, Benson and Fiona

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

02 WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

Ngoko Charitable Trust is run by three committed volunteers, who are striving to reduce poverty in rural Zimbabwe through provision of quality education and healthcare. The Trust’s main project is Lesedi School & Clinic situated in a rural area near Victoria Falls. Lesedi Primary School is educating over 290 local children, most of whom are supported through our sponsorship programme. A new Secondary school enrolled its first students in February 2022. Lesedi Clinic provides affordable, accessible healthcare to the surrounding communities.

About Us

The trustees of the Ngoko Charitable Trust are Fiona & Graeme Thompson and Benson Siyawareva. Fiona and Graeme are based in the United Kingdom and Benson lives in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The three of them met on safari 20 years ago and have remained firm friends ever since. Benson and Fiona founded a safari company, Ngoko Safaris, together in 2005.

Our Charitable Objective

The purpose of the Ngoko Charitable Trust is the prevention or relief of poverty in Zimbabwe by providing or assisting in the provision of education, training, healthcare projects and all the necessary support designed to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient.

Benson grew up in rural Zimbabwe and knows first-hand how challenging it can be for children in rural communities to break out of poverty. In 2013 he became involved with the Ntabayengwe community, who live in a rural area near Victoria Falls. He realised that many children were dropping out of school and decided he needed to help.

Fiona and Graeme had always talked about “making a difference” so the three of them teamed up to transform Benson’s dream into a reality.

As we commenced our journey, none of us could have envisaged the incredible support we would receive along the way, enabling us to transform our dreams into reality. The Ngoko Charitable Trust was registered in 2015 to support our work.

What started as a small project in our spare time, has grown to take over our lives. Despite this, our passion to make a difference is stronger than ever and we are constantly inspired to do more to help those who through chance of birth need a helping hand to break out of the cycle of poverty and achieve their potential.

The responsibility for being custodians of this project are immense. We have started to look to the future and to how we can make Lesedi sustainable beyond the three of us. We have set up a local Trust in Zimbabwe, the Ngoko Trust and are looking at how we can continue to improve the long-term governance of the project.

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

02 WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

Lesedi Project Background

The Ntabayengwe community, and other neighbouring communities, are located in scattered homesteads just 15-20 minutes drive from Victoria Falls. Despite being relatively close to town, the daily existence could be from another world. Most families survive by cattle raising and subsistence farming on the infertile Kalahari Sand soils. Human-wildlife conflict is rife as the area is adjacent to the Zambezi National Park and Jafuta Forest, so cattle are often taken by lions.

The people in this area are often poorly educated with low aspiration levels and limited role models. Prior to Lesedi, the nearest local school was many kilometres away. Children were often absent or dropped out of school altogether. Many parents, unable to pay school fees, preferred their children to remain at home to help with household chores. Alcohol dependence was an issue, with some households engaged in the illegal moonshine business. Many families are

dealing with ill health, including HIV and AIDS.

The cycle of poverty in these communities has persisted for generations and there was little hope for improvement without outside intervention.

Lesedi Primary School

Our project started with construction of a simple structure to offer classes to preschool children, with the initial intake of kids, our “pioneer” students, enrolling in 2014.

Thanks to the generosity of our everexpanding Lesedi family, development has continued year on year and Lesedi Primary School now offers a full infant and junior education. Infant education consists of four years of schooling from Early Childhood Development (ECD) A to Grade 2. Junior education comprises five years from Grade 3 to Grade 7.

At the time of writing 280 children are enrolled at Lesedi Primary – 143 boys and 137 girls.

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Lesedi Primary School
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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

02 WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

We employ twelve teachers at the primary school, with all salaries now funded by donations through the Trust. A new special needs teacher joined in 2022. The teachers are supported by a school clerk, three cooks, and two gardeners/general hands.

The school is equipped with laptops, and we have a dedicated teacher for Information & Communication Technology (ICT), enabling the children to become digitally literate from a young age.

Lesedi is connected to mains electricity and water supply, although most water is supplied by a borehole. The school also has internet. These are considerable achievements considering the school’s rural location.

Lesedi Secondary School

Given the lack of high-quality secondary education in the area, the decision was taken in 2020 to build a secondary school on the Lesedi site.

The Trustees were keen that the school offered vocational and IT subjects, which is rare to find in rural schools in Zimbabwe.

