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Action for Sustainable Communities Foundation
Registered Charity: 1193197
Trustees ’ Annual Report and Financial Statements for the period
from 1[st] January 2023 to 31[st] December 2023
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Trustees’ Annual Report – 1[st] January 2023 to 31[st] December 2023
1. Objectives and Activities
1.1 Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document
Action for Sustainable Communities Foundation (ASC) was established in 2021 to improve the health, education and wellbeing of deprived communities.
The objects of the Action for Sustainable Communities Foundation (ASC) are to promote sustainable development for the benefit of the public, in particular (but not exclusively) for communities in Europe, Africa and Asia by:
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(a) the preservation, conservation and the protection of the environment and the prudent use of resources;
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(b) the relief of poverty and the improvement of the conditions of life in socially and economically disadvantaged communities; and
(c) the promotion of sustainable means of achieving economic growth and regeneration.
The charity will use such means as determined by its trustees including the following:
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providing or assisting in the provision of goods, services, resources, grants, technologies and equipment to enable better use of resources;
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developing infrastructure and educating communities;
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funding projects that enable people to develop their communities improve their own wellbeing and economic independence in the present and in the future; and
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promoting public interest in and recognition of such needs in the local areas.
Nothing shall authorise an application of the property of the charity for the purposes which are not charitable.
1.2 Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.
1.2.1 Thitimira Community Secondary School, Malawi
The first project ASC is funding is the Thitimira Community Secondary School for 200 children in the Mzimba region of Malawi which is one of the poorest rural areas in the country and had no secondary schools. It is planned that by 2025, 200 children with an equal number of boys and girls will attend the school.
History
Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world and has the fourth highest percentage of people living in extreme poverty in the world with 70 percent living on little more than a dollar a day. According to the Borgen Report (https://borgenproject.org), Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world and has been ranked as one of the lowest performing nations for literacy in sub-Saharan Africa. Education is seen as one of the critical pathways to improving living conditions in the country. Across Malawi only 8 percent of children finish secondary school. The major reason is the distance to secondary school and lack of transportation or infrastructure. Secondary education only receives 10 percent of the education budget.
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In 2020 several local villages began to build a classroom, but funds ran out and the building work was left at a standstill. ASC undertook a variety of fundraising events and building work was resumed Between 2021 and 2023 ASC has funded and the Thitimira Community Secondary School Committee has overseen the completion of the following:
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two school blocks each of two classrooms and a storeroom;
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eight teacher ’ s houses with solar powered electricity and water;
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two temporary pit latrine toilets one for girls and one for boys;
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installation of solar powered electricity;
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a bore hole and hand pump; and
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tree planting to restore forests.
The first school buildings were opened on 4[th] January 2022 with celebrations, singing and dancing (see ASC website). ASC funded the cost of textbooks, stationary and other basic school equipment to enable the school to open for the first intake of 50 children, 25 girls and 25 boys. In September 2022, the next intake of 50 children entered the school and occupied the second classroom. In October 2023, the second school block was completed and the next intake of 50 pupils was accommodated. In September 2024, a further 50 children will start school in the remaining classroom so that the school has 4 complete classes in their secondary school. The plan for Phase 3 in 2024 is to fund more teachers ’ houses, solar panels and better designed pit latrines with showers for boys and girls.
Responsibility
In 2022, the Malawi Ministry of Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ASC which states that the Ministry of Education is responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and governance of the school buildings. They are also responsible for providing the teachers and overseeing the syllabus, exams and governance of the school. In 2023, it was decided to elect a Board of Governors with appropriate representation from the Ministry of Education, local chiefs, staff of the school, parents ’ association and women’s group. They will be elected in early 2024.
Community Engagement
ASC initiated a community engagement process in 2021 and continued this in 2022 and 2023 to involve and incorporate the ideas of the community in the planning of phase 2 and phase 3 of the building of the school. This includes a rewilding project to protect and restore the forest around the local villages. Each village is keen to have its own tree nursery.
