2023-12-31-accounts

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LAFI Burkina

ANNUAL REPORT

2023

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1164093

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Burkina Faso ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Partnerships ............................................................................................................................................ 4 WORKING TOWARDS OUR OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................. 4 Governance ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Our Board of Trustees ........................................................................................................................... 14 General Fundraising .............................................................................................................................. 14 Grants .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Reserves policy...................................................................................................................................... 15 Declaration ............................................................................................................................................ 15 Management Report............................................................................................................................. 16

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INTRODUCTION

Lasting Action for Inclusion in Burkina Faso (LAFI Burkina) was established as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in October 2015 and is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (registered charity number 1164093).

LAFI Burkina’s vision is an inclusive society in Burkina Faso where persons with disabilities have equal rights and opportunities, with access to support to gain employment and alleviation from poverty. Our mission is to strengthen the capacities of our partner organisations in Burkina Faso to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities to live in a fully inclusive society.

Our vision and mission support our core charitable objectives, which are:

To promote the rights of persons with disabilities in Burkina Faso
To promote social inclusion in the Burkinabè community
To relieve poverty amongst persons with disabilities in Burkina Faso

This report outlines LAFI Burkina’s work towards these objectives, covering the period from January 1[st] to December 31[st] 2023.

BURKINA FASO

In 2023, the escalation in armed conflict between Burkina Faso’s military forces and non-state armed groups led to a surge in the exposure of civilians to security-related incidents and the loss of lives. The disruption of civilians’ access to livelihood activities, as well as to education, health and transport services, all continued to impact an already vulnerable population and the country’s overall infrastructure. The associated increases in internal displacement led to humanitarian needs reaching alarming levels, with some localities in northern and eastern parts of the country being blocked by non-state armed groups, thus constraining humanitarian access to these communities and causing humanitarian emergencies.

Burkina Faso therefore continued to face the effects of both the existing and new displacement of its civilian population, with the number of displaced people - most of whom are women and children - reaching over 2 million. This, alongside the lack of security across the country, has persisted in undermining the population’s ability to meet its basic needs.

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PARTNERSHIPS

Our approach is to work with local organisations who know the local context in Burkina Faso, and who work directly with persons with disabilities. We provide these organisations with financial and technical support to develop projects that improve the lives of children, women and men living with a disability.

In 2023, LAFI Burkina continued its partnership with two local organisations in Burkina Faso: Tigoung Nonma and ODIS (Organisation for Inclusive Development and Solidarity).

Tigoung Nonma is a charity and cooperative of disabled artisans. It provides training and employment opportunities for its members and promotes their work to enable them to earn a sustainable living.

ODIS (Organisation for Inclusive Development and Solidarity) is a nongovernmental organisation that provides appropriate and sustainable solutions to the extreme poverty, exclusion and vulnerability faced by many of the most marginalised groups in Burkina Faso.

In 2024, we will maintain and develop our partnerships with partner organisations in Burkina Faso, with a continued focus on monitoring and evaluating current projects, as well as working with our partners to develop and seek funding for additional projects that promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Burkinabè society.

WORKING TOWARDS OUR OBJECTIVES

Impact of Insecurity in Burkina Faso

Due to the ongoing security context in Burkina Faso, we unfortunately continued to experience difficulties in supporting our partners with project delivery, due to extreme delays with fund transfers resulting in significant project delays. We have, however, been able to identify alternative options for fund transfers that we aim to trial in 2024.

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TO PROMOTE DISABLED PEOPLE’S RIGHTS IN BURKINA FASO

International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPwD)

To celebrate this year’s IDPwD, we launched our online shop, selling handmade crafts made by members of our partner organisation, Tigoung Nonma, on our website.

We also used our social media channels to share relevant messages from other organisations, including promoting Purple Sock Day, where 50% of proceeds from the sale of purple bamboo socks went towards a Purple Sock Day Fund to support D/deaf, disabled and neurodiverse entrepreneurs.

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WEBSITE, E-NEWSLETTER & SOCIAL MEDIA

We have continued to use our website, e-newsletter and social media to promote our work and share information on disability rights, Burkina Faso, and issues related to the inclusion of persons with disabilities. We used our social media plan to create relevant content and post more frequently on social media in order to increase our follower numbers, as well as to enhance engagement with our existing supporters.

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In 2024, we will continue to raise awareness of issues faced by persons with disabilities in Burkina Faso, through our presence at relevant events, using social media, and organising fundraising activities.

TO PROMOTE SOCIAL INCLUSION IN THE BURKINABE COMMUNITY

ODIS Project

This project raises awareness amongst families of the importance of education and early intervention for children with disabilities. It encourages parents to enrol their children with disabilities in school, whilst simultaneously working with schools and vocational colleges to train teachers, create a physically accessible environment, and provide appropriate resources. The project also works with employers to increase access to work opportunities. Alongside this, the project carries out advocacy campaigns on disability rights at both a government and local community level, and targets actors who can influence and create positive attitudinal and behavioural changes to empower persons with disabilities.

The project aims to improve the quality of life and social inclusion of children and adults with disabilities through the provision of inclusive education, and has the following outcomes:

Increased awareness amongst local communities of disability rights;
Identified educational establishments are physically accessible;
Increased enrolment and retention of beneficiaries with disabilities in education or professional training;
Increased sense of belonging/inclusion of people living with a disability within their families and communities;
Improved knowledge of inclusive education approaches amongst teaching staff.

In 2023, we continued our work with ODIS on this Inclusive Education and Training project, and the following results were achieved across 5 regions in Burkina Faso:

14 children with disabilities were enrolled at school and provided with school supplies and mobility equipment when needed. ODIS also worked with parents to encourage their children to attend school and worked with schools to provide guidance on each individual child’s needs.

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6 adults with disabilities were enrolled in vocational training programmes (welding and manufacture of mobility aids, and production of carved wooden masks), and ODIS supported these persons with transport costs to be able to attend their training sessions. This training will equip these individuals with the skills to earn a sustainable livelihood.

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22 sessions on inclusion and disability rights were held with parents and families of children and adults with disabilities, as well as 6 sessions with vocational trainers and trainees. These sessions have provided family members and vocational trainers with knowledge of disability rights as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as within Burkinabè law. The sessions challenged the attitudinal barriers that hinder the inclusion of persons with disabilities within communities and educational establishments, as well as provided guidance on removing environmental and institutional barriers. In an attempt to create a more positive portrayal of disability and to change the way parents perceive their child’s disability; this project seeks to create an enabling environment where parents can learn how they can encourage their child to achieve their full potential.

ODIS also implemented a beneficiary database to improve monitoring and evaluation of the project.

ODIS are continuing to identify persons with disabilities in need of support with education and training, so we will pursue this important inclusion work with them in 2024.

Tigoung Nonma’s Activities

In 2023, the security situation in Burkina Faso and the continued reduction in tourists (traditional customers for crafts) continued to impact the livelihoods of members of our partner organisation Tigoung Nonma (TN), as the TN cooperative’s artisans were unable to undertake the majority of their artisanal activities, with most not generating any income from producing crafts. TN did, however, move into new headquarters, where they will have more opportunities to develop income-generating activities.

In 2024, we will continue purchasing crafts from TN to sell in the UK, as well as exploring ways to diversify TN’s income to enable them to support artisans with disabilities to earn a sustainable livelihood.

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TO RELIEVE POVERTY AMONGST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN BURKINA FASO

Parallel Windsor

LAFI Burkina was invited to participate in Parallel Windsor in July 2023 as a charity partner. Parallel Windsor is an award-winning event featuring a range of challenge events for everybody of all ages, health conditions and abilities.

LAFI Burkina has been involved in this inclusive event since its inception in 2016 (as Parallel London), and it has given us the opportunity to fundraise by encouraging our supporters to raise money to participate in challenge events.

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In 2023, participating in Parallel Windsor allowed us to raise around £1,560 through sponsorship and £150 through craft sales.

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STALLS

In November 2023, we ran a stall as part of the ‘Celebrating Burkina Faso!’ event in Reading.

The event included speakers, live music, food and drink, and a fundraising raffle, and we were very happy to be able to sell TN crafts there.

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The artisans who are members of the Tigoung Nonma cooperative benefit from the purchase of their crafts by LAFI Burkina. The cooperative itself also benefits, as it receives 20% from each sale made by its members to ensure that its activities are sustained. As the cooperative seeks to provide sustainable incomes for its members, supporting the cooperative allows us to work towards our objective to relieve poverty amongst persons with disabilities, as well as to promote the inclusion of the cooperative’s members in the socio-economic development of their country.

We therefore run stalls to promote Tigoung Nonma’s work, as well as to raise awareness of the exclusion issues faced by persons with disabilities in Burkina Faso, and what LAFI Burkina is doing to combat this.

GOVERNANCE

LAFI Burkina is a Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisation, functioning in line with our Constitution, with all our trustees appointed by existing trustees.

All trustees must follow LAFI Burkina’s policies, including taking into consideration the risks identified in the LAFI Burkina Risk Register and doing their best to mitigate these.

Our volunteers also follow our policies as they support LAFI Burkina with its activities, namely with fundraising and events. When planning and executing our activities, we have abided by the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit.

We continuously review and formulate organisational policies and procedures to guide best practice from our trustees, volunteers and partner organisations, as well as to support our growth and development and help us to meet our objectives in a more effective and efficient manner.

LAFI Burkina has complied with the duty in section 17(5) of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.

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OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES

There were no changes to our Board of Trustees in 2023:

Melissa Miller (Chair)
Dana El-Hilu (Vice Chair)
Zarina Douglas-Sori (Treasurer)
Jonathan Fowle (General Trustee)
Hannah Crichton-Smith (General Trustee)
Louise Shaw (General Trustee)

All our trustees give their time voluntarily and have received no remuneration or other benefits.

