2024-03-31-accounts

THE POTTER’S HOUSE C.B.O (COMMUNITY BASED ORGANISATION)

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

CONTENTS

	Page
Legal and administrative information	3
Report of the Trustees	4
Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees	7
Receipts and Payments Accounts	8
Statement of Assets and Liabilities	9

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REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Name: The Potter’s House Community Based Organisation

The Potter’s House CBO

Registered Charity number: 1183023

The board of trustees:

Mrs Ruth Stevens Mr Benjamin Gill Mrs Ruth Magness Mrs Megan Viney (appointed 18 January 2025) Miss Miriam Crowe (appointed 18 January 2025)

Registered office:

Glyn Canol, Manafon Welshpool, Powys SY21 8BS Email: [e-mail]

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Potter’s House CBO is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation Registered 17 Apr 2019.

Governing document: CIO Foundation Constitution

Policies and operating decisions rest with the Trustees who meet at least four times each year to plan, oversee and monitor the support provided to activities in Kenya of The Potter’s House CBO, Njoro. Trustees are responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the Charity, all trustees are voluntary. New trustees are considered and appointed by the Board of Trustees in accordance with the constitution, taking account of their skills and experience in relation to the Charity's objectives and any areas of expertise where it is felt that recruitment would be beneficial. All trustees are Board Members of The Potter’s House CBO, Njoro, Kenya.

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OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

As stated in the constitution, the objects of the Charity are for the public benefit, the relief of those in need, in accordance with Christian principles, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial or other disadvantage in particular but not exclusively by: (A) Providing items and services to families who do not have the resources, skills or capability to provide for themselves, (B) By providing or assisting in the provision of education, training, healthcare projects and all the necessary support designed to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient, (C) By providing or assisting in the provision of accommodation and care for children who are in need and/or at risk of being neglected and suffering abuse in Njoro, Nakuru County, Kenya.

The Potter’s House CBO works exclusively with The Potter’s House CBO in Njoro, Kenya, a registered Community Based Organisation. The activities supported involve, education, skills training, healthcare projects, disability awareness and support, Christian outreach, youth mentoring, family and community empowerment, community support groups. The Potter’s House CBO acts as a partner to each activity with the day-to-day management for activities in Njoro being the responsibility of the Board Members of The Potter’s House CBO, Njoro. All Trustees are Board members.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

The charity trustees have complied with their duty in section 17(5) of the 2011 Charites Act to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties. The trustees always ensure that the activities undertaken are in line with our charitable objects and aims.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The Potter’s House CBO works exclusively with The Potter’s House CBO in Njoro, Kenya (hereby noted as TPH-N) a registered Community Based Organisation. TPH-N work holistically with families to strengthen the family unit and prevent family breakdown. TPH-N equips families them with the knowledge and skills needed to break the cycle of extreme poverty and to be able to provide the safe, stable, and loving family home children need. TPH-N receives referrals from Njoro Children’s Services, social workers, police, village Chiefs, community health volunteers, schools, and other community level individuals. TPH-N meets the immediate and basic needs of a family but also offers long–term solutions. They support and strengthen families by providing items/services and provide training and work opportunities to parents so they can become self-sufficient. TPH-N provide school fees, school uniforms and school necessities for children not accessing education because of poverty. TPH-N also run support groups, a project that provides equipment for disabled children, a community food bank, youth mentorship, a project to reduce period poverty and Christian outreach activities.

Through the partnership with TPH-N, The Potter’s House CBO has funded the following activities in the year 2023 – 2024.

TPH-N has provided services, support or activities to children and adults throughout the year that have been referred to the organisation by government offices, schools, area Chiefs, members of the public or who have self-referred. The extent of support has been dependent on the outcome of an assessment of both, the needs of the family collectively, and the individual needs of family members. Support given has been emotional, spiritual, material and/or practical and has been short and/or long-term intervention.

Education – We have been pleased to support TPH-N in funding uniforms, school admission fees, school lunches and exam fees for children in families referred to TPH-N where parents were unable to do so due to poverty, ensuring that all school aged children in these families are now receiving education. 16 children have benefitted from this support. Our support with education also extended to placements in the local Polytechnic for 1 parent and 3 teenagers.

Income generation – For some of the families, the greatest need is regular income. We have supported TPH-N to kickstart businesses for 3 parents. The Parents were supplied with all the necessary equipment needed to start and mentored while establishing the business. 62 parents have been employed for the APT project on different days, enabling them to earn an income that helps them to feed their family and pay school fees.

Parent Support Group – We have supported TPH-N to run a weekly parent support group. The support group gives an opportunity to discuss and address issues that families may be facing, and the parents are taken through the Yekokeb Berhan “Better Parenting Training” course. The focus is on improving parenting knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Feedback from parents has shown that the group has helped them to provide a more loving and supportive environment for their

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children and helped them to cope with the challenges of parenthood. Improvements in living conditions and relationships have been seen by the social worker.

Disability support – We have continued to support TPH-N with their work supporting children with disabilities and their caregivers. TPH-N have supported families with the supply of wheelchairs and other needed disability aids as well as some medical costs for those who could not afford. Support with school admission, applications for disability cards, birth certificates and NHIF cards has also been given. Emotional and spiritual support is also given during regular home visits, Parent support group and weekly Bible study.

APT – Through our support TPH-N has made 125 APT devices (chairs, standing frames and wheelchair inserts) for children with disabilities using locally sourced cardboard, paper and a flour and water paste. This technique is known as Appropriate Paper-based Technology (APT). The workshop has also benefitted families TPH-N work with financially by providing jobs for the parents. The APT devices are made to fit the individual child and help the child to maintain a comfortable and functional position in either sitting or standing. This equipment helps prevent contractures, spinal deformity and can improve digestion, bowel function and maintain skin integrity. The equipment also enables the child to play and communicate with those around them, increasing both the amount and the quality of their participation in home activities, as well as increasing independence, communication and quality of life.

