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2022-12-31-accounts

NOTICE OF THE 6[TH] ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF FRIENDS OF THE GAMBIA ASSOCIATION CIO Charity Registration: 1171620

SUNDAY 15[TH] OCTOBER 2023 2.30PM START

Dear member

You are invited to attend the above meeting to be held on Zoom, details below.

Topic: FoTGA CIO AGM 2023 Time: Oct 15, 2023 14:30 London To join the Zoom Meeting, the link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9478130025 Meeting ID: 947 813 0025

We are looking for new trustees and volunteers, particularly a treasurer. Please do let us know if you would like to volunteer for a role on the committee, or contact us for a no-strings discussion what you could offer to support FOTGA. Contact us: info@fotga.org.uk

Attached to this calling notice are:

The agenda is overleaf. Motions can be put forward for discussion at the AGM – please submit by 13[th] October 2023.

We look forward to seeing as many members as possible online. Please let us know if you are able to attend, or send apologies: info@fotga.org.uk

Sandra Hill-Smith

Secretary

AGENDA

  1. Welcome by the Chair

  2. Apologies for absence

  3. Minutes of the 5[th] Annual General Meeting of the CIO 1171620

  4. Matters arising

  5. Presentation of the CIO 1171620 Annual Report for 2022

  6. Officers’ reports

  7. Future of FoTGA

  8. Confirmation of the current CIO trustees and election of additional trustees:  Chair

  9. Secretary

  10. Sponsorship Secretary

  11. Projects Manager

  12. Trustees

  13. Nomination and election of new Treasurer

  14. Confirmation of volunteers

  15. Consideration of any motions received

  16. Correspondence

  17. Any other business

  18. Date of next AGM and close

FriendsofT heGambiaAssociationCIO

A n n ualReportan d Fin an cialStatem en ts2022

Registered C h arity UK No.117 1620: Registered NGO in Th e Gam bia No.A 92

w w w .fotga.org.uk

FRIENDS OF TH E GA M B IA A SSOCIA TION CIO TRUSTEES’A N NUA L REP ORT YEA REND ED 31 DECEM B ER2022

Frien d s of Th e Gam bia A ssociation C IO also kn ow n as FoTGA , is a C h aritable In corporated O rgan isation ,registered in th e UK asch arity n um ber117 1620.Italso operatesasan NGO in Th e Gam bia,registered n um berA 92.

Th e C IO w as form ed on 15 February 2017 an d com m en ced ch aritable activities on 1 Jan uary 2019, on tran sferof th e assets an d activities of Frien d sof Th e Gam bia A ssociation , registered n um ber10517 45.Itisgovern ed by itscon stitution .

Th e prin cipalad d ress is 8 Essex C lose, M ord en , Surrey, SM 44NP an d in Th e Gam bia, 3 Kotu Layout,KSM D.

OB JECTIVES A ND A CTIVITIES

Th e objectivesof Frien d sof Th e Gam bia C IO assetoutin th e con stitution are to relieve poverty, alleviate pain an d sufferin g an d ad van ce th e ed ucation of th e people of Th e Gam bia.

Th e m ain activitiesare:

Th e Trusteesh ave h ad regard to th e C h arity C om m ission ’sguid an ce on public ben efit.

TRUSTEES

Trustees are appoin ted atth e A n n ualGen eralM eetin g, w h ere on e-th ird w illretire by rotation . Trusteesare eligible forre-election fora m axim um period of six years.

Th e Trusteesw h o h ave served d urin g th e year2022 are:

C h airm an Don n a M akin s
Secretary San d ra H ill-Sm ith
Treasurer Jeffrey P h illips
Spon sorsh ip Secretary Gillian H ill
P rojects Rich ard H ugh es
Trustee A lh ajie C am ara

Trustees d o n otreceive an y rem un eration an d oversee activities in Th e Gam bia d urin g th eir h olid aysto m axim ise fun d sforth e public ben efit.

VOLUNTEERS

Lyn d a Red fern ,B ook keepin g M ike C h ad ,reportch eckin g P aulH ugh es

STA FF IN TH E GA M B IA

M om od ou C am ara – O ffice M an ager – Sulaym an M an n eh Fin an ce A d m in istrator Jariatou Jallow – O ffice A ssistan t

C H A IR’S REP ORT 2022

Itha sb een m y privilege to a cta scha irm a n during the reporting period.Ia m gratefulto m y fellow trusteesfortheirsupporta nd forthe workofourtea m in The Ga m b ia ,M odou C a m a ra,S ula ym a n M a nneh,Jaria touJallow a nd O din.

