## Trustees’ Annual Re ort 2020-21 p ## **Public Benefit** ## **Purposes** The charity was established for the public benefit within Northern Ireland (hereinafter referred to as "the area of benefit") by promoting community safety, reducing anti-social behaviour and crime without distinction of gender, sexual orientation, disability/ability, race, political, religious, or other opinion, providing facilities in the interest of social welfare with the object of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants of the area of benefit and in particular: - a) To provide a venue or venues both directly and with other parties, for young people to interact and socialise. - b) To recruit, select and train volunteers for service within the area of benefit and in turn to support their personal and professional development. - c) To organise and provide outings and other activities to further the company's aims and objectives As the charity has progressed, the advancement of religion has become an additional purpose that we seek to fulfil. Specifically, we seek to advance the Christian faith by providing a welcoming space for Young People to meet and learn about Christianity that is free from any intimidating denominational labels or infrastructure, so they may know that they are loved, valued, have a purpose, and feel part of a community whom they can trust and rely on. This purpose has been at the heart of our activities for 11 years and was delivered under the banner of the “Rhythm Project”. In February 2020, the responsibility for the ongoing delivery of this project was transferred, along with the assets pertaining to the project, to Youth for Christ. In September 2020 the name of the Company and of the Charity was changed to “Practical Christian Outreach”. This was to facilitate the pursuance of a broader outreach of needs. The first of these new outreach projects was “Waterdrops”. The charity has extended “its area of benefit” to Kenya/ East Africa as it promotes access to clean water facilities in remote rural areas. Some of the communities have little or no water supply, so a new supply is created. Others may have some water tanks but require additional work to 1 upgrade their system to a fully functioning supply which brings a good quantity of water to the whole community. This objective has many benefits including: - a. Improved health conditions for the all the families in the affected neighbourhood. - b. Children can attend school more regularly and obtain a better quality of education. - c. Helps relieve poverty as adults are healthier and able to work better and bring home a constant wage to feed their families. - d. The women who normally carry the water have more time to be involved in community activities instead of walking long distances. To ensure the sustainability of our water projects, we consult with local leaders from the onset so that they feel ownership of the facility. We train a water management committee whose role it is to ensure the water distribution point is well looked after and maintained. We also use local labour as much as possible to bring income to the immediate area. Most Kenyans think holistically that there is no division between the physical and spiritual, so when they are blessed with a clean water supply, they immediately thank God for this. Likewise, our project reflects this as we pray as a community before work begins and then hold a dedication service to handover each finalised project. ## **Beneficiaries** During the year 2020-21, the direct beneficiaries of Practical Christian Outreach were the inhabitants of a very remote area in South-eastern Kenya called Oltiasika, populated by approximately 2,000 people of which 60% are children under 10 years old. These people totally rely on collecting rainwater as the closest borehole is approximately 25 kms away. They were provided with a water distribution point which was serviced by three large underground water tanks. Because of this, some temporary jobs were created for the local people while the building work was progressing. Provision of this water means the women no longer must travel a long distance by foot to collect water. These water tanks serve people within a range of 10 kms. Supporters and donors from N. Ireland and further afield have also benefited from Waterdrops as they have been invited to partner with the project and support communities in Kenya. They are educated through the website and social media about life and culture in these Maasai communities and this brings about an appreciation of the time and effort involved in gaining access to fresh clean water. As supporters connect with people in villages, this nurtures a global viewpoint and encourages people to see the diversity of life beyond their own culture. 2 To date we have targeted 50 individuals, 20 church communities with emphasis on engaging young people, 5 schools and 10 businesses. ## **Activities and Achievements** Unfortunately, the launch of this project coincided with the onset of the coronavirus so consequently plans were paused. As everyone was focused on dealing with their own changing circumstances, it was not a good time to be looking for overseas funding. Also, although Kenya was behind UK in terms of the start of the virus, it spread more slowly throughout the country, so we had to ensure it was safe to travel and implement the project. The building work could only be carried out during the rainy seasons which occur in March/April and then October/November. This would ensure we were not depleting any water supply available to the local people as we used only fresh rainwater for building. While we waited, a website was launched, and social media platforms set up so we could begin fundraising and contact possible donors. We contacted local leaders in the Oltiasika area to plan to implement the project. A team of water technicians was also alerted to begin preparations for the building work. By October the Project Manager was able to travel to Kenya to supervise all the activities. The projected was successfully delivered on time and completed under budget by November. ## **Restriction on who can benefit** There are no restrictions whatsoever on who can benefit from this project. Even though it is seen as a donation from a Christian charity, the water is received gratefully by all, regardless of faith or denomination and all beneficiaries are dealt with equally. ## **Harm** A risk assessment is completed before each work project is implemented. This includes overseas travel to a remote area for the staff involved. We must also ensure that the water provided does not carry any risk of introducing water borne diseases. The water collection point is to be used by people only and their animals 3 must drink at a separate tank some distance from the main collection point. The concrete base used to place their water containers on is always kept clean. ## **Private Benefit** All those involved in running the Charity do so on a voluntary basis and receive no income, expenses, or other private benefits. The exceptions to this are a Project Manager and Project Administrator for the Waterdrops project, who are employed on a part-time basis. They are not trustees of the Charity nor Directors in the company. ## **Statement of Compliance** In setting our objectives and planning our activities for the year, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission for Northern Irelands guidance on public benefit to ensure that the activities have helped to achieve the charity’s purposes and provide a benefit to the beneficiaries. No Serious or Periodic Reports have been required. Clifford McSpadden Trustee and Chairman 28[th] December 2022 4