Croeso Teifi Annual Report
February 9[th] 2021 –February 8[th] 2022
Reference and Administration
CroesoTeifi charity registration number: 1173014.
St Mary’s Old School Hall, Pontycleifion, Cardigan, Wales, SA43 1DR.
Secretary Celia Lang (until September 2021) Gail Storr (from September 2021)
Trustees: Sharon Carter: Chair
Rev. John Bennett: Vice-Chair Vicky Moller: Project Director
Louise O’ Neill
Hywel Davies (until September 2021) John Myers (from July 2021) Eric Sheldon (from October 2021)
Tim O’ Neill: Treasurer
Structure and Management
Croeso Teifi is registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with voting members other than its charity trustees.
Objectives:
The objects of the CIO, for the public benefit are:
To provide aid to refugees, those seeking asylum or granted leave to remain in the U.K., who reside or wish to reside temporarily or permanently in the town of Cardigan and the surrounding area, and to promote their harmonious integration into the local communities.
The main activities undertaken to further these objectives are:
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assistance with provision of accommodation, furnishings, clothing and other requirements essential for security and wellbeing.
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arrangement with the refugees of education, providing English and Welsh language tuition, training and work activity leading to fulfilment, skills and employment.
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facilitation of access to local services e.g. health, banking, schools, job centre, as well as social activities and the sharing of friendship, knowledge and skills leading to linguistic and social integration.
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working with support organisations and members of the local community to share any or all of the above charitable purposes.
For the Public Benefit:
The trustees have understood the guidance on Public Benefit and use it to guide decisions, such as to ensure funds are used to maximise the number of people we can benefit.
The activities of Croeso Teifi explained below have helped to build community cohesion through bringing diverse people to work together as volunteers.
The publicity, fundraising and information events have extended awareness of global situations in particular the situation of Syrian refugees forced to leave their war torn homes for camps in Lebanon and Egypt. Preparing for and bringing a refugee family to Cardigan has advanced cultural awareness, as has the provision of social opportunities for cultural exchange.
The work of the charity has provided opportunity to extend welcome, empathy and kindness, which have enhanced individual self-esteem as well as pride in the local community.
Achievements of Croeso Teifi:
This year has again been marked by the Covid-19 pandemic which has tested the wider community and the nation. Whilst Croeso Teifi has endeavoured to maintain support for both families, we have had to rely on the internet to ensure that they are well, that they understand the varying levels of social restrictions and to maintain contact during the pandemic peaks. This has been maintained through text messages, phone calls and facetime and we understand that they have been able to speak to their families in Syria similarly. Both families appear to have coped very well with the situation.
The father of the second family has now secured his own business in Fishguard. He is due to open on February 14[th] and we wish him every success. His wife has used her artistic talents to illustrate her Syrian recipes in the now published Syrian Cookbook. The first hundred copies sold quickly and Croeso Teifi ordered another hundred to be published which are selling well. She has weekly English lessons with a member of Croeso Teifi and also attends language lessons at college. Their three children are all enjoying school and child 1 now attends Brownies.
The father of the first family works for a local builder. He has completed his third year of a course in bricklaying at Coleg Ceredigion. His wife is still having English lessons and
conversation classes with members of Croeso Teifi and also takes part in an online conversation class. All the children are in school. The eldest child transferred to secondary school in September 2021 and was asked to lay a wreath on behalf of the MP, Ben Lake, at the Cenotaph in Cardigan on Remembrance Sunday. Both he and his father still play football with a local club when Covid restrictions allow. The second child now attends the local guides group and spoke confidently about welcoming refugees to Wales on a BBC news feature, following the crisis in Afghanistan.
Some members of Croeso Teifi accompanied the family to Aberystwyth in late August to meet Dr. Morris Brodie from the university and some of the Syrian refugees who have settled there. The theme of the day was “Refugees from National Socialism in Wales: Learning from the Past for the Future”, which was part of the Second World War and Partnership Programme and the aim was to draw parallels between refugees then and now. It was a very enjoyable day in the castle grounds with Syrian food.
