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Tanzania in Transition: the contribution of a small development NGO

On Thursday 18th April, at 5.15pm, TDT Chairman Julian Marcus will speak at this Britain Tanzania Society/SOAS seminar. The venue is School of Oriental and African Studies, Room 4421 Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG.

Julian has recently returned from Tanzania where he and his wife Ann visited 27 small projects supported by the Trust. He will introduce this seminar by reflecting on what he saw and learnt, and the lessons that can be drawn from this, both for Tanzania and for the sponsors of small trusts and support agencies that operate there.

Anyone is welcome to this seminar – so please spread the word to friends who might be interested. For more information contact Andrew Coulson.

Christine's Legacy

On our Chairman's and his wife's recent safari, several of the projects visited had been funded by Christine Lawrence, through her generous legacy to TDT. The Chairman presented plaques along the lines of the text below, presented to Ebeneza Group. They were received with much pleasure.

"Tanzania Development Trust inayo furaha ya kukisaidia Kikundi cha Ebeneza cha Shinyanga. Msaada huu umewezeshwa kutokana na mirathi ya Bi Christina Lawrence, aliyefariki mwaka 2011. Bi Christine Lawrence aliipenda sana Tanzania na watu wake. Kwa zaidi ya miaka mitano kuanzia 1965, alikiendesha Kituo Cha Mafunzo cha Mahiwa Young Farmer, kilichoko mkoa wa Mtwara. Alimheshimu sana Mwalimu Nyerere, ambaye aliwahi kukutana naye mara kadhaa. Moja ya mafanikio makubwa ya Bi Christina katika Kituo hicho yalikuwa ni kuanzisha mafunzo yaliyo wajumuisha wasichana, ambapo kabla ya hapo, mafunzo yote yalikuwa ni kwa wavulana tu. Bi Christina aliamini sana kuhusu haki sawa kwa wavulana na wasichana. Tunafurahi kutoa msaada huu kwa ajili ya kumbukumbu yake."

"The Tanzania Development Trust is glad to assist the Ebeneza Group of Shinyanga. This aid has been made possible by a legacy from Miss Christine Lawrence who died in 2011. Christine Lawrence loved Tanzania and its people. For more than five years from 1965, she worked as the Manager of the Mahiwa Young Farmer's Training Centre in Mtwara Region. She had a high regard for Mwalimu Nyerere whom she met several times. One of Christine's most remarkable achievements was to introduce courses at the centre for girls: the college had previously been exclusively for boys. Christine believed in equal opportunities for women and men. We are proud to honour her memory."

Facebook: 150 up!

Welcome (or should that be 'Howdy!'?) to Bradley Grimes, who recently became the 150th 'Like' on the TDT Facebook page.

According to his own Facebook profile, Bradley is a Texan, currently working at the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania in Monduli. Including pages that 'like' us, our Facebook family is now 163. We regularly post interesting pictures of projects, and other items of interest. Why not come and join us?

TDT Chairman on Safari

Our Chairman Julian Marcus and his wife Ann recently made a safari around Tanzania, visiting projects old and new.

Here Julian is at Kibanga School, to which TDT made a grant for solar panels late last year. By his visit one of the 8 solar panels was already installed, and he was invited to switch on the lights. He was then presented with a live cockerel to mark the Community’s thanks! Rather than bring it back with him, Julian asked the Village Chairman to hand it on to a poor family.

This school received a big thumbs-up, with strong support from its community and its local NGO. The TDT-funded solar power will make it still better. Julian also reported the school song to be the best he and Ann had ever heard - "sweet, gentle and musical".

Hongera Liz and Ron!

Congratulations to Liz and Ron Fennell, both Vice Presidents and past Chairs of Britain-Tanzania Society, and stalwarts of TDT. Both were awarded an MBE in the 2013 New Year's Honours List, 'for services to UK/Tanzania relations'.

