News

November 2018

Buy Christmas cards in aid of Village Africa. Choose a card from a wide range, choose a greeting, then choose Village Africa. https://charitycards.co.uk/

October 2018

QAD Europe Ltd kindly donates to Village Africa to help our life-saving health and important education work.
Heathcote Parish Church holds a bake sale. Thanks to Tina Freeman (past Village Africa volunteer) and all who baked, bought cakes and made donations.

Nicolaus Lameki born in hospital after an emergency trip in Village Africa’s ambulance. He is pictured here with his mother Riziki Joseph from Milingano.

Farming course – Simon Daniel (left) and Anthoni Paulo from Yamba attend a five-day programme at Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) in Morogoro, the neighbouring region. Thank you to Kids Helping Kids in the USA for suggesting this idea and for providing the funding.

World Cup sweepstake winnings buy footballs for Milingano and Yamba primary schools and a netball for Milingano. Thanks to the past Village Africa building volunteer who sent the money.

Italian student nurses Miriam, Pia and Victoria and Austrian carpenter Florian visit Yamba and give gifts to Yamba Primary School. Thanks to them and their family and friends for the presents which include chalk, blackboard dusters, wall clocks, a globe, calculators, pens, footballs, skipping ropes, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes and sweets.

Maiko, Miriam, Florian, Pia and Victoria (left to right)

Miriam, Pia and Victoria (left to right)

Caroline Mantle (recent visitor to Yamba) starts a birthday fundraiser for Village Africa.

September 2018

Adam, age 9, sells apples and pears from his garden to raise money for Yamba classrooms. He raised £12.50 which is enough for 215 bricks @ 5.8p per brick. 10 people have kindly matched his fundraising.

Village Africa finishes building 6 school toilets and 3 water tanks for Kijungumoto Primary School. They will be handed over to the school in November when the donor, Kids Helping Kids, makes a visit from the USA.
Health seminar given by Mama Ade (Village Africa’s Village Health Worker) at Makanya as part of a series of talks. Makanya is a remote village covered by Village Africa’s ambulance service.

Solar lamps and blankets for pupils in Simba Club (Village Africa’s student sponsorship scheme).

Twins – born after an emergency trip in Village Africa’s ambulance. Their mother, Julieta Joseph, lives in Milingano. The boy and the girl haven’t been named/baptized yet.

Tom Dickin visits Yamba for a few days with his former work colleague Caroline Mantle. This is Tom’s eighth visit and Caroline’s first.

Photo (left to right) – Yamba Primary School Head teacher Msafiri Ahadi, School Committee Mzee Bernard Kihiyo, Caroline Mantle, Village Executive Officer Omari Almisi Bendera, Tom Dickin, Teacher Fadhili Mpwili, Village Africa nurse and manager Hilda Shemzigwa, Village Africa Director Caroline Johnston (Makihiyo).

Congratulations to Roman Peter who has passed his second year at university with high marks. He is training to be a secondary school history teacher. The third and final year starts in November. Thank you to his Simba Club sponsor in the UK.

Village Africa’s ambulance – Rashidi Abrahaman was rushed to hospital after a very bad fall. He is now back home in Kwemsiga in Milingano.

Atlases for Yamba Primary School thanks to Lawrence View Primary and Nursery School in the UK. Thank you to everyone in Eastwood, Nottingham involved in the fundraising.

Village Africa’s ambulance service – Swahibu Salehe, a pupil from Kwembalazi Primary School, was rushed to hospital in Tanga when he broke his arm. Swahibu was referred to Muhimbili, the national hospital in Dar es Salaam, and was treated there. He is now better and back at school.

Yamba pupils write to their penfriends at Chapel Allerton Primary School in the UK.

Baby boy born after an emergency trip in Village Africa’s ambulance. He was delivered in Milingano Dispensary. His name is David. His mother is Margaret, the daughter of Martin Thomas, Village Africa’s watchman.

Congratulations to Diwani Peter Lenard and the Milingano Ward Health Committee for opening the Milingano Dispensary ward. This new facility has a labour room for delivering babies, a ward for mothers to rest after giving birth, toilets, a solar panel and a small private ward for government staff. The solar panel was funded by profit from patient fees. Village Africa was pleased to fund the installation of bulbs to light the rooms at night. This was paid for by fundraising by Mark Wilkes who trekked from Tanga to Yamba with Doug Brazenall.

Village Africa appeals for sponsors for students going to university or post-A level higher education. The pupils have smashed our expectations and are securing places at university and colleges training professionals. They need approximately £1,200 per year to go. Most courses are for 3 years. Can you generously contribute £25, £50 or £100 a month to make this happen please? If so, please email info@villageafrica.org.uk. University courses start in October each year. The scheme is open to students who went to Yamba Primary School, Milingano Primary School and Village Africa staff children. The students will be part of Village Africa’s existing Simba Club.

August 2018

Yamba urgently needs two new classrooms so Village Africa has started an appeal.. Fundraisers and donors are needed.Did you volunteer in the school? Have you visited it? Do you sponsor a child there? Have you supported the school in the past some other way (desks, books, stationery, sports equipment)?We are delighted and proud of the academic success of past pupils and now want to help their younger brothers and sisters.https://mydonate.bt.com/events/yambaclassroomsappeal

Tina Freeman has booked to return to Yamba in January after ten years. She has started fundraising for the charity. Tina was a teaching volunteer in Yamba Primary School and taught IT and knitting skills to adults. https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tinaforvillageafrica
Village Africa completes 6 school toilets and 3 water tanks for Kwebamba Primary School. The hand over ceremony will be in December when the donor, Kids Helping Kids, visits.
Student nurses from Austria visit and bring gifts for Yamba Primary School. They gave footballs, a netball, atlases, reams of paper, red pens for the teachers and school bags, school stationery and toiletries for the children. They also donated to Village Africa’s ambulance service. Seriously ill patients are driven 3 hours in a 4-wheel drive vehicle on rough terrain to Tumaini Health Centre or Bombo Regional Referral Hospital in Tanga. Many thanks to all in Austria who so kindly contributed.

