OUR PURPOSE:
Light into Europe is a British-Romanian charity founded in 1986 with the aim to ensure that Romanian children and young people from vulnerable backgrounds, including disability lead successful lives, at home, education, work place and in their communities.
We remain committed to enabling them to be a part of the community and not apart from it.
PEOPLE WE SERVE:
A pioneer in serving children and young people with sight or hearing disabilities, our goal is to enhance the lives and opportunities of our beneficiaries through a dedicated support system focusing on:
• Accessible education and technology training
• Independent living skills and preparation for employment
• Guide dogs for the Blind
Chairman’s Message
During the year the charity continued to train Guide Dogs for the Blind of Romania reaching a total number of 69 that had passed through our hands.
The quality of the training is very high with several being replacement dogs for those that have had to be retired for various health reasons.
The Romanian foundation "Foundation Light into Europe" undertook this work supported by the British Charity which has expertise in many fields, such as Guide Dog Mobility instructor volunteers, Opticians, Occupational Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Instructors from various countries such as Sweden, Hong Kong, Scotland, Spain, Ireland and England.
We feel the cooperation between the 2 charities is really worth while.
Financially the Romanian foundation supported the British Charity in a small way, to ensure payment of the salary of one of our team and to purchase equipment such as White Sticks for the use of our beneficiaries.
Their funds come from sponsorship, events and donations.
Overall Light into Europe Ltd plays a very small role in our day to day work, but remains a reliable and essential back up.
SG Platt
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 28 February 2024. This report is also the director's report as required by company law.
Governing document
The charity was incorporated on 8 February 1993 as a company limited by guarantee and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Principal activity
The company provides humanitarian aid to those in Romania.
Light into Europe is a British-based charity dedicated to improve lives of children and young people with disabilities in Eastern Europe, especially in Romania, promoting accessibility and inclusion services and empowering Blind or Deaf children and young people.
We want to break down barriers to unlock their biggest potential! We aim at systems change, because we want our impact to last.
We know that no two journeys are the same. So, we work side-by-side with clients and their families to make their way through the road ahead, offering services tailored to suit them.
2024 at a glance
Accessible Education
Children with disabilities are often denied their right to education. We are committed to quality, inclusive education for all. Our work continued including:
- big print textbooks to sight impaired pupils
- tactile maps, charts to Blind pupils
- the first Abecedar for Deaf in Romanian sign language
- Sessions of sign language training for teachers
- Digital resources in Romanian sign language
- Coding training sessions for teachers for the Deaf
- Providing laptops to blind individuals
- Providing beneficiaries with online support
- Running book club sessions for Cluj and Tg Frumos Blind pupils
Guide Dogs and Independent living skills enable visually impaired persons to achieve their optimum level of independence.
They include self-care skills like eating, dressing, bathing, toileting and grooming, home management, cleaning, shopping, laundry, money management, medication management, etc.
Teaching independent living skills is a process that begins at birth for a blind child and continues throughout life. For an adult who loses vision later in life, the goals are to help the individual live as independently as possible. Individuals with visual impairment can overcome the obstacles to blindness with support and learning skills to compensate for vision loss. Even if they cannot live independently, being independent in self-care will take some of burden off the caregivers as well as help visually impaired individuals to feel a sense of dignity.
Independent living services is often the most important goal for a child or adult with a disability. Achieving happiness and self-sufficiency in life for visually impaired persons of all ages is our goal and learning the skills to take care of oneself is a critical component of our services.
Without the ability to independently travel a person with visual impairment is trapped within their home and cannot enjoy a fulfilled life.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Charity should undertake.
Orientation and Mobility Program (O&M):
O&M refers to training that enables blind and visually impaired individuals to learn to travel safely within their community. Specialized instruction will allow the Blind person to learn safe techniques for crossing streets, using canes and accessing public transportation. Blind people who are interested in obtaining a guide dog are assisted through the application process and given training to acquaint them with orientation once they obtain a guide dog.
