MESSAGE FROM OUR CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE
To say this has been an impactful year is a huge understatement. For a small team we have achieved so much, but none of this would have been possible without the individuals, businesses and trusts that have given so generously in support of our work. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank the following trusts and foundations and companies for their loyalty, The Betty Lawes Foundation, Sussex Partners, Parker Lloyd Group, The Souter Charitable Trust, The Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust, and Sarah’s Trust.
Following sixteen trips to deliver medical and surgical supplies to hospitals, and food and essentials to the displacement centres in Ukraine, we were forced to scale back our efforts due to the danger to staff and the reduction in funds that we were receiving. We were in Ukraine from the very start of the conflict, when the larger charities and NGO’s were not on the ground, and we filled a vital gap when aid and supplies were not going into the country. As with any crisis appeal, there is a huge spike in public support, but this is extremely difficult to sustain. We have however continued to support grassroots projects in Ukraine that are getting essential supplies to the Ukrainian people that are still living in the country.
Over the past year we have made huge strides forward at our primary and secondary schools in Ghana and they are now at full capacity. This year also saw our first ever graduating students from our high school. We are so proud of them and what they have achieved, especially as many of these young people started their education much later and have had a lot of catching up to do. All these students are going on to further study at the state senior high schools in the district, something they never would have been able to consider without the presence of our school.
So many families living in the community of Ayensuako and the surrounding villages are feeling the positive impact of our schools on their lives, whether that’s the women who are now employed to make the school dinners in the kitchen, or the children living at the local orphanage that are now riding bikes to get to their lessons; lives are changing for the better. As well as the social impact of our work, we have also been seeking to address how we reduce our environmental impact on the local area. You can read more about the practical measures that we have put in place to achieve this in the report.
Over the past year our team has dedicated significant time and effort to planning the next steps for the orphaned and abandoned young people in our care in Romania. This has been a complex and time-consuming process as we have sought to address how the needs of every child can be met now and in the future. I am delighted to report that we have found foster families or placements for every young person, and we are continuing to support the salaries for the foster carers. You can read more about how they are progressing in this report.
Before I close, I would like to say a huge thank you to our trustee, Maureen Evans, for the huge part that she has played in supporting our work, particularly in Romania. Maureen and her husband have visited our Safe Homes many times and they have been influential in bringing donors on board to help us to care for the children living there. I am extremely grateful to Maureen and wish her all the best for the future.
Sarah Wade
CEO and Founder
The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 28 September 2023.
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the Charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable 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 2019)".
Public benefit
The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Charity should undertake.
MISSION STATEMENT
We believe everyone is entitled to health care, an education and a family. We strive to provide these three key rights across the globe.
OBJECTIVES
Humanitas is a creative and ambitious grass roots charity that has worked for more than a decade to protect and care for some of the world’s most vulnerable people. We exist to transform the quality of life and empower disadvantaged children and young people who do not have access to an education, healthcare or a home. By tackling these three essentials we can change lives for good.
HOW WE DO IT
We run projects in the UK, Ghana, Romania and in refugee camps around the world.
We work alongside deprived, rural communities in Ghana to ensure that children don’t miss out on an education and are given the chance to go to school.
Our medical professionals and volunteer nurses offer life saving treatment to families who have fled violence and persecution and are living in temporary refugee camps.
Our professional staff in Romania cares for orphaned and abandoned children with disabilities and place them into loving foster homes.
THE IMPACT OF OUR WORK IN 2022-23
Caring for orphaned and abandoned children in Romania
We are delighted to report that we have managed to find permanent foster homes and placements for all the young people that were living in our Safe Homes. Some of them have been fostered by our staff who have cared for them since they were babies, which is the best outcome we could have wished for.
Young people like Andre who is now settled into his foster care placement. Since he was very young Andre's dream has been to find his own family unit and he is loving living with Lia (one of the carers that worked in Safe Homes) and her family. Lia lives in the same village as our Safe Homes and Andre is still in contact with his friends and continues to attend the same school. Andre is making great strides into adulthood; he's learning to play the trumpet and has a Saturday job. He is now eighteen years old, and it has been an absolute privilege to watch him grow into a delightful young man.
