DA'ARO YOUTH PROJECT ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2020/21 FROM 28 APR 2020 31 MAR 2021
CONTENTS FOREWARD.................................................................................. OUR 2020/21 RESULTS................................................................ DA'ARO YOUTH............................................................................ INJERA CLUB................................................................................. COVID-19....................................................................................10 CASEWORK.................................................................................12 TEAM DA'ARO YOUTH.................................................................17 FINANCIAL OVERVIEW................................................................18 THANKS......................................................................................20 GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT...........................................21 TRUSTEES..................................................................................22
FOREWARD Dear Friends, In late 2017, in response to the deaths by suicide of a number ol Eritrean tèenagè asylum-seekers, our community came together to mourn. We saw the impact these deaths were having on other young people as well as the wider community and felt compelled to help in any way possible. We had ideas on how to build a strong community rèsponse to offer these young people a sense of purpose and hope. I was part of a group of community volunteers who met to further brainstorm ideas on what we could do to maximise the support and impact we could offèr these young people arriving here alone from Eritrea. These community meetings led to the election of a trustee board for our project and offers of support from volunteers. The trustees, volunteers and I were workin9 full time jobs, but we were passionate about getting our project up and running and this is what kept us going despite the very long days. We met Ben and together, he and I had countless meetings on a Saturday morning in McDonald's and after work in Costa to bring together a plan of action. Just as we felt the momentum was finally picking up, we lost another young person to suicide which was very hard for us all, especially for all his f riends. This f uelled us lurther to act fast and formalise a youth club _ our community gathering which would come to be known as 'lnjera Club,, and we invited as many of the young people we had access to.
Our first Injera Club with the young people was held in the back garden of the South London Refugee Association {SLRAI in Summer 2018.1 have to especially thank Celia and the SLRA team for all the support and guidance they have provided us since that first day. Then we were invited to open the youth club doors again at Knights Youth Centre in October 2018. Witnèssing the progress that has been made from inception to today makes me extremely proud. We have come a long way from some of our early sessions where we had no youn9 people attend - just Ben and I sat in the youth centre alone - to a peak of 48 young people attending in one week. We have helped over 500 young asylum-seekers find a safe space to meet and interact, to offer them a sense of community and fomily, and to help them understand that they are not alonè. During thè lockdown it has beèn especially diff icult f or these young people, living in isolation, but we have tried to offer them support over the phone and have managed to deliver over 350 homemade food packages to them, as well as protective masks and hand sonitisers. In April 2020, we finally registered Da'aro Youth Project as a charity. It is a testament to all the hard work and commitment from the whole community in making this charity a success. I have no doubt Da aro Youth Projèct will continue to grow from strength to stren9th and I would like to thank every single person that has supported our mission. Thank you all for your continued support. DEHAB WOLDU Founder and Operational Mana9er
OUR 2020/21 RESULTS
200+ 115+
YOUNG PEOPLE REACHED
ATTENDANCES OF INJERA CLUB PICNIC
27
550
NEW CASEWORK CASES OPENED
FOOD PARCELS DELIVERED
5
DA'ARO YOUTH Da aro Youth Project was established in 2018 by members of the Eritrean community in London in response to the deaths of a number of teenage Eritreans by suicide. Eritreans and Ethiopians together were the largest nationality group of unaccompanied minors to arrive in the UK in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Asylum-sèeking children and youn9 adults arrive here after traumatic journeys through the Sahara Desert, Libya, the Mediterranean Sea and after crossing borders in Europe, such as in Calais. Once here, young people often struggle to adapt to new lives separated from their families, and find that navigating the complex asylum system can be stressful and traumatic. They face social isolation, discrimination and sometimes even hostility. We aim to promote the wellbeing of these mi9rant young people living in the UK, through direct support, through building bridges in the Eritrean community and through advocating for changes to unfair and discriminotory systems which undermine their wellbeing. We believe that building sustainable relationships of trust and support within the Eritrean community is the best way to empower young people and enable them to overcome their morginalisotion within society.
