The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016).
Kenya Children Centres (KCC) enable extremely disadvantaged and vulnerable children in Kenya to be safe, healthy, educated and ultimately self-sustaining.
KCC continued to fund the Kujali Children’s Centre in Thika. The Centre provides temporary residential care for critically vulnerable children who have been identified by the Kenya Government Children’s Department and placed by the Family Court. The Kenyan Government allows children to stay at the centre for up to 3 years, but some may only stay for a few days or weeks if their issues can be resolved quickly. Kujali carers help them to rehabilitate physically and mentally before social workers find a safe family situation for them. The social workers support them after reintegration with counselling, healthcare and education.
A specialised home, based at the Kujali Centre, rescues and rehabilitates abandoned babies and abused young teenage mothers. The centre has the capacity for 14 abandoned babies and 10 teenage mothers with their babies. If our social workers are unable to identify safe family members to look after an abandoned baby when it has recovered, the Family Court will allow the baby to be placed for adoption. Five babies were reunited with family members, and two babies were placed for fostering and adoption during the year.
Our outreach team of social workers and kitchen staff support children at locations across Kiambu and Kirinyaga counties. They operate 8 feeding centres, which are located alongside schools in very poor slum and rural communities. During 2024-25, the number of vulnerable children attending the feeding centres each day increased by 200 to 1,200. A daily hot meal is one of the most effective ways of improving a child’s health, growth, behaviour and performance in school, which significantly increases the likelihood of employment and self-sufficiency in later life. The most needy children attending these centres also received counselling, school uniforms and schoolbooks.
Our partner school for children with special needs cares for 80 children, an increase of 5 during the year. KCC also assisted 40 children from poor families to attend school, vocational training or university, which will give them skills that will help them gain future employment.
KCC continued to provide education on reproductive health and life skills for 1,200 girls and boys in slums near Thika – an increase of 700 children. The team also provided one-to-one counselling for 150 of the most troubled children and their parents. The purpose is to reduce teenage pregnancies, deal with dysfunctional family issues and remove barriers to academic achievement.
Income from regular monthly donors, grants and fundraising campaigns meets the costs of operating its projects. KCC provides funds to its associated PBO registered in Kenya as “Kujali Children’s Centre”. Kujali receives occasional small donations of food and materials from donors locally in Kenya. The Trustees donate the cost of all administrative overheads in the UK and travel expenses to ensure that 100% of income from donors is spent on childcare and education in Kenya. Reserves are held on deposit and will be used to fund committed ongoing projects, the initial costs of new activities, and any shortfall in future income.
It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds should be maintained at a level equivalent to between nine and twelve month’s expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year.
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 governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association incorporated on 23 December 2002 as amended by a Special Resolution dated 26 March 2004.
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 proposed by the Chairman and approved by the Board of Trustees.
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.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Kenya Children Centres (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2025.
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.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Kenya Children Centres is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 3 Acorn Business Centre, Northarbour Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 3TH.
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 accounts are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest pound.
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.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
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.
Income from grants is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amounts of the obligation can be measured reliably. It has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates.
Grants payable are recognised when the expenditure is incurred.
Current asset investments relate to fixed term deposits and are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value.
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.
Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
Creditors and provisions
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
Investments
Donation processing charges
Bank charges
Insurance
Grants Payable
Grants Payable
The amount of £111,215 (2024 - £110,643) relates to grants payable to a related charity, as disclosed in Note 17, to cover operating costs implementing the charities objectives.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
There were no employees during the year.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income represents grants received for multi-year projects.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The specific purposes for which the funds are applied are as follows:
Women Leaders Programme
In 2021 Kenya Children Centres (KCC) launched our Women Leaders Programme (WLP), to support 20 girls from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds to become women leaders and role models in their communities.
We are providing educational support, comprehensive mentoring, and world-class leadership training for 10 girls at university and 10 girls at high school. They will develop skills, knowledge, and confidence to become self-sustaining adults in paid employment or running their own businesses. In return the girls have committed to mentoring a younger girl through their education, and sharing their learning with their families and communities.
Reproductive Health
KCCs Reproductive Health Programme was set up to tackle the root causes of unwanted babies and their abandonment. Most young people in the poorer areas of Kenya receive no guidance on sexual matters or support for their adolescent concerns due to absent parents and overworked teachers. KCC aims to fill that gap. We want to help girls and boys avoid being stigmatised and rejected, discontinuing school, suffering poverty and ill health, and risking further abuse.The first stage of the Programme, kindly funded by a grant from the Geoff Herrington Foundation, employed three counsellors to engage with children through their schools. A second round of funding, secured last financial year, will allow the work to continue for another two years.
The trustees have decided to increase the level of designated funds included in unrestricted funds from £55,000 to £95,000. This is to cover the amount committed by Kenya Children Centres for supporting the projects run by Kujali Children's Centre in Kenya for at least a year.
Kujali Children's Centre is a Charitable Children's Institution (CCI) and Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) in Kenya which delivers services on behalf of Kenya Children Centres.
The figures below do not include designated funds.
During the financial year the trustees and foundations under control of the trustees made donations totalling £1,305 (2024 - £29,734) to the charity and received reimbursed expenses totalling £nil (2024 - £nil).
The charity provides grant funding to Kujali Children's Centre, a registered public benefit organisation in Kenya, to further its charitable objectives. Kujali Children's Centre is a related party by virtue of Ian Faulkner, a trustee of both Kenya Children Centres and Kujali Children's Centre. During the year, grants totalling £111,215 (2024 - £110,643) were given to Kujali Children's Centre.