Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ about YMO Trust

Q) How does YMO Trust help the kids?

YMO Trust is dedicated to preventing child labour, advancing education and work skills for the benefit of all. We assist in the provision of education facilities in the interest of social welfare with the objective of improving the student’s and their family’s condition of life for generations to come.

Our academies provide classes, vocational training courses and teach essential life skills. We also provide access to computers, something these children would not have the means to access otherwise.

The YMO Trust has successfully set up two academies. We have approximately 75 children currently attending booster classes. These children were either not getting an education or were in serious danger of dropping out of school because they couldn’t afford the government provided school fees amongst many other things. YMO Trust provides the funding for their schooling and additional booster classes with talented and inspirational teachers. It also provides school provisions like textbooks and stationery so that the children can thrive in their academic pursuit.

In 2018, YMO Trust began to work closely with a large orphanage in Sylhet, Bangladesh called ‘The Sylhet Inclusive School & College Orphanage’ which has approximately 500 orphans in its care. YMO Trust provides an additional two skilled members of teaching staff to the orphanage's current crop of teachers, which is financed by YMO Trust. We have also recently introduced a ‘mid-day meal’ for every single child, so that they can receive better nutrition, a most vital component to a child’s welfare and their capacity to learn. Before this the orphans were either missing lunch completely or on a ‘lunch rota’ as there weren’t enough meals to feed them all leaving the other half hungry.

Q) How do you manage your Operations from the UK?

YMO Management Committee is based in the UK. We maintain regular communication with our academy operations managers. The Committee decide the strategies, manage the fundraising and maintain the policies and procedures.

Q) What policies and procedures do YMO Trust have?

YMO Trust has a Strategic working document, Organisational Structure, Core Operating Values & YMO Charter as well as the following policies: Safeguarding, Child protection, Health and Safety, Data Protection, Confidentiality, Consent, Recruitment Policy, Governance, Equal Opportunities etc.. YMO Trust takes safety very seriously and strives to provide a safe working environment for every stakeholder.

Q) Will YMO Trust be opening more academies?

We currently don’t have any plans for further academies to be opened at this time as our intention is to focus on the new Orphanage project and the smooth running of the 2 academies. As and when YMO Trust identify the need for additional academies, the potential new project will be assessed for feasibility, scoped and then launched as a project for funding.

Q) How much of the donations received support the children?

For every year the YMO Trust has been operating, every £1 you gave, we were able to spend £1 on our work with the YMO students / children. This is achieved thanks to our unpaid volunteers, the low administration costs, the support of all our sponsors and people who have donated through our fundraising efforts. This has enabled 100% of every single penny received going directly to the cause.

Q) How is YMO funded?

YMO Trust is completely funded by donations received from fundraising activities and sponsorship from local businesses.

Q) Is YMO helping the most disadvantaged children in Bangladesh or is it localised to family of the executives of YMO Trust?

YMO Trust is only supporting the most disadvantaged children in Bangladesh. The Children are not related or have any link to the trustees or those involved in its operation. The Trust policies forbid any conflicts of interest of trustees. It is our written constitution that children who benefit cannot be related to the YMO Trust team. For full disclosure, as a matter of transparency, a number of the trustees have relatives in Bangladesh, but it is the duty of the individual to provide any assistance privately and not the YMO Trust.

Q) What research does YMO Trust do in terms of assessing and understanding the levels of poverty and child labour, as well as educational challenges in Bangladesh?

YMO Trust closely monitors the data and recommendations of leading national organisations such as United Nations, UNICEF and the International Labour Office (ILO) as well as support from government contacts and the network of dignitaries we try and engage with.

Q) Why has the income gone down over the last few years?

When the charity was launched in 2014 there were significant overheads to set up the charity framework, policies, governance, recruitment and the first Academy in Jaganathpur, Bangladesh. This was financed by several fundraising launch initiatives targeting the communities of Luton and surrounding towns. Since then the charity has only sought additional donations as and when required for setting up the second academy and the ongoing operational costs which are required to maintain these.

The new project with the Orphanage, in 2018, has increased our monthly commitment significantly hence the need for increased fundraising activity this year. We are also looking to cast the net further and wider to engage new donors. The YMO Love Luton Marathon is one such community cohesion exhibition aiming to increase the Trust’s exposure, its cause and entrench goodwill in local communities.

FAQ about Education

Q) How does the YMO Trust choose the kids they support?

YMO Trust receives applications from local staff on the ground who scout local communities currently within the nearby villages to the academies, liaising with schools and other charities to identify children at risk. The efforts are concentrated in areas of deprivation, seeking families that could not afford to send their children to school. Poverty introduces barriers like school fees, transport, uniform, textbooks, school stationery and in some cases, the urgent need for the child to earn. YMO Trust vets these applications, interviewing the families, confirming their needs and financial position and, where successful, puts in place a plan to get the child enrolled into the state school system and supplementing their education with additional learning from our academies. The work of YMO Trust has spread by word of mouth in villages, collaborative scouting with other charitable bodies and local government help.

Children and families are also able to self-refer.

Q) Do YMO Trust have an inclusive policy?

All of our teaching staff and students are selected regardless of race, political affiliation, gender or religious belief.

Q) How many students are attending YMO Trust ‘s academies?

In 2019 we have 94 students. 75 students currently attending booster classes and 19 attending Tailoring Vocational Training. The number can fluctuate slightly depending on circumstances. We have space to teach and support a maximum of 130 students through our academies.

Q) How many females attend the academies

in 2019 53 of the 95 students are female

Q) What is the age range of children attending the YMO Trust academies?

Children attending the booster classes at our academies have an age range of between11-16 years old. The vocational training courses are attended by adults over 16 years of age.

Q) What are booster classes?

The children who YMO Trust are working with are attending the government provided state schooling for their mainstream academic learning. YMO Trust academies provide additional support, via booster classes, which they attend either in the morning or after school in the areas of English, Maths, IT and the Bengali language.

Q) How many teachers and staff do YMO Trust employ?

At present the YMO Trust currently employ 5 teachers, with 3 of these teachers being situated in its academies and 2 teachers at the SISC Orphanage. In addition to our teaching resources, there are 2 admin staff on the payroll who assist with the day to day operations at the academies. We also have periodic staff employed or organisations that we collaborate with for the vocational training courses.

Q) What happens with children who fail to attend or have bad behaviour?

YMO Trust have a documented disciplinary policy. If children consistently fail to attend, arrive late or are disruptive in class then they are referred to the admin team for a conference with the child’s parents / guardians to address the issues in an attempt to try to resolve them. If they continue on this path and show no improvement, they are regrettably removed from the YMO Trust programme.

Q) How do you safeguard the children in your care?

We take the welfare of our children and all stakeholders involved, very seriously. We carry out risk assessments and put in place stringent safeguarding procedures, underpinned by the charities safeguarding policy. In developing countries where its is not possible to practice to UK standards, we liaise with the local police station for background checks and seek local community opinions where relevant. At all opportunity we implement prudent, common sense, steps to minimise risk to children. No minor or vulnerable adult is ever left unattended or alone with an adult. If in the event of a safeguarding issue arising with any of our students or staff, these matters are referred directly to the Trustees for urgent and immediate investigation.

Q) What happens to the students after they finish school?

YMO Trust support the children to apply for college or to seek employment. As of 2019 YMO Trust had its first graduating class of 29 students, of which 24 have gone on to college and 4 have secured employment.

Q) What happens if a child doesn’t graduate?

In Bangladesh the schooling system is such that if the child doesn’t pass the end of year exams they do not proceed to the next class year. Therefore YMO Trust provide all the possible support so that the child can progress to year 10, before they then go onto college or employment. In our first year 10 graduation class in 2019 we had a 100% pass rate.

FAQ Vocational Training

Q) What vocational training does YMO Trust provide?

This can vary depending on the needs of those individuals, so in the past we have run a motor engineering and repairs course along with a tailoring vocation course. In 2019 we have 19 students currently attending our tailoring vocation course.

Q) What happens to the successful students after they complete their vocational training?

We have had 42 vocational training students complete their training to date, of which 15 have secured employment and the others have set-up their own enterprise.

FAQ Orphans

Q) what Support does YMO provide the Orphanage?

YMO Trust are funding two teaching staff and providing a lunch time meal for the orphans

Q) How long do children stay in the care of the SISC Orphanage & College?

Until they are adults. The orphanage gives the children a complete education in line with the national curriculum and assists them in finding employment.

FAQ Donations

Q) Can I make a regular payment?

Yes, small payments made regularly can make a real difference, You can set up an affordable monthly standing order throughout the year. This allows us to plan ahead and ensure we have a reliable source of income.

Q) Is my payment secure?

We only use secure systems with banking safety features to ensure that your payment and financial data cannot be compromised. All online payments are processed by PayPal or Just Giving and no financial data is available to YMO Trust.

Q) Why should I Giftaid my donation?

It really does help if you can giftaid your donation, it increases the value of your support by 25%. If you are a UK taxpayer, selecting ‘Gift Aid’ will make your donation worth more with no extra cost to yourself!

In order for YMO Trust to reclaim the tax you have paid on your donations, you must have paid income or capital gains tax equal to the tax that will be reclaimed by all the charities that you donate to in the same tax year. The tax reclaimed will be used to help fund the administration costs of the charity so that 100% of your donation can go to funding the charitable work.