A year full of changes Annual Report 2011
for eradication of avoidable blindness and inclusion of persons with disabilities
Annual Report 2011
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A YEAR FULL OF CHANGES
Table of contents
Preface 5 1. Principles and policy 6 2. Programmes 10 3. Fundraising and awareness raising
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4. Board and organisation 46 5. Partnerships 56 6. Finances 60 7. Future developments 70 GLOSSARY 72
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Annual Report 2011
4
PREFACE
Preface In this annual report we reflect on the year 2011. It has been a year of successes and disappointments. Development cooperation is extremely complex. Each day we work hard to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable people. The analysis of our project results shows we do make a difference. More than 220,000 people have been reached! We notice the effectiveness of our projects is increasing. A concern is the declining support for development cooperation in our country. The call for budget cuts is often heard. Persons with disabilities belong to the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in developing countries. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that this group should not be limited in their social and economical opportunities. The Human Rights Council of the United Nations confirmed this in 2010. Currently 110 countries have ratified this treaty, but unfortunately The Netherlands have not ratified yet. We look at the future with confidence. We see strong engagement among our donors, companies, knowledge
institutes and churches. We also notice a growing interest for the theme sustainability in civil society. We expect this will continue to increase providing new opportunities. Sustainable development is the core of our work.
We observe with gratitude that these processes went smoothly. We would like to thank everyone who supported our work in 2011. We trust that also in 2012 we can count on God’s blessing and the loyal support of thousands of people. We are full of expectations for the new year and continue to feel privileged to be able to work for the poorest in the world! Board and management LIGHT FOR THE WORLD The Netherlands
2011 was a turbulent year organisation-wise due to the entry into the confederation LIGHT FOR THE WORLD and shaping the programmatic collaboration,as well as the cooperation within Prisma. Operating in international networks is becoming increasingly important, both for the North and the South. 5
Annual Report 2011
1 Principles and policy Poverty Context According to publications of the World Health Organisation (WHO) about 10% of the world population - 650 million people - is living with a disability. This number increases, being the result of population growth, medical progress and ageing. 80% of all persons with disabilities are living in developing countries. This number shows that poverty and disability are strongly connected with each other. People living in poverty often have no access 6
Poor living conditions, no access to medical care
No access to labour and education
Diseases Handicaps
Principles and policy
to medical care. Therefore, they become ill or handicapped. And persons with disabilities often have no access to education and work. Therefore, they stay poor. According to publications of VISION2020, worldwide there are 285 million persons with a visual impairment, including 39 million blind. 90% of that number is living in developing countries. However, 80% of those cases are needlessly blind. This means that timely intervention would have prevented blindness or poor sightedness completely or partially. VISION2020 reports that the number of blind people due to infectious diseases is decreasing. Campaigns on eliminating trachoma and river blindness have proven to be very successful over the past years. A major concern however is the increase of chronic diseases like age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. These increase dramatically. Not only in developing countries, but all over the world because of the ageing world population and changing lifestyles. This underlines the trend where infectious diseases decrease through health interventions while chronic diseases are emerging. Health organisations are facing a huge challenge. These challenges underline the reason for existence of the
I hope more people become aware of the need among persons with disabilities in developing countries. Reinier van den Berg Goodwill ambassador
foundation.
Vision
Mission statement
Qualified eye care should be available to everyone, and thereby, no one would be turning needlessly blind. In addition we look forward to a world where persons with disabilities are not disadvantaged, but participate fully and dignified in society. We believe that every human being is precious. Therefore, we can not stand by idly where people are wronged.
It is our mission to support local organisations in developing countries working towards better eye care and inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Values LIGHT FOR THE WORLD ‌ • believes that all men are created in God’s image and persons with disabilities are not an exception to that. All have received from God their talents, which they may develop 7
Annual Report 2011
• Is passionate aboute reducing injustice in this world • offers support in developing countries regardless religion, ethnicity or sex • is aiming especially at persons with disabilities. They are the poorest of the poor • cooperates with professional local partners in developing countries • chooses to strengthen local capacities • supports programmes that are sustainable, aiming at independence and rooted in society • strives for transparency and maximum quality of service. 8
The inspiration underlying this assignment is the revelation of God. The foundation would like to actively participate in the major work of God in and for humanity, being guided by principles of mercy and justice. The biblical appeal for mercy and justice makes the human dignity a core issue. This Christian social thinking of human dignity and solidarity are the main pillars of our work as a Christian development organisation. The foundation strives for consistency in programmes that contribute to structurally improve the independence of
persons with (visual) disabilities. The activities aimed at removing or mitigating obstacles which condemned people to live with hardly any human dignity. This way, room can be created for self development and independent action. Stimulating the equal position of women receives increasing attention within the programmes. In dialogue with partner organisations the significance is explicitly mentioned of unequal power relations between men and women in relation to the possibilities of partner organisations to change this.
Principles and policy
Working area The support of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD focuses on three domains: 1.Special services for persons with disabilities, such as eye care and rehabilitation services through financial support and capacity building of local NGOs and governments. 2.Promoting inclusive development by building the capacity of organisations and institutes to give better access to persons with a disability to their services (leading to increased access to health, education and the labour market). 3.Support of Disabled People’s Organisations to help them advocate for their rights and to increase their self-sufficiency.
Impact The methodology used by LIGHT FOR THE WORLD to measure the impact requires quantitative results (numbers, budgets) as well as qualitative results (e.g., client satisfaction, capacity of the partner organisation, effects of risk factors in the environment, cooperation with the local governments). Staff of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD visits the projects regularly to personally monitor developments in the long term.
framework is described for the next five years in the field of organisation, programmes, public relations, fundraising, cooperation and finances. A summary of the policy plan can be found on the website.
Policy The policy plan ‘Stronger Together ’ 2011-2015 contains an analysis of the current position of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD and a strategic
An important source of legitimacy for the work lies in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This convention has been ratified by 110 countries. The convention urges governments to make an effort towards acceptance and integration of persons with disabilities. And that is much needed. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is convinced that the Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved if inclusion of persons with disabilities is not being taken up vigorously.
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Annual Report 2011
2. Programmes LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is proud of the results that have been obtained by the partner organisations. The number of people who received rehabilitation is approximately 2,900. This is in accordance with the objective which the partner organisations have set themselves at the beginning of the year. The results are substantially less than the year before. This is because Grarbet Tehadiso Mahber, the partner organisation in Ethiopia, ended their rehabilitation services. 10
They are good at providing eye care and other forms of health care and have decided to leave rehabilitation services to the (many) other organisations in Ethiopia that focus on that area. Over 2,400 children with disabilities have received education. 90% of them attend regular education through the regular school in their own community. It is a strategic choice of the foundation to focus on inclusive education and thus to allow children to attend school
in their own town or city. The number of eye surgeries has increased dramatically in comparison with 2010. Partner organisation SERVE in Afghanistan has made a good contribution to the number of cataract operations: 2,587. This is a wonderful result, especially given the difficult working conditions they are dealing with. The low vision services for visually impaired have remained on target. The
PROGRAMMES
Table 2.1 Project results Category
Rehabilitation &
Target
Result
Target
Result
Result
Result
2012
2011
2011
2010
2009
2008
3,505
2,923
2,889
6,146
4,698
1,322
2,346
2,444
2,264
5,277
4,911
4,111
vocational training (visually) disabled
Education / support to (visually) impaired children
Eye surgeries
Eye screening/ -
Total
Total
Total
Total
Total
Total
15,349
17,307
17,305
13,536
9,167
13,721
Of which
Of which
Of which
Of which
Of which
11,095
11,618
8,920
8,104
6,178
9,142
cataract
cataract
cataract
cataract
cataract
cataract
3,300
4,631
4,350
3,913
998
3,087
trachoma
trachoma
trachoma
trachoma
trachoma
trachoma
Of which
954
1,058
4,035
1,519
1,991
1,492
other
other
other
other
other
other
247,120
190,664
189,830
319,202
94,987
215,079
treatment Low vision services
12,758
713
1,076
Training of field
4,353
6,110
9,230
3,345
6,775
3,072
3,821
13,196
5,910
workers, teachers & medical staff
partner organisation in Tanzania experienced less need for follow-up visits to children in blind schools. Yet they did enrol 274 new children into the programme. The target for 2012 has risen sharply since Grarbet in Ethiopia has included an objective to offer refraction and
low vision services to 12,000 people. The number of people that received training is lower than expected. This is particularly because the refraction training of 2,000 teachers in Nigeria was not necessary. Last year they trained many more teachers than
planned, allowing them to reach a sufficient number of children with refraction services this year.
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Annual Report 2011
2.1 Worldwide activities Thematic Learning Programme In January 2011 the Thematic Learning Programme on inclusion of persons with disabilities was officially launched. This programme is funded by PSO and is coordinated by LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. The following organisations participate in this programme: Tear The Netherlands, WarChild, Edukans, Oikonomos, Help a Child The Netherlands, KinderNotHilfe Germany, LIGHT FOR THE 12
WORLD The Netherlands, Liliane Foundation, Leprosy Relief The Netherlands, Tearfund UK, Aflatoun, Mission East Belgium and IAS Denmark. Aim of the programme is jointly learn how organisations can implement in a sustainable way the inclusion of persons with disabilities in mainstream development programmes. This year a training and learning sessions were held. Experiences and ideas were shared. It is motivating to see that the
participating organisations take concrete steps to include persons with disabilities into their regular programmes. Normally, this group of people often overlooked when setting up development programmes, but with a little extra effort they can easily join. In addition to the learning sessions in The Netherlands there was also a capacity building programme for the local partner organisations of Edukans, Tear, Help a Child and Oikonomos
WORLDWIDE ACTIVITIES
in Ethiopia and India. The goal is that local organisations will include persons with disabilities in their programmes. Their results are promising! Once organisations become aware of the rights and opportunities of persons with disabilities it is not difficult to include them. A building with a high threshold, for example, can be made easily accessible with a bag of cement (or with mud and clay).
