United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## United African Association Trustees Report and Accounts for the year ended 4 July 2024 Registered Charity Number 1192725 Page **1** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Table of Contents** **Page** Charity Information ………......................................................................3 Introduction...............................................................................................3 Statement of Trustee Responsibilities ………………………………………3 Organisation ...........................................................................................3 Objectives and Activities ………….............................. ................... …...3 Activities, Achievement and Performance ..............................................4 Financial Review ....................................................................................17 Plans for Future Periods ........................................................................17 Acknowledgement of funder and supporters ............................................18 Statement of Financial Activities ...............................................................19 Independent Examiner’s Report on Accounts.........................................20-21 Page **2** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Charity Information** Address: United African Association, Unit F5B, Barratt House, Kingsthorpe Road, Northampton, NN2 6EZ 4EU Bankers: Barclays Bank, Milton Keynes 2, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE87 2BB Independent Examiners: Gachau Maina & Co Auditors ## **Introduction** The Trustees present their report and financial statement for the year ending 3 July 2024. This report is presented in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice, “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (SORP), issued in March 2005. The Charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) governed according to the Constitution dated 28 November 2020. . ## **Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities** The Charities Act 2011 requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. The trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. ## **Organisation** The Trustees are: - Miss Anne WANKIIRI (chair) - Mr David KINUTHIA (finance) - Mr Pedro DUARTE - Mr Richard DOBSON - Mr Muchineripi Rwizi The Members of the CIO are individuals, corporate bodies, or representatives of Organisations that are not incorporated, who undertake to act in good faith to further the purposes of the CIO. The affairs of the CIO are managed by the Charity Trustees, of which there must be at least three. Decisions are made by simple majority of votes at a meeting of Trustees or by resolution made in writing or in electronic form and agreed by all Trustees. Induction of Trustees is overseen by the Chair. ## **Objectives and activities** - Poverty Prevention - Education and Skills Development - ● Community Empowerment Page **3** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 “The prevention or relief of poverty in Northampton by providing African food parcels, non-food essentials such as personal and household essentials, clothing and other items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty. In exercising their duty, the Charity Trustees have reviewed that all of their activities have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission. ## **Activities, Achievements and Performance - for the year ending 4th July 2024** The United African Association has been actively involved in various projects and initiatives aimed at promoting cultural exchange, community development, and education. Some of the key activities, achievements, and performance of the organization are as follows: - Foodbank project - Men’s mental health sessions - Online immigration sessions immigration advice from registered lawyers - Youth music workshops - ● Football sessions - IT sessions for beginners and improvers - ● Ladies swimming sessions ● Warm spaces project - Community outreach/welfare support - ● Youth music workshops - Household Support Fund Voucher Distribution - Befriending services - African drumming and dance - Wellbeing events, incorporating activities, family fun events, health-checks, information etc - Community allotment - Grow Cook Eat project - Charity van fundraising - Day trip out for disadvantaged families ## **Foodbank** The African foodbank project regularly supplies food parcels to over 120 households in Northamptonshire and provided food parcels to over 8000 people during the year. We also receive referrals for the provision of emergency food parcels from Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, adult social services, NHS staff, schools, councils,councillors and other charitable organisations. The majority of the people we support have no recourse to public funds and include asylum seekers and refugees, international students, those with leave to remain and people with pending immigration statuses. Additionally, due to the cost of living crisis we experienced an increase in demand from the working poor, unemployed, retired, long and short term sick. We saw another increase in the number of volunteers to the foodbank with over 300 people giving up their time to help at the weekly foodbank over the course of the year. The main grant providers for the foodbank project for the purchase of food items and non food essentials were Northamptonshire Community Foundation, West Northamptonshire Council (through the Food Aid Alliance for West Northamptonshire [FAAWN]). Other sources include Tesco Community Fund/Groundworks, Coop, Northampton Town Council, Commsave and food donations from FoodKind CIC. . Page **4** of **21** United African Association Registered Charrty No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accwnts foT the year ended.. 