We Meet More Grandparents

All work now as we come to the end of our few weeks here. We spend most of the weekend working on proposals, financial reports and planning all that has to be finished in the final week.

We have a number of highlights this week, not least when we meet Maria, one of the grandparents we met last year. She was overjoyed to see us and so proud to show us her new kid goat. She told us that having the goat has made a big difference to her life with over 1.5 litres of milk a day to help feed her 2 orphaned grandchildren. We asked if she will sell the kid, but she tells us "No, I want to keep at least 3 goats to improve my income". It is clear that her standing in the community has risen and the change in her is astounding.

Other grandparents visited in this last week are Magdelene and Eliakesia who have both received a goat and are eagerly awaiting the birth of new "kids".

 

News from TEKUA

Ally and Chris at TEKUA had arranged for the students who have received or who are currently undertaking vocational skills training to meet with us at the teenage centre. Thirteen of the twenty who are benefitting from our scholarships attended, and we were heartened to hear the stories of how they have taken their chances and are now standing on their own 2 feet.

One is Hemedi, who we sponsored at Mt Meru Tour Guide School. He was unable to find work in the safari business due the recession. However, the course gave him the confidence to find a job as a storekeeper and he was so proud to show us his driving licence, obtained through saving a little of his wage for driving lessons. He is well on the way now and we are sure he will make it as a safari guide.

News also came in that day, that Athumani and Moses at present on field work having completed a welding course have been offered permanent jobs there.

A reminder, that all these students could not afford secondary education but with just 12 months attendance at TEKUA and a relatively low training cost, have gained a new status in life not least because they have taken the chance that your donations have given them.

We say our goodbye’s and hope we haven’t put too much pressure on Chris and Ally when we say we will be back in November to see the development of TEKUA 2, the new teenage centre that we are funding.

 

Gerald Takes Up His Post

We meet up with Gerald, who has now graduated from Kampala University following sponsorship through Helping Africa 100. As a result of his good degree pass, he has been much sought after and is taking up a post at the prestigious Karatu Secondary School. We wish him much success and think about the thousands of Tanzanian children that will benefit in the future. He cannot express enough just how grateful he is to all those who have supported and mentored him

 

Younger Children at LWCC

We also go to see the younger children at LWCC, the nursery class and years 1 & 2. It brings back memories of us teaching here in the early days, my how they have moved on. We say our goodbye’s and reminisce with Dora & Anza, the founders of LWCC, over a meal at night.

 

Comic Relief Grant Application

Garrie's has had to call on his old consultancy knowledge tackle the complicated grant application to Comic Relief to extend the “Helping 100 Grandparents” trial project. If the proposal application wasn’t daunting enough, the challenge of completing the application on line between intermittent and slow internet access has been frustration beyond belief. Without the help of Emmanuel and Frank at WAMATA, to obtain the information necessary to complete the application would not have been possible.

 

Back to Dymphna's

Finally, we re-visit Mary and the children at Dymphna's. We were so touched when we came here a couple of weeks ago that we have decided to give her a special donation to help with these very disadvantaged children. Your donations are going to support children like, Michael and Paulo, 2 orphaned brothers with extreme learning disabilities. Their mother died after giving birth to their sister a year ago and now all 3 are in the care of their grandmother, living in squalor. Each day they go to Dymphna’s which is giving them some education, bringing them a little joy into their lives and mixing with other children, something which many of them are being denied.

 

Final Thoughts

So we come to the last day of farewells and promise that we will be back in November.

We have allocated over £30,000 and we still marvel at how far this goes and how many lives it changes. We hope you've enjoyed reading our diaries and we look forward to seeing you in spring/summer when we can show you exactly where your money has been spent.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH