The story of God's blessing on Torch's work across the UK and around the world
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. (2 Corinthians 9:12)
Christian literature, fellowship and personal support
The Torch Trust (Torch) is a UK-based registered international charity whose inspiration and values derive from the Christian faith. These values are the foundation of Torch's work which is directed towards the spiritual welfare of those who are blind or partially sighted.
Torch aims to overcome sight loss as a barrier to finding a personal faith in Christ and to living a fulfilled Christian life.
Another year full of activity, with new project initiatives running alongside ongoing services and programmes
Torch's principal activities are the production and distribution of Christian literature in accessible media, the promotion of Christian fellowship and companionship and the provision of practical support to serve unmet personal needs, especially of those living in the poorer countries where Torch is active.
Through its magazines and library services Torch now directly serves over 8,900 blind and partially sighted people around the world, and many more through the work of its network of Torch Fellowship Groups, holidays and other activities.
Torch now produces seven Christian magazines in a mix of braille, giant print and audio formats. The Christian Herald Digest has been replaced with Christian Today Digest, jointly edited with Christian Today, the UK's leading Christian news website. Also this year Torch Library Magazine (TLM) was introduced specifically for Torch Library users. Many of the magazines are available as text downloads from the Torch website.
Torch continues to produce two series of audio daily Bible readings: CWR's Every Day with Jesus and SU's Daily Bread. The DAISY "talking book" CD format is proving increasingly popular with over 320 of our readers favouring this over audio cassette. Torch currently distributes 159,000 periodicals annually.
Over the year the Torch Library loaned 25,867 books in a mix of formats - an increase of almost 7% from 24,219 in the previous year. This postal service is offered free to borrowers and uses the Articles for the Blind free post. The DAISY CD section has grown in both content and usage with 94 titles (2005: 43) and 741 loans (2005: 92). As well as new recordings originated in DAISY format the stock is being expanded by conversion of titles already in the audio cassette collection. In the year 215 books were added to the collections: 58 in braille, 10 in giant print, 96 on audio cassette and 51 on DAISY CD.
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"Thank you for your tapes, they are a great blessing to me. I am partially sighted and they have brought me so much nearer to God."
"We get The Torch magazine (giant print) for my husband who has bad sight, but I always read it too. It has been so very helpful."
"Superb, I'm hooked. Please send me more." (Referring to library books)
"I thought when I first signed up for the Torch library and requested only biographies and autobiographies, that you would probably send me a lot of books that I have already read. So far they have all been new to me! ..."
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Torch continues to develop more efficient transcription strategies and plans during the coming year to adopt the new transcription software introduced by the RNIB. A pilot project to train and equip some of the dedicated volunteer audio transcribers to make original recordings in the DAISY format is planned for the year ahead.
The legacy stock of audio recordings on tape is being progressively converted to digital format and Torch plans to invest in duplicate massive data storage systems that will ultimately accommodate all of Torch audio books for instant retrieval and secure retention.
Through Torch the Bible is accessible to more blind and partially sighted people. Torch now offers for purchase a solar-powered hand-held audio Bible "Megavoice" and has completed an audio New Testament in the DAISY CD format offered for sale by both Torch and the RNIB from December 2006. Both allow the user to select book, chapter and groups of verses, the DAISY product further allowing selection of an individual verse.
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Marilyn Baker, blind singer/songwriter and Torch Trustee, expresses delight at her new megavoice ...
"It is wonderful! The smallest Bible I have ever owned, it's ideal for use on a train with headphones, or just as suitable when at home listening through the clear, inbuilt loud speaker.
"Although you can't go directly to an individual verse, you can move forward or back approximately five verses at a time, or skip through chapters and books. Solar charged, there is no worry over battery life."
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The giant print Bibles printed by Torch continue to be popular.
Torch produces a growing range of Christian books and booklets, the smaller ones being free, the larger charged at prices comparable to standard print editions. As a member of the Right to Read campaign Torch has been seeking to engage Christian publishers with the needs of blind and partially sighted people for access to the literature they offer. The response has been encouraging and has led to closer working relationships with some of these publishers. Over time this will increase the pace at which Torch makes additions to its range of books and booklets.
