.CONSTITUTION.

PREAMBLE.
We the members of the .... Welfare take cognizance of the immense need of involving the community in such intricate issues as alleviating poverty in the society by carrying-out research and information programmes, capacity building programmes, sensitizing the populace on the existence, transmission and control measures of the dreaded diseases STD and AIDS, and the establishment of viable projects geared towards raising the standard of living of the citizens. We therefore declare the establishment of welfare herein referred to as .. to act and function in accordance with the provisions of this constitution.

ARTICLE 1: NAME. The name of the society shall be .Welfare herein referred to as . self-help group. Its postal address of contact shall be P.O BOX KENYA ARTICLE 2: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Clause (1): To alleviate poverty in the society This shall be through:

a) To improve members development agenda in acquiring assets and financial stability. b) Encouraging people to participate in various viable development projects such as educating and/or
offering advisory services as regards small-scale business enterprises

c) To undertake business venture that will support members to enjoy loan facilities. d) To run a real estate for members who can later earn dividends. e) Giving/providing advisory services for members and the society as a whole on good citizenship, morals
and etiquette f)

To encourage members to engage in income generating activities to boost their earning instead of relying on loans for survival.

g) Providing reliable information in the social dimension to the society on such matters as family planning techniques and its merits.

Clause (2): Educating members of the society about the dreaded diseases STDand AIDS through a) Organizing public rallies, open air expositions, workshops, seminars, conferences and spiritual warfare. b) Accessing the relevant literature both oral and written e.g. magazines, posters, journals, bronchures and placards. Besides songs, oral narratives and poems shall be employed. c) Providing both audio-visual devices/gadgets such as films, videos or via computer software. d) Organizing sports days, dramas, and gymnastics all aimed at the principal theme Aids awareness.

Clause (3): Identify Aids cases/victims in the society and recognize their special role in our mutual co-existence. At the same time, take the responsibility of caring and offering propitiating advice on these victims. ATICLE 3: STATUS

The organization herein referred to as . shall be a neutral body not affiliated to any political camp either in part or whole at any time; or otherwise the government, but will function as a profit making organization which is self-sponsored or otherwise as stipulated in the article The organization will liase with the government, non-governmental organizations, community based organizations and charitable institutions from both within and outside in the quest for attaining its goal. ARTICLE 4: MEMBERSHIP. (a) ORDINARY MEMBERS Interested persons shall apply through the secretary so long as they meet the following pre-requisite conditions. (i) Interested person(s) with an ardent willingness must pay the registration fee of kshs.200 (two hundred shillings only) non-refundable and should fall within the age bracket of 18 years and above. (ii) Must have high integrity and self-discipline as arrogated from his/her past historical background or mannerisms. (iii)Must be self-motivated and innovative. (iv) Duly pays monthly subscription of kshs.200/= (two hundred only) (v) The executive committee shall approve all applications as required.

(b) ASSOCIATE MEMBERS These shall consist of willing person(s) or institutions working closely with . These may include government or non-governmental organizations, community based organizations, charitable institutions or persons drawn from the private sector or provincial administration. (C) RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERS. (i) OBLIGATIONS. The obligations of the members shall be; a) All members shall abide by this constitution and any other rules and regulations made or passed thereafter. b) Every member shall meet his/her financial obligations in full within the first month of his/her declaration to become a member. (ii) RIGHTS The rights shall be; a) Ordinary members. i. They shall have the right to vote in all votes of .. (it should be noted that a member shall abide by the rule of one man one vote in all elections) ii. They shall have the right to be elected or nominated to any organ of .. iii. They shall have the right to participate fully in all functions and activities of and will thereby be called the owners of the organizations.

b) Associate members. i. They shall participate in some key functions and activities of .. ii. They shall not be entitled to vote in any meeting iii. They may be nominated, elected or appointed as representative on behalf of A.C.E.P in external activities when and where necessary as directed by the executive committee. They cannot hold any key office of running or involve themselves in the internal administration of A.C.E.P. (D) TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP

The organization shall have the right to suspend or terminate the membership of any member whose conduct is deemed to be prejudicial to the good name of the organization. Any such member shall be granted the opportunity if he wishes to submit to the chairperson a written or oral explanation of his conduct or case before a final decision is taken by the group members. The member shall then be communicated to in writing with a notice of 7 (seven) days from the letter summoning him or her to appear in person before the disciplinary committee to review his case or institute the necessary disciplinary action.

