2022-03-31-accounts - The Sierra Leone Poverty Alleviation Charitable Trust

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SIERRA LEONE POVERTY ALLEVIATION CHARITY TRUST (SALPACT)

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT & INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2022

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

In July 2021 the UK government removed most Covid pandemic restrictions in England, which opened up travel movements across nations. Like most other charitable organisations, the impact of those restrictions and the general fear of the pandemic had a serious effect on the ability of the Sierra Leone Poverty Alleviation Charity Trust (SALPACT) to carry on its business since March 2020.

Two years on, those impacts are still being felt today, as the organisation continues to struggle to raise much needed funds through events and charitable giving. But Trustees remain hopeful and are looking to large private companies that are operating in Sierra Leone to make donations to SALPACT.

SALPACT is a charitable organisation registered with the UK Charities Commission on the 19[th] of February 2018 (Registration Number 1177207).

SALPACT was established in October 2017, initially as a disaster appeal for help, following the death of over 1000 people, especially young children – many buried under mud, caused by a massive landslide at the Mount Sugar Loaf in Freetown, Sierra Leone on the 13th and 14th of August 2017, after heavy rainfall.

On the 15th of August 2017, Mr Abdul Rashid Thomas who is the founder and Chairman of SALPACT, launched a Just Giving Global Fundraising Appeal on the internet. By the end of September 2017, over £7,000 was donated to SALPACT by citizens from all over the world, to assist with the Freetown disaster emergency and support the needs of those affected by the disaster in Freetown. But after Just Giving had deducted their commission and administration charges, £ 6,547.58 was transferred into the SALPACT’s bank account.

In order to ensure accountability, probity and transparency as to how the £6,547.58 was to be disbursed in Freetown, in October 2017, Mr Abdul Rashid Thomas brought together a group of individuals in the UK, three of whom are doctors, to form a Board of Trustees that will provide the necessary governance and oversight for the activities of SALPACT.

By the end of January 2018, the Board of Trustees agreed a Constitution for SALPACT which was then submitted to the Charities Commission in England, along with an application for registration of SALPACT as a Charitable Trust.

Following the successful completion of the Charity Commission’s application process, on the 19[th] of February 20I8, SALPACT became a Registered Charity with the Registration Number 1177207.

OUR MISSION AND OBJECTIVE

Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an average per capita income of about $2 a day. Although literacy rate has improved slightly from under 40% to about 46%, adult mortality continues to be seriously low, due to poverty and poor healthcare, with unemployment – especially youth unemployment rate at over 70%.

SALPACT’s mission is to help tackle and alleviate poverty in Sierra Leone.

The charitable objective of SALPACT is to pursue the advancement of education and prevention or relief of poverty for children in poverty or need; and to provide grants to charities or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty.

SALPACT’s intervention strategy is to work with local communities, schools and charities in Sierra Leone that are taking action to mitigate the devastating effects of poverty, poor healthcare, climate change, and the prevention of deforestation.

GOVERNANCE & OVERSIGHT

In this financial year ending 31[st] March 2022, SALPACT’s Board of Trustees was slightly depleted with the resignation of Ms. Rashida Thomas to focus on her university studies.

The Board is now comprised of Mr. Abdul Rashid Thomas (Founder and Chairman); Dr Fawzia Iyamide Thomas (Treasurer); Dr Babatunde Gbolade (Financial Oversight); Mrs Beryl Juma (MBE); Dr Victor Labor; Dr Abdul Anasa Sesay; Ms Ibilola Campbell, Captain John Dalby, and Mr Jeremy Labor.

Working together, the Trustees are providing governance and oversight, in ensuring that decisions, actions and spending commitments are consistent with SALPACT’s Charitable Objectives as stated in the Constitution.

Since the end of the Covid pandemic, Trustees have continued to meet remotely (virtually) throughout this financial year for their monthly Board meetings.

At every monthly Zoom meeting held this financial year, Trustees discussed progress, reviewed actions, and made key decisions about how funds could be raised and disbursed.

PUBLICITY

SALPACT is not a membership subscription-based organisation, and therefore relies on its individual Trustees to act as ambassadors for the Charity, and for providing small sums of cash donations to support administrative costs. The trustees have once again provided much needed publicity across their professional and social networks about the work of SALPACT.

