MINUTES OF THE DOLEN FFERMIO ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:
Wednesday, 17 November 2010

1   Emyr Owen chaired the meeting as Richard Jones is now living in Uganda and working very hard there on behalf of Dolen Ffermio.  Emyr welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced Tim Smith, who was elected trustee last year, paying tribute to the expertise and experience that he has brought to the management committee.

Attendance:  Carole Ashurst, Richard Beaman,  Lorna Brown, Gaynor Davies, Wyn Davies, Lyn Evans, Gordon Eyres, Lydia Homer, Suzanne Kirkwood, Barbara Maycock, Chas Nicholson, Jane and Emyr Owen, Heather and Nick Rees, Eileen Roberts, Tim Smith, Val and Dave Talbot, Enid Thomas, Cordelia Weedon

Apologies:  Liam Brown, Grace and John Durnell, Alfie Evans, Maggie Forman, Elizabeth and Charlie Human, Richard Jones, Pam and Trefor Owen, Beryl Vaughan, Nelian Vaughan Evans, Anne and Derek Ward

2   Minutes of the last AGM on 9 November 2009 were agreed.

3   Matters Arising:  there were no matters arising.

4   Chairman’s Report:  was read out and is printed at the end of the Minutes.

Lorna spoke of her visit in April when she met up with Richard and Gideon Nadiope to explore other sources of goats in western Uganda following the ban on our importation of the South African pedigree Boer goats due to rift valley fever in South Africa.  They were particularly impressed by a source of high-yielding dairy goats on a project near Kaese and the training which was provided on milking.  Dairy goats are not traditional in Uganda but people are keen to try, especially as goats can yield as much as a local cow and this would have a big impact on family nutrition.  They also found a good source of the Ugandan Mubende Elite goats which they are planning to use for breeding at Moses Ekoi’s Goat Unit to supply the Kumi Orphan Project.  Lorna was still hopeful that they would be able to source Boer goats from one of the government farms, as promised by Dr Dan Sebamba, the Director of the Institute of Agriculture, during the April visit. 

Emyr was anxious that the need for goats was fully understood and Lorna explained that goats act as security; they multiply rapidly and can be sold to pay for school, medical and other essential expenses.  Village groups are formed and supplied with female goats, together with the necessary training.  Male goats are used to improve the stock.  Tim pointed out that one cow is worth six goats; if this cow dies, the farmer has lost everything, whereas the loss of one goat would be quickly overcome.  Also, goat’s milk is better for AIDS sufferers.

5   Secretary’s Report had been circulated with the agenda.  Val went through it to highlight some of the points and invited questions and comments.  Paper copies of Miriam’s latest report on the Kumi Orphan Project are available on request.

On Awareness Raising, Val thanked Derek Ward for managing the website and, in his absence, asked members for their views on his latest idea, that of installing a Twitter feed on the first page to make the website more dynamic and interactive.  To combat misgivings about “rogue messages” and security issues, Derek has suggested forming a small group of people who will, in effect, vet messages before they are posted.  At present he is conducting a dummy run to see how it will work in practice.  Members expressed their approval and wondered if Facebook could also be considered, especially to reach the younger generation.  Emyr suggested contacting James Birkett for his input.

On Community Links, Val added that Emyr and Lorna are still trying to set up links with young farmers’ groups.  In June they gave a presentation to the International Committee of the Wales YFC, which they hope will bear fruit.

On Health Links, Carole Ashurst updated the meeting on her recent visit to Uganda.  She sees her present work as combining health, nutrition and farming.  She organised 3 days training at Kumi Hospital for the baking oven she had installed during her last visit (and for which she raised funds herself).  They are now baking tasty, nutritious bread for patients, staff and visitors.  She also organised training for the new types of fuel-efficient stoves at the hospital and in the surrounding villages and bought green amaranth, very high in proteins and essential amino acids, to plant at Kumi Hospital for use in the Nutrition Unit.  Carole is also concerned about the lack of an incinerator at the hospital.

Val emphasised that we keep our UK expenses to an absolute minimum.  Last year they were 4.4% of income (excluding Gold Star grants which are spent in their entirety on specific projects); this year they are even less at 4.2%.  She reiterated that not one penny of Dolen Ffermio income is spent on visits to and from Uganda.

