Minutes of FSJMS AGM 2016 held Sat 12th March 2016

at St Barnabas Church, Dulwich, London

Apologies for the AGM were received from:
Sandy and Allen French, Jenny Bryant, Sibo Sesay, Jane Campbell, Bishop Robert Mercer,
Barbara Williams, Matthew Williams, Paul Bradley, Gwen Spencer, Doreen and Martin
Kilbey, Jane Peters, Lesley and Mike Allwood-Coppin, Sally Brass, R G Rowse, Kate
Ashton.
All present introduced themselves and their connection to St James to Quentin Black.
Minutes of the AGM held Sat 21st March 2015 at West Moors, Dorset & matters arising
Fran had suggested inviting supporters to consider a legacy to the charity and this had been
addressed in the Jan 2016 newsletter. Mike had arranged to send a small thank you gift to
Carol Gillett (our recently retired Zimbabwe Treasurer) funded by the profits of the 2015
AGM lunch.
Action: Alison and Alan offered to visit St Michaels Basingstoke to renew our connection in
person (contact point Mike Browning address details in the material handed over by Mike
to Alan).
Lydia Butler proposed minutes of the last AGM should be accepted and Alison Butler
seconded.

The Chairs report was read.

The Secretarys Report was distributed.
The Treasurers Report was read.
Mike Reed reported that in addition to a number of generous individual personal donations,
Stephen Harwood (on behalf of the Stanwick group of churches, Yorkshire) had sent a
donation of 200. Mike Browning (on behalf of St Michaels, Basingstoke) had made a
donation of 1,200.
Alan Butler will identify an independent examiner close to his home area (probably a local
church member) who can independently review the accounts at the end of 2016. The AGM
was happy to accept Alans recommendation in this respect.
Marie Trail (the Diocesan Office Treasurer) has left her post. Action: Stephen to phone
Bishop Cleophas asap to confirm the name of the new Diocesan Treasurer and confirm that

the money transfer to the Diocesan St James account made by Mike in January 2016 had been
received.
Chris Peskett proposed acceptance of the Treasurers report and Pam Prendergast seconded.
Election of committee members/officers
Alan Butler has offered to stand as Treasurer. Alan has worked closely with PPC and Parish
Treasurers over the years. The AGM gratefully accepted Alans offer.
Sarah Spencer has offered to stand as Secretary. The AGM gratefully accepted Sarahs offer.
The AGM agreed to rotate the Chair for the next year. Nicola will chair the first meeting,
Paula the second, Chair of subsequent meetings to be confirmed in due course. Stephen
offered to continue as the communication conduit to Bishop Cleophas and Fr Ncube.
Quentin Black was invited to join the FSJMS committee and accepted.
Stephen, Mike and Nicky were all thanked for their contribution to FSJMS in their roles.

Quentin Black - guest speaker

Quentins family has a long history of support for St James and Quentin visited the Mission
in 2015. He kindly shared his photographs and reflections from that visit.
The Black familys connection to St James was gestated in the Diocese of Southwark.
St Marys, Tatsfield, had established a connection with the Diocese of Matabeleland.
Quentins parents had lived in Zimbabwe, come to settle in the UK and had continued to have
a connection with Zimbabwe. Quentins family left Zimbabwe in the 1950s, but retained a
house in Zimbabwe until 1985. The Rector of St Marys, Tatsfield, had heard of the
establishment of St James Mission and asked Margaret Black (Quentins mother) to visit the
Mission and make a connection. This established the connection between Quentins parents
and Francis and Monica Boatwright (founders of St James Mission). Quentin had not been
back to St James since 1982. Prior to that, during the period of his parents visits, Quentin
would be taken to Zimbabwe every second year and these trips always included a visit to St
James. For visits, the car was always laden with food for the Mission inhabitants. Margaret
visited even more frequently and her last visit was probably around 1985 or 1986. Quentin
understands that Margaret had bequeathed funds in her will to support St James. It is not
known what has happened to that fund, but Quentin hopes to investigate. Chris Peskett
recollects that Eelin used to talk about the Margaret Black Trust.
Quentin decided to visit friends in Zimbabwe in 2015 and reached out to the School and to Fr
Ncube to arrange a visit to St James. Quentin was able to share pictures of his visit, including
a snap of a picture of Matthew Trinder-Wilger, the first baby to be baptised by Francis
Boatwright at the newly-built church in 1970.