When appointed Vice-President of BTS earlier in the year, Ron e-mailed colleagues: "I have have always felt it a great privilege to be among a deeply committed group who give so much of their time to the affairs of the Society and the welfare of the people of that great country.

I will continue to make every effort to serve the Society and the country.

Their many friends in both countries will testify to their commitment as senior officers of BTS and TDT, in providing hospitality, in their tireless support, in advising, speaking, writing and informing, and in so many other ways. These are truly deserved awards.

Ho ho ho! Rachel plays Secret Santa

Thank you to our secretary, Rachel Lindley, who has completed her goal of running 12 10k races in 2012.

Rachel's efforts have been on behalf of three charities. Here she is, festively attired and sporting a medal, at the finish of the Richmond Park 10k. She tells us she has raised a grand total of £708 for TDT, £378 for Raise the Roof Kenya and £370 for the Bromley-by-Bow Centre. These figures may increase with Gift Aid, and any further donations (see below).

Rachel's Just Giving fund raising page remains open at www.justgiving.com/10ksTDT2012. See also Rachel's pictures on Facebook.

Completion report: Basanza Dispensary Well

The need, as explained in the report:

The old water well was completely broken and unrepaired. The community members especially women used to walk long distance to collect water for the dispensary. Put into consideration that women have many family activities for example rearing children, cooking food, this added a burden to the women as they had to fetch water for their homes and yet also they were burdened by load of fetching water for dispensary. In Basanza village, there a natural water source within 8-10 kilometers. But during the dry season it dries completely. Water is contaminated with bacteria and parasites. Nurses at Basanza medical dispensary were complaining about the fact that women are giving birth without sterilized water and that every birth requires more than eight kilometers to collect water.

Thanks to generous support from the Anonymous Trust, a new well has now been completed at Basanza Dispensary. We have received an excellent project report, which explains the challenges facing the community, the challenges of construction, the positive outcomes of the new well, and the importance of community involvement to ensure the ongoing maintenance of the well. Read the report.

We have also two wonderful photo albums on our Facebook page:
Well in constructionCompletion album

£37k spending approved in November funding

At its November meeting, the TDT Committee committed funding for projects amounting to £37,102. A significant portion was education-related expenditure, either textbooks in schools, or solar power in schools. A donation was also approved to the Hassan Majaar Trust, set up in memory of Hassan Shariff Maajar to provide school desks and other furniture and learning equipment for schools in Tanzania. The extent of our commitments was greatly facilitated by a legacy from late BTS member Christine Lawrence, for which we are extremely grateful.

A list of the projects funded can be seen in the right-hand column.

The potential of eResources at St John's University

At St. John’s University of Tanzania, VSO Volunteer, Liesbeth Kanis together with her colleague, Martin Kusekwa, are training academic and library staff in the use of eResources and eReaders, the acquisition of which was made possible through the support of the TDT VSO small grant scheme.

In her excellent report (click to read the full report with images), Liesbeth comments: "The strategic acquisition of eResources are the ideal solution to providing Tanzanian academics access to relevant and up-to-date content, while at the same time equipping them with online skills to bridge the digital divide. Promoting indigenous research and publication is helping to showcase relevant and valuable research being carried out by Tanzanians in Tanzania."

One of several enthusiastic pieces of feedback cited in the report: "Well, this training has opened our minds, showing us that there is a great service we can offer with eResources" - W.A.Nkamba, Head of Technical Services, St John's University of Tanzania Library.

Order your 2012 Christmas cards now!

Our Christmas card for 2012 is a most beautiful photograph of an African 'Madonna and Child'. For the first time we are making our order form available on the web site. Not only do we have the Christmas card, but a range of beautiful notelets, suitable for any number of uses.

You can click on the image, or on the following link to download 2012 Christmas card order form.

Read the 2011/12 Annual Report

2011/12 was the most successful year in TDT's history. £146,165 was disbursed to more than 50 projects, including the first year of our new VSO 'small grants' scheme. Download TDT 2011/12 Annual Report

We should like to express gratitude to all who helped make this happen. Especially to the grant-giving trusts and other donors who contributed £61,000 towards specific projects, from a total income in the year of £108,000. Also the very generous individual donor who contributed £10,000.