During 2021, major construction works took place and in early 2022 67 students were enrolled in Form 1 in two classes – 33 boys and 34 girls with an even split from Lesedi Primary and other local primary schools.

Initial purchasing of all the necessary equipment, computers and books was completed but will need to be added to.

The school is offering 10 subjects at Form 1. Core subjects of Mathematics, General Science, Ndebele, English, Geography, History, Physical Education and IT. Students choose two of four subjects from Food, Metal and Woodwork technology and design, and Agriculture.

Four excellent teachers were initially recruited, and this grew to seven teachers by January 2023.

Initially support resources are being shared across both primary and secondary to minimise cost.

The secondary school is formally annexed to Mosi-oa-Tunya secondary school (the main 1,600+ pupil school in Victoria Falls town) for registration purposes but Lesedi

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Lesedi Secondary School
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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

02 WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

should be able to stand on its own two feet from Form 3 once it’s reached a certain size and maturity.

Our pioneer students moved up to Form 2 in January 2023 and at the time of writing 114 children are enrolled at Lesedi Secondary - 63 boys and 51 girls.

Lesedi Clinic

Having started the project at Lesedi, we soon realized that healthcare was a major problem. The nearest public clinic was far from Lesedi, with transport costs unaffordable for most. Health issues were often ignored, or a traditional healer visited instead.

Building a clinic at Lesedi – along with various ancillary buildings – was a hugely ambitious project but despite the

challenges, Lesedi Clinic opened to the community in March 2020.

Lesedi Clinic provides local, affordable healthcare, antenatal care and

vaccinations. The clinic and school work closely together to monitor the welfare of our learners and provide ongoing treatment as necessary.

Along with the clinic, we have also built a maternity waiting-home for expecting mothers to stay during the final weeks of pregnancy. The cottage enables women to give birth in a safe environment, monitored by skilled health professionals.

We employ two nurses at the clinic, along with two nurse-aides and support staff. We also employ a doctor for weekly clinics. All costs are funded by donations to the Trust.

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Lesedi Clinic
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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

03 ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Covid restrictions gradually eased in Zimbabwe during 2022, but the economic situation remains hugely challenging. The Primary school is now at a mature stage offering 9 grades of high-quality teaching with special needs support added in 2022. The Secondary School construction was completed and opened in February 2022. The Clinic continued to deliver quality heath care to surrounding communities.

Background

Covid restrictions were slowly phased out during 2022 but it still restricted activities such as school sports. Most adults and children above ten were double vaccinated and fortunately local incidences of serious illness from Covid remained rare.

Covid has sadly just been another catalyst to Zimbabwe’s ongoing economic and humanitarian challenges.

It is estimated that over 90% of Zimbabweans work in the informal economy, with many living hand to mouth. People have resorted to growing food on every spare patch of land and making money where they can to survive.

The local community is very reliant on the tourism industry which was decimated for two years but by late 2022 this was slowly showing some signs of life with tourists and jobs returning to Victoria Falls.

High inflation is impacting Zimbabwe as with the rest of the world but with such low incomes it has a terrible effect on families.

This financial pressure combined with some freedoms after nearly three years of lockdowns has resulted in a big increase in the number of families being forced to leave the area in search of work.

It is sad when we lose learners, and we try to track “our” children where possible. We have hugely appreciated our sponsors

who have kindly transferred their resources (and love) to new Lesedi children.

Lesedi Clinic

The Lesedi Clinic opened in March 2020.

The clinic is privately registered but operates as a local community clinic, providing affordable care to the whole community. Our team work closely with local health officials and support their vital work.

Patient numbers have continued to increase during 2022. The clinic is already having a hugely positive impact, proving invaluable to the welfare of the Lesedi children and providing a valuable resource within the wider community.

Sister Irene and the rest of the nurses do a fabulous job in keeping the clinic as financially sustainable as possible with affordable consultation and prescription charges.

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

03 ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The clinic offers a full vaccination

programme at Lesedi. The Zimbabwe Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) aims to reduce vaccine preventable diseases. Targeted mostly at the under-5s, vaccines protect from Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Meningitis, Polio, Pneumonia etc. The clinic is also giving the HPV vaccine to girls aged between 10-14 years for prevention of cervical cancer. There is no charge for any of the vaccination services.

Regretfully, the clinic is still awaiting approval to distribute anti-retrovirals but the process is ongoing, and we are confident that permission will be granted.

