ace annual report 2014/15acehappyschool.com/.../uploads/2016/03/ace_annual-… · ·...

ACE Annual Report 2014/15

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ACE - Act, Change, Educate

ACE exists to raise funds and resources for the Happy School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We are a not-for-profit organization run by volunteers.

We believe that education has the power to transform lives and end poverty.

And our aim is to create awareness among Australians about The Happy School project and life in Cambodia.

We value:

Integrity… in purpose and actions

Humanity… in the scope of our vision

Entrepreneurship… in fundraising ideas and solutions

Accountability… to our mission and vision

Magic… in imagination and experience creation

Our principles are:

To be informed in our goals and activities by the specific needs of The Happy School.

To operate transparently and inclusively.

To seek participation above the raising of financial resources.

To provide accurate and culturally aware information about Cambodia and The Happy School.

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Co-Presidents Report

Over the past 11 years the Happy School has provided a response to the hidden privatisation of the public education system in Cambodia which continues to stratify Khmer youth along socio economic lines.

We know that an education in Cambodia is essential for increasing job opportunities and is vital for advancing social and economic development in a country where 50% of the population is under 30. However only those who can afford private tutoring are able to access a full national curriculum.

A family earning $2 per day cannot afford to spend a quarter of this on their childs education. The only logical option is to take the child out of school for early entry into the labor market. These markets are often dangerous and exploitative.

The Happy School was established to provide an alternative to this situation, by providing free education, pathways and scholarship support back into the public school system and vocational training opportunities for children living in poverty.

We currently have 117 students enrolled across general education, life skills and vocational training programs. In fact, enrolments increased to such an extent that we had to relocate the school to a bigger facility to accommodate this growth in student population.

The Happy School continues to provide breakfast everyday to students and distributes 25kg of rice every quarter to the families of students, as an incentive to keep their children enrolled and learning.

The school now runs a library service, provides sporting opportunities in partnership with Happy Football Cambodia and English lessons with international volunteers from Cambodia Volunteers Foundation.

Our core program areas and complementary activities are designed to keep students engaged in education. Teaching staff now provide outreach home visits to students who drop out of classes without explanation and provide options and support for families struggling financially or emotionally to keep their children in school.

It’s been a big year for ACE and we are extremely proud of what our funding efforts have achieved. None of

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which would be possible without our incredible team of volunteers who continue to dream up events, find fundraising solutions and build strong donor relationships helping connect everyday Australians with our vision of ending poverty through education.

We can’t thank you all enough for your commitment, dedication and hard work to keep this volunteer project operational in the spare time you have between the demands of careers and family.

We would like to farewell and thank Kirk Gibson who has resigned from the board after 11 years to take up a busy and challenging post in PNG working for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Running a volunteer not-for-profit can be difficult and demanding. We have been countlessly grateful for Kirk’s special power to mobilise the team when energy is flagging, his principled approach to decision making and his ability to remind us to strive towards doing our highest good, as both an organisation and as individuals.

Kirk has been the backbone to the Happy School story in many ways. He has accomplished minor miracles by helping to build a sustainable future for the school through patiently establishing and growing the capacity of the Children For A Better Future Fund (CBF). It should also be noted that fellow ACE superstar alumni Lucy Gray had vital input in this project.

The establishment of this localised governance structure, in CBF, has helped us realise our vision for the Happy School, as a community development initiative defined and underpinned by self-determination, partnership and empowerment.

Thanks Kippy. You will be missed.

We’d also like to welcome Vanessa Williams to the ACE team. She brings with her considerable experience in management, governance and compliance - together with really excellent hair!

Finally, we would like to thank all of our donors for their ongoing support, particular our major donors: REECE, St Andrews Church and the Mecuri Family.

With your help, ACE has been proud to support the Happy School for another year and we are delighted to share with you our stories of 2014/2015 in this annual report.

