## Hope365
## Trustees’ Report
The trustees, who are directors for the purposes of company law, present the annual report together with the financial statements and auditors’ report of the charitable company for the year ended 31 October 2025. The Trustees confirm that they comply with the requirements of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, The Charities (Annual Return) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015, The Charities (Annual Return) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice which applies to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015).
## THANK YOU
As I look back over the previous 12 months, I am so thankful to God to see what has been accomplished. As it . was our tenth anniversary we embarked on a year of fundraising activities including mud runs, concerts, Sky Dives, Ethiopian Eating Experiences etc ete I am incredibly appreciative of all those who got involved and for all the funds which were raised to help enable us to develop different aspects of Hope365 in Shashemene.
Without the wholehearted support of so many people we would not have been able to see such progress. Whether through volunteering in one of our shops, taking on fundraising activities, joining our "Shareholder" ‘ scheme, our "One to One" child sponsorship scheme or our new “Nourish to Flourish” scheme, the message is the same: Thank You!
Michael Holmes, ChiefExecutive
## STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT
Hope365 is a registered charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104718) and a fully licensed International NGO (Non-Government Organisation) in Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (3730).
Hope365 is a company limited by guarantee.
Trustees who served during the year were as follows: Alistair Bennett Stephen Hamill Stephen Hunter - Chris Jamison Chief Executive: Michael Holmes[[Finance]][[Officer:]][[Diane][ Davidson]][[ Davidson]] The trustees are responsible for the overall governance of the charity. The number of trustees shall not be less than three, nor more than seven. -
_[[Finance]][[Officer:]][[Diane][ Davidson]][[ Davidson]]
## TRUSTEE SELECTION, APPOINTMENT & COMPETENCE
When a Trustee vacancy exists, the current Trustees will appoint a replacement or additional Trustee.
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## EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
At the Trustees' Meeting on 21 April 2026, TB Millar were re-appointed as external independent auditors for the period 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026.
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## Hope365
## Trustees’ Report
## FINANCIAL REVIEW AND RESULTS FOR THE YEAR
The results for the year and the charity's financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached financial statements.
## RISK MANAGEMENT
Risk is an everyday part of the Charity's normal activity. The Trustees have considered and identified the major risks to which the charity is exposed and having taken appropriate professional advice have been assured that adequate systems and procedures are in place in order to mitigate or manage those risks.
## RESERVES POLICY
The Charity does not have a reserves policy.
## PENSIONS
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme (which meets the requirements of The Pension Regulator as a qualifying workplace pension scheme) for the benefit of its permanent staff and those who are eligible under Auto Enrolment. The assets are administered by insurance companies in personal pension plans and are held independently from those of the charity. Contributions are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
## STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE
In setting our activities and planning our activities for the year the trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's guidance on public benefit to ensure that the activities have helped to achieve the charity's purposes and provide a benefit to the beneficiaries.
## PURPOSES
Hope365’s purpose is to rescue and care for Street kids in Ethiopia. Our aim is to provide for the physical, emotional, spiritual and educational needs of the children. Our intention is to help each child realise they are loved by God and achieve their potential, being well equipped for adult life and making a positive contribution to their local community and country.
There is no harm associated with the purposes.
## BENEFICIARIES
The charity's beneficiaries are:
The poorest children and young people of Shashamene in Ethiopia who are homeless and sleeping on the streets of the city.
## PRIVATE BENEFIT
The only private benefit arising in the period was the remuneration of those employed to manage and operate the charity both in Northern Ireland and in Ethiopia. This benefit is incidental to and does not outweigh the public benefit.
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## Hope365
## Trustees' Report
## PUBLIC BENEFIT AND REVIEW OF THE YEAR
During the period, the charity has continued to provide benefits from its activities as follows:
## (}) - At Home
To achieve our objectives in Ethiopia we must generate financial support at home. Our range of finance generating schemes currently includes:
* Three large Charity Shops in: Ballyclare, The Junction (Antrim) and Larne.
- Online pre-owned Furniture Base (Ballyclare).