Iw ould a lso like to tha nkL ynda Redfern a nd Ja ckie M a ssey fora lltheirhelpwith the b ookkeeping a nd the a ccountsa nd P a ulH ughesw ho a ttendstrustee m eetingsw hen he ca n a nd doesa lotb ehind the scenesw ith m a king new contacts.

The holida y sea sonsin 2022 in The Ga m b ia w ere im proved from the previoustwo yea rs,b ut visitorsw ere stilllesstha n pre-pa ndem ic.The office staffcontinued to m a ke pa ym entsto the studentsa nd do schoolvisitsw here req uired.They a lso coordina ted deliveriesofrice a nd oil to sponsored children a nd theirfa m ilies,a nd ha d a good sortouta tthe office!In July,w e m a na ged to geta la rge shipm entout,w hich included m edica lsuppliesforB a kindika nd stationery a nd eq uipm entforthe office.Ea rlierin the yea r,supporterS teve B ickm a na ged to raise funds(tha nks,S teve!)to purcha se a m a m m ogra m m a chine (w e b elieve the firstone of itskind in The Ga m b ia !)a nd thisw a sa lso shipped out.

Richa rd a nd P a ulm a na ged a n inform a tion- ga thering trip,looking a thow w e m ightb e a b le to helpw ith som e repa irsto B a kindikH ea lth C entre’ssew ersystem a nd w a tersupply pressure.A b ig tha nkyouto P a ulforhisin-depth reportw hich a llow ed us(w ith a n a nonym ousdona tion)to sign offthe repa irwork.Jeffa nd Ka te a lso m a na ged a low -profile visit,ca tching upw ith the office staffw hen they could.

Itisim portant,tha tifFoTGA isto continue in itspresentform ,tha tm ore m em b ersputtheir na m esforwa rd to a cta strustees,a nd volunteersw ho need notnecessarily b e trustees. Volunteersneed only com m itfora slittle a s2 hoursa m onth,a lthough w e w ould ob viously w elcom e those with m ore tim e too.W e a re a lso gratefulto a nyone tha tfundra isesfor projects– ifyouha ve a n idea fora projectyouw ould like to see ha ppen in The Ga m b ia ,or w ould like to do som e fundraising,plea se getin touch.D uring the sum m er,young supporter Tom M a kins,a ged 16,volunteered (orm a yb e som eone volunteered him )to design a nd com pile the new edition D rum b ea t.W e rea lly a pprecia te the tim e a nd efforthe putin.

Fina lly Iw ould like to tha nkJeffP hillips,w ho isstepping dow n a tTrea surera tthisA GM .H is com m itm entto the cha rity a nd to The Ga m b ia forso m a ny yea rsisvery m uch a pprecia ted, b oth b y the trusteesa nd the staff.

Tha nksa lso to a llthe sponsorsa nd donorsforyourcom m itm entto the cha rity.W e a re hugely grateful.

D onna M a kins(C ha ir2022)

A P P ROVA L

The Trustees’Reporta nd Fina ncia lS ta tem entsw ere a pproved b y the Trusteesa nd a re to b e signed a tthe A GM on theirb eha lfb y the S ecretary.

FINA NCIA L REVIEW 2022

Th e attach ed Fin an cialStatem en tsh ave been prepared in accord an ce w ith th e C h aritiesStatem en tof Recom m en d ed P ractice an d FRS 102 forsm aller ch arities.A ccoun tin g P olicies are detailed in th e Notes.

Frien d s of Th e Gam bia A ssociation C IO receives d on ation s an d spon sorsh ip reven ue in th e UK an d carriesoutitsactivitiesin Th e Gam bia, w h ere itoperatesasa registered NGO (A 92).Th e Trustees m ain tain a con trollin g in terestin th e NGO ,con sequen tly th e Fin an cialStatem en tsh ave been prepared on a con solid ated basis to provid e a better picture of th e ch arity’s activities as a w h ole. Th ese Fin an cialStatem en ts are in d epen d en tly review ed in th e UK by Darboe, Jula & C o Ltd , C h artered C ertified A ccoun tan tsan d in Th e Gam bia are aud ited by A ys& C o.C h artered A ccoun tan ts.

