Annual Report 2007 08

Annual Report of the Bel Air Home

2007 – 2008

The 2007- 2008 Annual Report of The Bel Air Home for Children and Adolescents Grenada, West Indies 1. Introduction 1.1 This is the tenth Annual Report of the company and, as in previous years, is being published towards the end of the third quarter of the calendar year. 1.2 The audited accounts for 2007-2008 are an integral part of this report and are appended to this written report. 2. The Company 2.1 There are nine Ordinary Members of the Company. They are the Directors listed in para 2.2, plus Mr. A.P. Ross, Mrs. M. E. Ross, Ms. Lisa Taylor and Ms. Karen Samuel. In addition, Mr. Paul Thomas was elected as an Ordinary Member of the Company during the course of the year. 2.2 The Directors elected at the Annual General Meeting in October 2007 were:President Mrs L.E. Grey-Beliaeff MBE. Vice-PresidentMs. C. Alexis Treasurer Mrs. M. Byer Secretary Mr. Clement Gabriel

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.. .. .. .. .. 2.3 Sister Francis Nelson is a Director of the Company, appointed by St. George’s University. 3. Staff 3.1 During the period covered by this report, the staff numbered twenty two and comprised:- Home Manager, Deputy Manager/Educational Needs Coordinator, Home Co-ordinator, Assistant Home Coordinator, Adolescent Development Programme Workers (5), Nursery Co-ordinator, Nursery Workers (8), Cook, Laundress/Cleaner, part-time Gardener, and Administrative Assistant. Towards the end of the period of this report there were some changes in staffing. The Home Manager and two staff members resigned, but those left pulled together and continued to function in the best interest of the children. 3.2 During the period of this report First Aid Refresher courses were held, the staff also benefited from hands on training by Ms. Gilly Martin from London, on how to work with children with special needs. Ms. Christie John-Baptiste and colleagues of Support A Nation, London did a one week course for staff on Basic Child Care Awareness. Thanks is given to Child Welfare Authority, who organized a training session in conjunction with the Grenada Bureau of Standards, Grenada Red Cross and Ms. Margot Holas, Marital and Family Therapist/Mental Health Counsellor.

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3.3 The Directors are pleased to place on record their appreciation and gratitude to all the staff members who worked at Bel Air during the year. The professionalism of the staff is evident in the behaviour of the residents of Bel Air. Special mention and appreciation of the work of Ms. Sharon Davis, Manager, and Ms. Alison Greene, Deputy Manager, is recorded. 4. Finance 4.1 The audited accounts for the year July 1st 2007 to June 30th 2008 are attached to this report. Special thanks is given to Mr. Henry Joseph of PKF for undertaking this task on an honorary basis. Mr. Stalker, who has carried out this essential function every year since the Home was established in 1998, has finally retired. 4.2 The Directors express gratitude to the Trustees of St. George’s University for their continued generous contribution of EC$133,000 per annum paid on a monthly basis towards the running costs of the Home. 4.3 Gratitude is expressed also to the Government of Grenada for continuing the subvention of EC$ 80,000 for the year. The Directors acknowledge the many competing claims on Government revenues and thank the Government accordingly. 4.4 The Directors thank those members of the local community and business houses for the support, financially and in kind, that they provided during the period covered by this report.

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.. .. .. .. .. 4.5 The Friends of Bel Air (UK) continued to provide significant support to Bel Air during the year. The Directors thank especially Ms. Julia Montgomery and her fellow trustees for their selfless service in maintaining this vital financial lifeline. Thanks also to Ms. Anne Lynch who provides the administrative support that is essential to this trust and to Mr. David Dutton, whose financial support of Bel Air includes the time that Ms. Lynch works on the business of the Friends. 4.6 In line with the Directors decision to maintain a reserve fund for contingency purposes, Bel Air has approximately EC$104,000 on deposit with one of the major local firms. 4.7 The Directors are very grateful to Dr. Beverly Nelson, Dr. Jennifer Isaac, Dr. Lutz Amechi, Dr. Hage and Ms. Lisa Taylor for their professional services that were provided free of charge during the period of this report. 5. Residents 5.1 During the twelve months covered by this report, 49 children resided at Bel Air. On 30th June 2008, there were 32 children resident at Bel Air, 15 in the Nursery and 17 adolescent girls. 5.2 There have been 20 admissions during the year and 10 discharges, of whom four were reunited with their

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biological families, and six were transferred to the Emergency Shelter. 5.3 The Nursery continues to operate at full capacity. The development of two of our most seriously physically challenged children continued to improve, thanks largely to the seconded Danish students (see 6.1 below) 5.4 One recent resident of Bel Air passed the Common Entrance Examination in 2008. The other children continue to show improvement in their academic studies. Congratulations to these children and particularly to Ms. Alison, staff and community volunteers. 6. Achievements 6.1 Bel Air is proud of its continued approval as an appropriate training partner for social education student training by the Skovtofte National Institute for Social Education in Denmark. We had the fifth group comprising four students during the end of the year and we are expecting the sixth group of five students in August. The Directors of Bel Air appreciate this ongoing partnership with the Institute. 6.2 Bel Air’s Suzuki Super Carry mini-van is working well and we are grateful to Mr. La Hee and staff of Geo. F. Huggins for donating and fitting us with new tyres on two occasions. We are ever grateful, as our vehicle has given the Home greater flexibility in its day to day running.

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.. .. .. .. .. 6.3Students and Significant Others from St George’s University continue to take the adolescents and the children from the Nursery to the beach. This is appreciated greatly. Many continue on an individual basis to donate gifts to the children. Special mention should be made of Rachael Smith and the Veterinary Students Association who gave much of their time and resources, to the benefit of the residents. A number of St George’s University Pre-med students have completed their Community Service module at Bel Air. 7. Moving On 7.1 We are pleased to report that the “Moving On” Project is finally moving on. We have received the permission of the Grenada Airports Authority to use the land for the project. The lot has since been cleared and plans and drawings have been submitted. Due to the present economic situation, Bel Air needs to source new funding. 8. Update 8.1 Mr. and Mrs. Ross, who have been Directors of the company since it was incorporated in 1998, have now relocated to South Africa. New directors were elected at the Annual General Meeting held in October 2007. (see 2.2 above)

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8.2 We are looking forward to the continued support of all our donors and would appreciate any other persons or businesses willing to commit to helping with longterm funding of Bel Air Home. ***************************************

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