In the coming year Torch plans to take its campaign to Christian bookshops, raising their awareness of the reading needs of blind and partially sighted people and of the wealth of Christian literature available from Torch.
Using state-of-the-art accessible media transcription and production facilities developed and acquired over recent years, Torch has been able to do more to respond to those who need something in alternative formats to allow them to participate in church life.
The Torch website attracts a healthy flow of visitors and has been the source of many new enquiries particularly from abroad. The Torch Library catalogue can now be searched through the website, a prelude to offering an on-line loans facility.
Torch Fellowship Groups meet monthly for informal time of fellowship with Christian ethos and content. Many of the Groups serve largely elderly folk, those who have lost their sight in later years, often leading lonely and isolated lives. The Groups provide an opportunity for community and companionship, and to celebrate and share the Christian faith.
The number of Groups meeting in the UK has been declining slowly over recent years with 127 in the 2006 directory (down from 130 in 2005). Many of the Groups have been running for 30 years and those that lead them have become elderly themselves. However, the appointment of David Palmer as National Fellowship Leader has greatly strengthened the drive for renewal and by the end of the year there were six new Groups in prospect.
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"After an absence of five years I have returned to Torch as National Fellowship Leader. I feel a real sense of excitement at what God wants to do and how He is going to use me to encourage and support the development of the Torch Fellowship Groups around the UK. It's a critical aspect of Torch's ministry and represents a big challenge for me."
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The Groups have been reorganised into a regional structure that matches that of the UK Government, a move designed to support Torch's aim to build stronger links with statutory service providers working with blind and partially sighted people. Professionals working in statutory provision in the South East of England were invited to an open day at Torch Holiday & Retreat Centre and reacted very positively to the work of the Centre and of Torch as a whole. At national and local level there have been efforts to develop links with the local charities for blind people that are now often the principle source of support to those losing their sight. These efforts continue into 2007 and beyond.
Torch plans to introduce the guidelines and recommendations contained in the new Group handbooks through a series of "regional days" that will reach the leadership of every Group during 2007 and 2008. This programme will also enable Torch to introduce its "Safeguarding Adults and Children" policy.
The RNIB estimates that 1 in 30 of the UK population lives with debilitating sight loss beyond correction with spectacles. This therefore is an issue of relevance to all churches. Almost universally, the church assumes the ability to read and can unwittingly exclude those who cannot.
Becoming involved in major Christian conventions like Spring Harvest, Grapevine, New Horizon, New Wine, the Keswick Convention and the Cheltenham Bible Festival, is raising awareness of Torch and of the needs of those with sight loss among UK churches. Torch now produces accessible materials for each of these events.
Getting the message through to the entire UK church network is a massive task and cannot be undertaken alone. Torch is an active partner in the Churches for All campaign (www.churchesforall.org) working alongside other Christian disability organisations, the Evangelical Alliance and Faithworks, to challenge and enable our churches to fully include disabled people. Torch has continued to recruit volunteer church "Reps" to present Torch's mission to churches, raising awareness of the needs of blind and partially sighted people, and being advocates for them. During the year training sessions were run and a newsletter, Share@Church introduced.
Although in theory a blind person in Britain can book a holiday just as a sighted person does and demand their needs are accommodated, the practical situation is very different. Few blind people would take a holiday unaccompanied. Many blind and partially sighted people live alone and so Torch holidays always emphasise community and companionship.
Torch holidays make a huge impact on the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of those who go on them. With the need and benefit so apparent the Trust plans to offer more holidays and regional houseparties from 2008.
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New for 2006 was a French Houseparty at the Spring Harvest Holiday Park in Western France, led by Trustee, Dr Mike Townsend and his wife Edith.
With International Outreach Leader, Janet Stafford, a group went on holiday to Cyprus. Clare, one of the guests, wrote, "I certainly haven't been on a holiday like this for some years and say a deep thank you to all who showed us such friendship and love".
