## **Green Kordofan Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2025** 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: Steve Bishopp Ailsa Brookes Jane Champion Omema Dain Nagwa Shagga Aida Silvestri NB: Peter Keenan resigned from the Board of Trustees in April 2025, and details were updated with the Charity Commission. 1 ## **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 the Director. We are happy with the current balance of experience on the Board and do not have plans to add Trustees in the coming year. ## **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 offered by the Charity Commission. The Risk Assessment plan is reviewed every six months and updated as necessary. At every Trustee meeting the Director gives an update on the current situation in Yida, South Sudan, and the region which informs the Risk Assessment plan. The senior staff in Yida and Juba speak at least 4 times per week by telephone 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** At the start of each financial year Trustees agree a budget which is reviewed quarterly. Any proposed unbudgeted expenditure must be approved by a majority of Trustees. All income and expenditure is reviewed by an external accountant who also prepares the charity’s annual accounts. 2 In March 2024 Trustees began a review of the charity’s Financial Controls Policy. A revised policy was approved at the June 2024 Trustees meeting, and we believe it is robust and appropriate for a charity of our size and scope. The policy will be reviewed at the July 2025 Trustees meting though it has proved to be fit for purpose and no major changes are anticipated. ## **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 1800 children each year and have supported well over 7000 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 sixteen in Yida and one in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, as well as a team of 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. In addition to the horrors of war, Sudan is now in the grip of famine and the warring parties are preventing food aid getting into the country. Two years since the current crisis began, UNHCR estimates that almost 13 million people have been displaced, around 8.6 million within Sudan and the rest in neighbouring countries including South Sudan where Green Kordofan operates. In addition to around 350,000 Sudanese refugees, approximately 745,000 of those arriving into South Sudan are returning nationals who had been living in Sudan as refugees. 3 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 past year, with over 1800 young people now benefiting from our service and a long waiting list. The work of Green Kordofan takes place in an environment where most, if not all, people live without their basic needs being met. The arrival of Sudanese refugees and returning nationals has led to increasing pressure on the already scarce resources in South Sudan, including in and around Yida. 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 another challenging year. We are facing ever-increasing demand for our services but need to ensure we grow in a safe and sustainable way. We have registered more children and have a waiting list for our programmes. ## **Programmes for Children** The sports, education and personal development programmes we offer to the children of Yida are at the heart of Green Kordofan’s work. Although there is crossover, our staff are organised into 3 teams – sports, education and health. ## _**Sports**_ When Green Kordofan was founded, our focus was on offering football and volleyball training for children and young people. The idea was that sports would bring children together to have fun and keep them occupied and safe in a hostile environment. As well as providing physical exercise and entertainment they teach communication and teamwork skills, boost self-esteem and support mental health. As of March 2024, 969 children are registered for our sports programmes, attending training sessions and playing in one of over 40 football or volleyball teams. They compete in friendly tournaments, both with each other and with other teams in Yida and the surrounding area. We also have parent teams which engage the broader community and encourage peaceful cooperation and support for the children. The sports programmes have proved to be very successful as an engagement tool for young people, but also for breaking down barriers and building community cohesion. This is incredibly important when the growing numbers in the Camp put pressure on resources and increase the risk of tension. In 2024/25 we added a bicycle project. This increased the activities available to the children but was primarily started to address a growing issue. Clean water is becoming increasingly scarce in the region and the people in Yida are having to travel much further to collect water and spend a long time queuing at water points. Our team noticed that this was particularly affecting the participation of girls in our sports and education programmes. Traditionally, the burden of collecting water has fallen on women and girls and the time spent walking to clean water points was preventing many girls and young women from attending our classes and activities. We decided to fundraise for bicycles and enable residents to borrow them so that 4 they could collect water more efficiently. We