ARTICLE 5: FINANCE (I) SOURCES The sources of finance for the organization shall be: (a) Registration Every member shall pay a registration fee of kshs.200/= (two hundred shillings only) for ordinary members and kshs.500/= (Five Hundred) for associate members. This amount can change at any time without prior notice as this is only subject to the committee at the time. A person shall always remain a full member after paying the registration fees for as long as he/she wishes provided that he/she abides by article 4, clause (a) and clause(c). (b) Subscription I. Every ordinary member shall pay a subscription fee of kshs.200/= (two hundred) every month. II. Every associate member shall pay a subscription fee of kshs. 200/= (two hundred shillings) per month (minimum amount). (c) Donations and grants from government or non governmental organizations, charitable institutions or individual sponsors. (d) Viable development Projects

(ii) ADMINISTRATION OF FINANCE They shall be; a. The treasurer shall receive all funds. b. The accounts of . shall be audited annually by any external auditor (qualified) who will be nominated by the ordinary assembly. c. The accounts of .. shall be kept in a form approved by the executive. d. The executive shall approve all financial allocations and expenditure of ..

ARTICLE 6: ORGANS OF They shall be; i. The chairperson. ii. The vice-chairperson. iii. The secretary general. iv. The assistant secretary. v. The treasurer. vi. The organizing secretary. vii. The ordinary assembly. viii. The executive committee

ARTICLE 7: DUTIES OF THE ORGANS. CLAUSE (1). a. Ordinary assembly i. To elect office bearers ,and set up committees ii. To approve financial reports/records of .. iii. To approve budget proposals of the executive. iv. To amend the constitution. v. To appoint/nominate honorary persons.

b. The executive committee. This will act as the administration organ of .. and shall have the following duties. i. Carry out decisions of the ordinary assembly. ii. Initiate and implement the policy of . approved by the ordinary assembly. iii. Prepare annual budget and submit it to the ordinary assembly annual meeting. iv. Recommend honorary patrons v. Make rules and regulations governing the use of .. property. CLAUSE (2) OFFICE BEARERS a) The chairperson He/she shall;i. Preside over all meetings of the executive and ordinary assembly unless prevented by illness or any sufficient cause. ii. Be responsible for the general supervision of .. machinery at all levels. iii. Have the power to make emergency decisions on matters of great urgency when it is technically impossible to consult the executive, provided such decisions are communicated immediately to the executive for rectification or reversal. iv. The chairperson will have a casting vote during elections. v. Be a signatory of the societys financial transactions.

b) The secretary He or she shall:i. Prepare agendas for all executive and ordinary meetings. ii. Be responsible for all society correspondence iii. Take minutes of all general, ordinary and executive meetings. iv. Be the official spokesman of .. v. Be a signatory of the societys financial transactions.

c) Assistant secretary. He/she shall;i. Perform/act for the secretary in his/her absence. ii. Perform duties as otherwise instructed by the executive. d) Treasurer. He/she shall;i. ii. iii. iv.

See to it that money accorded to . is received, receipted and deposited. Collect and receive both registration and subscriptions from members. See to it that monetary transactions are written up, preserved and made available for inspection at any time by ordinary members. Be one of the signatories of

e) Organizing secretary i. Be responsible for co-ordination of fieldwork for members in liaison with the external world. ii. Publish notice of all meetings as required by the constitution.

