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TRUSTEE REPORT
Q A T R A H 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3 R e g i s t e r e d C h a r i t y N u m b e r : 1 2 0 0 8 9 7
CONTENTS
03
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
04
ABOUT THE CHARITY
08
FINANCIALS
09
PROGRAMMES
12
OPERATIONS STRATEGY AND RISK STATEMENT
14
TRUSTEE DECLARATION
Appendix A
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT
Appendix B
CC16A RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS
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A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
Over the past couple of years, Qatrah has grown from strength to strength. Thanks to our generous supporters, we have been able to conduct valuable work on the ground in Afghanistan, thereby offering a lifeline to individuals and families in need.
This year, we successfully ran numerous food distribution campaigns, delivering a selection of staples to hundreds of families across central and eastern provinces of Afghanistan. We responded to the Herat earthquakes, by delivering sanitary and healthcare packages to women and families affected by the disaster. In the aftermath of the bombing in Baghlan, we contributed towards the costs of healthcare and supported the victims in rebuilding their lives. We also set up four schools across Parwan and Kabul, educating girls in the curriculum as well as offering sewing tuition to foster empowerment.
In sum, Qatrah has played an instrumental role this year in the lives of many across Afghanistan.
Maryam Atai
MARYAM ATAI CHAIRPERSON
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ABOUT THE CHARITY
Qatrah has three core programmes: poverty relief, disaster response, and education and skills development.
Qatrah is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales with the registered charity number 1200897. Qatrah aims to help individuals experiencing poverty or financial hardship in Afghanistan, as well as those who lack basic educational and preliminary healthcare support. It focuses particularly on women and children, regardless of their race, religion, or political preferences.
Qatrah was founded in 2018 by Maryam Atai, a UK-based social and human rights activist. It has since grown from strength to strength, extending a lifeline to hundreds of families across Afghanistan and achieving significant positive impact.
"Thanks to Qatrah, my family are together and alive today. They were there in our hour of need"
Women and children are the most vulnerable to poverty in Afghanistan. Having been through decades of war, terror, and economic crises, we must do our best to support them by any means we can. Your donations will help mothers to put food on the table, sick individuals to receive the healthcare they need, and the children of Afghanistan to go to school and experience the life of a child.
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MISSION
VISION
To help support and empower those women and children in
Afghanistan who are experiencing poverty, financial hardship, or inequality.
One day, every child in Afghanistan will have the opportunity to go to school and every woman in Afghanistan will be able to live independently and feed her family.
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GOVERNANCE DETAILS
Qatrah is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) whose only voting members are its trustees. It follows a ‘Foundation’ model constitution and its principal office is in England at the following address:
3 Widgeon Close Southampton SO16 8HW
The objects of the CIO are:
Qatrah presently has 3 trustees. The CIO may have a minimum of 3 trustees up to a maximum of 12. 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 for the CIO.
The prevention or relief of poverty or financial hardship in Afghanistan, particularly amongst women and children, by the provision of food and essential items, financial support and access to healthcare and educational opportunities.
The registered charity number for Qatrah is:
1200897
A charity trustee may retire from office by giving written notice, or they may be removed if they are absent from all meetings in a six month period without the permission of charity trustees, if they die, if they are deemed incapable as acting as a trustee by a medical professional and the condition is expected to last more than three months, or if they are disqualified from acting as a trustee by virtue of sections 178-180 of the Charities Act 2011 (or any statutory re-enactment or modification of that provision).
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TRUSTEES
Maryam Atai
Maryam Atai is a human rights activist based in Southampton, UK. She founded Qatrah in 2018, driven by a desire to help vulnerable women and children in Afghanistan. Prior to this, she spent many
years organising community events in Southampton to educate and empower women in the local community.
Ellie Atayee-Bennett
Ellie Atayee-Bennett is a Doctor of Sociology interested in sustainability, ethical lifestyles, culture, and religion. She joined Qatrah in 2022, keen to help the
charity develop and grow for the betterment of women and children in Afghanistan. Ellie currently serves as the Charity Secretary.
Khatera Yekta
Khatera Yekta is a doctoral researcher in International Relations in the UK with a keen
interest in gender studies, state building, and peace building in Afghanistan. Prior to
this, she lectured at several Kabul universities and was a women’s rights activist in Afghanistan. She joined Qatrah in 2022, hoping to use her knowledge to improve the lives of vulnerable people.
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FINANCIALS 2022-2023 REPORT
REVENUE
| REVENUE | |
|---|---|
| Donations* | £67,571 |
| Grants** | £8,522 |
| Total | £76,093 |
We receive donations via our website, PayPal, and bank transfer. Our donors belong predominantly to the Afghanistani diaspora. *In the 22-23 year we received one grant from an international, regulated donor and this was received in cash direct to Afghanistan.
