CATARACTS ARE CURABLE - THE GAMBIAN PROJECT
DIRECTORS’/TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT
FOR THE PERIOD 1[ST] January 2024 TO 31[st] DECEMBER 2024
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS
Cataracts Are Curable – The Gambian Project, also known as Cataracts Are Curable, was incorporated on 30[th] April 2019 and achieved registration with the Charity Commission on 1[st] June 2020. Company registration number: 11971279 - Charity registration number 118727
The registered and principal address is 1 Royston Drive, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 1HL.
The Directors, who are also Trustees, who have served throughout the year were:
Violet Phillips – Chair James Phillip – Treasurer Alice Bailey – Secretary
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Cataracts Are Curable - The Gambian Project is a Company Limited by Guarantee, which does not have a share capital and pays no dividends. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. It is a public benefit entity.
All administration is carried out by the Trustees, who receive no remuneration. Trustees are appointed by existing Trustees.
Cataracts Are Curable has no employees.
The Trustees have structured the charity to avoid risk. As a public benefit entity, all administrative and governance costs are kept to a minimum and donations and grants only made when sufficient donations have been received.
The Trustees consider the greatest risk is from corruption in The Gambia and consequently maintain the utmost vigilance. Grants are given to the Gambian National Eye Health Programme (NEHP), a department of the Gambian Health Service, who are responsible for organising ‘Community Screening’ and ‘Cataract Camps’. The NEHP is responsible for ensuring that satisfactory clinical care standards are maintained.
After each ‘Community Screening’ and ‘Cataract Camp’, Cataracts Are Curable receive a detailed clinical report including photographs. Furthermore, the Trustees endeavour to attend cataract camps when they are able.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
The objective of the charity is to improve the health of the poor of The Gambia by, in particular but not exclusively, the funding of low-cost ophthalmic care.
Having due regard to the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission, the Trustees have determined that carrying out the following activities enables the charity to achieve its objectives:
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(1) The funding of eye health screening of Gambian communities. (2) The funding of ‘Cataract Camps’.
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(3) The provision of ophthalmic equipment. (4) The provision of humanitarian aid to prevent suffering.
ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THE PERIOD
The Trustees are delighted to report that 2024 has been another successful year for the charity.
Income from tourism amounts to 30% of the Gambian GDP.
Heavy reliance on such a fickle market leaves Gambians at the mercy of factors completely beyond their control. As a result, many people suffered great hardship over the three years of the pandemic. But, at last, the tourist trade in The Gambia has returned to normal.
Hotel occupancy during the 2024-2025 season returned to normal.
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Community Screening and Cataract Operations
CAC continues to fund eye health surveys (aka Community Screenings) in addition to cataract camps. Funding is required for medication, transport, advertising and subsistence.
These surveys cover quite large areas, up to forty miles from end to end and many villages. (It should be noted here that a Gambian village is much bigger than the average village in England.)
It is apparent that these surveys have many beneficial effects.
The primary aims are:
- (a) To identify and treat, whenever possible, patients with a range of eye ailments. Children are the biggest beneficiaries.
Childhood blindness is avoidable in 80 to 90% of cases by simple treatment or surgery Patients are not charged.
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(b) To refer more serious cases for surgery at a cataract camp
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(c) To refer the most serious cases to the main eye hospital in Kanifing
There are, however, other important benefits.
Many of the communities screened have not seen any health professionals for years on end, let alone eye health professionals. These communities feel abandoned by the Ministry of Health and will often resort to “traditional medicine”, sometimes with disastrous results. The presence of a National Eye health Programme (NEHP) screening team goes some way to restore faith in the system. The NEHP team also provides instruction in good eye care and general hygiene.
One survey was carried out and two more commissioned in 2024.
The scope, geographical spread and numbers of people examined have increased significantly. During the survey carried out by the NEHP team at Farafenni, 1,030 people were examined.