Eastern Africa In June 2011 LIGHT FOR THE WORLD has organised a seminar with organisations
from five countries from the eastern part of Africa, who were willing to learn more about the facilitation of a mainstreaming disability process in cooperation with regular (development) organisations. The participating organisations have set a goal to become professional partners for directing organisational change processes. In addition to the seminar an organisational assessment was done in each participating organisation. Recommendations were given to improve the quality of work. Bilateral contacts between organisations have been
established. They even arrange exchange visits now. At the end of 2011 the first webinar was held to inform each other about the progress in mainstreaming disability.
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Annual Report 2011
2.2 Afghanistan Results SERVE intensified the cooperation with the Ministry of Health, International Assistance Mission (IAM) and Comprehensive Health & Education Forum (CHEF). Around 900 people received an eye surgery by or through the intermediation of SERVE, among them 107 children with complicated eye problems. More than 25,000 people received treatment for eye diseases. More than 57,000 people received information 14
Size Number of inhabitants Human Development index Blindness prevalence Number of eyebelow docters per Million % inhabitants poverty line Illiteracy % inhabitants below poverty line
15.7x Netherlands 30,000,000 172 out of 187 countries 2% 4.0 40% 72% 36%
on hygiene and how to prevent eye problems. SERVE prescribed almost 5,800 reading glasses and 1,800 glasses. 403 employees of hospitals and clinics were trained to recognize and to refer eye problems or to give a simple treatment. 153
teachers were trained to do basic eye tests in children. 1,730 children were referred for eye treatment or glasses. The SERVE-programme for rehabilitation and inclusive education achieved his
AFGHANISTAN
objectives. 427 pupils with various impairments entered inclusive education or preparation training. 164 students with visual impairments received training Braille, Orientation & Mobility and daily living skills. 28 volunteers were trained to rehabilitate children and adults with a disability. 419 persons with disabilities were rehabilitated, 56 people entered a work experience place or started an own business. SERVE has played an important role in the legislation adopted by the parliament in favour of persons with disabilities. The eye care programme from CHEF started much slower than planned. Finally, in August 2010 the first patients were operated. The run-up was arduous, but ultimately worthwhile. The project has become fully part of the public hospital in Fayzabad and is now under accountability of the government as well as the board of the hospital. This means that after the end of the project staff and activities will be financed by the operator and the government. CHEF
has already acquired a place in the National Commission that develops an eye care policy. In 2011 the targets were surpassed: 332 cataract operations and 6,200 eye treatments were done. One ophthalmic nurse was trained. IAM started its ophthalmic training centre later than planned, due to bureaucratic obstacles.
training of existing health care workers and less on the provision of eye care. When this transition is successful, then a major step is taken towards further preservation of eye care in the countryside. After the duration of the project in Fayzabad, eye care services in the hospital will be taken over by existing partners, resulting in a successful model for eye care in district hospitals and local hospitals in Afghanistan.
Learning and improvements Eye care organisations share experiences with small payments by patients for the delivered care. That’s not obvious in Afghanistan, because the government wants to offer heath care services for free. Exceptions are only possible after long negotiations. On the other hand, these experiments are important because the population expects free health care, while funding is needed to make these services sustainable.
Preview The coming years SERVE will focus even stronger on
Context Afghanistan has been devastated by decades of occupation and civil war. Extreme poverty is the daily reality of the majority of the population. Persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable in Afghan society. Partner organisations know the local context, speak the language and are in a good position to improve
the lives of persons with visual or other disabilities.
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Annual Report 2011
2.3 Bangladesh Results In the eye hospital of Child Sight Foundation (CSF) 57 children were operated on cataract and 53 children were operated on a lazy eye. Also 310 adults had a cataract operation. CSF has a network of 60 local organisations where 550 volunteers were trained in detecting and referring children with eye problems. In addition, a network of professionals from different countries was formed to write a handbook about detection and treatment of child 16
Size Number of inhabitants Human Development index Blindness prevalence Number of eye docters per Million Illiteracy % inhabitants below poverty line cataract throughout Asia. 116 children with a visual or other impairment got access to education. Two high schools have been made accessible. Centre for Disability and Development (CDD) plays
3.5x Netherlands 162,000,000 146 out of 187 countries 2.7% 3.9 44% 40% an important role in making education accessible for children with disabilities. They coordinate a network of 300 local organisations. CDD provides trainings and gives advice, so that children are not only in the classroom but indeed receive
BANGLADESH
good quality education. CDD has received support to improve its own organisation, such as the establishment of a fundraising department. A successful programme is the food security programme for ultra poor women in Gaibandha. Of the 40,000 households in the project 8,531 households (21%) have a family member with a disability. In total 3,764 women with disabilities participate in the women’s groups and take advantage of income generating activities.
Learning and improvements CDD received an external evaluation of the education programme, which showed that they have managed to motivate a wide network of schools, local authorities and development organisations to include children with disabilities in mainstream education. In the second phase the quality of education for these children needs more emphasis.
appoint a local coordinator who can stimulate local partners to participate more actively. The food security programme is a complex programme with many partners and a large number of participants. Last year, there were problems with the monitoring of the activities. This problem has now been resolved and there is a clear database available with all the data about the participants with disabilities.
Preview In 2012 the focus will remain on capacity building. CDD and CSF are strategic partners with a large network that they can use to run large programmes. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD supports them to make better use of their networks, to monitor complex processes and to evaluate their impact. The five-year food security programme enters its fourth year. The effectiveness of the participation of persons with disabilities in the programme will be evaluated.
The Health Alliance started too slowly and they decided to
Context The large population size has lead to scarcity of resources in Bangladesh. A whopping 49% of the rural population lives in poverty. Although everyone has the right to free health care, only 45% actually makes use of it. Because of the stigma persons with disabilities receive hardly any medical care. There is a law in force to improve
the position of persons with disabilities, but there is little progress. Aid organisations fill the gap left by malfunctioning public authorities.
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Annual Report 2011
2.4 Cambodia Results In the provincial eye clinics 2,449 eye operations were carried out, of which 866 by mobile teams. IRIS calls for better management of the eye clinics within the provincial hospitals to provide better quality. They work together with other parties on this issue. Because people do not automatically go to the hospital with eye problems, 60 volunteers and 58 health workers were trained to detect and refer cases to the hospital. 18
Size 4.4x Netherlands Number of inhabitants 15,000,000 Human Development index 139 out of 187 countries Blindness prevalence 1.2% Number of eye docters per Million 1.1 Illiteracy 22% % inhabitants below poverty line 30% Jointly with Krousar Thmey and ABC an inclusive education programme was developed. Because Vietnam is more developed in this area of work, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD organized a study tour early 2011 in which, alongside local
partners, also people of the Ministry of Education, teachers and parents participated. The learning experiences have been used to further develop the inclusive education programme. The first results are very encouraging: teachers are
CAMBODIA
enthusiastic, kids making really good progress in their school performance and parents see their child thrive. In addition to the inclusive education programme Krousar Thmey and ABC carry out an integrated educational project and Krousar Thmey worked together with the Ministry of Education to develop a curriculum about low vision for government teachers. ABC supported 128 blind and partially sighted people with Orientation & Mobility, training, microcredit, referral for training and the establishment of six self-help groups. Within the self-help groups people support each other, but they also speak to others about prejudices regarding persons with disabilities.
of support in developing the inclusive education programme of Krousar Thmey and ABC and organizing the study tour. In addition, a process started with the partners to continue to improve their programme monitoring.
Learning and improvements Cooperation with the government is crucial to anchor the initiatives of organisations like Krousar Thmey in Cambodian government policies. This is not an easy process and feels sometimes like having to go against the flow. Nevertheless, we believe that it is important to continually seek the dialogue, to inspire government personnel and to show success stories. That will repay itself one day.
Preview The programme coordinator will give further assistance during his visit to Cambodia in the area of inclusive education by, among other things, organising a seminar to share and document learning experiences from the past year. Other partners of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD from the region are invited as well. In addition, partners will again be supported in methods to measure and increase the impact of their activities.
The programme coordinator in The Netherlands has given a lot
Context In Cambodia about 174,000 persons are blind to one or both eyes. The capacity of eye care hospitals is still too low in Cambodia to treat all new and existing cases of blindness. The majority of the approximately 6,500 blind and partially sighted children do not attend school. Together with partners Krousar Thmey and Association for the Blind in Cambodia (ABC) LIGHT FOR THE WORLD promotes inclusive education so that children with disabilities can fully participate in schools. In partnership with ABC also a programme is supported for persons with disabilities in the densely populated province of Kampong Cham to help them to live independently.
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Annual Report 2011
2.5 ethiopia Results In the eye care programme of Grarbet 69,875 people were diagnosed and treated for eye problems (including 3,106 trachoma and 2,521 cataract operations, 18,524 cases of trachoma in an early stage treated with antibiotics). To combat trachoma 1,041,129 people received medication. In 2011, the projects of Salu and ENOVIB were completed. At the Salu project 120 persons with disabilities received 20
vocational Siza Number of inhabitants Human Development index Blindness prevalence Number of eye docters per Million Illiteracy % inhabitants below poverty line
26.6x Netherlands 88,000,000 174 out of 187 countries 1.6% 1.2 70% 39%
training. Effort was put in raising awareness about the situation of persons with disabilities among government officials in order to strengthen their position in policies and activities. ENOVIB has paid much attention to capacity building of member
organisations.
Learning and improvements Grarbet must keep working on making their project sustainable by cooperating with the government and patient
ETHIOPIA
contributions.
Preview In 2011 we worked on a joint strategy for the programme in Ethiopia. The result is that the partnership with Salu and ENOVIB will not be continued. In the coming years LIGHT FOR THE WORLD will put its focus on improving eye care in rural areas. Together with LICHT FĂœR DIE WELT Austria we will focus on improving the position of persons with disabilities and their access to services through community based rehabilitation.
Context Approximately seven million persons in Ethiopia are living with disabilities. This is 8% of the population. Of these, approximately 45% is visually impaired (blind or partially sighted). The prevalence of blindness and visual impairment is one of the highest in the world. Blindness is more common in rural areas than in urban areas (3.8% in rural areas compared with 1.1% in the city). In addition, recent studies show that more women than men are blind. The ophthalmologists and eye clinics are mainly found in the capital, leaving 70 million people in rural areas with only 20 ophthalmologists at their disposal.
