## ANNUAL REPORT Charity Year November 2021 to October 2022 Helen Owen January 2023 _**The Helen Margaret Owen Foundation is actively involved in the education of the children attending Kirinya Children’s Centre from building and developing the Nursery and Primary school through to the provision of funds for education, feeding and housing for the orphans and teachers and ongoing relief of poverty.**_ Kirinya Children's Centre Nursery and Primary School, Namataba, Kirinya, Bweyogerere, Kira municipality, Wakiso District, UGANDA is on the outskirts of the capital city Kampala. It’s near the Nelson Mandela National Stadium (Namboole) and overlooks government land which is being redeveloped with new industry and infrastructure and nearby is the Namanve Industrial Park. The village is in the middle of suburban growth that is changing its environment toward a more urban and less rural landscape, however, the villagers and their children are extremely poor. The development of this school has already had a beneficial and significant impact on the welfare of the whole community. I have been working with Pastor Geoffrey Kamya in Namataba since 2014. We started rebuilding the church, Nursery and Primary School in 2015 and it was officially opened and registered in 2017 The Helen Margaret Owen Foundation was first set up as a small charity in September 2019. The charity year runs from 1[st] November to 31[st] October because the first donation to the HSBC charity account was received on 1[st] Nov 2019. In the first year we raised £5,730 (Appendix 1). In the second year (2020-2021) we raised £13,582 (Appendix 2) so I applied for Registered Charity Status which was granted on 21[st] December 2021. This report is our first as a Registered Charity (see Appendix 3 for Payments and Receipts submitted to the Charity Commission). 1 ## Income All income to the charity goes to supporting Kirinya Children’s Centre. The total income for the charity year ending 31[st] October was (see Appendix 3) £72,252 From November 2021 to March 2022 we were restricted by covid. We still managed a coffee morning in November which raised £698 and an afternoon Tea fundraising event in December which raised £530 despite only 12 people attending. Donations were received by cheque, cash or to the charity account. A coffee morning in April 2022 raised £1,075 of which £450 was given as cheques. We quickly realised that people enjoyed coffee mornings and that we had no outlay as people made cakes for us and Lymm Methodist let us use their Hall, facilities and supplies without charge. We held two more coffee mornings which raised £520 and £506. High Legh Sunday Teas raised £773. This was a massive endeavour made successful by the organisation of those who took charge and the many volunteers who baked, made sandwiches and helped. A curry night at Karin’s house raised £530 after the cost of catering. In total £4,582.23 was raised by holding fundraising events. Facebook Fundraisers brought in £268. I’d used Facebook fundraising heavily in 2020 and 2021 through the pandemic so didn’t push it this year. Amazon smile and easyfundraising are on line shopping platforms collecting donations. These have not filtered into this years’ charity account as they have to reach a certain level before they are paid out. Other significant donations have come from various sources: |Leigh Lions|£500| |---|---| |Heart Networks|£3000| |Anonymous Donor|£30,000| |Lancashire International House of Prayer Group|£1056| |Jirah Church|£510| |CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) awarded|£250 (someone applied and won)| |Cheques from various donors|£1,700| This charity year HSBC have applied bank charges of £5/month with 40p/cheque and 0.4% cash deposits. The total for this year was£76.72 The balance at 1[st] November 2021 was £305 (Appendix 2). The balance at 1st November 2022 was £159 (Appendix 3). ## THANK YOU ## Business Money Manager Account (BMM) The HMOF charity now has a Business Money Manager Account. £28,000 of the £30,000 donation was transferred to this. It was intended that this money be used over a five year period to keep the school running while we established a stronger funding base of regular supporters and events. This has enabled us to pay the teachers wages each month and buy food etc. The account pays interest which has increased slightly but mainly serves to give us some security each month. The end of year balance was £21,914 _(Teachers wages in December 2022, support staff working throughout the school holidays and food for the first term of 2023 have since been sent so the current balance at 25[th] January 2023 is £15,662.85)_ ## Gift Aid We are registered to claim gift aid. This will give the charity account a big boost next year. Many donors have completed gift aid forms and we still have a few to collect. This will help us significantly next year especially with teachers’ wages rather than relying on the savings in the BMM account. 