Because it is our policy not to sit on excessive reserves, if the coming year is to be so successful, a lot of hard work is ahead of us. We have now had two successive record years for expenditure, which highlights the potential importance of legacy income: these years were boosted by a significant legacy received in 2010/11, and spent across two financial years. Have you considered leaving the wonderful gift of a legacy in your Will?

September funding round commits £30,000

At its September meeting, the TDT committee approved a further £30,000 of funding, with £4,000 towards the VSO small grants scheme, and the rest spread across seven projects.

Individual projects are listed alongside. This was the first round of funding in TDT's new financial year. 2011/12 was a record year for project expenditure, driven largely by funding from other trusts, and the remains of a legacy received the previous year. Our policy is not to sit on large reserves, so we started the new year with relatively low available funds. Our ability to make commitments in September was boosted significantly by the initial proceeds of a new legacy, and a sizeable individual (but anonymous) donation. As ever, we are very grateful to all who help us make grants.

TDT VSO small grant delivers extraordinary results... again

Liesbeth Kanis, a VSO Academic Publishing and Research Advisor at St John's University of Tanzania, applied to TDT for a grant of around £400 to develop skills and structures in academic publishing. She has now sent us an excellent album of photos, and says:

"On behalf of St. John’s University of Tanzania and its staff I wish to thank you again for your generous donation. The staff has been very enthusiastic about the use of eResources and eReaders. They really see it as a good opportunity to built their digital skills and are delighted to have access to up-to-date information. SJUT Library, as many such libraries in Tanzania, often receive book donations that are not attuned to the local needs and often are out-of-date. Big piles of books end up in the storage room and are hardly used. The use of eResources will help the library to get up-to-date and relevant content at a much cheaper price and as the number of eReaders acquired by the library will grow, it will provide simultaneous access to multiple readers at once, which isn’t possible with print publications. The Library of SJUT started using an Amazon wish list, which enables its friends and supporters to donate books that really fill an information need. So, you can see that the project has triggered a lot of good things to support academic research and publishing in Tanzania."

TDT made grants to 19 VSOs, totalling £7,358, during our financial year 2011-12. Click to see a map of where these grants were made.

For further inspiring stories from our TDT VSO small grants scheme, visit our VSO Projects page. There is also a dedicated fund raising link for the scheme.

Two excellent project reports

Water harvesting at Kitala Secondary School, Lushoto.

The school is high up on the edge of the Usumbara escarpment with no water available from ground sources, so this will provide much needed water for cooking, hand washing and irrigating the school's small shamba of maize and other vegetables. The delight of the headmistress and pupils indicates what a precious resource this is.  TDT's £1,000 was less than the sum applied for, and the project cost, and we congratulate the school on its efforts to ensure that the project could be achieved.  Click image (right) for report. A fuller album of 15 images can be seen on Facebook.

Mariculture in Makoba, Zanzibar.

This report tells the story of how a small grant from TDT has improved the secure livelihoods of the local community with their Fish Farming enterprise, supported by the work of VSO Volunteer Elgin M. Arriesgado. It is remarkable how a relatively small grant, spent on pumps, pipes and flashlights, has made such a significant difference. Click image (right) for report. Again, an album of 12 images can be seen on Facebook.

Anonymous Trust donation secures water supply at Basanza

TDT is very grateful to 'The Anonymous Trust', which has donated the funds required to provide a water supply to Basanza Dispensary in Kigoma.

Basanza dispensary serves a village population of 8645. TDT and a local NGO had previously provided solar lighting and power. However, the existing well had run dry, and water had to be collected from 5 Kms. by motorised bike trailer. The entire village community will also benefit from the new water supply.

We now have an excellent album of photos on Facebook, showing the construction of the well.