- Monthly Direct Debit "Shareholder" scheme, (Project Sponsorship).
- "One to One” Child Sponsorship Scheme for reunified Street Kids.
- Nourish to Flourish Food sponsorship scheme.
- ¢ Speaking engagements in schools and churches.
- Fundraising activities.
- Trust Fund applications.
* Developing business relationships with local companies and partnering them with our projects.
* Throughout the year all charity shops have performed very well.
* The number of participants in our "Shareholders" regular giving scheme also remains encouraging.
* Our "One-to-One" child sponsorship scheme for reunited Street Kids has increased significantly during the
- year.
¢ The new Nourish to Flourish scheme has had an encouraging start.
* We continue to develop new relationships with Primary & Secondary Schools and continue to use our specially developed resources (KS2).
* Income from fundraising activities has improved.
* Finally, our "Trailer for Change" which is a portable clothes and bric-a-brac donations trailer visited many churches, businesses, and schools throughout the year. These additional donations contributed significantly to the profitability of shop sales. ;
## HOW WE ACHIEVE OUR PURPOSE
## (ii) - In Ethiopia
Using the funds generated at home we employ Ethiopian staff (currently 12 people in our original project of Transition Centre and Group Homes, along with 23 staff in our "Hope365 Academy” School) to outwork the objectives of our approved projects in Ethiopia, Our status as an International NGO gives us the scope to consider additional strategic projects as we uncover the core needs. In addition, it allows us to ensure that all key staff who will be working closely with the children in our care should be followers of Jesus. Children are accepted into our care regardless of their faith or ethnicity; however, our projects operate in accordance with the example and teaching of Jesus. :
We have developed good relationships with local churches in the regions where we work, to maximize the chances of children continuing to grow in their faith.
The Hope365 Academy continued to operate from excellent rented facilities. This school project offers all important education as well as school dinners to vulnerable boys and girls in Shashemene including many former Steet Kids. This includes the provision of breakfasts for the children to address the problem of children fainting with hunger in the mornings.
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## Hope365
## Trustees’ Report
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## OUR PROJECT: Transition Centre
“Tesfa Manoriya Bota” (Hope Home) is a great facility which has the capacity to sleep up to 20 boys at any one time. All children are referred to us by Shashemene Women’s & Children’s Affairs in conjunction with the local Police Force.
Tesfa Manoriya Bota is central to our project as it acts as the starting point in a journey of hope for street boys. There are two strands to our Project Proposal.
(i) Long term care for Street Kids who have no one able to care for them.
(ii) Reunification of Street Kids with extended family members.
The staff team have come together well throughout the year and have created a very loving environment for all the children, whether long term or shorter term. A variety of techniques including play therapy, drama, art therapy etc. are used by our staff to help unlock the backgrounds to the traumatic stories of each of these individual children. All children have full medical check-ups and enjoy a well-balanced diet, showering facilities and new clean clothes.
## Strand 1: Long term care.
When children are referred to us by the local government we assess each individual case to determine the best possible long-term plan for the child. Our staff team includes a psychologist, social worker, counselling staff, nanny’s etc. as well as experienced project managers etc.
## GROUP HOMES
Where there are no family links, or where reunification with extended family is not possible, we will form "Group Homes". These replicate as closely as possible a traditional family environment with our specially trained live-in nanny's and up to approximately ten children. The children all attend school and church and essentially grow together as a family as part of the local community, thereby eliminating any stigma of “institutional care". We currently operate 3 Group Homes and thanks to being able to move into bigger facilities we are now able to care for a total of 35 orphaned children.
The homes have been operating very successfully with all the boys having a very stable environment. We now have access to a new compound and all our Group Homes are located in this compound We have trained and employed house parents to live with, and care for the boys. In line with Ethiopian Government policies the "family" is well integrated into the local. community. The boys are-really enjoying this safe, stable environment and are thriving at school. They continue to have psycho-social input from our staff but are remarkably adapted after having spent so long on the streets. |
Outside in the garden the boys have been learning about growing various vegetables and how to rotate the planting to maximize yield.