GENERAL FUNDRAISING

In 2023, we raised a total of £2,950.70 (2022: 1,610.61) , primarily through donations and craft sales.

Please see our Financial Report for a full breakdown.

GRANTS

LAFI Burkina applies to trusts and foundations for funding for specific programmes with our partners, and also raises unrestricted income through fundraising events. These funds allow us to award grants to our partner organisations to support projects that correspond to our objectives.

In line with our Grant-Making Policy, our partners must submit a funding application form in which they present the project for which they require funding, along with a log frame and a budget proposal.

After careful consideration from LAFI Burkina, as well as support on modifications to enhance projects, partners sign a Grant Agreement Form so that a grant may be awarded.

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RESERVES POLICY

As at 31 December 2023, LAFI Burkina has restricted reserves of £nil (2022: £74.23) and unrestricted reserves of £6,810.30 (2022: £4,827.40) . This is in line with our Reserves Policy to retain £2,486.00 per year.

DECLARATION

The trustees declare that they have approved the Annual Report and Financial Report.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees, on 22[nd] October 2024.

Melissa Miller CHAIR

Dana El-Hilu VICE CHAIR

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Management Report

Lasting Action For Inclusion in Burkina Faso (LAFI Burkina) For the period ended 31 December 2023

Prepared on 12 October 2024

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Lasting Action For Inclusion in Burkina Faso (LAFI Burkina) Financial Activities

January - December 2023

Income Donations Fundraising Amazon Smile Crowdfunding Easyfundraising Grants Total Fundraising Sales TN Crafts Total Sales Total Income Total Expenditures Bank charge Financial management costs Fundraising costs Event costs Total Fundraising costs Insurances Office/General Administrative Expenses Project Grants ODIS TN projects Total Project Grants TN craft payments Total Expenditures Net Operating Income Net Income/(Expenditure)	Jan - Dec 2023 Jan - Dec 2022 (PY) Total Restricted	Jan - Dec 2023 Jan - Dec 2022 (PY) Jan - Dec 2023 Jan - Dec 2022 (PY) TOTAL Unrestricted
	0.00 0.00 742.45 858.84 742.45 858.84 0.00 0.00 1,803.15 1,803.15 0.00 0.00 0.00 33.32 33.62 33.32 33.62 0.00 0.00 24.17 78.85 24.17 78.85 0.00 0.00 75.97 41.30 75.97 41.30 0.00 500.00 0.00 500.00
	£ 0.00 £ 500.00 £ 1,936.61 £ 153.77 £ 1,936.61 £ 653.77 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 98.00 271.64 271.64 98.00
	£ 0.00 £ 98.00 £ 271.64 £ 0.00 £ 271.64 £ 98.00
	£ 0.00 £ 598.00 £ 2,950.70 £ 1,012.61 £ 2,950.70 £ 1,610.61
	£ 0.00 £ 598.00 £ 2,950.70 £ 1,012.61 £ 2,950.70 £ 1,610.61 0.00 0.00 20.00 0.00 20.00 0.00 0.00 484.80 460.80 484.80 460.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 206.42 109.17 206.42 109.17
	£ 0.00 £ 0.00 £ 206.42 £ 109.17 £ 206.42 £ 109.17 0.00 0.00 119.73 117.50 119.73 117.50 0.00 0.00 15.54 14.34 15.54 14.34 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4,430.00 0.00 4,430.00 89.78 0.00 125.76 15.54 215.54 15.54
	£ 89.78 £ 4,430.00 £ 125.76 £ 15.54 £ 215.54 £ 4,445.54 0.00 0.00 237.00 0.00 237.00
	£ 89.78 £ 4,430.00 £ 952.25 £ 974.35 £ 1,042.03 £ 5,404.35
	-£ 89.78 -£ 3,832.00 £ 1,998.45 £ 38.26 £ 1,908.67 -£ 3,793.74
	-£ 89.78 -£ 3,832.00 £ 1,998.45 £ 38.26 £ 1,908.67 -£ 3,793.74

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Total

Balance Sheet

As of December 31, 2023

	Total
FIXED ASSET
Total Fixed Asset
CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND
Business Bank Account	6,810.30
Total Cash at bank and in hand	6,810.30
NET CURRENT ASSETS	6,810.30
NET CURRENT ASSETS(LIABILITIES)	6,810.30
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES	6,810.30
TOTAL NET ASSETS (LIABILITIES)	£6,810.30
CHARITY FUNDS
Retained Earnings	4,901.63
Surplus/(Deficit)	1,908.67
Total Charity funds	£6,810.30

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees Lasting Action For Inclusion in Burkina Faso (LAFI Burkina) On accounts for the year 31/12/2023 Charity no 1164093 ended Set out on pages 17 - 18

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2023.

Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report 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 out 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 I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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.

Signed: Date: 13/10/2024 Name: Lloyd Cross Relevant professional ACA qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 1 Minorca Grove Milton Keynes MK5 7FU

Oct 2018

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