Disabled people in Ethiopia are among the most disadvantaged in both social and economic aspect. They have to deal with stigma, prejudice, rejection and reduced mobility. Approximately 80% of persons with disabilities in Ethiopia can not participate in economic activities and have no income.
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Annual Report 2011
2.6 Philippines Results LIGHT FOR THE WORLD has given financial support to three projects of Resources for the Blind Inc. (RBI). Overall, RBI has achieved very good results. The strength of RBI is that they cooperate with the government at national and local level. They also have good relationships with other health and relief organisations, giving them a strong network, enabling them to achieve a lot. The first project is an eye 22
Size Number of inhabitants Human Development index Blindness prevalence Number of eye docters per Million Illiteracy % inhabitants below poverty line care programme for children aged 0 to 5 years. In previous years, RBI has worked with local education and health authorities to examine eye problems in several hundred thousand children. Doing so, there was always a doubt if in
7.2x Netherlands 92,000,000 112 out of 187 countries 0.7% 17 5% 27%
fact the children with severe eye problems were reached. In 2011, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD approved a new approach. Now RBI approaches parents and other stakeholders through various media to
PHILIPPINES
inform them that children with eye problems can be treated. The first reports indicate that this approach is successful: the target group is reached better with less effort of many professionals. The second project focuses on education and rehabilitation of persons with visual impairments in Mindanao. Almost all targets were achieved and even exceeded. Only the production of Braille texts and digital audio books is behind schedule because RBI had to contend with broken machines and shortage of manpower. However, 726 health workers were trained, 926 field visits were done to teachers, students with visual impairments and their families, 317 eyes were operated on. RBI also established a Parent Advocates Group, consisting of parents of children with visual impairments, who can lobby to the government to increase awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities.
The final project is a large programme for children and adults on Cebu. They achieved good results. 507 eyes were operated on and 814 children with visual impairment enrolled in schools thanks to RBI. Also a Parent Advocates Group was established.
It should be possible to increase the funding by the government and other sources. Therefore RBI will develop a strategy for the coming years and focus more on lobbying and advocacy. The sustainability of the programmes and the organisation are a top priority. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD will support them in this.
Learning and improvements It seems that the new approach to the eye care programme for children is more efficient and effective. The relatively high dropout rate among children with visual impairments at schools is an issue that RBI still needs to address, although they are working hard to reduce this number. RBI again had difficulty in finding appropriate staff. Thus a number of objectives were not met.
Preview LIGHT FOR THE WORLD wants to reduce the funding of RBI in the coming years. RBI is a strong partner with good partnerships.
Context The economy of the Philippines is relatively developed, yet it is still a developing country. Of the 92 million inhabitants 27 percent, or 25 million Filipinos live on less than two dollars a day. Nearly a million people (1.23%) in the Philippines have a physical or mental disability; half of them is facing with visual impairments. They often belong to the group living under the poverty line. For example, in 2005 only 3 to 5 percent of persons with disabilities had access to
education. It will be difficult for the Philippines to achieve Millennium Development Goal 2: all boys and girls will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
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Annual Report 2011
2.7 indonesia Results The production of Braille and audio (school) books in digital form by partner Mitra Netra went according to plan. The fundraising has improved a lot. This is important because the contribution of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD will decrease. In addition to the production of hundreds of thousands of Braille pages, nearly 14,000 CD-ROMs with voice textbooks were produced. Around 1,700 pupils in primary and secondary education benefit. 24
Size Number of inhabitants Human Development index Blindness prevalence Number of eye docters per Million Illiteracy % inhabitants below poverty line The introduction of inclusive education in Eastern Indonesia (Moluccas and southern Papua) by Bhakti Luhur is going well. Children with disabilities who did not attend school got a support plan that helps them to get along well in school
45.8x Netherlands 230,000,000 124 out of 187 countries 1.5% 2.2 8% 13% regardless of their disability. The plan focuses primarily on children who are blind, visually impaired, deaf or hearing impaired. The number of planned cataract surgery was almost achieved
INDONESIA
in the 14 eye hospitals of Perdhaki. The number of people that were helped with eye problems, eye tests and glasses exceeded the target. Turnover of trained personnel and lack of experienced ophthalmologists remain a problem. The hospitals have jointly created a plan for three years. In this new period the transition will be made to independence of the programme. The government plans for changing the financing of the health system, provide opportunities to make the programme sustainable. The afterschool programme for children of the blind school in Bandung is on track. Because of outdated materials and graduation of some children, the interest in the afterschool programme decreased. The purchase of new toys for creative therapy has provided new enthusiasm. The volunteers who accompany the children remain enthusiastic and committed. The children playfully learn additional skills which come in handy in the future.
Learning and improvements Involving the government in the work of the partners remains a challenge, yet it is inevitable to make the activities sustainable. Some partners have the proper network, others face a bigger challenge. The degree of government support also depends on the type of work. Health care policies differ by region, making it more complex to make a sustainable financial planning.
on public and private donors. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD will help them in this transition process.
Preview After decentralisation local authorities appear increasingly willing to support for example care and education for children with disabilities. Authorities in eastern Indonesia are very enthusiastic about inclusive education. There is a health insurance for the poor, funded by the government, but because of red tape only a portion of the target group benefits. In the coming years, the financing of health system will change. Bhakti Luhur and Mitra Netra will increasingly have to rely
Context In Indonesia the wealth is very uneven and remains largely confined to the west of the country and major cities. For children with disabilities there are few facilities and they usually stay on the outskirts of the society. Eye care is almost absent in these parts of the country. A complicating factor is that Indonesia is an island. Transportation is expensive and doctors are often
unwilling to open a practice in relatively isolated places. Educational and rehabilitation staff is not always willing to live where the demand is. It is a challenge to appeal to the government to take up their responsibility for care and education for persons with disabilities.
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Annual Report 2011
2.8 nepal Results Technical & Skill Development Center for the Blind & Disabled (TSDCBD) has given vocational training to 367 young persons with various disabilities and learning difficulties. The courses are diverse: computer training, repair of mobile phones, English classes, candle making, weaving and so on. Students can participate in multiple trainings per year. The vast majority has succeeded after training in finding paid employment. TSDCBD is largely depending 26
Size Number of inhabitants Human Development index Blindness prevalence Number of eye docters per Million. Illiteracy % inhabitants below poverty line
3.5x Netherlands 29,000,000 157 out of 187 countries 0.8% 4.0 41% 31%
on financial support from LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, which threatens the sustainability of the programme. In 2011 TSDCBD started developing a strategy for finding donors. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD supports them in this, because
the contribution to this programme will be phased out in the next three years. Caritas runs a successful programme to help persons with disabilities in Bhutanese refugee camps in eastern Nepal. In these
NEPAL
camps resided 1,939 persons with disabilities this year. 613 of them have been granted asylum in Western countries. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to actively participate in project activities so that they will be able to continue to apply this knowledge in the future as well. In every camp committee members have received training on dealing with persons with disabilities; field workers and teachers also got a training. 246 children went to school and 274 young people received vocational training. 117 people were given an aid device and 592 people received a medical certificate which is recognized by the government. Refugee camps are expected to be no longer needed after 2014.
Learning and improvements TSDCBD faces the challenge to find other sources of funding for their excellent project. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD took care of hiring a consultant, who
has looked at how incomegenerating activities of the centre could be expanded, like selling products made by former students or to apply for grants that the National Institute for vocational training offers. Outcomes will be incorporated in the strategy for the coming years. The programme of Caritas is an excellent example for other organisations where refugees and persons with disabilities often are overlooked. Caritas is therefore working on the publication of their lessons learned.
Preview In 2014 the support for both programmes will end. Given the cutbacks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Netherlands and the desire to expand programmes in other countries, it was decided not to support new programmes in Nepal.
Context
impaired.
Nepal is still dominated by political tensions and strikes. This makes it difficult to work on the development of Nepal. Approximately one third of the population lives below the poverty line. Two-thirds of all persons with disabilities have no access to education, while 5% of the total population is not attending school. There are no official figures on the number of persons with disabilities. In terms of visual impairment is estimated there are 210,000 people blind, mostly due to cataracts, and 230,000 people are visually
In 2010, Nepal has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. At national level laws and policies have been changed, but the actual implementation of the new policy is difficult. Because of their stigma aid to persons with disabilities has a low priority. Disability is often considered as a punishment for sins or bad deeds in a previous life.
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Annual Report 2011
2.9 nigeria Results In 2011 three programmes were supported of three partner organisations, namely CBR Effata, the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) through the local implementing organization Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), and, third, the Leprosy Foundation in Nigeria (NLR).In total 5,815 consultations and 522 cataract operations were performed. The eye care programme of CBR Effata builds on years of experience and has remained its good reputation, while NLR 28
Size Number of inhabitants Human Development index Blindness prevalence Number of eye docters per Million Illiteracy % inhabitants below poverty line started a new multiannual programme with the government in the states of Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa. Both programmes are aimed at acceleration of identification, referral and treatment. More than 100 health workers and 30 traditional doctors were trained.
22.2x Netherlands 154,700,000 156 out of 187 countries 0.8% 2.4 39% 55% NLR has also held talks to make agreements with local governments to make a financial contribution for eye surgeries. 2011 was the second year of the schools project of ICO to carry out eye tests in primary schools and train teachers to
NIGERIA
detect eye problems in children in Plateau state. Last year 9,267 children and 635 teachers in 68 schools were screened for eye problems. A total of 9,971 children and adults participated in health education aimed at preventing eye problems. In autumn, the program coordinator visited Nigeria. The emphasis during the visit was on the operational management of projects, organizational development, collaboration of partners and innovation in the programmes, including the training of traditional healers in eye care.
Learning and improvements
partners is curtailed. On some schools eye tests and monitoring visits were cancelled or postponed. Because of the local elections end 2011 the agreements between NLR and the government have not yet been formalized. These factors are beyond the control of the foundation, but have direct influence on the programmes and the daily life of Nigerians.