2 ## Sponsors At the start of this charity year we had 15 monthly sponsors. We end this year with 22 sponsors some of whom have come through Facebook and the coffee mornings. Some of our monthly sponsors have increased their standing orders to the charity account. This has increased the monthly income from £270 in the previous year to £445. The amount raised through monthly sponsorship for this year was £4,351.28 ## Planning Team We have a core planning team involving two of the trustees Karin Affi and Lindsay Webb, and Gaelle White. We meet monthly and discuss how we can best support Kirinya Children’s Centre as a charity in the short term, for the year ahead and in the long term to ensure the future prosperity of the school. ## Newsletters I aim to put out newsletters three times/year. Due to personal reasons, I haven’t been able to as much as I’d like this year. The newsletters go out to approx. 130 people. As a result additional donations have come in to the charity account and occasionally a monthly sponsor has increased their donations. ## Website and Logo I’m pleased to say that we have a fantastic website courtesy of Ian (Director of Reactive Audio and Lymm Radio). It has since been upgraded and updated and we continue to build it up as we add newsletters, pictures and video from our visits to the school. You can find it at www.helenmargaretowenfoundation.org We now have a logo for the charity which is needed to access some funding sites. ## Facebook I continue to use Facebook to promote the school, fundraising events and also Facebook Fundraising. Search Helen Margaret Owen ## Publicity The article in Lymm Life attracted some attention and increased our donations. Another article was published in Warrington Worldwide and one in Lymm Pages. We have an A1 poster to display when we are holding coffee mornings. Charity events are widely publicized but need more impact. Newsletters were sent to over 100 people in January and June. ## Container We were overjoyed at the prospect of sending a container to the school. It was loaded in March by CareUK. Its progress was tracked and was expected to arrive in May. Sarah and I went to meet its arrival but hold ups and delays meant that we returned before it arrived and was opened. There have been many complications and costs which I’ve personally covered. The goods have not yet been released from storage and we pray that we have them to distribute in November. (As I write I’m pleased to say that the contents were distributed during our November visit) 3 ## School Visits Sarah Cross and I went out in May for nearly three weeks (see above). I’m delighted that four university students from the UK visited the school this summer. Three stayed for 4 weeks and another girl stayed for 10 days then moved on to a university placement elsewhere in Uganda. I can hardly describe the great impact they had there and the impact it had on them. I’m sure that they’ll be back even though two of them now have full time jobs and two continue their University degrees. A group of five went out in November: myself, Dave Eadon Sarah Cross, Lindsay Webb for two weeks and James Parkes (my son) for nearly three months. We have a very full programme for the school, a Wedding, three conferences and a Leadership Training Day. The flights shown in the financial figures (Appendix 3) were more than covered by donations from those who visited to advance the long term future of the school. ## Grant Payments to Uganda At the beginning of 2022 much of the money sent was used to build the new classrooms. The school has managed to do some of the work through money raised by their church members in Namataba. The significant change from previous years has been the teacher’s wages. For many years the teachers have selflessly put the children before themselves and received very little although they do have housing and food. The Education