Building Projects and Finances
Next phase of building and maintenance developments
Maintaining accommodation for up to 170 children plus staff is a continuous responsibility for CEH. The girls’ hostels were built in 1993 and 2001 and now require some remedial repairs and refurbishment. The boys’ hostel is over 100 years old which is now in need of renewal in parts, plus refurbishment. The replacement of the boy’s dormitory roof was the most urgent work that has now been completed. In addition, the changing operating model of the hostels requires some changes to the building uses.
Therefore, we have sought to utilise funds as they have become available to:
Repair and refurbish facilities for the safety of all the children and improve sanitary facilities
Restore the facilities to allow a return to the maximum number of children that can be accommodated alongside the operating costs for these numbers
Maintain and upgrade cooking and dining facilities to enhance the efficiency and usage of cooking staff and food.
Therefore, in discussion with the local CEH team and in line with the current funds available the following building and maintenance programme is being undertaken, hopefully for completion by the end of July 2024:
Safety
New drinking water filters for each hostel
New fridges for Diptipur and the Balangir campus (purchased in January 2024)
Toilets
Refurbish all current toilets: new pans; tiles; doors; water supply
Create additional “washrooms” in Balangir 10x Boys and 4x Girls
Resolve drainage flow out of the boys' grounds
Security
Create three lodges for watchmen at each of the hostel sites for 24x7 security
Replace Diptipur girl's hostel boundary fencing with a brick wall
Lodging
Repair Diptipur Girls' leaking roofs, damaged concrete and sewage drainage
Balangir Boys': replace remaining new roofs and refurbishment
Replace the girls' mattresses
Dining
Build single new dining room for ALL Balangir children to be accommodated
thus increasing the efficient use of staff, fuel and food and providing a new, larger meeting room
Borehole
Provision of a new borehole for Balangir Girls' to improve water provision
We are truly amazed that the cashflow of funds and generosity of many donors has allowed this programme of work to be commenced for completion by summer 2024 to allow an increase in the number of children.
THANK YOU for your contributions!
As you can imagine there remains additional work we would like to embark upon:
Build a second storey on the boy’s hostel to accommodate 20 college boys – the college hostel building is to be handed back to the Diocese in 2 years’ time,
Provide additional computer facilities to enhance the children’s learning
Establish additional sleeping and toilet facilities in the Balangir girl’s hostel to double the number of girls at Balangir (alongside the operating funds to support them)
Enhance the grounds in all the hostels to allow for safer play areas, gardens, and vegetable gardens.
Please pray for us as we determine the next priorities and the manner for funding them.
Refurbished boys’ dormitory
The next phase of refurbishment to come in 2024
Finances
The genesis of Abound is rooted in a request for funds to maintain the work of CEH in June 2022. At that time there was little expectation of being able to raise sufficient donations to cover the loss of previous international donors. Today we find ourselves in a very different position where by September 2024 we will have received over £109,000 in donations. This has allowed us to fully fund this year’s operating costs plus fund nearly £52,000 capital projects, while retaining some reserves for the next financial year.
Again, we want to say thank you to all our donors for your generosity and backing for the children in Odisha. We praise God for each and every one of you.
Abound primarily exists to seek donors and to manage the transfer of funds to CEH in Odisha to accommodate its operation. Therefore, our first objective has always been to understand the operating and capital costs of CEH to have the maximum number of children in the hostels so as to allow us to wisely utilise all the funds we have received.
Let us explain how we are doing that…..
Our January 2023 visit to Odisha established the first budgets based on the then costs. As funds have been received and capital expenditure identified, the budgets have been developed, always seeking to restore the largest number of children in the hostel (following the reduction in numbers post-Covid), honouring the incredible sacrificial service of the staff, alongside the improvement in facilities to address immediate safety and maintenance requirements. This has been an evolving process as increasing detail has become available and as costs have changed due to inflation, while the operation of the hostels has been re-established post-Covid.
The January 2024 visit allowed us to review every expenditure line in the operating costs to update them to current pricing, explore additional spending options to enhance the work of CEH to the children and to detail the current second phase of building and equipment renewals. In addition, due to some changes in the Indian government rules of how FCRA accounts have to be managed, we have had to instigate a significantly greater monthly detailed task of balancing donation transfers with operating expenditures. Abound and CEH now have a closer working relationship in budgeting and accounting for all funds transferred.
As has been explained about the planning for the next phase of the building and refurbishment programme we have determined to spend money with the priority to maximise the number of children CEH can serve.
Our expenditure priorities remain:
Effectively providing for each child’s accommodation, food, clothing and learning opportunities
Honouring all staff through sufficient remuneration to sustain them, including visiting tutors
Where possible enhancing the breadth of service of CEH. One example of this has been the free provision of sanitary products for all the girls, which has been well received by all of them. Additionally, we have sought to provide a small grant to 6 nursing undergraduates as they leave the school and go to further education. Provision of support for undergraduates remains a strong desire within Abound to complete the education journey of students to degree level.
Increasing the numbers of children who can benefit from the work of CEH.
This year’s donations have exceeded all expectations and allowed us to achieve significantly more than we ever imagined. Additionally, promises of future donations have allowed us to plan for coming years. However, all those plans rely on us establishing a greater number of regular donors contributing each month. The majority of donations have been one-off gifts which have allowed us to invest in capital projects and cover this year’s operations. We are therefore seeking additional donors to support next year’s operations.
We would really value any additional donations you may be able to make or new donors to help support the regular expenditure by CEH.
If you wish for any further information or have questions about any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact us at admin@abound.org.uk.
