Somali Development Programme
Charity 1112435
Overview
Summary
Somali Development Programme appears to be a Birmingham-based, Somali-focused community organisation using advice, training and positive leisure activity as a route into wider social participation. Its stated remit spans local support for young people and employment-related assistance alongside educational, health and poverty-relief ambitions in Somaliland/Somalia. This combination suggests an organisation positioned between neighbourhood youth development, diaspora support and transnational charitable concern, though the evidence does not show how these strands are resourced or connected in practice.
Operational geography
Coverage: Citywide
Operational areas:
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Remaining uncertainties
- The Charity Commission entry directly records Birmingham City as an area where the charity operates, and its activity description says it works in Birmingham. This supports a citywide Birmingham footprint as the organisation's stated operational geography, rather than an inference drawn solely from its charitable objects.
- This conclusion is low-certainty as an account of current delivery: the latest financial data is for the year ending 25 October 2021, with £0 income and £0 expenditure, and annual returns and accounts for the years ending 25 October 2022, 2023 and 2024 are overdue.
- No current public evidence identifies particular Birmingham neighbourhoods, venues, service locations, delivery programmes or partner organisations. It is therefore not possible to evidence operation in any individual supplied ward or recognised place.
- The registered contact address should not be treated as a confirmed operational site. The Charity Commission states that the charity does not own or lease land or property.
- No material partnerships extending the organisation's Birmingham operational reach were identified in the supplied record or authoritative sources consulted.
Additional evidence needed
- A current annual return, trustees' annual report or impact report describing services delivered after 25 October 2021, including delivery locations and beneficiary catchments.
- Current information from the organisation confirming whether it remains operational, the locations where it delivers activities, and whether its registered contact address is used for service delivery or correspondence only.
- Official project, venue or partner documentation identifying active Birmingham delivery sites or commissioned/community delivery arrangements.
Areas of work
- Amateur Sport
- Education/training
- Other Charitable Purposes
Who they help
- Children/young People
- Elderly/old People
- People Of A Particular Ethnic Or Racial Origin
- The General Public/mankind
How they help
- Provides Advocacy/advice/information
- Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space
- Provides Services
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
A local youth offer with a wider diaspora remit
The organisation appears to combine place-based work in Birmingham with commitments to Somalis in Somaliland/Somalia. This may make it a bridge between local community needs and transnational social ties rather than a solely local youth provider.
Why it matters
This helps identify a potentially distinctive role: relationships, trust and knowledge developed locally may connect to concerns beyond Birmingham, creating opportunities for collaboration that conventional local service categories could miss.
Show evidence
“The organisation works in Birmingham and provides young people with advice, guidance, educational support and positive activities.”
Source:Organisation“Its objects include relieving unemployment for Somalis in Somaliland and the United Kingdom, particularly Birmingham, and advancing education, relieving poverty and improving health in Somalia.”
Source:Charity Commission
Leisure is used as an engagement pathway
Recreational and positive activities appear to be more than an add-on: they may be a practical route for engaging young people before or alongside advice, education and skills support.
Why it matters
This suggests the organisation may reach people who would not initially approach a training or advice service, and may complement providers whose offers are more formal or narrowly employment-focused.
Show evidence
“It organises leisure and recreational activities and aims to empower, engage and motivate young people through educational support and positive activities.”
Source:Organisation“Its objects include providing recreational or leisure-time facilities to improve conditions of life for people facing social or economic circumstances, hardship, disability, youth or age.”
Source:Charity Commission
The stated beneficiary scope is broader than the visible activity focus
Although current activities foreground young people, the charity's formal remit includes older people, Somali communities, and people experiencing hardship or exclusion. This may indicate either a broad community mandate or activity that has narrowed around youth at present.
Why it matters
The distinction is important for understanding whether the organisation is a specialist youth organisation, a wider community anchor with youth as its current entry point, or an organisation whose formal purposes exceed its operational capacity.
Show evidence
“Its goals focus on providing young people with advice, guidance, support, educational support and positive activities.”
Source:Organisation“The charity helps children and young people, elderly people, people of a particular ethnic or racial origin and the general public.”
Source:Charity Commission
- Whether work in Somaliland/Somalia is currently delivered, funded or primarily an aspirational charitable purpose.
- Which groups in Birmingham are currently reached, and whether older people receive active support.
- Whether the organisation has premises, partners, volunteers or referral relationships that shape its operating model.
Remaining uncertainties
- Recent annual reports, service statistics and geographic breakdowns of beneficiaries and activities.
- Information on delivery partners, funding sources, premises and any current projects in Somaliland/Somalia.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
Somali development Programme has been providing support, training, advice & information on a wide range of issues and organising leisure & recreational activities to young people. Our goals is to provide young people with advice, guidance and support them to unlock their potential by empowering,engaging and motivating them through educational support and positive activities, we work in Birmingham.
Charity objects
THE OBJECTS OF THE SDP SHALL BE: THE PROVISIONS OF FACILITIES FOR RECREATION OR OTHER LEISURE TIME OCCUPATION WITH THE OBJECT OF IMPROVING THE CONDITIONS OF LIFE OF THOSE PERSONS WHO HAVE NEED OF SUCH FACILITIES BY REASON OF THEIR YOUTH, AGE, INFIRMITY OR DISABLEMENT, FINANCIAL HARDSHIP OR SOCIAL ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES. THE RELIEF OF UNEMPLOYMENT FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT OF SOMALI'S IN SOMALILAND AND IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND IN PARTICULAR BIRMINGHAM, BY THE PROVISION OF VOCATIONAL AND SKILLS TRAINING, ADVICE AND SUPPORT. TO ADVANCE EDUCATION IN THE MOST DISADVANTAGED AREA OF SOMLIA ENSURING THAT CHILDREN RECEIVE ADEQUATE EDUCATION TO PREPARE THEM FOR A PRODUCTIVE FUTURE. TO RELIEVE POVERTY, IMPROVE HEALTH AND SUPPORT ORPHANED CHILDREN BY TACKLING THE MOST DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENT IN SOMALIA