This program is implemented on a one-on-one basis in the beneficiary’s home, community, work place or school.
Imagine not being able to reach for your car keys and drive to a store. Blind individuals must use alternative skills to travel outside of their homes. Through our training, the student gains the ability to independently cross streets, use public transportation, travel to work or continue to shop independently.
When planning an O & M Program for youths and adults, we focus on the following depending on the student’s needs:
Public Transportation: Blind people learn to use public transportation, skills involved may be map reading, traveling to bus stops and learning appropriate routes based on the individual’s needs.
Sighted Guide Techniques: Blind people practice the skills involved in traveling with the aid of a sighted person and gain the ability to recognize and travel safely through any environment.
Safe Travel: Blind people become aware of effective techniques that provide added protection in unfamiliar areas, such as detecting obstacles when reaching for dropped objects.
Orientation: Students become familiar with the environment by traveling to familiar and unfamiliar areas in the community with our guide dogs and mobility instructors.
Cane Skills: Students are taught various cane techniques to clear one's path or to locate objects along the way.
Preparation for employment
enable persons with visual impairments to overcome barriers to accessing, maintaining or returning to employment or other useful occupation. Our services ensure that our beneficiaries have the skills and ability to enter the workforce and gain meaningful employment, remain employed or advance in their jobs.
Career education for individuals with visual impairments needs to begin as early as possible and include self-awareness and career exploration activities, job seeking skills instruction, information about job keeping, and encourage opportunities for gaining work experience. We offer job shadowing opportunities as well as internships.
Our programme focuses on: knowledge of relationship between work and play; understanding of the value of work; knowledge of characteristics of valued workers; awareness of the variety of jobs people hold; awareness of jobs people with visual impairments often hold; job acquisition skills, typical job adaptations made by workers with visual impairments; practical assessments and mentorship.
Vocational: Identifies aptitude and job interest and reviews college preparedness. Prepares participants for the job readiness including resume preparation, interview and work accessibility protocols.
Technology: Provides instruction on all types of IT and adaptive technology such as JAWS software, magnifiers, screen readers etc.
Orientation & Mobility: Teaches students specific skills to allow for independent travel such as use of public transportation and street crossing using either canes or dog guides.
Social Skills: Developing interpersonal skills, such as the difference between assertive and aggressive behavior and how to advocate for oneself, critical thinking skills and social etiquette.
In 2024, we achieved:
893 direct beneficiaries receiving information, training, equipment or support
100 Deaf pupils enrolled in the Coding4Communities project- developing essential digital and vocational skills
20 Deaf pupils declared interest in working/studying IT related jobs
Continue to develop digital resources for Deaf pupils
65 Blind youth from Bucharest, Tg Frumos, Brasov and Timisoara involved in Orientation and Mobility and Independent living activities
72 Blind people attended the Accessibility Hub activities
About 700 pupils and teachers from mainstream schools learned about inclusion of people with disabilities and guide dogs
We developed valuable conversations on inclusion, accessibility and diversity with more than 300 employees and managers from companies and chambers of commerce
Our great guide dogs programme change lives every day with 10 fabulous new puppies - Flitter: Flora, Fildas, Fifi, Frodo, Fia, Filip, Fanta, Fiji, Frieda,
2 new partnerships of Guide Dogs with Blind people
19 Blind people in evaluations and orientation and mobility training
Looking ahead, our challenge is to transform and partner for barrier free futures for people with disabilities in Romania, whilst constantly refining our services as new research and solutions come to light.
In the challenging circumstances of 2024, we offered online and over the telephone support to beneficiaries.
Disability Awareness and Inclusion
We're helping to change the way companies train and hire people with disabilities, the programme shows how people with disabilities can be included in the workplace on an equal basis and in an inclusive working environment.
Working with: Ministery of Education, the National Authority of People with Disabilities, City Hall Sector 1, City Hall Timisoara, City Hall Brasov, Faculty of Psychology Brasov
All of the company's reserves are earmarked for the continuing provision of aid.