Charity Walk for Lake Victoria Disability Centre

In 2005, TDT made a substantial grant to the Lake Victoria Disability Centre in Musoma. On an ongoing basis, Dr Manjul Vasant raises funds privately for this centre, including an annual charity walk. This year's date is Friday 15th June, 2pm start at Putney Bridge, end Scout Hut Putney Common for BBQ and drinks! More details from mvasant@btinternet.com, or download brochure.

Grants made at TDT May committee meeting

The TDT committeee met in May and approved grants totalling just over £12,000. These are listed alongside.

Three of the grants were TDT's contribution towards funding of the 'Kamachumu cluster', three secondary schools in Kagera: Tunamkubuka, Izimbya and Kibirizi. Funds from a generous donation by Hilden Charitable Fund earlier in the year have already been put to use, purchasing books, equipment and teaching materials. These four pictures show the joy of two of the schools on receiving the books and equipment.

A larger album of pictures from the schools is available on our Facebook page.

Whilst this is clearly a good news story, the picture in secondary education generally is a bleaker one.  An examination of the issues, which form the backdrop to recent changes in TDT's education funding policy, and the decision to initiate a 3-year funding programme for the 'Kamachumu cluster', may be found in the latest edition of the BTS newsletter.

Congratulations, Trevor!

Congratulations to BTS Vice-President and TDT committee member Trevor Jaggar, who has completed his sponsored swim.

Trevor amassed 170 lengths in his three visits to Uxbridge pool, that is 4.25 kilometres, or 2.7 miles. This is considerably more than the 100 lengths he was hoping for, and is a remarkable achievement, given that Trevor is in his 87th year!

Trevor was raising money for two charities, Tanzania Development Trust and Malaria No More UK. His JustGiving page remains live - please use the link above.

Feedback from four TDT VSO small grants

The four photos above were sent to us by VSO volunteers as examples of the impact and fantastic value of small grants (less than £500 each) received from TDT. Clockwise from top left:

• Masoud Haji a computer operator, employed by Zanzibar farmers' group UWAMWIMA, enters village community bank data into the computer for analysis. TDT's grant paid for the laptop and a camera to assist the work of volunteer Heshbon Kimotho.
• VSO's Mariska presents a certificate of attendance to Hamida, following a leadership seminar. Volunteer Brian Touray looks on, after training with the help of the projector provided by TDT. He also printed the certificates using the computer and the printer provided.
• The local padre blesses new laundry facilities at the Cheshire Home in Dodoma, renovated with a grant applied for by volunteer Susan Michell.
• Sempera Salim, working with farmers in Karagwe, Kagera, applied to build a mural board, as a centre of information and data, also to start a small library of agricultural text books in Kiswahili. Here he is, distributing information.

'Before' and 'After' images from VSO Pam Pauling

PAM PAULING, who applied for funds to provide a hygenic concrete washing area at St Walburg’s Hospital in Lindi region, has reported back to us on the project's completion.

In Tanzania, personal care for hospital patients is provided by their families who prepare food and wash clothes and dishes. In Pam's 'before and after' pictures, first she is standing by the only tap available for the relatives, and then (below) we can see the difference that a new washing area, with six taps and a large concrete sink, has made. This will be used for washing and cleaning cooking pots and utensils. (Click the image to enlarge)

In 2011 there was a cholera outbreak because of poor hygiene, but we hope that thanks to Pam and her colleagues this should never happen again - all for little more than £400!

3 new fund raisings on JustGiving

We are delighted to announce new fund raising pages on JustGiving for three very different projects.

BTS Vice-President and TDT committee member Trevor Jaggar plans a sponsored swim.

Trevor writes on his JustGiving page: "I am a pensioner nearer to my 87th than my 86th birthday. I propose during the week of April 16th to do a sponsored swim, the proceeds of which will be divided between two Charities : The Tanzania Development Trust and Malaria No More UK. During the week concerned I will visit the Uxbridge Pool three times and see how many 25-metre lengths I can complete in total. The target will be a minimum of 60 lengths ( 1.5 km. ) but, miracle permitting, I may manage up to 100 lengths ( 2.5 km. ).