The SALPACT website which was launched in 2017 as a gateway to the world, continues to play a key role in providing information about the projects that SALPACT is supporting, as well as information about how visitors to the website can donate to SALPACT and get involved in its work.

Development work on the website is yet to be carried out, to improve the look and interactivity of the website, as well as establish an attractive Facebook Page.

SALPACT FINANCES AND FUNDRAISING

SALPACT’s opening bank balance on 1 April 2021 was £7219.55. Total income of £442. 00 was generated through SALPACT’s trustees donating at least £50 each.

Total expenditure for the year ending 31 March 2022 was £3,612.54, with most of this cost accounted for by spending on the Gloucester School Project in Freetown, as described above.

The closing bank balance on 31 March 2022 was £4049.01

Sierra Leone Poverty Alleviation Charitable Trust - Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31[ST] March 2022

OPENING BANK BALANCE ON 1[st] APRIL 2021 £7,219.55

TOTAL DONATIONS BY TRUSTEES: £442.00

TOTAL INCOME - £7,661.55

EXPENDITURE:

Website and zoom hosting £295.00
Payments to Gloucester REC School £2937.14
International bank charges for transfers £60.00

Payments of Sierra TV Network £300.00
Regular bank charges £20.40

TOTAL EXPENDITURE - £3,612.54

CLOSING BALANCE ON 31[st] MARCH 2022 £,4049.01

PROJECT SUPPORTED BY SALPACT IN SIERRA LEONE IN 2021/2022 FINANCIAL YEAR

SALPACT’s Rural Education Committee Primary School Project, Gloucester, Freetown, Sierra Leone

In September 2021, the Trustees of the Sierra Leone Poverty Alleviation Charitable Trust entered into an agreement with the management of the Rural Education Committee Primary School, in Gloucester, Freetown, Sierra Leone to pay for and commission the production and supply of one hundred sets of desks and benches for use by the pupils of the school.

The total cost of the project was Forty-One Million Leones (Le41,000,000) equivalent to £2,997.14 (including international bank charges for cash transfers) , paid into the bank account of the school in tranches.

Fifty (50) sets of desks and benches were produced and delivered by the carpenter to the school in October 2021, with the remainder delivered by the end of November 2021.

Each set of desks and benches was inscribed with the words – Donated by SALPACT UK, using stencils. The carpenter ensured that the standard of quality of the desks and benches was fully guaranteed for one year, and responsible for repairing any defect within this period at no cost to the school or SALPACT.

The Trustees of SALPACT paid a maximum of Forty-One Million Leones (Le41,000,000) into the school’s Bank Account in the following tranches as grant to the school to cover the project cost: The first tranche of 30% of the maximum grant was deposited into the school’s bank account, immediately upon the signing of the project agreement for the purchase of materials to manufacture the benches and desks.

The second tranche of 35% was paid after the delivery of the first batch of 50 sets of desks and benches, by the end of October 2021, followed by payment of the third and final tranche of 35% after the delivery of the second and final batch of 50 sets of desks and benches, at the end of November 2021.

At the completion of the project with the delivery of all one hundred sets of desks and benches, the headmistress of the school sent evidence of receiving the desks and benches (including videos and photos) to SALPACT.

Having completed the project, the school is obliged to keep records of the project activities and project budget spending and retain all accounting records relating to the grant for a period of at least five years.

The following is the story published by local Newspapers and television in Sierra Leone about the SALPACT Gloucester School Project:

SALPACT rescues Gloucester REC Primary School with 100 desks & chairs

By Amin Kef-Ranger (Calabash Newspaper)

A United Kingdom based Charity Trust known as the Sierra Leone Poverty Alleviation Charity Trust (SALPACT) has come to the rescue of a primary school, the Rural Education Committee School, commonly referred to as REC Primary School, which is situated in Gloucester Village, Western Rural District of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

In an exclusive interview with the Headmistress of the Primary School, Madam Lydia Jackson-Braima, she intimated this medium that a few months ago, a news medium - Sierra News: ‘Talk to The Camera’, visited the school and conducted an interview with the headmistress and teachers about the plight of the children and conditions at the school.

