2022-12-31-accounts

	Trustees' Annual Report for the period
	From	Period start date				T o	Period end date
		01	Jan		2022		31	Dec		2022
Section A Reference and administration details
Charity name				Niokolo Network
Other names charity is known by				None
Registered charity number (if any)				1169126
Charity's principal address				2 Alexandra Road
				Cardiff
				Postcode					CF5 1NS

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Dr Tabitha Ndiaye (Chair): 09.09.2016 - Present

Dr Daphne Kerhoas (Secretary): 09.09.2016 - Present Lorraine Fletcher (Treasurer) 26.05.2022 - Present

Dr Matthis Drolet: 21.12.2016 – Present

Dr Federica Dal Pesco 10.06.2019 - Present

Claire Clément 28.02.2021 - Present

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Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing Constitution document How the charity is constituted CIO Appointed for a term of 2 years by a resolution passed at a convened meeting of the charity trustees. Trustee selection methods

Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

The object of the CIO is to promote sustainable development for the benefit of the public in economically disadvantaged communities on the periphery of Niokolo-Koba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Danger located in south-eastern Senegal.

The objects of the charity are to be achieved through:

• The relief of poverty and the improvement of living conditions;

• The promotion of sustainable means of achieving economic growth and regeneration;

• The protection and restoration of the environment by the prudent use of natural resources.

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Section D Activities and Achievements

2022 Achievements

We deliver our work through partnerships with Senegalese organisations. Our key partners continue to be the Senegalese Community Based Organisation “Kamben” and the Senegalese NGO “Kamben Productions”. Over the course of this year we also continued a more recent partnership with the French Association Nawari Kourientine, which is supporting the delivery of the community development plan for Kourientine village, on the NW side of Niokolo-Koba National Park. To better align our work with the priorities of local Government, we developed an MOU for a more formal partnership with the Town Council of Dialocoto, which hosts the office responsible for overseeing the topic of birth registration. We attribute the achievements described in this report to the hard work of our partner organisations. We are also grateful to the Welsh Government’s Wales and Africa Grant Scheme, The Waterloo Foundation, and Hub Cymru Africa for the grant funding that enabled us to carry out the work described below.

Key Achievements

• ✓ A socioeconomic survey plus mapping across 50 villages in Dialocoto commune;

• ✓ Activity plan for delivering our birth registration programme across 20 villages situated within the Dialocoto Commune;

• ✓ Training of seven community mobilisers;

• ✓ Purchase of film software subscriptions and training of Kamben Film Group to use IT film production and information distribution tools;

• ✓ MOU signed with the Town Council of Dialocoto;

• ✓ Baseline surveys with households and schools started across 20 villages for our birth registration programme;

• ✓ Field office established in the village of Dialocoto;

• ✓ Digital Story Telling Workshops for Wales-based charities operating in Africa.

2022 Activities

Local context

The year of 2022 saw COVID-19 having a far reduced impact on everyday life and project activities in Senegal. Children returned to school and social distancing restrictions were reduced. However the pandemic alongside the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had a significant impact on the country’s economic outlook, with individual’s feeling this in the form of increasing food and energy prices, reduced income, domestic price inflation, and the disruption of essential services.

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Activities in Senegal

Niokolo Network has previously worked with Kamben to deliver birth registration work across a small cluster of villages. This year we initiated work to scale up our efforts to support birth registration across an additional 20 villages- close to one third of the communities making up the commune of Dialocoto. This “laying the groundwork” included:

• A baseline survey was carried out across the majority of villages in Dialocoto Commune (exceptions of a few villages that were still inaccessible following on from the rainy season). The name of each village was recorded alongside a GPS location, the number of people and households, the predominant ethnic group and language spoken, what basic services were available, and whether there was internet/phone signal.

• A three-day preparatory meeting with follow-up discussions was carried out to plan for the effective delivery of birth registration work across 20 villages in the Dialocoto Commune of Senegal. Participants of these meetings were:

  • Two representatives of Kamben

  • One representative from Niokolo Network

  • Local consultant/Trainer

  • Government Officer for the office of birth registration at the local Town Hall

  • o Inputs from staff of World Vision and Caritas

• This meeting achieved the following:

  • Criteria for the selection of villages were discussed, and following on from this 20 villages were selected by Kamben and the Mayor’s Office using the data from the baseline study described above. These villages were sorted into the three experimental groups on the basis of whether there was a good enough internet and phone signal for awareness raising messages via telephone networks or not.

