**60 Ecclestone Road, Wolverhampton WV11 2QB Tel: 07713156506 www.migrantempowermentgroup.co.uk Email: meg_2018@yahoo.com Registered Charity Number: 1183705** ## Reports And Accounts For The Year Ended 31/12/20 # Migrant Empowerment Group (MEG) **MEG Trustees: Alvine Dongmo-Noumey (Chair)** **Nadia Harushimana (Secretary)** **Alex Kamgaing Kamguia (Treasurer)** ## **Advisers:** **Dr Femi Obatomi** ## **Executive Director:** **Alvine Dongmo-Noumey (Project Manager)** The trustees present their annual reports and independently examined financial statements for the year ended 31st December, 2020. The trustees confirm that the reports and the financial statement comply fully with the Charities Act 1993, as amended by the charities act 2006, the Migrant Empowerment Group's constitution and the charities SORP 2005. ## **Key Aim:** The Migrant Empowerment Group was founded by a former asylum seeker in July 2013, in Wolverhampton , in the West Midlands. The Migrant Empowerment Group's constitution is her approved governing document. This document states clearly that the sole aim of our charity is to prevent or relief poverty among migrant in the United Kingdom, especially for those seeking refuge and asylum. Our main focus is to help migrant integrate within their communities in the West Midlands. Our range of services enable migrants to seek better health, education, employment, family life and also to adapt quickly to multicultural life in the United Kingdom. MEG also aims to reduce negative stereotypes and break down barriers within local communities ## **Organizational Structure:** The overall responsibility for the management of the charity rest upon the trustees as a body **.** This group of trustees constitute the board of trustees which is led by the chairman of the board. There is no fixed term of service for a trustees **.** All trustees are appointed and removed at the beginning of the year by the existing trustees at their first meeting for that year based on a majority decision. The chairman of the board of trustees is not appointed by the election of the trustees, but shall serve in an ex officio capacity as the executive director and project manager of the charity. At least half of the number of trustees are required to form a quorum for a valid meeting to be held, however, the chair can waive the requirement for a quorum in order to hold emergency meetings. The project manager who is also, an executive director and chair of the board of trustees is responsible for the day to day running of the charity. She works with a number of trained volunteers to deliver the services to the users. Her roles includes planning, organizing and coordinating the service delivery process. The project manager reports to the board as a group. ## **Achievements and Performance** Throughout the year our activities have been guided by our commitment to fulfill the objective of alleviating poverty among those seeking refuge and asylum. The beneficiaries of our projects constitutes a significant proportion of the BAME group who have been the hard hit financially by the Covid pandemic. This group who are already facing difficulty financial choices have been further pressed by the Covid pandemic. During the year under review, there was a steady increase in the use of our service throughout Wolverhampton and West Midlands. Our strength comes from our staff, volunteers and supporters commitment, time and donations. The rising number of trained volunteer (Befrienders) has helped us to meet the continuous demand for our the services; this year we have seen a marked increase in the number of referrals. During 2020, a total of 2568 people received a service from Migrant Empowerment Group (MEG). Sewing projects remain at the core of our services during the year 2020. The majority of our service users again fall within the 18 – 70 age bracket, all of our service users came from in and around Wolverhampton: 52% Black Africans; 15% white British & Caucasian ; 22% Asians & Middle Easterners and 11% Eastern Europeans. As usual, asylum seekers and refugees make up the biggest number, 59% for the year in 2020. This year our befriending sewing service has continued to offer a free and culturally sensitive listening ear, support, friendship and understanding at a time when most women are vulnerable and isolated across Wolverhampton. Following government guidelines due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have moved all face to face services online. Our befrienders sewing group continued to carry out weekly telephone and zoom conversations in order to ensure uninterrupted delivery of our programs. During the year 2020 MEG distributed 35 Tablets and 8 Laptops to most vulnerable people in the community to access our services. Access to food and basic necessities was one of the main issues that our service users faced during these unprecedented times. MEG quickly responded by setting up a local food bank which provides food parcels to families facing food shortages in and around Wolverhampton. A significant proportion of our service users who lost their jobs during the pandemic had to rely on our food parcel to survive the pandemic. This project is ongoing and we hope to make a permanent feature of our services. During 2020, MEG improved and enhanced its therapeutic service to provide a holistic outlook on the wellbeing of people who are experiencing the devastating and damaging consequences of domestic violence and abuse. We worked hard to ensure a seamless transition to ongoing support within the organization, especially for women who are suffering isolation without knowing who to turn to, or how and where to seek help. A total of 350 women accessed the domestic violence service with 110 women receiving a one on one domestic violence counseling support sessions. Our domestic violence outreach volunteers provided crisis intervention responses to 138 individuals, in relation to 241 incidents. The team met, engaged and advocated for 521 people within the community in the form of 1-2-1 sessions and outreach surgeries as well as completing 95 safety plans for people who were not ready to engage with support services. ## **Financial Review** During the year under consideration, our charity received a total of 71,265, a bulk of this amount represents donation from individual members, volunteers and the general public. The magnanimity of the public was on full display. There was a strong desire to be there for one another and to share with those need. The community spirit rose with a full force to like we have never seen. Our activities were mainly funded by contributions from individuals. We also received some grant support from some external organizations. For the year under review we recorded an excess of income over expenditure of £602 and a closing bank /cash balance of £689. There was no significant financial risk associated with running the charity. However, all risk have been assessed and policies have been put in place to mitigate and avert all risk. ## **Conclusion:** The year under review was quite challenging for all sectors of the economy and public life, in view of the fact that the pandemic was global and affected every facet of life. The charity sector was hit harder and most charitties had to fold. For us at MEG it offered both opprtunities and challenges. We hard the opportunity to learn new skills to be able to be more effective in our service delivery and to better prepare for such eventualities. The key bottlenecks that we faced during the year were lack dwindling resources in the face of mounting needs. Our volunteers were also overstreched during this period. It our hope that the coming year will see the lifting of restriction with the roll out of the novel vaccines and life returning to normal. Notwithstanding our committment to be a helpline for the need in Wolverhampton is intact inspite of the tumultous year. We want to thank our trustees, volunteers, donors, members, other benefactors, beneficiaries and the public at alrge for all your support and goodwill towards MEG. Without you we could not have achieved anything this year. We did it together and hopefully next year we shall do better. Alvine Dongmo-Noumey (Chair) 60 Ecclestone Road, Wolverhampton WV11 2QB Alex Morel Kamguia (Treasurer) 14 Mount Street Mansfield NG19 7AS ## **THE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE MIGRANT EMPOWERMENT GROUP.** I report on the financial Statements and the accompanying notes of the charity for the year ended 31st December 2020. ## **THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES AND EXAMINER** The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. The charity’s trustee considers that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to: 1. Examine the financial statements under section 145 of the 2011 Act; 2. Follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and 3. State whether particular matters have come to my attention This report, including my statement, has been prepared for and only for the charity's trustee as a body. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the charity's trustee those matters I am required to state to them in an independent examiner's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity's trustee as a body for my examination work, for this report, or for the statements I have made. ## **BASIS OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT** My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison with the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanation from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the financial statements presents a "true and fair view" and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT** In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: 1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met; or to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached. Kenneth Mensah (MSc) 31/03/2021 2 Dulverton Gove, LS11 0LD, Leeds.