6   Treasurer’s Report:  Accounts were circulated at the meeting and are enclosed for members who were not able to attend.  Chas told the meeting that Christmas cards were now on sale and explained that the purpose was more to raise the profile of Dolen Ffermio than to raise funds.  Though catalogue sales were down last year, other income was increased, mainly thanks to the Trefonen Hill Walk and the fantastic sponsored events.  Chas went through the Accounts and drew attention to the notes he had provided on some items.  He explained that visits paid for by trustees are, in effect, donations and could only be gift aided by going through the accounts.  The allowance paid to Miriam was for two years as we were very late in paying her allowance for 2008 and it crept into the 2009 accounts.  The Goat Unit is now well established and £5,000 has been remitted for the purchase of the goats.  The Virgin Money Giving fee was set up for the London Marathon but we should be able to use this facility for future events.  Bank charges of over £30 every time we transfer money to Uganda are unavoidable.  We purchase everything we possibly can in Uganda but, unfortunately, we had to buy footballs in this country for the catalogue as affordable ones in Uganda are rubbish and good ones cost about £25 each.

7   Election of Officers:  The present officers (Chair Richard Jones, Vice-Chairs Lorna Brown and Emyr Owen, Treasurer Chas Nicholson and Secretary Val Talbot) had indicated their willingness to continue.  Heather Rees proposed that they be re-elected en bloc, this was seconded by Eileen Roberts and approved by members.  Emyr told the meeting that Barbara is off to China to work for two years now that she has retired.  However, she will be coming back for two months each year and we are very glad that she will remain a trustee.  We are very pleased that Cordelia Weedon has agreed to become a co-opted member of the management committee.

8   Report by Cordelia Weedon and Eileen Roberts on their trip to Uganda in November:

This was a very enjoyable and successful trip, crammed full, as these trips always are.  Cordelia reported on the Photodiary Project.  Kumi Township Primary School pupils concentrated on an inter-faith project.  At Mukongoro High School she built on the links formed last year but also worked with new students.  She also worked extensively with Wiggens High School this year.  Again, in all schools she found the pupils a pleasure to work with and their stories provide a fascinating and very personal insight into their lives.  These are a wonderful way to raise awareness in this country and have already proved a valuable way to start the links between Newtown and Kumi.

Eileen helped Cordelia in the photodiary workshops with the added the dimension of music.  This was her first trip and she said she felt “humbled” by her experiences and everyone she met there.  Newtown High School and Penygloddfa Primary School are both keen to be involved in music links with Mukongoro and Kumi Township Primary.  The pupils put on performances which were filmed and which, back home, students from Llanfyllin High School have edited.  When Eileen asked what they needed most, it was musical instruments.  Eileen and Moses Ekoi identified where they are made in Kumi and Eileen is hoping to raise the £500 needed.  She is also exploring ways in which we could make CDs here of music from our schools which they could sell out there as a small business venture.  Both Eileen and Cordelia are keen to find a link school for Wiggens High School and are thinking of Machynlleth or Llanidloes.

Slide Show by Barbara Maycock and Val Talbot on the June Trip:

The trip was more or less divided into two parts: Barbara and the Llanfyllin High Sschool group were based at Kamuli; Ed Howarth from the Gold Star programme, Hannah Jones from Newtown High School and Val were based at Kumi, with Richard in both places.  We were all together for the Gold Star ceremony at Busoga High School. which was a wonderful day, impeccably organised by Moses Kitimbo.  Bishop Cyprian, our friend and partner from the Cattle Project at the very beginning of Dolen Ffermio, was the guest of honour and all the schools entertained us with specially composed songs and vibrant dancing.  The Annual Report has other details, together with good news on the next stage in the school partnership.  Val told the meeting that everyone who spoke at the ceremony praised both Barbara and Moses for their commitment and hard work.  The slides of Kumi were of the four joyful ceremonies held in Akide/Kodukol, Ariet, Olimai and Olupe Communities, together with a visit to some poor villages in Ogosoi, general pictures of life in that part of the country and pictures of Ed and Hannah at Mukongoro High School and Kumi Township Primary School.  Again, more information is contained in the Annual Report so need not be repeated here.

9   Any Other Business: 

Eileen asked about the allocation of gifts from the funds raised by the catalogue and it was explained that they are allocated on the basis of needs identified by Miriam and the committees in the communities, both in terms of the orphans who will benefit and the gifts.  The training gift is always underfunded but is the most crucial part of the project so we make up the shortfall.  This year we have also sent out an extra Top-up Training Fund to meet the costs of Dan Ocom’s initiatives and to extend training to the wider community.

Val and Cordelia are likely to be going to Uganda in April next year, together with someone from the Llanbrynmair Group, which wants to set up a project of their own in Kumi.