Authorities of Uganda now stipulates that all teachers have a university degree and a minimum of 1 million UGX salary. We pay 500,000 UGX /month plus supplements/allowance on a weekly basis plus food and rent free housing in place of a larger salary. This varies by teacher as Nursery finishes at 1pm and P7 classes work until late evening and weekends. Our minimum wage bill is now 10.3 million UGX equivalent to £2,350. See report for Kirinya Children’s Centre. I do my very best to get the best exchange rate and keep the costs of transfers as low as possible. Grant payments are usually sent to Centenery Rural Development Bank, Kireka, Kampala or via Post Office International Money Transfer. Total grant payments to the school this year was £38,389. ## Kirinya Children’s Centre Pastor Geoffrey Kamya is Headmaster. He has been running the school since it was built. Rather than pay a Qualified Headmasters, Pastor Geoffrey officially took this role. He has done a Foundation Course and now doing a Bachelor’s degree at Avance International University in Primary Head Teaching. The fees are 1 million UGX/term for 3 years with 2 terms/year. He has requested that we don’t include him in the teachers’ salaries while we are paying his tuition fees. We have 12 teachers and 6 support staff. I have copies of the Teachers qualifications. Children in school has increased from 175 in May to 188 (about one third orphans). I’ve asked them not to take any more children until we have more sponsors. I roughly calculated that it would take 12 fee paying children to raise 1 million/month at 250,000 UGX/term. We have intended for some years now to take some fee paying children to offset the cost of those who can’t but because of the pandemic and other issues we haven’t been able to do this. We fully intend to take some fee paying children in 2023 which will help pay teachers wages without incurring many costs. This is our first full year in school since 2019. Most of 2020 and 2021 the schools were closed. Nursery schools were closed and didn’t reopen until this year. During this time only examinations years and those nearest year groups were allowed in school i.e. P7 and P6. We have had to do a lot to meet the regulations now required of schools in Uganda. Building a wall around the perimeter of the school took significant funds away from building the new classrooms. A full time qualified security guard is required. Over 2,500 schools in Uganda have closed because they cannot meet the stringent requirements or have had bank loans etc. but no income. There have been too many demands on finances for many schools to make it through this and the previous two years. Through The Helen Margaret Owen Foundation and the hard work by the dedication team of teachers we have been able to meet every requirement. The inspectors are very pleased with our progress whenever they visit and hold us up as a good example. The children have worked hard and studied for long hours to make up for lost time so to have 4 out of 9 that took their final leaving exams reach grade one was a great achievement. They are hopeful that many more will attain grade one in their final exams in November. The success of these exams has an influence on attracting fee paying children to the school. 4 ## Building Projects A major achievement was building new classroom in 2022 as a completely separate building. The church is no longer a shared building with the school and the school classrooms stand independently of the church. There is still much to be done. The new classrooms aren’t finished off because a wall had to be built around the perimeter of the school – a new post covid Educational Requirement. The classrooms need some more windows, plastering and painting. The outside is to be painted in 2023. Some of the teachers houses need improvements. The main project for 2023 is building a new boarding house for the boys as where they stay at present is a house which came with land that we bought previously and the foundations weren’t good enough. We are limited by how much we can support building projects and maintenance of the buildings because the first priority is to pay the teachers wages, buy food and fulfil all the other necessities to support these children in their education. ## 2022 ANNUAL REPORT ## FOR KIRINYA CHILDREN’S CENTRE NURSERY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL ## INTRODUCTION Kirinya Children’s Centre Nursery