had a fundraising campaign in the UK and put up #Let’scycle posters in the Green Kordofan Community Centre to let our participants know about the project. We were able to purchase 14 bikes and send them to Yida and are currently running 3 classes a week to teach the children and young people how to ride. So far 31 young people have successfully learned to do so. We also offer classes in basic bicycle maintenance and had a generous donation of bicycle repair kits which we shipped to Yida. The Green Kordofan Head Coach in Yida wrote in his end of year report: _“The needs are huge, so many kids still play bare feet, and we don’t have enough kit for all. However, the organization succeeded in areas that none has ever done before. Green Kordofan provides the means for training, nurturing the dreams and aspirations of the young people. We receive sports equipment, have talented trainers, access to the Internet and TV screen. The organization focuses on the following activities: Football, Volleyball, Bicycle training and racing. Through sports activities the organization tackles social issues including tribalism by allowing children of different ethnic, religious and colour affiliations from the refugee community and the local community and helping them practice sports while forming a culture of care and support through learning, training together, social events and friendly matches . The teams play under the organization’s name and regularly participate in sports activities inside the camp; each team has players from all the folk and tribes who reside at Yida camp. I’m very proud to be part of the development of this work.”_ ## _**Education**_ In August 2024 we received a generous grant from the Cyril Taylor Charitable Foundation to improve and increase our education programmes. Most of the children in Yida have been out of school for a very long time. Almost all schools in Sudan have been closed since the war began in April 2023 and a whole generation of children are getting behind in their education. Although we cannot provide a formal curriculum, we are offering classes in literacy, maths, 5 health and wellbeing, art, music and personal development. We focus on the acquisition of language skills through phonics, fun activities, word games, poetry and drama. The grant enabled us to hire additional teachers and also to upgrade our equipment to improve our virtual teaching. In addition to the local teachers, we now have 8 volunteers offering virtual classes from their homes in the UK, Italy and Egypt. In spring 2025 we also received a donation of recorders and music stands from Jessica Hynes and a donation to purchase a keyboard in memory of late musician Thomas Tvaroch. The children are enjoying learning to play the instruments and read music. One of our volunteers who offers virtual music classes stated that “ _Working with the caring staff as well as with these resilient, wonderful children has been a great privilege. I became a teacher 6 years ago and I have always taught mostly classical music, both in person and online, to students of all ages. I was extremely keen to get involved with such a relevant project like the Green Kordofan Charity, as I firmly believe in education as one of the core rights of every human being. I knew this kind of teaching would be a challenge, but working with the kids and the facilitators has been very fun and enriching._ _The experience of teaching music to the kids of Camp Yida has been an opportunity to create a sense of growth and solidarity within a community of outstanding people, all pouring their good intentions towards a common goal.”_ We currently offer 4 classes per day Monday – Friday with participants allocated to sections based on ability level. In all our programmes boys and girls are taught together to promote equality and mutual respect. Due to demand some classes are still held outside but most are held in the Green Kordofan classroom and meeting room. 6 ## _**Health and wellbeing**_ Medical services in Yida are very limited, and medications are often in short supply. Green Kordofan employs a professional nurse to offer basic first aid services and health education classes to our staff, the children participating in our programmes and the wider community. A generous grant from the Souter Charitable Trust supported this again in 2024/25. Classes focus on hygiene, nutrition, prevention of disease, mental health, behaviour and respect, malaria safety measures, basic first aid and general wellbeing. We also run public information campaigns on issues including child safety, gender equality, domestic abuse and sexual violence. We have developed a good relationship with doctors at a hospital close to Yida who offer support and advice and take referrals from our staff when the children need medical treatment. 