Durin g th e yearth e ch arity m ad e a lossof £7 ,017 , com pared w ith a surplusof £6,545in 2021.Th e ch arity’s fun d s at31 Decem ber 2022 am oun ted to £64,133, of w h ich £55,650 w ere un restricted . FoTGA operates an En d ow m en tFun d , th e Joh n Jon es Legacy Fun d w ith a balan ce of £8 ,248 .Itis an ticipated th atth is fun d w illbe topped up w ith future legacies an d used forspecific spon sorsh ip casesch osen by th e Trustees.

Th e m ain C h aritable A ctivity d urin g th e yearcon tin ued to be th e spon sorsh ip of ch ild ren ’sed ucation . Totalgran tspaid d urin g th e yearam oun ted to £34,956(2021 £30,367 ),fun d ed by £30,500 from th e spon sorsh ip sch em e an d £4,456from th e Legacy En d ow m en tFun d .FoTGA operatesa spon sorsh ip sch em e,w h ereby th e m em berscon tribute a m on th ly am oun tw h ich in clud esan ad d ition alcon tribution en ablin g FoTGA to con tin ue supportin g stud en tsw h o, forn o faultof th eirow n , lose th e fun d in g of th eirspon sor.

O th eractivitiesin clud e sm allprojectsan d h um an itarian aid .Th e n etoutgoin gsam oun ted to £2,503 w h ich isprim arily forrice d on ated to oursupported stud en ts’fam ilies.

In 2022 th e Trusteestook action to sim plify th e restricted fun d sh eld by FoTGA .Th ese w ere d on ation s w h ich w ere m ade for specific purposes or to supportspecific organ isation s. W h ere feasible an y rem ain in g fun d sw h ich h ad been d orm an tforseveralyearsw ere passed on to th e in ten d ed recipien ts. Th ism etth e origin alpurpose of th e d on ation san d also sim plified ouraccoun tin g.Th e restricted fun d s n ow h ave a balan ce of £235com pared to £1,008 in 2021.

Supportcosts, am oun ted to £14,056(2021 £13,021 ).Th is covers salaries, office run n in g costs an d govern an ce of th e NGO in Th e Gam bia.O n ly 5% of ad m in istrative expen d iture related to run n in g th e UK ch arity.Th e ch arity ben efited from a good exch an ge rate th rough outth e year,w ith ratesbetween 7 1 to 7 5Dalasi to £1,com pared w ith approx.7 1 in 2021.

Th e Trusteesh ave builton th e experien ce gain ed th rough th e C oron aviruspan d em ic by usin g virtual m eetin gsan d m obile ph on esto be in regularcon tactw ith th e staff an d on e an oth er.Virtualm eetin gs h ave also red uced coststo th e ch arity asw ellasen ablin g recruitm en tfrom a w id ergeograph ic pool. Th e book-keepin g system in stalled in 2019 h as also en sured th atfin an ce tran saction s could be m on itored by th e Trustees.

H ow ever, govern m en td ecision s, un certain ty, exch an ge rate volatility an d on goin g d isruption to tourism are alld ifficultiesw h ich putFoTGA atrisk.LastyearFoTGA w asth e recipien tof severallarge d on ation s.In 2022, w ith outsim ilar d on ation s w e h ave m ad e a loss despite m in im isin g costs an d focussin g on th e key purposes of ourorgan isation .Th e n um berof spon sors is slow ly d ecreasin g, w h ich w illultim ately red uce fun d s.Th e Trusteesare th erefore un d ertakin g a program m e of activities to in crease FoTGA ’svisibility in ord erto gain m ore regularspon sors.

Th e Trusteespolicy isto m ain tain a levelof reserves,sufficien tto con tin ue payin g gran tsto stud en ts alread y spon sored by FoTGA on an on goin g basisan d coverFoTGA ’scom m itm en tsan d legalliabilities in th e even tof closure of th e ch arity. Th e Trusteescon sid erth atth e curren treservesare sufficien t.

SP ONSO RSH IP SECRETA RY’S REP ORT 2022

FoTGA operates a Sponsorship Scheme primarily providing grants to children and schools. On joining the scheme, the sponsor becomes a member of FoTGA, agrees to pay a monthly subscription and in return will receive updates of their sponsored child’s progress. Once a child has been sponsored through FoTGA, providing they continue to meet certain conditions, they will receive a grant each school term, throughout their education. The grant enables the students to go to school and covers the cost of uniforms, stationery, a satchel, school fees and lunches. Some also receive a travel allowance.