FIGURE I. Above.. Our first Injero Club. Below.. Table football at Knights Youth Centre I IriK
INJERA CLUB We run a weekly youth club in south London for14-to-21- year-old unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children and young people from the Horn of Africa: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia (and their friends). At Injera Club, young people are invited to socialise with others, play gamesi pool, table tennis, football and to enjoy a home- cooked traditional Eritreon meol. We mark special occasions, birthdays and holidays (such as Eritrean Christmas) at Injera Club by throwing extra special parties. Injera Club is a sociol space - on environment where young people can interact with their culture, lood and speak to others in their own language. Throu9h the work we do at Injera Club we are looking to build community, improve wellbeing and strengthen the resilience of the young people who attend. 50 40 30 FIGURE 2. 20 Our overage weekly ottendancas to Injèro Club throughout 2019 fwhite) and during the months we could open in 2020 (grey). 10 Jan Feb Mor Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
We re thankful to Knights Youth Centre for allowing us use of their space in Streatham Hill - where we have access to kitchen f aci l ities, record i ng booth and a sports hall. Durin9 2020/21, Injera Club was closed due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. However, we were able to hold 12 Covid-safe Injera Club sessions, outside in the park in South London during thè Summer months of 2020. A social worker told us about how important Injera Club was to the teenoger she works with: "He made a new friend, had fun, reolly connected with his comrnunity, and it gove him the boost he needs at the moment- his carer said he was like a different person the next daiA." Young people have commented on how important socialising Wlth their Iriends at injera club is and also mixing with older persons from their community. One said: 'IVhen I get injera, it feels like l am having dinner with my mum.
COVID-19 2020 has been a really tough year for everyone - but we f eel especially that it has been diff icult f or newly arrived young asylum-seekers. Restrictions and lockdowns meant that throughout 2020 we wère often unable to convene injera club, and had to find alternate means to reach young people and keep up support for them. We gave out clear information about lockdown rules and health and safety in Tigrinya, Amharic, Arabic and in English to the youn9 people we work with, via WhatsApp and phone. We delivered approximately 550 parcels ol home-cooked food, including injera and souce, during periods of national lockdown, to help young people who are isolated to stay connected with their community and their culture. We also distributed hand sanitiser and face masks. Our staff and volunteers made hundreds of support Calls to the young people who re9ularly attend our project- we called everyone we had contact with at least once during each lockdown. We undertook a group trip in the Summer 2020 to Guildford for a walk along the canal and bowling in the town centre - allowing everyone some time away from busy London. We re really looking forward to being able to do more trips when the pandemic is over. 10
CASEWORK Having built a community space that is trustworthyi we re thankful that young people who attend injera club feel like they can turn to us in a crisis. During 2020/21, we opened a casework file for 27 young people, helpin9 them to deal with a major difficulty by way of advocacyi referrals, support and guidance, helping young people to empower themselves as much as possible. In the some period, 13 already open cases were closed, after resolvin9 a casework issue. Young people experience numerous difficulties after they arrive in the UK - stress in the asylum system, worriès obout age assessments and disputes with social services. They deal with these problems while being away from their families, their culture and their home. In the last two years, we have done what we can to support young people through these challenges. advice advocacy referrals support 12
We supported a number of young people under90in9 a mental health crisis, including one young man who had made himself intentionally homeless and intended to cross back to France (we supported him by raising a safeguarding concern and gently encouraging him to seek help Irom social services and at A&EI. We referred a number of people to counselling and attended psychiatric assessments with them. A large port of our support work involves emotional support to young people on a daily basis - and èven more so during the Covid-19 pandemic. We supported on increasing number of young people who had their given ages disputed by the Home Office or by a local authority Children's Service. Where we believed them to be children, we wrote supporting statements for use in their legal appeals. We tried to provide additional emotional support and assistance to those young people who are age disputed and ènd up in the NASS system lor adult asylum- seekers, some of them sharing rooms with other adults or staying in hotels with no