----- Start of picture text -----
Grants
11.2%
Donations
88.8%
----- End of picture text -----
Programme costs include the aid being distributed (e.g. food packages, aid packages, grants, etc), staff salaries, educational and sewing materials, rent, and other relevant costs.
EXPENDITURE
| staff salaries, educational and sewing | materials, | |||
| Poverty Relief Programme Costs |
£55,161.00 | rent, and other relevant costs. Admin & Misc. costs include website running costs, |
||
| accounting, marketing materials, and | other | |||
| relevant costs. | ||||
| Disaster Response Programme Costs |
£10,432.00 | Education & Skills Development | ||
| 9% | ||||
| Education & Skills | Disaster Response | |||
| Development | £6,650.00 | 14.2% | ||
| Programme Costs* | ||||
| Admin & Misc. | £1,304.47 | |||
| Total | £73,547.47 | |||
| *Our Education & Skills Development Programme was funded | Poverty Relief | |||
| entirel b the grant that | was received dire | t to Afghanistan | 75% |
*Our Education & Skills Development Programme was funded entirely by the grant that was received direct to Afghanistan.
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PROGRAMMES
1. POVERTY RELIEF
The economic situation is critical in Afghanistan at present with lots of families living in poverty. Many cannot afford basic living provisions, such as food and healthcare, but these difficulties are even more stark for certain groups of people, such as widowed women with children, disabled individuals, and those living with serious health conditions. Qatrah runs campaigns throughout the year and then distributes provisions to identifies and approved beneficiaries. Turn to page 12 for our operations strategy.
Qatrah runs food distribution programmes throughout the year, and in each campaign, we help 50-100 families. Each family receives a selection of staple foods, such as rice, oil, flour, and pulses. See the below image for an example.
Qatrah also provides poverty relief in other ways, on a case-by-case basis. For example, we have previously supported individuals with the costs of emergency healthcare, as well as support towards rent and housing costs.
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2. DISASTER RESPONSE
Unfortunately, Afghanistan is vulnerable to numerous types of disasters, from natural disasters such as earthquakes, to humancaused disasters such as terrorist attacks. These disasters could occur at any time and without warning, causing immense disruption and pain to people’s lives. Qatrah prides itself on its quick response times, helping victims at such critical times in unique and personal ways.
The two most recent disasters to note include the Herat earthquakes and the suicide bombing on Baghlan mosque. Qatrah responded swiftly to both disasters and provided essential care to the victims.
When the earthquakes ripped through the province of Herat, many people lost their homes, livelihoods, and in some cases friends and family members in an instant. Qatrah’s survey team arrived in the area soon after and swiftly delivered valuable aid, in particular sanitary and healthcare packages to impacted women and children.
In the aftermath of the suicide bombing on Baghlan mosque, Qatrah reached out to the victims, and provided valuable support in the way of covering healthcare costs, and offering aid to help them return to their normal lives.
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3. EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Since the Taliban assumed power of Afghanistan in 2021, secondary school aged girls have been denied an education. With schools closed to them, their mental health, and in turn hope for the future, have plummeted.
Over the past year, Qatrah has opened four schools across Kabul and Parwan, which provide education to girls. This has supported them with their learning, all the while boosting their mental wellbeing and self-esteem.
Qatrah envisages a world where every girl can go to school and pursue the education they desire. Access to education for all is not only important for the development of society, but it is also important for the alleviation of poverty, as it means more individuals are in a better position to support themselves.
Qatrah has also long run sewing classes with the goal of female empowerment and skills development. These classes have proved hugely popular and have supported hundreds of girls in acquiring the skills necessary to financially support themselves and their families.
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OPERATIONS STRATEGY
We have two teams, our operations team which works on the ground in Afghanistan, and our management team which is based predominantly in the UK. Our teams work closely together to maximise the benefits to the lives of our beneficiaries. We find our beneficiaries through referrals, either by the individuals and families themselves who reach out to us on social media, or from others who are concerned about someone and nominate them for help.
Our management team then compiles a list of potential beneficiaries which is sent to our operations team in Afghanistan. The operations team then surveys the families through a rigorous process which involves visiting the families, assessing the home environment, conducting background and ID checks, interviewing them on a whole host of topics including house ownership, their financial situation, their family situation, their health, and their difficulties, and finally obtaining references from trusted members of the community.
The survey team then compiles a report based on this assessment, which is sent to the management team for review. Those that are deemed most in need get priority.
Following review of the assessment reports, the management team, who manages fundraising and finance, confirms the grant allocations and transfers the required amount to our representatives in Afghanistan, who then distribute the provisions to the awarded beneficiaries.
