RESILIENCE 2017 IMPACT REPORT Photos: Adam Dickens

MY SAVINGS GROUP HAS BEEN A HUGE HELP TO ME. NOW WHEN THERE’S DROUGHT, I HAVE“ MONEY TO BUY FOOD.

Esther, STEP ONE Outreach & group formation

From the Chair STEP SEVEN STEP TWO Loan repayments return to Training in business skills the group savings pot and financial literacy BUILDING RESILIENCE and are recycled Building resilience is key to what we do. Thanks to your support, 35,000 families are now able to spend more on their basic needs (food, housing, education, medicine) and are better able to cope in times of drought or sickness.

Working through local partners, Five Talents provides business and financial skills education to groups who save together and then make loans to one another from their pooled funds. We believe that enabling communities to use the resources they STEP SIX STEP THREE % $ already have is essential and so we use a unique savings-led model. Interest kept by group Six months of saving and shared as dividends 1 as a group With 20 years of experience, a proven programme model, an established, successful fundraising platform in the UK and a network of local partners in East Africa, we now plan to accelerate our outreach significantly.

Neil Sandy is Chair of Trustees at Five Talents UK STEP FIVE $ $ $ STEP FOUR Loan repayments typically Loans made to members at rates made over 3-6 months determined by the group From start to sustainability in five years Other NGOs are like WHY FIVE TALENTS? firefighters, they come and We all want to make a difference in the world, but how? How go in their Land Cruisers can we have the biggest impact with the little that we have? but nothing changes. What our people need is For me, the journey started twenty years ago as I read about and the mindset change, a way to opportunities it was giving to the poorest of the poor. But then came the stories of over- save and use what they indebtedness and unscrupulous lenders. Ten years ago I was introduced to Five Talents and “have. I like that Five Talents what I found excited me hugely. Here was a small team helping change lives in some of the builds sustainability and is poorest countries in the world, not by lending them money but by teaching them how to save. there for the long-term. The focus was training and the difference they were making was huge. As people saved so their confidence grew and their wealth increased. Their children were fed and clothed and Bishop Joseph Abura, schooled. Businesses were started, homes were repaired, relationships were restored. Karamoja Diocese,

Stronger communities are more resilient communities, and nowhere is this more evident than in Karamoja where there is such an appetite for growth after so many years of conflict.

It’s a great idea with a great team having a great impact. I love it!

Richard Garnett is supporting a new Start to Sustainability programme in Karamoja

KONDOK I am able to feed my Growing up on the border of Unity State in South Sudan, Kondok witnessed family from my business, frequent attacks on her village. Amidst poverty and harsh conditions, she became the which I started through third wife to one of the elders of her village. Tragically, Kondok lost her first four children this programme. Last due to lack of medical treatment - sadly this is not uncommon today in South Sudan. month my daughter was sick with malaria and I In 2012, Kondok fled her home with her only surviving daughter, escaping an attack that took her to hospital. I lost killed many of her neighbours. Leaving everything behind, Kondok and her daughter found “ refuge in a settlement camp for internally displaced people. my four other children because I could not afford There she found Five Talents who supported her to join a savings group. Slowly she was hospital fees. I would have able to build her savings and has now used her first loan to start up a vegetable stall. lost her too if I had not joined this programme. There she found Five Talents and joined a savings group. With the support of her group, Kondok was able to afford the hospital fees when her daughter became ill with malaria, Kondok, South Sudan and her daughter recovered. She has now taken a loan to start up a vegetable stall, and hopes to use her profit to provide a better future for her daughter.

