unw Helps Chris fulfill Uganda charity trip
DEPRIVED African children were given some much needed ‘tax relief’ after a North East accountant made the trip of a lifetime to complete a vital financial health check for a Ugandan charity.
Chris Wood, a tax accountant at Newcastle-based unw, swapped life working for one of the region’s leading independent chartered accountancy firms for 10 days’ voluntary work in the village of Namugongo.
The volunteer programme saw him provide a financial health and capacity assessment for the Children’s Welfare Mission charity, which provides critical education and medical resources for primary and secondary students living in extreme poverty.
And the £600 he raised from family, friends and his unw colleagues has already been earmarked to help pay for one of its projects – building additional secondary school facilities and expanding its medical clinic.
unw tax accountant Chris Wood said: “Any modern business goes through a number of stringent financial checks and audits throughout the year. So when I discovered Accounting for International Development (AFID), which highlighted the number of charities doing amazing work without any financial advice, I really wanted to volunteer.
“I never thought my accountancy training would help others in the way it has done. I had a great experience in Uganda and was woken up by a monkey on my first day, which beats any amount of coffee pick me up.
“My employer unw has been great throughout the entire process, from honouring extra holidays to colleagues providing donations. I am very grateful for their continued support.”
Despite the hard work of The Children’s Welfare Mission to combat extreme poverty, it lacked the financial information most modern day businesses take for granted.
Chris’ time in Uganda was spent compiling a financial health and capacity assessment: number crunching the vital statistics of the charity’s balance sheets.
Andrew Wilson, unw partner, said: “When we heard that Chris wanted to take part in this programme the firm was naturally keen to support him with additional leave and donations but, what we think is even more important, is that the information he gathered will now provide the charity with the financial intelligence to continue its good work in the future.”
Chris organised his trip through AFID, whose volunteer programmes help grass root charities access business and accountancy skills to safeguard their future.
He continues to keep in regular contact with the charity and he will be helping to complete its financial planning and budget report over the coming weeks.
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