L&H Annual Report for Annual Meeting 2025 ## **Life and Hope Annual Meeting 12th April 2025** ## **Trustees Annual Report for activities in 2024** **Charity Name:** Life and Hope (L&H) ## **Charity registration number: 1208745** ## **Objectives and Activities** Objectives as defined in the constitution: For the public benefit, the advancement of human rights (as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations conventions and declarations) by the prevention of human rights abuse, in Tunisia, by educating and advising those who are vulnerable to being victims of human trafficking, in particular but not exclusively young people and families in poverty. Life and Hope (L&H) was officially established at a meeting on Wednesday 6[th] March 2024 at Kallaline School, Tunis, with 6 Trustees: three Tunisian residents and three resident in England. The rest of the year has been taken up with the necessary processes which need to be completed before Life and Hope can begin its work on the ground. Some of these processes have been quite lengthy but most, although not all, have now been completed. 1. A number of documents have been written, including a constitution and a Safeguarding Policy 2. Following a decision at the inaugural meeting, it was decided to apply to register as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. 3. This application was successful and Life and Hope was officially registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 20 June 2024. This has a number of advantages including financial benefits, because as a charity L&H will be able to claim the tax on donations given by donors who pay tax in England and Wales. 4. At a meeting on 10th July 2024, the Chair, Secretary, Safeguarding Officer and Deputy Safeguarding officer were elected. A Treasurer has yet to be appointed. 5. In July 2024 the Trustees attended a training course on the subject of human trafficking. It covered information about Trafficking in general, but also focused on the situation in Tunisia. 6. In July the Trustees attended a Safeguarding course, in fulfilment of the requirements of the Charity Commission. And in November, Peter attended a Charity Commission webinar on “Safeguarding in an International Context: Charity Commission's Expectations”. 7. In October 2024, as progress on various applications was proceeding very slowly, an update was sent to all Trustees, in lieu of holding a full meeting. 8. Establishing bank accounts has been quite a lengthy process, but as from 1 L&H Annual Report for Annual Meeting 2025 January 2025 we now have a charity account with Lloyds Bank in England 9. We also need to open a bank account in Tunis, but this will have to wait till we have formally registered as an NGO in Tunisia. 10. Registering Life and Hope in Tunisia is the one remaining process that we need to complete before we can begin the work for which the NGO has been established. This is proving to be a lengthy and uncertain process. The lawyer has presented our application to the Ministry of the Interior, as required, and we are waiting to hear further from the Ministry. The Lawyer has described the two-step process that is now required in order to register – please see his summary at the end of this report. 11. A website has been prepared and is ready to go once we are registered in Tunisia. ## **Financial Review** Financially we have benefitted from a couple of anonymous donors who would like to see this work get off the ground. Thanks to this we have had enough funds to cover our few costs to date. Once the work has started, we will need to establish a bigger support base and a greater income. A financial statement is presented as part of the Annual Meeting. As at 5th April 2025 L&H had £1162.57 in the account In summary, much progress has been made preparing L&H to begin the work for which the NGO has been established. We hope that the final stage, of registering in Tunisia will be completed without undue delay. Finally, I would like to thank the Trustees for being willing to take part in this venture. And thanks also to those who have shown an interest and supported the establishment of Life and Hope, including financial support and the creating of a website. Peter Knight Chair of Trustees Prepared for the Annual Meeting on 22 February 2025 2 L&H Annual Report for Annual Meeting 2025 ## **CREATION OF A NEW ASSOCIATION** (translated from French) The steps for creating an association according to Tunisian legislation: The creation of an association takes place in two stages: ## **First Stage:** Before submitting the documents listed below, it is necessary to file a declaration specifying the name of the association, the identity and number of its members, its purpose, objectives, and registered office with the Ministry of the Interior (especially if foreign nationals are involved). After obtaining approval from the Ministry of the Interior, all documents related to the creation of the association must be submitted to the governorate or territorially competent delegation office. This submission must be signed by two or more founders, who will receive a receipt in return. The required documents are: • A declaration specifying the name of the association, its purpose, objectives, and registered office. • Five (05) copies of the list containing the names, surnames, professions, dates and places of birth, addresses of the founders and executive members, along with their national identity card numbers and issuance dates. - Five (05) copies of the association's statutes. ## **Second Stage:** An excerpt is then published in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic (JORT), mentioning: - The name of the association, its purpose, and objectives. - The names, surnames, and professions of the founders as well as the executive members. - The date and number of the deposit receipt issued by the governorate or competent delegation. This publication must take place after a period of three (03) months from the date of submission of the declaration of creation of the association to the Ministry of the Interior. I inform you that a request to this effect has been submitted to the Ministry of the Interior in Tunisia. We are currently awaiting their response and approval in order to finalize the other necessary steps for the creation of the association. 3 ## **Life and Hope Income and Expenditure 2024-April 2025** |**Income: £ sterling**||**Expenses**||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Opening Balance|0|||| |Donations 11.02.24 - 31.12.25|1349.48|30.10.24|Accountant re document certification|**-297.91**| |Donations 01.01.25 - 05.04.25|111|||| |**Total**|**1460.48**|**Total**||**-297.91**| |||**Balance**||**1162.57**|