REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
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Lux E Tenebris Trustees present their report, together with the accounts of Lux E Tenebris for the year ended 31December 2024.
Reference and Administrative Information
Lux E Tenebris was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales as Charity No. 1165550 on 12 February 2016. The Charity’s registered primary place of operation is 27 De Hague Road, Norwich, NR4 7EY. Lux E Tenebris is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to restoring dignity and giving hope and pride to the disadvantaged people in our community.
Lux E Tenebris aims to promote community engagement, bridge communities, and create a sense of self-worth in all deprived areas in the UK. In Zimbabwe, we pursue a poverty reduction agenda where we are concerned with the critical work of supporting Zimbabwe’s destitute to improve the quality of their lives and promote wellbeing through advancing items and services. We aim to empower people and enable them to become self-sufficient.
Our Strategic Goals:
• To support the disadvantaged children in Zimbabwe to enhance their lives through education and through supporting their families and communities address poverty through various initiatives.
• To improve the socio-economic status of the families of children benefiting from Lux E Tenebris supported programmes.
• To engage with diverse community members in ways that will bring awareness to the plight of the deprived.
• To improve knowledge and confidence of community members
- To improve community engagement to improve community perceptions
Our Objectives:
1. To support the less privileged children to access education and other basic needs
2. To facilitate school partnerships between Zimbabwe and England as a means of raising awareness of difference and diversity and an appreciation of different cultures of the word.
3. To facilitate community events, activities and training opportunities where people meet and learn from each other.
4. To empower community members with knowledge and information through tailored workshops to respond to the needs of the diverse communities as well as equip with life the young skills.
5. To identify activities of common interest to community members and encourage participation
6. To develop partnership working relationships with local stakeholders
Structure, Governance and Management
Lux E Tenebris is governed by its Constitution dated 5 February 2016. This constitution is filed with the Charity Commission.
Governance
The governing body of Lux E Tenebris consisting of at least three trustees who are legally responsible for its governance and management, meets a minimum of four times annually. There were five (5) Trustees who served throughout the year namely:
Luxley M Musoni - Chairperson
Esther Jana - Trustee
Rutendo L Juru - Trustee
Rumbidzai G S Gabi - Trustee
Tsitsi R V Rabeca – Trustee
Management:
Trustees set the charity’s strategy and policy and ensure these are appropriately implemented through four committees that meet regularly and refer to Council with recommendations, except where urgent decisions are required. In this case, the Chairman is consulted to carry out specified tasks until Council can fully consider the issues involved. Trustees in turn are supported by volunteers and advisors in UK and in Zimbabwe.
1 Wellbeing Committee: The committee meets regularly to advise the trustees on all aspects of wellbeing affecting beneficiaries of funding, trustees, volunteers and the local and international community that the CIO can address. They provide knowledge and consider requests for support. They are responsible for assessing requests for support as well as initiating projects to be involved in.
2 General Purposes and Finance Committee: The Committee is responsible for the appointment of auditors and recommendation of expenditure. They are responsible for formulating the budget and monitoring it. The Committee is responsible for maintaining the bank account and responsible for investments and borrowings on behalf of the CIO.
3 Fundraising Committee : The committee meets three times a year and is primarily responsible for reviewing the financial affairs of the Charity
and making recommendations to Council. This includes considering the strategic plan, annual budget and performance against budget, management of the Charity’s investments, and the annual accounts and report of the auditors. The committee also acts as a sounding board to consider proposals from the Executive prior to presentation to Council. The committee is responsible for fundraising and ensures strategy matches its aims and objectives.
4 International Committee : The committee meets at least three times a year and is charged with overseeing the Charity’s international work, considering future approaches, and reviewing progress on existing projects.
Activities carried out during the year:
Zimbabwe:
*** Our Zimbabwe project coordinators – Yolanda Muzomba and Rutendo Musoni continued to lead the Zimbabwe team of volunteers and the projects.**
Our beneficiary Ralph Tadiwanashe Musonza successfully graduated and in celebration, they donated another £400.00 which Ralph raised at his Uni for Lux E Tenebris to express his gratitude for the funding he got in his 2nd year. We felt proud to identify with such rewarding success. We wish Ralph well in his future.
*We were approached by St Patrick’s school requesting a donation to buy desks and chairs for their students. £1000.00 was donated for this purpose to enhance the learning experience of students at that school.
* 2 struggling orphans were supported with paying school fees and buying them school uniforms to the total value of £280.00.**
UK
*To assist in the delivery of the charitable objectives, the activities for 2024 continued to hold meetings online using the Zoom and WhatsApp platforms.
*We continued to host Zoom workshops in “Death and Dying – responses to bereavement” which continue to be very popular. Among Africans, this has been a difficult subject to discuss, but each day we continue to welcome people grieving especially losses of jobs, loss of relationships and losses through living with illnesses. We intend to find more ways to access the African community to talk on grief and loss especially talk of death and preparations for it.
*Volunteers and committee members and their families got together to celebrate Christmas and appreciate the work done in 2024.
Lux E Tenebris Plans for the future
The Charity’s strategic objectives for the year 2025 will continue to focus on:
*Recruiting sponsors and regular donors.
*Recruitment of trustees
*Adoption of different projects i.e. supporting struggling informal orphanages/ orphans
*Starting income generating projects in Zimbabwe.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
We declare that there are no serious incidents or other matters that trustees should have reported to the Commission but have not done so.
Lux E Tenebris Detailed Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 December 2024
| £ | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| B/F | ||
| Bank | 4 290.23 | |
| Cashon hand | Nil | |
| Subtotal | 4 290.23 | |
| Turnover | ||
| Income: | ||
| Donations | 1144.00 | |
| **Total ** | 5 434.23 | |
| Administrative Expenses: |
||
| IT&websitehosting | 120.00 | |
| Donations | 1 280.00 | |
| Christmas dinner/Staf expenses |
237.78 | |
| Total expenses | 1637.78 | |
| Cash on hand | Nil | |
| Cash at Bank | 3 796.45 | |