## **ANNUAL REPORT FOR NORTHERN IRELAND CHARITY COMMISSION** ## **FOR MUMS FOR MUMS [IRELAND] 2022** ## **NIC 100438** ## **REGISTERED ADDRESS:** **51 Mullaghmeen Road Enniskillen** ## **Co. Fermanagh** ## **BT74 4GH** ## **ANNUAL REPORT FOR PERIOD 1[st] January 2022 – 31[st] December 2022** ## **Purposes of the charity** Mums for Mums [Ireland] was founded in 2012 as a charity to raise and channel support to the projects organised under the auspices of an NGO in Mekelle in northern Ethiopia, namely Mums for Mums. This NGO provides vocational training and support to young women to enable them to become self-reliant and provides a range of services to elderly women through their attendance at the Kate Community Centre for the Elderly. [KCCE] ## **Activities and achievements** 2022 continued to be a frustrating year for the charity due to the continuance of the civil war which began in November 2020. Communication with Ashenafi Amelash [ Executive Director] was extremely difficult due to the absence of email and WhatsApp for months at a time . After a long period of silence in December 2021 an email had been received setting out the situation faced by the elderly ladies and requesting that we send urgently need funds by a route which involved the Tigray Development Association [ an umbrella group for NGOs] It involved sending the money by a circuitous route involving the TDA in America. After receiving confirmation from Ashenafi that this money had arrived we followed this up at the beginning of January 2022 by sending another £2000 by the same route but a month later most of the money was returned to our account , having failed to reach its destination. Ashenafi thought this was because the system was overwhelmed by the number of organisations seeking to use it. That meant that for the first time in the years since Mums for Mums was set up we did not manage to send any money in 2022 and that was deeply frustrating. This meant we spent most of the year in a position of some helplessnessaware of great need especially in relation to the elderly ladies but unable to take any action. Ashenafi said it was hoped that the scheme would get up and running again but in fact this did not happen. On 8[th] February 2022 we learned of the death of Tebereh Wolde- Gabriel, the founder of Mums for Mums and two weeks later, the death of her husband Dr Solomon Enquay. As Trustees we mourned their passing, and we acknowledge in this report the tremendous work done by Tebereh through her inspirational leadership of the project over many years. Correspondence with Ashenafi at that time confirmed that the state of the elderly ladies was much as before and that there was no progress regarding the possibility of transferring any money to the project. There was then a period of months with no contact with Ashenafi. Conditions in Tigray as reported via some news outlets made it clear that bitter fighting was continuing with food shortages, lack of electricity and water with no banking or usual communication channels available making everyday life incredibly difficult on a day to day basis . The use of drones to drop bombs made the situation in the autumn even more perilous. However, at the start of November 2022 a peace agreement was signed between the Tigrayan and Ethiopian Federal authorities in Pretoria, followed up by more substantive talks in Kampala about the restoration of services. Soon after that, news from Ashenafi arrived and it was reassuring to learn that the buildings were unscathed, and the project was able to continue its work. Visits had taken place to the elderly women who would have attended the KCCE and as a result we learned of the death of some and the plight of many others. The 2022 Annual Report produced by the project was available to us and we could see that during these difficult months there had been provision of medical services together with cash and food support for the elderly ladies. 100 elderly ladies had each received 1000 ETB with flour and cooking oil also being distributed through home visits. The year ended with hope that the peace agreement would allow banks to reopen and other services to be resumed with the prospect also of flights into Mekelle being resumed, making it possible for Trustee visits to take place. There was also a realisation that Mums for Mums was in a position, through its long-term experiences, to offer expertise in the area of gender based support to those impacted so seriously, given some of the dreadful outcomes of the war. Between the writing of this report and its adoption, we have experienced the death of Mrs Sue Hogg, one of our Trustees. Sue was committed to the work of Mums for Mums for many years, even before she became a Trustee and was instrumental in engaging the support of Soroptimist Clubs in Northern Ireland which enabled funds to be provided for the building of the KCCE and a minibus to transport the elderly ladies to and from the centre. We extend our sincere sympathy to her family. In setting our objectives and planning our activities during this very difficult and concerning year 2022, the trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s guidance on public benefit to ensure that our activities have helped to achieve the purposes of our charity and provided benefit to the beneficiaries of the charity- mainly the elderly ladies in the KCCE which is run by Mums for Mums in Mekelle in northern Ethiopia. There are no private benefits. There is no harm. Charity Trustees on the date the Annual Report was approved: Miss Sylvia Cooper Miss Kate Doherty Mrs Heather Farrell The charity is administered per its constitution which was adopted at a meeting in May 2012 and amended on 16[th] August 2014. Signed: Kate Doherty …………………………… Chair of Mums for Mums [Ireland] Date: 19[th] April 2023