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T: +44 1892 522330

Educating Extraordinary african youth creating tomorrow’s leaders

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www.ourmoon.org.uk

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registered charity number: 1165083

the coach House, Hurstwood lane, tunbridge wells, Kent tn4 8Ya, UK

+44 (0)1892 522330; +44 (0)7720 287904

www.ourmoon.org.uk

T: +44 1892 522330

the trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 December 2016. They are prepared in accordance with the requirements of the charities Act 2011. Although the income is just below the threshold, the accounts have been independently examined by John Southworth fca of Southworth and co Ltd chartered Accountants.

chair’S rEportour moon is a UK registered charity (no: 1165083) that helps high achieving, low income (Hali) Zambian youth to access higher education, with the intention that they use the skills they have acquired to contribute to the development of their country.

Because there was no organisation exclusively focussing on this area in Zambia, with the support of my Zambian alumni from a previous role, we founded our moon in 2015 and were registered by the charity commission in england and wales on 7 January 2016. 2016 was a very exciting year for us as we started delivering our programmes and making an impact. two Young leaders scholars started an a level programme at our partner school, Hillcrest national technical High school in livingstone, Zambia. we worked closely with them on their university applications; they will take their a level exams in June this year. two students that we worked with on their applications during 2015/2016 started universities – one is at University of British columbia in canada and the other is at University of california, Berkeley campus. Both were awarded full scholarships by mastercard Foundation. we are immensely proud of their achievements.

we invited around 250 students at Hillcrest and in lusaka to attend tomorrow’s leaders Forums to spread awareness of opportunities to apply to university abroad and held teacher and guidance counsellor conferences for around 25 teachers.

we have been fortunate to receive funding from ghana international Bank, Baraka community Partnerships and the skinners school as well as from the trustees and from a number of fundraising activities. we are incredibly indebted to the volunteer support we have received during the year. From pro bono legal and accounting work, to our trustees, social media volunteers, fundraisers, website designer, mentors, and forum and conference presenters, in total 67 people in 2016 donated some time to our moon’s mission.

moving into 2017, we have implemented an accounting system to ensure strong internal control and to monitor the cost of all our programmes, by scholar where appropriate. we plan to increase our funding sources and we have a Programme manager in place in Zambia to ensure the sustainability and quality of our scholars’ experience.

this year will be even more exciting than last year as we plan to scale up our operation and open up the minds of more young people to the possibilities of achieving their academic potential all the while considering the ways that they will contribute to the development of Zambia.

helen Leale-green Chair and CEO

rEport of thE TrusTees for 2016

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www.ourmoon.org.uk

04 ViSionwe envision a world where africans are educated to become young socially-conscious professionals who drive forward their communities, countries and continent.

MiSSionwe establish opportunities for high achieving but low income young Zambians to enable them to access quality local and global higher education so that they become the skilled leaders in their chosen fields that Africa needs for its development.

VaLuESour moon works with integrity and honesty. we work in collaboration with our partners - schools, ngos and funders - to deliver the right solutions for scholars and other beneficiaries. We are committed to increasing the quality, knowledge, skills and professionalism of our scholars so that they are successful in their futures at a personal and community/country level. we treat our scholars and others we work with as individuals and with respect; in return, we expect them to work hard. we provide them with inspiring mentors and we require that they become mentors to future generations of our moon scholars.

thE nEEd for our WorkZambia is a country of contradictions. while being rich in minerals – it is the seventh largest copper producer in the world – UniceF states that it is also one of the poorest countries in the world: over 60% of its population survives on less than £1 a day. it has a rapidly growing population; the world Bank (2015) predicts it will double from 15 million now to 30 million in 2030. Just over 66% of Zambia’s population is under 25 (cia, 2015); over one million of these are orphans, largely due to aids. with a large percentage of society falling within school age, investment in education should be a priority. However, its government’s investment in education as a proportion of gdP is the fourth lowest in the world.

secondary education is not free, so many children are forced to drop out of school because families simply can’t afford it. additionally, there is no longer an a-level or equivalent programme within the curriculum – indeed only two state schools, and some private schools and colleges offer a-levels and they are too expensive for Hali students. University education within Zambia for these students is compromised by the severe lack of investment in higher education, resulting in appalling living conditions, decades-old text books and lack of access to current journals. Its bursary system is flawed and sometimes those who understand the system best favours the most.

for the individual, having made many sacrifices and worked so hard to stay in school and achieve top grades despite all the hurdles they have had to overcome, there is lack of hope. Youth unemployment rates are as high as 80% in some areas; boys are idle all day, often succumbing to drink and drugs, while girls are typically forced into early marriages or become pregnant. The cycle of poverty continues. for Zambia, it is also a big loss as it is unable to take advantage of the potential of these brilliant young people in developing the country.