Masterplan
ASC worked with the global engineering company ARUP to develop a detailed masterplan for the whole school site. They gave their expertise pro bono . The layout of the first school block had been determined by the existing work that the local people had started prior to ASC involvement.
The second completed school block used a Ministry of Education ’s approved two classroom design with an overhanging roof area to allow the pupils to hang up their coats and remove their shoes. It was built with compressed earth blocks to minimise the carbon footprint of the new buildings.
Teachers ’ houses have been built to an approved design. The latest houses used compressed earth blocks. They have passed stringent tests.
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In Phase 3, the community wish to see two permanent latrine blocks (built to the Ministry of Education standards and which include showers for both girls and boys), solar power, additional teachers ’ houses, and a third school block for science, information technology and a library.
Sustainability
In addition to the Malawi’s secondary school curriculum, these children are learning how to care for the environment through knowledge about the impact of climate change on their country. They and their parents are undertaking practical ways they can mitigate the problem by planting trees.
They are learning about the importance of solar and wind energy as natural sources of power for cooking, lighting, computers etc.
ASC encourages entrepreneurial skills so the community in Malawi can help themselves and their families break out of poverty. As a result, a women’s sewing group was established in 2022 and has flourished in 2023. ASC and private donations funded sewing machines, sewing lessons and materials in 2023. Further funds will be awarded in 2024 to expand these activities.
Tree nurseries and tree planting have been established in Phase 2 in 2023. A sustainable permaculture garden using human and animal waste is planned in Phase 3 in 2024-25.
The installation of a borehole providing access to clean water has been life-changing for the local communities as well as for the students. Prior to this, villagers had to walk 2 km to fetch water. In 2024 there are plans to reorganise the land around the borehole to ensure the area is kept clean.
1.2.2 Tea Leaf Trust, Sri Lanka
AS C’s second project was to support students attending a post-school course to acquire skills and knowledge in IT, English and social/life skills, at the Tea Leaf Trust in Sri Lanka.
ASC organised training modules on nutrition, personal hygiene, relationships and ecology. In 2022, funds were given to help fund the poorest students during the economic crisis. The training modules were taught in the 2023 school year. No funding was given in 2023. Funding for relationship and sexual health training and for two small agricultural/garden projects is planned in 2024. It is hoped that the owners of the local tea plantations will allow vegetables to be grown on their land. ASC will fund tools and seeds providing the model they adopt is sustainable and of benefit to local families.
1.3 Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit
ASC has had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
1.4 Contribution made by volunteers
ASC has been fortunate to have been supported by friends and family but has not recruited any volunteers and has no plans to recruit volunteers.
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2. Achievements and Performance
2.1 Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole
Thitimira Community Secondary School, Malawi
In 2022, ASC successfully funded a secondary school which has enabled 150 students to receive a secondary education which provides them with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to look for better paid jobs and break out of the existing cycle of poverty that is the current situation of most of the students. An additional 50 students will attend next year to make up a total of 200 children in 4 different year groups. The school will help children to break out of poverty, giving them the skills they need to improve their prospects, the prospects of their family and their whole community.
Tea Leaf Trust Sri Lanka
In 2022, 50 students in Sri Lanka were funded by ASC so that they could complete their education despite the economic crisis in the country. Without this they would have been expected to find work to help their families. The children sent us videos to thank ASC and explain the difference it had made to their lives.
2.2 Achievements against objectives set
ASC has achieved all its set objectives in the period January-December 2023
2.3 Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set
The fundraising activities have been undertaken thanks to friends and family. ASC seeks advice from fundraisers to enable us to appeal to donors with a likely interest in our work as well as running larger events that will reach the wider public.
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3. Financial Review
3.1 Financial review
Action for Sustainable Communities Foundation is a registered charity whose objects are to promote sustainable developments for the benefit of the public, but not exclusively, for communities in Europe, Africa and Asia. We have continued to direct some 98% of our expenditure to charitable causes; the main beneficiary being the Thitimira Community Secondary School in Malawi.