social or financial support. We supported one child who became homeless after a local authority agè assessment found him to be an adult- we helped him to find somewhere safe to stay by referring him to Refugees at Home and attending a hostin9 Wlth him, supported him when he was in NASS accommodation, and attended court to advocate on his behalf - the age assessment was later overturnèd by a judge and he was then brought back into care. He continues to attend our project. We advocated on behalf of young people when they had a dispute with social servieas or with their accommodation providers about the level of support they were receiving. Where we couldn't find any easy resolution we helped refer young people to appropriate advocacy services and to community care solicitors. 15
Poor housing and homelessness continues to be an issue that affects the young people we work with. We supported a number of young people who had either become street homeless or destitute, or had fallen through the cracks of the system and were staying with friends. One young person we worked with was moved from a room with bed bugs (after months of pushing) only to then be housed in a room with water leaking from the ceiling. We made referrals to advocacy services and housing solicitors, and pushed social services and local authority housing departments to quickly resolve these housing issues. There is currèntly no rule that allows for child refugees to apply for reunification with their families. The only option available is for young people to undertake a complex visa application. We supported seven young people with outside- of-the-rules family reunif ication applications - four of which involved extensive casework, including referrals to solicitors, tens of visits to solicitors appointments, DNA appointments, psychiatric assessments, and writing detailed supporting statements. During these applicationsi young people are expèrièncing heightened stress and worry for the wellbeing of family members, including mums, dads, brothers and sisters in exile in France, Saudi Arabia, and in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Sudan. We continue to support most of these clients, including one teenage boy whose younger brother has been trapped by the civil wor in Tigray. We visited three young people in hospital _ two who suffered serious injuries in traffic accidents, and one who had been the victim of a random attack. On each occasion we brought them food, gave them positive encouragement, and helped them to feel less alone and afraid. 14
We supported four young people with criminal justice issues. referring them to good crimi nal sol icitors, writing supportin9 statements, attendin9 Court with them (sometimes on multiple occasions), l iaisi ng with support services a nd thei r solicitors, and visiting them in prison. Without their families to support thèm, the criminal justice system can be uttèrly ovèrwhèlmin9, and so we try to help these youn9 people to navigate this stressful process and to know that everyone gets a second chance. We made numerous other referrals to partner organisations, including charities like Young Roots, South London Refugee Association, Off the Record Counselling, the Baobab Centre, May Gardens Project, Victim Support, Breaking Barriers and more. Thank you to oll our partners for your hard work. 15
FIGURE 3. Above.- An Injero Club trip out for dancing ancl dinner at Adulis restauront. Below.. Eritrean Christmos time at Injera Club. iA-I,a 16
TEAM DA'ARO YOUTH In 2020/21 our team expanded from mostly volunteers and one paid staff to include three members of staff working part-time. We hired our founder Dehab Woldu as Operational Manager, leading on managing injera club, case work and community or9anising. Dehab joins Da'aro Youth Project with decades of experience working with asylum-seeking young people and with a very strong connection to her community. Benny Hunter moved on from leading on youth work and is focusing just on being Project Coordinator, managing finance, fundraising, admin and communication. We brought on board our volunteer Raheal Amare as a Sessional Youth Worker, to assist Dehab with casework and running injèra club. We continue to be thankful to our incredible volunteers for their patience and hard work. That includes our youth work volunteers from the last two years: Ruby, Grace, Aden, Sienna, Geordie, Nahel and Mikal and our kitchen volunteers, helping prepare yummy food: Nebiyat and Gnet. We re so hugely thankful to the community members who have brought food or otherwise helped in whatever way to make Injera Club a success. We said goodbye to our treasurer Bella Solomon and welcomed a number of community members to the trustee board, joining us from 2021 onwards. Thanks also for the ongoing hard work of trustèes Fulsum Kahsa and Elaine Chase. 17
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW Thanks to our supporters and funders, who first put their faith in us as we embarked on this new project in 2018. In the year endèd 28 April 2020- 31st March 2021, our total income from donations and grants was £88,798. Expenditure during that same period was £38,774. Reserves at the end of the financial year are £60,575. This amounts to £13,595 in unrestricted reserves and £46,980 in restricted reserves, consisting of 3 restricted funds. Overheads 10.3°1. Food & Activities 27.1. FIGURE 4. What we spent Money on in 2020/21. Trcjvel, Training & Exp8nses 8.4% Poyoll 54.5°1, 18
