Policy plan
Colofon Kufambatose Foundation
Malagijsweg 44
5625 HG Eindhoven
The Netherlands
Mailing Address
When requested via e-mail, we will gladly call you back
Phone
info@kufambatose.eu
www.kufambatose.eu
Website
ANBI - Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling
Eligible for Tax Free Donations
NL 14 TRIO 0379 2082 88
Bank Account Number
71083871
Chamber of Commerce Registration
8585.72.904
Tax Registration Nummer
Objectives, vision and working method of the Kufambatose Foundation
Objective
The main objective of Kufambatose Foundation is to improve the quality of life and care for children with motor disabilities and that of their families in Zaka district, Zimbabwe, by joining forces with local health care professionals, and working within local organizations and communities.
Willemijn Simons-Rüttimann started a project with the same goal earlier in 2015-2016, which Kufambatose Foundation aims to adopt as a whole, to continue and develop.
This project focuses on the following aspects:
- Support and monitoring of the monthly 3-day workshops and community-based rehabilitation for children with motor disabilities and their caregivers in Zimbabwe in Zaka district, offering a holistic treatment program.
- Early identification of children with disabilities in Zaka District, by implementing the so-called AT – RISK – sticker program.
- Providing training for health care professionals and Village Workers (VHW) on the spot.
- Support and supervision of the organization of community meetings to enhance the knowledge and understanding of disabilities among the local population and caregivers.
- Setting up and visiting schools
- Treatment of children with clubfeet
Reason for the establishment of Kufambatose Foundation
From May 2014 till December 2016 Willemijn Simons-Rüttimann, meanwhile back living in Switzerland again, was sent to Zimbabwe, together with her partner, by Comundo, a Swiss NGO in the field of development cooperation. There she worked as a physiotherapist in Musiso Mission Hospital, in Zaka District, in the province of Masvingo, Zimbabwe.
In collaboration with Ndanga District Hospital, one of the two local hospitals in Zaka District, she started a project to be able to provide a better future for children with motor disabilities. These children are often living with their families under very poor conditions, especially in the rural areas of Zimbabwe. Understanding of the underlying cause of the disability is often lacking. Knowledge of the opportunities for development and the rights of these children, such as for example access to education, is mostly missing.
Moreover, there is often a stigma attached to having a disability: regularly these children are seen as bad spirits or bewitched from one of the ancestors. Consequently, the mothers are often left alone with the child or the child is simply left with the grandmother. This makes the children outsiders and totally isolated from their communities.
For many of these families with disabled children medical, paramedical and/or social care is not, hardly or only at a very limited scale attainable. The distance to a health center or hospital is a major limiting factor, especially if there are transport costs. Therefore, the majority of these children are never seen by a health care professional.
Vision
The name of the foundation, Kufambatose, meaning ‘progressing together’ in English, was suggested by a number of staff members in Zimbabwe, independently of each other, and it gives expression to the vision from which the foundation will operate.
Volunteers of the foundation here and in Switzerland, the people on the ground in Zimbabwe (professionals as well as any volunteers), the children with their parents / caregivers, together we all make our efforts to support these children with motor disabilities in Zaka District and to raise the level of the quality of life for these children, by better care.
By ‘progressing together’, cooperating with on-site professionals and involving the local community in this process, the foundation hopes to contribute significantly to this goal.
Kufambatose Foundation – Progressing Together is committed to generate energy and funds to initiate local social and health care in Zaka District, to support and consolidate this process, so that eventually ongoing projects can be entirely sustained by the authorities, professionals and the local community and external support will not be needed anymore. The specific characteristics of Zimbabwe and its culture will be fundamental. They form the foundation on which sustainable and broadly based results can be achieved.
Optimal use of the local possibilities is therefore essential. The expansion of knowledge and skills among local care professionals, volunteers, parents / caregivers of the children and the local community is of the utmost importance. It gives them the possibility to improve together the care of children with motor disabilities, to enhance understanding of them and to promote acceptance within the community.
Local networks and contact with local and national authorities are essential in this respect. In the long run this care will therefore hopefully be fully funded by these authorities or other bodies in Zimbabwe.
