Christian Aid Annual Report and Accounts 2016/17
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Christian Aid annual report and accounts 2016/17 We believe in life before death Cover: Children in Jharkhand, India hold freshly caught fish. Our partner set up a community fishery project as part of our Poorest Areas Civil Society programme, helping 4,000 people from excluded communities to earn a sustainable income from fishing. Photographer: Firoz Ahmad England and Wales registered charity number. 1105851 Scotland charity number. SC039150 UK company number. 5171525 Registered with The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC101631 Company number NI059154 Republic of Ireland Charity Commission number 20014162 Company number 426928. The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid. Christian Aid is a member of ACT Alliance. © Christian Aid September 2017 J33061 Contents Letter from the Chair 4 Letter from the Chief Executive 5 Objectives and activities 6 Our work around the world 7 Highlights from our year 8 Strategic report 9 Power to change institutions 9 The right to essential services 13 Fair shares in a constrained world 16 Equality for all 19 Tackling violence, building peace 22 Our humanitarian work 25 Supporter partnerships 28 Plans for the future 30 Principal risks 32 Financial review 41 Structure, governance and management 47 Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities 55 Auditor’s report 56 Financial statements 58 Reference and administrative details 93 Acknowledgements 95 4 Christian Aid Annual Report 2016/17 Letter from the Chair Letter from the Chair This has been a year of unusual upheaval in public life, warm response to our South Sudan appeal, while the nationally and internationally. There has been a revolt Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal for East against internationalism, a deepened suspicion of Africa has raised £55m for the 16 million people facing globalised identities and agencies, and palpable anger starvation and conflict in the region. The overwhelming about the neglect of local needs. Amidst the ongoing generosity of the British and Irish public shows that refugee crisis, there has been animated and often a sense of dual citizenship, global and local, is still fierce debate about national boundaries and about important to many people’s sense of their national balancing the claims of migrants and refugees against identity. In spite of so much public negativity, our sense local needs and priorities. of responsibility to the wider world remains strong. Yet there are no significant contemporary crises that Closer to home, this sense of local concern for global can be dealt with by one nation alone. Climate change, issues was as always wonderfully demonstrated health threats, violence, and terror — none of these stop during Christian Aid Week. Once again, our volunteers at national boundaries; the horrors of terrorist attacks and supporters rallied locally to raise funds for our in the heart of our own country has brought this home international neighbours. Although income was lower in the most painful way. Our crises need generous than the previous year, this had been expected and cooperation. We must not make the mistake of thinking follows the pattern of our overall income, after an that some fiction of absolute national liberty will solve exceptional 2015/16. our problems. We may try to close our borders or our It is a privilege to work with such a lively and engaged imaginations, but ignoring or minimising the questions group of trustees, who continue to work hard to shape around displaced people and global threats does not and scrutinise Christian Aid’s worldwide programme. We make them go away. said goodbye to Morag Mylne, who has been for many The tendency to be preoccupied with national needs has years an invaluable representative of our superb work in meant that it has been even more important for us to Scotland, and welcomed among our number Hazel Baird, remind governments not to forget their commitments to Helene Bradley-Ritt and Mukami McCrum. Thanks go the international agenda. This has meant continuing to as always to a superb team of staff for another year of follow through on the Sustainable Development Goals devoted and imaginative service. And of course this year and the Paris Climate Change Agreement. we have a very special thank you to say: Loretta moves on in the autumn to take up the position of First Church On climate change, our Big Shift campaign – which Estates Commissioner for the Church of England. She asks banks to scale up their investment in renewables has been an exceptionally gifted leader of Christian Aid and move away from financing fossil fuels – has been – pastoral, energetic, prophetic and clear-headed – and launched successfully, both in the UK and internationally. she has given us a tremendous legacy to work with. We One year on from the Paris Agreement, Christian Aid shall all miss her sorely, but she goes with our very best was represented at COP 22 in Marrakesh, reinforcing wishes, enormous appreciation and gratitude. the civil society presence at the climate negotiations and holding governments to account over the commitments It will take time to digest and absorb the effects of made in Paris. This is more than ever necessary given the political upheavals of the last year, including the the turbulence around climate change in the current recent UK election. But the basic choices remain: we global political environment. Our advocacy at the can be defensive and protective, or we can invest in a World Humanitarian Summit also paid off, with the future of genuine wellbeing for all. The latter is Christian international commitment to ensure that more funding Aid’s way, and we are honoured and proud to continue goes to local agencies. its legacy. As we have repeatedly insisted, aid is not about creating dependence but about helping people become valued partners and co-workers for a safe and equal world. The continuing level of public generosity in response to successive emergency appeals shows how deeply Dr Rowan Williams rooted these impulses are. It is gladdening to see the Chair of the Christian Aid Board of Trustees Christian Aid Annual Report 2016/17 Letter from the Chief Executive 5 Letter from the Chief Executive A key priority for Christian Aid in 2016/17 was to influence International Development (worth £36.2m over 5 years), the outcome of the World Humanitarian Summit in has meant that we have had to undertake a restructure Istanbul. It was a significant opportunity to change the to achieve substantial cost savings. Our finances are now way humanitarian aid is delivered. We advocated for a shift more resilient to the type of exchange rate shock that in the balance of power towards funding to local actors, followed Brexit and we have secured a number of new drawing on decades of learning from our partnership institutional grants for programmes which commence in approach. At the Summit, the largest donors and UN the current year. agencies made a commitment to channel 25% of funding We are also embarking on a significant programme of to local and national front-line responders ‘as directly as change to the way we are governed, on a continuing possible’ by 2020. This is a huge increase from the current journey to become a truly Global Partnership rather than a level of 0.2% and a major reward for our advocacy efforts. London-centric organisation. Leaning on Rowan’s words, The challenge for the next two years will be to see these this will involve each member having ‘dual citizenship’, commitments translated into concrete changes in practice working to enhance the profile, quality and success of on the ground. local entities or teams, while equally contributing to the I witnessed our own commitment to excellent reputation, impact and growth of Christian Aid as a whole. humanitarian work in the most challenging conditions We are also investing in our digital capability, making when I travelled to South Sudan earlier this year. South us more efficient, effective and creative in how we Sudan is now one of the most dangerous countries in the communicate, both internally and when empowering poor world to be an aid worker, and yet, amidst a civil war that and marginalised people. This has already begun in places rages on and with 3.6 million people now displaced, the such as Kenya, where our partners have trained over 2,000 courage and perseverance of our staff and partners remain people in Kitui and Makueni counties to relay weather unflinching. In famine-hit Unity state, our partner UNIDO forecasts to their communities via text. Around 80,000 provides much needed medical attention as well as clean people are receiving the information they need to plan water supplies, fishing equipment and seeds and tools for their farming and adapt to climate change. growing vegetables. Despite the challenging environment, This is my last report as Chief Executive, as I leave the we have been reaching those in need, those who – organisation in October after 7 and a half years. It has been despite all they have been through – continue to display an the most enormous privilege to serve at Christian Aid. enormous capacity for resilience, generosity and welcome. Before I joined, I thought it was a very good organisation. Speaking out for refugees and displaced people in the As I leave, with an insider’s view of everything, I am global North and South is another pressing obligation of clear that I came into and will be leaving an extraordinary our time. With 65 million now without a safe place to call organisation, with an unshakeable faith that the world home, faith leaders have a vital role to play. I saw this in should and can be different. My special thanks to Rowan, South Sudan, where the churches have become key to any to my Directorate colleagues and to my assistant Alice possibility of healing and reconciliation.