  • Criteria for the selection of volunteer community mobilisers were discussedimportant points were that they must be able to read and write in French, they must live in one of the selected villages, they must have time available across the whole project period, must be competent in using a smart phone, have an aptitude for public speaking, speak Mandinka and Pulaar, and have a bike or motorbike in order to travel between local villages. On the basis of this, seven community mobilisers were selected. Each volunteer would be responsible for between 1 and 5 villages, depending on size and proximity. The mobilisers are to be responsible within their villages for awareness raising activities, supporting film screenings, creating and managing a telephone information network, collecting of evaluation data, and helping to collect birth registration documents. It was further decided that mobilisers would have their expenses covered, be provided with any equipment needed to do their work, and receive a per diem of £4/day for specific activities to ensure that work is carried out without delays due to the prioritisation of other paid work.

  • The annual work plan is agreed and signed off

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• A training programme was delivered for Kamben and the seven community mobilisers. This was delivered by locally recruited consultants with support from Niokolo Network’s Director of Ops. This achieved:

• The signing of an MOU with the Marie of Dialocoto for the co-delivery of birth registration across 20 rural villages

• The members of Kamben and the community mobilisers understand the objectives of the programme and the planned methodology

• A Code of Conduct and Letter of Engagement is signed by each volunteer

• o The annual work plan is agreed and signed off

• Members of Kamben and the community mobilisers started to create a list for each of the 20 project villages including the name and details of each person lacking their birth certificate.

• A baseline survey was designed and roll out of this began at the household level and in the primary schools located in the 20 focal villages collecting information on the project indicators: the number of students lacking birth registration; the level of understanding of the birth registration process; the level of motivation to register the birth of newborns, and the number of new-borns in a household that are not registered.

• A context analysis survey was designed and roll out of this began at the household level to understand peoples’ understanding of the importance of birth registration, and to what extent people understand the process of birth registration. The results from this will help shape our behaviour change and awareness raising later in the project.

• Community mobilisers have started to collect telephone numbers from each household in their villages.

Activities in Wales

The opportunity to participate in a series of four Digital Story Telling Workshops was advertised through Hub Cymru Africa communications channels and through direct contact with charities we thought might benefit. So far two workshops have been held:

• Workshop1: Planning your story

This workshop was delivered by Free Focus Film online and covered: determining the message; identifying the audience; considering resources and capacity; understanding equipment; pre-production planning; and consent. Five Wales-based charitable organisations with links to Africa participated.

• Workshop 2: Capturing your story

This workshop was delivered in-person by Free Focus Film and covered tips and techniques for capturing good quality images, videos and sound. Two of the organisations from the previous workshop participated.

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Next steps: In 2023 we look forward to:

• ❖ Completing the baseline survey and context analysis survey

• ❖ Completing the collection of phone numbers and community WhatsApp groups

• ❖ Planning and producing film clips to share information in local languages on the importance of birth registration, and the correct steps to take to register a birth;

• ❖ Working with the government office of birth registration to submit the applications for all eligible applicants for birth registration across the target 20 villages, and then distributing the completed birth registration documents and carrying out an endline survey to measure the impacts of our work;

• ❖ Work with Kamben Film Group and children in Senegal to produce a film depicting what life is like for children living in Senegal

• ❖ Deliver global education activities for young people in Wales to better understand the life of young people in Senegal;

We confirm the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

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Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

At the current time Niokolo Network is a small charity. We do not have any governance costs and it is the decision of the charity’s trustees that no commitments to support charitable activities should be made until the necessary funds have been secured. As such, at the present time trustees are content that it is not necessary to hold any funding in reserve, but that this should be reviewed on an annual basis.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

None

Section F Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

First name(s) Signature(s) Position	Dr Tabitha Ndiaye	Dr Daphne Kerhoas

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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Receipts and payments accounts For the period from To 0101.2022 31.12.2022 Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds 2022 Restricted funds 2022 Total funds 2022 Total funds 2021 to the nearest to the nearèst f to the nearest f to the nearest£ A1 Receipts Eonati￿S Grants Sub total 23,597 23,597 23,597 23,597 7336 A2 Asset and invèstment sales N￿e Sub total Total R8c8lpts 23,597 23,597 A3 Payments arttable actvitses Govemance costs Sub total 7,072 263 7.335 7,130 263 7,393 9.115 101 9.216 A4 Asset and investment purchases Sub lotal Total Payment8 7,335 7,393 9,216 Net of receiptsl(paymentsJ A5 Transters be￿een funds A6 Cash funds last vear end 1581 16,282 16,204 11,6201 2,9 Cash funds thls year end 18,756 19,184 1960 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unresiricted funds 2022 Restricted funds 2022 Total funds 2022 to nearest £ Bl Cash funds Cash In UK bank Cash in s￿egal bank Total cash funds 408 18,632 123 18,755 19,040 123 19,163 408 Detwls CunEntvalue B2 Assets rètsinèd forthe charitys own use N￿e B3 Llabilhlas N￿e Signed by onè or two trust￿ on behalf of all th8 tru8tO86 Signature Date of approval Tabrfcha Ndiaye Lorraine Clarke TAR Oct 23