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Again the Torch Holiday and Retreat Centre saw growth in income and activity, both with blind and partially sighted guests and with others from church groups to whom Torch offers the Centre during quieter periods. Located in Hurstpierpoint the Centre enjoys a peaceful location with uninterrupted views of the South Downs. It's a place where it's normal not to see and many blind and partially sighted people from all over the UK have enjoyed holidays and breaks through the year. In both the quietness and the activity many experience a fresh encounter with God.
One visitor commented: "What can I say about the holiday ... It was wonderful. I really felt as if I was home. Also can I thank you for the spiritual help and blessing you gave to me. I hadn't been able to talk to anyone for a long time like I talked to you. I met some lovely real Christian people and it has boosted my faith tremendously."
Torch is an international organisation serving blind and partially sighted people in many parts of the world. Approximately one third of the magazines produced are sent to readers in around 100 countries including Malawi, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and India.
Through the donation of braille books the Torch Trust maintains around 30 sub-libraries abroad.
Torch publishes an international directory of Christian organisations working with blind and partially sighted people. The Trust's strategy is to develop the international aspects of its work through partnership with such organisations and missions.
Here the activities are centred in Romania where Torch has supported the work of a locally-based charity called Dezna Torch.
Through voluntary effort the construction of a building called Casa Torch (Dezna, western Romania) is nearly complete. The original vision was to create a Christian family home environment for visually impaired children currently cared for in the notorious orphanages. However, research exposed that recent changes in Romanian child care, prompted by the country's accession to EU membership, have largely addressed this need. Accordingly the Trustees commissioned a study of the options for Dezna Torch.
During 2006 a camp was run in Dezna to which 37 blind and partially sighted children came from all over Romania. The days were filled with activities and the evenings with stories and other Bible-based content. Volunteers travelled from across the UK to staff the camp which was hugely enjoyed by children and volunteers alike. Several children testified that they had come to faith in Christ during the camp.
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"It was amazing to see the children's faces when they got to the summer camp - full of joy, hope and ready to start a dream." (Adina Tole)
Mike Townsend, camp organiser and Torch Trustee, says of ten year old twins Manu and Mihaila: "They are extremely poor, but bubble with enthusiasm and energy. Totally blind, they just loved being part of the 'Dezna Despots' the music band which made a 'joyful noise to the Lord'."
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Torch also supports an independent Romanian charity called Pro-Lumina that has similar aims to those of the Torch Trust. In particular financial support provided by Torch supporters has helped Pro-Lumina to organise houseparty holidays for blind and partially sighted people incarcerated in Romania's asylum system. Torch continues to supply and emboss the braille "plates" necessary for Pro-Lumina's continuing braille production.
In the early nineties Torch established in Malawi the Torch Trust for the Blind (International) Malawi which has its headquarters in a suburb of Blantyre, southern Malawi. Here five Malawian staff produce braille Bibles and other Christian literature in seven African languages - Tumbuka added this year. The cost of material used for many of the productions is funded by United Bible Societies (UBS). Giant print in the Chichewa language is also produced here.
Plans for the future include production of braille booklets for HIV/AIDS sufferers sponsored by UBS and pilot production of a braille easy-English Bible using a text produced for those who use English as a second language.
Supported from the Blantyre headquarters and by visitors from the UK, over 80 Torch Fellowship Groups now meet regularly across Malawi; around 100 have opened during the year. Many are located in poor rural communities where blindness is prevalent.
Here the spiritual dimension of the work is supplemented with the provision of practical personal support under the banner "Aid Africa". Once more, a shipping container full of aid items was sent to Malawi and its contents distributed through the Fellowship Groups network. Items ranged from "blindness aids" like white canes and braille writing frames, to the clothes and toiletries that are so much needed by the blind people of Malawi, often the poorest among the poor in this the world's tenth poorest country.
The work is spreading across the border into neighbouring Mozambique. Malawian volunteers travel regularly to encourage them.
