Registered Charity No. 1116747
THE
SOUTHEND ETHNIC MINORITY FORUM
2006-2007
INAUGURAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES
(AS AT DATE OF
REGISTRATION 10TH NOVEMBER 2006)
Mr Yusuf K Goolamali
(Chair)
Mr Ahmad A Khwaja JP
Dr Naila A Khokhar
Mr Tony K F Law
Dr Mohamed A Pasha MBE
Mr Chand N Sood
BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Since registration,
there have been a number of changes in the Board of Trustees. Mr
Goolamali and Mr Sood have resigned from trusteeship and the
following persons have at various intervals been co-opted to the
Management Committee:
Mr Preetam S Bahra
Mr Peter Bosch (Treasurer - now resigned)
Mrs Nirmal Gupta
Ms Betty Tschifunda
Mr John Ubsdell (Secretary, seconded from SBC)
Mrs Sandra Wilkes (Acting Treasurer)
MEMBERSHIP
As at 31st
March 2007, the total membership (including trustees and members of
the Management Committee), stood at 70 persons, each paying a
subscription fee of £2 per annum.
As it is appropriate
for the Treasurer also to fulfil the role of Membership Secretary,
Mrs Sandra Wilkes has succeeded Mr Peter Bosch in this post also.
CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT 2006-7
The
Southend Ethnic Minority Forum (SEMF) was set
up in 2004 to communicate with the
residents of Southend by gathering their views on local issues and
working with them to identify and address areas of importance and
concern in a mutually supportive environment.
As a
body, we aim to reach a very broad spectrum of people from minority
ethnic backgrounds living and working in the borough and hope that
our efforts in so doing will create a climate of friendly
co-operation. In turn we hope that this will result in a culture
which promotes equality for everyone, a healthy respect for shared
values and an empathetic understanding of the differences between
individuals and communities.
Racism
and racial inequality affect individual victims profoundly and often
have devastating effects on their families, too. All our efforts at
SEMF in combating such behaviour are guided by our aims of bringing
about change - both in the hearts and minds of people and also in
influencing public attitudes and policy-making. In order to obviate
exclusion and injustice, we regard it as extremely important to
establish a mechanism where people can access appropriate, accurate
and high quality information and practical advice,
During the period covered by this report, we continued therefore to
undertake many activities to enable us to further our aims of
encouraging and promoting social cohesion among the various groups
in our local community. We have produced a Leaflet which highlights
the major activities of the Forum since inception so that members,
partners and the wider community can see at a glance the work
undertaken by our members and the success that has been achieved.
There were some important organisational milestones during the year.
In July and October 2006, we reviewed and amended our Constitution
to make it more workable and to reflect what we do and in November
of that year, we successfully applied to the Charity Commission for
registration as a charity. This is an important step as it gives
everyone dealing with the organisation, whether members, partners or
would-be funders the knowledge and confidence that the affairs of
the Forum are monitored and reviewed on a regular basis and that it
satisifies the Commission’s requirements regarding financial
probity and governance.
In the
long run, our objective is to achieve a cohesive community where we
all have a common vision and a sense of belonging. All communities
with people of different backgrounds should be able to take for
granted that they have a level playing field providing the same life
opportunities to all, irrespective of race, gender, disability, age,
sexual orientation, religion or nationality. Our combined efforts
will not be in vain – we will be well rewarded for influencing
change and making positive contributions to improving community
cohesion
We
know that achieving our aims will not be easy and we will face many
difficult challenges along the way. However, next year should see us
building on our foundations by fostering more partnerships at local
levels and by continuing to work closely with others of like minds.
Therefore, a very promising start has been made and we are
confident, that with your help and support, we will be able to rise
to those challenges and make a real difference, community-wide, to
the lives of our families, friends, neighbours and colleagues. I
would like to take this opportunity to thank the Trustees, our
members, partners, supporters and all those who donate time, energy
and money towards making this organisation a success.
VICE
CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT 2006-7
The
Southend Ethnic Minority Forum was established in 2004 and
since then has worked relentlessly towards building a platform to
bring all the ethnic communities together. Our aim has been to break
barriers between different communities and promote harmony with a
view to sharing the experience of rich cultures emanating from
different corners of the world.
The
Forum has provided invaluable help to several local agencies
including the Police, Local Authority and the Primary Care Trust. We
also work closely with the Domestic Violence Forum, the Ethnic and
Black Minority Working Health Group and the Youth Council to raise
awareness about health and education in all communities. Our
representatives have visited several schools to provide education
and information about different
cultures and religions.
The
Forum has also established links with the
Southend / Essex Islamic Society, the Essex Asian Women
Association and the Youth Council.
It has
been a great pleasure and honour for me to serve this Forum as a
vice chairperson and I look forward to enhancing the stature of the
forum in the years to come. I will also enjoy attending the social
occasions hosted by the various organisations in the future.
Dr
Naila Khokhar
Vice Chairperson
ACTING
TREASURER’S REPORT 2006-7
Following the resignation of Peter Bosch as Treasurer, I was
co-opted to the Management Committee in December 2007.
Consequently, as the accounting period in this report ends at 31st
March 2007, I am indebted to the previous Treasurer and to the
current Chairperson for kindly providing me with the requisite
information for the 2006-7 Account to be prepared.
On
behalf of the Forum, I wish to thank Messrs Wilkins Kennedy, our
Auditors and particularly Mr Dan Garside for completing the
Independent Examination of the Accounts on a pro bono basis.
The Forum is grateful for their generous support, not only in
providing the independent examination but also for advice to
Trustees regarding the reporting requirements of the Charity
Commission.
On
behalf of the Trustees, I am pleased to report that the opinion of
the auditors is unqualified and members can therefore have
confidence in the fact the Trustees have conducted an effective and
efficient stewardship of the organisation’s financial affairs.
Income raised during the year emanates mainly from a successful
grant application to the Southend Borough Council to whom we are
indebted for its continued support and for its recognition of the
work that the Forum undertakes in our local community. We would
also wish to acknowledge the financial support of the Essex Police
Authority and also that of our own members for their fundraising
efforts during the enjoyable social occasions held during the year.
Expenditure in the main relates to administrative costs including
stationery, insurance and the cost of holding the Annual General
Meeting. The balance as at 31st March 2007 shows a small
increase on that of the previous year, giving a year-end surplus of
£2504.10. The detail of the 2006-7 Account follows my report.
Sandra Wilkes
Acting
Treasurer