Reserves Policy DYP is currently dependent on mainly grant fundin9 to sustain its activities. This means that if there were to be a shortfall in grant funding level it is likely that DYP would have to closè services. To avoid closure if funding difficulties were to happen the Trustee Board has agreed to keep a certain level of financial reserves to ensure that main operations can continue lor a period 013 months minimum. The main concerns ol the Trustee Board are to ensure: that staff can continue workingi primarily to secure new funding that clients ore supported to move on to other services Reserves will be built up from unrestricted income. 19
THANKS Thank you to everyone who donated and fundraised for us in 2020/21. Every one off contribution, donation to a fundraiser, and monthly contributor, has allowed us to 9row month on month and continue to support the young people that we support. We are very grateful to our funders, without which we couldn't do the work that we do: Choose Love, City Bridge Trust, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Manpin Foundation, London Community Response, Invesco Cares Foundation. CHOOSE CITY BRIDGE TRUST LOVE MANPIN FOUNDATION Barrow Cadbury Trust LONDON COMMUNITY RESPONSE Invesco res 20
Governance and Management Da aro Youth Project is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation ICIOI. Our governing document is o constitution ol o Charitable Incorporoted Organisation with voting members other than its charity trustees. There must be at least three charity trustees. If the number falls below this minimum, the remaining trustee or trustees may aet only to Call a meeting of the charity trustees, or appoint a new charity trustee. The maximum number of charity trustees is 12. The charity trustees may not appointv any charity trustee if as o result the number of charity trustees would exceed the maximum. The mojority of trustees must be people who claim Eritrean herita9e. At every annual general meeting of the members of the CIO, one-third of the charity trustees shall retire from office. If the number of charity trustees is not three or a multiple of three, then the number nearest to one-third shall retire from office, but if there is only one charity trustee, he or she shall retire. The charity trustees to retire by rotation shall be those who have been longest in office since their last appointment or reappointment. If any trustees were last appointed or reappointed on the same day those to retire shall (unless they otherwise agree among themselves) be determined by lot; The vacancies so arising may be filled by the decision of the members at the annual general meèting. The members or the chority trustees may at ony time decide to appoint a nèw charity trustee, whether in place of a charity trustee who has retired or been removed, or as an additional charity trustee, provided that the limit on the number of charity trustees would not as a result be exceeded; A person so appointed by the charity trustees shall retire at the conclusion ol the next annual general meeting alter the date of his or her appointment, and shall not be counted for the purpose of determining which of the charity trustees is to retire by rotation at that meeting. 21
TRUSTEES During the period 2020/21, the following persons were trustees: Dehab Woldu Appointed as trustee on 28th March 2020 Resigned on 19th October 2020 Bella Solomon (Treasurer) Appointed as trustee on 28th March 2020 Resigned on 5th November 2020 Elaine Chase {Secretaryl Appointed as trustee on 28th March 2020 Futsum Kahsa {Chairl Appointèd as trustèe on 28th March 2020 22
All of our activities are undertaken to further our charitable purposes for the benefit of the public. The Trustees have had re9ord to Charity Commission 9uidonce on public benefit in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006. De¢lurutions The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees report above. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees Petros B Tesfai (Treasurer) 2810212022 01.03.22 Dr. Yohannes Bahru (Trustee) c/0 Streatham Space Project, Sternhold Avenue, London, SW2 4PA infoodooroyouth.or9.uk Chority No. 1189245
| Youth Activities - 184 - 184 |
Materials and Equipment 647 - - 647 |
Insurance - 254 - 254 |
Volunteer Costs 597 - - 597 |
Trainingand Supervision - 1,763 - 1,763 |
Staff Travel and Expenses 879 - - 879 |
Staff Recruitment - 169 - 169 |
Payroll Expenditure - 140 - 140 |
Salaries incl. HMRC - 10,891 - 10,891 |
Freelance Workers - 9,885 - 9,885 |
A3 Payments | A3 Payments | Total receipts 8,721 80,077 - 88,798 |
Sub total - - - - |
- - - - |
- - - - |
(see table). | (see table). | A2 Asset and investment sales, | Sub total(Gross income for AR)8,721 80,077 - 88,798 |
Refunds 55 - - 55 |
Fundraiser for Victim of Acid Attack - 21,892 - 21,892 |
Donations 6,041 - - 6,041 |
