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A word from our Director: First of all, thank you for taking the time to have a look at our report. Whilst we’re not in the habit of openly boasting about our achievements, if the relationships we have built with our partners in South America and Africa and what we have achieved together helps to inspire others to get involved, then we’ll shout about it from the rooftops! 2012 was a challenging year for Quest4Change. With a large proportion of our support coming from the hard work and kindness of our gap year volunteers, the increase in university fees meant that many students who would have ordinarily taken a gap year, went straight to university to qualify for the last wave of lower fees – and who could blame them. We rose to the challenge though and set about diversifying our sources of funding further – national and international grants, sponsored events from past volunteers and even fundraising in the countries where we work have helped to ensure that we could continue to support our projects as much as possible. I do believe however that this has put Quest4Change on a much stronger footing moving forward, so thank you and congratulations to everyone for their sterling efforts to make this possible. Whether you are a member of the Quest alumni or someone new to Quest4Change looking to find out more about how we work, I do hope you find this report informative and inspiring. As we near our 20th year of existence and celebrate almost £2 million raised directly for our projects overseas, I am extremely proud of how far we have come together and look forward to seeing our family and support network grow well beyond our 20th anniversary. With very best wishes
Jonathan Cassidy – Director of Quest4Change
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Our Vision- Is a world where communities live without poverty in a clean and protected natural environment.
Our Values:
Partnership: Everything we do is driven by a commitment to work with our host communities and project partners, and never to dictate to them. We concentrate on inclusive management and local involvement; providing training and support for local partners and seeking viable alternative livelihood schemes.
Sustainability: All of our projects are designed to run on the basis of sustainable development to achieve long-lasting change that is supported by, but not solely reliant on Quest4Change.
Honesty: We hold our staff, volunteers and project partners to the highest standards of honesty and integrity, and always strive for absolute accountability and maintain transparency in all matters.
Realistic Ambition: We endeavour to achieve the maximum benefit for the communities with whom we work. We do this by concentrating on projects with realistic development aims, taking into account the level and type of support we are able to provide.
What’s the difference? Quest Overseas is a volunteering organisation that began operating in 1996, sending their first group to Peru. Now they send over 200 people a year to projects and expeditions throughout South America and Africa. From the very beginning Quest volunteers have made major donations to their respective projects and in 2006 it was decided to formalise this through the founding of what is now known today as Quest4Change, registered with the Charity Commission on 14th February 2007.
The Benefits: One of the main benefits for doing this has been expanding the income for projects beyond volunteer donations to include trust applications, events and other fundraising. This allows us to provide sustainable and transparent support. The majority of UK administrative costs are covered by Quest Overseas, including using their office to operate Quest4Change from. This means that nearly every penny raised for the charity goes directly to our sustainable development projects. **For the purposes of this Impact Report, “Quest volunteers” will refer to those who volunteered through Quest Overseas, regardless of whether their donations were made through Quest4Change or directly to the projects partners.**
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£50 Could protect one acre of pristine rainforest.
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180
children now
attend our Quest primary school in Villa Maria, up from 30 when it first opened 9 years ago.
The total number of volunteers that worked overseas with Quest4Change in 2012.
£10 is enough to provide nutritious food to 35 ex-street children for a week in Rwanda.
20 million species of animals are smuggled out of South America every year.
£50,745 was raised by volunteers alone.
4,000 3
People will potentially benefit from sand dams created by Quest volunteers and community members in Kenya.
5 Classrooms were constructed or renovated in Peru and Tanzania, while
1 feeding centre was also
1,443 50 kg bags of
completed in Malawi.
cement were mixed in Kenya.
426,462 is the current population of Villa Maria, one of the largest shanty towns in the world.
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Kenya Water Relief Project Malawi Orphan and Community Project Rwanda Children of Hope Project Tanzania Community Project Bolivia Animal Sanctuary Project Peru Manu conservation Project Peru Villa Maria Children’s Project
In 2008 Quest started working with the Livingstone Tanzania Trust. Together our aim is to alleviate poverty through education. This includes improving existing schools, accommodation for teachers and setting up working organic school farms. Since 2006 Quest and Joshua have been working together to develop sustainable projects to help HIV/AIDS orphans, vulnerable children and their families in Malawi. Excellent Development and Quest have been working together in Kenya since 2005. Their aim is to enable disadvantaged rural communities by improving water supplies, food production and health. Our partners at the Bolivian Animal Sanctuary have dedicated their entire lives to the conservation of wild animals rescued from circuses, homes and the illegal pet trade. CIWY have given new homes to over 4,000 animals over the past ten years.
