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2024-12-31-accounts

UNIMAK (SL) CIO

Charity number: 1192536

ANNUAL REPORT

For the year to 31 December 2024

Francis Taylor Building Temple, London EC4Y 7BY

October 2025

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Trustees

Richard Honey KC, chair

Prof Bill Chambers Jonathan Kay

Mercy Mwaura (appointed on 20 September 2024)

Adviser

Chernor Mamoud Benedict Jalloh

1 Jalloh Terrace, Makeni Kabala Highway, Panlap, Makeni, Sierra Leone

Report of the trustees for the year ended 31 December 2024

The trustees present their annual report and accounts for the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Structure, governance and management

The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and a registered charity, number 1192536, established under a written constitution. The charity was registered on 25 November 2020 and began operating in early 2021. The first three trustees were identified in the constitution. Additional trustees are appointed by the existing trustees, having regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the charity.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Makeni, a charity in Sierra Leone and diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Freetown in Sierra Leone established pursuant to Sierra Leone’s Catholic Bishops’ and Archbishops’ Act of 1979, and the proprietor of the University of Makeni, must under the constitution nominate one trustee. The first nominated trustee was the Rev Dr Bob John Koroma and is now Mercy Mwaura.

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The trustees are advised by Benedict Jalloh, lawyer and Deputy Director of Academic Affairs and Planning at the University of Makeni. The charity is managed and operated by the trustees on a voluntary basis. The charity does not have any staff or paid advisers. There must be between three and eight trustees. The charity has one volunteer assisting it, Roxanne Hargreaves.

Objectives and activities for the public benefit

The object of the CIO is for the public benefit to advance education and learning of the students at the University of Makeni in Sierra Leone in such ways as the charity trustees think fit including by:

The charity has the power to do anything which is calculated to further its object or is conducive or incidental to doing so. The charity trustees manage the affairs of the charity and may for that purpose exercise all the powers of the charity.

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The University of Makeni is an educational institution established under section 43(1) of the Sierra Leone Universities Act 2005, and registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee for charitable educational purposes under section 22(1) of the Sierra Leone Companies Act 2009 for the promotion and advancement of tertiary education in Sierra Leone. The charity works closely with the University of Makeni but is independent of it.

The first meeting of the trustees was held on 24 February 2021. At this meeting, the trustees discussed how to take the charity forward, including what it intended to achieve as well as how it would operate. It was agreed that the primary role of the charity would be to receive, manage and disburse funds in accordance with its objects, and that the charity would collaborate with the University of Makeni in raising funds, rather than undertake a primary fundraising role itself in the first instance. The trustees also discussed and agreed how the charity would operate practically. It was agreed that the charity would be run, at least initially, on a pro bono basis and should not therefore need to raise funds to cover the costs of its own activities. The trustees would carry out the administration of the charity themselves unless and until the task demanded professional assistance. It was agreed that Benedict Jalloh would be the link between the charity and the University of Makeni, managing the relationship between the two, and would advise and support the trustees as necessary in their decision-making. This role would include facilitating discussions between the two and working with the University to seek potential donors to the charity. It was agreed that the first priority should be to establish the scope of the working relationship with the University of Makeni.

Following discussions, during 2021 it was agreed that the charity and the University should collaborate in the production of a fundraising strategy, bearing in mind the University’s strategic plan. During 2022, the focus of the charity’s work was the scoping of the proposed fundraising strategy. On 11 to 13 October 2022, the chair of trustees, Richard Honey, made a three day fact-finding visit to the University of Makeni (at his own expense). This visit included meetings with senior officials of the University, visits to and meetings with various academic and administrative Departments of the University, and working sessions on the fundraising strategy with Shaza Dous, Sister Janet Odey and Benedict Jalloh. Following this visit, the trustees decided that it would be necessary to obtain some expert assistance to work with both the charity and the University to develop and draft the fundraising strategy. They arranged for this assistance to be provided voluntarily by Roxanne Hargreaves, an experienced,

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UK-based, charity manager who has worked in Makeni previously and who currently manages a charity based in Lunsar, Sierra Leone.