- After detailed investigations throughout previous years we have established that 30 of the children in our care have no one to care for them and so reunification will be impossible.
+ All have been enrolled in schools in Shashemene where they will receive an excellent education, including at the Hope365 Academy. The boys live in one of our “Group Homes” where they have settled extremely well and still receive e-psychological support from our staff team: All have been verified as being orphans by the relevant Government department (Women & Children’s Affairs). * Given the boys’ circumstances the choice of school was crucial and so we ensure the boy's carers meet weekly with the teachers to ensure their good progress continues
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## Hope365
## Trustees' Report
All the boys are all actively involved in doing chores around the house such as brushing floors, washing clothes, doing dishes etc. to help provide as normal an upbringing as possible. Even a simple request like asking permission to bring school friends home to play are a very healthy sign that the boys really do feel secure and that their lives are being normalised.
A new addition this year is a Trauma Care centre called “Joshua’s Treehouse” . In this facility we offer Trauma support and counselling not only to the children in the Group Homes, but also to any pupils from our school - The Hope365 Acamedy. Our intention is to develop this as a centre of excellence so that groups from other regions can visit and learn from our staff. Trauma care is not something which is normally available mm Ethiopia.
## Strand 2: Re-unification of kids to extended family
:
Where appropriate and where a biological family exists, we believe it would be in the child’s best interest to reunite them with blood relatives. However, one major challenge relates to the family’s ability to provide adequately for the child. Many kids are on the streets because families are simply too poor to care for them. One way of helping successfully reunite a child into a family long-term is to come alongside the family and help them. Our “One to One” Child sponsorship program for reunited children, as the name suggests, encourages sponsors to support one specific child and his family with a monthly Direct Debit of £20. This money is used to improve the quality of life not only for the child but also for the family. Typically, we use the funds to provide food and clothing. We also provide educational resources and medical support etc.
With no Social Services in Ethiopia, it is our responsibility to undertake home assessment visits before reuniting a child. We are also responsible for regular follow up visits to ensure the reunification is continuing to be successful. Given the geographical spread of the reunited children, this is a significant challenge.
* We are delighted to have reunited well over 250 children with members of their biological family. Once reunited we cover the associated educational costs of ensuring the child goes to school. + Some of these children come from rural areas outside Shashemene while others live within the town limits. + Approximately 30 families of reunited children have so far benefitted from the Income Generation Micro Finance Loan scheme and performances have been encouraging as have the repayment of loans in a timely manner.
## HOPE ACADEMY
We are delighted with the progress of the Hope365 Academy. This school comprises 11 classrooms for grade students plus a school office. All grade pupils have a distinctive school uniform which they proudly wear.
« Around 400 pupils (both boys and girls) aged between 6 and l4yrs are now receiving a good education as well a nutritious hot meal each day. Provision of breakfast has now also been introduced to help the children learn effectively. Reunited Street Kids who live close enough are admitted into the Hope Academy in line with the strict admission criteria developed in conjunction with the local government authorities.
« The staff team comprises 23 teachers and support staff. This year we have extended the age range of teaching to Grade 6 for the first time.
## Trustees and officers
The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:
Trustees: Stephen Hunter
Christopher Jamison Stephen Hamill Alistair Bennett
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## Hope365
## Trustees' Report
## Plans for the future
As we plan for the future we have raised sufficient funds to allow us to build 4 new classrooms to extend the education of our pupils to grade 7 (previously grade our highest level was Grade 5) in the Hope365 Academy. We also plan to grow our new Nourish to Flourish Meal sponsorship programme and other monthly subscriptions schemes. Funding is also in place to allow us to build 2 new sets of toilets and also a shower block at the Hope365 Academy so that all pupils will be able to shower weekly as they have no proper washing facilities in their homes. We also have funds in place for the building of a Science lab and Library - both of which are required by the Ethiopian Government before permission is granted to teach Grade 7.
## Small companies provision statement
This report has been. prepared in accordance with the small companies regime under the Companies Act 2006.
Ar Avb—~) Stephen Hamill Trustee
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