2023-05-31-accounts - Revive Congo

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Registered Charity Number: 1178341

Revive Congo CIO

Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2023

1. Aims and objectives

Charitable purposes:

The advancement of educational and vocational services for young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in the United Kingdom between the ages of 8-21.
To promote culture and heritage of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the United Kingdom via advocacy.
The advancement of citizenship or community development.

1. Governance and structure

Revive Congo is a UK registered charity in England and Wales, and was registered as a CIO foundation in 2018 (charity no.1178341). The organisation is governed by its constitution.

Revive Congo is currently volunteer-led, with thirteen volunteers and a board of four trustees. The Board of Trustees is responsible for the strategic direction and governance of the charity. Trustees report on the progress, risks & mitigations monthly, and maintain regular communications via email and WhatsApp with two annual executive board meetings to review the strategic direction of Revive Congo. Revive Congo also shares quarterly updates with the general public through e-newsletters, as well as ad-hoc updates through the charity's website.

The board have actively reviewed governance policies, to ensure volunteers display good conduct. The board will continue to assess policies and financial management.

Trustees: Guellord Kany, Norris Gwama, Pamela Nyandu Abiola and Lakeisha Kayoka Annang

1. Summary of main activities

Revive Congo ensures the advancement of education for young people in the UK through delivering an annual summer programme to provide informal education on the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition to this, our summer youth programme provides an opportunity for young people to develop their project management skills, communication skills and financial management, as well as receive advice on careers, volunteering and academic opportunities. This programme has contributed to developing the skills and capabilities of young people to independently participate in society in the longer term.

Revive Congo ensures the advancement of education for young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo through producing e-learning material to provide informal education on leadership and entrepreneurship skills. This learning resource seeks to develop the capability

and capacities of their skill to independently and responsibly participate in society and to increase their employment prospects.

Revive Congo ensures the advancement of citizenship or community development through supporting and encouraging young people in the UK to engage in social action within their community, by organising and delivering community projects, through delivering our summer programme.

2. Achievements and Performance

In this financial year Revive Congo has continued to carry out charitable objectives through the following activities:

Junior Masandi’s 1000 miles walk

In May 2022, one of our volunteers Junior embarked on a 1000 miles walk across the UK from Lands’ End to John O’Groats to raise money for Revive Congo to continue to support the schooling of orphans based in an orphanage that we are currently in partnership with called Mission Marie Mere orphanage. In 2019 we started to sponsor the schooling of two orphans, which increased to 4 in 2021 and 6 in 2022. We ensure that in order to align ourselves with the Sustainable Development Goals, there is always an equal number of girls and boys and in some cases, more girls if necessary.

During Junior’s walk, which he shared on social media, we were able to raise awareness about the work we do as a charity and why we are focusing on access to primary education. He decided to do the walk to highlight that in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it takes more than 15 hours a week for some to fetch water which usually falls upon women and girls who can carry up to 20 litres of water which is physically demanding, time consuming, poses health risks and also decreases the chances of girls attending school. As a result, Junior raised over £5000.

Revive Congo Summer Youth Programme

In August 2022 we delivered our annual summer youth programme which is to raise the aspirations of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK. This programme consisted of various workshops and professional speakers with a focus on capacity building, Congolese History, mental well-being, entrepreneurship and volunteering opportunities in their local communities. This was our second time running a workshop on mental health in order to raise awareness and provide our attendees with the necessary tools and resources

should they need to access it. We found that this gave our attendees an open-space to discuss their personal experience in a safe environment where they were also sign-posted to the appropriate resources. We also used this workshop as an opportunity to acknowledge the impact social media has played in the decline of mental health for young people and provided tools on how they can be safe online.

The programme was delivered to approximately 20 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and supported young people to develop their skills and capability, including presentation skills, confidence - building, public speaking and financial management, as well as their employability prospects. This was also a great opportunity to teach them about the richness of the Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of its natural resources, its History and current state.

Trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo

In December 2022, Revive Congo went to the DRC. Our objectives were to:

Visit the orphanage we are in partnership with, Mission Marie Mere
Monitor and evaluate our school project supporting the primary education of those who reside at Mission Marie Mere orphanage
Film a documentary that we would showcase at our Gala in July 2023 celebrating our 10 year anniversary

Visiting the orphanage

This was our team’s first trip back to the DRC to visit the orphanage post-covid. It was a lovely visit that consisted of us playing games with the children, and finding out how they are doing physically, mentally and emotionally. As our visit was during the Christmas period, we were also able to have a Christmas party for them with food, refreshments and drinks provided for the children and the workers at the orphanage. Further, prior to our visit we were informed that the children lacked footwear and briefs so in line with our WASH goals, we ensured that we came with flip flops and briefs for the children.

Monitoring and evaluating our school project

In September 2019 we began our quest into supporting the schooling of primary age children that reside in the orphanage and began with one boy and one girl. In September 2020 we added two more children, a boy and a girl and again added the same in September 2022. Whilst we have volunteers in the DRC who are responsible for ensuring the school fees are paid, uniform and stationary is purchased and receiving reports of each child per term, we ensured that during this trip, we were able to speak to the children we are currently sponsoring to find out their experience. Whilst speaking to them and asking about their experience it was very clear to see that leaving the orphanage premises to attend school was positively impacting them. It was also apparent that the children had grown in confidence

and were also excited about their future as they shared their aspirations including wanting to be the future President of the DRC to help the poor. Such feedback has meant that we will continue to embark on our mission which is to add more children to the project each year, with an equal number of boys and girls ensuring that we are in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 4 which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.

Film a documentary that we would showcase at our Gala in July 2023 celebrating our 10 year anniversary

As this was our first team trip since Covid, we wanted to capture footage for our supporters to better understand the work we do and why their support matters. Although we do not fund the primary schooling of all the orphans, we do run activities for them as a whole when marking international days, having fun days and also have a food budget to provide food staples. The footage captured not only showed how much the children have grown since we met them in 2019, but it also showed the importance of investing in Congo’s future leaders as they shared their future ambition and for those in our school project, they were able to talk about their favourite topics at school and general information such as what they like to eat.

The University of Essex Talk

In December 2022, our Co - Founder Pamela Abiola was invited to speak at the University of Essex’s Human Rights Centre. The talk was centred around the importance of investing in the education of future leaders in developing countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo as a theme of the Centre’s speaker series. This also gave her the opportunity to to share the practical ways Revive Congo is investing in Congo’s future leaders by playing a part in ensuring they have access to education, water, sanitation and hygiene.

Junior Masandi’s Burpee Challenge and Tough Mudder

In March 2023, Junior Masandi launched his 1000 burpee challenge to help us raise money to build a water tank at Mission Marie Mere orphanage. During our team’s trip to Congo in December 2022, it was apparent that there was an urgent need to assist the orphanage in having access to clean water in its compound. Therefore, this challenge coupled with the Tough Mudder challenge in April 2023 that Junior and our other volunteer Chris Katako participated in, we were able to build a water tank in the compound of the orphanage in May 2023 which has positively impacted the lives of all 48 children who reside there.

Chris Katako’s - HYROX Fundraising challenge

In May 2023, our volunteer Chris Katako took part in HYROX, a global fitness/crossfit race to raise funds for Revive Congo. As well as supporting their education and other daily needs, this fundraiser was to also help with building the water tank that was set up thanks to both the efforts of Chris and Junior who were involved in its successful installation.

IT Equipment Donation

In order to further advance the IT skills and digital activities for the children at the orphanage, we requested for our supporters to donate any old laptops and tablets they had to the orphanage. In May 2023 this was transported to the orphanage which has been extremely beneficial as the children now use it to learn different skills including how to use the internet to learn English, take photos and are also able to download and play child-friendly games.

