Charlene's Project TRUSTEES, REPORT for the financial year ended 31 August 2023 The trustees present their Trustees, Report and the unaudited financial stalements for the financial year ended 31 August 2023. The financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). The Trustees, Report contains the information required to be provided in the Trustees. Annual Report under the Statement of Recommended Practi (SORP) guidelines. The trustees of the company are also charity trustees for the purpose of charity law and under the company's constitution are known as members of the board of trustees. In this report the trustees of Charlene's Project present a summary of its purpose, governance, activities, achievements and finances forthe financial year 31 August 2023. The company is a registered charity and hence the report and results are presented in a form which complies with the requirements of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland} 2008 and, although not obliged to comply with the Statement of Recommended Practice (Charities SORP effective January 2015), the organisation has implemented its recommendations where relevant in these financial statemenls. Structure, governance and management The organisation is govemed by ils Trustees. All new Truslees go through an induction and training process and are appointed as and when required and based on their skills and experience. The Trustees do not retire on an annual basis. The Trustees meet on a regular basis throughout the year to manage and control all aspects of the charity and also conduct regular risk assessments of the various operational risks impacting the charity and its projects at home and abroad. Objectives and Activities Charlene's Project was eslablished in September 2009 by Charlene Barr, a teenager with failing health due to terminal cystic fibrosis. When Charlene became too ill to continue school. she decided to start fundraising lo build a school in Uganda. Her enthusiasm. desplte her poor health. motivated young and old right across Northern Ireland to support her efforts to build Hidden Treasure School in Mayo Dislricl. Kampala. Uganda. Charlene died in October 2010 but not before she achieved her fund-raising target and established Charlene's Project as a Charity- The main objectives of the Charity are the relief of poverty, hardship and distress, and the advancement of education for children in Uganda and beyond. The charity will aim to provide school and educational facilities. accommodation, staff to provide care and education, and financial and ongoing material support_ The continuing aims and objectives of the Charity will be to continue to tell Charlene's story and journey lo inspire the people in Northern Ireland. Uganda and beyond. The infomation that follows is a snapshot of the progress and SucsS of the charity over the last twelve months, which we Irust will bolh encourage and inspire you as you see how Charlene's vision continues to be fulfilled. Review of Activities, Achlevements and Perfomiance This has been another exciting year to be able to report on and it very much builds upon the work of the last few financial years. The financial year 2021- 2022 saw the beginning of the building of the much-needed secondary school for the children of the 8 neighbouring Kiryandongo primary schools. This 2022- 2023 financial year has seen the completion of Phase 1 of the building of Charlene Secondary School. and the beginning of fundraising towards Phase 2 of the school. Additionally, work has continued on improving the health resources in this community thanks to a very supportive church partner. It was extremely exciting towards the end of this financial year for building work to commence on a new matemity ward at Diika Health Centre. Charlene's Project continues to serve the local Ugandan community Ihrough Charlene Education Foundation, empowering them to take forward themselves the vision of improving access to and quality of education and health ServIS in their communities. Additionally. through the support of people in Northem Ireland sponsored children have been able to continue their education through Youth Sport Uganda. Destiny Christian High School, and Kahara Primary. None of this would have been possible without the financial and prayerful support of people here, and most importantly wrthout the efforts of the community in Uganda and the Trustees of Charlene Education Foundation (CEF). CHARLENE SECONDARY SCHOOL Phase 1 of Ihe building of Charlene Secondary School was completed in January 2023 ready for the first full intake of pupils at Ihe beginning of the school year in February 2023. Phase l of the Secondary School build included 1