In addition to serving the wider community, Lesedi Clinic provides a vital health resource for our Lesedi learners. This had to be suspended during Covid but has recently recommenced.

Our learners with long term health conditions, such as diabetes, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and sickle cell anaemia are all under the care of the clinic, with the team ensuring a consistent supply of medication and regular monitoring. The cost of looking after the health of our Lesedi children is covered by our child sponsorship program.

Lesedi Primary School

Two years of disruption has clearly had a major impact on all children’s education globally which is even more pronounced in countries like Zimbabwe with no accessible internet or home working support. The teachers did a great job with homework and catching up lost time where possible.

The major visible success during 2022 for the primary school was the Grade 7 exam results.

The overall pass rate for Lesedi learners was an incredible 91% vs 63% in 2021 and 40% nationally. The learners and teachers can be extremely proud of their

achievements. Pleasingly there was also a big improvement in maths scores which was a concern following the 2021 results.

Special needs support has always been something that we had wanted to do at Lesedi but the cost and other priorities had up until recently made this impossible. In mid-2022, we had an assessment

completed of some of the learners at Lesedi which suggested that we had at least thirty learners with special needs.

Following this report we felt that we had to finally do something about this despite the additional costs involved. A special needs teacher was recruited in September 2022. We now have a dedicated class for twenty learners from Forms 4 to 6 with additional support provided to the other identified children in the other classes.

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

03 ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Lesedi Secondary School

The main milestone during 2022 was the opening of the new Lesedi Secondary school!

During 2021, major construction works took place of two double classroom blocks, four vocational classrooms blocks, two ablution blocks, four teachers’ cottages plus significant infrastructure requirements for boreholes, electricity connection and other necessary infrastructure needs – roads, sewage/septic systems etc.

Significant investment in equipment was also required pre-opening which covered $20k of computers for the IT lab, equipment for the vocational subjects and science and a lot of text / workbooks. Plus furniture needs for all the above with all the desks, stools and chairs being hand made by local craftsmen providing much needed local employment.

We finally were able to expand our musical instruments at both primary and secondary schools with the purchase of 10 marimbas plus a few other percussion instruments.

To deliver all the above in 13 months especially during extended national lockdowns is a miracle and is only due to the continued heroics of Benson who worked constantly project managing the project. Our heartfelt thanks go out to him as well as everyone involved in making the secondary school a reality.

Enrolment for the new school commenced in January 2022 with 67 children enrolled into Form 1. In January 2023, a new intake joined the Secondary such that at the time of writing 115 learners were at the Secondary School.

Four secondary teachers were recruited by January 2022 and these have been supplemented by 3 more teachers in January 2023. This will continue to grow as we reach the minimum numbers required to start teaching the Zimsec level subjects from Form 3.

It is still early days but from our visits to the Secondary school the first 15 months have been a huge success and we are massively thankful to the teachers, and everyone involved.

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

03 ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Child Sponsorship

At the time of writing, 371 of the 395 children enrolled at Lesedi Primary and Secondary Schools are sponsored, an increase of 79 on December 2021. This is especially pleasing given the pandemic backdrop, with no tourist group visits to the school since March 2020.

Without sponsorship, it is likely that many of our learners would not be regularly attending school, and certainly wouldn’t have expectations to continue past their primary education. Our school meals are crucial to the welfare of many children, and for some the access to healthcare is proving to be a lifeline. For the charity, the sponsorship program provides much needed longer term financial security and engagement with a wider supporter base.

The $300 per child per year sponsorship income covers school fees, two hot meals a day, uniform and a contribution to our welfare fund. An allocation is also made towards paying part of the teachers’ salaries and other costs such as books and equipment, with the charity directly paying for the remaining balance. In 2022, the sponsorship was able to cover 39% of the salaries and other costs. This was a big reduction on the 83% allocation from 2021 primarily due to 2021 being unusually deflated because of 6 months+ of lockdowns plus generally increased costs.

The true cost of educating, feeding and providing welfare where needed for a child is closer to US$600. Our costs have increased significantly driven by the global high inflation especially on food and fuel costs and also partly due to the higher cost per pupil of secondary education vs primary.

