Trustees’ Annual Re ort 2022-23 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. :
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a) To provide a venue or venues both directly and with other parties, for young people to interact and socialise.
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b) To recruit, select and train volunteers for service within the area of benefit and in turn to support their personal and professional development.
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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 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:
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a. Improved health conditions for the all the families in the affected neighbourhood.
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b. Children can attend school more regularly and obtain a better quality of education.
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c. Helps relieve poverty as adults are healthier and able to work better and bring home a constant wage to feed their families.
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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.
In parallel with the delivery of the projects into Kenya we worked with the two cofounders of the project to enable them to set up a separate company and charity so that they can sustain the work into the future. This was successfully achieved and with the launch of the new charity and the transfer of assets in 2022.
In January 2023 our we part funded the provision of 250 Generators to churches in Ukraine to support their local communities during the power outages inflicted by the Invasion of Russia. Our chairman, along with two other men from Northern Ireland, took these into Ukraine and spent 10 days delivering them. This experience created the opportunity to launch our latest projects to provide ongoing support the people in Ukraine. We engaged with two individuals from Ukraine who help identify the specific aid that is necessary and equally to divert us away from help that is not optimum.
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.
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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.
To date we have targeted 50 individuals, 20 church communities with emphasis on engaging young people, 5 schools and 10 businesses.
In Ukraine the beneficiaries have been displaced people and these who have been defending their country.
Activities and Achievements
The primary activities with Waterdrops were the successful setting up of the new charity and the transfer of the relevant assets.
The Primary activities with our Ukrainian project was the completion of 15 projects in country.
Restriction on who can benefit
There are no restrictions whatsoever on who can benefit from this project.
Harm
A risk assessment is completed before each work project is implemented. This includes overseas travel to a remote area for the staff involved.
Private Benefit
All those involved in running the Charity do so on a voluntary basis and receive no income, expenses, or other private benefits.
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.
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Clifford McSpadden
Trustee and Chairman
29[th] February 2024
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