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Trustees Annual Report 2005 - 2006
The Registered Aims of Jacob’s Well Appeal are
a) To relieve need, hardship, sickness or distress of persons resident in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia or Africa and to assist persons in need of emergency disaster relief wherever they may be.
b) To relieve need, hardship, sickness or distress of those persons who are handicapped.
c) To promote the Christian faith.
d) To promote and support medical research and facilitate the work of researchers of which the results of such research will be made publicly available.
e) To promote and advance education and facilitate teaching.
Governance
Jacob’s Well Appeal was founded in February 1982 and registered with the Charity Commission in April 1984. Its governing document is the written constitution. It has up to 12 trustees one third of whom are elected each year at the annual general meeting by the members. Election is for a period of 3 years renewable on re-election. One third retire each year. Any person who accepts the registered aims of the charity may become a member. The trustees meet not less than 5 times in each charity year. The chairman, medical director, and treasurer are appointed annually and are ex-officio trustees. The secretary is also an ex-officio
trustee unless ineligible to be so. Currently the charity employs two part time administrators and all other activity is undertaken by volunteers.
As the registered aims indicate Jacob's Well Appeal, which has an ecumenical Christian background, seeks to show the love of God through practical action - the "living water" of life freely offered to all people regardless of ethnicity or religious belief who are in need. The charity seeks to supply humanitarian aid and medical relief to the needy in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa and to help those with disabilities providing necessities which would not otherwise be available. The charity is able to respond to some emergency needs in areas with which it is involved, but the main aim is to continue working in needy places which are not in the headlines even when political pressures and media generated money has moved on.
During this year Jacob’s Well has co-operated with the Red Crescent Society of Afghanistan, the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR) in Afghanistan, and other charities including Help - Kiev, Help of Stuttgart, the Soroptimists, Diabetes UK, the Ileostomy Association, Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs, and the International Assistance Mission. We work closely with partner charities, Fintana Lui Iacob (registered in Romania), Krynica Jacova (registered in Ukraine), Love and Care (registered in Bulgaria), Jacob’s Well Afghanistan (registered in Afghanistan). Jacob’s Well is a member of National Council for Voluntary Organisations ( NCVO), and has signed up to the East Riding Compact - the local partnership agreement between public sector and voluntary & community sector organisations.
Financial and General Situation
We are grateful to the many people and groups who have donated both money and goods to fill our containers and pay the transport bills. Our main sources of income are from our 2 charity shops, and fund raising events such as second hand book sales, car boot sales, money raised by our volunteer fund raiser and donations from the public. The total value of material donations has been at a lower value and volume to the previous year. The value of medicines has fallen partly because many recipients now require medication to have a longer shelf life so that less is suitable to send, and partly because of the changing nature of the items
received. However the quantity of medical disposables has increased. Other donated goods such as warm clothing, bedding, equipment, and general supplies have been maintained at a good level. A sack of good clothes weighing about 7 kg is valued at £5. Valuation of medical items when second hand, some of which is functional but old, and some of which is good as new is related to its original cost depreciated according to expected life. The cost of transporting these items is increasingly expensive. The cost of port and agency charges, and the requirement of many countries that the whole container should be sterilised have increased.However in the case of well-publicised disasters reduced transport charges are sometimes made available by those involved. We continue to review our methods of collection and distribution using volunteers, rail freight or shipping where this is cheaper than by road. The value of the aid donated and delivered abroad in 10 containers (average content 10 tons) during the last year was £423,386. Our other two major financial commitments continue to be the Rehabilitation Unit in Romania with 12 handicapped young people residents as well as day attenders and supplies for Afghanistan and the Mother and Child Health Clinic in Kabul. The work in Romania is partly funded by charity shops there and significant costs for food are saved by what the residents grow but help is required for developments and towards heat and food in the winter.
Achieving required standards in vehicle maintenance, training, health and safety, risk assessment, waste disposal, documentation, and report writing is increasingly time consuming and costly so that more and more resources of money, volunteer and administrative time are required. This has been the main factor in reducing the number of containers sent last year by 4. We continue to hope that the demands of paperwork and new fees will not become all consuming. Spare finance is used to purchase new medicines and equipment.
The Charity is required to hold reserve funds in order to hold TIR carnets to transit goods across certain countries in the course of delivery, and in order to hold an Operators Licence for the two large goods vehicles which collect and deliver - one in the UK and one based in Romania. The reserves continue to be held in the Charities Aid Gold Fund - a high interest deposit fund which provides a good balance between accessibility and returns.
Logistics
Our very old seven and a half ton Leyland roadrunner van (“E” reg) was scrapped during the year as repair costs were making it uneconomic. It is planned to obtain a smaller more modern vehicle for collecting heavier items weighing over 500kg. The left hand drive Scania operating in Eastern Europe is still running fairly well after various repairs but will need replacing soon. The very bad road conditions often encountered there increase mechanical and tyre wear. Our left hand drive Landrover Defender, an “H” reg., is also needing
some major repairs if it is to be safely used in Romania. It is extremely useful in the winter snow and for the many unmade tracks in Northern Romania. The Mercedes mini bus which was donated to Jacob’s Well Romania is in excellent form and it is very much appreciated by the Romanian young people.
Romania
This year our truck based in Siret has delivered five containers of aid, four from our warehouse in Beverley and one from the charity “Help” of Stuttgart in Germany. Work has progressed slowly towards finishing the new building at the Rehab Unit. The top floor is still not quite ready for use but the ground and first floor are now finished and this year the rendering of all the buildings has been renewed. The courtyard is slowly changing from crumbling concrete to beautiful block pavings though half is still to be finished. A big improvement has been the removal of the storage containers from the street outside to a small triangle of waste land nearby. This has dramatically improved the appearance of the Rehab!
At the end of August another sponsored bike ride took place with two fit British medical students and almost a dozen Romanian riders, some of our Rehab residents and a collection of orphans from the Casa de Copii and other charities in Siret. This time we cycled from Curte de Argos up to the beautiful Transfagarasan mountains, then onto Brasov and then north back to Siret. We saw the devastation caused by flooding that month and several of the roads had washed away into the swollen rivers. The ride helped to raise our funds though not enough to pay half of the money needed for an architect to develop the newly purchased land. Costs are rising fast in Romania and many Romanians are leaving to find well paid jobs in Italy, Spain, Germany and Israel and maybe Britain soon.
“Fintana lui Iacov” in Calafindesti
In February we celebrated the first wedding when Valentin, one of our Rehab boys, married Sanduta, his girl friend from a village nearby. Titi and Brandusa, our leaders, managed to purchase an inexpensive small cottage in Vascauti, only a few miles out of Siret. It was a great day despite the snow. Many people came to the wedding and gifts have helped Valentin to pay for half of the house, with Jacob’s Well sharing the cost. He has a job and will manage his new life. We thank God that it has been possible to achieve this and we wish them both much happiness together. Peter and I had another great surprise in February when we visited the nearby village of Calafindesti. Some women from the church offered to help at the wedding and we went to meet them and found a beautiful new church called Jacob’s Well - in Romanian “ Fintana lui Iacov”. When I thanked the women for baking such lovely bread and samalis they said that they had wanted to thank us for sending them medicines when their children were ill. The church was truly built to the glory of God and it was a very emotional time for us to find our work so valued.
Afghanistan
The Medical Director (on the right)
helps unload in Kabul
Over this last year we have been experiencing many problems to get our containers of aid through the customs and delivered. It has taken three months from arrival in Kabul to distribution - too long for some of our medicines. The need for our medicines still remains but this year we have only managed to send two containers but both have been distributed. We have managed to achieve the necessary re-registration with the Ministry of Economy, not an easy task. Our Mother and Child Health Clinic is still up and running though it is finding some difficulties when our medicine supplies are low. We are very happy to have back the small Ford Cargo truck which we sent out to Kabul around the time when Gorbachev fell. It was donated to the IAM charity who have kept it safe for us these last ten years. It is old but still running and it is exactly what we need to help us to distribute the medicines. Our leader, Dr Farid and his wife, Dr Nasrin, work very hard to overcome the many hurdles.