During Quentins visit, he was impressed with the tremendous development of the Mission
and secondary school that had occurred since his childhood visits. Fr Ncube told Quentin that
he aims for St James Girls High school to be at least number 10 in the country.
As well as photos from his 2015 trip to St James, Quentin was able to share a number of
short, digitalised cine films of his childhood visits to St James, which included wonderful
pictures of the school children, Quentins family and the Boatwrights.
The AGM thanked Quentin for his engaging and uplifting up-date and presentation on St
James.

AGM date for 2017

The next AGM will be held on 18th March 2017 at St Marys Church, West Moors, Dorset.

AOB
Alison Butler and team were thanked for preparing and serving a delicious lunch at the AGM,
and for arranging the venue booking.
The Chair closed the AGM at 4.20pm

Chairs report to the 2016 AGM of FSJMS

It is now 27 years since FSJMS was launched and the fact that we are still in operation is a
tribute to all of you here today and to all our supporters, both individuals and churches. It
would have been good if over this time Zimbabwe had prospered and become able to fund
high quality education for all its population. But this has not happened - far from it - with the
Mugabe regime still entrenched and blocking development and progress. For St James itself
the picture is mixed: as its reputation grows it attracts more and more students from the urban
elite, and charges higher and higher fees, which means it becomes less and less affordable for
the rural poor (for whom it was originally set up), This means the need for the Friends to fund
bursaries for the latter group becomes greater and greater, so that the original vision is
maintained. Also the need for the feeding fund for the primary school children remains as
great as ever, especially as Zimbabwe faces another drought this year, and the need for
support for the nursery school teacher (Margaret Sibanda) continues as before. So let us keep
up our support and if possible increase it in the year ahead. The needs are huge, our support
limited, but for those individuals who receive it making all the difference in the world.
This year we ring some changes on the committee. Mike has completed a second year as
interim treasurer and has done a magnificent job in getting the accounts into order and re-

registered with the banks. They are now in good shape and Mike is stepping down. Thank
you, Mike, for all you have done. We really appreciate it.
After nine years as secretary Nicky is now stepping down for a well-deserved break. She has
contributed organisational flair and efficiency, keeping us all on task and on time. She has
also arranged the conference calls which make committee meetings possible and easy. Thank
you very much. We are all really pleased that Nicky is remaining on the committee and will
be contributing in other ways.
My five year term of office as chair has also come to an end and so I am required by the
constitution to step down. However I am happy to continue as contact person with Zimbabwe
if the committee would like me to do this.
Thank you to all members and to all supporters who keep the funds coming in. Please
continue and if possible increase your giving. It makes all the difference to our friends at St
James.
Stephen Spencer

Secretarys Report to the 2016 AGM of FSJMS

The committee has met 3 times by telephone conference since the last AGM.
Committee meeting held on 02/07/15 by telephone conference
The committee considered fund raising. Chris Peskett agreed to look into the Comic
Relief/Red Nose Day application process. FSJMS had received a generous donation from St
James, Selby, as a result of the mailshot which Chris and Alison had arranged.
Actions arising from the AGM were dealt with. Mike had arranged for gardening vouchers
(funded by the 2015 AGM lunch profits) to be sent to Carol Gillett (FSJMS recently retired
local accountant and key supporter in Zimbabwe). These had been received and Carol had
sent her thanks. It was also agreed to include a mention of legacy giving in the winter
newsletter.
The Treasurers report was reviewed. FSJMS had sent the sum of 3355.17 ($5020) to cover
the second terms bursaries and one teachers salary. The feeding fund budget for the whole
academic year was covered from the balance of $3360.65 handed over from Carol to the
Diocese in January 2015. Apart from the regular monthly donations a number of generous
donations had been received from individuals and organisations, including over 1,200 from
St Michaels, Basingstoke.
The next AGM would be held in London. Nicky and Stephen were asked to prepare brief role
descriptions for the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, as all officer roles were likely to need new
occupants at the next AGM.

