UK Charity Commission Registration Number 1120536. Egyptian Charity: Luxor Charity No.8 (2010)
 

Newsletter 48/49 - May / June 2011

Archived Newsletter 46/47- January/February 2011

29th May 2010 – 28th May 2011- Annual Accounts

Little Stars was 4 years old on the 29th May 2011 and we are now into our fifth year of operation.  In that time we have achieved more than we could initially ever have thought possible.  Total donations for the four years stands at £238,496 of which £30,867 is still held in charity’s bank accounts.   £5,000 of this sum has come from a specific donation which is earmarked for the purchase of a vehicle.  

In four years, just over £200,000 has been spent on projects and expenses have never exceeded the 15% limit imposed by the trustees.  It is always impossible to see what the future holds so we intend to keep at least six months running costs in reserve and to build on this sum as much as we can.  2010–2011 was a year of growth 2011-2012 will be a year of consolidation.  The accounts for 2010-2011 have been completed and will be uploaded on to our website for inspection as soon as they are approved by the external assessor.  Donations received in the year totalled £67,134 which was lower than last year but was to be expected in the present economic depression.

However, due to the development of new projects and a change in accounting procedures, expenditure did exceed income by £8,308 which includes a charge for depreciation of assets.  From the 1st January 2011 all assets, no matter how costly, have been written off in the year that they were bought instead of having the cost spread over several years.  This change was made so that we can return to the simplified Income and Expenditure type of accounts advised by the Charity Commission.  All remaining Fixed Assets will be written off next year.  As in previous years Little Stars concentrated on the Relief of Poverty (£26,992), Health (£12,367) and Education (£23,216) with Relief of Poverty having the greatest level of expenditure.   

Education Expenditure covered the cost of running the Nursery School, buying school uniforms and buying equipment for the new training centre, including the installation of sewing machines and a complete IT suite of computers.  Expenditure on health covered the cost of running the three clinics and purchasing new equipment including a computerised physiotherapy machine (£1,058).  Wheelchairs and other mobility items were also bought and distributed throughout the year. 

Relief of Poverty includes the cost of the food items delivered to our sponsored families and also includes the cost of completely rebuilding houses, installing basic sanitation and water supplies, repairing roofs, laying concrete floors and purchasing beds, mattresses, fridges and cookers.  All of which benefitted village children by trying to raise their standard of living.  There are now close to 350 children in our care and all of them have been clothed twice in the last year.

Some expenditure was necessitated by the changed situation in Luxor.  Iron gates were installed on all five doors which have access to public areas.  There is still a lack of police presence in Luxor and a consequent rise in robberies many of which involve the use of firearms.  Although we are a community service and have received no threats we still thought it better to be prepared and take the necessary security precautions. 

June 2011 – with thanks to sponsors

Our next major project is to create a bath house in Haja Marise where most homes are without water and many children have skin problems.  We have been promised building land by the new interim military government but we are not counting on this as the situation could change after the next elections, which have now been postponed until November.  Some donors have already expressed willingness to help fund this project and other sources of funding are being explored.  We hope to be able to start this early in 2012.

The above photos show a hard working family in a small west bank village. This has been an excellent example of how charities can work together as the European women shown is Pauline, the leader of AWOL (Animal welfare of Luxor) who had been working with donkeys and horses in the village. 

There are four children in the family and last year the mother had a severe stroke from which she is slowly recovering.  The family is sponsored by a couple based in the Netherlands and it is turning their lives around.  A new room with electricity and a fan has been added to the house.  New beds have been bought along with a cooker and a fridge and it is hoped that we will soon be able to sink a septic tank so that they can have sanitation.  Three of the children now attend school.  Unfortunately, the eldest girl has had to abandon her education in order to take care of her mother and the younger children

One of the poorest villages we work in is Haja Marise which is a small community at the base of the ‘mountain’ outside the irrigation area.  Our latest project there is to complete a small house for a woman and her four children.  At present the family is living in one room in someone else’s house.  Close by is a small brick structure which is owned by the woman’s family.  It is just four walls without a ceiling, solid floors or electricity but with some work it could be turned into an adequate shelter.  Due to the generosity of their sponsor a roof is now being added.  The walls, which had already been covered to mud to keep them cool and stop scorpions hiding in crevices, had to be raised by several layers of brick to make the roof high enough to take a fan.  Their sponsor is also paying for a concrete floor to be put in and a front door to be added. New beds have already been provided.

Sponsored Families

We are now reaching the maximum number of sponsored families that we can cope with. This is sad as we have many families who are in desperate need of help and we have sponsors asking to help families.  However, we have to be practical and accept staff limitations.  We do not have any administrative staff in the UK and keeping sponsors informed of the progress of their families takes up a lot of time.  Because of this we cannot always keep everyone as informed as we would like to but we do our best to answer all your questions and to take photos when the opportunity arises.  If we take on more families then this contact will decrease even further.

Our newest family is in Nage el Genina and consists of a husband and wife and their four sons.  He was involved in an accident a few months ago and is being nursed at home but his prospects of recovery are very low.  They have been unfortunate in life but fortunate that Little Stars is able to help and that we had a sponsor waiting for a family. 

 

Thank You.

With you we can do so much – Without you we can do nothing.