Agnieszka Lekawa, from Edinburgh, and Marcin Budek recently climbed Mounts Meru and Kilimanjaro. Here they are, raising the Polish flag at the summit (click image to enlarge).

Agnieszka e-mailed us: "I am very glad I could support the Trust. We have just came back from Tanzania and we could see how poor the country is, clearly a lot of work needs to be done. We have climbed Kilimanjaro successfully, it was a very demanding climb. Many people had to turn back before they had reached the summit, some of them were carried down by porters. On the other hand the views and surroundings were magnificent, that was a dream trip, that's for sure. Our dream has come true."

Kate and Rel plan to run 12 10k runs in 2012. They are raising fund for TDT and three other charities: Blue Cross, Smile Train and The Bromley-by-Bow Centre. Given the nature of their project, doubtless there will be updates as the year progresses!

TDT is very grateful to all who raise money on its behalf, and we should like to wish these fund raisers the very best with their projects.

Claire Dalton's Karagwe Kapers IV now available!

Polygamous tribes - a trip to an outclinic near the Uganda border - bouncing through potholes in an overstuffed Land Cruiser - the perils of lunatic motorcylists - multitasking in Dar. Read the latest fascinating instalment of Karagwe Kapers by VSO hospital administrator Claire Dalton.

Project spending in 2011/12 almost reaches last year's record

TDT's committee met on 31st January and approved almost £19,000 of grants. 7 months through the financial year, this brings TDT's project spending in 2011/12 to within £1,000 of last year's record. This remarkable result has been achieved in a period of tightening budgets. TDT's ability to fund projects has been assisted considerably by the generosity of like-minded charities, and the committee would would like to thank them, as well as acknowledging the continuing generosity of TDT's core donors, and a few significant donations in the current year.

The individual grants are listed in the right-hand column. The heavy emphasis on education in this round of funding is somewhat coincidental, but the targetting of vocational and secondary education is in accordance with our revised guidelines. A top-up grant was allocated to the VSO small grants scheme, which has enabled seven further grants, again with a significant educational content, but also supporting a cattle project and a fish farming business.

Feedback from three TDT VSO small grant recipients

From Mike Goodman: "Many thanks for the grant of £451 last year to assist me with my VSO project at Kagondo Hospital. My objective was to improve the standards of nursing here but my findings were that a shortage of essential resources like scissors, fob watches, torches and tourniquets were actually more critical needs. Diabetes is on the increase now in TZ and there was a shortage of blood glucose monitors. Some visitors from UK in November brought out some good quality nursing supplies purchased with your grant. With some money remaining we were able to concentrate on improving the environment of the childrens ward at the hospital. We now have a cheerful play area for the children who are recovering with some toys, puzzles, blackboards and colouring materials. Fortunately we had some very artistic and willing Dutch Medical students on placement here at just the right time.....I hope you like their art work!" (Click on the images to expand) 

WENDY PAINTING applied for a grant for textbooks and subject-related resources for the SMILE project in Zanzibar. With the local government unable to provide schools with even the most basic science equipment, her project to improve the quality of teaching and learning to around 6,500 students in Science, Maths and English was in danger of failure.

Wendy now reports: "Thanks to the grant provided by TDT, I was able to provide 5 schools with all of the materials needed to conduct each experiment/demonstration in the syllabus up to Standard 7. In addition, I was able to create “kits” containing more specialized equipment (such as galvanometers, voltammeters, resistance boxes, circuit components, dissection tools, magnets, compasses, mirrors, lenses, prisms etc.), to be shared amongst the schools for use in Forms 1 and 2.

In all, this means that every student has a chance to discover scientific concepts in a hands-on, participatory way. As research will tell you, this vastly improves student comprehension and retention, not to mention that it makes learning science a whole lot more fun!

