The money you donate to the Canadian Harambee Education Society is held in the CHES bank accounts in Canada until money is needed to pay school fees and other necessary expenses in Kenya and Tanzania. CHES accounts are audited annually and all financial operations comply with Canadian Government regulations for Registered Charities.
School fees in Kenya and Tanzania are paid at set times in the year. Before payments are due, the funds needed to pay the upcoming school fees and expenses are wired to the CHES accounts in banks in these countries.
Kenya: Funds needed are determined by the Canadian board and sent to Kenya. The Kenyan office manager is responsible for paying all CHES expenses in this country. After preparing a list of CHES students, she ensures that the girls’ tuition and related school charges, uniforms, room and board are paid as fees differ from school to school. Expense sheets are sent to Canada monthly. The books are also audited annually in Kenya as required by law.
Tanzania: The treasurer of CHES Hanang determines funds needed and this information is sent to Canada; all funds are approved and sent by the Canadian board. Canada monitors the expense sheets and payment vouchers monthly. The Tanzanian treasurer has demonstrated complete fiscal responsibility and competence for over a decade. The office team in Tanzania makes two trips yearly to all the 25 – 30 schools where there are CHES girls. They check on each girl to ensure that all have returned to school each term and then pay the respective fees. The Tanzanian board is also responsible for all expenses related to maintaining the CHES office and the Sara Williams hostel.
The cost of living is lower in Tanzania than in Kenya, but the people have very low incomes. Most families are subsistence farmers and pastoralists. The schools are also very poor, so the sponsors’ fees are used to cover not only school fees, uniforms and so on, as in Kenya, but also in part for textbooks, tutorials, mosquito nets and other necessities to support the girls at school.
CHES’ office personnel in Kenya and Tanzania monthly email reconciled bank spread sheets, bank statements, and copies of cheque vouchers to the Executive Director in Canada. The Canadian board is very proud of the fact that for the 40 years of African operations there have been no instances of the misuse of funds in either country. Towards the end of each tax year, a tax receipt is sent to each donor. U.S. donors who donate to CHES through the Humanist Society receive a receipt from that society.
Many sponsors voluntarily pay more than the $650 per girl sponsorship fee each year. Most of these funds are targeted to special projects, such as the building of hostels, text books for both countries, Life Skills workshops and Canadian organizational expenses. Non-targeted funds are directed to student needs and school expenses in Tanzania and Kenya as they arise.
The success of CHES can be directly attributed not only to the wonderful support of our many donors, but also to the hundreds of volunteer hours contributed by dedicated board members and supporters in Canada, Kenya, and Tanzania. Individuals who volunteer to be agents in Kenya not only volunteer their time but pay their own travel and living expenses. CHES leases a small one-room office in Surrey, BC, Canada. Over the past two decades, CHES has built and owns small offices in Kenya and Tanzania thanks to donations from many individuals.
Thus the CHES Board continually seeks ways to support an administrative infrastructure which will manage donations responsibly, ensure funds are appropriately spent in their respective African destinations, provide quality communication with more than 1000 sponsors and, most important of all, enable as many eligible African girls as possible to receive a Secondary Education.
Please contact us for a full information sheet.
Click here to read CHES CRA information.