## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT** 

After almost a year since our charity was registered by the Northern Ireland Charity Commission, our trustees met on 25 March 2016 to analyze the work done and to plan future development work. 

At the meeting we analyzed the fulfillment of our goals: 

## **PURPOSES** 

The Charity was established for the prevention and relief of poverty, suffering and distress and through the financing, building, establishment and/or support of advancement of education of children and young people under the age of 18 in Guinea-Bissau and such other countries that may from time to time be identified by the Committee (hereinafter referred to as “the area of benefit”) through the financing, building, establishment and/or support of primary schools and the equipping of such primary schools with equipment, furniture and teaching materials. 

To fulfill our purposes, as soon as the charity was registered on 24 March 2015, we began looking for a shop to rent which we only found four months later, on 23 July 2015. 

From this time, we started our activities summarized in the points below: 

- 1 To open the shop we introduced some of our own capital to pay the deposit and hire staff. 

- 2 We began to sell the donated goods which people offer to us. 

- 3 The sales in this first year were very low so most of the time we put in our own money to cover the expenses. 

- 4 We have already done one fundraising activity on 27 February 2015. 

- 5 Despite many difficulties in paying the costs to keep the store running in these first eight months, we began to support a school in Brene village of Guinea Bissau. 

## **FUTURE PLANS** 

- 1 To increase sales and fundraising activities. 

- 2 To increase volunteers. 

- 3 To provide more support to the Brene school. 

- 4 Local family support. 

- 5 To build more relationships with local Community Centres. 



## **(I)** 

## **To increase sales and fundraising activities** 

We plan to open more shops in large cities in Northern Ireland like Belfast and Lisburn and apply more sales strategies: eg promotions for selling purposes; asking, listening and acting. 

To apply for more fundraising activities: eg bag packing, street collection, coffee morning. 

## **(II) To increase volunteers** 

Open more applications for volunteers, and better organize the team of ambassadors to make them ready to answer and act in the right way. 

## **(III)** 

## **To provide more support to the Brene school** 

With more money that we plan to find in the future, we will increase the support to these children with school materials, finish building this school and open more class rooms. 

## **(IV) Local family support** 

Many families came to us to ask for support and we support them by filling applications, calling and translating.  As these needs are increasing, we plan to spend more time in this kind of support. 

## **(V)** 

## **To build more relationship with local Community Centres** 

We plan to build and good relationships with local Community Centres by supporting them with books and toys from donations that we receive in our shop. 

In meeting, the trustees analyzed the results obtained in this year and plan to expand the points mentioned above for the next year. 

Below are the names of the trustees present at the meeting: 

Paulo Carlos Edineusa Figueiredo Carla Balde