“Getting this scholarship is a great honour for me. out of all the young people, i was one of only a few who got picked. receiving the scholarship is not only about being admitted to the programme; it tells me I am seen as having potential for the future of our society and I have to represent that society and make sure I give back and make everyone proud.”

Precious Kalungu,Young Leaders Scholar 2017

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our actiVitiESWe work in five main areas:

• Young leaders scholars Programme

• tomorrow’s leaders Forums

• applications Bootcamps

• teachers and guidance counsellors conference

• Zambian Young leaders’ network

our main programme is our young Leaders scholars. We have a rigorous process for selecting our scholars. Not only do they need outstanding academic results and to be from very poor backgrounds, they must also demonstrate leadership skills and a desire to develop Zambia and/or their community. our programme enables them to take A-levels at Hillcrest National Technical secondary school, Livingstone. We work with them to develop their employability and citizenship skills and, with the guidance of our Moon’s mentors, help them to apply to universities both at home and abroad.

we do not simply wish to improve the lot of a few students. we have put in place a programme that aims to inspire and motivate young people across Zambia and equip them with the knowledge and skills to access high-quality university education internationally through our tomorrow’s leaders Forums. Here we work with young people to develop their citizenship, leadership and employability skills as well as inform them about opportunities to apply to university abroad. students are nominated by their teachers, non-governmental organisations or church groups.

For our scholars and other students at Hillcrest school, we have an applications Bootcamp where we work one to one with the support of Hillcrest staff to assist its students in applying to university.

we are aware that teachers need to have knowledge and are given the opportunity to develop in this area so we run an annual teacher and guidance counsellors conference. By expanding the involvement of teachers in the process, we hope we can make more impact at government level to improve the lot for Hali Zambian youth.

in the longer term, we will develop a Zambian Young leaders network for former Young leaders scholars. all our scholars are expected to become mentors to the next cohort of our moon scholars. But we also want to make it easy for our moon’s scholars to develop and maintain networks within Zambia to help them meet the challenges of returning home.

to inform our work and to ensure we stay current, we carry out research. we are currently researching the benefits and challenges for HALI students of studying abroad.

“The highlight of my day was…a video clip of Chimamanda Adichie and it just touched me. At that moment, i realised my underestimation of many things I had taken for granted. I learned to see the many stories of one person, and how i should not be bound by one traditional story… i felt weighed down, with no opportunities, but our Moon, you changed that.”

Nwoza, Grade 11 student who attended a TLF in Lusaka

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We are thankful for the support of the numerous people who have donated their time to our Moon’s cause. The activities they have been involved in are:

• Fundraising including putting on events, being sponsored, sourcing raffle prizes, and help towards making future applications to trusts and foundations.

• running our social media. we have around 450 followers on Facebook and over 900 on twitter. we have just started an instagram account. our website is well developed (again by a volunteer) and presents a good summary of all the work we do. donating via our website is very easy.

• mentoring. several Zambians are providing mentorship to our current scholars and other students who are interested in making applications to university. in the future, our moon graduates will become mentors to the newest generation of our moon scholars.

• managing our programme and relationships in Zambia – we hope that this will soon become a paid job.

• governance by our trustee group including preparation of the accounts for the year.

• tutoring. we are reliant on the help of volunteer tutors to assist with the delivery of our tomorrow’s leaders Forums and teacher and guidance counsellor conferences.

• donating pro bono legal and accounting work. morgan, lewis and Bockius has reviewed our memoranda of Understanding and our volunteer agreements as well as providing us with offices in which to hold our Trustee meetings. Southworth and Co Ltd, a firm of chartered accountants, kindly reviewed and signed off our year end accounts. we are not yet of a size to require audited accounts. indeed, we are marginally below the threshold for requiring our accounts to be reviewed, but we were keen to demonstrate that our accounting and internal controls are being managed well.

• our ceo works full time for our moon but does not take a salary.

• our major donors in 2016 were ghana international Bank, Baraka community Partnerships and lgt Vestra wealth. in addition, the skinners school has started fundraising for one scholarship.

VoLuntEErS and donorS

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VoLuntEErS and donorS

“I was able to see first-hand the real and pressing need for our Moon’s programmes, and to witness the impact that our Moon is having in the lives of the extraordinary pupils and teachers they work with.”