During the year to 31 December 2024, the main activities undertaken by the charity for the public benefit in relation to its objects were as follows.

At the start of 2024, the draft fundraising strategy had been advanced, following work done by Roxanne Hargreaves, including meetings in Makeni with University of Makeni staff during the last quarter of 2023. There was, however, limited engagement from the University of Makeni in the first half of 2024, so the chair of trustees visited the University of Makeni in late May 2024, with Roxanne Hargreaves, to renew interest in the collaboration and discuss and agree practical steps to finalise the fundraising strategy. The meeting on 28 May 2024 at the University of Makeni was attended by Richard Honey and Roxanne Hargreaves, with Prof Joe Turay (Vice Chancellor), Sister Janet Odey, Mercy Mwaura (Director of the Projects and Partnerships Office), and Benedict Jalloh.

At that meeting, the University officials confirmed that they wished to proceed with the work and said that they were working on an iteration of the University strategic plan. It was agreed that, once that work was further advanced, a one day workshop should be held at the University with key staff, including those who would be responsible for the implementation of the strategy once adopted. At that workshop, Roxanne Hargreaves would make a presentation on the draft fundraising strategy and lead a discussion, aimed at achieving specific actions and timescales from the University to complete the strategy.

The workshop was held on 23 October 2024. It was facilitated by Roxanne Hargreaves and attended by six members of the University staff. It helped to understand the challenges for fundraising for the University. The workshop considered what money currently comes in and how it might be possible to grow it. It also gave rise to a range of ideas for possible fundraising and what the University should do, including in relation to harnessing student fundraising activities and engaging alumni via the alumni association and using them to harness the diaspora. The workshop gave the University a number of points for it to work through and take forward.

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Roxanne Hargreaves produced a report for the trustees following the workshop. Richard Honey held a meeting in London with Roxanne on 12 December 2024 to discuss the workshop and the next steps.

These activities furthered the charity’s objects for the public benefit, by making progress with the development of the fundraising strategy, which is essential to the charity in achieving its objects and which should enable the raising of funds by the University to allow the charity to provide funding and grants in line with the charity’s objects.

The trustees have taken the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance into account and had regard to it when exercising any powers/duties and making decisions to which the guidance is relevant.

Achievements and performance

The main achievements during the year 2024 were to make progress with the development of the fundraising strategy and to hold the workshop for the University in October 2024. This led to some concrete proposals for the University to begin to build its capacity in fundraising, as well as actions for the University to contribute to the on-going development of the fundraising strategy.

It is proposed that the charity continues to collaborate with the University of Makeni to progress the fundraising strategy and assist the University to develop its fundraising plans and abilities. It is proposed that, in due course and once real progress has been made, additional trustees would be appointed to assist the charity with moving from the planning to an operational phase, to bring additional skills and experience to the charity.

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Financial review

During this reporting period, the charity did not have any assets or liabilities, and did not receive or pay out any money. Receipts and payments accounts have been prepared showing this, with nil entries in all respects. The charity has given no guarantees and has no debt outstanding. The charity did not receive any significant non-monetary resources. No remuneration or expenses were paid to any trustee. The charity does not have a policy on reserves, as it has no reserves currently.

The trustees declare that they have approved this trustees’ report.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Richard Honey KC Chair of trustees 20 October 2025

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UNIMAK (SL) CIO 1192536
Receipts andpayments accounts CC16a
For the period
from		 1.1.24 To 31.12.24
Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest
£
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-		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
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-		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
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to the nearest £
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-		 Last year
to the nearest £
None - -
- -
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- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)
-		 -
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
None -
- -
Sub total - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
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None		 - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
**Sub total ** - -
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)

None		 -
-
**Sub total ** - -
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end
-
- - -
-		 -
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- - - - -
- - - - -

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

20/10/2025

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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
B1 Cash funds
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets		 Signature
None
Details
Details
None
None
Details
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
None
Details
None		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
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OK
OK
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
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Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
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Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
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Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)
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Print Name
Richard Honey		 Endowment
funds
to nearest £
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OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
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Current value
(optional)
-
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Current value
(optional)
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When due
(optional)
Date of
approval
Richard Honey 20-Oct-25

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

20/10/2025

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