The level of the current realised reserves of £128,391 (2023: £158,465) is not considered to be excessive.
At the year end the free reserves were £127,811 (2023: £157,691)
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.
In the next 3 years, our challenge is to transform and partner for barrier free futures, whilst constantly refining our services as new research and solutions come to light.
Over the next three years, Light into Europe’s work will centre around the following priorities:
• Changing perceptions
• Scaling excellence.
• Building capacity.
• Ensuring future-focused infrastructure is in place.
The principles of Empathy, Resilience and Solutions Together guide our work.
OUR AMBITION
By 2030 no deaf or blind child will be left behind in Romania– but only if we work together now. We can overcome the social and educational barriers that hold children and young people with disabilities back, but we can’t do it without you.
Together we can take action so that no deaf or blind child is left behind – at school, in their community or at home.
Together we can make sure that every child with disabilities has opportunities to learn, build relationships and achieve their dreams in life.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
New Trustees are appointed by the board of the Trustees.
All new Trustees will be provided with an induction pack which includes the constitution of the Charity and guidelines on how to perform their duties as trustee. Further training will be given as and when necessary.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
In order to assist you to fulfil your duties under the Companies Act 2006, we have prepared for your approval the financial statements of Light Into Europe for the year ended 28 February 2024, which comprise the statement of financial activities and the related notes from the charity’s accounting records and from information and explanations you have given us.
As a practising member firm of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, we are subject to its ethical and other professional requirements which are detailed at https://www.icaew.com/regulation.
This report is made to the charity's trustees, as a body, in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter dated 22 April 2024. Our work has been undertaken solely to prepare for your approval the financial statements of Light Into Europe and state those matters that we have agreed to state to the charity's trustees, as a body, in this report in accordance with ICAEW Technical Release 07/16 AAF. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than Light Into Europe and the charity's trustees as a body, for our work or for this report.
It is your duty to ensure that Light Into Europe has kept adequate accounting records and to prepare statutory financial statements that give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and deficit of Light Into Europe. You consider that Light Into Europe is exempt from the statutory audit requirement for the year, and is not required to obtain an independent examiner's report.
We have not been instructed to carry out an audit or a review of the financial statements of Light Into Europe. For this reason, we have not verified the accuracy or completeness of the accounting records or information and explanations you have given to us and we do not, therefore, express any opinion on the statutory financial statements.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Light Into Europe is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The registered office is Connaught House, 112 Connaught Avenue, Frinton on Sea, Essex, CO13 9AA.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The Charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The Charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
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 accounts 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.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
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.
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.
Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to the expenditure. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.
Costs of generating funds are the costs associated with attracting voluntary income.
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
Tangible fixed assets 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 bases:
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.
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’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ 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 debtors 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 creditors 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 creditors 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 creditors 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.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Governance costs
Governance costs include costs of the preparation and examination of the statutory accounts, the costs of trustee meetings and the cost of any legal advice to trustees on governance or constitutional matters.
Support costs
Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources, for example, allocating to property costs by floor areas, or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.
Government grants
Government grants are recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received.
A grant that specifies performance conditions is recognised in income when the performance conditions are met. Where a grant does not specify performance conditions it is recognised in income when the proceeds are received or receivable. A grant received before the recognition criteria are satisfied is recognised as a liability.
In the application of the Charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Educational costs and resources donated
Sundry and other costs
Governance costs include accountancy costs of £3,738 excluding VAT. This includes Independent Examiner Fees of £350 (2023: £2,750), accountancy fees of £2,475 and other fees of £913 (2023: £929).
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the Charity during the year. No trustees were reimbursed any expenses during the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was: 1
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.
The Charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Charity in an independently administered fund.
S.G. Platt has made a loan to the charity. At the year end date the amount outstanding was £13,100 (2023: £13,100). No interest has been charged on this loan.