Many of the young people that we support attend secondary school, and some have started college in the towns where they now live - this was not an option in the village where our Safe Homes are based. They have hobbies, active social lives, and have the potential to live independently in future, which would never have been possible had they remained in state care. Our other young adults still require 24-hour care due to their special needs and are in placements where they continue to receive this care. We will continue with our support for the foster families to raise these young people so that they can offer them the same opportunities and have the same life chances as their peers.
Running schools in Ghana
Our work in Ayensuako continues to go from strength to strength and we continue to be inspired and humbled by the huge impact that small changes make to the daily lives of the children and families living in the community. Changes like the bikes that we have provided for the pupils that attend our secondary school from the orphanage.
Before they had bikes, these children walked for over an hour each way every day just to get to school, and with no breakfast. The walk was alongside a dusty road, often in extreme heat or in huge deluges of rain. In response to this need, we ran a ‘buy a bike’ campaign and raised sufficient funds to purchase ten bikes through UK charity Re-Cycle. As well as delivering the bikes, we worked with Re-Cycle to run a two-day bike safety and bike maintenance workshop so that the children know how to ride safely and take care of their bikes. The children are all now riding their bikes to school which has made their journeys to and from school much more enjoyable.
As well as providing bikes for our pupils, we have also made some big changes to our educational offering. Earlier this year, we opened a sewing skills room in our secondary school. The room is now home to fifteen sewing machines and is used daily by our pupils and women in the community who are being taught how to make clothing, bags, and household items by an experienced seamstress. The sewing room is now being used to make the school uniforms and is also used for repairing torn or damaged uniforms, saving us money and equipping our pupils with new skills at the same time. With these additional skills under their belt, these children will have access to a wider variety of job opportunities in the towns and cities. A special note of thanks goes to The Studio at No 30 for their generous donations of material and sewing equipment which have been so gratefully received by the school.
In addition to our sewing skills room, we have also made strides to improve our offering to pupils that are showing a real talent in the arts. One pupil in particular has blown us away with his artistic talent and we are doing all that we can to harness and encourage this. Thanks to Hitchin Art Hub for generously donating art equipment that has given our pupils the opportunity to use different media and techniques that they have never tried before. Looking ahead, we are planning on running remote art lessons between artists and pupils here in the UK and some of the pupils at our school to inspire them to get creative!
We also ran a campaign for people to donate laptops to our IT suite so that more pupils can benefit from learning how to use a computer and the software systems that they will need to be familiar with in the workplace. Our IT suite is now well stocked with laptops and computers, and we now have a dedicated IT teacher. A special note thanks to Enchant and the Priory School in Hitchin for the big part they have played in making this happen. Leaving school with these skills behind them will put our pupils in a much stronger position when they finish their studies and are seeking employment.
One of our proudest moments this year was the opening of the school kitchen following a successful matched funding Christmas Appeal. Raising funds to open the kitchen became a big priority for us as teachers were reporting that pupils were falling asleep in class or having trouble concentrating because they were so hungry. Some pupils were only eating one meal at the end of every day and for many this consisted of rice water. Thanks to all the individuals that donated to the appeal, and Parker Lloyd Group for matching the donations, we were able to open our school kitchen in February 2023. Now our pupils are benefitting from eating a nutritious lunch every day cooked by two local women who are employed by us. The ripple effect of this relatively small change to their school day is huge as pupils are now able to work to the best of their ability in class and are not hampered by feeling desperately hungry and tired.
Reducing our impact on the environment
As well as running a paperless office, we have also made significant strides to address the impact of our work in the communities where we operate. Thanks to a grant from NextEnergy Foundation, in May 2023 we installed a 5kWp rooftop solar system on our secondary school. The system powers all the electrical appliances at the school. We were previously dependent on electricity from the national grid which is prone to unpredictable blackouts, some lasting hours and others lasting for days.
Now that we have a reliable and sustainable source of energy, out teachers and pupils can teach and learn without distraction or delay. Our teachers are thoroughly enjoying the experience of teaching without the hinderance of computers switching off and the internet going down. Lessons can be taught from start to finish without the worry of machines suddenly switching off and it is already having a positive impact on our pupil's learning - they are able to concentrate, and more work is being covered because they are not being interrupted by power cuts. This will have an impact on the pupil's academic progression and their general wellbeing as they have found it extremely frustrating and demoralising when they have been sitting at sewing machines or laptops and they must wait for them to start working again.