Mardi Brown & Sharni MacDonald Co-Presidents of ACE - Act, Change, Educate

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The ACE story

The Happy School was established in 2004 by a group of Australian volunteers in partnership with the local community to provide marginalised children living in Phsar Deum Thkou with access to education.

The idea for the project was born out the communities concern for the large number of children not attending school due to reasons relating to extreme poverty.

The purpose of the Happy School is to provide free, quality foundation education and to provide pathways to the Cambodian State schools system and/or vocational training opportunities. The end goal is for children to break the poverty cycle through education and skills development.

Who is ACE?

ACE is volunteer organisation led by an executive committee of four professionals who offer expertise in financial management, project management, digital strategy, youth services, behavioural leadership, communications and event management. The executive committee brings a wealth of experience from industry including international community development, community services, digital communications, state government and the corporate sector.

The work of the executive committee is supported by two teams:

• Communications and Marketing teams who drive our online campaigns and communicate with our donors and sponsors.

• Fundraising teams who deliver our events and awareness raising activities

Executive Committee:

Sharni MacDonald Mardi Brown Michael Harris Vanessa Williams

Communications and Marketing Team:

Peter Gurrie Justin Nagorcka Lana De Jager Rosalinda Mercuri

Fundraising Team:

Clayton Newell Kirilly Crawford Tracy Rennie Dr. Matt Hunter

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Happy School Report

In Cambodia more than 50% of children will not receive a primary education due to reasons relating to poverty. Almost half of families need their children to work in order to supplement household income, and many families simply cannot keep up with academic expenses such as uniforms and school supplies. The Happy School responds specifically to low-income families living in the urban slum areas, whose children face significant barriers to attaining education, skills or training. Happy School actively reaches out to children who are unable to attend school, or who have dropped out because of cultural or financial reasons.

The Happy School was established in 2004 and registered as a local NGO in 2009 to provide a response to the large number of children in Chamkarmon district in Phnom Penh, who were not attending school and has been offering free, quality education ever since.

In 2015 the school employs a full team of Cambodian staff including a; School Director, Financial Officer, Security Guards and eleven dedicated full time and part time teaching staff.

The work of the school is made possible by the strong relationships and the support of authorities, the local community and project partners who strive to meet the Happy School objectives.

Governance:

A board of seven Directors, who bring a range of skills and expertise across community development, business and education sectors, underpins the work of the Happy School. The Board has continued to demonstrate strong commitment to The Happy School, ensuring financial transparency and legal compliance, while supporting the effective management of the School. Maintaining a strong and active Board remains a priority for ACE, as part of our core goal of creating a sustainable, locally governed Happy School for the local community.

Service Delivery:

The Happy school is committed to improving equal access and enhancing quality of education and training options for vulnerable children.

The Happy School has a community development approach to education; with school objectives developed in partnership with the school staff and the local community.

The vision of The Happy School is:

To support a child’s basic right to education, health and play. Through education and training programs’. The Happy School supports Cambodian children to achieve a basic level of education and provide opportunities for children to obtain sustainable livelihoods.

To achieve this vision The Happy School:

(1) Provides free primary education for Grades 1-6 to marginalised children.

(2) Supports and encourages children to complete at least their lower secondary education, grade 9, at state school.

(3) Provides regular, locally available, adequate and nutritious food to children.

(4) Establishes opportunities for students to develop vocational skills and paid traineeships with our hotel industry partner The Intercontinental Hotel.

(5) Conducts community development by building relationships and educating communities to strengthen their family and neighbourhood structures - so that they become communities of mutual help.

