2024-08-31-accounts - Opportunity Through Education

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

	Trustees' Annual Report	Trustees' Annual Report	Trustees' Annual Report	Trustees' Annual Report	Trustees' Annual Report	for theperiod	for theperiod	for theperiod
	From	Period start date			To	Period end date
		Day 1	Month Sept	Year 2023		Day 31	Month August	Year 2024

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Opportunity Through Education

Other names charity is known by Registered charity number (if any) 1179046

Charity's principal address The Long House, Hurtmore Road, Godalming, Surrey.

Postcode GU7 2RB

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
	Alan Lion	Trustee
	Nicola Lion	Trustee

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

	Name	Dates acted if not for whole year
	None

March 2012

TAR

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of adviser	Name Address	Name Address
Independent Examiner	Charles Hume

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document CIO - FOUNDATION REGISTERED 03 JUL 2018

(eg. trust deed, constitution)

How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company)[CIO] Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a Trustee selection methods term of 3 years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the (eg. appointed by, elected by) charity trustees.

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

OTE was set up to support the work of Nicki and Alan Lion (“the trustees”), You may choose to include plus the work of three partners, Elizabeth Hodgkin (“Liz”), Rebecca additional information, where Mallinson (“Rebecca”) and Welcome Home School (“WHS”). relevant, about:

policies and procedures When the charity started, Liz and Rebecca jointly approach the trustees and asked for assistance. Rebecca had previously been supported by
adopted for the induction and another UK registered charity, but, due to the burden of administration
training of trustees; involved, that charity had asked Rebecca to try to find another UK
the charity’s organisational registered charity able to support her. After discussion, the trustees structure and any wider agreed to provide support. The basis upon which OTE supports Liz and network with which the charity Rebecca is contained in a separate document titled: works;
relationship with any related “Basis Of Working Together OTE and Partner 20180728.docx” parties;
In the summer of 2022, the trustees were approached and asked to
trustees’ consideration of support to the Welcome Home School (“WHS”), Tanzania. After due major risks and the system investigation, including a visit to the school in February 2023, the trustees and procedures to manage agreed to offer the same assistance to WHS as to Liz and Rebecca. them.

Section C Objectives and activities The objectives of the charity are: “The relief of poverty with particular emphasis on education for the young Summary of the objects of the and disadvantaged anywhere in the world.” charity set out in its governing document The trustees believe that the provision of education is one very practical way to help people out of poverty and into a worthwhile and sustainable life.

March 2012

TAR

The review of activities and highlights below sets out how the work of OTE provides significant benefit to the public.

In terms of finances, OTE benefitted from the continued support of many generous contributors. Income this year was £72,590 (2022: £68,895) and payments to beneficiaries amounted to £71,273 (2022: £69,052). It should be pointed out that the income and payment figures for this year both include an amount £7,400 which represents the return of funds which were destined for beneficiaries and which were returned following a failed bank transfer.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

In its decision making the trustees of OTE are aware of and have complied with their duty to have due regard to The Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when they have exercised any powers and duties to which the guidance is relevant.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

The trustees wish to thank the following organisations and institutions for their support in the past year:

The Erica Leonard Fund The R&H Grey Foundation The T W Roberts Trust St Clare and St Francis Charity

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

policy on grantmaking;

In addition, the trustees wish to thank the many individuals who have so generously supported the work of OTE in the past year. Without such support, the wonderful transformation of some many young people’s lives that has been achieved would never have happened.

policy programme related investment;
contribution made by volunteers.

March 2012

TAR

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

The following represent just some of the people and projects that have been supported by the charity in the period covered by this review:

OTE Projects

The main work of OTE relates to sponsoring students. Every student sponsored by OTE is either known to or vetted by the trustees. We seek to help young people who cannot help themselves. We focus on students who are orphans or who have fallen on hard times part way through their education and where it is perceived that there will be considerable benefits if that person is given the opportunity to complete his or her education. In addition, we assist the families of students where we perceive that, in so doing, this assistance will lead to a better overall outcome for the students and families in terms either of the alleviation of poverty or the promotion of education or both.