Preview In 2012 attention will be given to strengthening the monitoring of the eye care programme of NLR. In addition, further discussion with the management of CBR Effata will take place about their future plans and local fundraising.
The continuing insecurity in Nigeria negatively affects the progress of the programmes because the mobility of
Context Nigeria has often been in the news because of violent attacks and bomb explosions. In the run up to presidential elections in May 2011 and thereafter about a thousand people died. Especially the progress in the eye care programme of NLR and the schools of the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) in north-eastern Nigeria was affected. Fortunatly in the south, where CBR Effata has an eye care programme, the situation was calm. Over a million people in Nigeria are blind. The prevalence of blindness is highest in northeastern Nigeria. This is due to the limited medical facilities for eye defects, but also because of the treatment of cataracts and other eye problems
by traditional doctors. In 2011, the national eye care programme of the Federal Ministry of Health proved to be ineffective. Much depends on the six non-profit organisations that operate in Nigeria. The major challenge in Nigeria is to improve the quality of eye care, to increase the number of treatments and to contribute to a system of sustainable eye care.
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Annual Report 2011
2.10 pakistan Results For the rehabilitation project of Civil Society Human and Institutional Development Programme (CHIP) in Gilgit Baltistan (Skardu), this was the last year of the first phase. This year 220 persons with disabilities and their families were supported in rehabilitation and integration into society. CHIP is running an awareness campaign among the villagers on the rights of persons with disabilities. The village organisations are trained 30
Size Number of inhabitants Human Development index Blindness prevalence Number of eye docters per Million Illiteracy % inhabitants below poverty line to provide physical therapy where necessary and they refer persons with disabilities to the hospital in Skardu. Persons with disabilities have received vocational trainings to acquire their own income and many are able to help their families with
19.2x Netherlands 169,700,000 145 out of 187 countries 1.0% 1.8 45% 22% their achievements in making clothing, baskets and weave mats and brick making. In all the village organisations are now members who represent persons with disabilities. Five village schools have been made accessible for teaching children
PAKISTAN
with disabilities. The children were trained to go to school and their teachers received training to teach disabled children in regular classes. In 2011, a new relief and rehabilitation project was initiated in collaboration with Comprehensive Health & Education Forum (CHEF), to which ICCO / Kerkinactie contributes together with money from the joint relief organisations from The Netherlands. This project builds on the experiences of CHEF with inclusion of persons with disabilities during the relief operations in 2010. 2,390 persons with disabilities were identified in the area. Staff, community groups, teachers and local governments were trained.
in order to extract the lessons learned for the future strategy. It is clear now that CHIP and CHEF have built good networks in the community where persons with disabilities live. These are necessary to break stigma and to offer opportunities, good health care, education and social participation.
Preview Following the evaluation of the ‘inclusion in emergency aid’ project by CHEF, in 2012 will be examined how this project can be continued. CHIP will develop a new strategy for the second phase of their project.
Learning and improvements Currently an external evaluation is carried out in both projects,
Context The political situation in Pakistan is still restless. There are regular attacks in major cities and the government has difficulty to calm the people down. There is an ongoing conflict with India about the province Kashmir and possible nuclear weapons on both sides. Although urban areas are relatively well off, poverty in rural areas is massive. Inflation, corruption and unemployment rates are high. In Pakistan there is a lot inequality, especially for women, but also for minorities, non-Muslims and
persons with physical or mental disabilities. The amount of persons with disabilities in regard to the total population is estimated at 2.46%, although there is suspected that the actual number is much higher. Visual impairments are estimated at 2.5% -3.5% of the adult population, depending on the region. Pakistan signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but did not ratify.
31
Annual Report 2011
2.11 tanzania Results Since a number of years KCCO has been organizing a training on childhood cataract. Participants in this course are ophthalmologists and managers of eye care programmes for children. Childhood cataract is the leading cause of blindness in children. KCCO developed a manual in 2008 aimed at the early detection and treatment of childhood cataract. This approach is the key subject in the training. In 2011 the training took place at KCCO in 32
Size 22.8x Netherlands Number of inhabitants 44,000,000 Human Development index 152 out of 187 countries Blindness prevalence 1.3% Number of eye docters per Million. 0.9 Illiteracy 27% % inhabitants below poverty line 33% Tanzania. It is estimated that about 45 million people in Africa have low vision. Approximately 45% of them are between 0 and 15 years old. Many visually impaired children have no
access to medical care and necessary aid materials. Therefore they do not go to school or are limited in their daily living. KCCO runs a project in eight provinces of Tanzania to improve services for visually impaired adults and children.
TANZANIA
Learning and improvements To sustain the low vision services in the long run, close collaboration with health care providers in Tanzania is very important. It happens that low vision childeren enrol in blind schools and therefore not getting the right education. Training of teachers in blind schools is vital to prevent this and give the children the right guidance. In 2011 for the first time new blind school students were tested and some of them received large print books instead of Braille books.
Preview In 2012 low vision project KCCO will finish. One of the final activities is the publication of a manual about the approach of and aid to low vision children. The training on childhood cataract will no longer be funded by LIGHT FOR THE WORLD.
Context Out of more than 40 million people in Tanzania about 320,000 people are blind and approximately 800,000 people have visual impairments. Each year about 7,000 people turn blind. It is estimated that more than 60% of all blindness in Tanzania is preventable or curable. Since 1998 Tanzania participates in Vision2020 and a national plan is in place to combat blindness.
with one organisation in Tanzania to strengthen Vision2020 plans in both Tanzania and in eastern Africa. Tanzania is not a focus country for LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, yet partner organisation Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology (KCCO) plays a role in training, research and supporting other local partners.
LIGHT FOR THE WORLD has chosen to partner 33
Annual Report 2011
2.12 South Sudan Results In the eye care programme, 53,597 people were tested for eye problems. In total 2,141 people had a cataract surgery and 1,540 people got trachoma treatment. The partner organisations, together with other eye care organizations and the government, organised meetings to coordinate eye care in South Sudan. Cooperation with local authorities was high on the agenda. It is intended that all states (provinces) will write a Vision2020 policy to 34
Size Number of inhabitants Human Development index Blindness prevalence Number of eye docters per Million Illiteracy % inhabitants below poverty line
15.5x Netherlands 8,200,000 169 out of 187 countries 3.2% 0.4 30% unknown
prevent blindness in the coming years. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD and its partner organisation Christian Mission Aid (CMA) will be closely involved in the states of Jonglei and Lakes. The eye care coordinator has visited all organisations to support them in
buying medicines, contacts with the government and organizing eye care outreach camps. With two partner organisations LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is working on improving access to education for children with
South Sudan
disabilities. The projects are aimed at removing barriers that hinder children to enrol school. Teachers receive additional training to learn how they can assist these children and how to provide for an adapted learning environment. Together with the schools we are working on improved accessibility, by constructing wheelchair ramps and adapted toilets. In the communities is information is given to parents, village elders and all the inhabitants to break the stigma that persons with disabilities often encounter. The partner organisations have visited each other last year for mutual learning and exchanging ideas for their activities. This exchange was monitored by the inclusive education coordinator. He also plays a key role in liaising with the government at national level, where he works to raise awareness and calls for changes in policies for the benefit of children with disabilities.
Learning and improvements Because a lot of changes are going on in South Sudan and the government is still building up, much attention is paid to cooperation with the government. This is to try to ensure that eye care will become part of the government services. Training of ophthalmologists and eye health workers remains sorely needed because there are few qualified people. After training they need to be employed immediately and (partial) payment of their salaries by the government is vital.
challenges for South Sudan. The government is under construction, there are internal conflicts and conflicts with Sudan over oil and borders. The changes go fast, and partner organisations are working in this challenging and difficult setting. Because the needs in the field of eye care are tremendous in South Sudan, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD will try to get funding to expand the programmes.
The education programme is embedded in a CBR approach, involving the whole community in the care and integration of persons with disabilities. Early detection of children with disabilities is needed for timely treatment.
Preview 2012 will be a year full of
Context On July 9, 2011, the independence of South Sudan was proclaimed. The South Sudanese were very excited about the birth of their newly independent country. Through the years of civil war and political crisis, much of the infrastructure is damaged or missing. There are few schools and hospitals, and even those few are not always functioning properly. There are so many challenges for the new government; both in building the country, but also in building bridges between different communities. For the future
of the country it is important to build up an improved system for education and health care. Because of the scale of the programmes in South Sudan, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD has established a small office in Juba with local employees.