3.2 Income
The charity receives support from both organisations and individuals in the UK. The trustees have donated funds and provided services free of charge. Therefore, the donations received are expended almost exclusively on the charitable work we undertake. 2022-23 has been a successful year as we have received significant support from companies and other charitable foundations. Trustees do not take salaries or receive expenses for the work they do. Income has been received from companies (£55.2k) and private sources (£2.473k).
3.3 Expenditure
The charity has been able to direct 98% of its expenditure directly to charitable causes. In particular, this is to the Thitimira Community Secondary School in the Mzimba region of Malawi to provide two classrooms, teachers ’ houses, basic solar power, a water supply and basic latrines to support the development of a secondary school to be used by the local villages in the area to complete Phase 1 of our project.
Our support for this project commenced in May 2021 and it is pleasing to have achieved so much in such a short timescale. It is also amazing to see the first cohort of boys and girls completing their education and having an 84% pass rate in national exams. We contribute to the local community by providing support to a women’s group formed by the parents of the children.
We have obtained pro bono advice from international architects and engineers and have continued to fund the use of local professionals in the construction of the school thus helping the community in its economic sustainability by providing funding for professional skills and in developing skills in construction.
3.4 Reserves and financial health
The trustees do not hold any reserves as our fixed costs are minimal. ASC holds working capital to provide a source of funding to support the Malawi school project. At the year-end our available cash reserve was £18.5k. The trustees regularly review the finances, budgets and spend against budgets of the foundation.
3.4 Forward financial strategy
The aim of the charity is to build on the foundations already put in place and to expand both our charitable income and our work to support the Malawi school project to complete phase 2 of the project, plan for phase 3 and expand the capacity of the school to 200 and in so doing to provide access to more children in the local rural villages.
To facilitate our objectives, we have a committed team within the UK concentrating on raising the funds required. In addition, we have developed very good links with the local community and the Ministry of Education in Malawi, and established a strong team in Malawi concentrating on implementing the construction plans.
In Phase 3, the community aspire to add additional buildings: a science block, library, IT facility and dormitories for those girls who have a very long walk to school.
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ASC has funded development of our website www.ascfoundation.org.uk and increased social media activities such as Linkedin and Instagram to increase awareness of our work and to encourage donations from individuals and organisations.
The ASC Board continue to work to develop new partnerships to enable us to meet our objectives by raising our profile, engaging with other organisations and the charity community to broaden our funding streams.
4. Structure, Governance and Management
ASC’s governing document is the Constitution dated 17 January 2021.
ASC is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) founded on 22[nd] January 2021.
Trustees are appointed by the charity trustees. Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed (for a term of three years) by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.
ASC Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales. The charity (registered charity number 1193197) was entered on the Register of Charities on 22 January 2021. The charity is overseen by its Board of Trustees to raise funds and work in partnership with other professionals to deliver educational development projects in Malawi, Sri Lanka and other developing nations. The areas of primary focus for our work currently is the provision of the Thitimira Community Secondary School in a remote area of Malawi.
The trustees meet on a quarterly basis to review expenditure on its projects, set priorities, and review progress against strategic goals and key performance indicators. They also provide mentoring and guidance to the local team who lead on the development and expansion of the school construction.
Risk management
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place. A risk register is in place and is regularly reviewed. Mitigating actions are taken for any risks identified. Measures are in place to ensure this happens on a regular basis.
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5. Reference and Administrative details
| Charityname | Action for Sustainable Communities Foundation |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses |
ASC |
| Registered charitynumber | 1193197 |
| Charity’s principaladdress | St Clairs Petrockstowe Okehampton Devon EX20 3QJ |
Names of the charity trustees who managed the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Catherine Brogan | Chair | Founding trustee | ||
| Mr Ron Jones | Treasurer | Trustee | ||
| Dr Newton Matupi | Founding trustee | |||
| Ms Felicity Corbyn | Founding trustee | |||
| Mr Iain Corbyn | Founding trustee |
ASC does not hold title to any property. There are no custodian trustees holding funds on behalf of others.
6. Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees.
Signature:
Full name: Dr Catherine Brogan
Position: Chair
Signature:
Full name: Ron Jones
Position: Trustee
Date: 5th August 2024
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| SectionA | and | and | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestcted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total | funds | Lastyear | ||||||
| to thenearcst f |
lothenearcst¤ | tothe noarcsl ¤ | to the naarcst¤ | to | lhenearest ¤ | ||||||
| 20,200 | 55,200 | ||||||||||
| 1,570 | 1,570 | ||||||||||
| 31 | |||||||||||
| 872 | 472 | ||||||||||
| 22,673 | 57,673 | ||||||||||
| rotarrecerpts@ | lrul-] | I | sz,ozgll-1 | ||||||||
| A3 Payments | |||||||||||
| Malawi Project | 36,425 | 22,'176 | 58,60'l | ||||||||
| Bankcharges | 263 | 263 | |||||||||
| Paypalcharges | 17 | 17 | |||||||||
| Websitedevelopment | 337 | 337 | |||||||||
| Adminsuppo( | 448 | 444 | |||||||||
| Subtota, | 37,490 | 22,176 | 59,666 | ||||||||
| Netorrecetprs4p"y-"rrqifr1 AsTransfe.sbetweenfunds I-] |
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Signature | Name | |||
| CCXXR2accounts(SS) | ///nh* | 19tO6/2024 |
| SectionA | and | and | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestcted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total | funds | Lastyear | ||||||
| to thenearcst f |
lothenearcst¤ | tothe noarcsl ¤ | to the naarcst¤ | to | lhenearest ¤ | ||||||
| 20,200 | 55,200 | ||||||||||
| 1,570 | 1,570 | ||||||||||
| 31 | |||||||||||
| 872 | 472 | ||||||||||
| 22,673 | 57,673 | ||||||||||
| rotarrecerpts@ | lrul-] | I | sz,ozgll-1 | ||||||||
| A3 Payments | |||||||||||
| Malawi Project | 36,425 | 22,'176 | 58,60'l | ||||||||
| Bankcharges | 263 | 263 | |||||||||
| Paypalcharges | 17 | 17 | |||||||||
| Websitedevelopment | 337 | 337 | |||||||||
| Adminsuppo( | 448 | 444 | |||||||||
| Subtota, | 37,490 | 22,176 | 59,666 | ||||||||
| Netorrecetprs4p"y-"rrqifr1 AsTransfe.sbetweenfunds I-] |
i-;] | ;.ffii I-] |
I-:l | ||||||||
| 46Cashfunds laslvearcn.l 13 Cashfundsthisyearend-:!yJ |
4e7l |
I I |
20.577I]_l ts,s8all-,--.-l |
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| n//a* |
| BStatement | of asset | s andliabilitiesatt | he end oft | eperiod | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | funds | |
| tonearcst ¤ | tonearest¤ | toneareste | |||
| BlCashfunds | at bank | ||||
| Paypal | |||||
| Totalcashfunds | |||||
| (agaee | balanceswilhreceipts andpaymsnb | ||||
| accour*(s)) | |||||
| tlnrestricted | R¤tricted | Endowment | |||
| funds | funds | funds | |||
| tonearestE | tonearest e | tonearcst ¤ | |||
| 82Other monetary assets | |||||
| Cost (optional) | |||||
| 83lnvestment assets | |||||
| Fund towhich | Cost (optional) | Current value | |||
| 84 Assets retained for the | |||||
| charity'sown use | |||||
| Amountdu¤ | |||||
| Details | lootionall | ||||
| 85 Liabilities | |||||
| LI | |||||
| Signedby oneortwotrusteeson behalfof all thetrustee$ |
Signature | Name | |||
| CCXXR2accounts(SS) | ///nh* | 19tO6/2024 |