Back to Africa

Arrived at Kilimanjaro airport to the usual hot, steamy temperature, the smells of Africa and the buzz of people all around. Welcome back!

Everything fine, except Barclays ATM so no money, never mind that's Africa!!

It's apparent very quickly that the economic downturn is not restricted to the West:

• KLM flight only half full
• Safari parks only half full
• Safari guides laid off
• Orders cancelled for locally grown flowers & veg for Europe so more people laid off.
• Hotel staff laid off
• Food prices increased between 20-50%. A bag of maize, the staple diet, has doubled in price.

The difference here is that there is no welfare state to fall back on, people have to find a way just to survive.

Our Trustee Diana Woodhead, her husband Chris and supporters of HA100 Valerie and Michael Burton came to Arusha for a few days to visit the community groups we are working with.

 

Grand Opening at Tekua

Our first visit is to TEKUA and the grand opening of the Art & Craft Workshop funded by your donations.

What a welcome by Chris, Ally, teachers and all the students. It was very moving to hear the stories of how TEKUA have developed and personal stories from students of how TEKUA had given them a chance.

After the official opening, what a delight to see the inside of this workshop with walls decorated with paintings, only made possible by your donations. We remember just 2 years ago these students painting under a tarpaulin shelter.

Finally, we were treated to a tasty meal cooked by the 3 TEKUA students who we had sponsored at the catering college in 2008.

Thank you for helping us to make this happen.

 

New Primary School at Living Water Children's Centre

After lunch we visited Living Water Children Centre. We met Anza Kimaro and the 26 youngest children at the original site where they still live. The children entertained us with some singing.

We then transferred to the site of the new primary school and dormitories for the 24 older children. So 50 abused, neglected, or orphaned children now to care for.

Finishing touches being made to the 3 classroom, that we roofed last year and provided windows, doors and locks to later in the year. Only possible with your donations.

In addition to the school, the land that we helped to buy has provided maize and grazing for cows, goats and chickens, all of which help to feed the children.

 

Progress at Ndoombo Secondary School

The next day our visitors endured the 45 minute bumpy journey up the steep slopes of Mt Meru to Ndoombo Secondary School where 146 pupils are now being educated.

On the way, we met Eliekunde, a disabled girl who we bought a sewing machine for last year. It was moving to learn how she had become sustainable through a simple manually operated Singer sewing machine. There was much excitement from the local village to see so many white visitors.

At Ndoombo we were shown the new classrooms equipped with desks your donations have provided and the new laboratory all marked with "Helping Africa 100".

More singing, dancing and drumming followed and it was clear how much your support was appreciated.

The 3 girls we're sponsoring from TEKUA, were there to meet us and their development was beyond belief. We were overwhelmed.

 

Diana Woodhead's Report

VISIT TO HELPING AFRICA 100 PROJECTS IN TANZANIA

FEBRUARY 2009

Arusha, a town bursting with noise and colour, dusty yet vibrant, where the streets are lined with people desperate to sell anything that will make enough for the next meal: old shoes, home-made shoe cleaner, second-hand T-shirts, belts, key rings . .. the list is endless. And children, children everywhere; children whose only English is "Give me money". Is this the legacy of colonialism and corruption? Whatever the history and the causes, life is tough. But within the tight seams that hold this place together are amazing shafts of light.

As a Trustee of HA100, taking a holiday in Africa, I jumped at the opportunity to meet up with Garrie and Margaret and to visit some of the projects they support through the generosity of all those who donate to HA100.

I was incredibly moved to see teenagers being helped on their way to becoming useful and independent adults. This I saw at Tekua and Ndoombo, where the driving forces behind these projects, Chris and Ally at Tekua and Horace at Ndoombo, were truly inspirational in their dedication and commitment to the vision they each have for improving the lives of young people.

In the Tekua centre and the school at Ndoombo teenagers are given education that can develop their English language skills - rightly or wrongly a vital element in the education of anyone in Tanzania. But much more than this these teenagers are given the opportunity to develop their own talents and skills and are given an education that will make them employable and launch them into the world.

I was privileged to meet some teenagers who had recently left Tekua but had been directed to further six months vocational education with the support of HA100. These teenagers had confidence and motivation. They didn't belong to a "Give me money" generation, they were acquiring the skills to earn their own living and to put something back into their own communities.

Other projects supported by HA100 each have a different focus. Living Water gives a home to orphans. Each child is loved and cared for and has a mother and father in Dora and Kimaro, who run the centre, plus tender care from their team of support staff. I was heartened to hear the passion with which Dora and all the others there spoke - they were determined that the children in their care would have a home, a family and an education. With the help of HA100 they have managed to build a new, larger home together with classrooms. They intend that the 50 children in their care will be educated to reach adulthood with the ability to become independent, self supporting individuals.

Sadly I was unable to visit the Wamata project but I fully support the aid being given there. In a continent torn apart by AIDS many grandparents and single parents, themselves often frail individuals, are the only support for large families and young children. If they are given some assistance to help themselves out of their poverty, the children in their care will stand a much better chance in life. They will avoid the begging trap and grow into self-respecting, independent adults.

So, on behalf of the Trustees and on behalf of all those amazing people I met in Tanzania, a big thank you for supporting HA100. Every penny you give goes directly to these people, and one day we hope to see those you have helped become strong, independent and able to help themselves and their families.

Diana Woodhead
Trustee Helping Africa 100