Grants 2,625 58,185 - 60,810 |
A1 Receipts | A1 Receipts | to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total funds |
Section A Receipts and payments | To Period end date 31st March 2021 For the period from Period start date 28th April 2020 |
To Period end date 31st March 2021 For the period from Period start date 28th April 2020 |
To Period end date 31st March 2021 For the period from Period start date 28th April 2020 |
Receipts andpayments accounts | Da'aro Youth Project 1189245 |
Charity Name No (if any) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 776 | 100 | - | 1,086 | 795 | 256 | - | - | - | 3,150 | 22,740 | - | - | 22,740 | 38 | - | 9,303 | 13,399 | to the nearest £ | Last year | CC16a |
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Categories Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - 7,832 - 20,971 Details B1 Cash funds Fundraiser for attack victim Advice Project Funds Injera Club Funds |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Categories Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - 7,832 - 20,971 Details B1 Cash funds Fundraiser for attack victim Advice Project Funds Injera Club Funds |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Categories Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - 7,832 - 20,971 Details B1 Cash funds Fundraiser for attack victim Advice Project Funds Injera Club Funds |
Cash funds this year end | Total payments 5,677 33,096 - 38,774 12,275 Net of receipts/(payments) 3,044 46,980 - 50,024 10,465 A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end 10,551 - - 10,551 86 |
Total payments 5,677 33,096 - 38,774 12,275 Net of receipts/(payments) 3,044 46,980 - 50,024 10,465 A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end 10,551 - - 10,551 86 |
Total payments 5,677 33,096 - 38,774 12,275 Net of receipts/(payments) 3,044 46,980 - 50,024 10,465 A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end 10,551 - - 10,551 86 |
**Sub total ** | A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13,595 | 10,551 | - | 3,044 | - | - | - | ||||
| 46,980 | - | - | 46,980 | - | - | - | ||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| 60,575 | 10,551 | - | 50,024 | - | - | - | ||||
| - | - | 10,551 | 86 | - | 10,465 | - |
| Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) IT Equipment 175 - IT Equipment 1,126 - - - - - - - Details B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Printer Laptops |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) IT Equipment 175 - IT Equipment 1,126 - - - - - - - Details B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Printer Laptops |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) IT Equipment 175 - IT Equipment 1,126 - - - - - - - Details B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Printer Laptops |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) IT Equipment 175 - IT Equipment 1,126 - - - - - - - Details B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Printer Laptops |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) IT Equipment 175 - IT Equipment 1,126 - - - - - - - Details B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Printer Laptops |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - - Details B3 Investment assets |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - - Details B3 Investment assets |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - - Details B3 Investment assets |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - - Details B3 Investment assets |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - - Details B3 Investment assets |
13,595 18,177 - 13,595 46,980 - OK OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Details Core Costs Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) B2 Other monetary assets |
13,595 18,177 - 13,595 46,980 - OK OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Details Core Costs Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) B2 Other monetary assets |
13,595 18,177 - 13,595 46,980 - OK OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Details Core Costs Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) B2 Other monetary assets |
13,595 18,177 - 13,595 46,980 - OK OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Details Core Costs Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) B2 Other monetary assets |
13,595 18,177 - 13,595 46,980 - OK OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Details Core Costs Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) B2 Other monetary assets |
13,595 18,177 - 13,595 46,980 - OK OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Details Core Costs Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) B2 Other monetary assets |
13,595 18,177 - 13,595 46,980 - OK OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Details Core Costs Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) B2 Other monetary assets |
13,595 18,177 - 13,595 46,980 - OK OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Details Core Costs Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) B2 Other monetary assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
11111 1111 1111