Cataract Operations
A total of 219 cataract operations were carried out in 2024.
In addition to the surveys and camps held in rural areas, the charity continues to fund treatment for the urban poor. Some are cataract patients who have presented themselves to the eye hospital in Kanifing, received a diagnosis but have been unable to pay for the operation.
Others are identified by NEHP staff members going out and locating people who know that treatment is available but haven’t the money to pay for it.
Patients are selected on the basis of need by the cataract surgeon.
Many of these are widows, who have little or no family support.
The cataract operation rescues them from the most abject poverty.
The charity funded operations on 80 such patients in 2024.
Since the charity was formed on 30[th] April 2019 and up to 31[st] December 2024, a total of 1,454 cataract operations were funded by Cataracts Are Curable.
Equipment
The charity continues to receive donations of ophthalmic equipment which is shipped to The Gambia.
The charity accumulated equipment and clinical materials during the whole of 2023 and the first half of 2024.
These included three visual field analyzers, three slit lamps and many hand-held instruments.
CAC owe a huge debt of gratitude to Gary Evans (Eyetech Optical) who donated equipment, collected
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equipment from Gloucester NHS, donated equipment and serviced equipment that CAC had been given by other donors. Most of all he gave CAC a huge amount of his time.
Again, Tool Aid Ringwood donated a substantial selection of tools.
Three shipping cases were made by P&D Casemaking of Hamworthy at no charge.
Transport to the container at Peacehaven was provided by Tim Fraser , again at no charge.
The total value of the shipment was nearly £10,000.
The cost of shipping by sea was £2,000.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Details of the charity’s income and expenditure, including accounting policies, are given in the attached financial statements.
It is the aim of the Trustees to keep costs to a minimum in order to provide funds for as many surveys and cataract operations as possible. Money is raised and as soon as sufficient funds have been acquired for a particular project, a grant is made, or donation given to an independent organisation in The Gambia. No commitment is made without sufficient funds being available; consequently, it is the opinion of the Trustees that there is no need for a reserve fund to be maintained.
Income in 2024 was £17,410 in cash donations, a modest increase over the previous year. Many, many thanks to all donors large (60%) and small (40%).
Income in kind amounted to £7,450, boosted by the donation of two Humphries Visual Field Analysers. Equipment, tools and clinical supplies were accumulated throughout 2023 and into 2024 when a large shipment was dispatched by sea.
The contents of this shipment enabled the NEHP to set up two new Secondary Eye Units, one at Brufut and the other at Bundum taking the total number of such units to ten.
This is a major improvement in the provision of eye care in The Gambia.
Support costs and the cost of raising funds in 2024 amounted to £477; less than 2% of income.
Approved by the Board of Trustees on 24[th] April 2024 And signed on their behalf by
………………………………………. Violet Phillips, Chair
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| BALANCE SHEET | |||||||
| At 31 DECEMBER 2024 | |||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
| £ | £ | ||||||
| CURRENT ASSETS | |||||||
| Bank & Cash Balances | 9,099 | 4,696 | |||||
| Equipment | - | 3,484 | |||||
| Debtors | 312 | 693 | |||||
| 9,411 | 8,874 | ||||||
| NET ASSETS | 9,411 | 8,874 | |||||
| represented by:- | |||||||
| THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY | |||||||
| Unrestricted Funds | 9,411 | 8,874 | |||||
The company is entitled to exemption from audit under s477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the period ended 31 December 2024.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the period ended 31 December 2024 in accordance with s476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The directors acknowledge their responsibility for :
(a) ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with s386 and s387 of the Companies Act 2006 and
(b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with s394 and s395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) on accounting and reporting by charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS102 and the Companies Act 2006.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 24[th ] April 2024
and signed on their behalf by
………………………………………………………. Violet Phillips, Chair
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| STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES including INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT | |||||||||
| FOR THE PERIOD YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 | |||||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | 2023 | ||||||
| Note | Funds | Funds | Funds | Total | |||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||||
| INCOME | 1c | ||||||||
| Donations | 2a | 24,860 | - | 24,860 | 17,848 | ||||
| Gift Aid | 1,237 | 1,237 | 1,007 | ||||||
| VAT | 160 | 160 | |||||||
| 26,257 | - | 26,257 | 18,855 | ||||||
| EXPENDITURE | 1d | ||||||||
| RaisingFunds | 330 | - | 330 | 353 | |||||
| Charitable Activities | 3a | 25,389 | - | 25,389 | 19,138 | ||||
| 25,719 | - | 25,719 | 19,491 | ||||||
| NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) for theperiod | 537 | - | 537 | 635 | |||||
| FUNDS brought forward | 8,873 | - | 8,873 | 9,508 | |||||
| FUNDS Carried forward | 9,411 | - | 9,411 | 8,873 | |||||
CATARACTS ARE CURABLE – THE GAMBIAN PROJECT
NOTES ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2024
1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES
1a Basis of Preparation
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, on a going concern basis, in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) on accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS102 and the Companies Act 2006.