Charlene's Project classroom block. 2 laboratories, teacher accommodation to house 4 teachers, a girl's and a boy's dormitory and shower block, kttchen and dining hall, school latrines, and resources such as lab equipmenl, laptops and desks. In February 2023 the school accepted students from Senior 1 to Senior 4 and we were overwhelmed with the uptake of pupil registrations as over 420 children slarted to attend Chadene Secondary School. Over the next 3 years we expect numbers accessing secondary education in this community to rise to over 1,000 as the school grows and as more year groups are added. This is transformative in this community. where many parents were unable to access secondary education for their children due to lack of access and resources. Therefore, we are currently fundraising towards the building of Phase11 to accommodate the growing numbers of pupils. Phase11 will include another dassroom block lo facilitate the extra year groups, more dormitories to allow for more students to board and more latrines to ensure good health and sanitation through a good ratio of latrines for student numbers. Building work for the secondary school was always planned in two phases. The plan was thal this would allow the school to begin to function with the second phase of building following soon after as numbers and classes in the school increased. During this financial year building work was completed on the dining hall and laboratories. and it was encouraging lo see the boy's dormitory being built with securily fencing being constructed around the dormitories and a gatehouse built to ensure student safety while children are at school. Additionally. laboratory equipmenl. school furniture. and equipment for the kitchen was purchased thanks lo the support of a school here in Northern Ireland. A number of schools in Northern Ireland have been extremely supportive allowing the educational work of Charlene's Project in these communities to grow. Additionally, technology within the school through the purchase of laptops for ICT and internet connection set-up in the building of Phase I has allowed videoconferencing beeen Plspils in Uganda and pupils in Northern Ireland, an example of effeclive global leaming. This technology has also enabled training for the teachers in Uganda and ongoing training with Pastors via zoom. The end of this financial year saw money being sent out to begin work on another classroom block to allow for increased numbers expected in February 2024 at the start of the next academic year. We anticipate more expenditure on buildings in the nexl financial year as we complete the work of Phase 2 at Charlene Secondary School. Chain Link fence and Gatehouse Wall around the domitories Com letion of the Dinin Hall SH Fl I Girls shower rooms s dormito com leted s Domi with bunk beds and nets New Laborato ment Usin new kitchen ans for cookin Waitin in line for food at lunch
Charlene's Pro"ect New Laboratory equipment Preparing the land for another classroom block Laptops received to help teach ICT Ongoing Teacher Training Girls, Football Team at Charlene Seconda Boys Football Team al Charlene Seconda SELF-SUSTAINABILITY AND TEACHER TRAINING Once all the buildings are in place. the long-temi vision for Charlene Secondary School is self-sustainability- Charlene Education Foundation and Charlene's Project have been working over the pasl year to champion the goal of self- sustainability with the Senior management ofthe school. Since February 2023 training with the management and teachers at Charlene Secondary School has been ongoing fortnightly via ZOOM covering positive school ethos, pasloral care. and creating an environment for success in and out of the classroom. This has been progressed through the purchase of a conferencing kit and camera that allows for better audio-visual connection during ZOOM meetings and trainings. Additionally, monthly meetings have been occurring beiween Charlene's Project and Charlene Education Foundation Trustees to ensure the self-sustainability and good running of Charlene Secondary School in these important foundational years. This has included moving the accounting processes onto QuickBooks and the Iraining of management and the school's book-keeper on all aspects of school financial management. The Charlene Education Foundalion Trustees have had time away on retreat to leam and reflect on ways the running of the school can be improved and ways Ihal the school can generate additional income streams to become more self-sufficienl in the fijture. One example of this was the purchase of seed and fertilizer to plant a maize crop in the school garden to help with feeding the students during their time at school. MASINDI CLUSTER PRIMARY SCHOOLS We continue to be committed to the 8 local primary schools around Charlene Secondary School that we affectionate call the Kiryandongo Cluster. There continues to be so many needs in each of these schools. Being a small organisation, we are unable to meet all of these needs- however, we hope to do some work in the future helping with teacher training in each of these primary schools and if we can secure fundin9, do needed work in the schools to help support the teachers and management who are doing an amazing job in very difficult situations. Their role in creating and promoting education in the community cannot be overstated. SPONSORSHIP We are so thankful for those who sponsor children in Destiny Chrislian High School. Kahara Primary and Youth Sport Uganda. Some of these hildren are now moving into employment or tertiary level courses. None of this would have been possible without the help of their sponsors. The long-term vision is that as Charlene Secondary School becomes established in the Gommunity, more children will be able to attend there, reducing the need for scholarships thal have been used in the past to enable young people lo receive a secondary education. DIIKA HEALTH CENTRE The ongoing developrnent al Diika Heallh Centre is extremely exciting. This health centre provides medical care to all