Quest4Change operates in partnership with local organisations. For Quest4Change, this means setting up partnerships specific to the situation of the projects, striving for the maximum benefit through whichever structure is most appropriate. With our South American projects, the vast majority do not have UK-based charities, which makes Quest4Change vital for processing volunteer donations and for requesting funds from UK-based Trusts and Foundations. The majority of our African project partners are registered as UK charities. Whilst it is still Quest who manage the Africa volunteers, their donations are largely paid direct to our project partners without Quest4Change’s involvement. We continue to support these projects through fundraising beyond this, largely with organised events and sponsored challenges.
Ubaka U Rwanda is a Christian charity committed to turning around the lives of Rwandan children and young people who are living on the streets. They run a centre that provides a home for those who have been orphaned or neglected.
The crees foundation is a not-for-profit organisation working to bring economic, social and environmental harmony to the Manu region. Their core belief is that mankind and nature can support one another through balance, respect and innovation.
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In partnership with
The Problems:
IN 2012:
16 volunteers in two separate groups spent a total of over 10 weeks at the project site. 1 enclosure, 1 management enclosure and the painting of 1 veterinary clinic were completed. Planting banana trees and preparing the foundations for a future primate acclimatisation enclosure. The volunteers raised a combined £12,404 as a direct donation to Inti Wara Yassi The volunteers spent a combined 5 weeks working with CIWY’s rescued animals.
Thousands of wild animals fall victim to illegal animal trafficking every year in Bolivia. Animals are sold to collectors, private zoos and pharmaceutical companies all over the world.
Deforestation, loss of natural habitat and poaching all contribute to the black market trade.
The Objectives:
To defend the environment and conserve the
To appropriately care for all wild animals that
biodiversity. are rescued from captivity.
To coordinate and carry out research and education programmes.
“After a short stay you can still make a difference with them, because they need you. Roy (a puma) would stop to make sure you are still there, and he would stop swimming to check you haven't left him.” Callum, Quest Bolivia volunteer 2012.
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IN 2012:
2012 saw 21 Quest volunteers visit Villa Maria, split over 2 groups.
They spent a total of 10 weeks playing with and engaging communities.
Constructing 4 new houses.
1 new classroom for the local school that was initially constructed by Quest4Change 9 years ago.
The volunteers raised over £14,801 in total, directly to the project.
The Problems: Poverty, crime and drugs. The children of Villa Maria del Triunfo live below the poverty line in shacks often with no running water, sanitation or electricity. Their parents work long hours and they are often left alone to wander the streets, frequently ending up in trouble with the law.
What money can do:
£30 pays for 100 children from the shanty town to go swimming. £180 sponsors a child to attend the Quest School, covering their fees, uniforms and books. £500 builds a simple home for a vulnerable family of four. 8
In partnership with
IN 2012:
Quest4Change sent 3 volunteers, our first ever group, to the Manu conservation project this year.
£2,250 was raised towards the project, helping to pay for the building materials to construct a number of biogardens.
These bio-gardens will allow the community to grow crops productively and
sustainably. 60 trees were planted and hours were spent teaching English and simple tour guiding skills.
The Problems: A large amount of land in the Manu region has been logged and cleared for pasture or farming. After this initial use the land is abandoned and left unused, whist more pristine rainforest goes on to be destroyed.
“We´ve taken part in building a bio-garden for a local family and planting trees to improve the sustainability of the local farming community. The bio-gardens project gives families a place to grow their own produce, along with another source of income from selling any surplus.” Matt
The Objectives: crees and Quest4Change strive to create a realistic long-term model for protecting the biodiversity of the rainforest; one that fully involves the people who live there. This means encouraging and providing support for sustainable ways of making a living from the rainforest. Rather than feeling the pressure to exploit their environment, we want the local communities to realise its importance as a long-term resource, vital to their prosperity. With the help of international volunteers, we work hand in hand with the local community to encourage, construct and educate about the benefits of bio-gardens, not only for protecting the natural environment but also to allow a financially beneficial crop yield. We want the Manu region to generate some of the best sustainable produce in agricultural and timber found in Latin America, if not the world.
