Anwar Sultana Foundation Annual Report
Persevering under a pandemic
Taken during Covid restrictions in Pakistan 2020
Annual General Meeting 25[th] April 2021
Venue: Held on Teams
Anwar Sultana Foundation Registered charity No. 1179265
*Trustees for the period covered in the Annual Report:
Javaid Kazi (Chair)
Noreen Arshad (Treasurer)
Waleed Nasir
Haroon Nasir
Muhammad Ishtiaque
Noreen Khan
Faheem Javaid
Humza Arshad
*There has been no changes to the Trustee Board, the charity is a registered foundation and thus no elections have taken place during the Annual General Meeting.
Public Benefit Statement
Aims and Purposes
To lift widows, orphans and people with disabilities in Pakistan out of poverty by facilitating access opportunities to education, vocational training and practical economic programmes of support.
The Anwar Sultana Charitable Trust will seek to bring together relevant UK and Pakistan Government departments and agencies, charities and community groups, as well as international institutions to increase the life chances of the destitute, disabled, widowed and orphans in Pakistan. The Anwar Sultana Charitable Trust will support individuals living in Pakistan who meet our beneficiaries’ requirement regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or creed.
Chairs report
Achievements and performance 2020/2021
We continue to provide support courtesy of the Dover income which continues to be £6500.
One year and half into the pandemic and there is no clear end in sight when things will go back to normal. ASF has been greatly affected by the ongoing pandemic, but has endeavoured to provide succour to those in need in a time of great uncertainty all over the world.
ASF continues to be to plan to offer a range of support to people in Pakistan living in poverty.
For young people for example, we aim to provide hope by supporting the cost of education for those who come within our scope and are identified as coming from poor backgrounds who cannot afford educational provisions.
However our capacity to reach the greatest number has been severely curtailed by the failure in ASF’s attempt of the past 6 months to open a charity bank account with a high street bank to improve transfer of monies as well increase our chances of winning funding bids for projects.
All major banks suspended applications for community/charity bank accounts at the beginning of lock down and have not resumed. We made efforts to apply for a charity account with Charities Aid Foundation Bank (CAFbank). Although after submission, we provided further information requested by CAF including a guarantee of £500 mandate from our Dover property income, in the final analysis they rejected our bid after a 6 week process.
The effects of this has been that we have not grown in our operations over the last year, but maintained with some effort our donation to various International charities and schools in Pakistan.
As we are still operating an account in the chair’s name, we have as a board decided not to apply for funding or take in any other monies, other than the Dover property income, which has always been paid into the chair’s personal account before the charity was formed or registered.
As lockdown eases and we can go back into banks and charity accounts are again available, we will revisit our funding and growth plans, but for the next year as the last, we hope to distribute as much of the Dover property income to international charities working in Pakistan and food and materials directly to agents in Pakistan.
The following items were distributed to various schools: Playground Equip. 2 slides 1 see saw 70 pair of shoes to orphans and children from poor families to various Schools. Sport goods 24 footballs 12 badminton racquets 54 shuttlecocks 12 rings for basketball 12 basketballs 24 cricket bats 6 wicket stands 72 tennis balls 24 jumping ropes 6 hand pumps
The remaining sums from the £6500 budget was allocated as follows and distributed by the chair on his visit to Pakistan : Food parcels (£1000) Micro grants (£1600) Free education for young children from poor families (£1450) Financial grants for elderly (£1550)
Financial Review
Income
The ASF drew on the income from a property purchased as per the Will and Testament of the late Anwar Sultana to support a charity to support the poor in Pakistan. £6500 was drawn down from the income of this property to
Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves
Due to the ongoing pandemic ASF board have not held a meeting to produce a reserve policy for the financial year 2020/2021, however the Board of trustee plan to put in place a reserve policy once a new bank account has been acquired and funding bids have been successful.
Declaration
Javaid Kazi, Chair of the Board of Trustees Signed……………J Kazi………………… Dated…25/5/2021……………