STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE (IROVO) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1170935 ## TRUSTEE REPORT & ACCOUNTS 6/5/2024 — 5/5/2025 1 of 8 ## STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE (IROVO) ## Legal and Administrative Information ## Constitution and Objectives STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE (IROVO) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) that aims to support the advancement of education in the village of Irovo (Shinyalu), Kakamega County, Kenya by providing and assisting in the provision of a school, facilities for education at the school, scholarships for children unable to afford school fees, teacher training and salaries and by such other means as the Trustees may determine. ## **Registered address** 55 Clifton Drive Lytham St Annes, FY8 1AL UK ## **Founders** Alan Whelan, Olive Carroll ## **Trustees** Alan Whelan (chair), Olive Carroll, John Entwistle, Steve Sinnott, Sarah Campbell ## **Bankers** Barclays 38 Fishergate, Preston PR1 2AD 2 of 8 ## STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE Trustees’ report and annual accounts 6/5/2024 to 5/5/2025 ## Structure, governance and management The board of trustees meets at least twice a year in person, and occasionally by virtual means. Trustees are responsible for the strategic direction and policies of the charity. The two co-founders visit the project at least once a year to - assess progress at the school - provide moral support - take advice from village elders, parents and neighbours - hold formal meetings with school director Vitalis Tivis, his staff and parents - invest charity funds - plan future development Trustees give their time freely. No remuneration or reimbursement for travel, accommodation, food, etc., is taken. Strive for Excellence has no paid staff. It is primarily a grant giving charity that purchases education services, infrastructure development and support services to _Shalom Academy ECD & Primary School_ in the village of Irovo, Shinyalu in Kakamega county, Kenya. ## Objectives and activities The object of the charity is to create the first early childhood development/primary school in the village of Irovo. Before our involvement, Shalom Academy was peripatetic in nature due to erratic fee income and insecure tenure. Our immediate aim is to develop the school by - providing 8 classrooms for all 8 grades from PP1 to grade 6 (ages 3—11) - raising registration to 200 - improving academic standards 3 of 8 - training more teachers - enhancing the aesthetic appearance of the school building & grounds - investing in educational supplies ## Projects Review AW and OC visited Irovo in February 2025. _Infrastructure improvements during the year to May 2025:_ - Major repainting of entire exterior of the classrooms, staff room/kitchen block, all latrines - Repainted interior of staff room/reception - Signwriter repainted all 6 school signs on roadways - The school entrance gate posts and supporting wall was re-rendered and painted - More text books were purchased - Major improvements made to kitchen stoves and ventilation - Ongoing repair to perimeter hedges and fencing - Repair to classroom walls - The second road track on Education Way (due to be completed in February 2025) was postponed because the small rains came early and made it impossible to work. ## Other News ## _Staff_ Teachers: Vitalis Tivis (trained), David Luvembe (trained), Joyce Tembula (trained), Cecilia Bulokosi (trained), Risper Alusa (trained), Maureen Khakai (untrained), John Burema (untrained). Caretaker: Post vacant. Cook: Post vacant 4 of 8 Pupil registration is 140, falling short of our goal of 200 for January 2025. - Vitalis and other teachers have made a huge effort to encourage new and returning pupils to come to school without the threat of suspension for nonpayment of fees. ## _Local Issues_ October 2024 saw the third grade 6 cohort take the KPSEA exams (high entrance exam). A school field trip for grades 5 & 6 to a dairy farm was greatly welcomed, and used by teachers as a high quality learning experience. The journeys to and from the farm in the pick-up were also loud and colourful advertisements for the school. New uniforms were provided for all and plenty of English language story books were brought from the UK. Every child was assessed according to performance indicators across all subjects. Generally the trend continues to be one of low achievement compared to similar schools in Kakamega as tracked on pupil achievement records. School transport (Honda motorcycle) has been repaired, serviced, taxed and insured for the year ahead. ## _Digital Literacy_ Following board visits to three Kakamega schools (both state and private) to investigate IT provision, it was apparent that IT literacy was largely a theoretical— or at most a hands-off—experience. There was a major lack of IT devices in the schools and all the teachers advised us not to invest in the state recommended tablets, which are poor quality and not fit for purpose. Consequently we purchased 12 laptops which can be mouse- and keyboardcontrolled or used as a touch screen device. Grade 6 pupils were the first to use the computers (one each), and we expect their assessments to improve across the board. An ongoing contract for wi-fi connectivity was taken out with Airtel. This will not only open the children to the www but also aid communication between the board and the school. 5 of 8 ## _Fees / Expenses_ Parental contributions represent approximately 36% of requested fees. A few parents also contribute some of their harvest/firewood for school lunches, although this is diminishing due to the deteriorating economic situation. Consequently the board and Vitalis have agreed a plan to close the shortfall between school income and operational expenses. This includes raising the fees closer to local levels, and raising the percentage of those fees paid to 60%. ## Projects beyond 2025 ## _Infrastructure_ - General repairs - Maintain ongoing painting programme for benches, school exterior - Create the second track along Education Way, to be completed when possible. (financed by the Developing World Group from Our Lady of Lourdes parish, Harpenden). - Choose a candidate for a teacher training course (financed by Preston Guild Rotary). _Learning & pupil welfare_ - Raise registration to 160 in 8 grades for January 2026 intake - Build more benches/desks for the growing number of pupils - Provide more books & stationery to increase the book/pupil ratio - Continue pupil evaluations - Continue teacher training - Broaden the IT provision ## UK activities _Lancashire Schools Support_ 6 of 8 We have had some contact with our supportive Lancashire schools. _St Gregory’s, Preston_ Assembly presentation, September 2024 _St Francis, Goosnargh_ Assembly presentation, May 2024 _Other fundraising activities_ Trustees support ring-fenced projects St Francis school pupils made a donation. We continue to make grant applications where appropriate. Other fundraising comes from new and existing donors (both private and business). 7 of 8 ## Balance sheet for year ending 5 May 2025 ||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**UK**
**expenditure**
**from**
**Barclays**|**KENYA**
**expenditure**
**from ABSA**|**UK**
**BARCLAYS**
**PRESTON**|**KENYA**
**ABSA**
**KAKAMEGA**| |**BROUGHT**
**FORWARD**||||**4020.14**|**961,000 Ksh**| |**Returned**
**from ABSA**||||**9435.80**|| |**INCOME**
**(donations)**||||**10892.42**|| |**INCOME**
**(Gift Aid)**||||**237.50**|| ||||||| |**EXPENSES**|Website hosting|**53.08**|||| ||Uniforms|**56.00**|||| ||Sports Eq.|**39.96**|||| ||Postage|**13.60**|||| ||Freight bag|**19.99**|||| ||Shortfall top-up|**4719**|||| ||Repairs & renewals
(sent from UK)|**8300**|||| ||_To ABSA Kakamega_
_account_||||| ||||||| |**TOTAL**||**13201.63**||**24585.86**|| ||||||| |**BALANCE**
**ON HAND**||||**11384.33**|**0 (account**
**closed)**| Alan Whelan, Chair of trustees 16/6/24 8 of 8