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Annual Report 2011
Table 2.2 Project list 2011 Project number Country Theme 0148-2-Serve Afghanistan Medical 0214-1-Serve Afghanistan Rehabilitation 0230-3-CHEF Afgh Afghanistan Medical 0264-1-IAM Afghanistan Capacity building 0280-1-IAM Afghanistan Medical
Budget in Euro 229,876 57,692 37,425 46,000 6,414
0180-2-RDRS 0200-1-CSF 0245-1-CSF 0245-1-LAICO 0259-1-CDD 0261-1-CDD 0261-1-CSF 0261-1-L-N
Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh
Food security Medical Medical Capacity building Capacity building Medical Medical Medical
485,765 25,677 27,314 8,491 59,151 6,000 8,656 2,375
0199-2-Krousar Thmey 0199-2-L-N 0206-1-ABC 0207-1-Krousar Thmey 0218-1-IRIS 0235-1-ABC
Cambodia Cambodia Cambodia Cambodia Cambodia Cambodia
Education Capacity building Rehabilitation Low vision Medical Education
30,930 66,007 52,538 16,280 85,861 34,188
0219-1-ENOVIB 0221-1-Salu 0251-1-Grarbet
Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia
Capacity building Rehabilitation Medical
15,000 12,500 90,000
0212-2-RBI 0220-2-RBI 0228-2-RBI
Philippines Philippines Philippines
Medical en Education Medical en Education Medical
105,000 93,133 18,656
0171-2-Bhakti Luhur 0222-2-Ruang Bermain 0242-1-Perdhaki 0266-1-Mitra Netra 0267-1-Mitra Netra
Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia
Education Education Medical Education Capacity building
71,200 3,187 153,780 63,333 5,737
0171-2-TSDCBD 0208-2-Caritas Nepal 0243-1-NNJS
Nepal Nepal Nepal
Education Medical en Education Capacity building
137,132 61,451 5,000
36
PROJECT LIST
Project number Country Theme Budget in Euro 0186-2-ICO Nigeria Medical 73,354 0191-2-NLR Nigeria Medical 61,817 0216-1-Effata Nigeria Medical 12,250 0246-2-CHIP 0263-1-CHEF
Pakistan Pakistan
Rehabilitation Relief
51,207 160,000
0135-2-KCCO 0232-2-KCCO
Tanzania Tanzania
Medical Low vision
6,930 51,976
0177-2-CMA 0202-1-AAA 0204-1-TFS 0205-1-TFS 0213-1-ECS 0239-1-ACROSS 0239-1-D&L Sudan 0239-1-SEM 0240-1-SEM 0241-1-SEM 0252-1-D&L Sudan 0274-1-D&L Sudan
South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan South Sudan
Medical Medical Medical Medical Medical Education Education Education Rehabilitation Medical Capacity building Medical
550,000 106,027 75,065 31,500 43,846 134,808 117,279 118,447 63,461 55,723 80,312 60,908
0196-2-LCD SARO 0224-1-Maya Thomas 0198-1-LSHTM
India India United Kingdom
Capacity building Capacity building Medical
16,736 2,000 30,000
0196-2-L-N 0253-1-L-N 0254-1-L-N 0255-1-L-N
Netherlands Netherlands Netherlands Netherlands
Capacity building Capacity building Capacity building Capacity building
107,261 13,805 1,598 30,062
37
Annual Report 2011
3 Fundraising and awareness raising Prior to each calendar year a plan is made with measurable objectives regarding fundraising and awareness raising goals. Also a budget is set by the board. During the year costs and revenues are closely monitored and if necessary adjustments are made.
38
FUNDRAISING
3.1 Fundraising Individual donors LIGHT FOR THE WORLD has an ageing donor base. Due to the high turnover continuous investments are necessary to recruit new donors. This year inserting in Christian magazines was the most important medium. Efforts have been made to appeal to a younger audience, but this did not work out well. The average age of donors has remained high. The number of active donors decreased from 20,729 to 19,125. Hence, the average gift per donor increased. Also, the revenues from legacies were higher than budgeted. The overall goal was reached. Donor satisfaction is very important. If a donor does not want to be called or does not want to receive mail, their preferences will be registered. In each journal and in every phone call donors have the opportunity to make known their communication preferences. Learning and improvements Several organisations report, like LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, a declining response to fundraising inserts. Continuing to invest in this medium must therefore be critically examined. The foundation has failed to appeal to a younger audience.
Preview In 2012, direct mail will be an important medium to attract new donors. In addition, the decision was made to select another communication agency. The budget for fundraising in 2012 is significantly reduced. It urges us to find creative and inexpensive ways to recruit new donors, for example by tell-a-friend campaigns. Special attention will be paid to obtaining legacies.
Churches The financial support from churches is growing slowly but steadily. This year the Protestant churches in the Netherlands were mailed twice. The number of donating churches increased from 256 to 273. Learning and improvements Most churches choose an other diaconal goal every year. It therefore remains important to keep sending mailings to a wide number of churches. Preview The policy for fundraising in churches needs no adjustment. It is expected that the new name of the Foundation contributes to increasing support by churches. In 2012 LIGHT FOR THE WORLD will issue a study guide that can be used by churches during Lent.
Schools The activities on schools focus more on awareness raising and less on fundraising. Only a few schools were willing to donate. Learning and improvements Fundraising in schools is not a priority for LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. It is assumed that the extra effort will not offset the result. Preview The financial support from schools will remain at the same level.
Optics industry Cooperation with the optics industry is a strategic choice for LIGHT FOR THE WORLD to become a well-known foundation. The collection box on the counter remains the main source of income from the optical sector. In addition, every year in October a campaign is held by optical shops. The number donating opticians increased this year from 172 to 245. Learning and improvements Many opticians forget to donate the contents of the collection box. It remains important to approach them regularly to keep them involved.
39
Annual Report 2011
Preview The financial support from the optics industry will increase slightly thanks to a more active approach.
gives golf clinics and asks for a contribution for the foundation in return. This activity will be brought under the attention of service clubs.
Companies
Foundations
Besides the annual mailing to existing business relationships no extra activities were undertaken to recruit business gifts. The number of donating companies declined from 87 to 79.
Income from trust funds and foundations are a very substantial and stable source of funding for the projects. However, the yield is under pressure. Due to the financial crisis capital funds have less money available for their cause. Therefore, this year the target was not met.
Learning and improvements Additional efforts are needed to increase the number of corporate gifts. Therefore, an external agency was hired to support us. Preview The financial support from the business sector will increase significantly thanks to the support of an external agency.
Learning and improvements The end of the financial crisis is not yet in sight. The expectation
is that support from foundations and investment funds will remain on the same level. In order to achieve the desired growth, we need to look for alternative funds abroad. Preview A foreign agency was hired to apply to international funds. In 2012 the first batch of applications will be sent.
Institutional donors The strategy of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD focuses on six areas, namely awareness raising of local partners on institutional donors, capacity building of local partners, acquisition of grants, contract management,
Service clubs Revenues from service clubs are fairly stable. The Rotary Clubs are asked once a year to make a donation. This year, six service clubs made a financial contribution. Learning and improvements Rotary clubs are interested in matching grants. The possibilities however are limited. We need to find new ways to appeal service clubs. Preview This year blind golf player Ronald Boef became ambassador of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. He 40
I realize that I am a privileged person in comparison with people who are visually impaired or otherwise disabled in the Third World. Ronald Boef Blind golf player and goodwill ambassador
FUNDRAISING
networking with donors, and lobbying and advocacy. Over the past year programme coordinators together with local partners paid visits to embassies and UN agencies. In addition, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD with the EU-CORD network in Rwanda provided training on how to submit grant applications to the European Commission. European Commission Currently, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is lead partner in four programmes with funding from the European Union. Two programmes are conducted in Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The programme coordinators support the partners in documenting lessons learned and making a food security programme accessible for women with disabilities. A third programme in which LIGHT FOR THE WORLD plays a role is the European Youth Campaign ‘End Exclusion‘. In South Sudan LIGHT FOR THE WORLD coordinates an inclusive education programme in collaboration with partners ACROSS and SEM.
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for capacity building projects aimed at planning, monitoring and evaluation of social change and inclusion of persons with disabilities, and in a third thematic learning programme about organisational analysis. Learning and improvements New programme ideas should be developed in time with local partners to increase the success rate with institutional donors. Assisting local partners requires a longer period of coaching than hitherto has been done. In 2012, this should get more attention. Accountability to donors For every donation of € 50.and up, a letter of thanks is sent. Donations of € 450.- and up were assigned to a specific project so that interim and final reports could be issued to that donor.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs LIGHT FOR THE WORLD receives MFS-II funding for projects in the field of primary health care in Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The programmatic collaboration with local and network partners is in full swing. Through PSO LIGHT FOR THE WORLD receives funding from 41
Annual Report 2011
3.2 Awareness raising LIGHT FOR THE WORLD sees a role for itself to inform the Dutch audience about the position of persons with disabilities in developing countries. The aim is to raise awareness of the problem and motivate to action. The following is a summary of awareness raising activities.
ophthalmologists, press and other interested parties. The magazine contains information on international developments, results achieved in the projects, life stories and articles about notable fundraising activities. The Journal is published three times this year. In total, 54,603 copies were sent.
Journal
Electronic newsletter
The ‘Journal’ is the magazine for the broad constituency of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, namely individuals, opticians,
The newsletter was published eleven times this year and has 3,758 subscribers. This newsletter is intended for
42
topical and urgent matters to communicate. It is also a means of connecting offline and online expressions.
Internet The website is an important medium for supporters and interested parties about the activities of the foundation (table 3.1).
AWARENESS RAISING
Table 3.1 Website visits
Website Objective darkandlight.org Dutch website
# visits* 2010 59,423
# visits* 2011 55,704
darkandlight.eu
English website
79,095
127,028
gratisoogtest.nu
Free donating
4,711
30,881
* by ‘visit’ is meant a session started by a visitor.
Striking is the large increase in the number of visits of the English website. This is due to the fact that the Google Adwords campaign has started in the course of 2010. A similar trend is seen in gratisoogtest.nu. This website has started in the second half of 2010. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD finds it important to be present on social media like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIN (table 3.2). However, the participation of and interaction with donors is still not at the desired level.
Annual report The annual report is an indispensable medium for accountability to donors. The report for the year 2010 obtained a fine 25th place in the Transparency Award.
(January); • prolongation of first place in the “Trouw Charity Top 50 in the area of development cooperation (November).
was embraced without any complaints.
LIGHT FOR THE WORLD was mentioned dozens of times in national and local media. Exact figures are not known.
Regional events In September, six events were organized in different places in the country. The aim of the event was to inform donors about joining the confederation and the new name of the foundation. A guest from abroad was invited to talk about his work. Although the attendance was somewhat disappointing, the meetings were positive and worthwhile. Strikingly, the new name of the foundation
Learning and improvements Important trends in the field of awareness raising are: social media and transparency. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD must continue to invest in new media to reach younger audiences and create donor loyalty. Donors are increasingly demanding transparency. The challenge is adapt the internal processes to this demand. Preview The year 2012 will be an exciting year. This will show whether the launch campaign for the new name of the foundation has worked well. In the second half of the year the reputation will be measured.