“Qatrah were quick to respond to my call for help. I am eternally grateful to them for supporting my family.”
Although most activity has thus far been in Kabul, we help needy individuals in all provinces in Afghanistan and have successfully helped individuals in a range of provinces and rural areas. Our busiest time of year is around Ramadan when we receive lots of donations and are therefore able to distribute more provisions and help a greater number of families. We do however respond to calls for help at all times in the year.
The economic situation is critical in Afghanistan at present with lots of families living in poverty. Many cannot afford basic living provisions, such as food and healthcare, but these difficulties are even more stark for certain groups of people, such as widowed women with children, disabled individuals, and those living with serious health conditions. It is these individuals whom Qatrah works so hard to support.
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RISK STATEMENT
The trustees have conducted a comprehensive risk framework to ensure the successful and compliant conduct of charitable activities at all times. The trustees acknowledge responsibility for reviewing and mitigating the risks faced by the charity and they are committed to continuous improvement to ensure Qatrah remains a reputable and valuable charity in the community.
The risk identification process involved consulting all members of our team and obtaining feedback on all areas of Qatrah’s work. This helped us to identify risks, as well as assess their likelihood and impact. With this information, the trustees compiled an evaluation report and identified key mitigation strategies and monitoring procedures for reducing the impact of each risk.
The main risk facing Qatrah is Afghanistan’s turbulent economic and political environment, but where this has long been part of our team’s daily realities, we consider ourselves to have a strong understanding of Afghanistan’s culture, economy, and political environment, and thus resilient and adaptive should circumstances change. We have also compiled an extensive operations strategy that allows for fluctuations in the economic and political environment, all the while maximising the benefits to and safety of our
beneficiaries and staff.
Another major risk facing Qatrah is regulation requirements, and indeed changing requirements, where we are growing quickly. The trustees are committed to reviewing and learning the regulatory requirements, as well as conducting regular training needs analyses in line with the growth of the organisation and changing regulatory requirements. With our operations and training strategies in place, we are confident that we have reduced to the impact of these major risks to a medium level.
Other medium level risks include keeping abreast of changing government policy, as well as loss of key trustees, staff members, or volunteers. By incorporating regular review procedures and training needs analyses into our work, we can ensure trustees and staff members have the knowledge they need to conduct Qatrah’s work in a beneficial, compliant way, as well as foster a better working environment, thereby avoiding any staff or trustee retention issues.
As part of the risk identification and evaluation process, we have introduced a number of strategies and control systems to minimise risk and provide better direction to the organisation. In addition to quarterly reviews on the topics of strategy, operations, finance, and HR, we have compiled strategies for governance, operations, money management, training needs, and recruitment, all of which will be reviewed at least every six months.
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TRUSTEE DECLARATION
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Ellie Atayee-Bennett Charity Secretary 26 September 2024
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Thank you for your support
Qatrah 3 Widgeon Close, Southampton, SO16 8HW Registered Charity Number: 1200897
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ Charity Name QATRAH members of
On accounts for the year 02 November 2023 Charity no 1200897 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 02/11/2023.
- Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
-
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: M. W. Rana
Date: 18/07/2024
Name: Muhammad Waqas Rana MBA Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any):
Address: Two Four Nine North, Lynnfield House Church St, Altrincham WA14 4DZ
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
October 2018
1
IER
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
October 2018
2
IER
QATRAH 1200897 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 03/11/2022 02/11/2023
Section A Receipts and payments
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 67,571 - - 67,571 67,571 - 1,082 - - 1,082 904.47 0 400 65,593 66,897.47 66,897.47 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 67,571 - - 67,571 67,571 - 1,082 904.47 0 400 65,593 66,897.47 66,897.47 |
Total funds to the nearest £ 67,571 - - 67,571 67,571 - 1,082 904.47 0 400 65,593 66,897.47 66,897.47 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donations and legacies | 67,571 | - | ||||
| Charitable Activities | - | - | ||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
67,571 | - | ||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| Cost of fundraisingevents | 400 | - | ||||
| Telephone, internet andpostage | 904.47 | - | ||||
| Costs of charitable activities | 65,593 | - | ||||
| Governance costs | 0 | - | ||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total | 66,897.47 | - | ||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| 1,082 | - | - | 1,082 | - | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1,082 | - | - | 1,082 | - |
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 B2 Other monetary assets B1 Cash funds |
Details Total cash funds Prepayments Other debtors Details Cash at Bank Signature |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 992 - 992 - Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - 90 - Print Name MARYAM ATAI |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Date of approval |
|||
| MARYAM ATAI | 19/07/2024 | ||
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
1