As well as cutting our energy costs, the new solar system has also reduced the amount of food waste at our school. When electricity supplies have cut out for longer periods of time, we had to throw away the food that was being stored in the school fridge and freezer as it was no longer fit for human consumption. This has been a big issue for the school, especially since the cost of food has risen massively over the past six months. The solar panels will give us a constant source of electricity which means that our food bill will be reduced.
This year also saw the installation of biogas toilets and compost bins in the grounds of the school. Our pupils have been engaging in regular rubbish collection pick-ups in and around the school grounds. The discarding of plastic waste is a huge issue in Ghana, particularly the single use plastic bags that people use to drink water from and then throw onto the ground. There are thousands of these bags littering the paths and rivers in Ayensuako and we will continue to educate the children about the damage that this does to the environment and the wildlife.
We are all human here
Our range of branded ‘We are all human here’ hoodies and t-shirts continue to sell and provide a small source of income for us. This year we translated the slogan into Romanian, Spanish and French which has proven to be popular.
Looking ahead
Over the past few months, we have been developing plans and seeking the funds to lay an all-weather sports pitch in the grounds of our secondary school in Ayensuako. At present there are no sports facilities for many miles and the communities in the area play sports on dusty, pitted ground that gets waterlogged during the rainy season. Our school currently has a girls and boys football team, but their practise and matches are hindered by the weather conditions, and we don’t have the equipment or the courts for them to try other sports. Our pupils have a real thirst for learning sport and will do anything that they can to play games – they have made handball nets using sticks and fishing nets, but these are constantly falling down. We are keen to harness this passion for learning sport and would love to be able to give them the opportunity to learn and play other sports on a purpose-built pitch that can be used all year round. We have plans afoot to put this into action and hope to be able to report on our progress with this in our next report.
We are also planning to extend the local orphanage where some of our pupils live. The living conditions in the orphanage are dire, with 125 boys and girls living and sleeping in two rooms. The rooms are overcrowded, dirty, dark, and filled with bunk beds. Some of the beds have no mattresses or bedding and children are sleeping on wooden slats with no covers. We are determined to work with the owner of the orphanage to significantly improve the living conditions for these children who have already suffered so much in their short lives. We want to be able to give them a home that enables them to live in dignity and are working to extend the building to accommodate ten bedrooms as well as kitchen and washroom facilities.
In furtherance of our ambition to enable professionals and those wishing to share farming, teaching, healthcare, engineering, and other useful skills with the community in Ayensuako, we wish to build a space where we can offer accommodation in the village as there is no other provision for miles around. At the moment the facilities to accommodate visitors are extremely basic and inadequate. We are in the early stages of planning how we can improve the offering so that we can respond positively to the many requests that we receive from individuals wishing to engage in skills exchange.
Our work has a strong appeal to individual and Trust funders who are committed to seeing the direct impact of their giving and the positive changes they can make to individual lives. As an ambitious, grassroots charity we have an unshakable sense of responsibility for the funds that we secure and an obligation to ensure that any donations made to the charity are used to benefit as many beneficiaries as possible.
During the year ended 28 September 2023 we received a total of £206,252 in grants and donations (including associated gift aid). Of these £115,087 were for specified restricted funds enabling us to disburse some £102k in aid as detailed in note 6.
Overall, there was a surplus on the General Fund for the year after transfers of £10,840 (2022: £71,544) leaving a balance carried forward at 28 September 2023 of £84,249. Fund balances of £3,625 are carried forward at 28 September 2023 on restricted funds.
It is the policy of the Charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to three months expenditure.
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the Charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
The Charity is a company limited by guarantee and is registered with the Charity Commission (Charity number 1114639).
The Charity is managed by a Board of Trustees with a breadth of skills and experience. The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:
All of whom are eligible for re-election and will be proposed for re-election at the next Annual General Meeting.
None of the Trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the Trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £10 in the event of a winding up.
The Trustees agree that the CEO is given the authority to represent the Charity on its behalf on all matters of day to day management.