Fund raising and donations
The foundation cannot exist, reach its goals or initiate facilities if no or insufficient financial resources are or will become available. The raising of funds and financial aid is of vital importance. Yearly a new plan is made to obtain the necessary resources that are necessary to meet the objectives, depending on the coverage that is guaranteed at the time for the two years that follow.
Kufambatose Foundation will seek and approach bodies, institutions and other possible donors (national and international) to donate money for the ongoing project.
The primary purpose is to gain such publicity among potential donors and subsidy providers that a form of cooperation is brought about which can provide a more solid financial basis to the objectives of the foundation, potentially with financial commitments and terms for several years.
On 7 March 2018 Kufambatose Foundation was notarized and registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under number 71083871
As of 7 March 2018 Kufambatose Foundation is an approved Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling (ANBI) (Society for Public Welfare) under RSIN number 8585.72.904
Organization
Organogram
Board
The board consists of five members, namely a chairperson, a secretary, a treasurer and two general board members.
Duties and powers:
Each individual board member and each volunteer has in any case the task and primary target to make every effort to execute the statutory objectives and their resulting projects successfully.
Should there be a need for the board to comment publicly on a specific focus area, only the member who is responsible for this area will, in principle, be the spokesperson on behalf of the foundation. The chairperson, and where relevant other members as well, will be informed in advance.
Chairperson:
- overall responsibility for management of the foundation.
- maintains the balance within the organization, in particular as regards workload and cooperation;
- calls board meetings;
- chairs the board meetings;
- delegates activities to the members of the board;
- comments publicly and represents the foundation, or delegates this to other members of the board;
- informs in good time, at least at the next board meeting, about what has been communicated.
Secretary:
- handles the incoming and outgoing correspondence, i.e. e-mails, etc.;
- files incoming and outgoing correspondence, i.e. e-mails, etc.;
- keeps a record of data files, on board members, volunteers and other co-workers; various info-files, etc.;
- takes minutes and reports of board meetings.
Treasurer:
- has primary responsibility for managing the financial administration;
- does the accounts or has this done under his/her responsibility;
- draws up the budget of the foundation annually;
- draws up the separate project budgets per year, or per project lead time (or coordinates this activity);
- reports periodically to the board on the financial developments;
- prepares the financial documentation needed for the annual financial report and the auditor’s report drawn up by an accountant;
General board members:
May have specific areas of interest, for which they are primarily responsible and
will periodically report on the developments, at least at board meetings.
Project manager:
- is primarily responsible for the project;
- communicates feedback on the developments to the board
- makes recommendations to the board regarding the project, reflecting the project’s developments and aims of the foundation;
- directs the project executor;
- is the primary contact for the project executor;
- is authorized to represent the project externally on behalf of the foundation;
- does anything of importance to the project, within the framework of the project plan;
- keeps in touch with the development of the project the field, by periodically communicating with the project executor and visiting the project, and by periodically keeping in touch with the co-workers and volunteers, to obtain a true picture of the execution of the project;
- is able to timely pick up any signals by keeping close contact with the execution of the project on site, so that measures can be taken, should this be necessary, to make adjustments to the project or its execution;
- attends to financial matters, in close consultation with the treasurer;
- reports periodically on the financial affairs, so that costs and benefits with regard to the project are accurate and transparent;
‘Local Project Coordinator’:
- is also founder and chairperson of the Trust Kufamba Tose, registered in December 2020 in Zaka District, Zimbabwe.
- is accountable, primarily to the manager who is responsible for the focus area of the project, or his/her substitute;
- is primarily responsible for the execution of the project concerned;
- is the binding factor for the people who perform the operations in the project;
- will, where necessary, come forward with regard to the execution of project and as such maintain contacts with bodies and persons who are useful and necessary for a good course of the project;
- may be entrusted with accounting for the financial affairs which exist specifically for the project;
- may be entrusted with a certain degree of freedom to spend funds or incur costs that fit within the constraints of the approved project budget;
- is obliged to inform the board member primarily responsible, on developments or situations that concern the project which extend beyond his/her responsibility, knowledge or ability;
- periodically reports on the progress of the project, at least on a half-yearly basis, of more often if so agreed or if it appears to be necessary.