3 July 2024 Page 5 of 21 United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Online wellbeing sessions** As an extension of the men’s mental health sessions, we launched online wellbeing sessions to include women.Topics covered included Eating Disorders, An Overview of Social Services, Relationships and mental health on loved ones. Where we can, we invite a health or other professional and always have a qualified counsellor attending the sessions. Over 1000 people have attended the online sessions. ## **Football Sessions** Saturday afternoon continued to be popular, attracting up to 40 players in the summer months. The sessions continued throughout the year, with almost no cancellations even in the winter months. Northampton Town Football Club also donated some free tickets for a group of players and volunteers to attend a live match in Sixfields in April. Page **6** of **21** United African Association Registered Charrty No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accwnts foT the year ended.. 3 July 2024 I,iri s repairs ctric & hybrid*ry ' Page 7 of 21 United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **IT Sessions for beginners and improvers** IT sessions continued to increase in popularity with over 80 learners attending the IT sessions. Additionally, people made the best of the IT suite for job searching, reading news, catching up with emails etc. Lessons on internet safety, scamming and phishing were also taught. ## **Ladies Swimming** • Over the past year, we have seen a significant increase in the number of beginners joining our ladies swimming sessions, with over 200 ladies taking part in the sessions. This is a positive trend and indicates that more women are interested in learning how to swim and taking advantage of the benefits that swimming offers. Page **8** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Warm Spaces** We had warm space sessions from October 2023 to the end of March 2024. The week day sessions were held at our offices and involved the provision of hot drinks and meals as well as a friendly atmosphere in which many friendships were formed. There was also free use of our IT facilities. The weekday sessions were sponsored by West Northamptonshire Council. ## **Learning Disabilities & Mental Project** Partnership with NHS - The Learning Disabilities Project is a collaboration between the United Africa Association and the National Health Service (NHS). - The project aims to address the health inequalities faced by individuals with learning disabilities. Page **9** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Other mental health projects involving NHS, NHFT and other organisations included** - Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism (MHLDA) - Collaborative – Equalities Enabler Group - Perinatal/Maternal mental health services - Advancing mental health for refugees, asylum seekers and resettled people - Moving Ahead project ## **Welfare Support/Community Outreach** Welfare Support/Community Outreach The United Africa Association is committed to providing welfare support and engaging in community outreach activities to improve the lives of individuals and communities in need. ## **Requests for Support** - In the past year, we have received over 15000 requests for support from individuals and families facing various challenges. These issues include food and fuel poverty, access to healthcare, mental health issues, physical health issues, immigration, housing and homelessness, educational support, loneliness and isolation, unemployment and more. ## **Partnerships** - We continued developing our community outreach programme with Citizens Advice Bureau who offered welfare support to over 100 people. ## **Household Support Fund Vouchers** ## **Role as a Distribution Partner** - United Africa Association was selected as a distribution partner for the Household Support Fund Vouchers. We were responsible for ensuring that eligible households receive the vouchers and can access the assistance they need. ## **Assistance Provided** - The Household Support Fund Vouchers provide financial assistance to low-income households to help cover essential expenses such as food and non-food essentials. Our charity issued over 9000 vouchers to households in need. ## _**Case study**_ _MM lives with her 2 sons and undocumented husband in Northampton, both children are British born with UK passports. Their mother has no recourse to public funds. She has to renew her visa every couple of years, it’s expensive every time, costing over £3,500 each time and with her minimum wage job it’s been a struggle, she has been the main breadwinner as the husband only gets casual jobs and despite applying for a leave to remain visa several times each time he has been unsuccessful, the financial cost for fees has exceeded £20,000. Like most people with NRPF they rent privately, up until the beginning of this year she was managing. Prior to Covid the visa renewal process was taking a few weeks so the renewal did not disrupt her life.However since Covid she waited over 9 months to gether visa renewed, her employer fearful of employing someone without the right documents let her go and she struggled to find work despite the fact that she is allowed to work during the visa renewal visa period. Over time we saw this previously churchgoing pleasant lady turn into an alcoholic from all the stress. Her husband too is a big drinker and their alcoholism has affected their teenage son who got into trouble with the law a few months ago for carrying a knife. The younger son has autism. She got several months behind in rent and_ Page **10** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 _was under threat of eviction, only saved by her husband’s casual wage and some loans from friends. She tried getting assistance from the job centre and council however they were unable to help her and merely referred her to foodbanks. We wrote to the MP on her behalf to hurry the process along as she was struggling to get the very basics including bus fare to take her son to school, toiletries and food, we