NB: This report and accompanying accounts were accepted and approved by the Trustees at the Annual General Meeting held in Hethersett Norfolk, on 1st July 2009.
Signatures are in place on the Trustees’ Report and the signed Examiner’s Report Form is on file. All signatures have been withheld from publication at the request of the Trustees for Internet Security reasons.
Trustees' Report:
2008-2009 was our second year of operation and it was an exciting year full of interesting developments as Little Stars opened its first clinic and started its Family Sponsorship Scheme - both of which have been very successful. Total expenses in the United Kingdom and in Luxor which cannot be attributed directly to a project amounted to £6,096 after prepayment of stationery has been accounted for - which is well below the charity’s self imposed maximum of 15%. This has been achieved through utilising volunteer help wherever possible. If staff were employed in the United Kingdom it would wipe out the charity’s reserves immediately.
The Trustees are trying to maintain a bank balance of around £25,000 as this sum is sufficient to run the charity without expansion for a year and cover any emergencies that might arise. Plans for the coming year include the opening of the new nursery school and the purchase of a vehicle which will enable us to reach the remoter villages with greater ease and allow us to collect children to bring them to the clinic and the school. Technically there are sufficient funds available to finance the purchase of a vehicle but this would use all the reserves and perhaps leave the charity in a vulnerable position. Fund raising during the coming year will concentrate on raising the money to buy this vehicle and to equip the nursery school to a high standard.
The drastic fall in the value of sterling in late 2008 and the early months of 2009 hit Little Stars and other charities very hard by reducing the purchasing power of donations and increasing expenditure alarmingly in real terms. Sterling fell in value to below 7 Egyptian pounds on the International markets at one point but the lowest rate we received was 7.35. This was terrible compared with the 10.75 that was obtained at times earlier in the year. However, by the end of May 2009, although not reaching its value of the previous year, sterling had rallied to 9.00 Egyptian pounds and made our expenditure more manageable although it is still being quoted at 8 or less in the United Kingdom foreign exchange bureaus. As the accounts are completed every month rather than being left until the end of the financial year, the exchange rate prevailing at the time of the expenditure was used the preparation of the accounts.
In the UK, we would like to formally thank our fund raisers and supporters without whom the charity would not be able to function and Lord Carnarvon for his continued support as patron of Little Stars. We would also like to thank the Charity Commission and Norfolk Constabulary for their immense support and advice in dealing with malicious cloned websites that were set up on the Internet by known offenders with their own agenda.
In Luxor, thanks are offered to Aamer Ibrahim for his voluntary work as a translator and to Nagar Khalifa for his tireless efforts in dealing with the vital paperwork for the Egyptian authorities and organising the staff of the clinic and the Distribution Centre. Sadly we lost one of our main supporters in Luxor with the death of Mr. Charles Woods in March 2009; he is greatly missed.
Every country has its own rules and regulations and Little Stars works within the legal framework of both the United Kingdom and Egypt. To operate the clinic and the nursery school we needed to obtain the relevant Egyptian licenses. This is not an easy task for a foreign organisation no matter how noble its aims. In order to clear the path for the licenses and to put Little Stars in an advantageous position over tax-free purchases in Egypt, Little Stars began the process of registering as an Egyptian Foundation in January 2009. This process is long and drawn out but is now nearing completion. The Little Stars Foundation will be separate from the UK charity but will be run by the same people plus three Egyptian Trustees. We wish to remain a UK charity that operates in Egypt, so Little Stars UK will make grants to the Foundation to cover the cost of running the clinic and the nursery school in the same way that it makes grants to the Good Samaritan Home. In this way Little Stars UK stays in complete control of the finances. We do not need a license for the relief of poverty and so this project will remain entirely in the remit of Little Stars UK.
In September 2008 Mr. Brian Hardman ceased to be a Trustee and we would like to thank him for everything he did during his time with Little Stars. His efforts were greatly appreciated. Now, we would like to welcome Mrs. Janet Hall who is joining the Board of Trustees from 1st June 2009. Being a Trustee is a voluntary post and can take a lot of time and energy to fulfil its duties therefore we are doubly grateful to all who freely give their time in this way. Thanks are offered to Mrs. Alison Shaw for voluntarily inspecting and approving our accounts for us. This is not a simple task as it will have taken Mrs. Shaw many hours to complete and we are very grateful to her.