The meeting closed with drinks and biscuits, thanks to Lydia Homer and Suzanne Kirkwood.  We would also like to thank Enid Thomas, Gaynor Davies, Lyn Evans and Mary Jones again this year for inserting the order forms into well over 4,000 Christmas catalogues.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT;

Dear Trustees, Members & Guests

Greetings from Uganda. I am sad not to be at home with friends to celebrate our achievements this year but life here keeps me very occupied.

Since our last AGM in 2009, so much has been achieved through the endeavours of Dolen Trustees and the overwhelming generosity of our donors who have donated significant contributions in what is a challenging financial climate for everyone.  By staying in Uganda, I hope to be able to help facilitate the efforts of our hard-working Ugandan friends and ease the communications of our rapidly developing school links which are crucial for fostering understanding between young people of both communities, allowing them the perspective to foresee that all their futures are entwined.

After the supreme achievement of being awarded a Gold Star for Youth by the Welsh Assembly Government in March 2010 and visits to our projects by Ed Howarth in May and Jon Townley and John Griffiths in late October, our reputation has been enhanced to the extent that we are now being asked for advice.  Ed is the Wales for Africa’s Gold Star Development Officer, Jon Townley is the Head of International Sustainable Development and the Wales for Africa team and John Griffiths is the Counsel General of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Our work in Kumi benefits from being close to the fantastic work Pontypridd are doing with their Pont project just 30 miles away in Mbale. Sarah Jenkinson from “The Size of Wales” visited the tree projects we are involved in and was very keen for us to be part of the Wales-wide project alongside Pont.

The Kumi Orphan Project moves from strength to strength thanks to the continuing effort of Miriam Awor Maraka and her team. The communities are now benefiting from funding for additional training which is an essential part of the project.  This means that the gifts we provide through the Christmas Catalogue will have a more profound impact, creating a self-sufficient future for the communities.

We have now decided to concentrate on goat multiplication with Moses Ekoi in Ngora, where his energy and positivity light up everyone who visits him. His unit is nearly complete and he now has 65 goats in his care after a delivery of 25 crossbreed animals three weeks ago. Unfortunately our plans for a pure-bred Boer Goat unit were thrown into disarray when we found out that goat importation from South Africa was made impossible by an outbreak of Rift Valley fever in that country. Lorna, Gideon and I scoured Uganda for suitable Boer animals in April and visited the government farms where most of the goats from a previous importation were housed. Sadly, prolonged negotiations with government officials have proved fruitless in trying to source good quality stock.

It was good to see the wonderful work that Cordelia and Eileen were doing for the photo diaries project at first hand. The photos and their stories give a much deeper understanding of what life is like for these young pupils in Kumi and Mukungoro.  Eileen’s ideas for enhancing music at Mukongoro High School to go hand in hand with the Newtown High School links are an ideal connection for young people of both communities.  Wales is the “Land of Song” after all.

The May trip by the teachers of Llanfyllin High School (including Hannah Jones from Newtown High School) was a huge success. Most of the travelling party were in Uganda for the first time and unsure of what to expect. However friendships with the teachers at the Kamuli schools were formed and the links were further cemented. Moses Kitimbo, our action man in Kamuli, who combines teaching at Busoga High and Busoga University with farm work and herbal medicine received a new motorcycle funded by Dolen Ffermio as the old machine which we had funded in 1996 had fallen apart. He would like to thank everybody who donated money for his machine.

It is great to see the enthusiasm of Peter Jessop, the new Head of Sixth Form at Llanfyllin High School in picking up the baton from Barbara Maycock whom I consider a hard act to follow after all the hard work she has put in to get the school links going initially. I am looking forward to receiving another set of pupils and teachers from Llanfyllin out here in July next year. Hannah Jones and the staff and pupils of Newtown High School have done ever so well in raising over £1000 to erect a fence around the school at Mukongoro.

Once again I would like to thank the trustees for their support this year, especially Val for keeping us all in order. I feel that we have an excellent spread of expertise among the trustees in crucial areas of our work, especially livestock development. Going forward I believe we can make a lasting contribution to life in Uganda and our communities in Wales.

We have increased our profile in Wales this year which will go on to make greater funding available to Dolen Ffermio in the years to come. Our money is spent very effectively at the grassroots of communities, and through our website everyone can feel part of what is happening, thanks to Derek.

I wish Barbara all the best in her Chinese adventure. Her contributions will be missed but I am sure Val will keep her informed.