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The Happy School education goes beyond the basic provision of state school curriculum in Cambodia by providing additional extra curricula activities and community engagement initiatives:

Currently the school is supporting:

• 84 vulnerable children with primary education

• 27 young people to remained engaged in the state school system

• 6 young people in life skills and vocational training

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HappyReading

Room

HappyBreakfast

Happy SchoolStudent

Core EducationClass 1-6

Rice DayState SchoolScholarships

Happy Talk/Happy Share

VocationalTrainingProgram

FootballProgram

Life SkillsProgram

DanceProgram

EnglishProgram

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Core school programs

Since 2004 ACE has been providing core education programs, made up of two non-formal Education teaching classes in Grades 1 to 3 and Grades 4 to 6. The curriculum includes literacy and numeracy, Khmer language, Math, Science, and Hygiene, as well as the following programs:

Happy reading room

This program, set in a physical space, has increased the number of books and resources in The Happy School library and offers workshops in remedial reading for students of all ages. Often students like to sit in here during lunchtime to read their favourite books.

English program

English is crucial for many aspects of business and employment in Cambodia, including the tourism and service sectors. General English is offered to students as a complement to their core studies. A specialised employment-focused English course has also been developed for students exiting the School into vocational training.

Happy Talk - Happy Share

Happy Talk/Happy Share has evolved into a computer skills training class, available to all students including the Vocational Training and Life Skills students. It provides essential skills for students to navigate their way through a digital world and for use in future studies and career paths.

State school scholarships

ACE provides funding for secondary school scholarships for students in Grade 6 and above, after graduating from Happy School. The annual scholarship amount includes uniforms, books and stationery. Without this support students would be unable to continue their studies to higher levels.

Sopheak was at risk of falling behind academically despite being a gifted learner. His parents want him to continue his education but could not afford to pay the unofficial school tuition which must be paid to the state school teacher each day. A secondary school scholarship has helped Sopheak stay in school. He hopes to finish high school and go to the University of Phnom Penh to study science.

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Happy breakfast

A healthy breakfast is offered every day to all students with the aim of improving concentration in class, attendance and general well-being. Research shows that poorer students often come to school without adequate nutritional intake, hampering their ability to concentrate throughout the day.

Rice day

Held every quarter, on rice day each student’s family receives 25kg of rice to help supplement family income and act as an incentive to improve student attendance. The day is a wonderful opportunity for the School to open its doors to the community, to celebrate the student’s creative and academic achievements, and show support to families who may be suffering from food insecurity.

Life skills program

Life Skills Training is an initiative based on the long-term Happy School goal, that all students should pathway into further education or employment. The Life Skills training aims to equip students with core skills around work readiness, career planning and communication. This program trains students to pathway into the Vocational Training program, helping to kick off their careers and working lives.

Vocational training program

Following on from Life Skills Training, the Vocational Training Program seeks to connect students who aren’t continuing with state school education with vocational training programs or traineeships. The end goal is sustainable employment. A partnership with the Intercontinental Hotel offers Life Skills graduates a six month hospitality traineeship at the hotel, which if successful, will lead to full time employment. ACE and the CBF Board are currently seeking further opportunities in diverse industries for more student traineeship placements.

Srey Nita is 16 years old is and is studying English and Computer skills through the Happy School Life Skills program. Her goal is to complete a traineeship with the Happy School industry partner, the Intercontinental Hotel, and gain full time employment, which will be a life changing opportunity for her and her family.

English and computer skills will dramatically improve her chances of securing a traineeship.

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Dance program

The Dance Program offers students the chance to learn traditional Khmer dance as well as contemporary styles such as hip hop. Volunteer teachers have been a great support to the dance program over the years, and performances have been held at Rice Day celebrations.

Happy Football

The Happy School and ACE are proud partners of Happy Football Cambodia Australia (HFCA), a not-for-profit organisation that supports young Cambodians out of poverty through the medium of football. Since 2008, one of the School’s best football players is selected to join the Cambodian team to play in the annual Homeless World Cup. This program provides life-changing opportunities through sport and has allowed lucky students, who have never left their country before, to experience the wonder of travel. Past destinations have included Australia, Italy, Brazil, France, Mexico, Poland and Chile

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Treasurer's report

1.1 Detailed Profit and Loss - Period Ending 30 June 2015

Notes on Income

In 2015 ACE’s outgoings (Project Funding and Expenses) exceeded its income by $1,904. Whilst in accounting terms this represents a loss, further analysis shows encouraging signs for ACE moving forward.