Connie Tindale, the Chairman of Little Stars visited Luxor on a monthly basis throughout the year to check on progress of projects and to ensure that the administration ran smoothly; this was largely at her own expense. Mick Tindale, the Honorary Treasurer, visited Luxor in February to see the clinic and meet sponsored families at his own expense. Mick also voluntarily runs the Little Stars’ UK office when the chairman is away. Jane Nash has given up her valuable time to promote Little Stars in Australia. Thanks are offered to all concerned.
It is hard to set priorities when there is so much be done with little funds but throughout the year we concentrated on our three main areas of operation (Health, Education and the Relief of Poverty) while aiming to expand each of them. This aim was achieved in all areas as reported below.
Accounts are shown at the end of this report
1. Health
During 2007 and 2008 Little Stars financially maintained two clinics in Luxor on behalf of Manacare; one in Suel and one in Karnak. The clinic in Seul was very isolated and only opened for two hours each day, five days per week which proved to be totally inadequate for the need. Although there was great demand for the services, the restricted hours and the isolation meant that there were only one or two children being treated at the clinic on any day and it was not cost effective. The clinic in Karnak was similarly only open for two hours each day and was busy but much of the time and all the facilities were being used for treating aged stroke victims for a fee. It was recognised that stroke victims needed assistance but covering the cost of this remained outside Little Stars remit. With this in mind, support for these two clinics was withdrawn as soon as Manacare was in a position to resume financial control. The cost of running these clinics during 2008-2009 before support was withdrawn was £3,356.
Plans were drawn up for a new clinic enlarged Little Stars clinic on the west bank close to Qurna Hospital and a lease on premises was signed in July 2008. The premises were unfinished and involved a lot of building work but were completed without any problems and at low cost due to the vigilance of a Luxor volunteer.
The clinic is on a main road which makes its easily accessible for all and is open for seven hours per day, six days per week. It has been very busy and successful and there have been some spectacular improvements in the health of local children who attend. As all treatment is free and, where necessary, transport is provided. This has meant that children who previously could not get help are now being treated properly. This clinic has become a vital and greatly respected part of the community and it has been confirmed by a local hospital based Paediatrician that there are no facilities for disabled children in Luxor’s hospitals and medicines are not free in Egypt. The clinic at present has a staff of six people but this should rise soon as expansion is planned. Dr, Yara leads the medical team and Abdul Hamid acts as clinic manager.
The clinic was provided with physiotherapy equipment and to avoid conflicts of loyalty, new staff was appointed. The clinic was visited by the British Ambassador Sir Dominic Asquith and the British Consul Richard Fielding at the end of October 2009. It was officially opened by the Honorary British Consul Ahab Gaddis in January 2009 and named after our patron Lord Carnarvon.
The total cost of setting up the clinic, including plastering the walls, laying the floor tiles, wiring and plumbing two bathrooms and a kitchen plus the cost of rent, wages, telephone, electricity, repairs, renewals and disposable items plus all other running expenses for six months was £12,246 of which £214 is prepaid rent (£12,032). This is by any measure a very small amount for what has been achieved and was only possible thanks to the good grace of many of the tradesmen who were working on the project as they knew it was for the benefit of the children.
The policy of buying wheelchairs and providing walking aids for children to use in the clinic and in their own homes was continued. These items were purchased in Cairo. Total cost, including aids kept in the clinic was £1,114.
In addition to the clinic, children from poor families in the outlying villages who were in need of a doctor were collected and taken to the local hospital. The cost of medicines for sick children was also covered and donations were made towards the cost of surgical procedures that had to be done in Cairo because it was not possible to do them in Luxor with its limited facilities. Total cost of this provision was £205.
A regular monthly donation was given to The Good Samaritan Home for Disabled people to cover the cost of medical expenses, medicines, transport and the employment of three extra part-time teachers. The total cost of this donation was £3,325.