Volunteers
The board of the foundation cannot realize everything itself of carry out all the activities. It is co-dependent on volunteers. There are a number of volunteers who support everything useful and necessary to achieve the aims of the foundation. Depending on the nature of the activities, volunteers will be called for who are in line with the nature of the work/ activities
Projects
Project: Rehabilitation care for children with motor disabilities in Zaka District, province of Masvingo, Zimbabwe
The main objective of the project is to improve the quality of life and care for children with motor disabilities and that of their families, with a focus on Zaka District in the province of Masvingo, Zimbabwe, by joining forces with local health professionals, and working within local organizations and communities.
Organization: Ndanga District Hospital, Zimbabwe, in collaboration with Willemijn Simons-Rüttimann and Kufambatose Foundation.
Start date: January 2018
Total cost of the project for 2 years: See project plan/ budget
The coming years will be dedicated to the further development of the project as a whole, all organizational and financial and economic aspects included, with the intention to lead the project to more independence. Collaboration with meanwhile established Trust Kufamba Tose is crucial.
This calls for a major effort of the board and volunteers to maintain and expand an organization in which communication with the local co-workers/ executors is of vital importance. Mutual trust and shared passion will be the basis for the further development of a of a functional foundation with many local (Zimbabwean) co-workers and volunteers, which can guarantee the consolidation of what has already been achieved. Where possible, the foundation will be working towards further growth to a higher quality, but definitely also to increasing the number of children of this very vulnerable group with their parents/ caregivers in Zaka District that participate in the project. (For more details, see the project plan) Within this framework, the project manager (= board member linked to the project concerned) will visit the project on a yearly basis.
PR and public information
Kufambatose Foundation will focus the information activities on all organizations and people who are interested in the aim of the project. In the coming year a plan will be made to develop fitting and structural PR and information activities. Where possible, a start will be made with PR activities that can form the basis to enthuse subsidy providers and donors to financially support the project.
PR and providing information will also take place via the website and social media. The already existing website will be brought up to date, making the site more inviting for potential subsidy providers and donors of Kufambatose Foundation. To that end, the site will also contain periodical reports on the project, and footage of the work process.
Administration
The chairperson, the treasurer and the project manager will be authorized to manage the assets of the foundation and the transfer of donations that have been approved by the board. For money transfers authorization is required from 2 authorized account holders.
The treasurer is primarily responsible for the financial process within the foundation. The board hold ultimate responsibility, collectively.
Annually, a budget will be drawn up in good time, regarding revenue and expenditure, where possible disaggregated by general matters (management of the foundation), subsidy and donation projects, and costs of executing of related projects.
The foundation seeks expressly to balance costs and benefits per year, but it also aims to build a proportionate reserve to cover setbacks in the future.
The treasurer will inform the board at least twice a year on the financial development. (See also duties and powers of the treasurer)
Remuneration policy
In principle, board and volunteers are engaged in activities for Kufambatose Foundation without compensation. Thus, working hours will not be disbursed.
Costs made by the board or other co-workers to maintain the activities of the foundation (always budgeted in advance), or costs that fit into the budget, will be reimbursed by the treasurer from the existing foundation funds.
The board are fully aware of the government regulations on expense allowances for volunteers.
Board members and volunteers are entitled to reimbursement of cost incurred, according to Article 3.5 of Articles of Association.
Finance
Project cost
The project cost for the project can be found in the project plan/budget.
Exploitation cost
See annual report.
Financing plan
See annual report.
The plan is to complement any shortfall by additional fundraising/sponsoring.
Project evaluation
At least at the end of each calendar or project year and where possible and useful, an evaluation will be carried out, for the purpose of providing insight in the actual course of the project and the results that have been achieved. Furthermore, transparency will be provided on the financial aspects, such as revenue and expenditure, so that donors have a clear understanding of how and for what the funds they provided have been used.
These matters will be further elaborated in an annual report.
Multi-annual policy plan
The long-term goal is to work towards greater independence of the entire project. Given the circumstances in Zimbabwe, this may take another ten years.
The results will be evaluated on a yearly basis. This will be shown in the annual report.
