Green Kordofan Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2024
To follow is the annual report and financial statements presented by the Trustees of Green Kordofan. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act, Accounting and Reporting by Charities – Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) and with the financial reporting standards applicable in the U.K. and Ireland.
Reference and administrative details
Charity name: Green Kordofan Charity registration number: 1164386 Principal Address: Flat 5, 57 Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT20 1DF
Director, Patrons, and Board of Trustees
Director and founder: Raga Gibreel Patrons: Olivia Warham, OBE Jessica Hynes Board of Trustees: Nagwa Shagga Peter Keenan Omema Dain Jane Champion Aida Silvestri Steve Bishopp Ailsa Brookes
NB: Abena Akuffo-Kelly and Tom Laws resigned from the Board of Trustees in June 2023 and were replaced by Steve Bishopp and Ailsa Brookes.
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Structure, governance & management
Green Kordofan is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and is controlled by its governing document/constitution. Its only voting members are the Trustees.
Recruitment, appointment, induction, and training of Trustees
The existing Trustees are responsible for the recruitment and appointment of new Trustees. In selecting new Trustees our aim is to identify individuals who have knowledge of the situation in South Sudan and the region, who support our aims and objectives and who are willing to attend community/fundraising events as well as Trustee meetings. In the first instance potential Trustees are invited to attend events and meetings as observers so existing Trustees can assess their suitability and commitment. New Trustees are given copies of the constitution and relevant charity commission publications and are instructed in the responsibilities of their position. They also attend a training session with Green Kordofan.
Advisory Committee
In 2024 we established an Advisory Committee in Yida Refugee Camp to support Green Kordofan on the ground. Committee members are volunteers with a range of skills and expertise who help us to create and maintain a safe space for the refugee children in which their needs can be addressed. The Committee includes parents, the Yida Camp Deputy Chairman, a member who is responsible for security in the Camp, a Refugee Council official, a representative of the Yida Women’s Group and a former UNHCR child protection officer.
The Director meets monthly with the Advisory Committee to receive feedback on the situation in Yida and discuss Green Kordofan’s work.
Risk Management
The Trustees have given consideration to the major risks to which the charity is exposed, the nature of those risks and the measures taken to manage them. These include governance risks, operational risks, financial risks, external risks and compliance with laws and regulations. The Director and Trustees seek to build their awareness of risk by attending appropriate training sessions. In October 2023 Raga Gibreel and Steve Bishopp attended the Charity Commission workshop on Overseas Partners: Collecting the Evidence You Need and in August 2023 and October 2023 respectively Ailsa Brookes attended Charity Commission workshops on Due Diligence and Monitoring the End Use of Funds and Safeguarding in an International Context. Notes from the sessions were shared with all Trustees.
The senior staff in Yida report weekly by phone and Zoom to the Director who in turn keeps Trustees appraised of what is happening within the Camp. Periodically Trustees also hold Zoom meetings with the staff and are able to view virtually the developments in the Green Kordofan compound. As previously stated, the Director meets with the Advisory Committee monthly and Trustees are able to participate as needed.
Financial Controls
In November 23 Trustees conducted a review of Green Kordofan’s banking arrangements. It was decided to stay with Barclays bank but to move to a Community account which provided
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better support/terms for small charities. In March 2024 we also began a review of the Financial Controls Policy which was ultimately revised and approved by Trustees in the June 2024 meeting. This will be reported on more fully in our 2024/2025 annual report.
Objectives
Green Kordofan supports war displaced children from Sudan who currently live in Yida Refugee Camp in South Sudan.
The purpose of the charity is to promote the wellbeing and meet the needs of children and young people who have been displaced by conflict through:
(a) the provision of healthy recreational activities provided in the interest of social welfare, designed to improve their conditions of life; and
(b) the provision of support and activities which develop their skills, capacities, and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals.
We work with around 1500 children each year and have supported well over 6500 young people since 2017. We offer sports and educational programmes designed to meet the objectives stated above and encourage a community-based approach to camp life. Our programmes aim to support children by providing activities which improve their life skills, promote good health, and keep them occupied and safe in a hostile environment.
Public benefit
The Trustees have given consideration to the Charity Commission’s published guidance on the public benefit requirement and believe we meet this through our work in South Sudan and our awareness raising, community work and fundraising activities in the U.K.
Though we engage primarily with children and young people, our work has a wider benefit and positively impacts many more residents of the Yida Refugee camp. This year Green Kordofan has increased the number of paid workers to ten in Yida and one in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, as well as approximately 50 volunteers – many of whom were supported by the charity when they were children.