Lydia powell, Volunteer

t: +44 1892 522330

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2016 IMPACT StatEMEnt

• The first charity operating in Zambia that focuses exclusively on helping young, bright but financially-disadvantaged students to help them to access university

• First two students we helped to apply to university managed to gain scholarships worth around $1/4million each over four years at leading north america universities

• First two Young leaders scholars started at our partner school January 2016 and have made applications to university

• three more Young leaders scholars selected august 2016 and started working on community projects in september 2016

• worked with six local schools and ngos to put forward students for scholar selection; worked with Hillcrest national technical High school to provide a level education for our scholars

• while the trustees provided initial start-up, two other major donors, ghana international Bank and Baraka community Partnerships, provided funding for one scholarship and match funded a scholarship respectively. in addition, the skinners school has committed to fundraise for one scholarship

• Events raised a total of £2,731

• We ran Tomorrow’s Leaders Forums at Hillcrest school for around 225 a level and grade 12 students and in lusaka for another 25 students put forward by 12 schools where students learnt about opportunities and the process of applying to study abroad, about the importance of citizenship and general employability skills

• Eight teachers from Hillcrest School attended training on applying to university run by our moon

• 12 teachers and guidance counsellors attended the teacher and guidance counsellor conference in lusaka from around eight different schools and church groups where they learnt about opportunities for their students to apply to universities and for scholarships abroad, the application process and how to write good recommendation letters. two of these guidance counsellors were given the opportunity to attend Yale University’s guidance counsellor.

www.ourmoon.org.uk

“The sustainable Development Goals (sDG) framework emphasises the potential value of promoting international cooperation in higher education noting that by 2020 ‘there should be a substantial global expansion in the number of scholarship programmes available to developing countries for study in developed and developing countries’ (Target 4b). This is supported by a growing body of international evidence. our Moon is committed to the furtherance of this goal and ideal. In a world of gross inequalities, such work is worthy of support.”

chris Yates, lecturer in international education, University college london-institute of education.

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incoME & ExpEnSES for 2016

incoME £ £

31.12.16 31.12.15

Voluntary income

regular donors 9,685 7,901

other individual donors 1,119

corporate donors 4,347

gift aid 2,642

Activities for generating income

Bewl water 1,494

christmas event 787

gift aid 244

Investment Income

Bank interest 5

totaL incoME 20,323 7.901

resources expended

Fundraising and marketing costs 680 222

charitable activities 15,122 6,625

governance costs 1,318 133

totaL rESourcES ExpEndEd 17,120 6,980

surplus of Donations over resources expended 3,203 921

donationS rEcEiVEd

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Young leaders scholars

applications Bootcamp

guidance counsellors’ conf

tomorrow’s leaders Forums

administration costs

Fundraising costs

applications Bootcamp

other student Programme

SpLit of coStS froM prograMME

10,000

7,500

5,000

2,500

0

regular donors

individual donors

activitiescorporate donors

gift aid investment income

total: 20,323

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we have ambitious plans to increase our income. we have developed our fundraising strategy and have identified several trusts and foundations which we are eligible to apply to. we are expanding the number of events that we will be running to include a quiz night and a sponsored climb up snowdon. we have targeted specific organisations where we might be able to work together to provide more funding for scholarships. We plan to select five scholars to start in october 2017 and hope to have ten scholars in each year group within five years. We hope to be able to have our first paid member of staff in Zambia to manage our programmes.

Our first two scholars will graduate during 2017. We hope they will get into their chosen universities and achieve their predicted a level grades. we cannot guarantee that they will get a place at university, so if they are unsuccessful, then we will look at other options for them.

our second group of scholars started at Hillcrest school at the beginning of January. they will each be expected to take on some volunteering and a re-search project. in addition, we will work with them to take on roles within Hillcrest to help develop their leadership skills. we will provide guidance to them and other selected Hillcrest students to apply to universities.

we plan to extend tomorrow’s leaders Forums. we hope that all candidates being put forward for selec-tion will have the opportunity to attend tomorrow’s leaders Forum in an area near them. this has the advantage of giving us more time to get to know them as well giving them the opportunity to get to know us. it also means that for those candidates that are not selected, they should return home with some addi-tional knowledge and skills. we are looking forward to alumni joining our tutor team again this year.

the teachers and guidance counsellors conference in lusaka will be extended to include a few more schools and ngos. we hope to develop a network so that the group members will be able to help each other in guiding their students to make university applications.

we plan to work with more partners in Zambia from whom we will select our scholars. we are especially keen to work with at least one more organisation that works exclusively with girls to ensure that girls who meet our criteria are put forward for selection.

our pLanS for 2017

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temba Mateke, Attended a TLF at Hillcrest

School, Livingstone.

“for a long time, i had known that study abroad was possible, but it wasn’t until our Moon visited my school that it became more than just a possibility. During the forum, I not only learned exactly which paths to take….but also that many Zambians had gone before me; some were right in front of me! If they could do it, so could I.”

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our moon is a member of the following organisations:

Educating Extraordinary african youth creating tomorrow’s leaders