Media
Table 3.2 Social media
Highlights in terms of media attention this year were:
Medium Participation
• four broadcasts of the Evangelical Broadcasting company on the food security project in Bangladesh
Twitter Hyves Facebook LinkedIN
269 followers 461 members 56 likes 31 members
43
Annual Report 2011
Table 3.3 Other figures
Description Presence during events Presentations Musicals performed on primary schools Press releases News items on website
44
2010
2011
6 19 7 17 95
5 21 8 7 78
AWARENESS RAISING
45
Annual Report 2011
4 Board and organisation 2011 was a turbulent year organisation-wise due to the admission to the confederation LIGHT FOR THE WORLD and shaping the programmatic collaboration in addition to the cooperation within Prisma. Operating in international networks is becoming more and more important, both for the North and the South. We 46
observe with gratitude that these processes went smoothly. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is a European confederation of national development NGOs committed to saving eyesight, improving the quality of life and advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities in developing countries. The
confederation has members in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic and The Netherlands. Aim of the confederation is to work more efficiently, to exchange knowledge and to strengthen each others activities.
BOARD
4.1 board Board report The board, chaired by drs. H.C. van der Eijk, has held four sessions wherein policy development and strategy development were the main focus. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD worked on the elaboration and implementation of the new strategic policy plan “Stronger Together” which was approved in 2010 and runs up to 2015 inclusive. In this policy plan the objectives of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD have been shaped in
accordance with its mission. In 2011 the board has approved the annual report 2010, the budget and the annual plan for 2012. The board welcomes the growth of the organisation enabling the foundation to do structurally more for the target group. In the December meeting the board authorized the accountancy With in Alphen aan den Rijn to compile the auditor’s
report 2011 of the foundation. Two board members made a field visit to various projects.
Composition of the board The board strives for a multidisciplinary composition. Besides a general profile of the members of the board, there are specific profiles to include, among others, a legal expert, a financial expert and experts in the field of ophthalmology, marketing and development cooperation.
Table 4.1 List of board of directors
name, place of residence, position
Affiliations
Chairman (vacancy) LLM Mrs. M.J. van Dasselaar, Coach and advisor at Ede, Secretary Effective Idealism, Training and Advice L.J. van der Herberg, Baarn, Member Drs. P.F.C. van der Hoeven Oegstgeest, member
Entrance
2010
Retired VP Market 2009 Research Ahold Retired physician 2003 Chairman Albert Schweitzer Fund
Reappointed
2014
Resigning
2022
2013 - 2017
2021
2008 - 2012
2016
2018
Dr. F. Lion, Nijmegen, member
Ophthalmologist
2006
2010 - 2014
J. Kaemingk, Zeist, member
Chairman Optiver
2002
2011
2015
Mr. S. Wynia, Veenendaal, Treasurer
Tax specialist
2006
2010 - 2014
2018
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Annual Report 2011
On 31 December 2011 the board consisted of seven persons (table 4.1). In the reporting year chairman drs. H.C. van der Eijk said goodbye after twelve years of board membership. The foundation is greatly indebted to him for his large commitment and dedication. During his tenure, the foundation has grown tremendously both in quality and size.
Governance In the reporting period the board has formally functioned according to the ‘instruction model’, except that the director received an extensive general proxy of the board for the daily management of the foundation, the policy preparation and implementation. The proxy is for third parties registered with
48
the Chamber of Commerce. The management roles and responsibilities are detailed in the Executive Regulations. It also determines for which cases the management needs prior permission from the board and how the board should be informed so that it is able to exercise its supervisory powers. For every meeting is indicated which documents are being discussed, hence enabling an appropriate risk management. The board sets the policy, giving it direction and monitoring the implementation. The board has the final responsibility for controlling the legal person. Internally it is agreed that the board will not exercise herself the tasks mandated to the director and will not take them back easily. In this structure, the
legal relations are clear, while the management has sufficient leeway to lead the foundation. In the year under review the operation of the management has been evaluated by a delegation of the board. From this conversation a report is made which has been discussed with the board. The overall conclusion was that the management has functioned well in good cooperation with the board. The great team spirit and motivation of the employees has been very much appreciated.
Code of Good Governance Being the starting point of good governance, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD uses the Code of Good Governance for Charities that has been established by
BOARD
the Association of Fundraising Organisations in 2005, based on the advice of the Committee Wijffels.
Accountability Statement This statement is made in accordance with the new ‘ Guideline 650’ for fundraising institutions of the Council for Annual Reporting. The declaration of accountability is part of the new guidelines of the Central Bureau for Fundraising (CBF). Three principles The board of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD underlines the following principles: 1.Within the institution ‘supervising’ (determining or approving plans, and critically monitoring the organisation and her results) should be clearly separated from ‘governing’ or ‘implementing’. 2.The institution should work continuously on an optimal use of resources to work effectively and efficiently towards achieving the goal. 3.The institution strives for optimal relationships with stakeholders, having focused attention to providing
information and the registration and processing of wishes, requests and complaints.
1. Principle Supervising and Governing Internal supervision to managerial and/or implementing tasks The board of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is on the top place of the foundation and has the final responsibility for the affairs in the organisation. As the board gave a mandate to the director of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD for a major number of tasks and responsibilities, the board got a mainly supervising task. The board has established the management regulations, describing which decisions the director may lawfully take and which decisions need the approval of the board. These are also expressed in a proxy in the register of the Chamber of Commerce. The board meets at least four times a year in presence of the management. The board exercises a supervising role by establishing in those meetings the annual plan, budget, the annual account and
the annual reports. In addition, every board meeting starts with a discussion on a topic directly related to the mission of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. During the year the management has regular contact with the chairman, treasurer and the secretary of the board. Four times a year the board receives a management report, giving a summary of all running affairs of the primary processes. Composition of the board In case of changes in the board a new board member is recruited. Selection is based on the composition of the board, the established board profiles and an analysis of developments important for LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. According to a determined procedure a profile for the vacancy is prepared. Candidates are searched through the network or through placing advertisements in national newspapers. During the selection process interviews with the candidates are being held by various board members in cooperation with the management. The board of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD consists of at least five persons. Appointment to the board is for a period of four years. The possibility exists to be reappointed two times. A few facts about the board of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD: • members of the board of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD 49
Annual Report 2011
receive no remuneration; • members of the board have no business relations with LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, so there can be no conflict of interest; • the board uses certain fixed months in which the relevant financial statements are scheduled for discussion and approval and which documents are to be delivered by the director. Evaluation of the functioning of the director and of the board members • Annually, two board members hold, based on information collected within the board, an assessment and performance appraisal with the director. Then also, if necessary, a change in the remuneration of the director is made. In addition, specific agreements are made for the next year. • Annually, a closed board meeting is held where the functioning of the board members is evaluated. In this meeting also the functioning of the director is discussed, in preparation of the annual performance appraisal. • The chairman speaks to board members in case of multiple absences in previously scheduled meetings, or in case of malfunctioning like currently is described in the board regulations and the board profiles.
2. Principle Optimal use of 50
resources Establishing guiding objectives for all relevant areas and levels By establishing the multi-year plan and the multi-year budget and the related annual plans and budgets, the board gives direction to the goals of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the internal processes Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the activities is done by a critical assessment of the annual report and of the quarterly financial reports. Also the periodic management reports provides information. Regarding the internal processes the board relies to a large extent on the findings of the management and the treasurer, the accountant, the ISO-certificatory, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other evaluators. Activation of adjustments in response to the evaluations Improvements, whether or not advised by the management, accountant, ISO-certificatory and other evaluators are being discussed in the board meetings.
3. Principle Optimal relations with stakeholders Stakeholders of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD The donors of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD in The Netherlands and be divided in the target groups:
private persons, equity funds, companies, churches, service clubs, etc. In addition, Prisma, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission are regarded as special relations with whom a sustainable cooperation has been built up. Contents and quality of the information provided to stakeholders In order to inform the various stakeholders well, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD offers, next to general information, also tailormade reports per target group. In turn narrative and financial reports are adjusted to the needs and wishes of the stakeholder. Way of information delivery Providing information happens through various common occasions: website, (digital) newsletters, sponsor reports, fairs, folders, press releases, quarterly magazines, policy plan and annual report. Donors get insight in the progress and spending of the projects supported by half-yearly reports. Relevance, clarity and accessibility of information In order to properly respond to the information needs of the stakeholders, various publications are produced by specialists of the fundraising and public relations department. The department has two target group coordinators and is also externally advised. Ideas, remarks, wishes and complaints of stakeholders
BOARD
Ideas, remarks, wishes and complaints of stakeholders To a large extent, the marketingand communication policy is determined by the stakeholders themselves. Regularly, evaluations, brainstorm sessions and surveys are taking place to identify the needs and satisfaction of every target group. In other words, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is continuously in dialogue with her supporters to coordinate supply and demand even better. Complaints are dealt with through the complaints procedure.
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4.2 ORGANISATION Staff LIGHT FOR THE WORLD strives to maintain the commitment and passion of its employees and where possible to improve. All staff have personal development plans so that employees can grow in those skills necessary for a growing organisation. Also in 2011 we worked on the implementation and embedding of competency. On December 31, 2011 the total number of employees consisted of 13.34 FTE. Also 52
in this year, like in prior years, the atmosphere at the office was one of team spirit. The employees worked with much passion towards the set goals. The absenteeism rate was 3.16% which is a slight increase compared to last year, but below the national average. There is an almost equal male/female ratio. Once per quarter a team meeting is being held for discussion on general matters and informing staff on headlines on the activities of every staff
member. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD considers herself a learning organisation. In consultation with the manager a Personal Development Plan for every employee is drafted which is discussed and updated annually.
ORGANISATION
Table 4.2 Staff overview per December 31, 2011
Employment conditions LIGHT FOR THE WORLD works with the CAO (collective labour agreement) of ‘Welzijn & Maatschappelijke Dienstverlening’. In case of exceptions the Foundation refers to her own legal arrangement. Salaries are based on a job evaluation system and a classification in accordance with the CAO. In 2008 a new CAO was agreed upon which was valid until 2011 and then extended until 2012 inclusive. The agreed increases were implemented. The director is paid in accordance with salary scale 14 of the labour conditions agreement. The total salary costs of the director amounted to € 115,660 including social charges, pension costs and other expenses. The director is manager of a capital fund in The Hague which is not related to nor poses a risk to the activities at LIGHT FOR THE WORLD.