and Primary School is located in Namataba, Kirinya. It is a school supported by “Mummy” Helen Margret Owen from UK through her efforts and her charity organisation (The Helen Margret Owen Foundation). The school consists of twelve (12) teaching staff, a headmaster currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Primary Education, a bursar, a security guard, three (3) nonteaching staff and two (2) farm boys in Zirobwe. As a school, our VISION: TO PROVIDE A SOUND EDUCATION TO ALL CHILDREN NURTURING AND CARING FOR THEM. MISSION: TO SUPPORT THE MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN, TO RAISE THEIR PROSPECTS AND UNLOCK A BETTER FUTURE. MOTTO: WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. SLOGAN: “WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS” ## ENROLMENT In first term 2022, our total number of pupils was one hundred sixty five (165) of which, 55 pupils were in nursery and 110 pupils in the primary section. During the first term holiday, we took on eight (8) new pupils making a total of one hundred seventy three (173) pupils in second term. Of these, 59 were Nursery pupils and 114 were Primary pupils. In third term, we made a total of 188 pupils, 66 pupils in Nursery and 122 pupils in Primary. About one third of our pupils are orphans. ## ENROLLMENT SCHEDULE ## TERM I |NURSERY|NURSERY||PRIMARY||TOTAL PUPILS|TOTAL PUPILS| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |55|||110|||165| |I||||||| |NURSERY|NEW ENTRANTS||PRIMARY|NEW ENTRANTS||TOTAL PUPILS| |55|4||110|4||173| |II||||||| |NURSERY|NEW ENTRANTS||PRIMARY|NEW ENTRANTS||TOTAL PUPILS| |59|7||114|8||188| TERM II TERM III 5 ## FEES Some parents pay what little they can towards the costs. In the first term a total of 1,808,000 UGX was collected and fees of 152,000 UGX remained owing. As second term began, the fees owing were collected. In the second term, a collection of 1,943,000 UGX was made and fees of 142, 000 UGX remained owing which was collected in the next term. In the third term 2,253,000 UGX was collected and a balance of 182,000 UGX was still owing which is expected to be collected during the holiday and as the term commences. At the end of the year there are 110 pupils attending school who are not able to pay anything. Government Schools in Uganda offer free education but you still need to pay approximately 1 million UGX in the first term to cover the costs of uniform, books, healthcare etc. At Kirinya Children’s Centre we care for children from families too poor to access government schools and therefore get no education. ## SCHOOL WELFARE 17 bags of posho (maize), 14 sacks of beans and 5 bags of rice were estimated for first term which later caused a supplement of more 7 bags of posho which made the actual budget of posho 24 bags and others remained constant. Term II estimates were 28 bags of posho, 15 sacks of beans and 5 bags of rice due to an increase in the number of pupils. Term III estimates were 30 bags of posho, 16 sacks of beans and 5 bags of rice since there was an increment in the number of children. ## FOOD SCHEDULE ## TERM I |PARTICULAR|QUANTITY|UNIT PRICE UGX|COST UGX| |---|---|---|---| |Posho (50kgs)|24 bags|130,000|3,120,000| |Beans (50kgs)|14 sacks|170,000|2,380,000| |Rice (50kgs)|5 bags|190,000|950,000| ## TERM II ||||| |---|---|---|---| |PARTICULAR|QUANTITY|UNIT PRICE UGX|COST UGX| |Posho (50kgs)|28 bags|130,000|3,640,000| |Beans (50kgs)|15 sacks|170,000|2,550,000| |Rice (50kgs)|5 bags|190,000|950,000| ## TERM III |I|||| |---|---|---|---| |PARTICULAR|QUANTITY|UNIT PRICE UGX|COST UGX| |Posho (50kgs)|30 bags|165,000|4,950,000| |Beans (50kgs)|16 sacks|170,000|2,720,000| |Rice (50kgs)|5 bags|190,000|950,000| TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT ON FOOD WAS 22,210,000 UGX EQUIVALENT TO APPROX £5000 ## OTHER NEEDS |NEEDS||| |---|---|---| ||TERMLY UGX|ANNUALLY UGX| |Firewood|350,000|1,400,000| |Electricity|600,000|1,800,000| 6 ## REMUNERATIONS - Twelve teachers are paid 500,000 UGX monthly, the bursar 500,000 UGX, non-teaching staff each paid 300,000 UGX monthly and 2 Farm boys paid 300,000 UGX monthly. - The remuneration excludes the head teacher because of his sponsorship for his education. - Allowances, P.7-P.4 teachers plus the bursar each 50,000 UGX weekly, P.3-P.1 teachers each 20,000 UGX, Nursery teachers each 15,000 UGX and 10,000 UGX to each nonteaching staff. ## REMUNERATION SCHEDULE ## SUPPLEMENTARY ALLOWANCES |CLASS|NO.