We had not increased our sponsorship rates since we set up the sponsorship program in 2017 which combined with the major increase in costs, meant that we took the difficult decision to increase our annual sponsorship rates to $360 from 1 January 2023. We know the cost-of-living crisis is impacting all supporters and sadly we may lose a few sponsors as a result of this but we have to aim for long term financial sustainability for the schools.

Lesedi Community Projects

We have had mixed success on the community projects that we have supported. The chicken project set up in 2021 didn’t become sustainable and has been rolled into chicken projects run by some of the teachers.

We would love to set up other community initiatives which should now be helped by the vocational facilities and skills gained from the secondary school. However, a priority remains establishing the secondary school and we really need some of the members of the community to step up and drive some good ideas forwards.

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

03 ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

as other legal requirements such as staff contracts under the Ngoko Trust umbrella.

Lesedi Administration

For the past 6 years, the project has been run with the UK Charity fundraising and overseeing governance and other highlevel requirements with Benson and the teachers and nurses on the ground in Zimbabwe delivering on the operations.

The UK Ngoko Charitable Trust will remain accountable and responsible for Lesedi and any other projects supported.

The gentlemen running our US$ fundraising platform Generosity in Action retired during 2022 (thank you Duncan!) so we switched to being a designated fund under the Philanthropic Ventures Fund who became our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor.

A local trust, the Ngoko Trust was established in June 2021 to be the local governing authority for Zimbabwe.

Significant work in 2022 and continuing in 2023 was undertaken on registrations required for the school and clinic, as well

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

04 FUTURE PLANS

Our focus for the next few years is the establishment of a sustainable secondary school that will deliver high quality academic, vocational and life training. The Primary School and Clinic are now mature – our focus will be on increasing the positive impact these have already made on the community.

The transformation over the past eight years has been incredible. Starting with one pre-school class, our “pioneer students”, Lesedi School is now a wellequipped school campus with over 390 pupils at the time of writing who are energetic, confident and full of hope for the future. Lesedi Clinic is providing essential health services to the school children and wider community.

There is still so much more for us to do. The challenging situation in Zimbabwe means that we must work harder to ensure that the community we serve receives the best education and health support possible.

Lesedi Primary School

The Primary School is now operationally complete, with our final year – Grade 7 – completed in 2021. We now have a full complement of excellent teachers now also with special needs help and support staff working in quality facilities.

Our improved Grade 7 results in 2022 will be hard to beat but we need to try and deliver excellent education to every learner. Future focus will also be on the breadth of experiences the children receive with afterschool clubs already running for choir, marimba, chess, dancing, quizzes and crafts.

The completion of classroom Blocks 3 and 4 will provide the basic education infrastructure we need to teach up to the end of secondary school.

The start of 2024 will be a major milestone with learners starting their main secondary senior years leading to their Zimsec exams in late 2025 with the following needed:

For cost efficiency, we will share capacity and resources across primary and secondary as much as possible eg: dining & sports facilities, support staff.

However, at some stage we will need to have a separate head teacher and potentially some dedicated secondary school support. We have learned from the primary school to grow steadily, annually and we will make the decisions when the time is right.

Lesedi Secondary School

We are in the early stages of the Secondary school and 2022 and 2023 are all about establishing a great foundation.

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

04 FUTURE PLANS

Lesedi Clinic

The Clinic will continue to be a major focus as it continues to expand its usage and community engagement. The team are doing an amazing job and have made the operations sustainable. The focus now is helping more people, delivering all the health needs for their catchment area.

Other projects

With the focus on the secondary school there is no intention currently to spend material resources on other non-Lesedi projects over the next 2-3 years. Clearly if a situation does arise, we can afford it after Lesedi needs and it would make a big difference in line with our charitable objectives then we would consider supporting.

Fundraising

All of this requires money. We have been incredibly successful fundraising with over $1.9 million now raised for the project. However, we need to keep increasing our income each year to keep up with the growth in ambition and students.

The sponsorship program is essential. As well as providing the friendships and connections, financially it makes both schools affordable to fund from more ad-hoc donations.

We need to find more sponsors for the new 2023 intakes and then seventy more a year for at least two more years. The is a huge undertaking and we are so thankful to our amazing supporters who have taken on more sponsorships and spread the word.

The administration of the sponsorship scheme is becoming very onerous for Fiona in the UK. It will be impossible at six hundred children, so we need to start developing ways to support

this process better from Zimbabwe and possibly the UK / US.