ARTICLE 8: MEETINGS, QUORUMS AND VOTING.

a) The ordinary assembly shall:i. Meet at least three times a year and shall be summoned by the chairperson. ii. At least 14days notice shall be given by the organizing secretary. The organizing secretary shall use all means to announce the meeting, advertisements in newspapers, radio or television according to his/her discretion and depending on the convenience of the means, to inform all members of the date and main business of the meeting to be dealt with. iii. Have a quorum being constituted by at least two-thirds or 67% of the members iv. Elect, suspend or impinge members of the executive. v. Consider appeals against expulsion and refusal of membership by the executive. vi. Approve the estimates of the expenditure for the next period following the general meetings. vii. Confirm minutes of the last ordinary meeting.

b) The Executive committee. This organ of . shall:i. Meet at least once a month. ii. Two-thirds of the members shall form a quorum. iii. The chairperson will chair all meetings. In his/her absence the vice-chairperson will take over and incase both are absent then the secretary general will appoint one of the officers to chair the meeting,

c) Emergency meetings. i. May be called by the chairperson upon receiving a petition bearing the signature of petitioners. ii. During such meetings, no other agenda other than the one, which the meeting has been called for, shall be discussed. iii. The quorum shall be not less than half of the members. d) Voting i. ii. iii. iv. v. Members shall be proposed before being elected and there shall be no campaigning. Election of office bearers shall be through secret ballot. Members (ordinary) shall be entitled to only one vote (one-man one vote) irrespective of the status of the member. Elections will take place once during a time decided by the ordinary assembly. The ordinary assembly will be vested with the power to vote a vote of no confidence against any member of executive or otherwise any committee if he/she is seen as being incompetent or rather breaches the attributes and the etiquette of the office. In the case of a vote of no confidence against members, he/she can be replaced after appearing and failing to convince the disciplinary committee concerning his or her verdict. However if the whole committee is affected then fresh elections can be conducted. The ordinary assembly also has the power to approve, refuse or rectify any resolution or recommendation made by any committee.

vi.

e) DISMISSAL i. ii.

iii. iv.

The power to dismiss shall be vested on the ordinary assembly. On the event of no confidence motion being passed by the ordinary assembly against any office bearer or committee, such shall automatically resign or be disbanded (for the case of a committee).A by election can then take place after a range of a month. A vote of no confidence shall only be valid if passed by three-quarters of the members present at that particular meeting. At the end of every year the office bearers shall seek re-election or leave office, the chairman will dissolve the executive and a special member appointed by the ordinary assembly will preside over the elections for new office bearers.

ARTICLE 9: ARBITRATION. The executive committee shall appoint a disciplinary committee after being elected to deal with arbitration and matters of members disciple. The committee shall:i. Ensure that respect, harmony and tranquility are established in the members. ii. The disciplinary committee in writing shall summon any member suspected of defacing the good name of by a notice of 7(seven) days. The disciplinary committee shall then take audience with the suspected member in person to decide the course of action to be taken. iii. The disciplinary committee upon taking counsel from the executive will either acquit or recommend the member to be ostracized by the ordinary assembly or take other disciplinary action as deems appropriate by it, provided that such disciplinary action does not contravene the state laws. iv. It will comprise of five members, two from the executive and three from ordinary members.

ARTICLE 11: AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION. The ordinary assembly is vested with the power to a mend the constitution. For amendment to be made two thirds of the members have to vote without which no amendment can be done.

Any person(s) who for any reason are not well acquainted with articles of this constitution or wish to make any form of recommendation either oral or written can submit their petition to the incumbent chairperson for further verification. ARTICLE 12: DISSOLUTION OF THE ORGANIZATION. The society shall not be dissolved unless by a resolution passed at an ordinary meeting by a vote of 67%of the ordinary members.

* * *COMPILED, EDITED, AND PRITED BY:- Davis