The committee considered the FSJMS website. Lydia cannot report individual users, but can
see page views. Janice suggested that we should put photos on the website St James
through the ages.
Committee meeting held on 08/12/15 by telephone conference
The thought with which we start each meeting was kindly provided by Chris. Chris had
been very encouraged to see the report and photos from Quentin Black following his recent
independent visit to St James. Stephen would ask Quentin to speak at the AGM.
Chris had looked into whether an FSJMS application to Comic Relief would be possible.
Chris was pleased to report that FSJMS seem to meet the criteria for funding (in principle).
The application process is changing early in 2016 and a new application form will be
required. Chris will check the Comic relief website in the New Year.
Stephen and Sally had heard from Stanley Dube (assistant head at the Primary School). He
reported that it had been raining, which was good news. In the Church, the altar in the church
had been tiled. Stanley reported the sad news that Ma Ngwenya (one of the boarding
matrons) had died.
The AGM date was set for 12 March 2016. St Matthews was only available at a cost of 470
plus VAT (St Matthews has generously hosted FSJMS at zero cost in the past). Alison had
instead spoken St Barnabas Church in Dulwich, London, to see if they would be able to host
the AGM and this was possible at a much lower cost. It was agreed to hold the AGM at St
Barnabas.
Mike had provided a financial forecast for 2016 under separate cover prior to the meeting.
This showed that FSJMS could face a cash-flow issue in 2016, with a potential risk in
meeting the second termly payment. The committee reflected on the need to bring our giving
more in line with our income. Stephen had written to Fr Ncube to obtain information on the
level of school fees in 2016 and to find out which St James bursary recipients would be
leaving school at the end of calendar 2015. He had yet to receive a response. The committee
agreed to continue to support bursary giving for the four ex-F2, F3 and L6 students currently
in receipt of bursaries (who would be continuing their education in 2016), but not at that
point to make any further commitment to bursary funding in 2016, as it was unclear how
many of the ex-F4 students would continue into the sixth form.
The committee also agreed to review the terms of the current bursary scheme during 2016
with a view to establishing a scheme that is more sustainable while also meeting our primary
objective of helping the rural poor.
The committee agreed to continue with the funding of the primary school feeding programme
at the same rate of giving as in 2015 and to continue to support the salary of one pre-school
teacher. A specific donation for the purchase of drugs and a further specific donation to
support the pre-school would also be sent out. Mike agreed to write to the Diocesan
Treasurer, the Bishop and Fr Ncube to set out the budgeted giving for 2016.

No report had yet been received from St James, but once received, Nicky would put together
a short email update which will allow us to advertise the AGM.
Committee meeting held on 28/01/16 at 20:00 by telephone conference
An e-mail had been received from Fr Ncube clarifying that five of the ex-form-four girls in
receipt of a bursary in 2015 had carried on to the lower sixth form in 2016. The sixth girl
appeared to be repeating form four. Fr Ncube had experienced difficulties with his email,
which explained why there had been no response to Stephens two earlier emails in
November/December 2015. Fr Ncube had requested bursary funding for all six of the girls in
addition to the funding already agreed by the committee for four girls.
The committee agreed that Stephen should write to Fr Ncube to obtain exam results for those
5 girls continuing to the sixth form so that the committee could consider this request further
[these were received in February 2016].
Mike had received a commitment from one supporter to cover the funding of one of the five
lower sixth form students seeking a bursary.
The Treasurer had provided the unaudited accounts for the year ending 31 Dec 2015. Role
descriptions for each of the three officer roles had been drafted and were agreed by the
committee. Alan Butler had agreed to stand as Treasurer from March 12th 2016. Sarah
Spencer had agreed to stand as Secretary from March 12th 2016.
Jane Campbell explained that she would step down from the committee. The committee
offered their great thanks for all Janes support over many years.
Final arrangements were put in hand for the AGM.
Nicky Peters