One other new fundraising area is potentially around further education scholarships. The trustees are currently personally supporting a local man through university as he wouldn’t have been able to study otherwise. If any supporters show interest, we may support further scholarships.

Governance

Following the creation of the Ngoko Trust we will continue to improve on the charity governance.

A key element to this is succession planning and widening of the Trusts leadership beyond its three founders. There isn’t a quick solution, but the trustees are aware of this issue and will ensure longer term plans are put in place.

We still have no administration costs in the UK from the running of the charity as we want to maximise the end $ donation on the ground. Any UK admin costs and travel / other costs from trips to Lesedi by the trustees are all personally paid for.

Given the increasing scale and complexity of the charity we may eventually need to employ staff to help run the charity but ideally this would be in Zimbabwe to provide local jobs and given the pay disparity between the UK and Zimbabwe.

Overall, we have very clear plans for the next few years but will keep the flexibility to ensure we grow as required. There are huge challenges to overcome but given our experience of the last 8 years and the wonderful Lesedi team we have, staff and supporters, we are confident of delivering on our ambitions.

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

05 FINANCIAL REVIEW

The funding position during 2022 has remained strong with our highest recorded income level driven by a growing sponsorship base. Significant spend was incurred finishing the vocational blocks and equipping the secondary school. As expected, operational costs increased substantially in 2022 due to the new secondary school and a full year of classes without covid lockdowns.

A summary of our financial position is shown in Section 06 Accounts on pages 15 & 16.

Here we provide a brief narrative of the story behind the figures.

As before we account for our income and expenditure into two separate funds:

Income

1. Financial Donations

Most of our donations are from individuals, many of whom have visited the school and experienced first-hand the difference the project is making. Many of our donors have now generously supported the project for many years.

Every donation makes a difference, no matter how large or small. 100% of each donation we receive is spent directly on developing and supporting Lesedi with zero administration costs in the UK.

2. Child Sponsorship

Our child sponsorship program was introduced at the end 2017. The cost of sponsorship was US$25 or £18 (£15 plus gift

aid) per month (which increased to US$30 and £20 from January 2023).

Sponsorship income fully funds school fees, food, uniforms and welfare costs for all sponsored pupils. A contribution is also made to teachers’ salaries and other school operating costs. We hold a buffer of £10,000 of sponsorship money at the end of each year to ensure that sufficient cash flow is always available.

Payments

1. Building costs

Major projects during the year included:

Completion of four vocational classrooms (£39k)

Other works – including outdoor kitchen and start on secondary classroom block 3 (total £26k).

2. Teachers’ Salaries

The charity funded the salaries of sixteen teachers during the year, five more the 2021 due to a new primary special needs teacher and four secondary teachers.

3. Food and operational costs

This covers the costs of food, utilities and other direct costs of running both schools. It also includes costs of uniforms, welfare and medical costs incurred.

4. School Furniture & Equipment

For the primary this primarily relates to schoolbooks, plus some school supplies.

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

05 FINANCIAL REVIEW

The significant secondary (£43k) spend primarily covered the costs of computers (£23k), desks, chairs, stools, text books and vocational equipment.

5. Other School Costs

Other costs relate to fuel, transport, internet, telephone and other sundries.

6. Clinic operational costs

Clinic salaries cover the salaries of 2 nurses, 2 nurse-aides plus a doctor and support staff.

7. Profit on Exchange

The 2022 accounts show a profit on exchange of £18,463 (2021: £1,323). As a UKregistered charity, we report in Sterling. However, on a day-to-day basis we generally work in US Dollars (USD). Donations received from the US are remitted to the project in USD. Our costs in Zimbabwe are primarily paid in USD. Converting the accounts into Sterling at the year-end results in a profit or loss on exchange depending on the change in the exchange rate during the year. It does not necessarily mean that a profit or loss has been realised.

8. Trustee Renumeration

No trustee remuneration was paid in 2022.

During 2021, Benson Siyawareva project managed the secondary school construction from agreeing the plans to procuring materials and managing all the builders and other 3[rd] party contractors. In the year, the charity received a net donation of $9,800 (£7,261) specifically to reimburse Benson for some of his time and effort on this work.

undertook an assessment against UK law and Charity Commission guidance to satisfy themselves that the donation could be passed on as remuneration. Having satisfied themselves of this, the payment was made to Benson in December 2021.