Total cost of health provision was £20,032
2. Education
During 2007-2008 Little Stars had a policy of paying school fees for children who were unable to pay them. This was done on a school-by-school basis rather than a child-by-child basis and was found to be unsatisfactory as children from schools not on the ‘list’ were being ignored and there was no feed-back of how the children had progressed and whether they were still in school. This policy was abandoned during 2008-2009 when the Trustees discussed and approved a new educational policy whereby Little Stars would have its own nursery school whose pupils would come initially from Qurna, Tarif and the outlying villages – with emphasis on children who are in our sponsorship programme. Under the new policy bright children in the nursery school will be encouraged throughout their school years and funds will be found to finance their whole education.
Our Sponsorship Programme is only a few months old but there are already more than 140 children in the scheme. It is recognised that not all these children would benefit from being sent to school as it would be impossible for them to catch up but younger children of school age will be encouraged to go to school and fees will be paid. Most of these children would never get the opportunity to go to school as family income is too low for the fees to be found. Schooling is free but the mandatory uniforms and books are not.
In April 2009 we learned that premises in the same building as the clinic were about to become vacant and in May we signed a contract on these premises and paid a year’s rent in advance plus one extra month. The contract will be dated from when we get full possession of the space and so this payment is being treated entirely as a prepayment of rent. (£3,250) As this is at the front of the building and was shop premises the rent is higher than that of the clinic which was residential premises at the back of the building. There is a very large room (which was a shop), a second medium sized room (office) and a toilet. This will be ideal for the nursery school as we have use of the clinic facilities and of extra toilets. The second room will be used for the children as administration can be done in the clinic office.
School items, pens, pencils etc were bought for use in the old clinic at Suel before it closed and for the Good Samaritan Home at a total cost of £38.
Total expenditure on education - £38.
3. Relief of Poverty
Relief of poverty was a major aspect of Little Stars work during 2008-2009. During 2007-2008 the distribution of food parcels was paid for by Little Stars but another organisation decided who would get them. This was upsetting because families who were in desperate need but whose ‘papers’ were not in order were being refused assistance. With the opening of the East Bank Distribution Centre in the spring of 2008, it became possible for Little Stars to store its own supplies of food items and to control where the food parcels were given out.
The East Bank Distribution Centre, which stores and distributes clothes, shoes, food blankets and wheelchairs, had premises in Abdul Hamid Ali el Omda Street which were large but had no toilet or washing facilities and also had only a roll-up door which left the ‘office’ area open to the street. Although we redecorated the place, which had been an old dairy, it became clear that the facilities were inadequate. In April 2009 we moved to other premises near the International Hospital which were of a similar size and rent but which offered better facilities and security. Rent was paid on these premises for one year (£1,500) of which ten months (£1,250) is prepaid rent. Before moving, further expenses of £179 were incurred in the old Distribution Centre. The new premises were redecorated and wooden palettes and storage units were bought. A cleaner was employed on a permanent basis to ensure the cleanliness of the centre and the protection of its food items. A telephone was installed. A total cost of running both the old and new centres for the year was £1,809.
200 Blankets were bought and distributed to poor families in the winter months at a cost of £652. Large supplies of clothes were also distributed to families in the winter and again in the spring. Most of the clothes were donated and brought to Luxor by supporters but some were bought in charity shops in the UK and taken out to Luxor by the Trustees. Total expenditure on clothing totalled £188 and a further £209 was incurred in transporting donated items to Luxor. Donated clothing, although of high value, has not been given a notional monetary value in the accounts.
The biggest expense we had was in the purchase of food items. Three quotations were obtained by our Administrator at the time before a choice of wholesaler was made. The quotation accepted was a lowest offered. In total £9,303 was spent on food which made up more than 1,500 food parcels which were all distributed to widows with children and other destitute families.
Total cost of relief of poverty was £12,161
4. Sponsorship Scheme
The sponsorship scheme began at the beginning of 2009 and has attracted new sponsors regularly since then. Sponsorship allows meat or poultry to be added to the food parcels given out by Little Stars and allows the welfare of individual families to be monitored and their needs met. Each sponsor pays an average of £10 per month per family. Several sponsors sponsor two families.