have been supporting the family with food parcels all this time as well as some clothing vouchers from a local councillor. MM burst into tears as it meant she could get clothing for her boys who’d outgrown their clothing. Finally in early 2024 she managed to obtain her viaa. The family were still struggling to manage their household and living expenses and were behind in all bills and utilities, putting additional stress, they asked us for help as they were on the verge of being evicted. We made a referral to British Red Cross who helped her convert her status from NRPF to being eligible for public funds. The family were accepted and were in receipt of housing benefits. She was so relieved. Her husband also began the process of legalising his stay in UK and we are hopeful that within the next year he will be granted leave to remain as he has lived in UK for over 20 years._ ## **Befriending Services** We befriend vulnerable and disadvantaged people over the phone. We aim to break social isolation, keep an eye on people's wellbeing and mental health. We want to make them feel like they are not forgotten. We befriend people face to face as well. Usually inviting people to have lunch with us on Saturdays, after the foodbank and also welcome them to our office. We also invite and find transportation for people who want to come to our wellbeing events. We also get referrals from social services, hospital staff and other organisations. Through our connections with Northampton Town of Sanctuary we were introduced to some Asylum seekers residing in a Northampton hotel. They felt isolated and cut off from the local community. We got them to volunteer with our organisations, they became involved in our activities including African drumming, swimming, IT sessions, allotment, foodbank volunteering, wellbeing and cultural events and volunteering in the office. They were very grateful for the opportunity to meet wider members of the community and to create friendships. ## **African Drumming** African drumming remained our most popular African cultural activity. As well as regular sessions we were invited to perform at various community events including Diwali Festival, Northampton Carnival, International Women’s Day, Northampton Music Festival, and even live on BBC Radio Northampton as part of World Drumming Day, our own _**Africa Day Celebrations**_ and many more events. We were also a part of a collaborative project for a charity single that benefited our charity and 6 other local charities. Music for All awarded a grant to enable us to buy more drums. Page **11** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Wellbeing, Cultural & Family Fun Events** Every 2 to 3 months we held wellbeing/family fun events aimed at bringing members of the community together. Many of the attendees were our service users. As well as African culture, food and entertainment we invited organisations such as the NHS and councils to attend and meet members of the African and wider community. Some events incorporated health checks e.g blood pressure checks. There were also pampering opportunities and crafts for children. The idea of the events is to bring people together, promote positive relationships and give people a sense of community and belonging. We held our first ever Eid event in April and our Africa Day Celebrations event. Our Africa day event in May was well attended and enjoyed by all. Page **12** of **21** United African Association Registered Charrty No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accwnts foT the year ended.. 3 July 2024 lx Page 13of21 United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Community Allotment** A team of dedicated volunteers enabled us to acquire and maintain a community allotment which saw over 40 people work on the allotment, growing a selection of vegetables. This project was enabled by Northampton Hope Centre’s Grow Cook Eat campaign. Vegetables grown included spinach, kale, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, beetroot. Page **14** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Charity Van** We acquired a new van in August 2023 via help from Jimmy James of Minerva Fundraising. We received grant funding from Sudborough Foundation, Northampton Municipal Church, Maud Elkington, Skipton Building Society with the biggest grant coming from Clothworkers Foundation. The crew van enabled us to carry both passengers and equipment. Page **15** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Cambridge Day Trip** With a generous grant from Northampton Town Council, 2 coaches were hired to take several members to Cambridge for the day. It was the chance for several children to experience an outing over the half term break in October 2023 and the rainy weather did not dampen the spirits of the people who visited the historical and beautiful city. The highlights of the trips were the walks along the narrow lanes, marvelling the gorgeous architecture. The trip coincided with graduation celebrations of some Cambridge students, inspiring 4 teenage girls to plan to work hard in order to be able to study at Cambridge University. With the rain getting heavier we decided to visit a museum and visited The Museum of Zoology which was a very educational and thoroughly enjoyable experience for everyone. It was enjoyed by everyone, aged 12 months to 71 years! _**“Coming together, laughing, eating, sight-seeing road trip with you all was a good time for me and my family. My kids can’t get over the fun they had. I look forward to a time out with you all again. Rosemary.”