Balance Sheet

At the year end the charity was holding net monetary assets of £196,691. This was predominantly being held in US Dollars.

£34,880 of the net monetary assets at the year end were restricted funds representing the balance on the sponsorship fund (£10,000) plus funds for secondary school Block 3 construction.

The amount of Unrestricted funds at 31 December 2022 was £161,811.

£62,000 will be held in reserve to cover salaries, in line with our Reserves Policy.

The balance of around £100,000 will cover construction of classroom Blocks 3 & 4 (total £70k), equipment and other set up costs and ongoing running costs.

Reserves Policy

Salaries form the bulk of our nondiscretionary spending commitments and our policy is to keep a minimum of 6 months’ salary cost in reserve in addition to amounts allocated to restricted funds.

Payment to trustees for services provided is allowed under the Trust’s governing documents but the remaining trustees

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

06 ACCOUNTS SUMMARY

Summary of Financial Activities

Income:
Donations
Sponsorship income
Total income
Expenditure on charitable
activities:
Building costs
Primary School operational costs:
Salaries
Food & school operational costs
School furniture & equipment
Other school costs
Secondary operational costs:
Salaries
Food & school operational costs
School furniture & equipment
Other school costs
Clinic operational costs:
Salaries
Equip, medicines & consumables
Other clinic running costs
Local administration costs
Bank fees
(Profit) on exchange
Total expenditure
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forwards
Total funds carried forwards		 Year to 31 December 2022
Unrestricted
funds
£
Restricted
funds
£
Total
funds
£
190,655
30,014
220,669
-
90,721
90,721
190,655
120,735
311,390
61,039
4,187
65,226
34,585
22,389
56,974
-
41,253
41,253
3,282
2,124
5,406
9,120
5,905
15,025
46,987
71,671
118,658
10,664
6,903
17,567
-
15,593
15,593
43,188
-
43,188
1,390
901
2,291
55,242
23,397
78,639
18,180
-
18,180
4,054
-
4,054
1,544
-
1,544		 Year to 31 December 2021
Unrestricted
funds
£
Restricted
funds
£
Total
funds
£
188,195
47,467
235,662
-
67,590
67,590
188,195
115,057
303,252
103,374
85,210
188,584
5,280
25,016
30,296
-
25,383
25,383
353
1,674
2,027
1,078
15,779
16,857
6,711
67,852
74,563
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
18,355
-
18,355
1,311
-
1,311
665
-
665
23,778
-
23,778
1,955
-
1,955
3,197
-
3,197
(18,463)
-
(18,463)
173,735
99,255
272,990
16,920
21,480
38,400
144,891
13,400
158,291
161,811
34,880
196,691		 20,331
-
20,331
-
-
-
1,320
-
1,320
(1,323)
-
(1,323)
130,413
153,062
283,475
57,782
(38,005)
19,777
87,109
51,405
138,514
144,891
13,400
158,291

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

06 ACCOUNTS SUMMARY

Balance Sheet as at 31 December

Current Assets:
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
Total net assets
Funds of the Charity:
Restricted Funds
Unrestricted Funds
Total funds		 2022
Unrestricted
funds
£
Restricted
funds
£
Total
funds
£
209
-
209
161,602
34,880
196,482
161,811
34,880
196,691
-
34,880
34,880
161,811
-
161,811
161,811
34,880
196,691		 2021
Unrestricted
funds
£
Restricted
funds
£
Total
funds
£
1,002
-
1,002
143,889
13,400
157,289
144,891
13,400
158,291
-
13,400
13,400
144,891
-
144,891
144,891
13,400
158,291

Note:

The accounts are prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice for Charities (SORP 2015) and applicable accounting standards (FRS102).

A full copy of the accounts is available on the website: https://lesedizim.org/news/

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

07

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Ngoko Charitable Trust (the “Trust”) for the year ended 31 December 2022.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that, in any material respect:

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried under Section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Colin Hoare Accountancy Services Ltd Chartered Accountants 10 The Green Cheddington Buckinghamshire LU7 0RJ

Dated 3[rd] July 2023

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

08

Ngoko Charitable Trust is an unincorporated Trust, constituted under a Trust Deed dated 25 May 2015 and is a registered charity (registration number 1163965).

Public Benefit

The Trustees confirm they have complied with the duty in the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity

Commission’s guidance on public benefit which addresses the need for all charities’ aims to be, demonstrably, for the public benefit.