The gratitude on the faces of teachers and students when the equipment was delivered speaks to the impact that even modest donations can make. Thank you to all the donors on behalf of all of us teaching here in Zanzibar!"

Fredrik Knoeff has followed up the image he sent in late-November of desks purchased for NGO Sharing Worlds, with news that he and Anthony Kanyamu had used TDT's grant to encourage donors in the Netherlands to fund chairs and a projector, making the conference centre an even more attractive proposition for renting. We are delighted that they were able to make TDT's grant work all the harder - well done Fredrik and Anthony! (Full details on VSO Projects page.)

If you would like to support our VSO Small Grants Scheme, we now have a dedicated JustGiving account for this very cost-effective scheme.  It can be found at http://www.justgiving.com/TDTVSOsmallgrants

Speech by British High Commissioner, Diane Corner, at BTS Tanzania Chapter AGM

In a speech reflecting on the close ties between Britain and Tanzania, the High Commissioner made generous reference to the roles of BTS and TDT:

"The thing I like about the Britain Tanzania Society is that you’re all volunteers. None of you has to be here – you do it out of a sense of commitment, affection and often a sense of dedication to a good cause – you just have to look at the work of the Tanzania Development Trust to understand that.

But I think that there is another essential ingredient which keeps the BTS not just alive, but a thriving organisation... And that is that we are genuinely interested in each other and in what is happening in each other’s countries, in the UK and in Tanzania...

As Tanzania approaches its 50th birthday, I think you would agree with me that the relationship with between our two countries is in very good health. And I see the Britain Tanzania Society as at the heart of that relationship. I see a Society which is going from strength to strength. I would like to congratulate the members of the committee here in Tanzania and all the members who are with us tonight for the tremendous contribution you make to building up ties of friendship and prosperity between our two nations."

And in return, we would like to thank the High Commissioner for her support. To read the full speech, please visit the British High Commission web site

TDT awards 9 more grants, and announces changes to Funding Guidelines

The TDT Committee met in November and made 9 further grants, totalling £15,645. Two of these projects were funded by third party donors - a family trust, Seaford Rotary and a couple of generous individuals. We are very grateful to such donors, who give an invaluable extra dimension to our ability to fund projects, particularly in uncertain economic times.

Brief details of the grants are in the right-hand column. Four grants were to help primary schools with a chronic problem of lack of desks (the picture shows a typical class in Bigabiro Primary School, with many children on the floor). TDT Chairman Julian Marcus will be writing on all the grants in the forthcoming BTS newsletter, and more details can also be found on our Projects page.

In the present economic climate, and with growing calls on funds, TDT's committee also announced changes to its Funding Guidelines (click to view). For the next two years, no applications will be considered for housing. Notwithstanding recent grants for desks in primary schools, funding will now only be considered for Secondary Schools and Vocational Education, as we feel that this is where there is currently the greatest need. Enhanced priority will be given to projects in Tanzania’s poorest regions.

TDT signs up to UK car donation scheme Giveacar

There's a new way you can help our work: you can turn your old car into cash for TDT! We are now signed up to Giveacar, the UK's first car donation scheme. Proceeds of scrapped or sold cars go to charities nominated by the car owner. You call them, they collect, the car is scrapped or sold, and 75% of the proceeds are sent to TDT. Also vans, lorries, motor cycles. So, if you have a vehicle ready for car heaven...

TDT Annual Report now available online

TDT's annual report, to June 30th 2011, is now available online. It charts a year of which BTS and TDT members can be justly proud: almost £107,000 was distributed to 25 projects, with a further £50,000 transmitted for private donors. Each project is described in the report, accompanied by photos. Click the image to open (PDF, 3MB).

TDT would like to thank all its donors; as ever, donations by BTS members formed a solid core, with additional funding from a number of partner trusts. But massive extra impetus was given to the year's activity by a substantial legacy. Information on legacy giving, and other forms of donation, can be found on our Donate page.

The AGM of the Britain-Tanzania Society and TDT will be held at the Central Hall Westminster on Saturday 12th November, at 2.00pm

Read VSO Claire Dalton's 'Karagwe Kapers'!

In conjunction with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), TDT has established a link with volunteer Claire Dalton, who started her assignment in July, as a Hospital Management Systems Advisor at Nyakahanga District Hospital, Karagwe District.

Claire's observations, starting with induction training, then establishing her new home surroundings, and now working on her assignment, are now available to read in a series of PDFs entitled 'Karagwe Kapers'. These are a fascinating insight into the life of a VSO in Tanzania, as well as into the life of a busy district hospital. The links below open the PDF's; there is also a link to Claire's Flickr photo sharing account.

Karagwe Kapers III: Working Life as a Hospital Management Information Systems Advisor
Karagwe Kapers II: Claire's 'Activities of Daily Living'
Karagwe Kapers I: VSO Induction and Training
Link to Claire's photos

September round of grants made by TDT Committee

In September, the TDT Committee and approved funding for 10 projects, amounting to almost £31,000. Listed in the right-hand column, these include investments in schools, essential repairs to an old people's home, the setting up of a new sustainable poultry project, provision of a diesel maize mill, and items of IT hardware to assist administration of existing projects and businesses. In line with our policy, they are also well dispersed across the country.

Thanks are due to people and organisations that have partnered us in some of these schemes, including Hilden Charitable Fund, St Edmund's Church, Riddlesdown, and two generous BTS members, one of whom has funded the entire repairs programme at Omurushenye Primary School, Kagera.

The Committee also approved an extension to the VSO Small Grants scheme.  Please see above for grants made subsequently.

"Visiting rural Tanzania dictated the career path I am embarking upon..."

Fourth-year Sheffield medical student AMY BAIGENT has recently returned from an elective placement at Nzega District Hospital, Tabora, following an earlier visit there when a pupil at Cranbook School in Kent. She has provided TDT with a remarkable account of her time there, including some wonderful images. Amy makes some very clear observations on the challenges of healthcare in Tanzania. She also explains how, with a small grant from TDT, she was able to provide supplies and equipment to make improvements, especially in ante- and post-natal care in the satellite clinic at Mwanhala (pictured). Read More...

Remember our promise:
EVERY POUND DONATED TO TDT IS SPENT ON PROJECTS.

CLICK HERE for our funding guidelines

Habari Njema! Good News!

The TDT Committee met in November, and made commitments to fund the following projects:

• The Hassan Majaar Trust.
• Development of fish farming in the village of Kasheshe, Kagera.
• Text books for Kibeta community secondary School on the outskirts of Bukoba.
• Solar power installation at two schools in the Muleba district of Kagera.
• Solar power for a dispensary and a clinic/health centre in two different village wards on lake Tanganyika.
• Dairy and chicken farming, in support of orphans, HIV/AIDs sufferers and widows in Shinyanga.
• A laptop for Christian Youth Network in Tabora, to assist with field work on a project already funded by TDT.
• Text books for two schools in Tabora Urban.
• A further commitment to the Ikimba Secondary School group, a three-year programme, supported by major funding from Hilden Charitable Fund.

The TDT Committee met in September, and made commitments to fund the following:

• A dairy cattle project for Albino families in Tabora.
• Installation of solar panels to provide lighting to 3 classrooms at Mkole Primary School, Rukwa.
• Purchase of 250 desks for Helembe Secondary School, Kigoma.
• Transport to collect beds, fencing and water tanks granted by other parties, for Kahama Education Centre, Shinyanga
• A further payment to the excellent TDT VSO small grants scheme. £4,000 will fund at least 8 new volunteer-led projects.