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"This is a most wonderful day," said Rev Lemy Chesi, as he opened the Gospel of John in Tumbuka braille and ran his fingers over the braille dots. "This will help me when I am transferred to a church of my own Tumbuka-speaking people. But for me now, this is tremendous - the New Testament in my mother tongue; it speaks to my heart. I am overwhelmed and lost for words. I just praise God!"
Winston Chidzambuyo, Torch Administrator, shares about one blind man, Mr Jeffrey Mkwenje from Mbatamira Torch Fellowship Group. He says: "Mr Jeffrey had never been to church before but heard preaching on the word of God on one of the visits to the Group. He accepted the Lord as his Saviour and now attends one of the nearest evangelical churches together with his wife and children. He says he has experienced God's love extended to him through the ministry of the Torch Trust."
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Most of the Torch Trust's income comes from donation and legacies, supplemented by sales of accessible literature and payments for holidays and retreats. Torch does not run fundraising campaigns or appeals but relies on God through prayer for the funds needed to support the work which come through the generous support of many individuals, groups, trusts and churches.
An exceptional confluence of large legacies boosted the income for the year, but legacy income is by nature unpredictable and so this cannot be interpreted as a reliable indicator of future income. Donation income dropped by 6% with a corresponding drop in Gift Aid tax recovered. Income from literature and especially holidays and retreats grew encouragingly, reflecting higher levels of activity.
[Pie chart shows Donations 28%, Legacies 63%, Literature 3%, Holidays and Retreats 6%]
The expenditure of Torch is prioritised for achieving its aims and objects. Expenditure on the generation of income is modest, and management and administration costs are kept to a minimum consistent with the proper operation of the charity. The aspect of Torch's work directed to transcribing, producing and distributing accessible media literature is highly labour intensive. Most of the staff are employed and most materials are consumed in these areas. Expenditure grew very little overall with rising payroll offset by saving achieved in operating expenses.
To improve the quality and appearance of large/giant print publications investment was made in improved booklet making and binding machinery.
[Pie chart shows Regional Outreach 14%, Literature 53%, Holiday and Retreat Centre 12%, International Outreach 14%, Governance and Communications 7%]
Torch continues to regard staff membership to be a vocational calling and an adventure of personal as well as corporate faith. Though the basis of pay remains the national minimum wage Torch has been able to recruit gifted and committed staff for all save a few, mainly leadership, vacancies.
Volunteering is essential to Torch. Apart from those who come to work at the UK premises there are well over a thousand volunteers working from home. Some are involved in leading and running the national network of Torch Fellowship Groups, others are engaged in the transcription and recording of books into braille, giant print and audio media, and still others in a variety of significant tasks.
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Passionate and committed volunteers are the key to Torch's future growth. An important part of this is the band of young people from the UK and abroad who choose to spend their holidays working with us at both Torch House and Torch Holiday and Retreat Centre. We are truly blessed and encouraged by their enthusiasm.
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The priorities for the year ahead are improved management of the volunteer workforce and the recruitment, training and development of the executive leadership team. Also planned for 2007 is the introduction of a Safeguarding Adults and Children policy.
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This year Torch began a whole new adventure. We plan a weekly 15-minute radio programme that primarily serves an audience of blind, partially sighted and other disabled people - bringing news and testimonies, and showing how Christian faith is relevant to them. The programme will also be able to challenge and encourage churches so that disabled people might be fully included in worship and outreach. Torch trustee Marilyn Baker has agreed to be the lead presenter.
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The Torch Trust for the Blind is a registered charity (no. 1095904) and company limited by guarantee (no. 4616526). This charitable company was formed in 2002 with aims and objects equivalent to those of the older unincorporated charity of the same name (registered no. 208678).
The full audited Report and Accounts for the year ended 30th September 2006 (from which this Annual Report has been prepared) are available on request from the Chief Executive and also from Companies House or the Charity Commission.
Torch relies on the commitment of some 40 staff and over one thousand volunteers
Torch Trust For the Blind
Torch House,
Torch Way,
Northampton Road,
Market Harborough,
Leics.
LE16 9HL,
UK
Email: info@torchtrust.org
Website: www.torchtrust.org
Registered Charity No. 1095904