Ngoko Charitable Trust fulfils the public benefit by the relief of poverty, and improvement of poor education and health outcomes for children and their families. Details about the specific programmes pursued can be found earlier in this report.

Appointment of Trustees

There must be at least 3 trustees. Apart from the first trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of 3 years by a resolution of the trustees passed at a special meeting. The current trustees are all founding trustees of the Charity and hold office for the following periods:

Fiona Thompson ............. 3 years to 2023 Benson Siyawareva …… 3 years to 2025 Graeme Thompson ....... 3 years to 2024

In selecting individuals for appointment, the trustees have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the charity.

All trustees give of their time freely and no trustee remuneration has been paid except for the project management payment to Benson in 2021 as noted in Section 5.

Organisational Structure

The management of the Charity is split between the UK and Zimbabwe.

Benson Siyawareva, in Zimbabwe, is the driving force behind the establishment of Lesedi and manages all the projects and development locally.

The Ngoko Trust, a trust set up in Zimbabwe on which Benson is a trustee, is the registered owner of the school and clinic, and employs the staff.

In the UK, Fiona Thompson, handles administration of the sponsorship program. Graeme Thompson manages the finances. Fundraising and communication with supporters is a joint effort.

Lesedi Secondary School is being led on an interim basis by our excellent headmistress, Mrs A. Mutori, who is highly experienced and ambitious for the educational standards at the school. We will need to appoint a head teacher for the Secondary in due course.

Cathy Ncube is interim head of Lesedi Primary School, until Mrs Mutori’s return. The primary school comprises ten other teachers plus support staff. The secondary school now has seven teachers.

A school advisory council oversees the day to day running of the school. The council comprises of five village elders plus the school principal. The village elders are appointed by the community. The committee is overseen by a school Board of Directors, which includes Benson Siyawareva as Chairman.

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

08 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

Lesedi Clinic is in the capable hands of our matron-in-charge, Sister Irene, and nurse, Sister Nhondova, along with two nurse-aides and support staff. Dr Gwenhamo provides weekly consultations and supervision.

The Trustees actively oversee all day-today activities at the school and clinic.

Risk Management

The Trustees actively review any major risks which the Charity faces on a regular basis and believe that we have appropriate procedures and controls to identify and mitigate against risks we are exposed to.

Adoption of the Annual Report

The trustees declare that they have approved the annual report and accounts.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees.

Graeme Thompson

Treasurer

3[rd] July 2023

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

09 REFERENCE & ADMINISTRATION DETAILS

Charity name

Ngoko Charitable Trust

Charity number

1163965

Principal Address

28 Station Road Tring Hertfordshire HP23 5NG

Trustees

Benson Siyawareva Fiona Thompson Graeme Thompson

Independent Examiner

Colin Hoare Accountancy Services Ltd 10 The Green Cheddington Buckinghamshire LU7 0RJ

Bankers

Barclays Bank PLC

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Ngoko Charitable Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts 2022

10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We continue to be truly humbled by how generous and loyal our supporters have been during 2022 with some very large donations that have allowed us to build the secondary school and existing sponsors who have been adding to “their” sponsor children. We offer our sincere thanks to everyone who is on this journey with us. Our achievements to date would not have been possible without your generous support.

Virtually all of our funding comes from donations by private individuals, with many of our supporters kind enough to remember us in their charitable giving year after year. Each and every donation is valued, from a few dollars to buy a birthday gift for a sponsor child to the uniquely overwhelming donations we receive - to drill a borehole, build a classroom block or renovate a clinic. Just as vital are the donations that enable us to pay salaries and day to day running costs.

A donation is a gesture of generosity but also one of trust. We are honoured by the trust you place in us and very aware of our responsibility to spend your donations wisely – and in full – as instructed or where they are needed most.

While financial donations fund all our projects, it is love that gives Lesedi its heart. Thank you to all our child sponsors whose love and caring means the world to the Lesedi children and their families.

A school is only as good as its teachers, and a clinic is only as good as its nurses. The challenges over the past year have highlighted how committed our talented team is to what we are trying to achieve at Lesedi. We thank them for their dedication during such a difficult time.

We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who has provided support to Lesedi and the Ngoko Charitable Trust. Your support is heart-warming and an inspiration to us all.

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