The TDT Committee met in May, and made grants to fund the following:

• Additional funding for 3 secondary schools in the 'Kamachumu cluster' in Kagera (see left).
• Completion of new toilets at Lake Tanganyika Primary School, Kigoma.
• A goat breeding and sewing programme in Mara, empowering marginalised women through income generation and training.
• A community-based scheme to start egg production in Kagera.
• Installation of solar panels at Isunta primary school, Rukwa
• Toilets at Kizumbi Primary School, Shinyanga - the first since the school was established in 1972 (TDT's grant completed the funding, most of which had been raised locally).
• A scanner and laminator at Kiembesamaki Teachers' Centre, Zanzibar
• One additional application under the TDT VSO Small Grants scheme, for money maker irrigation pumps and knapsack sprayers for use in Kamachumu, Kagera.

The following grants were made by TDT in January:

• A dormitory, with solar lighting, for 120 girls at Zakia Meghig Secondary School, Kagera. We are grateful to Sylvia Adams Trust, whose matching contribution made this project possible.
• Rehabilitation of a classroom to facilitate vocational training at Ilagala village, 60km south of Kigoma. Read More...
• Establishment of a cookery and catering course at KIVIDEA. This, and the previous grant, are part of a vocational education cluster in Kigoma, to which Hilden Charitable Fund has made an essential contribution.
• Acquisition of essential equipment for Zanzibar South Teachers' Centre at Kiembesamaki, which serves over 2,400 teachers, responsible for more than 62,000 pupils.
• Completion of funding for Langiro Secondary School, Songea, providing textbooks and solar power to the school.
• A top-up grant of almost £2000 to the VSO small grants scheme. The 7 projects that this has enabled are listed on the VSO Projects page.

The following grants were made by TDT in November 2011:

• Four grants for desks at primary schools in Kigoma: Bigabiro, Kabingo, Kambarage and Luiche. Kabingo was kindly funded by a private family trust.
• An outdoor play centre at Kividea Vocational Training Centre in Kigoma. This was funded by Seaford Rotary Club, including £500 from an anonymous member. A BTS member also provided money for indoor play materials.
• Sewing machines at Namanditi Deaf School, Songea, to help give youngsters a vocational training.
• A top-up grant to complete a computer training centre, for which TDT had made an earlier grant, at Kahama vocational training project in Shinyanga.
• £2,500 to Christian Youth Network, to help set a group of more than 80 carers of orphans in goat-rearing and chicken-keeping.
• £1,000 to help establish rainwater capture in a school in the Usambaras Mountains of Tanga Region.

The following grants were made by TDT in September 2011:

• Toilets and a water tank, using rain water harvesting, at Sambala Primary School, Kigoma
• Restoration of the dining hall, provision of a wood-burning stove and repair of drains at Duga Old People's Home, Tanga
• Teachers' housing at Ifwagi Secondary School, Iringa.
• A diesel maize and rice mill (no electricity available) at Hurumia Watoto Group, Mwanza
• Solar power installation at Langiro Secondary School, Ruvuma
• A project to set up a group of 30 people in chicken rearing, in Mkata Mashariki, Handeni district
• Repair of a 40-year-old building in a state of near-collapse at Omurushenye Primary School, Kagera (kindly funded by a BTS member).
• IT equipment for UWAWIMA Farmers, Zanzibar, working with VSO, and for Tumaini Women's Group, Tanga
• An extension of the VSO small grants scheme, with a further 5 grants approved

Habari Njema Tena! More Good News!

John Morshead writes from the Radiography School at Muhimbili:

"...all of the equipment which you provided for our Radiography School at Muhimbili has arrived safely and in good condition. I am writing on behalf of all of the teachers in the school, and in particular the Acting Head of school Mr Lalison Ndolele, to express our appreciation...

Normally we really struggle for a very long time to obtain even a single item of equipment, and there is never enough to meet the need. However, we have now been able to give a laptop to each of our full time teachers, most of whom have not had the privilege of possessing one before. Moreover, the school library is generously equipped with all of the desk top computers... Students will also have access to the computers for private study, research and projects.

I want to thank most sincerely, both the Britain-Tanzania Society, as well as Computers for Africa for the great work that you do."