HOPE FOR COMMUNITIES eport ••P'
Charity Information
Trustees of Hope for Communities (all acted for the entire year)
David John Nunn—Chair
Vivienne Lesley Nunn
Andrew David McCullough
Sarah Anne Louise Harris
John Douglas Henry Greenway
Note: All trustees have confirmed that they have regarded the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Corporate Trustees (Directors) of Hope for Communities
Sharo Ahmedi
Alexis Rachel Ahmedi
Charity Commission Registration Number
1180747
Charity Uk address
121 Drummond RD Bermondsey London England SE16 2JY
Charity website
www.hopeforcommunities.com
A Summary of the Purposes of Hope for Communities as set out in our Governing Document
The prevention or relief of poverty or financial hardship anywhere in the world, but in particular Iraq, by providing or assisting in the provision of, primarily but not limited to, education, training, healthcare projects and all the necessary support designed to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient.
A Summary of the Main Activities and Achievements of Hope for Communities
Working in Orphanages in the Kurdish Region of Northern Iraq
This year Hope for Communities started working in some of the orphanages (homes for children without carers) in our city. Children who grow up in the care system in this Trustee Annual Report region are especially vulnerable in terms of being able to develop self sufficiency. Traumatic experiences that have led to them being placed into care make it difficult for them to pursue education and/or training. ,This has a huge impact on their ability to find employment as adults. Also in this region, many employment opportunities arise through family 2020/2021 connections which most of these children and young people won’t have.
We go into different homes (orphanages) for a couple of hours each week. The homes vary depending on age, and in most cases gender, and so our activities vary accordingly. Our team spends time encouraging the children, through the activities and exercises that we do. We have seen the children grow in confidence and have seen the joy that can come from this time that we are able to invest. We want them to learn and develop the necessary skills to help them achieve their full potential in the future. Going forward, we hope with further funding to be able to support some of the older children who will soon be too old for the homes. We are exploring how Hope for Communities can support and train them to be self sufficient as adults.
Community Centre in Barika, Kurdish Region of Northern Iraq
Hope for Communities has continued to run projects in it’s Community Centre in Barika. The centre is in a community where there are refugees, internally displaced people, and people that may be originally from the region, but living amongst the community due to poverty. At present children attending the centre are mostly Iranian Kurdish with some children coming from an Iraqi Kurdish, Syrian or Iraqi Arabic background. Before starting
our projects we spent time speaking with the community and seeing what we could provide that would support them, as a way to seeing hope restored. Most of the parents wanted us to provide English Language classes for their children, and most of the children wanted us to provide Karate lessons, and so that’s what we do.
It is a joy and privilege for our team to see how these children have grown in confidence. Although the parents wanted us to offer English classes, we decided to make these lessons as fun and interactive as possible e.g. with games, songs, and crafts. Trustee Annual Report We were also able to open a library in our centre, which the children have absolutely loved. We can see the delight that the opportunity to come and borrow books each week brings , it will be the first library most of these children will have ever been in. Our staff training has helped devel-2020/2021 op how we see these lessons as being a real opportunity to shape and invest in children’s lives and the wider community. We are helping them to develop skills and characteristics that will be hugely beneficial to them in the future.
Our centre did have to close for a few months due to Covid, following government guidelines. However when it was safe to reopen we were very happy to do so, again following the local guidance and advice to keep the community as safe as possible.
Hope for Communities’ response to COVID
Hope for Communities mostly runs projects that are more focused on long term investment and community development. However as coronavirus was impacting the whole world, we saw the huge impact it was having on communities like the one where we ran our centre. The small amount of money that comes into certain families in the community for example through day labouring was no longer coming in. The opportunity arose for us to apply for some
funding which was specifically for helping to provide food for those im-
pacted by Covid. It was a great way to check in and connect with the community at a time when the centre was closed. It was a good opportunity to build relationships with some of the community leaders, as they were able to help us support the most vulnerable families. It was heart breaking to hear that Trustee Annual Report for some of the families, the food that we gave was the only food that they had eaten n days. At the time when the community centre had to 2020/2021 be closed due to Covid, Hope for Communities explored how we could use our skills and resources to continue to serve our community and the wider communities in the region. We noticed that around the world resources were being made available online for people to use at home whilst isolated and in lockdown. We realized that these resources weren’t as widely available in the Kurdish language. And so as a team we made a number of Youtube videos to support people and families whilst at home during lockdown. We put up English Language classes, exercise videos and crafts and game ideas to support children and their families in lockdown. These videos have met the original purpose of serving the needs of a community at a time of lockdown, but also have remained available online for people to access, at the time of writing this report our videos have had over 6000 views in total.
