Global Rehabilitation
Trustees annual report for year ended March 2024
Name: Global Rehabilitation
Date of constitution: 22/06/2018
Objectives: The relief of need for adults and children with temporary or permanent physical and complex disabilities in low- and middle-income countries by the promotion of better rehabilitation services, in particular but not exclusively by sharing of professional skills, teaching, training, advocacy and undertaking research and facilitating links for achieving the same with other reputed organisations in developing countries.
The charity trustees are as follows:
Dr. Simone Doctors
Dr. Anne Chamberlain
Dr. Martin Schweiger
Dr. Ram P Hariharan
Dr. Rory O’Connor
Dr. Stephen Halpin
Dr. Oliver Isaac
Treasurer
Mr. Sankar Raj Kuniyur Nallaperumal
The organisation carries out its purposes by,
-Facilitating volunteer visits to Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) mainly by health professionals working mainly in the UK, financially supporting their expenses, training and preparing them to deliver contextually appropriate education
-Supporting (including financially) health professional in LMICs to improve their skills through formal and informal training in their own or other countries, and by other means such as online teaching
-Empowering and equipping rehabilitation professionals in LMICs to enable them to train others aiming to sustain effective rehabilitation services within the health systems.
-Working in partnership with colleagues in LMICs, informing health policy decision makers in those countries regarding the importance of rehabilitation to the participation of disabled people in society
-Supporting (including financially) research related to rehabilitation in LMICs to increase the evidence base for their practice
Trustees have a long history of working in Madagascar, and expect to continue this partnership initially, and may involve other LMICs in the future.
There are no paid employees in the charity and all trustees, and the treasurer are volunteers.
The trustees meet every month and invite supporters and friends of the charity every other month to discuss and plan activities and training. The charity will hold an AGM towards the end of the year.
Activities in the year 2023-24
This has been a fruitful year of connection, particularly with our partners in Madagascar. In October 2023, AMPR Mada (the Association of Rehabilitation Medicine in Madagascar) celebrated the 10th anniversary of its creation, following the training of eight doctors in rehabilitation medicine by Prof Anne Chamberlain and colleagues from Opt In, the precursor to Global Rehabilitation in 2011-13. 2 members had the priveledge of attending this to celebrate the occasion. Face to face contact with our partners was a useful opportunity to reconnect after 4 years of mainly online input. The members also took the opportunity to link in with other partner organisations working in Madagascar, including Humanity and Inclusion, and CBM. There remain significant challenges for rehabilitation services in Madagascar, including the cost of access, lack of materials and staff shortages due to hiring freeze and a brain drain. This is exacerbated by the international context, including the diversion of partner organisations’ resources, due to the war in Ukraine.
We have continued to sponsor internet connection for members of AMPR Mada. This has facilitated zoom meetings, to include meetings with the leaders of AMPR Mada, as well as 3 session of medical case based discussions of patients with spinal injuries. A survey of the use of internet suggested that our members find the connection extremely useful for accessing medical knowledge and networking.
We have been joined by new 3 new talented and passionate doctors. This will enable new energy and ideas moving forward. Specifically, we will plan to increase links with rehabilitation in Nigeria, and development of the GR website.
Fundraising events included a night of wild Irish story telling in October 2023, which provided entertainment and an opportunity to describe the work to an audience of around 40 people.
Please find below the financial report of the charity for the financial year 2023-2024
Statement of Financial Position
| Receipts | |
|---|---|
| Donations | 2412.65 |
| Fundraising | 0 |
| Grants | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
| Total Receipts | 2412.65 |
|---|---|
| Payments | |
| Salaries | 0 |
| Fundraising | 524.89 |
| Travel | 2897.29 |
| Training [Internet] |
7691.6 |
| Admin. | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
| Total Payments | 11113.78 |
| Surplus/(Deficit) | -8701.13 |
| Fixed Assets | 0 |
| Opening Funds | 19463.68 |
| Closing Funds | 10762.55 |
| Cash at Bank as of 31st March 2024 |
10762.55 |
Proposed activities for 2024 – 2025:
GR will continue to provide educational input for rehabilitation professionals, and our biggest area of activity is in Madagascar through support of AMPR Mada. Currently this includes finiancial support through provision of internet.
GR will support a conference on spinal injuries, held in Antananarivo in spring of 2024. This will include workshops on aspects of management of spinal injuries, networking with other nations, and the opportunity to refresh communication through in person meetings.
We are encouraring younger and passionate individuals to join our meetings, and we are committed to growing and adapting to need. We are planning to modernise the GR website and consider novel methods of fundraising.