Charlene's Project the children in the schools and communities we work with. We have continued to provide medicines and managemenulogistical support through our Ugandan partner One World Health and it has been so encouraging to see the beginning of the building work of a new matern¢ty ward here thanks to the support of a church partner. This will make a massive difference in the lives of women and their babies in this community. We have been working closely with local governmenl officials and il is hoped with the building of this maternity ward that Diika will be upgraded in due course to a Level111 Heath Centre meaning it will receive more staffing, funding and resources. CONCLUSION Thank you so much to all who have made the work of the past year and the vision of a secondary school and improved healthcare access in this community possible through their prayers and their financial support. We are so thankful to God for all the work that is going on in Uganda and we are grateful to be able to do the small bit that we can as we work alongside our Ugandan partners. Financial Review The Trustees are once again very humbled and thankful for the support Charlene's Project continues to receive and the 2023 year has been no exception.. Income levels have increased by 330/0 to £278,852., Expenditure of £315.936 has been incurred during this current financial year 95Q/o of expenditure continues to be spent directly on project costs, with just 50/0 required for administration costs.. Deficit of £37.085 as anticipated has been reported for the year. The Trustees are very satisfied with the financial results for the year and aim to continue to build on Charlene's legacy. Reserves Policy The Trustees continue to monitor and update the reserves policy in order to establish the level of reserves that are required to continue lo provide support and investment into all the projects for the next e1ve months. Separately designated funds have been set up and are detailed in the notes to the Accounts. Results and Dividends At the end of the financial year the company has assets of £203,951 (2022 - £165,710) and liabilities of £75,665 (2022 - £601). The net assets of the company have decreased by £(37,085). Compllance with Sector-wide Legislation and Standards The company engages pro-aclively with legislation, standards and codes which are developed for the sector. Charlene's Projed subscribes to and is compliant with the following.. The Charities SORP {FRS 102) Going Concem The trustees have reviewed the budgets for the year ahead and are salisfied that there are adequate funds in place to ensure that the charity can continue its activities and the current year financial statements have been prepared on a going concern. Publlc Benefit The Charity has given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's guidance on public benefit to ensure that the actives entered into during the year have helped to achieve the organisation's objectives and activities, as well as providing public benefit.
Charlene's Project Approve by th& ard f Trustees on 16 October 2023 and signed on its beh311 by.. Rlchard Barr Trustee
Charlene's Project STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES, RESPONSIBILITIES ror Ihe financial year ended 31 August 2023 Tlie Iruslee5 are responsible for prepdring the finanGial statements in accor(Sancg with applicable law and ulations. The law applicable to charities in Northem Ireland requires the Irustees lo ppare finafjcial slalemenls for each rjnancial year which give a Ir¢Je and fair view ol Ihe assets. li8bililies and financial position r)1 the company as a (he financial year end date and of the surplus or delicil of the company and otherwise comply with the Charitie5 Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. In preparing these financial slalemenls. the Iruslèes are required to.. select suitablè aecounling poli¢ies and apply them consislently-, observe the mèthods and principles in the Charitiès SORP make judgements and etimate5 that are reasonable and prudent., state wlielher the financial slaiemenls have been prepared in aordanCe with the relevant financial reporting framework, identify those standards. and note the effect and the reasons for any rnalerial departure from Ihose standards., and prepare the financial statèments on the going ¢on¢ern basis unless it is inappropriat& to presume rhal Ihe company will continue in operation. The Iruslees confirm that they have complied wilh the above requirements in preparing the financial stat8menls. The trustees are responsible for keeping adequale accounting rérords thal are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose witn reasonable accuracy al any time the financial position of the company and enable Ihern to ensLJre that the financial statements comply with the Charities Aci (Northerll IrelanLII 2008. Thes, arp also responsible for safeguarding the assets ol the company an¢J hence lor taking rea&iiable steps Io.. Ilie prevention and detèction of fraud and other irregularities. oved ythe oar of Trustees on 16 October 2023 and signed on its behall by-. Richard Barr Trustee