During the year under review, apart from students, OTE also helped:

(a) Establish a Hotel Management Course at St Agnes Vocational Training College in Mtandika, Tanzania. The course started in January 2024 with eight students.
(b) Raised money for a poor couple and their children to help them establish a new life in the United States.

Work In South Sudan

Both Liz and Rebecca are committed to helping to support and provide education to disadvantaged children in South Sudan. Since December 2012 an estimated 50,000 South Sudanese have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. South Sudan ranks among the worst in the world in terms of literacy, education and deprivation.

Elizabeth Hodgkin Projects

Liz’ main focus during the year was to provide support for St Augustine’s School. In addition, she continued to help a number of students who are nearing the end of their education programmes. Looking to the future, Liz is now of an age where she is unlikely to be able to continue her excellent work. She has therefore taken a decision to start reducing her obligations to individual students. Rebecca Mallinson Projects If you want to read about Rebecca’s inspirational work please visit her blog site: https://living-in-nimule.blogspot.com/ As you will see, in the period covered by this review, things changed significantly. Firstly, after many successful years setting up and helping run Cece Primary School, Rebecca moved on. The situation can be summarised by these sentences from her September 2023 blog: “Problems have arisen between me and the landowners who gave us the land in 2016 through a land agreement. The landowners have now become very hostile and full of demands for their own clan. They have completely no thought for the school or the pupils. The constant chorus has been, ‘What’s in it for us?’

March 2012

TAR

Section D Achievements and performance

White people are seen as rich and are supposed to give to them freely. When I have refused, saying that all the money I have is from fundraising for the specific purposes of education, whether for the school or the deaf children, I am shouted down very aggressively.

They are completely ignoring the fact that our school is for disadvantaged families, not just for themselves.

I am looking for a way forward as I do not want to see the school fail. We have over 240 pupils and 19 staff, all of whom will lose out if the school collapses. On a personal level, I have taught in the school since 2015 and have very strong teacher-pupil relationships with a good number of our pupils. ”

After discussions, including consulting OTE, Rebecca concluded that the right course of action was to move on. She therefore sought to find suitable schools for all the current pupils at Cece Primary School. The buildings at Cece will be managed by Rebecca’s former fellow founders from January 2024, who are hoping to change it into a private school, so they will not stand empty.

January 2024 saw the start of a new challenge for Rebecca. Over 150 students from Cece enrolled at Liberty Primary School. Rebecca agreed to join this school as Director of Studies. A number of the teachers from Cece came with her. She summarised her new challenge when she wrote:

“At Liberty, we are back at square one. In January there were no school buildings, no toilets, no storeroom or teachers’ room, no food, very few teachers and large numbers of cows around the school site. In short, it has been terribly difficult, but things are gradually taking shape. “

Rebecca has not only shown amazing resilience during these trials, she has continue to support a number of deaf children. Moreover, she even has ambitions in this area. She wrote:

“As I have mentioned before, the grand plan is to start a hearing impairment unit in Nimule with the help of Alau, the oldest and most advanced of the deaf students, once he finishes his studies. “

She is a wonderful example of a truly dedicated person helping those in need.

Welcome Home School (WHS) Tanzania

WHS is a thriving primary school, as the photos on OTE’s website demonstrate. The money collected by OTE and passed to WHS was used for the following purposes:

School fees for 6 children: £2,749
Accountant's salary support: £1,000
Chairs and desks for Class 4 (from Kennedy's): £2,250
Contribution towards building the school hall: £4,000
The remaining amount (£4,801) was combined with a generous donation from the Czech Republic to purchase a school bus for £10,000.

WHS collects money from a variety of different countries, including, as

March 2012

TAR

Section D Achievements and performance

mentioned above, the Czech Republic.

A BIG THANK YOU

None of the above work would be possible without the extremely generous financial support that OTE receives from its many supporters.

"We rise by lifting others."

