2023-06-30-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 01/07/2022 Period start date To 30/06/2023 Period end date

Charity name: REFEO (Refugee Education For Equal Employment Opportunities)

Charity registration number: 1182800

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	REFEO aims to improve refugees’ and asylum seekers’ integration within British society and support their financial independence. To achieve this change, REFEO: • Give access to online accredited courses and mentoring to Refugees and Asylum seekers • Contribute to university costs of refugees and asylum seekers • Give used laptops, tablets and smartphones that are in good working condition to refugees and asylum seekers to help them with their educational and employment needs.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	Tech for Good:Closing the digital divide is at the heart of our work. We provide used laptops in good working conditions to UK Refugees and Asylum seekers (R/A) to ensure the lack of access to a laptop does not prevent them from benefitting from the online accredited courses and mentoring services we provide. Providing a laptop has increased inclusivity, however, when we realised that the lack of access to internet meant that accessing online courses was still a challenge for some R/A we launched our project “All Connected”. All Connected in partnership with Vodaphone: Free connectivity ensures that more refugees and asylum seekers access our online accredited course and get a recognised certificate in the UK which will bring them one step closer to employment. It has alsoprevented social

isolation as they are now connected with their
friends and family. Thanks to this asylum
seekers who live in poverty no longer need to
use their £8 daily allowance to buy internet.
Education and mentoring:We match service
users (clients) with courses which are relevant
to any experience they have had in their home
country, or to courses that support their current
professional plans, to help them transfer or
update qualifications for their chosen
employability choices.
Our online accredited courses are accessible
24/7, with mentor supporting mentees weekly
through the courses to maximise their chances
of receiving accreditation and a certificate to
support their CV readiness and journey towards
employment. Each client is given a target at
their initial assessment to work towards when
they jointly develop their work plan with their
mentors. Mentors are kept in regular contact to
ensure the clients remain on track, ensuring we
achieve our success rate of 90% of those
completing an accredited course.
We also contribute to university fees of those
who cannot afford to pay them.
This vital activity which advances education of
R/A is bringing them one step closer to
employment and therefore empowering them
to break the cycle of poverty.
Employability:Through bilateral education of
both asylum seekers and employers, we raise
awareness about asylum seekers' right to work
in the UK. This information is currently not
common knowledge, resulting in great difficulty
for asylum seekers to find work. As our
programme focuses on education of this issue,
and changing employment practices, we hope
that the number of asylum seekers benefitting
will be limitless.
As part of the programme, we match R/A with
companies that offer jobs that match their
qualifications to improve their financial
situation and enable them to integrate.
Accessing services through peer-to-peer
support:The online forum on our website
facilitates R/A access to local services and peer
to peer support. Some services include access to
higher education, vocational training,
professional training, and work placement.
Peer to peer support is a central element of the
forum as members share opportunities and
information on how to access local services on
theplatform.

Statement confirming	Para 1.18	The trustees confirm that they have had
whether the trustees have		regard to the guidance issued by the
had regard to the guidance		Charity Commission on public benefit.
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

	SORP reference
Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	N/A
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38	N/A
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	We have 8 volunteers who are involved in all the areas of our work: Casework, Fundraising, partnership, IT, communications, mentoring, Human resources. Their input is huge and means that we have increased capacity to service our client group.
Other

Achievements and Performance

SORP reference

	Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	REFEO contributed to closing the digital gap for refugees and asylum seekers by donating laptops to over 150 refugees and asylum seekers (R/A) nationwide who used them to study online, obtained their diploma which brought them one step closer to employment. They also used the laptops to prepare their CV, cover letters and applied for jobs. By supporting 15 R/A to get access to online accredited courses and our mentoring programme, they gain a certificate/diploma recognised in the UK which brought them one step closer to employment. Approximately 80 R/A have access to shared opportunities and information on how to access local services on our online forum.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41
Other

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	£18,563
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	Holding reserves enables REFEO to continue operating when funding is scarce.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	Trustees are in the process of deciding the amount of reserves that should be held in the reserves.
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	REFEO recognises the importance of holding reserves. As such we will set a specific amount based on the size of our charity.
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	None
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	We have no concerns and have a strong fundraising plan to continue to grow the charity and scale up our services.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements	where relevant about:
The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	Fundraising from Trusts and Foundations
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46
Other

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	REFEO’s governing document is a Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation whose only voting members are its charity trustees-Foundation
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	REFEO has been constituted as a CIO.
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Selection method for the new trustee was conducted in line with the governing document, indicating that any new individual appointment will be according to their skills, knowledge and experience and how they fit with what is needed for an effective administration of the CIO.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51
Other

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	REFEO (Refugee Education For Equal Employment Opportunities)
Other name the charity uses
Registered charity number	1182800
Charity’s principal address	83 St Paul's Way E34AJ, London

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)
	Mariam Diakite
	Natalia Equihua
	Mohamed Fagiri

– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Director name

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year

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

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Other optional information

Declarations

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date
	Mariam Diakite	Natalia Equihua
	Chair	Co-chair
	21.04.2024
	21.04.2024

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