Volunteers LIGHT FOR THE WORLD has some enthusiastic volunteers who give presentations at schools and churches, assist during major events and carry out other administrative tasks at the office. A policy paper on working with volunteers is available. This is to secure their interests and strengthening their legal position, among others through the introduction of a volunteer’s agreement. This makes also clear what is
Name
Position FTE
Mr. Drs. K. Aikes Programme Coordinator Mr. E. Akkerboom Head Marketing and fundraising Ms. Drs. B. Bos Programme Coordinator Ms. M. van den Brink Facility Assistant Ms. Drs. P. Bruijn-Rietveld Coord. Inclusive Development Mr. R. Hoekstra Communications Officer new media Ms. K. Hol Executive Secretary
1.00 1.00
Mr. G. Th. ten Hove Director Mr. B. Lont Communications Officer Mr. Ir. M. Nederveen Head Programme Department Ms. Drs. L. Scheewe Programme Coordinator Mr. Ir. S. Schot MBA Programme Coordinator & Coordinator Institutional Donor Relations Ms. A. Thijssen Project Secretary Ms. Drs. I. van der Velde Assist. Programme Coord. Mr. A. van Veldhuisen Financial Administrator
1.00 1.00 1.00 0.90 1.00
expected of both parties.
Quality and internal control In 2011, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD has paid much attention to strengthening the administrative organisation and internal control, especially in the area of improving its risk management. We are not only aiming at the implementation of our objectives as such, but also at doing it as effectively and efficiently as possible by the best use of our means. Therefore, an adequate planning and control cycle is indispensable. This cycle is based on the policy paper for the coming years and formulated risks. In the risk
0.90 0.17 0.90 0.90 0.90
0.67 0.90 1.00
analysis are identified the risks which could stand in the way of the most important objectives. Furthermore, possible control measures are stated to prevent these risks from occurring. In 2011 an external audit was carried out by With accountants to test these processes. The recommendations have been discussed and applied.
ISO-certification LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is certified according to the ISO 9001 criteria. This certification streamlines the internal and external primary processes which are regularly tested and updated.
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Annual Report 2011
Processes, procedures, and working instructions and standard documents are incorporated in the quality Handbook which is the basis for the quality control system ISO 9001. In the reporting period Sander Schot was the quality control officer, appointed to guard internal processes and to tighten them wherever needed. In October an internal and external audit have been carried out. No shortcomings have been identified.
Complaints In 2011 three complaints have been registered which have been dealt with according to the complaints procedure. The complaints were from two donors and one interested person from The Netherlands. No complaints have been received from the project countries.
Risk analysis Following are the major risks identified in the areas of strategy, safety, reputation, operations, finance and compliance with laws and regulations. An internal control measure is attached to each risk. Strategy Risk: LIGHT FOR THE WORLD exclusively works with local partner organisations. Lack of internal capacity is a risk for successful implementation of the programmes. Internal control: We developed 54
an organisation analysis tool to analyse the development level of an organisation on four levels. Subsequently, a suitable training course can be offered. If the internal capacity is limited, the use of consultants is considered. We have a network of experts in different areas.
Safety Risk: Our interventions in (post-) conflict areas bring about risks for the safety of our employees. Internal control: We have a written safety policy for working in (post-)conflict zones, which is thoroughly read before every trip. A safety handbook has been composed to be used in the case of disasters. At least once a year a training is being carried out by all staff. Reputation Risk: LIGHT FOR THE WORLD attaches great importance to preservation of a good reputation. It is wise to be aware of the risk that the money might not be spent on the agreed objectives. This can lead to damage to the reputation. Internal control: Fraud preventing procedures are drawn up in our internal quality system. Taking on new programmes is also subject to criteria to prevent fraud. During project visits structured insight is requested into the financial and administrative organisation. With projects over â‚Ź 68,000 an auditors report is compulsory. With major partners, the
financial systems are analysed by a financial advisor from The Netherlands. Operations Risk: Due to political tensions, social circumstances or a very bad infrastructure in countries where we work, it is sometimes not or hardly possible to provide help. Internal control: LIGHT FOR THE WORLD works exclusively with local partner organisations who are best informed about the local circumstances. Our office in The Netherlands keeps regular contact to guarantee the continuation of the work to the extent possible. Risk: The thematic focus of the government, where disabled are not considered as a vulnerable group, poses a threat to the continuation of financing by governmental bodies. Internal control: LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is a member of the network organisation DCDD (Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development) which is working hard to direct the attention of the government towards the position of disabled. Within the ICCO alliance LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is lobbying for inclusion of persons with a disability in all development programmes. Finances Risk: To finance our programmes, we need income. Income can fall short or even drop out with the risk of
ORGANISATION
endangering the continuation of our programmes. The competition in fundraising is heavy. Also, (share) prices are a risk by sharp falls and rises. Internal control: To limit these financial risks as much as possible, we focus in our policy on spreading our income from different donors. Our drive, quality and alertness reduce this risk. Additionally, it was decided to create a financial reserve. Furthermore, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD chooses to focus on specific target groups which have a clear affinity with the mission of the foundation. To continue the income from the government, we actively take part in networks which determine policies. Furthermore, our financial system generates reports that supply management information for adequate leadership on a monthly basis. Risk: Many local currencies follow the trend of the dollar and hence the ratio of euro / dollar entails an exchange risk. Internal control: During the financial year LIGHT FOR THE WORLD takes the price risk for her account. In order to absorb rate differences at the beginning of the financial year U.S. dollars are purchased. Law and Regulations and quality Risk: Many requirements are laid down for charities. It is very important to live up to regulations concerning
Look around and see how blessed we are with our health care system and remember how important and valuable work of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is. Lisa Westerhof Olympic sailor and goodwill ambassador
standards, behaviour codes, etc. Internal control: LIGHT FOR THE WORLD attaches great importance to keeping the CBF label as well as the ISO certification as well as the annual audit. This independent testing by external parties with respect to spending of funds and working according to standard procedures enhances the confidence and trust of existing and potential donors in LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. The foundation handles the code of conduct of the Association for Fundraising Institutions (VFI). Additionally, the foundation endorses the Code of Good Governance for Charities. The separation of governance and
implementation, advocated by this Code, is applied.
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5 Partnerships In development cooperation it is becoming more and more important to provide added value in cooperation with other organisations. Therefore LIGHT FOR THE WORLD attaches great value to strategic partner relationships in order to fulfil its mission and to increase the effectiveness of the organisation. Below is an overview of strategic partnerships.
Confederation LIGHT FOR THE WORLD After thorough research, Dark 56
& Light Foundation decided to join LIGHT FOR THE WORLD confederation starting April 1, 2011. Because of that, Dark & Light Foundation will change its name to LIGHT FOR THE WORLD The Netherlands starting January 1, 2012. This collaboration enables the foundation to work more efficiently and increases the possibilities for international fundraising. For example LICHT FĂœR DIE WELT Austria coordinates the programmes in Ethiopia and Pakistan, while
LIGHT FOR THE WORLD The Netherlands has the overall coordination in Nepal and South Sudan. Members make use of each others expertise on several subjects. LICHT FĂœR DIE WELT Austria has lobbyists in Brussels and New York to promote the interests of all confederation members.
PSO (Programme Personnel Cooperation with developing countries) The Association PSO focuses on capacity building of civil society
PARTNERSHIPS
organisations in developing countries. They support Dutch organisations and their partners in developing countries with development of knowledge, providing service and financing. In 2011 PSO supported the Thematic Learning Programme on inclusion of persons with disabilities. This programme is an important part of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD’s future strategy. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD participates in two other learning programmes as well, focusing on project monitoring and organisation assessments.
European Commission (EC) LIGHT FOR THE WORLD receives funding for several programmes from the European Commission. Until the end of 2013 a food security programme will be executed, together with ICCO and Leprosy Mission. Additionally, partner organisation SERVE is carrying out a basic health programme for persons with disabilities in Afghanistan. An awareness campaign about inclusive education has been set up in South Sudan with partners SEM and ACROSS. Finally, in April 2011 the campaign End Exclusion has started with support of the European Commission. The aim is to raise awareness among youngsters in The Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia to include persons with disabilities in development programmes.
ICCO-alliance The ICCO alliance is a partnership of ICCO, Edukans, SharePeople, KerkinActie, Oikocredit and Prisma. Through Prisma, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD receives funds from the Dutch government for primary health care projects. In 2011 the first grant was received from the MFS-2 programme that runs until 2015.
Prisma LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is a member of the association Prisma, an umbrella organisation of Christian development organisations with poverty reduction being the common goal. Additionally, Prisma defends the interests of member organisations. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is involved in writing policies regarding health care, eye care, rehabilitation and inclusive education. Through Prisma, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is represented in Partos, the branch organisation for development cooperation.
DCDD (Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development) DCDD is an innovative organisation strives to respect human rights and the emancipation of persons with disabilities. DCDD is committed to include persons with disabilities in development cooperation policies. In order to create more awareness DCDD organises meetings with experts and policy makers. DCDD is a strategic partner in the Thematic Learning Programme on inclusion of persons with disabilities. Furthermore, DCDD participates in the End Exclusion campaign.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Apart from receiving grants from the MFS-2 programme, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD participates in the Learn4Work working group. The input in the working groups is related to improving the access of persons with disabilities to education and vocational training.
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Annual Report 2011
IDDC (International Disability and Development Consortium) IDDC is a European consortium consisting of various organisations which support persons with disabilities in over 100 developing countries. In 2011 LIGHT FOR THE WORLD The Netherlands was a full member of IDDC, but starting from 2012 the membership will be taken over by the confederation.
EU-Cord (European network of Christian organisations in relief and development) LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is a member of EU-Cord, a platform of 22 Christian development organisations in Europe. EUCord represents the members at networking organisations Voice and Concord meetings. In addition, they are an important chain between the members and the EU representatives and provide important information regarding fundraising opportunities. As a member of a working group for international fundraising LIGHT FOR THE WORLD organised a training in Rwanda.
Leprosy Foundation LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, together with the Leprosy Foundation, has set up in Nigeria a joint eye care programme until the end of 2014.
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ICEH (International Centre for Eye Health) LIGHT FOR THE WORLD supports the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. This organisation is committed to increase the quality of eye care in poor countries. They communicate the latest medical insights through their Community Eye Health Journal. Additionally, they carry out research on prevention and treatment of blindness.