Section E Financial review

The charity holds limited reserves. It has little or no ongoing expenditure Brief statement of the commitments as all the administration is done by volunteers and all charity’s policy on reserves administrative costs are currently covered by the trustees. Where OTE is expecting to sponsor a student for a number of years, the trustees may hold a suitable amount in reserve to cover future years’ costs. However, the amounts so retained are relatively small.

As at 31/08/2024 the charity had a total of £6,704 (2023: £5,544) in its bank account.

Details of any funds materially Not applicable. in deficit

Further financial review details (Optional information)

The charity’s accounts have been produced on a receipts and payments You may choose to include basis. At the year-end, the charity was due Gift Aid from HMRC for the additional information, where period from 14/04/2024 to 31/08/2024. relevant about:

the charity’s principal The charity had no accrued liabilities at the end of this period. sources of funds (including any fundraising);
how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

Section F Other optional information

None.

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

March 2012

TAR

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date	Signed Electronically
	Alan Keith Lion
	Chair
	26thFebruary 2025

March 2012

TAR

Charity Name No (if any) Opportunity Through Education 1179046

Receipts and payments accounts

For the period Period start date Period end date To from 9/1/2023 8/31/2024

Section A Receipts and payments

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Direct Donations 13,002 Returned of Failed Transfer - Give As You Live 31 Income Tax Refund 1,868 14,901 Sub total Total receipts 14,901 A3 Payments Payments To Beneficiaries 13,768 Travel Costs - Bank Fees - Failed Bank Transfer - Sub total 13,768 Sub total Total payments 13,768 Net of receipts/(payments) 1,133 A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end 4,177 Cash funds this year end 5,310 Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ Sub total(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)	to the nearest £ 24,785 - - 2,467 27,252 27,252 27,700 - - - 27,700 27,700 - 448 511 63 Restricted funds REB	to the nearest £ Restricted funds LIZ	Total funds to the nearest £ to the nearest £ Restricted funds WHS
		7,341 - - 795 8,136	13,764	58,892
			7,400	7,400
			-	31
			1,137	6,267
				-
				-
				-
				-
			22,301	72,590

				-
				-
				-

		8,136	22,301	72,590

		7,580 - - - 7,580	14,800	63,848
			-	-
			25	25
			7,400	7,400
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
			22,225	71,273

				-
				-
				-

		7,580	22,225	71,273

	- 448	556 332 888	76	1,317
				-
	511		367	5,387
	63		443	6,704

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

Details Santander Business Account Details Details Details Details Signature Signed Electronically Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	to nearest £ 5,310 - - 5,310 OK to nearest £ - - - - - - Print Name Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates	to nearest £ Restricted funds
		1,394
		-
		-
		1,394
		OK
		to nearest £ Restricted funds
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		Cost (optional)
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		Cost (optional)
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-
		Amount due (optional)
		-
		-
		-
		-
		-

Signed Electronically	Alan Lion

----- Start of picture text -----
CC16a
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Last year
----- End of picture text -----

to the nearest £

60,488 - 15 8,392 - - - - 68,895

68,895

67,432 1,570 50 - - - - - - 69,052

68,549 1,247 - 4,297 5,544

Dat8 of approval 212612025

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts SeGtion A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteosl members of Opportunity Through Education On accounts for the year ended 31° August 2024 Charity no {if any) 1179046 Set out on pages I report lo the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above ¢harily I'the Trust") for the year ended Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance wtth the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 1.the Acfl. I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of the Act. I have cornpleted my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention lolher than that disclosed below "l in connection with the examination which gives me cause lo believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examinerfs statement I have no concerns and have come acros5 no other matter5 in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts lo be reached. Please del te the words in th8 brackgts if they do not apply. Signed: Date: 2 APR 2025 Name: lth> Rfj8GRT Hv Relevant professional qualificationlsl or body lif anyl- Address: CHARLES R. HUME, FCA Pittold. Hurtrnorg Road, GodalmiThg. Suryey. GU7 2RB 01483 th102 &07W 128152 Email.- thèrleshume@aol.eom IER October 2018

Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs lo highlight 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. IER October 2018