**_ Page **16** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **Financial review** We raised £206,379.56 during the year. This was from grants and donations. The majority of our income was spent on food items for the foodbank project. ## **Plans for FY 2024/25** - Increase in food parcel distribution as a result of cost of living crisis and growing demand - Further work with NHS, NHFT and other partners to address health inequalities - Collaboration with the University of Northampton to work on a cultural podcast project - Further fundraising efforts for the foodbank and for additional staff salaries due to increased demand - ● Recruit more office based volunteers - Work with local councils, social services and Northamptonshire Children’s Trust to ease the pathway for those with NRPF facing extreme challenges. - Expand our work on the online wellbeing sessions, working with local and national partners to address health and wellbeing issues that affect members of our community - Develop alternative fundraising streams - Expand our cultural activities projects - Grow, Cook, Eat project - providing opportunities for local ‘champions’ to access support for growing, cooking and eating healthy foods Anne Wankiiri Chair of Trustees March 2025 ## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** An independent auditor examined the charity’s accounts. Page **17** of **21** United African Association Registered Charity No. 1192725 Trustees Report & Accounts for the year ended: 3 July 2024 ## **United African Association would like to thank the following supporters and funders. These supporters are listed alphabetically** - Accommodation Concern - Ashdown Philips (Weston Favell Centre management) - BBC Radio Northampton - British Red Cross - CLICK Arts Foundation - Clothworkers Foundation - CommSave - Coop - Eti Ket - FDR Services - Food Aid Alliance for West Northamptonshire (FAAWN) - Foodkind CIC/Shop Zero - Graeme Garnder - Groundwork UK - Happy to Help CIC/Northampton Partnership Homes - Inspiration FM Radio Northampton - Kettering Soroptimists - LocalGiving - Maud Elkington Charitable Trust - Morrisons - Music for All - **National Lottery Community Fund** - National Grid - NHS England - Northamptonshire NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) - Northampton Carnival - Northampton Hope Centre - Northampton Partnership Homes - Northampton Town Council - Northamptonshire Black Communities Together (NBCT) - Northamptonshire Carers **● Northamptonshire Community Foundation - in receipt of funding from Margaret Giffen Fund, Constance Travis Endowment Fund, Friends of Foundation, St Giles Charitable Trust, HSF4 Capacity Support, Anchor Community Connection Fund, Henry Martin Bursary** - Northamptonshire Police and Fire Commissioner - Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council (NREC) - Northamptonshire Sports - Restore Northampton - Royal & Derngate theatres - Support Northamptonshire - Tesco - University of East Anglia - University of Northampton - Vodafone(Charities Connected) - Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire - Wellingborough School - **West Northamptonshire Council** Page **18** of **21** ## **UNITED AFRICAN ASSOCIATION (UAA)** |**UAA Statement of Financial Activities for year**|**UAA Statement of Financial Activities for year**|**ended 3rd July 2024**|**ended 3rd July 2024**| |---|---|---|---| |**Incoming Resources**|**Unrestricted**
**(£)**|**Restricted**
**(£)**|**Total**
**(£)**| |Main Grants|£0.00|£205,484.71|£205,484.71| |Donations|£894.85|£0.00|£894.85| |**Total Income**|**£894.85**|**£205,484.71 **|**£206,379.56 **| ||||| |**Resources Expended**|||**Total**
**(£)**| |Electricity|||£1,176.99| |Fuel|||£1,060.79| |Insurance|||£3,905.00| |Motor Vehicle Expense|||£21,392.00| |Motor Vehicle Repair and Maintenance|||£115.85| |Motor Van Depreciation|||£3,141.00| |Programme Supply- Food|||£46,115.15| |Programme Supply- Non-Food|||£269.86| |Projects Activities and Events|||£25,945.38| |Remuneration|||£10,085.75| |Rent|||£7,449.58| |Staff Wages and Remuneration|||£43,205.56| |Subscriptions and Licenses|||£6,294.05| |Telephone and Internet|||£989.72| |Volunteer Expenses|||£15,767.70| |**Total Expenditure**|||**£186,914.38 **| |**Surplus for theyear**|||**£19,465.18**| Anne Wankiiri (Chairperson): Date: 29 November 2024 David Kinuthia (Treasurer): Gachau Maina & CO. Auditors: Date:03 December 2024 (Certified Public Accountants) Date: 29 November 2024 United African Association, Unit F5B Barratt House, Kingsthorpe Road, Northampton, NN2 6EZ Charity No.1192725 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner s Report Report to the trustsesl m•mb•rn of L)e &1 Lds 4 k(cL- On accounts for th• year •nd•d Charity no Ilf any) L-c a02 S•t out on pag•s I report to the tru8tee8 on my examination of the accounts of the aly)ve charity (Ihe Trusf) for the year ended R•spon8lbllltl•s and AS the tharty trustees d the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basls of r•port of the accounts in accordance with the rwuirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Ihe Acf). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust'8 ac(x)unts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrwng out my examinatTron, I have follo￿1 the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commi$8ion under section 145{5)(b) of the Ac*. I have comwed my exeminatlon. I confim that no material matter8 hav come to my attention (other than that discjosed below ') in connection whh the examinats'on which give8 me cause to believe that in, any.material respo￿.. acCoun￿'n9 record8 were not kept in accordarKe *ryth 3edlon 130 of theAQor the actounts do not Kcord *ith the a¢counts'ng records Independent examlner's 8tatoment I have no con(xms and have coma acro&q no other matters in connedion with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable proper understarKling of tho accounts to be reaoled. . Please delete the in the brad(ets rflhey do not apply. Slgn Nam•: Relevant prof•s•lon•l qualfflcatlonls) or l)ody {If any): Addr••s: IER October 2018 Section B Disclosure Only o)mplete rf the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern {see CC32, Independent examination of ¢haiity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Glve here brfef detslls of any ttem6 thatthe examlner wlshes to dlsclos•. issi -+ i*os f SS LAf*fkLQ C¢N. Vt.IVo Aacn* T EL.. eLOI5 D.47E IER October 2018