Following the disappointing delay in 2020/2021 to our plans to welcome a third family to Cardigan, we were delighted to receive final approval from both Ceredigion County Council and the Home Office in January 2022. The family will arrive at the end of March and we have a committed team to support them. We have found a suitable home for them in Cardigan and members of Croeso Teifi are working hard in ensuring that the property is well equipped for the family’s needs and comfortable.
As part of our commitment to ensure that we are all prepared for the family’s arrival, I ran an online event in January with Croeso Teifi members, to go through our Safeguarding and Data Protection policies. Reset organised an online event in line with Home Office requirements to cover empowerment, boundaries and cultural awareness. Both were well attended by the Croeso Teifi team.
The Wider Community
The wider community is a vital part of everything we do and we wish to especially thank those who have contributed in any way.
In October, we hosted a cultural evening in the Guildhall, Cardigan. The two Syrian mothers provided food for the evening, a true feast which reflected their high standards and care. It was wonderful to see and hear from both the father of the second family and the mother of the first family who, individually, stood up and expressed how welcome they feel in this corner of West Wales. A very well attended evening, we were all very impressed with their standard of English.
Particular thanks go to Cor Teifi who put on a concert in November, nominated Croeso Teifi as their charity and raised a wonderful amount of funds during an evening of music at Rhosygilwen. We also received a generous donation from Cylch Merched and other individuals who wished to support our families through donations. Thank you all, your kindness is a true mark of faith in reaching out to others.
I think that we can all say that being involved in Croeso Teifi has impacted on us in such a positive and meaningful way, and most importantly the deep friendships with people from a wholly different culture and religion that have developed as a result.
Sharon Carter (chair of Croeso Teifi, February 9[th] 2022)
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLANO ANO WALES CROESO TEIFI Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For th• ptriod To Section A Receipts and payments Unresirtcted funds Rèstricted Endowment fundB Total lund• Lasi year ioth• rt•WV£ tothp tr fvMr•tt£ to th• A1 Rocol Donations 70 Thiitt Farnily tYo Cylth Mercrd CTIc> Teffi R•l4ee Family 2 1814 2.614 Sub total (Gross income for AR) A2 A88et and Inv•8tm•nt 1. 180• iabl•l. 1614 Sub total Totsl rncelpts 1614 3,500 A3Pa m•nts TeachifvJ ministratKrQFir5t Fn Inwr8nc* Family l & 2 &swt 282 789 3.353 4,599 R•fUg SUpprt Family 3 Exrw88S 4,734 450 4.734 529 Sub total 8,934 A4 Asset and Inv•$thrtl ur¢hases. se¢ table Sub total 9,082 9.082 6,934 Net of rnc•lpiw(Wents) A5 Trnnsfer¥ between funds A6 C4Bh fund• last y•ar •nd Cash funds th1$ ywrend 3,81 1.005 3,434 3.619 2.614 1,005 3.434 CCXX R1 accounts ISSI
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unre•trict•d funds to nmvmt t R¢•tn'cte( fund Endovnnent funds to rn•r•6t£ D•tsl 81 Ca•h fvnds 1.913 102 Total cash funds 7.015 9,000 NOTE CATAG0E8 82 TO BS P40T AAPPUCAeLE I NOT USED FOR THIS AGII REPORT Syned by on• or Iru$tws on beh8Kof all the trustees Date of roval SnaluTe Print Name SharoTr Carter ?Ig72 Timothy O'Neill Tr•88urf5 NoB on <cn 1. Accounts pr•parnd on a Redepts ond Payments b0Si5. 2. Rèfer8nc8 made lo Charty CommtsSnlgOv.uk but frymat •J¥i•YSummar frAGM Report ¢4LtirErnents 3. verrf1 by Tom Wdl& I0Y22) CCXX R2 aeeounts ISSI