(Quest4Change volunteer, 2012)
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In partnership with
The Problems:
In 2012:
Kenya’s rapidly growing population is increasing pressure on water supplies for drinking and food production.
Quest4Change sent 8 volunteers to Kenya in 2012, spending their time at the Kipico community.
The Eastern Province of Kenya is semiarid and suffers from poor soil fertility and limited rainfall, making it prone to food shortages and drought.
Raising nearly £5,000 between them. The volunteer team worked extremely hard on 3 dams over 5 weeks.
Our Objectives: Quest4Change and Excellent development, working with the local Kamba community, aim to transform the local environment by improving water supplies, food production, health and incomes.
Mixing 1,443 bags of
cement.
Potentially reaching more than 4,000 people.
What is a sand dam? A sand dam is a reinforced concrete wall built in a seasonal sandy This when is onethe of rains the fall, the river formed brings with it sandy river, deposits whichdams build up behind the dam. This sand then stores completed around 2% of the river's flow, protecting it from evaporation and Quest4Change contamination, but allowing the river to continue on its natural helped build in course. Kipico with the
local community.
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In partnership with
In 2012:
Quest4Change sent 2 separate groups to Malawi, a total of 16 volunteers.
The first group managed to construct and complete a new feeding centre in just 4 weeks.
The second group renovated an existing community based centre and constructed a barrier wall.
£11,449 was raised in total by the
The Problems: Each community we work with suffers from the effects of significant poverty coupled with rising HIV/AIDS rates, poor road networks, lack of clean, piped water and electricity, and very few health and education facilities.
volunteers, given directly to our project partners.
Our objectives: Quest4Change aims to provide a safe and secure living environment for orphans, vulnerable children and their families in the Pensulo district of Malawi.
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In partnership with
The Problems: Primary education is free, yet less than 50% of children attend school. Families are unable afford necessary items such as uniforms, or need their children to stay home to work. The Tanzanian Government often does not provide resources for the upkeep of schools, leading to dangerous classrooms and school closures.
In 2012:
Quest4Change sent 7 volunteers to Tanzania, working for 30
days.
A total of £4,570 was raised.
3 fuel efficient stoves were constructed at 2 separate schools.
1 renovation of a school kitchen completed, including the construction of a chimney, cemented floor and a window.
Inspirational Tilapias! One of the low-cost sustainable techniques developed by LTT have been tilapia (a freshwater fish) ponds. Here is the story of a local man, Hafsa Mpore's, son: A couple of years ago, after having witnessed the success of the tilapia ponds at Wa'angwaray, he decided to set up his own pond, aged just 12. The proceeds he makes from selling his tilapia are now funding him through secondary school. Whilst tuition fees in government secondary schools are just TSh 20,000 (around $15), this is often a financial stretch too far for families in this region, some of whom survive on less than $1 a day per adult. That's the equivalent of someone earning well below minimum wage being asked to stump up nearly £500!
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In partnership with
In 2012: Quest4Change kindly received a grant of ÂŁ5,000 from the Trinity Church in Wimbledon, London. This grant was given as a strong contribution towards the purchase of land for Ubaka U Rwanda to build a new home for children who have been orphaned or abandoned in Kigali. The full amount was raised in 2012 and the building work will start soon. Quest4Change intend to send volunteers to Rwanda in 2014 to assist with the construction.
The Problems:
Our Objectives:
Rwanda lost approximately a tenth of its population to its genocide in 1994, resulting in many children being orphaned or abandoned as offspring of rapes. The lingering effects of this can be seen in subsequent generations of children living on the streets. In 2003, an ex-street child named Evode Usabyamahoro started an initiative to help boys living on the street. Through local donations he was able to rent a small house in Kigali, Ubaka U Rwanda, where 30 boys now live.
ď€
We are working with Ubaka U Rwanda to provide a home for children who have been orphaned or abandoned in Kigali.