Four out of the last five years ACE has raised in excess of $50,000. In those five years income earned from donations has increased from $11,000 to over $43,000. This shift provides ACE with a stable platform in which we can support The Happy School more reliably.

With the accreditation of Deductible Gift Recipient Status (DGR), ACE can now seek a wider community of donors. This year we attracted our first corporate donation and as we look to the future, we hope to partner with more organisations that align with our values of supporting children and education in the developing world.

Notes on Income

In 2015 ACE’s outgoings (Project Funding and Expenses) exceeded its income by $1,904. Whilst in accounting terms this represents a loss, further analysis shows encouraging signs for ACE moving forward.

Four out of the last five years ACE has raised in excess of $50,000. In those five years income earned from donations has increased from $11,000 to over $43,000. This shift provides ACE with a stable platform in which we can support The Happy School more reliably.

With the accreditation of Deductible Gift Recipient Status (DGR), ACE can now seek a wider community of donors. This year we attracted our first corporate donation and as we look to the future, we hope to partner with more organisations that align with our values of supporting children and education in the developing world.

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Further notes on income:

• ACE’s income from donations increased in 2015, both in dollar amount and percentage of income. Regular donations totalled $32,332; of which $18,390 was sourced from ACE members who make regular donations from their individual bank accounts; and $13,942 was contributable to our donor campaigns (utilising Ezidebit).

• Income from one-off donations was $10,035. This included our first corporate donation from Reece for $5000 and $2000 from St Stephens Church.

• The ACE boat party Funkin’ the Bay generated a total income of $11,708. This was ACE’s only event for the year.

• Sister organization Ireland for Cambodian Education (ICE) contributed $873 and we very much appreciate their continued support.

Further notes on project funding:

• Whilst ACE’s reporting period aligns with the Australian fiscal year, The Happy School budgetary period is based on the calendar year. Funding for 2015 has been set at $39,945 (USD).

• ACE continues its partnership with Happy Football Cambodia through producing Funkin the Bay as well as making contributions to the annual Homeless World Cup.

Further notes on expenses:

• All fundraising expenses for 2015 were associated to the annual event - Funkin the Bay.

• ACE sent no committee members to Cambodia during 2015.

• Administration expenses included the services of Orla Baker who investigated potential grants and corporate donors - $500; Website administration $305; Accounting costs associated with the organisational name change - $275; and regulatory costs associated with our incorporation association - $80.

Notes on Project Funding

Contributions to The Happy School rose by more than $5,000 this financial year. This figure represents an increase in payments and a further weakening of the Australian Dollar (as the The Happy School budget is in US dollars). In 2014 funds sent to the Happy School was 72% of total income, in 2015 that figure has increased to 85%.

Notes on Expenses

It was an uneventful year for expenses, which is always good news! A significant drop in administration and travel costs lead to a reduction in expenses of $4,448. Excluding fundraising, all other costs account for only 3% of total expenditure. This is a significant achievement as it again highlights our commitment to ensuring valuable supporter funds are going where they are required most.

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1.2 Detailed Balance Sheet at 30 June 2015

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Summary of funds in and out of ACE

Where does it come from?

Where does it go?

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Fundraising vs Donations year on year comparison

Thank you’s

• St Stephens Church• Tacit Contemporary Gallery, Abbotsford - Tim Bateson & Keith Lawrence• Uncle Andrew• Loren and Maria Zanin• Kathy Haley & James Bennett• JBA Digital• ‘The Dove’ Ocean Grove, Op Shop• Ron & Terri Patterson• The Sleep Doctor, Andrew Cain & Family• Reece• All our wonderful regular donors• ACE Team Donors• The Victoria Star - Captain Lee• All the DJ’s and talent who graciously donated their time for the ACE Annual Boat Party

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