Over the last few months more than 40 large beds with mattresses have been bought for families whose children were sleeping on the floor where they were susceptible to vermin attack and skin infections. Also basic toilets have been installed, water has been piped, electricity supplies made safe and roofs mended in homes of widow’s without any support. Clothes and shoes have been provided for in excess of 140 children who are within the scheme.
Ways of enabling people to become more self-sufficient have also been explored and a sewing table and chair was bought for one woman and shelves put into a spare room to enable the opening of a mini-market for another. This is a small beginning but hopefully it will be an expanding project area as other women are hoping to have sewing machines so that they can work. If we ever have the funds to create a purpose-built centre then it will have integral workshops and a crèche.
More money has been spent on the sponsored families than has been received so far but this will even out over the coming years.
Total Expenditure - £1,851
5. Fund Raising
Donations continue to come from all parts of the world but the main source of income for Little Stars is through the efforts of its dedicated fund raising team in the United Kingdom. A new source of income has come from the Sponsorship Scheme which has only been running for a short time but is proving popular and successful. The benefit to the families involved in the scheme has been immense. Funds raised during the year amounted to £60,736 to which was added the small amount received in interest on our bank accounts. Interest has fallen dramatically due to the world financial crisis.
As we are not dependent on large corporate donations Little Stars has not been as adversely affected by the world-wide recession as many other charities have been. To ensure the future of Little Stars, new sources of funding are constantly being sought.
Gift Aid was claimed on all donations (mainly sponsorships) where Gift Aid forms had been completed. Overseas and anonymous donations are not eligible for Gift Aid.
The cost of raising funds includes the expenses of our fund raisers such as travel, parking, collecting cans and seals and totalled £692. Bank charges for currency exchange and transfers, and PayPal charges on Internet donations totalled £259.
Total raised - £60,744 Total cost of raising funds - £951
6. Little Stars Foundation - Egypt
In order to simplify the process of obtaining licenses for the clinic and the school and to benefit from tax exemptions, Little Stars started the process of becoming an Egyptian Foundation in January 2009. The legal costs of this have been added to the projects they cover.
Total expenditure on legal costs - £997
7. Little Stars Website
The Little Stars website has been considered excellent due to its content being regularly updated and the Little Stars policy of complete transparency over its actions and finances. A newsletter has been published every month during the year all of which have received praise. The website is designed and maintained in-house with only the cost of hosting, registration fees and search engine submissions being charged to Little Stars. We have several sites running so that Little Stars can be located in a number of ways. There have been 16,000 hits on the site which is very good for a small charity.
http://www.LittleStars-Luxor.org/ and http://www.LittleStarsLuxor.com
Total expenditure on websites - £300
8. Luxor and UK Expenses
In addition to the website fees shown above, expenses in the UK totalled £2,738 which included the cost of travelling, telephone and DSL charges, stationery, printing, and £435 for Public Liability and Employer’s Insurance.
Expenses in Luxor totalled £2,757, which included the cost of an Administrator and a Translator from June- September. Since September these posts have been filled by volunteers. Also included is the cost of telephones, transport, stationery and printing. There is a stock of stationery in Luxor to the value of £650 and this has been accounted for.
Total expenses for Luxor and the UK – £2,738 + 2107 = £4,845 (plus £300 website charges and £951 cost of raising funds as mentioned above)
9. Fixed Assets and Depreciation
Fixed Assets: Fixed Assets consist of Air conditioning units, office furniture, surgery furniture, fridge, storage units, signs, steel security doors and computer equipment to the value of £4,630
Depreciation: Depreciation was charged on the IT equipment at the rate of 33.33% per annum on a straight line basis as items are not expected to last more than three years. Depreciation on the office furniture and surgery furnishings was charged at the rate of 20% as the items are not expected to last more than five years. Total depreciation to date: £1,021
Present Fixed Asset value - £3,609
10. Stock and Prepayments
Prepayments relate to rents that have been paid in advance on the clinic, the proposed nursery school and the East Bank Distribution Centre. Paying a year’s rent in advance reduces the annual cost of the rent considerably as it is an excellent bargaining tool.
Total prepayments: £214 + £3,250 + £1,250 = £4,714 (as shown in notes 1,2 and 3)
Stock of £650 relates to stationery that is held in Luxor. (See note 8)
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