7 ## **Green Kordofan infrastructure** Heavy rain and storms in April 2024 were followed by unusually dry and hot conditions with temperatures during Ramadan exceeding 40 degrees. The extreme weather damaged some of our equipment, leading to a review of our solar power system. For some time, we have had issues with our satellite installation at Yida culminating in October 2024 when it kept failing. The provider came to inspect the equipment and identified several issues. In the immediate term we had to purchase and install a new modem, but it was clear that the system we had was no longer reliable. The key issues were the irregular supply of energy and damage to our equipment by the excessive heat. We were advised that to maintain connectivity we would need to upgrade our solar system and better protect our equipment from the elements. Reliable communication channels are absolutely essential to our operations, both logistically and in terms of the safety and wellbeing of our staff and the children we support. The number of people in Yida has increased significantly placing ever more demand on resources and at the same time the number of NGOs working there has declined – we can no longer rely on them for help charging phones etc. and need to be as self-sufficient as we can. Connectivity is essential to ensure coordination of supplies and logistics and to enable communication between the Director and Yida staff to address issues on the ground and provide support and instruction to our staff who deal with challenging situations every day. It also aids situational awareness and the dissemination of information - access to reliable information via the Internet can be critical during periods of instability. We have had great success in the past few years with supplementing our sports programmes to include education and personal development classes for students. This has helped us to provide activities for more children and keep them safe and occupied in a hostile environment. The ability to offer remote classes has opened up a whole new world, with teachers in the UK, Italy and Egypt providing music, art and basic skills classes to children who have been deprived of an education for years now. All of this also needs electricity. In October 2024 it became clear that for all the reasons outlined above, installing a reliable solar system was a priority. The Director and Trustee Steve Bishopp researched options and circulated a proposal and quotes to Trustees recommending a Dutch company with expertise and a good track record in the region, asking for approval. A financial review indicated that we had sufficient funds to go ahead with the project, helped by a generous donation from the Tinsley Trust, and it was approved by Trustees. In addition to the solar system, the classroom building was rewired to make best use of the new system and ensure optimum safety. The project was completed successfully in early 2025 and we are confident that it has contributed significantly to Green Kordofan’s sustainability. In 2024/25 we also purchased a large water barrel, enabling us to address some of the issues around water shortage. Collecting water in the rainy season which can be used in drier times reduces the frequency of trips to water stations. We are fundraising for additional barrels which we can use to collect drinking water in greater amounts and provide to our participants. Following careful planning and a successful community event in April 2024 we increased access to our programmes and registered more children. This was preceded by a review of 8 our staffing needs and capacity. The review included looking at how best to utilise existing staff and how to leverage the support and skills of others in the community. The staff are now divided into 3 divisions – Sports, Education and Health. To support existing staff, 3 new paid interns have been hired in each division, initially on a 3-month trial basis. Most are Green Kordofan alumni who have benefited from our programmes and are now using their skills and experience to benefit others. This gives them an opportunity to contribute to their community, earn money and develop their skills and potential. Interns are mentored and supervised by the existing Green Kordofan team. We also recruited 2 new volunteers who have offered their services pro bono. One of the new volunteers was a lawyer in Sudan and is currently involved with the local court in Yida. He is volunteering with Green Kordofan to offer legal advice and also assisting with any mediation required when participants or their parents have any issues. The other volunteer was a civil servant in Sudan and previously worked with Samaritan’s Purse. He is supporting Green Kordofan staff in our community engagement efforts. This year we engaged in a very successful collaboration with Art Refuge, an organisation which uses art and art therapy to support the mental health and wellbeing of those displaced by conflict. They also offer tailor-made training programmes for staff on the ground in stressful situations or environments. They deliver fortnightly online training sessions to our staff, supporting the team to think holistically about safeguarding and self-care in this difficult environment where they are working with vulnerable and often traumatised children. The staff have found this incredibly helpful, both in developing their skills and providing support for their own personal development and wellbeing. In addition to staff training, Art Refuge have led an art project with our staff and children, encouraging them to create scenes of everyday life in Yida using red clay dug from the ground. This has been a fantastic project giving those involved an opportunity to express themselves in a new medium; to work collaboratively; to see how they interpret their environment and to show some of the traditional building methods which have been passed down through