PROJECTS IN PALESTINE CHARITY NUMBER 1196506 www.projectsinpalestine.co.uk projectsinpalestine@gmail.com 51 King Richard Street, Stoke Coventry, CV2 4FX. Trustees- Lisa Dundas Rachel Davies Suzanne Higham
Trustee report to end March 2023
We were really happy when we were granted Charity Status in 2022, just as the world was coming out of Covid Lockdowns. We planned our initial trip as a charity in May 2023, giving us enough time to fundraise and raise our profile. It would give us over a year to plan, co-ordinate and find our feet as a charity.
Our first setback was the unexpected death of one of our volunteers in February 2022, her family though had always been very supportive of us and decided to have our charity as the family's chosen charity and raised money in Sue’s name for us. We decided to bear this in mind when it came to our projects in the future, and we would see if we could name one after her.
We as trustees along with another volunteer, Natalie, did The Coventry Way as a fundraiser and people sponsored our 40-mile walk, bringing in funds where we could also gain gift aid from those donations.
We scheduled talks, speaking to different Trade Union branches around the local area, letting them know what our plans were and that we needed money. We had some generous donations from individual donors with match funding through their work.
Meanwhile we were conversing with our contacts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, finding out what projects were needed. Planting is always needed, especially on land under threat of illegal settlement expansion. Winter is the best time to plant, and as we weren’t arriving until May, we would have missed prime planting time, so we transferred money (£5000) to have 1000 grapevines planted on land between Bethlehem and Hebron, and we could visit them when we were over in May. We were also approached for equipment for an agricultural school which would run during school holidays for the youth of the village. The village runs an agricultural cooperative and they wanted to engage children with planting in an organic way. We discussed what equipment we could supply and decided that tables and chairs would allow the children to sit in a classroom setting, thus aiding their learning. We provided payment (£560) for these in advance of our visit, so they would also be in situ when we arrived, and the school could begin as soon as possible.
We reached our year end of March ‘23 with clear objectives of the May ‘23 trip. Projects we would be doing whilst there and how much each project would potentially cost.
We have two volunteers who have signed up to come with us, so in total we are 5 females who all self-funded to travel to Palestine.
The proposed projects are to cover agriculture/planting- (which we’d organised in advance- and were planted during winter). Irrigation systems for a Bedouin community
Women’s projects; a proposed cheesemaking business, bread ovens for a Bedouin community
Children’s Projects. A day out of a refugee camp for the children of Jenin. Play equipment for this kindergarten and one near Bethlehem. Craft/toys/books for the Susan Al Ramadani Library, in Salfit, to be named after our friend.
Our plan is to spend approximately £10,000 of the funds on the ground whilst we are there. As we hadn’t been during the covid years, we want to start slowly, rebuild our relationship with our Palestinian contacts and look out for new projects, so when we go in May 2024, with more volunteers and more money we can make a bigger impact.
We thank everyone who has donated to us, or freely given their time to help us, or volunteer with us, especially those in Palestine.
The Trustees of Projects in Palestine.
Projects in Palestine Income and Expenditure Account Period ended 31 March 2023
| Income from Charitable activities Expenditure on Charitable activities Grapevines Educational Equipment Overhead expenditure Website Insurance Printing and stationery Film event Consultanct fees Merchandise Sundries Surplus for the period Cash at bank |
22268 5000 658 5658 121 229 264 375 600 1108 23 2720 13890 13890 |
22268 5000 658 5658 121 229 264 375 600 1108 23 2720 13890 13890 |
|---|---|---|
| 13890 | ||
| 13890 |