OF
STAFF|UGX PER
STAFF/WEEK|WEEKLY
UGX|TERMLY(14WKS)
UGX|ANNUALLY (3
TERMS) UGX|GBP
APPROX| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |P.4-P.7|5|50,000|250,000|3,500,000|10,500,000|| |P.1-P.3|3|20,000|60,000|840,000|2,520,000|| |NURSERY|5|15,000|75,000|1,050,000|3,150,000|| |NON-
TEACHING|4|10,000|40,000|560,000|1,680,000|| |TOTAL|||425,000|5,950,000|17,850,000|£4,056*| ## SALARIES |ES|||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |CLASS|NO. OF
STAFF|STAFF/MONTH|MONTHLY UGX|TERMLY UGX|TOTAL UGX| |||TERM I (4MTHS)|||| |Teachers|12|500,000|6,000,000|24,000,000|| |Bursar|1|500,000|500,000|2,000,000|| |Non-teaching|4|300,000|1,200,000|4,800,000|| |Farm boys|2|300,000|600,000|2,400,000|33,200,000| |||TERMII (4MTHS)|||| |Teachers|12|500,000|6,000,000|24,000,000|| |Bursar|1|500,000|500,000|2,000,000|| |Non-teaching|4|300,000|1,200,000|4,800,000|| |Farm boys|2|300,000|600,000|2,400,000|33,200,000| |||TERM III (3MTHS)|||| |Teachers|12|500,000|6,000,000|18,000,000|| |Bursar|1|500,000|500,000|1,500,000|| |Non-teaching|4|300,000|1,200,000|3,600,000|| |Farm boys|2|300,000|600,000|1,800,000|24,900,000| |||DECEMBER|||| |Non-teaching|3|300,000|900,000|900,000|| |Farm boys|2|300,000|600,000|600,000|1,500,000| |||||TOTAL UGX|92,800,000| |||||TOTAL GBP|£21,097*| *Conversion from UGX to GBP based on 4400 UGX / GBP 7 OTHER FEES Payments of taxes1, 640,000 UGX. ## HEALTH CARE Children who get sick are helped by the school. It cost 1,000,000 UGX to cover the hospital expenses. ## STATIONARY Text books bought on termly bases, boxes of chalk, scheme books, lesson plan books, registers, pens, pencils, rulers among others that cost 2,000,000 UGX annually. ## SCHOOL INNOVATION/ RENOVATION ## Building the perimeter wall Building the wall around the perimeter of the school complex started at the beginning of 2022. After its completion, it was later plastered in term II and painted which also included imaging (i.e. text on the walls) to act an educational environment for the pupils. ## School compound In order to maintain the smartness and cleanliness of our pupils, the school compound we decided to concrete the ground and also put in concrete drainage channels underground to avoid the ground becoming muddy with too much water since it’s a swampy area. ## Classroom block renovation To achieve the strength and firmness of the building, plastering and painting was undertaken and thereafter the floor. However, due to the quantity of water that collects under the buildings because it’s a swampy area, the floor developed cracks which again needed renovation. ## Office and classes restoration Due to the severity of the heavy rains that took place in term II, our neighbour’s wall collapsed which led to the office wall and part of the new classroom block walls collapsing. These had to be repaired as soon as possible to avoid a security risk. ## Others. 