TPH-N APT team have been able to share their skills and information on disability to a local school group who spent the day at the workshop and made stools to take home.

Saturday Club – We have been pleased to provide support for a Saturday Club for boys who have challenging home lives and/or at risk of going onto the streets and need emotional support. The boys are taught APT skills, play games and have a meal together. 17 boys have benefitted from the APT Saturday Club.

Cycle with Dignity – We have been pleased to support the Cycle with Dignity project. This project’s aim is to reduce period poverty by supplying girls in local schools with cloth reusable sanitary pads. The project employs a local woman to make the pads using locally sourced materials. Alongside the distribution of pads, boys and girls in classes 7 and 8 were educated about menstrual health and hygiene. 320 girls received a pack of 6 pads.

Food Bank – Many parents in Njoro struggle to feed their families and many children suffer from malnutrition as a result. TPH-N runs a community food bank where donated food is distributed to families in need. 15 families have benefitted from the scheme.

Christmas food package – In addition to normal food support, we were able to support TPH-N giving 29 families a food package at Christmas.

Spiritual– We continue to support TPH-N in hosting a weekly bible study for parents and the wider community. TPH-N also provides spiritual guidance to families and actively seeks to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Bible Club – We have supported TPH-N in providing a bible club for children. The clubs ran Tuesday – Friday during each school holiday with between 120 - 142 children attending each day. During the club children enjoy games, teaching from the bible, discussion and mentoring as well as a meal. On the last day of each club parents were invited to hear about what the children had been taught and share a meal together. Out of this TPH-N was able to identify children who had family challenges. Wider social issues were also addressed.

Training for staff and Organisations – In February we supported TPH-N to provide a 10-day training for TPH-N staff and staff from two other organisations in Working with Children with developmental Disabilities and their Caregivers. The training gave workers the skills to assess the level of disability and guide caregivers on how to provide appropriate support to children within activities of daily living. As the APT Kenya project grows and the need for the equipment grows, it was a privilege for us to support TPH-N in hosting the first APT Network meeting, bringing 8 organisations together from all over Kenya who provide APT equipment, to share practices, ideas, problem solve and develop partnerships. During the last year TPH-N has strengthened links and partnerships with other organisations making it possible to share information and support with skills and services that have benefitted all organisations.

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In conclusion, there has been an improvement in the living standards and mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of children and adults accessing services, support and activities from TPH-N which we have aided with financial support. Relationships between TPH-N and organisations, government agencies, churches and the wider community have been strengthened and continue to have a positive impact.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

At the end of the financial period the Charity had cash funds of £19,675 of which £4,201 is restricted for the purposes of supporting the Cycle With Dignity project. These were the result of a cash funds at the opening of the financial period of £14,760 then Receipts totalling £25,817 and Payments totalling £20,902 over the financial period.

As evidenced in the report above, once again the work has grown over this year, and as such so has the expenditure. What is so heartening is to see that the income has likewise increased (when including restricted funds) and indeed outpaced expenditure such that we have been able to rebuild reserves for the coming years with plans for specific growth opportunities.

Once again, our most regular and numerous sources of funds were direct donations from individuals or churches; the exception being a specific grant from APT for Social Development to support the APT project this year and next year. This was designated as restricted funds and has, as such, been used exclusively for supporting the APT project.

This year it has been encouraging to see that the specific initiatives to support specific projects that were embarked on in the previous year such as the Cycle with Dignity GoFundMe page, or partnering with dedication specific interest groups, such as APT for Social Development have been maintained through this year and seem to be self-sustaining, admittedly with ongoing work from the trustees and supporters. This has allowed us to sustain these projects without cutting into funds needed for the ongoing more general work of the charity in fulfilling its charitable objectives in Njoro.

Our ambition for the coming year is to seek local partnerships that ensure that the work does not rely solely on large external grants, as appreciated as these have been! This way we can ensure the long term viability of the work, but we feel that this year places us on a solid footing to step forward into this.

Signed on behalf of the Organisation’s Trustees on 30 January 2025 by:

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Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees of Potters House

For the year ended 31 March 2024

I report on the accounts of The Potters House CBO for the year ended 31 March 2024, set out on pages 8 and 9.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES AND EXAMINER

The Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this period (under section 144(2) of the Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

• Examine the accounts (under section 145 of the Act);

• To follow the procedures laid down in the General Direction given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Act); and

• To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

BASIS OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT

My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

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:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the church as required by section 130 of the Act; or

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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.

John Helm ACA Tandem Accounting Ltd

30 January 2025

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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAN[> APID WALES Th• Pottsrfs H¢yu• C.B.O. lcom￿nIty Ba¥•d OrynlBatl Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For thè wrlod To 011W2023 al￿13r￿24 Section A Receipts and payments Unrnstrlct•d tund R•strlcl•d tund Endowment fund• Tothi fvnds L38t year Al Reulpts 784 14 Sub tot•l(Gmss Inc¥y￿ forAA) 1&101 2U17 A2 s•t and In￿$1M•￿t ulw, tabl•l. totsi 17 Trabl 146 146 217 Sub tot•1 12JlO &•6z i•.Jz• A4 zs•t and lftw6lm•nt urchas•s 8•0 tabl• Sub tot•1 T￿1 p•￿n•￿t8 N•t ofrnc•I￿￿p•Yrn•M5) AS Tr￿191$ b•t•••n funds A8 C••h fvnd$ 1•8t y￿r •r¥l C•sh fvnds this y••r •nd 4•15 19.175

Signed on behalf of the Organisation’s Trustees on 30 January 2025 by:

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