VISION2020 This is a worldwide initiative of the World Health Organisation, WHO and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) to make an end to preventable blindness in this world. By 2020 preventable
blindness should be completely eradicated. With financial support of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, VISION2020 carries out a worldwide lobby at governments to work towards this goal.
Micah The Netherlands Micah The Netherlands supports churches and (groups of) Christians in The Netherlands to take, living from the faith in Christ, their responsibility in fighting poverty and injustice in this world, nearby and far away and to develop a sustainable lifestyle together. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is supporting the activities of Micah, like Micah Sunday in October.
Learning and improvements During 2011 the management
PARTNERSHIPS
evaluated all partnerships and made a report for the board. This report was reviewed by the board in June. The board concluded that all collaborations indeed do have an added value for the organisation. Some measures were taken to reduce the costs involved. The management will actively keep on monitoring the added value of all partnerships.
Preview In 2012 LIGHT FOR THE WORLD The Netherlands will end its membership of IDDC. ICEH will get less support due to budget cuts. Other partnerships will be continued at the same level.
Without VISION we would not be able to practise our greatest passion! Lobke Berkhout Olympic sailor and goodwill ambassador
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Annual Report 2011
6 finances 2011 was a reasonable year for LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. The total spending has grown to almost € 5.7 million. Of this € 5.1 million (90.5%) was directly spent on projects in Africa and Asia.
Income Despite strong growth in revenues to over € 5.4 million in 2011, there is a deficit of over € 200,000. This is a significant improvement over the deficit in 2010. It is gratifying that this is largely due to higher proceeds from the fundraising. 60
The foundation has been able to maintain the contribution to projects at the same level.
Netherlands carries out projects co-financed by the partners of the confederation.
The contributions of the government and the EU together comprise a quarter of the revenue. In particular, the award of a grant from the EU is a welcome compensation for the decline in contributions from the Dutch government. The contributions listed under income from third parties’ are related to the agreements with partners in the confederation. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD The
An important part of the income comes from individuals, businesses, churches and designated funds. This involvement of business, civil society and individuals remains of great importance for the funding of projects in Africa and Asia. The foundation experiences a great involvement of donors and therefore the revenue in a difficult economic situation was maintained. Also in the
FINANCES
coming years, donations from individuals, funds, churches and businesses are more than ever necessary to ensure continuity of our work.
Expenses The costs of own fundraising this year amounted to approximately € 370,000. That is 12.3% of the income from own fundraising. This is well below the 25% maximum set by the Central Bureau for Fundraising (CBF). The costs for management and administration in 2011 amounted to € 105,000. That is 1.9% of total expenses.
Financial relationships with local partners Thanks to a new setup of the administration, the foundation is able to make a better connection between financial obligations and available resources. In practice this means a more firm control over financial agreements with partners in Africa and Asia.
Result The policy of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is to balance income and expenses. In 2011 there is a deficiency of over € 200,000. Compared to the large negative result of € 974,000 in the previous year, this is a big improvement. This improvement is entirely due to higher revenues. With gratitude, the foundation reported that it was not necessary to cut program budgets to achieve a balanced financial management.
Reserves A deficiency also means a decrease of the reserve. This is now at the end of 2011 € 1.8 million. Of this € 1.5 million is earmarked as continuity reserve. That is more than a quarter of the total annual expenses of the foundation. The continuity reserve is approximately equal to the annual costs of the working organisation. The general guideline of the Association for Fundraising Organisations (VFI) is that the continuity reserve can be maximum 1.5 times the annual expenditure of the work organisation. The board uses this directive as a target. An important precondition for the formation of this reserve is the premise that the current implementation of the objectives below should not have to suffer. This underlines the importance of revenue growth.
Treasury policy The resources of the continuity reserve and other temporary resources are exclusively invested in a savings or deposit account of banks in The Netherlands. Doing so, received interest is for the benefit of the projects and the risk of financial losses is minimized. Thanks to investment in deposits with reputable banks, the credit crisis had no effect on the value of the investments.
benefit is at least the advantage of cost savings because the confederation partners have made agreements about focusing on partner countries in Africa and Asia. Due to the growing need to rapidly respond to changing economic and financial conditions LIGHT FOR THE WORLD will work in 2012 further to refine the mechanisms that ensure current view on the progress of both revenues and spending. Agreements have been made with local partners to set a margin in the project budget. In case of unforeseen decline in revenues, the foundation has the possibility to limit its contribution to 90% of the approved budget. Both the partners as the foundation hope that this instrument does not need to be applied. If it proves to be necessary, then it is an appropriate instrument to address shortfalls. For the medium term, in 2012 a revised forecast will be made for income and expenses. This is necessary to respond to the changing role of the Dutch government and provides an opportunity to optimize the agreements among partners in the confederation.
Preview Since April 1, 2011 the foundation is part of a confederation. The financial 61
Annual Report 2011
6.1 Abridged Financial Statements 2011
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FINANCES
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FINANCES
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FINANCES
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7 Future developments International cooperation In 2012, within the LIGHT FOR THE WORLD confederation, a policy will be developed in the field of knowledge management. This builds on an initiative that was started in The Netherlands to improve knowledge management.
Competence development Employees are increasingly becoming consultants in the field of organisational development and inclusion of persons with disabilities in 68
development programmes. For this reason, in the first half of 2012 will be invested in improving the skills of the programme coordinators. All coordinators receive training and individual coaching to improve their skills in this area. Also based on experience with organisational analysis in 2011, the policy in the field of capacity building will be updated.
Thematic learning programme The thematic learning
programme on inclusion of persons with disabilities in developing countries will be completed in November 2012 with a final meeting where lessons learned and developed methods and tools will be presented. During the period before this final meeting, the possibilities for a continuation of the programme in 2013 (without funding from PSO) are examined. Partners and project visits Again partner organisations
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
will be offered a training in the field of fundraising at the European Commission and other institutional donors.
is to raise awareness about the vulnerable position of peers with disabilities in developing countries.
Project visits Visits are scheduled for the following countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and South Sudan.
Awareness raising The awareness raising campaign ‘End Exclusion’ for young people in Europe enters its second year. The first year was a year of preparation and planning, in 2012, various activities are planned. The aim
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Glossary
AAA Arkangelo Ali Association ABC Association for the Blind in Cambodia BBM Bangladesh Blind Mission BMIS Baptist Mission Integrated School CAO Collectieve Arbeidsovereenkomst CBF Centraal Bureau Fondsenwerving CBR Community Based Rehabilitation CDD Centre for Disability in Development CHEF Comprehensive Health & Education Forum CHIP Civil Society Human and Institutional Development Programme CMA Christian Mission Aid CSF Child Sight Foundation CSS Christian Service Society DCDD Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development EC European Commission ECDD Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development ECS Episcopal Church of Sudan ENOVIB Ethiopian Network of Organisations for the Visually Impaired and the Blind EU European Union EU-CORD European network of Christian Organisations in Relief and Development FTE Fulltime-equivalent IAM International Assistance Mission ICEH International Centre for Eye Health ICO International Council of Ophthalmology IDDC International Disability and Development Consortium IRIS International Resources for the Improvement of Sight ISO International Organization for Standardization JUTH Jos University Teaching Hospital KCCO Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology LAICO Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology LCD Leonard Cheshire Disability LSHTM London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
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GLOSSARY
MFS NNJS NLR RBI RDRS REALISE SEM TFS TLP TSDCBD UN UNICEF VFI WHO
Medefinancieringsstelsel (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh Nigeria Leprosy Relief Resources for the Blind Inc. Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service Regional Alliance for Inclusive Societies and Empowerment Sudan Evangelical Mission Together for Sudan Thematic Learning Programme Technical & Skill Development Center for the Blind & Disabled United Nations United Nations Children’s Fund Vereniging voor Fondsenwervende Instellingen World Health Organization
Sources of Data
2011, UNDP • ICVS, Investigative Ophthalmology
Blindness in Cambodia Survey 2007
• Bangladesh National Blindness and
and Visual Science, http://www.
• Sight Savers Homepage
Low Vision Survey - VISION2020
iovs.org/content/50/5/2033.full
• Survey of Blindness 1995;
• Community Eye Health Journal, VISION2020, March 2007
• Interne rapportages, February 2012
VISION2020 • The World Almanac and Book of
• Curable Blindness, http://www.
• National Five-Year Strategic Plan
curableblindness.org/region/
for Eye Care in Ethiopia (2006-
south-asia/nepal.html
2010), Federal Ministry of Health,
Inter-country Consultation on De-
Addis Ababa 2006
velopment of Regional Strategies
• Fred Hollows, HP • Handicap International briefing paper France, March 2009 • http://www.medindia.net/healthstatistics/general/blindness.asp • Human Development Report 2010, UNDP • Human Development Report
• National Plan for Eye care Sudan (March 2006) • National Program for Eye Health Report 2010 • Ophthalmological Meeting, Janu-
Facts 2012 • VISION2020 - Report of an
Jakarta, February 2000 • WHO Country Office Pakistan, Survey on Blindness and Low Vision 2002-2004 • World Report on Disability, 2011
ary 2009 lt. eMail Babar Qureshi • Rapid Assessment of Avoidable 71
Colophon
Address
Bank
Concept and design
Vendelier 13
Giro: 131
Photograpy: LIGHT FOR THE WORLD
3905 PB Veenendaal
IBAN: NL10INGB0000000131
Design: Roeland Hoekstra, LIGHT FOR
P.O. Box 672
BIC: INGBNL2A
THE WORLD
3900 AR Veenendaal
Concept and Art Direction: RedMatters
The Netherlands
Foundation LIGHT FOR THE WORLD
T +31 (0) 318 - 58 63 58
The Netherlands is registered with the
F +31 (0) 318 - 58 63 59
Chamber of Commerce in Utrecht, The
E info@lightfortheworld.nl
Netherlands, under registration number
I www.lightfortheworld.nl
41180500.
@lftwnl facebook.com/lightfortheworld
Annual Report 2011