Staff Training
It is important for us as a charity that the people we work with receive support at the highest possible standard. This is why it is so important to Hope for Communities to invest a significant amount of energy in training our staff. As an example of this is, when we were planning to start working in the local orphanages we realized we needed to think about what would be helpful for us to learn as a team, before we took on this new challenge. Some friends of Hope for Communities in the UK, with a background in social care were able to provide training on how we approach working with children in these contexts. We looked at ‘safeguarding children, understanding children who have experienced trauma, and managing challenging behaviour in a positive way.’ This training was really beneficial for our projects in the orphanages as well our other projects.
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Trustee Annual Report
2020/2021
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Contribution made by Volunteers
Hope for Communities had three members of staff from the UK volunteering for the charity throughout this time period; Sharo Ahmedi, Alexis Ahmedi and Joanna Martin. The charity is thankful for their contribution.
Financial Review
Hope for Communities is very grateful to all of its supporters who have so generously helped us in being able to continue with all of our projects, start new projects and respond to the Covid crisis.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held: The trustees have agreed to hold three months of the charities running cost in reserve. This is to enable projects to continue in the event of a drop in income.
Amount of reserves held at end of financial year: £15,111
This is more than the amount needed. However due to the impact of Covid and the uncertainty this caused we were restricted in developing or starting new projects. Also as we want the majority of our projects to focus on long term investment in communities, we are hoping as a charity to see more of our donations becoming regular gifts, as opposed to one off gifts,. While we are very grateful for these it can make it more challenging to budget and plan for projects in the future.
| Reasons for holding zero reserves | Para 1.22 | n/a |
|---|---|---|
| Details of fund materially in deficit | Para 1.24 | n/a |
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a goingconcern |
Para 1.23 | n/a |
Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others
| Description of the assets held in this capacity |
n/a |
|---|---|
| Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects |
n/a |
| Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets |
n/a |
HOPE FOR COMMUNITIES Structure, Governance and Management Description of charity's Irusls.. Type of governing document IlrLJSt deed, ro al charter) How is the charity conslilul- ed? le.g unincorporated associa- lion, CIO) Trustee selection methods including details of any con- stilulional provisions e.g. election lo post or name of any person 01 body enlilled lo appoinl one or more trus- lees Para 125 Conslilulion Par3 1.25 Charitable Incorporated Organisalion ICIOI Para 1.25 According lo the conslilulion.. Apart from the first charity Iruslees. every Iruslee musl be appoint- ed Ifor a lerm of three yearsl by a resolution passed al properly convened meeting ol the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appoint- ment a5 charity Iruslees, the charity Iruslees musl have re- pard lo the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective adminislralion of the cio. Declarations The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees. report above. Slgned on behalf of thè charity's trustees Sign1< turc Fiill Nc1111e Joilbs Position {s keL-). Date
Recei tsand ments accounts CC16a Forthp ppwiod 01420 3110312021 Section A Receipts and payments Urtrestlicied Re5tncted futhds EDdowmeni lunds Totsl fvnds LJ¥tygar tolhTrnewttl A1 Recei lJ55 i.yjs 25540 t477 13.Z44 Z.4TF 56 LTD &YeAsYou Ljwo 26 lola ross tyKome ARI 21A52 J1123 ssot an see table. Invesimenisa s, ioia Toial receipts *>J 14.170 A3Pa rnÈnts 1lg)1 1.711 Fwtdistrlb1s avtraifj Refre5PlnLIrntUfna$lII5s 4171 55 104 PlumbirwIQIreeqUI[ 8¥thir4c14VF5kw&sL•i 14 14 14 rthaffl eWIFVrèsfIm<es b5ld51•?¥d SJS 732 74$ 74S ¥wtythinistralianUK TruYoli¢iTrburtfrhK ChOfqotrnttÈy Itanslws strip Fee5 Sub ioial 14¥11 A4Awt and Invosthonl Sub total 13,916 10,671 1,69S Nee olrecelptlPYMtsJ AS Transfers belwttn fiinds A6 Cash lunds last year end Cash funds thls yearend 7,536 7.575 7.57S 15.111 16.111 7,575 CCXX Ri aetOJnts(sSI 27I01r2022
Sectlon B Statement of assets and Ilabllltles at the end of the perlod Unrestslcled Restwirted Endoviment Dptsils IrMar•sl£ B1 Cash funds Tolal cash funds RoslActod funds Endowrnont lunds lon•4r•stE fund5 lorJPX•¥tE Dg13i15 BJ Inv¢stment3ssets CWren¢truP Details itsel B4 Assets retslned for the charity's own use Dgialls BS Llabilities bYcrf¢rIkl[UIte¢s LEh411c4altr* bwsleeJ Piint Na Daieof S81 CCXX R23cwts ISSI 2710112022
Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Hope for Communities
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Hope for Communities Trust (the Trust) for the year ended 30 March 2021. These accounts form the first full year of accounts since the Trust’s inception.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
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 all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Name: Gajen Ganandran MEng, ACMA
Relevant professional qualification: Qualified Chartered Management Accountant Address: 83 Chalgrove Crescent, Clayhall, Ilford, Essex IG5 0LX UK
Date: 25 January 2022