15 deckers (bunk beds) were bought which cost 400,000 UGX each making a total of. 6,000,000 UGX ## Miscellaneous Unplanned things that occurred during the year amounted to 5,252,200 UGX which also included things like the ingredients and other things that are used in the kitchen. ## SOURCES OF FUNDS - “Mummy Helen” (helenmargretowenfoundation.org) - School fees collection (from a few children who have been paying) - Church collections ## FORECAST FOR 2023 The exchange rate has fallen considerable this year so this affects how much we need to send. In the first six months of the year 1 million UGX was approx. £216 whereas now it’s about £20 more so over 10 million (Teachers monthly wages) this is significant. (UGX = Ugandan Shilling. Exchange rates varied from 4100 to 4700UGX / GBP). Based on the above costs I expect the cost of funding Kirinya Children’s Centre to be £78,000 8 Receipts and Payments from 1/11/2019 to 31/10/2020 Appendix 1 9 Receipts and Payments from 1/11/2020 to 31/10/2021 Appendix 2 10 Receipts and Payments from 1/11/2021 to 31/10/2022 Appendix 3 11 CHARITY COPaMISSION FOR ENGiANO WALES Il•kn Ixyn Found•iion Recelpts and ments accounts CC16a For th• p•rlod To 01111r2021 3111fyr2 Section A Rocoipts alid i)aymcnts Unrn#irlGt•d fvnd• Rtsltrlctsd fund• Endowm•ni Tol•l fund• i••t y A1 R•¢•lpts Doft4tbon• Indudl fund r•l•l Trnn•t•rn Irom D• ij Joo >)0 14 14 Sub tot•l(Gmss Income lor AR) A2 A•••t and Inh••tm•nt Ml•s l*bl• S4th fothi rol•l rn¢•lp 71,2B2 7UI2 IJ A3P• Grnnt P• Alr Farn• B*nk Ch• 8undrS•• Trnn•f•rn to O• i• Sub tot•1 7lJ•4 •1• pur¢h•w, ••• l•bl• Sub tOl•l 71J14 13 132 7J• AO Trn*Nhr• b•i*wn fund• A6 C••h lund• l••t y••r •nd C••h lund* thth y••r•nd 14 Jos CCXXRI *t¢owth1881 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period UnrnitrbGt•d RMtrict•d fund End¢)wm•nt fvnd• b) r••M••I V*W•btt 81 C&•h fvnd• BI￿nts• O•po¥11 A¢￿uTht rot•1 ¢••h tsnd• ,073 •)>xrf(•>l fvnd• fvnd• Funtt k4whloh D•thll• Fund b) *t*]h ••••t Douii• 84 r•taln•d for th• ¢h•rtty• ¢y*n Fu￿j BS Uabllld on• on b•hdlol •1 th•lJ gnattw• 4H 1.1 eLe NJ H owèNI AK.T r CCKXR2 •¢thMAb188) CHARITY COPaMISSION FOR ENGiANO WALES Il•kn Ixyn Found•iion Recelpts and ments accounts CC16a For th• p•rlod To 01111r2021 3111fyr2 Section A Rocoipts alid i)aymcnts Unrn#irlGt•d fvnd• Rtsltrlctsd fund• Endowm•ni Tol•l fund• i••t y A1 R•¢•lpts Doft4tbon• Indudl fund r•l•l Trnn•t•rn Irom D• ij Joo >)0 14 14 Sub tot•l(Gmss Income lor AR) A2 A•••t and Inh••tm•nt Ml•s l*bl• S4th fothi rol•l rn¢•lp 71,2B2 7UI2 IJ A3P• Grnnt P• Alr Farn• B*nk Ch• 8undrS•• Trnn•f•rn to O• i• Sub tot•1 7lJ•4 •1• pur¢h•w, ••• l•bl• Sub tOl•l 71J14 13 132 7J• AO Trn*Nhr• b•i*wn fund• A6 C••h lund• l••t y••r •nd C••h lund* thth y••r•nd 14 Jos CCXXRI *t¢owth1881 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period UnrnitrbGt•d RMtrict•d fund End¢)wm•nt fvnd• b) r••M••I V*W•btt 81 C&•h fvnd• BI￿nts• O•po¥11 A¢￿uTht rot•1 ¢••h tsnd• ,073 •)>xrf(•>l fvnd• fvnd• Funtt k4whloh D•thll• Fund b) *t*]h ••••t Douii• 84 r•taln•d for th• ¢h•rtty• ¢y*n Fu￿j BS Uabllld on• on b•hdlol •1 th•lJ gnattw• 4H 1.1 eLe NJ H owèNI AK.T r CCKXR2 •¢thMAb188)