While our work is primarily with young people, we aim to positively impact the culture of the camp and also support women who have been victims of sexual violence both through community workshops and by providing safe care and education for their children. We have been engaging the community in Yida and fostering an environment where vulnerable people feel safe.
Context
April 2023 saw an escalation of conflict in Sudan and the country is facing a monumental and devastating humanitarian crisis. The U.K, Parliament’s APPG for Sudan and South Sudan recently reported that an estimated 10.7 million people are internally displaced and a further 2 million have crossed into neighbouring countries. Almost 770,000 of these have fled into South Sudan where Green Kordofan operates.
The number of people seeking refuge in Yida Camp where we operate is increasing daily and the number of children Green Kordofan is supporting has increased significantly in the
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past year, with over 1500 young people now benefiting from our services. The work of Green Kordofan takes place in an environment where most, if not all, people live without their basic needs being met. There is a shortage of food and water, of secure homes and of health care. Adults, the elderly, single mothers, and widows experience high levels of stress sometimes resulting in low self-esteem, substance abuse and changes in parenting behaviour. There is little help available for new arrivals and counselling for those who have experienced severe trauma is non-existent. We continually look for creative ways to address the various types of trauma within a child friendly space and one in which vulnerable people feel safe.
Project Updates
This has been a very challenging year with the war in Sudan making life even more difficult for the people in Yida and an increase in the population of the Camp. We have been fundraising heavily to allow us to support more children in a safe and sustainable way.
Enhancements to Green Kordofan infrastructure
Due to our fundraising efforts, we were able to add additional staff to assist with the delivery of our sports, education and personal development programmes which give the children the skills they need to succeed in life beyond the Camp.
In 2023/24 we were delighted to complete our classroom building project. This has had a great impact on our ability to continue our programming year-round as we are no longer as impacted during the rainy season when it was difficult to teach in our outdoor spaces. With a generous grant from the Cyril Taylor Charitable Foundation, we were able to furnish the classroom and purchase educational/IT equipment and materials such as books, pencils, notebooks etc.
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With a generous donation from the Tinsley Foundation, we were also able to purchase 2 additional solar panels which help to supply the electricity for our increased indoor educational activities.
As stated in our last report, in 2022/23 we added a professional nurse to our staff to offer health education classes and advice to the children we support as well as the wider community. A generous grant from the Souter Charitable Trust this year has enabled us to continue with this and to provide basic first aid to the children we support.
In September 2023, the Green Kordofan Director established contact with a Doctor at the Government hospital close to Yida who has agreed to support the charity and take referrals from our staff which should smooth the process of obtaining treatment for those who need it. This is particularly helpful as medical services in Yida are scarce and basic medications are often in short supply.
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Bakri – GK Yida community Nurse
“Here I am using a triage strategy to treat some of our GK young people according to need. The seasonal malaria peak has already started,” said Bakri.
Education programmes
The classroom we built this year has created a more appropriate learning environment for teaching subjects beyond the sports coaching that Green Kordofan has offered since it was founded. We expanded our programmes to offer education to the children to meet a recognised need for this given the length of time children were remaining in the Camp.
UNICEF reports that “19 million children in Sudan – an entire generation – have been out of school since April 2023. The impact this will have on their future cannot be overstated.” Data from Save the Children shows that 1000 refugees from Sudan are crossing the border with South Sudan daily in search of safety and many of these are finding their way to Yida.
We are offering classes in reading, writing, maths, art, music, health, computer skills and personal development. We have hired teachers to work with the children on-site and are also conducting virtual teaching using the new technology we have and volunteers in the U.K. We are also in the early stages of arranging classroom to classroom activities with children in Yida and the U.K.
As well as teaching the children we are offering a small number of community classes in conflict resolution, health and gender equality.
In all our programmes boys and girls are taught together to promote equality and mutual respect.
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Sports programmes
The sports programmes are very popular with the children. As well as providing physical exercise and entertainment they teach communication and teamwork skills, boost selfesteem and support mental health. They have the added benefit of keeping the children occupied and safe in what can be a hostile environment.
We offer daily training and over 40 football and volleyball teams which compete in friendly tournaments. This includes parent teams which engage the broader community and encourage peaceful cooperation and support for the children. This year, our coaches reported an increase in the number of children attending our activities with an average of 82 in each training session.
Regular sports specific skills workshop help tackle social issues.
Over 40 football teams compete in friendly tournaments.
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Elijabo – Joined Green Kordofan’s programs 3 years ago, as a young boy.
From being merely another displaced person, he describes the development of interactive skills within the sports curriculum of Green Kordofan.