Five Talents US has been working in Sudan and South Sudan since 2007 Percentage of members meeting basic needs 10 year impact evaluation

100% A LOOK AT THE DATA At Five Talents we’re driven by demographics. The results showed increased, the majority put it down 80% a desire to see an impact for the that over time, more and more to the financial discipline of saving rural households we work with. members reported an increase in rather than to taking loans. By impact, we mean households household expenditure. 60% being able to meet their basic Saving is not easy for families who needs; nutritious food, education As the graph illustrates, over a ten live below the poverty line. The and healthcare. These are the truly year period, our members’ ability training they received on basic 40% transformational outcomes we seek to eat three meals a day, pay budgeting, money management - but they are notoriously hard to school fees and access healthcare and business planning encouraged 20% measure. increased dramatically. We found members to develop the habit of that even the most vulnerable putting aside a small sum of money So in 2017, we commissioned an members (women, youth, those in every day whilst the regular savings independent evaluation to help semi-arid areas, illiterate people) group meetings reinforced the us understand these sorts of real also experienced this positive habit. 1 year 1-3 years 3-5 years 5-10 years impacts we’ve had in Kenya over change over time. Reaching these the past ten years. most marginalized populations has As Paul, a member from Embu, put Length of membership always been central to Five Talents’ it: “Saving by yourself is hard. The We conducted household mission. Group helps you because you are surveys and in-depth focus group accountable to bring savings to discussions with a sample of our When we asked members why each meeting.” Increase in household expenditure Able to access to healthcare members from different regions and their household expenditure had Able to afford three meals a day Able to pay school fees Changing household relationships 73% EMPOWERING WOMEN of female members now able to cope during emergencies In East Africa, women are Enabling women like Mary to on the floor whilst men have chairs, significantly more likely to have grow a safety net of savings and and they are even buried next to no access to financial services. diversify their businesses, Five the kitchen where they will have We know that in Kenya, just 34% Talents helps protect them during spent most of their time. of women have a bank account these difficult times. compared to 50% of men. This But after joining our programme, makes it even harder for women Our evaluation found that by we found women experienced a to save the little money they have supporting women to grow their significant change in household or invest in their small businesses. incomes, we not only help them dynamics. One woman said: “Now When they face an emergency to meet their basic needs and to my husband respects me and we 72% cope during emergencies, but we discuss things as equals.” of female members no longer suffer food shortages such as drought or sickness, they have nowhere to turn. can also have a significant impact on their decision making and This evaluation was made Mary from Nakuru explained status at home. Women told us that possible through the generous that “Before my group started, as a result of our programme, they support of the Commercial there was an emergency and so now have more say in household Education Trust. I had to sell my cow to get some decisions and no longer have to money quickly. The cow used to rely on their husband’s income. provide milk which I sold, so I lost my income too. But now, with my In many of the places where we group and my new business, they work, women are regarded as 84% help me to deal with troubles.” inferior; in some cultures, they sit of female members reported improved household relationships Kenya Impact Marathon, Kericho Democratic Republic of Congo SMALLER, POORER, RISKIER In 2018, Five Talents is launching a a year ago. The population has lived relationships within communities new programme in the Democratic through the deadliest conflict since and an incredibly fertile land. And so Republic of Congo (DRC). 1950 and there are currently 4.5 as always, the most important part of million internally displaced people. what we provide will be the training; Even taking into account the huge helping the communities identify numbers of people fleeing conflict At Five Talents, we’ve seen our and make use of these assets. in Syria and Yemen, the largest savings-led model work in other number of families forced to leave unstable contexts; from camps for One of the reasons I became their homes last year was in DRC. internally displaced people in South interested in Five Talents was their Unfortunately, this was not the first Sudan to the now post-conflict area mandate to reach the most at risk year the DRC has been at the top of of Karamoja in northern Uganda. and poorest communities, where that list; conflict has been ongoing Even where communities have few other long-term development for decades. witnessed the worst of atrocities programmes exist. I’m excited to and fled with only what they can see the beginnings of this new The DRC is an enormous country carry, with our training and support programme in 2018 and the impact that needs international support, they have been able to grow their on the communities we will reach. but we are not attempting to cover incomes and meet their basic needs. the whole of it. We will focus on Andrew Maclay is a Trustee of Five Aru, in the north-east. This will be a Five Talents always begins by looking Talents challenging programme. There is no at what communities already have. In electricity in Aru since the UN left Aru, that is resilience which has seen and turned off their generators over them through civil conflict, strong “Expanding your business,” Training a new group Teresia, Maize Mill Owner