the generations and are still used today. The project has also been part of our efforts to keep the children safe as in addition to the work in clay, the staff and children have created a simple map of Yida showing safe spaces, water points etc. 9 ## **Community Engagement** There is much need in Yida and although we need to carefully control the number of children and young people that we register on our programmes, we do seek to add value to the Camp community and build good relationships with both residents and the host community. As well as teaching the children we offer a small number of community classes in conflict resolution, health and gender equality. Members of the Camp community were also invited to participate in the local mapping exercise as part of the Art Refuge project leading to greater collaboration and a map of the Camp that is useful to all. This year we also started a popular new initiative which involves monthly parent meetings, bringing the community members together, often around an activity such as a movie night. This connects Green Kordofan with the wider community, offers the staff an opportunity to talk about the activities we offer, and gives parents a chance to meet the Green Kordofan staff and ask questions/seek support. ## **U.K. Activities** While Green Kordofan’s programmes are delivered in South Sudan, all our fundraising is done in the UK. As well as raising money to fund our projects our aim is to raise awareness of the situation in Sudan. Despite being described by the United Nations as the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today, the war in Sudan, and it’s devastating impact on the people, receives little news coverage. In January Director Raga Gibreel and Trustee Ailsa Brookes attended an event at the House of Commons organised by UK charity Waging Peace and hosted by Joe Powell MP. Waging Peace has published a wonderful book which showcases drawings by child survivors of genocide and atrocities in Sudan. Waging Peace exhibited the drawings in the House of Commons and lobbied MPs to raise awareness of the situation and call upon the UK Government to act to put pressure on the warring generals and bring peace to Sudan. Many of the drawings in the book are by children that Green Kordofan supports in Yida. Many of our events have the dual purpose of raising awareness and funds. Some notable successes in 2024/25 include a highly successful piano recital held in Ramsgate in June and an International Day of Peace celebration in September. Both were well attended by local people and raised valuable funds for the charity. The piano recital was hosted by the Salvation Army who allowed us to use their Ramsgate facility. Using Zoom we were able to invite both the people of Ramsgate and the community in Yida to share an afternoon of music. We were delighted with the number of people who came and our staff and those we support in South Sudan thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to attend. The September event was hosted by Director Raga Gibreel and actress Jessica Hynes and included the screening of a new documentary film in which the people of Sudan offer their personal experiences of the conflict, followed by a Q & A with the filmmakers. Raga Gibreel also participated in the annual Refugee Tales 5-day walk which brings together around 120 people each summer to walk in solidarity with asylum seekers, migrants and refugees. Through walking together and evening storytelling events, walkers have the opportunity to meet and learn about the lives of those seeking refuge from conflict and the 10 work of those who support them. Green Kordofan’s work has featured several times in the Refugee Tales newsletter and Raga raised much needed funds by being sponsored for the walk. In December we launched a new appeal to raise funds to send the children in Yida a tin of sardines for Christmas. With famine in the region and increasing pressure on resources in and around the Camp, our staff noticed that many of the children were coming to class or sports session hungry. We decided to have a fundraising campaign with a clear message to raise funds that would be ringfenced to purchase sardines which would be sent to the Camp for distribution. We had a wonderful response, raising £2305 to send these nutritious, easily transported gifts to the children. ## **Financial** 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. Our income in the year ending March 2025 increased significantly versus last year primarily because of the increase in the grant from the Cyril Taylor Charitable Foundation. We also received grants from the Tinsley Foundation, LUSH and the Souter Trust giving us a total revenue from grants of £46,500. The rest of our revenue came primarily from donations from individuals and fundraising events including the Folkestone 10k and the London Landmarks Half Marathon from which our sponsored runners raised almost £4,000. Overall, we are in a good financial position. We have more money in the bank than we did at the end of the previous year and have successfully completed a major project which gives us a more sustainable future. We have increased our capacity in a carefully managed and responsible way, registering more children onto our programmes and increasing our staffing to cope with this. 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