Our operational and fundraising activities are managed from the Hitchin office; this is also the base from which we raise awareness of our cause. Our programmes are directly managed on the ground by our senior management team under the leadership of our Chief Executive who is accountable to the Board of Trustees.
We employ professional staff in Ghana and Romania to help deliver our projects on the ground.
The Trustees would like to thank the staff of Humanitas for their commitment, dedication and hard work, which has enabled us to operate effectively, efficiently and with care and respect for all our beneficiaries and partners.
More information about the charity can be found at www.humanitascharity.org
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The Trustees, who are also the directors of Humanitas Charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Humanitas Charity (the Charity) for the year ended 28 September 2023.
As the Trustees of the Charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the Charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
Caladine Ltd
Chartered Certified Accountants
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Humanitas Charity is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 31 Bucklersbury, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 1BG.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charity's Memorandum of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable 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 2019)". The Charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives unless the funds have been designated for other purposes.
The Charity operates a general fund which encompasses the core work.
The charity sets aside monies given generally for its partner charity Romanian Relief, which it has decided to use for children being looked after by Romanian Relief in their Safe Homes Project and therapy centres. Monies are also given to fund an operational educational project in Ghana.
Restricted funds are used for the specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets this criteria is charged to the fund together with a fair allocation of management and support costs.
The following restricted funds are in operation:
Ukraine
This fund was created in 2021-22 to alleviate suffering caused by the war in Ukraine. Most of the funds raised are being distributed through partner charity Romania Relief.
Safe Homes
Providing safe homes for orphaned and abandoned children with disabilities and special needs, which the charity gives grants for.
Ghana
This is a project called Education Matters, relating to a school and a library for children in a remote village in Ghana.
Crisis Appeal
Crisis appeal is a fund for the Coronavirus impact on the children we work with in Romania and Ghana. The funds are distributed between the projects in Ghana and Romania.
Advocacy
A project of rising awareness of our cause by promoting the idea of "we are all human here" through small events and sale of t-shirts and canvas bags.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the Charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Donated goods are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably.
Government grants are recognised when there is evidence of entitlement to the grant, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Resources expended are recognised in the period in which they are incurred and allocated to the particular cost centre to which they relate. Resources include irrecoverable VAT.
Charitable activities expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the Charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries.
Governance represents the strategic and legal costs of the Charity.
Property and equipment are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following basis:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
Fixtures, fittings and equipment costing less than £500 are not capitalised.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the Charity. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.
At each reporting end date, the Charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The Charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the Charity's balance sheet when the Charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include trade and other receivables and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including trade and other payables and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade payables are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade payables are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the Charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Grants
Raising funds
Marketing and Communications
Consultancy
Consultancy
Medical Equipment and Medicines
Other - Activities
Computer Supplies and Services
Miscellaneous
Office Supplies
Travel
Volunteer Expenses
Subscriptions
The Independent Examination fee included with Governance costs is £940 (2022: £840).
Trustee Sarah Wade received remuneration of £45,000 (2022:£45,000) during the year and reimbursed expenses of £Nil (2022: £500).
Trustee Ramiz Momeni received consultancy fees of £Nil (2022:£9,000).
Donations from Trustees and related parties during the year amounted to £1,350 (2022: £1,730).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The income funds of the charity include restricted funds - see note 1.3 for a full explanation of each fund. The following are details of unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:
Note - 2023
Transfers were made from the General fund to the Ghana fund and Safe Homes fund to cover the deficit arising in the year.
Note - 2022
The Bambuu Project fund was closed and the remaining funds transferred to the Ghana fund in the year.
The Refugee Project fund was closed and the remaining funds transferred to the Ukraine fund in the year.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
Refugee Project
This is a Crisis Fund to enable us to respond efficiently to existing refugee crisis and future humanitarian emergencies. Our ambition is to deliver quality front line medical assistance to refugees through our mobile clinic.
During the year Humanitas Charity made substantial donations to Romanian Relief, a charity registered in Romania number 13853662, of which Sarah Wade is also a Trustee.
Details of the Charity's subsidiaries at 28 September 2023 are as follows:
The Charity had no material debt during the year.