Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31/03/2023
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| Reference and Administrative | Details |
|---|---|
| Trustees | Rebecca Weeks |
| Grace Annan-Callcott | |
| Frances Chaisty | |
| Sophia James-Sweeney | |
| Registered Office | 141 Seren Park Gardens |
| London | |
| SE3 7RR | |
| Charity Registration Number | 1182638 |
| Bank | Metro Bank |
| 117-121 Bishopgate | |
| London | |
| EC2M 7PP |
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Trustee Report
The trustees present the annual report together with the financial statements of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) for the year ended 31[st] March 2023.
TRUSTEES:
Rebecca Weeks Elected 01/01/2019 Grace Annan-Callcorr Elected 01/01/2019 Frances Chaisty Elected 01/01/2019 Sophia James-Sweeney Elected 01/01/2019
The Board of Trustees has the power at any time to appoint any person to be a trustee. Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.
RETIREMENT AND REMOVAL OF TRUSTEES
A charity trustee ceases to hold office if he or she:
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i. retires by notifying the CIO in writing (but only if enough charity trustees will remain in office when the notice of resignation takes effect to form a quorum for meetings);
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ii. is absent without the permission of the charity trustees from all their meetings held within a period of six months and the trustees resolve that his or her office be vacated;
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iii. dies;
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iv. in the written opinion, given to the CIO, of a registered medical practitioner treating that person, has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a charity trustee and may remain so for more than three months;
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v. is disqualified from acting as a charity trustee by virtue of sections 178-180 of the Charities Act 2011 (or any statutory re-enactment or modification of that provision).
Any person retiring as a charity trustee is eligible for reappointment.
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OBJECTIVES
The objects of the CIO are:
The relief and prevention of poverty in Malawi, in particular but not exclusively by the provision of educational resources and welfare support that will improve the standard of state funded education and enable children and young people to remain in full time education so that they can generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient.
The trustees have reviewed the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit and have complied with the duty in Section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have regard to this guidance. The trustees always ensure that the projects undertaken by SEED Malawi are in line with the Charity's objectives.
SEED Malawi’s ethos: All of our resources are bought from local suppliers, pumping revenue back into the local economy. All of the work that we do on the ground is run by qualified country nationals.
ABOUT THE TEAM
The Founder and Chair Rebecca Weeks works with our Operations Coordinator (Jack Magreta) to plan all of SEED’s projects. Jack then leads and directs all operations on the ground. We hire a range of temporary staff depending on our project including local Malawian builders who carry out our building work and local drivers to transport resources.
Our Board of Trustees ensure that SEED is carrying out its purposes for the public benefit. They comply with SEED’s governing document (constitution) and the law. They act in the charity’s best interest, manage SEED’s resources responsibly, act with reasonable care and skill and ensure that the charity is accountable.
Nb: The only persons eligible to be members of the CIO are its charity trustees. Membership of the CIO cannot be transferred to anyone else.
Any member and charity trustee who ceases to be a charity trustee automatically ceases to be a member of the CIO.
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THE PUBLIC BENEFIT NEED
What SEED is set up to achieve
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To improve standards of education in rural areas.
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To improve the welfare and safeguarding of vulnerable children.
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To increase attendance and completion of school.
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To increase the number of school leavers in rural areas going on to further education or employment.
How the charity’s purposes are beneficial
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Improving young people’s attendance at, and quality of, schooling.
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Improving young people’s literacy and numeracy.
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Increasing young people’s access and confidence to seize opportunity.
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Improving mental health of young people.
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Increasing understanding of and vigilance around safeguarding amongst adults in rural communities, improving attendance.
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Young people leaving school are more able to go on to further education or find employment, boosting the local economy.
Who specifically benefits from the charity’s activities
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Benefits children and young people in Thyolo, a rural area in southern Malawi.
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Extending to more rural areas.
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Families of children who go on to have a better income.
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Communities when children return with a better education and therefore with increased opportunity for employment.
Specific needs you’ve identified
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Rural areas have a far less rigorous education system and quality of education than urban areas.
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Primary schools in rural areas have high drop-out rates.
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Lack of resources in rural areas, such as: classrooms, uniform, meals, books, stationary.
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Many vulnerable children (particularly orphans) are unable to pay for educational costs of schooling. Many resort to child labour in order to earn the money to pay for school.
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In certain areas the risk of child abuse is exacerbated by low levels of awareness on safeguarding children alongside a lack of victim support.
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ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
EDUCATION
We have partnered with six schools in Thyolo: Mambala Primary School, Nahache Primary School, Namachila Primary School, Naphiyo Primary School, Ntundama Primary School and Nyambalo Primary School.
Education Plus Packages
We support our partner schools’ most vulnerable children via our Education Plus Packages. Many are academically able but due to poverty, are at risk of dropping out. Headteachers in our partner schools identify these pupils, many of whom have to engage in manual work to earn money to pay for the basic resources needed to complete school.
We offer vital support in the form of fees, books, uniform, resources, food and toiletries for pupils with the aim of lowering dropout rates and increasing the number of school leavers going on to further education or employment.
Resources
We build classroom blocks for our partner schools because in rural Malawi there is a lack of safe infrastructure and as a result, many children are learning outside. Children are being denied the chance to access a high-quality education and with students lacking the resources to learn, many lose hope and drop out. Our classroom block builds have caused attendance figures to increase in our partner schools.
We also provide educational resources in the form of books, stationery and toiletries to over 1000 orphans in Thyolo.
All of our resources are bought from local businesses and all of our building work is done by local, skilled tradesmen.
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FINANCIAL REVIEW
Income - Year 4
| Description | Restricted Income £ |
Unrestricted Income £ |
|---|---|---|
| Voluntary Income | £ | £ |
| Charitable Activities | £ | £ |
| Fundraising | £ | £11882.35 |
| Trading | £ | £ |
| Investment Income | £ | £ |
| Other | £ | £ |
| Total income | £ | £11882.35 |
Expenditure – year 4
| Description | Restricted Expenditure £ |
Unrestricted Expenditure £ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of generating Voluntary Income | £ | £ |
| Charitable Activities ● Expenses and travel for Operations Coordinator ● Resources for identified rural primary schools (including but not limited to exercise books and uniform). ● 12 pupils chosen to receive Education Plus Packages ● Building materials and labour for classroom block build. |
£ | £7000 |
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| Fundraising costs | £ | £ |
|---|---|---|
| Trading costs | £ | £ |
| Governance | £ | £ |
| Other | £ | £ |
| Total Expenditure | £ | £7000 |
Movement in funds – year 4
Net surplus/loss in year £ +£5030.46
SEED Malawi has no funds materially in deficit.
DECLARATION
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s): _R. Weeks____
Full name(s): Rebecca Weeks
Position: Chair
Date: 10/01/2024
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