ď€
Crowded living conditions and inadequate toilet facilities means we are raising the funds to build of an adequately sized new home, as well as land to be farmed in order to produce food and income for the home, ultimately making it self-sustaining.
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Our vision is a world where people live without poverty in a clean and protected natural environment. We connect our long‐term commitment to sustainable development with groups of volunteers whose personal and team development is enabled by their work on our projects and exploration of a different life. It is thanks to the superhuman efforts and generous contributions from all our supporters that allows us to continue the work we do and truly ‘Quest4Change’. None of this would be possible without them. Thank you!
Charitable Trusts & Foundations Quest4Change would like to say a huge thank you to the following for their generous funding in aid of the work our project partners do.
La Vida
Ashworth Charitable Trust
Marian Esling Legacy Fund, Holy Trinity church, Wimbledon.
Vodafone Foundation– World of Difference grant, allowing another employee to work with Quest4Change on our monitoring and evaluation
Fundraisers As usual we were indebted to our magnificent fundraisers in 2012 for their hard work, time and effort. We really couldn’t do it with out them! So a huge thank you to everybody who participated in the Three Peaks Challenge, Belfast Marathon relay team, the 4 runners of the 2012 Brighton Marathon– raising nearly £2,500!- and a massive thank you to the Pete the Monkey campaign, raising over £1,700 in 2012. We would also like to say thank you to the friends and family of Katie Ashbridge for their continued support. Fundraisers are hugely important to the work we do at Quest4Change and we are always on the look out for more! Check out www.quest4change.org/fundraising for more information.
Volunteers Quest Overseas volunteers are crucial for the projects that we do. Not only is the money they raise of huge importance to our project partners, but it is also the hard work and motivation that they put in that really drives forward the work that we do. Volunteers in the UK are also a huge part of Quest4Change and 2012 again saw a great turn out to the Brighton Marathon, as volunteers helped on our Quest4Change water aid station.
Corporate Supporters Quest4Change would also like to say thank you to the following for their generous donations, support and raffle prizes.
Towers Watson
Moo.com
Travel Nation
Orb360
DeltaForce Paintball
Rampant Sporting
Lush
We are always on the lookout for more people to get involved!
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Statement of financial activities: F o r t h e y e a r e n d e d 3 1 A u g u st 2 0 1 2 . INCOMING RESOURCES Total Incoming Resources
£
125,116
Cost of generating funds
£
2,924
Charitable activities
£
Governance
£
1,500
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED
£
129,070
NET INCOMING/(OUTGOING) RESOURCES
£
(3,954)
Total funds brought forward
£
20,919
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
£
16,965
RESOURCES EXPENDED 124, 645
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Balance sheet: At 31 August 2012
These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April 2008), the Companies Act 2006 and the requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities.
CURRENT ASSETS Debtors: amounts falling within one year
£
17,764
Cash at bank
£
3,435
Amounts falling due within one year
£
(4,234)
NET CURRENT ASSETS
£
16,965
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CU RRENT LIABILITIES
£
16,965
NET ASSETS
£
16,965
Unrestricted funds
£
16,965
TOTAL FUNDS
£
16,965
CREDITORS
FUNDS
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If you have been inspired and are keen to get involved please don’t hesitate to make a difference! There are many ways people can lend support:
DONATE: Visit our online donation page at: http://mydonate.bt.com/charities/quest4change OR Send a cheque to: Quest4Change, 15a Cambridge Grove, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 3ED.
FUNDRAISE: We love our fundraisers! Visit www.quest4change.org/fundraising.html for a fundraising pack – or see how you can help for free!
VOLUNTEER: Put together a school, corporate, or tailor‐made team to work at our projects – visit www.quest4change.org/volunteering‐expeditions.html for more information.
GET IN TOUCH Telephone: +44 (0) 1273 777206 Fax: +44(0) 1273 673270 Email: info@quest4change.org
Registered Address: Quest4Change 15a Cambridge Grove Hove East Sussex BN3 3ED
We are open from 9am to 5.30pm every weekday. Quest4Change, a company Ltd by Guarantee, is registered in England and Wales. No: 05877731, Charity registration No: 1117956.
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