Online Campaigns

Over the past year we have used social media and our website to promote Congolese culture and heritage through sharing facts and information about the DRC, also focusing on providing key figures about the situation children face in the DRC and statistics showing the number of children who are not in education. We have also ensured that we have shared our fundraising activities, volunteer opportunities, profiles of our beneficiaries including the children we sponsor at Mission Marie Mere orphanage and former attendees of our youth programme. During this period, we have reached over 44,000 members of the public.

3. Financial position

The charity’s gross income on general funds for the year was £9,697 The main source of income were from donations (monthly, and one-off) Expenses totalled £10,917

There was no write-off of from Trade Debtors on the Balance Sheet

Reserves brought forward at the start of the year were £4,005 leaving a balance carried forward at 31 May 2023 of £2,785

4. Future plans

Following activities delivered in the financial year of 22/23, the key objectives in 23/24 are:

To launch a Revive Congo Youth Programme mentoring group for previous attendees of the summer youth programme who are between the ages of 16-25 and also open it up to those who have not attended. The aim of this mentoring programme would be to help participants develop in the following areas: personal development, career and identity building. It will also teach them about Revive Congo and invite them to be a part of social action
To hold a Gala celebrating what we have achieved over the last 10 years, our goals for the future and an opportunity to fundraise on the night to advance our mission
To work with our partner Mission Marie Jane orphanage in order to enrol the children we are supporting into the next academic year. We also intend to send two more children to school in the next academic year.
To continue to improve water, sanitation and hygiene at Mission Marie Jane orphanage through helping them improve their toilet and bathroom facilities
To reach over 60,000 members of the public via our social media handles, website and online campaigns in order to raise awareness and promote the culture and heritage of the DRC
To visit Kinshasa, Congo in order to monitor and evaluate the progress of our work at our partnership Mission Marie Orphanage and also evaluate the school performance of the children we are sponsoring. We also wish to research whether we can use the orphanage as a location to host extracurricular activities for children who reside in close proximity to the orphanage
To run a IT skills 4 day workshop in the DRC for 20 young adults between the ages of 18-21 to teach them basic IT such as how to use a laptop, word and excel in order to provide them with the necessary skills they will need to advance in their education and career
To receive charitable status in the DRC
To increase total supporter donations by 40%
To generate unrestricted gross income of £20k and £10k net through grant applications, sponsored events, selling merchandise, online social media campaigns and one-off and monthly giving donations by our supporters

	REVIVE CONGO	REVIVE CONGO	REVIVE CONGO	No: 1178341	CC16a
	For the period from	01/06/2022	To	31/05/2023

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 9,697 - - - - - - - 9,697 - - - 9,697 10,917 - - - - - - - - 10,917 - - - 10,917 - 1,220 - 4,005 2,785	Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Total funds to the nearest £ 9,697 - - - - - - - 9,697 - - - 9,697 10,917 - - - - - - - - 10,917 - - - 10,917 - 1,220	Last year to the nearest £
Donations	9,697				8,348
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*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	9,697				8,348

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-
	-				-
*Sub total*	-				-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
					8,348

Cost of GeneratingFunds	10,917				7,028
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*Sub total*	10,917				7,028

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
	-
	-
*Sub total*	-				-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
					7,028

	- 1,220	-	-	- 1,220	1,319
	-	-	-	-	-
	4,005	-	-	4,005	2,686
	2,785	-	-	2,785	4,005

28/02/2024

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

(agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details Cash Funds held in Bank *Total cash funds* Details Trade Debtors Details Details Details Signature P. Abiola	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 2,785 - - - - - 2,785 - OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name Pamela Abiola	Endowment funds to nearest £
		-
		-
		-
		-
		OK
		Endowment funds to nearest £
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		Current value (optional)
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		Current value (optional)
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		When due (optional)






		Date of approval
P. Abiola	Pamela Abiola	28/02/2024

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

28/02/2024

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)