UMEED PARTNERSHIP UK
COMMITTEE MEETING : 18.3.10
Present : John Perkins (Chair), Clive Southerton, Riffat Rizvi, Jessica Clapham (Minutes) Renee Taylor, Mieko Yamaguchi, Stuart, Friha Khan, Ged Sanders (Treasurer)
Apologies: Neil Evans, Marion Southerton’ Ruth Goggin (maternity leave), Ann Horobin, Jackie Bateman
1. The chair welcomed Friha Khan to the meeting.
2. MINUTES
(1) The minutes of the meeting held on 18th November 2009 were confirmed.
(2) With reference to minute 3 Clive reported Yousuf’s concerns. John had spoken to Yousuf and the issue had been resolved.
(3) Chair’s report – dealt with later
(4) Financial report
With reference to minute 2 it was confirmed that £1,031.23 had been transferred.
3 CHAIR’S REPORT
There have been constraints in activities due to JP ‘s compelling personal circumstances. The Committee expressed deepest sympathy. John reported that Umeed continues a high level of activity. JP and RG decided to transfer funds to Pakistan retrospectively : £1800 on 14.12.09, £1900 on 10.3.10. John wished to formalize this process. Renee proposed that should funds be needed in Pakistan ,2 out of 3 signatories will be responsible for making that decision. Voted unanimously to accept the proposal.
Open Every Door Project going ahead. We need to secure core funding for activities. Possibility of establishing a 200- club. John would like to thank RT for her help in putting together the bid to Comic Relief. Outcome to be announced just after Easter.
Work with Umeed primary school in Yazman was delayed. Money has now been sent and project going ahead.
Rob Probyn raised £4,500 through a triathlon. Also a coffee morning was hosted by Ann Buckland, 30 Brynteg, Llandegfan. Ann hosted the first Umeed meeting in 2000. The Beaumaris group of churches have been very generous over the past 12 months having donated in excess of £900.
4 BID TO COMIC RELIEF
Renee reported on the bid to Comic Relief : focus on further development of vocational training ; woodworking and sewing; providing skills for street children. .The aim is to provide 4 new tailoring centres and workshops; 2 in Lahore, 2 in Bahawalpur. A 3 year project £43,665 for salaries and running costs. We will be notified by March , but unlikely to be successful as we need to know about how we self assess i.e. ways of interacting with the community and other NGOs. It may be possible to break up the bid into smaller chunks. Any suggestions to Renee.
5. FINANCIAL REPORT
Ged presented members with an up-date on income and expenditure. A balance of £3,656.38 was noted. £ 3,700 was transferred to Pakistan., leaving a balance of £280.96. The decrease in income is due partly to JP and CS’s domestic circumstances coupled with the effects of the credit crunch.
6. OPEN EVERY DOOR PROJECT
Clive distributed a summary of costs and forthcoming events. The aim of the project is to open doors to the young people of Ireland, Pakistan , Wales and Singapore. A great deal is dependent on visas. Two weeks accommodation will be sought in Pontins, Prestatyn. Also Peter Large has guaranteed rented accommodation . It is intended that 15 participants will come to Wales from Pakistan. There is a possibility of HSBC paying for flights (£15,000).
Hire of van £1,000. Production costs £2,000. Gifts £500. Insurance £1,000.The total cost of the project is estimated at £20,000. Clive suggested that the main fundraising will involve a world record attempt at non-stop entertainment for 50 hours using lottery forms. Need to check registration rules with the council. JJC reminded the committee that we need to keep the production feasible. Provisionally 24 performances of Joseph have been arranged. This is dependent on the group from Pakistan being able to attend. Performances include the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen. Several other venues were mentioned by Clive, including Prestatyn carnival, Prestatyn Parish church, Menai Bridge church and a memorial concert in Oswestry. Clive hopes to hand over a considerable amount of money to Yousuf. Another aim is to encourage people to sign up for the Umeed lottery. Also production of a short film as publicity material for Umeed. OED is also a means of raising awareness of Umeed. John has sent a letter of invitation to the British High Commission in Pakistan. Clive has further links with Howell’s School. Most Welsh participants are from Prestatyn and Ysgol Glan Clwyd. Clive will be asking Andrew Lloyd Webber to be a patron. The aim is also to make contact with the local Muslim community. The visas for the Pakistan participants should be confirmed by the end of April.
7. FUNDRAISING FOR CORE UMEED ACTIVITIES
Umeed Literacy project: Jessica inquired about the latest developments with obtaining resources for the literacy project. John assured that there would be continued resources for the project from funding. Clive’s previous report mentioned a meeting with a priest from Lahore , trained in Montessori teaching methods.. Also the two schools needed added funding. Jessica would like to continue to work with Riffat and invited Friha to become involved as she is undertaking a full time MA in Education at Bangor. Finding suitable resources and making links with teacher training institutions in Pakistan is a key element of the next stage of the literacy project. Jessica, John, Riffat and Friha need to discuss further with Yousuf . A meeting should be set up for Yousuf’s visit in July.
8. GIFT-AID
Signatures were obtained by John in a recent event in Porthmadog. Mieko kindly agreed to follow up and submit the Gift-Aid claim immediately.
9. WEBSITE
John asked Stuart would to update the website to include details of the OED project. Also the status of the committee needs to be reflected in the website. Mieko to liaise with Stuart re the portfolio of photos.
10. RECRUITING ADDITIONAL ACTIVE SUPPORTERS
Friha was formally welcomed to the committee. Originally from Islamabad, now living and studying in the area. Friha has several ideas and will undoubtedly make a valid contribution to the project.
11 DATE OF AGM AND NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING.
AGM date Thursday 13th May 2010 at 7.30 pm at Stuart’s house in Llanasa. Committee meeting to follow immediately after the AGM.
JJC 28.3.10