The Trustees confirm that the charity is a public benefit entity.
1b Currency
Currency transactions are recorded at the rate of exchange received when the transaction takes place.
Foreign currency funds are held in at the Wise Bank and with Geo. Banna Co Ltd.
1c Income
Income, including donations and gift aid, is accounted for on a receivable basis, when the charity can be reasonably certain of the charity's legal entitlement.
Donations in kind have been included at estimated market value. Volunteer time has not been included.
- 1d Expenditure
Expenditure is included on an accruals basis including irrecoverable VAT.
Costs have been directly allocated to an activity where possible. Support costs have been allocated as a proportion of total expenditure on charitable activities.
- 1e Fund Accounting
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Unrestricted Funds can be used for any of the charity's purposes.
Restricted Funds have been given to the charity for a particular purpose to be used in accordance with the wishes of the donor.
| 2 | ANALYSIS OF INCOME | ANALYSIS OF INCOME | 2024 | 2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2a | Donations & Legacies | £ | £ | |||||
| Donations from individuals | 6,910 | 7,662 | ||||||
| Donations frompartner organisations | - | - | ||||||
| Donations from fundingcharities | 10,500 | 8,914 | ||||||
| Donations of equipment and in kind | 7,450 | 2,279 | ||||||
| 24,860 | 18,855 | |||||||
| 3 | ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE | |||||||
| 3a | ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES | |||||||
| Activity | Donations | Grants | Support Costs | Total | Total | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||
| Surveys & Cataract Operations | - | 11,821 | 146 | 11,967 | 17,769 | |||
| Provision of Equipment | - | 2,488 | - | 2,488 | 1,375 | |||
| Humanitarian Aid | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| - | 14,309 | 146 | 14,455 | 19,144 | ||||
| All donations andgrants have been made to the NEHP(National Eye Health Program)in The Gambia. | ||||||||
| Grants aregiven to fund CommunityScreeningand Cataract Camps in rural areas of The Gambia. | ||||||||
| Also to fund cataract operations for the urbanpoor in Serrekunda. | ||||||||
| Humanitarian Aid has been distributed in The Gambia to relieve the sufferingcaused byCOVID 19. | ||||||||
| 3b | ANALYSIS OF SUPPORT COSTS | |||||||
| Cataract | Opthalmic | Humanitarian | Total | Total | ||||
| Operations | Equipment | Aid | ||||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||
| Administration | 78 | 19 | - | 97 | 303 | |||
| Governance | 10 | 3 | - | 13 | 13 | |||
| Finance | 29 | 7 | - | 36 | 62 | |||
| 117 | 29 | - | 146 | 378 | ||||
| Support costs have been allocated: Cataract Operations 80%,Opthalmic Equipment 20%,Humanitarian 0%. | ||||||||
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