Glorious Brands trip to Kenya LIPSTICK IN MARIGAT 15 In 2017 we were privileged to tried on some of our lipsticks! daughter. Having her own income join Five Talents on a visit to It surprised us that, despite the means Olive no longer relies on Kericho and Marigat in Kenya. As difference in scale, many of the her husband when she needs a company, Glorious Brands have business challenges were the money. We could see how the always believed in the importance same. example of people like Olive was of empowering women here in the inspiring others to create equal UK. We were excited to see what One lady we met, Olive, told us that opportunities for all. that looked like in a Kenyan setting. through her savings group, she’s been able to send her daughter It was an inspirational visit and We saw first-hand how the training to college, expand her business fantastic for us to see the impact and guidance of Five Talents has and improve her home, including of Glorious Brands’ support first- impacted the lives of ordinary building a toilet. hand. We’re already competing for people, mainly women, who now who should go next year! have ambition and such a sense of These changes have made a huge pride in their achievements. There difference to their lives. Having Tessa Burges and Leanne Turner was a great feeling of camaraderie a private toilet is much safer than are from Glorious Brands, beauty as we shared some of our business having to go out into the bushes, product specialists and corporate experiences and the women even particularly for Olive and her supporters of Five Talents Tea picker, Kenya

Expanding our programmes REACHING NEW PLACES 2017 saw 2,256 new families join our programmes throughout East Africa. We gave communities the opportunity to save safely, access small loans and benefit from money management and business skills training, often for the first time ever.

Across all programmes, members deposited £259,281 in savings during the year - an average of £2.79 per member per month. Together they have accumulated £878,811 in savings - an average of £114 per member. This is all members’ own money and represents a significant ‘safety net’ for families living on the poverty line. Our members also made 2,038 loans to one another in 2017 from their savings; a huge injection into the local productive economy.

In our first ten years, we established six programmes across East Africa. Our aim is always to build locally-led and governed organisations so that when they are sustainable, we can move on to work in new regions. Over the last two years, Five Talents has successfully exited four programmes which continue to support their local communities. We are excited to see further growth over the coming year and look forward to beginning at least two more programmes in 2018. Martin Yelling, Kericho, Kenya Martin Yelling, Marathon Talk KENYA IMPACT MARATHON

I’ll be honest. I’d never heard of to Dublin and won that Marathon going to begin a tailoring business. Five Talents. I’d never been to three days later! Meeting the communities that work Kenya. And I’d certainly never sung with Five Talents made us realise hymns at the front of a packed Marathon day itself was incredible that supporting enterprise through congregation during election - if hot and hilly! Our group training and savings groups week in Nairobi Cathedral. Now ranged from first-time runners to enables whole communities to I’ve done all of these things and experienced marathoners and achieve their goals. shared, in a very small way, in Five some of our new Kenyan friends Talents’ mission. from the track the day before. I’ve now well and truly got the bug for running in Kenya and am We took sixty-five people from The trip exceeded expectations delighted to be part of the 2018 the UK and headed to Kericho in for so many that came. We visited Kenya Impact Marathon. If last western Kenya to visit some of Five two of the communities where Five year is anything to go by, we’ll Talents’ savings and loans groups, Talents works. At each we were certainly be in for a life-changing and to run through this incredible welcomed by everyone - ‘a guest experience! part of the world. is a gift’ is a phrase we heard many times. Martin Yelling presents the Western Kenya is the home of Marathon Talk podcast and is Kenyan running. The day before The programme in Kericho only the event ambassador for our the marathon we spent the morning began a year ago but the groups we Kenyan Marathon at the local track running alongside visited were just about to borrow (well, behind) some of the Kenyan their first loans. One lady wanted Sign up at fivetalents.org.uk/run athletes. It was amazing to run to borrow a loan to expand her with Bernard Rotich who then flew vegetable stall, whilst another was

2017 audited accounts

Financial information EXPENDITURE Charitable activity £500,202 Governance £22,261 EXPENDITURE Cost of raising funds £75,428 In 2017 Five Talents sent a record amount in grants to 3+13z our84+ overseas partners, thanks to the generosity of our £597,891 donors.

