Minutes:
MINUTES OF MEETING OF
TRUSTEES ON THURSDAY 7 MAY 2020
Present on ZOOM: Norma Empringham, Lissa Campbell, Guy
Cowley, Will Jones, Luke Morris,
Tom Marshall-Andrews, Gill
Marshall-Andrews , Douglas Pinto.
Apologies: Johnnie Morris, Ben Taylor,
1. Minutes
of the meeting on 9 Jan 2020 were agreed.
2. Schools update:
Stephen Kameti’s report was presented which gives detail
of the current school situation.
Briefly, the schools closed down on 16 March and it looks
as if they will be closed until at least the end of May.
Several of the headteachers have remained in school with
their families where good houses have been provided.
All construction works have stopped
It has been raining continuously since October and in
some areas there have been devastating floods.
The upside is that the tree seedlings have flourished in Kaseluni , Kora
and Jarajara and generally crops in the Kora/Mwingi region are
flourishing. However the threat of a
second swarm of locusts coming in from the Yemen and Somalia is very
concerning. The hope is that the wind
will turn towards the north and the locusts will miss the area .
Work will re-start on the building projects at
Mitamysi when the lockdown is eased.
3. Karui Limited
The tax situation is not yet resolved but Douglas is in
contact with the lawyers who set up the company and the charitable trust. It is hoped that a way forward can be agreed
that does not entail Karui paying tax where there is a time lag between income
from TAS in UK and payment to contractors for projects in schools. The school
trust bank accounts are gradually being depleted and all major transfers of
funding are being made direct from UK to contractors and suppliers.
4. Funding
Guy presented the accounts to date and an analysis of
ring fenced funds for Mitamysi and Loldia.
Of the £69k we received from PRD for Mitamysi around £35k has been spent leaving £34k for
further projects. When the Year 1
projects have been completed we will start on Year 2.
We have around
£18k which is not ring fenced.
There has been no progress with the application to St
James Place. Ben is pursuing this.
Tom Holroyd has indicated that he will make another
donation when he is able to.
Fritha Dickie is going to run the London Marathon now
deferred to September. Norma is making
and selling masks for which the proceeds are coming to TAS.
5. Proposals for funding
Funding was agreed for Mitamysi projects to the value of
around £28k and to Loldia £211 for football boots.
Other projects to be funded when accurate quotes are
provided or when other requirements are met:
El Rar
Primary for TV/DVD/Mem sticks £620;
Kora Secondary for fence £11k and
for an educational trip £2300; Asako
for 40 mattresses £300; Jarajara for TV/DVD
£600 and for power connection £270;
Boka Primary for classroom cupboards
£770. Total £15k approx.
6. Meetings and thanks
Next meeting will be on Thursday 6 August via Zoom.