We did issue some guidance on letter writing to be passed to students, to encourage them to give more information about their schooling and their life. Many letters had just been a thank you.

We need more sponsors as we have over 50 children on the waiting list. So please keep asking friends and family and colleagues to help.

FoTGA maintains a small office in The Gambia which manages the distribution of grants to the students and also forwards reports & letters back to the UK for onward distribution to sponsors. A very important link. The office also arranges for the distribution of gifts from sponsors such as rice, oil, money, bicycles to be delivered to the students and their families.

During 2022 ten students finished their Grade 12 school education. The Sponsorship Scheme is intended to support students up to Grade 12. However, some sponsors continue to support their students if they go on to further education. This trend increased again this year.

By the end of 2022 we had a total of 96 students, an increase of 10.

School Grades Age Number
Nursery 1-3 4-6 7
Lower Basic (Primary) 1-6 7-12 25
Upper Basic (Middle School) 7-9 13-15 29
Senior Secondary (High School) 10-12 16-18 23
University or Skills Centres 12

We have also provided a number of one-off grants, as well as supporting one Brikhama teacher, and giving regular fish and rice donations to the school for the blind.

G Hill

Sponsorship Secretary

P ROJEC T M A NA GERS REP ORT YEA R END ED 31.12.22

Unusually for me I didn't visit The Gambia in the year however I can report on the following for both my visits in November 2021 and January 2023

Assisted by my son Paul (a qualified architect) I visited the Gambia between November 2021 with the object of inspecting some of the previous projects completed in the past and also to identify possible future projects.

BakindikM aternityClinic

This was constructed in 2014 by FOTGA to service the needs of the (mainly) Mandinka community and improve maternal and young children's health needs. Since that date trustees have visited the clinic regularly to check that the operation is still working satisfactorily.

On my visit we noticed that there were problems with the distribution of piped water to the wards and delivery room and that the drainage from the clinic was not leaving as sewage to the cesspit in a satisfactory manner!

When back in the UK my son drafted some plans for rectification work and other specifications to enable a tender document to be published!

After due consideration of this matter and some fundraising, prospective builders were interviewed by me in January 2023 and one instructed. During the course of 2023 such work was inspected by site visits from our office staff and the installation was ready for use. However the water pump used in the supply of well water failed, this matter should have fallen to the Government health authority but our sponsor agreed to fund a replacement.

Upon enquiry with the resident nurse she informed us that some equipment is required to better attend to the medical needs of the patients – such has now been supplied with thanks to an anonymous donor!

GO VIschoolforblindchildren

On my visit to this facility I noticed that the playground was in a dilapidated state, the ground surface was uneven, play equipment was broken and unusable. We were informed by the teaching staff that such repair would be most appreciated and would greatly assist in the teaching and special needs requirements of the children!

Consideration of this project matter is ongoing but the costs - dependent on the nature of the required equipment and ground works – are considerable and will require a fund raising campaign!

O therM atters

Both the above facilities are relatively close to the coast and easily accessible to the tourists but further inland not so!

I learnt that there were safety problems surrounding a village "up river" and that matters would be improved with "street" lighting accordingly some solar powered lights were obtained and installed with a specific donation!

As part of my "holiday" time in The Gambia I went "up river" on a two day trip and saw first hand REAL poverty - same has been exercising my mind in how we can help, but possibly more of that in a later report!

RICHARD HUGHES project manager

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees FRIENDS OF THE GAMBIA ASSOCIATION CIO On accounts for the year 31 December 2022 Charity no 1171620 ended Set out on pages Not applicable I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity for the year ended 31/12/2022 . Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011. I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent The charity’s gross income did not exceed £250,000 and I am qualified to examiner's statement undertake the examination by being a qualified member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, ACCA .

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Date: 30/08/2023

Signed: Name: Mr. Yiramang Darboe Relevant professional qualification(s) or body Association of Chartered Certified Accountants- ACCA (if any):

Oct 2018

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IER

Address: DARBOE JULA & CO LTD

Team House, 1B St. Marys Road, Watford, England

WD18 0EE

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

There are no matters to be disclosed.

Oct 2018

2

IER