In a single month, December, an enormous £210,323 was INCOME Individuals £403,306 raised ready to kickstart our programme growth in 2018. Gift Aid £39,748 We continue to keep our UK costs as low as possible so Trusts and Foundations £89,540 that we can maximise the amount of funding we can send to our partners in East Africa. Corporates £114,526

Sponsored events, churches, schools £55,863

£702,983 84% Charitable activity 4% Governance 12% Cost of raising funds Our full accounts were audited by MHA MacIntyre Hudson and are available on the Charity Commission website.

SUE JOHNS, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS: Following a varied career in the Civil Service, Sue oversees Five Talents’ governance, plus has a focus on fundraising, events and supporting our network of Advocates. As a lifelong Anglican, Sue was honoured to be made a Lay Canon of Norwich Cathedral in 2017; she also focuses on building our relationships with churches in the UK. Looking ahead to 2018

RACHEL LINDLEY, PROGRAMME MANAGER: Rachel works with Five Talents’ FUTURE FOCUS partners in East Africa to develop impactful and sustainable programmes. She Over the past two years, Five Talents has grown its income by 54%. In 2017, this enabled us to has worked in charity & programme management since 2002 and for the last start two new programmes. Our focus for 2018 is to continue this growth so we can reach even more 10 years has been specialising in microfinance and increasingly, micro-savings marginalised communities. Specifically, we plan to start a new programme in the Democratic Republic of programmes in East Africa. Congo and at least one new programme in Kenya.

All of our new programmes will follow our ‘Five Year Start to Sustainability’ model. These are funded by groups of donors and are designed to be fully self-sustaining at the end of five years. After this, the locally- HANNAH WICHMANN, PROGRAMMES & SYSTEMS MANAGER: After owned organisation continues the important work as Five Talents moves on to seed new programmes. graduating, Hannah spent time in Ethiopia working for another non-profit, looking at the potential of economic strengthening in helping reintegrate Five Talents’ work is made possible by the generous gifts of our loyal individual supporters, Corporates, street children. She then joined the Five Talents team three years ago. Hannah Trusts & Foundations and churches. We are incredibly grateful to all of you for your support of our work supports Rachel in managing the programmes in East Africa. across East Africa and look forward to working with you again in 2018.

SASHA WATTERSON, ENGAGEMENT & FINANCE OFFICER: Sasha started working at Five Talents last year after completing the Charityworks graduate scheme where she did research into improving site selection for outreach programmes. Her role at Five Talents involves doing a little bit of everything, including communications, finance, events and applying to trusts for funding. RESILIENCE PATRON 2017 IMPACT REPORT ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

BOARD OF TRUSTEES COUNCIL OF REFERENCE

NEIL SANDY (CHAIR) CEO, Wellers LLP LORD CAREY OF CLIFTON ANDREW MACLAY (TREASURER) Principal, Forensic Services, BDO LORD GRIFFITHS OF FFORESTFACH RT REV PETER HILL Area Bishop of Barking DR MARIA AKROFI RACHEL HUBBARD Head, Non-Profit Practice, Saxton Bampfylde BARONESS COX OF QUEENSBURY CHARLOTTE HUTCHINSON Former solicitor with Baker & MacKenzie NICHOLAS CHANCE CVO REV CANON JOHN LIBBY National Director, Langham Partnership MAJOR GENERAL TIM CROSS, CBE GRANT MASOM Independent Company Chairman CHARLES EVE GILL MILLER Senior Lecturer Emerita, Chester University HUMPHREY NORRINGTON, OBE GORDON SEABRIGHT CEO, Eden Project MARGARET SENTAMU TREVOR SMITH Non Executive Chairman, Endava Ltd

© Five Talents UK 2018 . A registered charity in England and Wales No.1113969 Telephone: 0203 808 7643 and a limited company No.5641704. Email: [email protected] | Website: www.fivetalents.org.uk Special thanks to Adam Dickens of Taking Pictures, Changing Lives, for Facebook: Five Talents UK | Twitter: @five_talents providing all of the photography in this report via his fantastic crowdfunding Instagram: fivetalents_uk campaign. Find out more at www.changinglives.photo/2018 Postal Address: The 2017 Impact Report is printed by Access Printers, part of the Working Well Trust. c/o St Brides Foundation, Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8EQ They support and train those who have suffered from mental health problems.