Treasurers Report to the 2016 AGM of FSJMS

Our accounts show that we have had an excess of expenditure over our income of 3495.65
due to the considerable drop in income from Individuals / Bequests. We did, however,
manage to keep to our commitments by providing Bursaries, help with the pre-school
teachers salary and to provide funds to ensure that every pre-school and infants school child
received one hot meal a day. To do this we had to dip into our reserves.
In January 2015 St James advised that our Bursaries were supporting 13 Students at a cost of
approximately 2500 per term. The Feeding Fund had started the year with a positive balance
that Carol Gillett had handed over to Diocesan funds upon her departure from Zimbabwe.
That fund is now exhausted and we are therefore more dependent upon donations in order to
meet expectations.

In view of the deficit this year we have drastically revised our budget and in the absence of
up to date information from St James calculated that we would only need to support three
bursaries; something that our limited funds and anticipated income could support. However,
subsequent information from St James indicates that ten students still require our support:
something which, at present, our funds will not permit.
Your committee will give serious consideration as to how we are to bridge the expectation of
those at St James and the practicalities of fund-raising here in the UK.
Note A
The UK administration, mainly postages, have been privately absorbed and treated as a Gift
Aid donation.
Mike Reed
Friends of St James Mission and School
Nyamandhlovu
Registered Charity no 1017217

Income and Expenditure Account for year ended 30th December 2015

2014

Income

3538.28 Donations
9071.50

2015

Organisations

2467.95

Individuals

4069.00

General Fund
Unattributable
Clinic
2225.00 Bursaries

200.00
585.00

200.00 Pre School

160.00

120.00 Subscriptions (35 members)

312.00

1005.26 Gift Aid

13.30 Interest
AGM (Net)

33.76
442.50

16173.34

8270.21
Excess of Expenditure over Income

16173.34

3495.65
11765.86

Expenditure
10000.00 To St James
2000.00 Bursaries

6809.52

1335.00 Feeding Fund

1633.78

1165.00 Pre School Salaries

3247.56

74.76 Administration in UK (postage) see note A

135.00 Bank Charges

75.00

14709.76
1463.58

11765.86
Excess of Income over Expenditure

16173.34

11765.86

Capital Account as at 31st December 2014

Bt/ Fwd.

2014

C/ Fwd.

2015

Accounts
Bcys Savings
Community

Deduct loss
for the year

11164.26

7748.07

221.32

141.86

11385.58

7889.93

3495.65
7889.93

7889.93

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

To The Trustees of the Friends of St James Mission and School, Nymamandhlovu
Charity No 1017217
This report is on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 st December 2015, which are
set out on the attached pages.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you
consider that the audit requirement of section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act)
does not apply. It is my responsibility to state, on the basis of procedures specified in the
General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under section 43(7)(b) of the Act,
whether particular matters have come to my attention
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the
Charity Commissioners, An examination 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 trustees 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.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination no matter has come to my attention:
(1)

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the
requirements
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act; and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to
comply with the accounting requirements of the Act
have not been met; or

(2)

to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to

enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

No other matter has come to my attention in connection with my examination to which, in my

opinion, attention should be drawn.
(Signed on hard copy Minutes)
.
Mr F Smithin
15 Winding Wood Drive
Camberley
GU15 1ER