THE ‘KAKAMEGA PROJECT’ (RUSH) – INTERNATIONAL NEEDS, KENYA & BURKINA FASO

We have been pleased with the level of feedback we have been receiving since a large charity, International Needs agreed to take over the RUSH project from the two Reigate school teachers who originally founded it but who were starting their retirement.  We added an additional student to the two we were already supporting at the RUSH Academy in Kenya and agreed to send £500 to assist another of their school projects in Burkino Faso which was taking on extra pupils due to unrest in other parts of the country. International Needs periodically organise Zoom sessions so we can talk directly with some of the people working with the charity in Africa.

SEURR SANG’HIDA TRUST – ENTASOPIA PRIMARY SCHOOL, NKURUMAN, KENYA

Our support of this village community mainly focuses on disabled children and adults and continues to impress us when we see it on zoom presentations by Gill Pulei. There has been a kitchen upgrade and a new classroom which we helped to finish and equip.  We are hoping that it will shortly be recognised as a special unit for funding by the government.

 BREAD, BEREGA, TANZANIA

The Epilepsy Clinic we fund at Berega Hospital had expanded its outreach programme to include another nearby rural medical centre but unfortunately it suffered a setback when the clinician decided to leave to run his own pharmacy business. The hospital doctors have identified a potential replacement who already has a higher level of general medical skills and knowledge than the predecessor but not so much specialised knowledge with respect to epilepsy.  There has been better news about government support with the possibility that 5 x staff at the hospital will be taken onto the government payroll.  We are in discussion with our UK contact for BREAD Dr David Curnock and via email with the Tanzanian doctor who was overseeing the project and hope that the new clinician will be confirmed shortly.

FISH EAGLE SCHOOL, TANZANIA

The situation has improved somewhat since the worst of the pandemic has passed over.  Our contact with the Fish Eagle School has also been assisting some other nearby villagers with building extra rooms for their school with part-funding from the EU. One room will serve as a library for which we sent a funding contribution. Libraries are an important feature for African schools and one will also be added to Fish Eagle.

MTANDIKA TRADE SCHOOL, TANZANIA

There have been requests this year for extra financial help for some of our six sponsored students in the vocational trade college.  They needed equipment for their engineering courses and more recently payment of medical fees for one who was involved as a passenger in a serious road accident.  With a decreasing rate of exchange we have also had to increase our payments by 10%, but it is well worth it as graduates of the college are regarded highly and so get good jobs. 

CALCUTTA CATHEDRAL RELIEF SERVICE, INDIA

The project continues to work with the very poorest communities in one of India’s largest cities.  The project is developing a film to illustrate their work and we are hoping to show it at an Indian themed evening event early in the New Year.

NEPALESE SCHOOL TEACHERS, KERUNG, NEPAL (in the foothills of Mt Everest)

A July e-mail from Rudra intimated that, as there is less COVID now, the children have been attending school regularly and are doing well. The extra money we sent to support poorer villagers without regular work to buy rice, oil etc. to feed their families was very much appreciated.  There is an improving tourism situation in the Everest region so villagers are hopeful for more employment.  The government is very poor financially and costs of everything are rising thus the extra teacher will not be paid by them. Our continuing salary support for teachers will remain essential for the children’s education.   Whilst a zoom call would be fantastic for us, the internet is not reliable and is unlikely to be a priority for them at times of food shortages.

EMMANUEL SCHOOL, THAI BORDER WITH MYANMAR (BURMA)

The latest report from this project told us that as a result of increased repression by Government forces in Myanmar another wave of Christian refugees has joined the camp which is just over the border in Thailand.  Altogether 37 additional children have joined Emmanuel School.  We agreed with Revd. Tim Astin of the Good Shepherd that we can divert some funds that we jointly raised with them for another project to Emmanuel School.  We can now send enough extra money this autumn so that the new children can also enjoy the lunches that we have been funding for the existing pupils over the last several years.  

AMBONDROMIFEHY WATER & NURSERY SCHOOL PROJECT, MADAGASCAR

TWOAT has supported this project since 2010, initially funding a fresh water well for the mining village of Ambondromifehy. With the well in operation, the local Mothers’ Union was able to start a Nursery School so working parents did not have to take young children to the mining area. The Nursery School was so successful that parents asked for it to continue into primary years and it now extends to primary year 4. 35 children in Ambondromifehy are now benefitting from the schooling and some of the children who started in 2011 have now reached senior school, one of them being rated 2 years ahead of her age group!

TWOAT gets frequent feedback on the school’s achievements and difficulties. After COVID and severe storms in 2020-21, they are now facing the world-wide energy crisis, which has doubled the cost of fuel and food for them this year. In a ‘normal’ year the school costs about £5,700 pa to run, a rate of just £160/child. They can usually raise one-third from parents, with TWOAT supporting two-thirds (in 2021-22 we sent £3,800). But much higher living costs now means they fear that many more parents will not be able to afford school and lunch fees.  Thus TWOAT may have to increase the support it offers to allow the school to continue providing the education, food and care that the parents and children so value.

OTHER PROJECTS

The funds we sent to Ludhiana Hospital in India allowed poorer patients with COVID to be treated by the hospital. We previously helped fund eye camps at St Luke’s Hospital in India but our contacts there have now retired to live in the UK. Summer Camps we supported in Albania have also been discontinued for the time being.  We had difficulty contacting the Let It Grow project which has run small water pipelines to a village a few miles from Lake Malawi but we understand it is still active.  We continue to support Rainbow Africa and Papua Partners and to send refurbished old hand tools to Africa via “Tools for Self-reliance”.

 

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