Roadside bombs are still a problem in Kabul. Schools are now flourishing, both for boys and girls and there are signs of regeneration all over the city. There is still no electricity by day but if you are lucky there might be two hours in the evening. There are very many poor people who cannot afford to go to hospital and malnutrition is rife, yet our containers are left to stand through bureaucracy while people die!
Pakistan
In September we took necessary paperwork to try to register a branch of Jacob’s Well in Pakistan. Our leader in NWFP, Hasan Naz and his wife Azra were keen to start some work in their region and we felt they were ready to do this well. However before we left Pakistan the earthquake badly affected NWFP and Kashmir as well as the Indian border region and it was urgent to help. Two containers were packed with medicines and medical equipment as well as tents, food and warm clothing. They were valuable loads. However I am sad to say that they have sat for months in Port Qasim, Karachi and I have been unable to extract them. Although they have been given to the Government for disaster relief Karachi Port has clung on to them. The disaster relief group have now been replaced by a redevelopment group who do not see it as their duty to correctly distribute aid. This is life in the aid world of today!
Bulgaria
In December a container of aid was sent to the Devnia and Provadia district for distribution by the municipality to needy hospitals, orphanages and to the poor. Bulgaria still has a large gypsy population and there is always a need. They are busy preparing for their entry to the EU and they are slowly trying to adapt to all the new rules and regulations to gain entry. Like Romania many young people have gone abroad to work.
Ukraine
It was in the summer when a container of aid was delivered to the Mohyla Academy in Kiev, care of the Jacob’s Well branch, Krynica Iacova. Many pieces of laboratory equipment were sent as well as some clothing. The University has a keen group of researchers into stem cell work and they are very happy to receive our help. Dr Nadja Bilko is the leader in Kiev, helped by Denys, her son, who is studying for his PhD in Hull sponsored by Jacob’s Well.
Staffing and Volunteers
Following several losses of longstanding hardworking volunteers in the previous year we have gradually built up an increasing team of new volunteers who do invaluable work. The most difficult facility to provide with volunteers is the shop in the Orchard Park Estate of Hull. This is a very needy area which our cheap children’s clothes and household items are very much appreciated. However young people who are excluded from school with others during holidays are sometimes troublesome. Volunteer hours in the warehouse for the year 2005-6 were over 3,300, and in the two charity shops in excess of 5,500. Sorting, selling, packing and listing donated goods is a major, labour intensive task. Bric-a-brac, second hand books, and some clothing is sold to raise funds but a much larger proportion is sent abroad as aid. This has not been achieved without a tremendous amount of work from our volunteers both here in the UK, and abroad. The Trustees sincerely thank them all for their devoted hard labour.
The Jacob’s Well Appeal had 2 part time employees at the end of the Charity year. Our teams of warehouse workers and medicine sorters are now all volunteers. We are very grateful for the many hours of work which they put in, without which the Charity would grind to a halt. The part time post of volunteer co-ordinator which was funded from the beginning of 2002 by the Lloyds TSB Trust has now come to an end. Brian Buckley made a valuable contribution particularly in the warehouse with our volunteers. Sadly our hope that the post would become self-funding was not fulfilled. The Charity has continued to provide regular support and supervision for volunteers with additional needs in the warehouse and shop settings. This has opened doors to people who would otherwise be unable to take part in everyday life and activities. This has been beneficial for the Charity also.
Future Plans
The Charity is just beginning to make the move to its own premises on the land of the Discretionary Trust which was anticipated during the last year. It has been possible to purchase two large portacabins which are to be doublestacked on the warehouse site. The charity’s administration and the non-shop sorting will all be on one site. Negotiations with the Local Authority who wish to lease a significant part of the unused land of the site in the foreseeable future are progressing which will help the charity’s finances.
The Trustees would like to thank all who share the burdens of responsibility and have worked hard to make Jacob’s Well Appeal the thriving charity it is today. Everyone involved can be proud of the work which the Lord has so richly blessed and we look for His presence with us in the years ahead.
Beryl Beynon, Medical Director (on behalf of the Trustees)