The Headmistress furthered that it wasn’t long after the ‘Talk to The Camera’ video had gone viral on social media, that one of the Trustees of the Sierra Leone Poverty Alleviation Charity Trust (SALPACT) - Captain John Dalby and his wife, visited the school and engaged with the authorities about how best SALPACT can help alleviate some of the problems the children at the school were experiencing.

“Although the needs vary but the one that suddenly came to mind was that which has to do with school furniture, that is desks and chairs,” she disclosed and explained that the school had for a considerable period of time, struggling with inadequate furniture to provide enough sitting accommodation for the pupils. She said that this has been a big challenge for the school, and previous attempts to solve it proved futile.

Madam Lydia Jackson-Braima said that following the visit of Captain John Dalby, the school was then linked with the Board of Trustees of SALPACT, which then decided to come to the aid of the school by funding the construction and supply of one hundred desks and benches for the children.

“Members of the Trust made arrangement with a local carpenter to produce the furniture for the kids and as we speak all have been delivered and they seem to be durable,” she intimated with a big smile on her face.

She also informed that the total amount of money which was expended for the production of all the furniture was Forty-One Million Leones, maintaining that had it not been for the timely intervention of SALPACT they would still be grappling with insufficient desks and chairs at the school.

“As you are aware since the introduction of the Free Quality Education Initiative by the Government the number of children being enrolled into primary school has increased considerably but there is no corresponding increase in furniture which is why the issue of sitting accommodation featured prominently as a felt need,” she elucidated adding that as a matter of fact the classroom blocks must also be added or increased to cope with the increasing number of pupils which according to her currently stands at 403 pupils.

The Headmistress expressed profound thanks and appreciation to the Board of Trustees of SALPACT, especially the visit by Captain John Dalby who assessed the needs of the school on behalf of the Board of Trustees, which then made the decision to provide a whopping Forty-One Million Leones (Le41 million) funding, as well as making arrangements for the production of the 100 desks and chairs for the REC Primary School in Gloucester Village.

“Words cannot express how your intervention has provided relief for us. Effective learning cannot take place where basic things to make it happen are lacking. You have done a great thing for our future leaders, and it is only God Almighty that will richly bless you for your humane gesture,” the Headmistress emotionally expressed gratitude to SALPACT, adding that the furniture will be judiciously utilized for the intended purpose.

She disclosed that the school has performed impressively in public exams securing 90% passes furthering that they are doing everything possible to ensure that the pupils are well educated.

Class Six pupils of the school demonstrated seating on the benches and one of them, Momoh Kamara, also thanked SALPACT for coming to their rescue.

The Sierra Leone Poverty Alleviation Charitable Trust (SALPACT) was established on the 15th of August 2017, in response to the deadly mudslide which took place in Freetown, killing over 1000 people, leaving thousands more homeless and children orphaned.

The aim of SALPACT is to promote the advancement of education and help prevent or relieve poverty in Sierra Leone – especially child poverty, by providing grants to local charities working to prevent or relieve poverty.

The Charity recently provided over Le30 million funding support for the planting of fruit trees by schools in rural Freetown.

SALPACT has also provided funding for the care of the elderly at the King George's Home.

With the generous support of donors and friends from around the world, the Trust is raising funds to help build and promote a better society in Sierra Leone.

The Board of Trustees of SALPACT is made up of Abdul Rashid Thomas who is the Founder and Chairman of the Trust, Dr. Babatunde Gbolade, Dr Victor Labor, Dr Abdul Anasa Sesay, Dr Fawzia Iyamide Thomas (Treasurer), Captain John Dalby, Ibilola Campbell (Secretary), Beryl Juma MBE, and Jeremy Labor.

Speaking to this medium, the Chairman of SALPACT – Mr Abdul Rashid Thomas, called on diasporans to step up support for education in Sierra Leone and to copy the example of trustees of SALPACT.

“If every Sierra Leonean living abroad can adopt a primary school in Sierra Leone and provide the necessary funding support to meet the needs of the children, in ten years’ time Sierra Leone will no longer be classed among the worst countries in Africa for literacy,” Mr Abdul Rashid Thomas said.