Elijbo describes going from football fan, to becoming a skilful team player with ambitions for the future: “We call our team Manchester”.
Please find the translations of the Arabic dialogues in the videos' descriptions".
More stories can be found on our website.
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Virtual teaching and joint activities with children via Zoom.
Fundraising
Green Kordofan is funded entirely by donations and fundraising is an important part of our work. This has become even more important given the greater need in Yida and the fact that we have increased the number of children we now support and increased our staff to accommodate this.
We have now established a Fundraising Committee on which the Director and four Trustees serve. The aim is to provide focused and regular attention to raising funds, identifying grant awarding bodies to which we can apply as well as continuing to hold events and cultivate individual donations.
We have had some success with grant applications, receiving £27,500 in grant money in 23/24 v £0 in 22/23.
U.K. activities
War in Sudan continues to produce hundreds of casualties per day and those who escape are still bearing wounds, some of which are very visible. Through our work we try to help as much as we can.
Much of our work is around raising awareness of the situation in Sudan and South Sudan and raising funds for our work. Some notable successes in 2023/24 include a Film screening and music event on June 10[th.]
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and the International Peace Day event on the 21[st] of September 2024. Both were well attended by those from Folkestone and beyond and at the September event we were able to bring the Yida community into the room via Zoom. This was a great success with joint singing and sharing of stories and was particularly enjoyed by the young Sudanese refugees living in the U.K. who were able to make music with those from home. Click here to hear a message from Rebecca Tinsley, one of our supporters.
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We also participated in organised walks, creative arts performances and sponsored runs such as the Folkestone Coastal 10k which are responsible for generating a large proportion of donations to our cause. We were grateful to have six runners who raised the amazing amount of over £3,000 for GK. This is a great boost for our limited funding.
Also, in April 2024, Amy, Katie, Patrick, Edra and Asme ran the LLHM (London Landmarks Half Marathon) for Green Kordofan and raised more than £3000.
These activities brought people in the U.K. together, joining in solidarity with the people of Yida and raising much-needed funds for our work in South Sudan.
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Financial
Our income increased significantly versus last year primarily because of the grants from the Souter Charitable Trust, Tinsley Foundation, and the Cyril Taylor Charitable Foundation. Our one-off donations and contributions through Just Giving also increased, due in large part to our targeted appeals to our supporters based on the increased need following the outbreak of war and the participation in the London landmarks Half-Marathon. We also had some success in a campaign to increase monthly donations.
This enabled us to increase our spending on staffing to support the increased number of children, goods to be sent to South Sudan and local purchases in South Sudan to improve the lives of the young people there.
Notably, we also received a very generous donation of shoes from Sal’s Shoes, valued at £1500, which were shipped to Yida.
Our focus for 2024/2025 is to continue with our enhanced fundraising efforts to ensure a sustainable future for Green Kordofan and the children we serve.
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GREEN KORDOFAN ACCOUNTS 2023-24 2023-24 2022-23 OA¢ 4.118.C) 7.017.YJ 16&X É13.112V Juittsmry EI.614A3 FacEt0k GlftJ6 410riJ Its6. t7.771.81 É11621 3.74 16oK¢ È8.4))3) E2.(th70 58 L811.9 937.06 É1JOI.61 £1.55T1D FI151PomoknPRei 65121 5>9 u1tte%pÈIsss thjrltyruUr4cU E9W5 t5291 ri.198.WJ £1218 Ll3Q75 TrtrAfr¥r 17775 4NS8 3.Q9259 t18$)0 £4X4.1D rdrf<¢sts 4346 DOrb7Thd £1YALJ 169. 1.19L94 E2#WA6 £11.41507 1711.67 £97 £1066 £0 £1.$3003 £49089 £2.83S.46 £2,031A57 Q031.$7 £1.978 £19,613.24 17.611 67 t2N1ts7 XOxy-
Independent examinerfs report to the Intstees of Green Kordofan I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Green Kordofan for the year ended 31 March 2024 Responsibllitles and basis of report As the charity trustee5 of the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordan with the requirements of the Charit$ Act 20111'the ACVI. I report in respert of my examination of the Trusys accounts carried out under sertion 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying ovt my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions grven by the Charity Commission under section 145151{b) of the Act. Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect.. accounting records were not kept respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or the accounts do not accord with those records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection wf(h the examination to which attention should be drawn in this rew)rt in order to enable a proper understsnding of the accounts to be reached. Signed= ILL Name.. Stephen John Stokes Relevant professional qualification or rnember5hip of professional bodies.. ACMA Address: 104 Stade Street. Hythe. KenL cr216DY Date: 110812024