Legal and Administrative Information

Bedfordshire Congolese Community Links is a voluntary organisation with charitable aims, its governing instrument is it constitution.

Charity Registration Number: 1090193

• Goncalves Miguel Jose (chair)
• Thomas Kimfumu (vice chair)
• Jose Carlos Salvador
• Willy Mputu
• Mbakasa Mboso

Chaucer House, Suite 107(ii)
Biscot Road,
Luton, Bedfordshire LU3 1AX
Tel & Fax: 01582 730487
E-mail: bcclinks@yahoo.co.uk

Maggie Prowse
Community Accountancy & IT Unit
Voluntary Action Luton
1-27 Bolton Road
Luton, Beds LU1 3HY

National Westminster Bank Plc
Luton, Market Hill Branch
31 George Street, Luton, Beds LU1 2YN

On the behalf of BCCL Management Committee, I would like to offer my sincere and heartfelt thanks to Bony Shamalo for his hard work and effort over the last year, the volunteers who have given their time and effort all year to enable the organisation to run and to the African community who supported us. Thanks must also go to the staff at Luton Foyer, Voluntary Action Luton and Luton Borough Council. Thanks to excellent relationships with the statutory authorities and with the local voluntary sector. And while on the subject of "thank you", I should thank the various funding bodies that generously donated to the cause during the year, and of course our excellent Banker NATWEST.

Goncalves Miguel Jose

Chair

The trustees of the organisation present their report and the independent examined account for the year ended 3 August 2001.

The result of the year’s operation are set out in the attached accounts.

Bedfordshire Congolese Community Links was set up in August 2000, with the aim of support and assistance to the Congolese and other Black African Communities resident in Bedfordshire and surrounding areas.

We gave ourselves the mission of trying to remove barriers related to attitudes, stereotypes and discrimination. We work for and with Refugees, Asylum seekers and other Migrants.

1. Language skills: Many Refugees and Asylum seekers have arrived in Britain with no or very limited English language skills. Lack of language skills make it harder for them to integrate within the new society.
2. Education and employment: Africans newly arrived in Britain need more help accessing the necessary information and advice to make informed choices.
3. Isolation, discrimination and exclusion: Refugees and Asylum seekers are entering different societies and encountering difficulties making friends, and are often distanced from close family. Some feel isolated, excluded from the society and labelled as refugees. Over fifty percent are being treated badly by employers and mainstream services providers. Many are lonely and suffering from depression.
4. Difficulties accessing services: Language barriers and the fear of being treated like lepers are one of the main reasons why Refugees and Asylum seekers have difficulty accessing services such as: housing, welfare benefits and healthcare.

Our formal charitable object consist for the relief of all people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Angola and other areas of the Black African Sub-continent who are now living in Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas who are:

• In conditions of need, hardship or distress,
• Who are sick, convalescent, disabled or infirm by relieving their suffering or assisting their recovery.

• Advocate services
• Translation and interpretation services
• Advice surgeries on: Health (Diabetes, Cancers, Coronary hearth diseases & Mental health), Immigration, Housing, Education and employment.
• ESOL and Basic skills.
• We also organise activities for the young people of our community: supplementary classes, computer club and community events to combat isolation and truancy.

On the 1^st August 2000 we held a community meeting in which we elected an Executive Committee to lead the organisation. The Executive Committee comprises of a chairperson, a treasurer, a Secretary and other Senior Officers.

On the 4^th August 2000 we adopted our own constitution and started to work on policies and regulations. We started to build the groups’ image by contacting other community groups, organisations, statutory agencies, the local authority and funding bodies, which resulted in a number of useful contacts. Ms Jean Myrie from Voluntary Action Luton and Ms Lesley Nicholls, the community-funding officer from Luton Borough Council has been of much help in our fund-raising campaign.

Without any financial resources we managed to build a network with several organisations and attended a number of training programmes, meetings and conferences/forums.

Due to the lack of financial resources and a permanent base we have found difficulties undertaking some of our core work. But now we have permanent base from where we can help and assist Asylum seekers, Refugees and other migrants of Black African origin.

We have been providing support to newly arrived Asylum seekers, Refugees and other migrants.

This has been varied work - we handled 170 cases in different issues, from accompanying people to mainstream services providers (Hospitals, GPs, Solicitors, DSS, Job centre…) to seeing others take up English classes, training for work or find work and move on into independent life.

Since January 2001 we have been involved in a variety of small projects funded from different sources but the main project has been the initial set up of the Bedfordshire Congolese Community Links.

In January 2001 we signed a lease with the Bedfordshire John Howard Society for a room at Luton Foyer, which we used for two days/week as a drop in centre and offices.

In the same January 2001, we secured a small Community Champions Fund Grants from Community & Voluntary Forum Eastern Region (COVER), for initial start up costs.

In April 2001, Bedfordshire Congolese Community Links obtained funding from Community Development Learning Fund. The purpose of the grant is to run information sessions on different health issues for the benefit of our community, in partnership with Bedfordshire Health Promotion Agency.

Topics are: Diabetes, Mental health, Cancers, Stroke & Heart disease, Blood pressure, Sexual health and Women’s health.

This project has not yet been entirely completed due to lack of speakers in some of the topics. A monitoring/evaluation session and a visit to Luton & Dunstable Hospital will be organised at the end of sessions.

On the 16^th June 2001, we organised a trip to Croydon for the community to visit South London Congolese Association (SOLCA) for the exchange and sharing of information on Black African health issues. Bedfordshire Health Authority funded this.

Funding from Community Chest Grants gave us the opportunity to train two volunteers from our organisation. This training was organised by the Directory of Social Change. We have two more training sessions booked for October and November 2001.

Another successful project that raises the profile of the group has been the outreach work in the community. We make visits to housebound families and people with disabilities.

We have succeeded to recruit two full-time and four part-time volunteers. We have a football leisure programme to help people of community out of community isolation to community inclusion.

Charity law requires Trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its financial activities for that year. In preparing those accounts, the Trustees are required to:

• follow suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the accounts;

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and which enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Charity law. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and breaches of law and regulations.

Maggie Prowse
Independent Examiner
Community Accountancy & IT Unit
1-27 Bolton Road
Luton, Beds LU1 3HY

I report on the accounts of Bedfordshire Congolese Community Links for the year ended 3^rd August 2001 which are set out in the enclosed statement.

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination of the organisations accounts includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as management committee members concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

I have examined the statements and minutes book provided to me and find that the accounts of Bedfordshire Congolese Community Links are in accord with the financial and other records presented to me.

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

In my opinion the accounts as signed reflect a true and fair view of the organisation’s financial position.
Date 09/11/2001