Photo (left to right) David, Elisabeth, Nadine, Hannes, Corinna, Lena, Sophie, Ines and Julia

Photo (left to right) – Elisabeth, Julia, Corinna, David, Hannes, Lena, Nadine, Ines and Sophie

Work experience – Epimack Paulo is doing a masonry and bricklaying course at VETA (Vocational Education and Training Authority) in Tanga. He is working on Village Africa’s building sites for 3 months as part of his course. Many thanks to his Simba Club sponsor in the UK.

Miraji Yahaya from Kwembalazi needed an emergency trip as he ‘had no blood’ which is a symptom of malaria. He is now better and back home.

Healthy cassava, thanks to Peter Shemweta. In the past Peter taught Yamba villagers how to get rid of a cassava disease. They listened and now the plants are doing well. Peter’s visit was kindly funded by Kids Helping Kids and organised by Village Africa.

Village Africa’s ambulance service – Saidi Juma Rashidi is home and smiling again after an emergency trip to hospital. He had a road accident and needed to get to a big hospital urgently. He lives in Kwemsiga, Milingano.

July 2018

Village Africa thanks Meeting Needs for its generous grant which funded our ambulance service for six months (Jan-Jun 2018). In this period, there were 25 emergency trips to hospital and 31 non-emergency patients used the vehicle also. www.meetingneeds.org.uk

Congratulations to Adelina (Ade) John who has passed her post-Form 6 (A levels) Diploma in Agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture Training Institute Uyole in Mbeya. She even learnt to drive a tractor as part of the course. She is the daughter of John Samweli, Village Africa’s driver and Mama Ade, Village Africa’s nurse.

Baby Moe named after Moe Brazenall, Village Africa’s Simba Club (student sponsorship scheme) coordinator. The baby was born during Moe’s recent visit to Yamba. The baby needed an emergency trip to hospital in Village Africa’s ambulance after catching pneumonia. She is the daughter of Richard Anthony (our builder) and Esturide.

HobbyAid in the UK sends knitted clothes for the people of Yamba. Here is Alois Moses with his new sweater. It is unusually cold in the village this year. A big thank you to all those who did the knitting.

Kwembalazi Primary School receives a football and pump. Thank you to the Village Africa supporters who kindly sent them.

Photo: Teacher Amru Mngano and pupils.

Village Africa’s ambulance – Bakari Hamdani is home in Milingano after an emergency trip. He had had a nasty fall.

Congratulations to Francis Marko, Innocent Charles, Raymond Msumari, Valentina Edmund and Prosper Edmund on passing Form 6 (A levels). Francis, Innocent and Raymond were pupils at Yamba Primary School. Francis Marko passed at Shambalai High School in Lushoto. Thank you to his Simba Club sponsors in Germany.

Innocent passed at Tabora Boys. Thank you to his Simba Club sponsor in the UK.

Raymond passed at Mwanga Secondary School. He is the son of Teacher Richard Msumari (now retired) and Teacher Mama Sauda (formerly Yamba Primary School, now Kweulasi Primary School outside Milingano).

Valentina and Prosper are the children of Edmundi Senkunde (our Driver/Senior manager) and his wife Angela Edmundi (our Accounts Clerk).

Baby Caroline born after an emergency trip in Village Africa’s ambulance. She is named after Village Africa’ Director, Caroline Johnston. The baby lives in Milingano and is the daughter of Mary Lukas (in the picture) and Luka Yambazi.

Jaki John, Petro Dastani and Stanislaus Richard start Form 5 (A levels). Many thanks to their Simba Club sponsors.Jaki is studying at Machame Secondary School in Kilimanjaro Region. It is a government boarding school for girls. She will be studying science subjects.

Petro Dastani goes to Lindi in the south of Tanzania to start the course. He studied at Milingano Primary School.

Stanislaus Richard is studying at Soni Seminary in Lushoto. He is from Kitunda in Yamba. His sponsor is Centennial Academy in Canada.

Football for Milingano Primary School. Teacher Maliki Farouk (left) receives it from John Shekuamba, Village Africa’s Assistant Director. Thank you to the supporter who sent it

Saturday Club – Village Africa runs a club for girls. It teaches life skills (including good hygiene), as well as lots of fun activities like netball, singing, dancing and drawing. Thanks to the recent visitors who brought small gifts for them. Here are some of the girls with the bouncy balls which they love.

June 2018

Father’s Day (17 June) – Joseph Maiko is one of the many fathers helped by Village Africa’s ambulance service. He was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia. He has been discharged and is safely home with his family in Yamba.

Waterlooville Baptist Church – Caroline Johnston, Director, updates the congregation on Village Africa’s work.
The Cotswold Way – Sean Campbell is raising money for Village Africa by walking/running/crawling in August. Please sponsor him if you can. Sean was a building volunteer in Yamba. https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/seancampbell4
Village Africa’s ambulance service – Baby Nasoro born in hospital after an emergency trip. His mother Mwanaisha and father Saidi live in Milingano.

Stanslaus Robati safely home in Milingano after an emergency trip to hospital. He had had a nasty fall in the village.

Football for Yamba Primary School – Thank you to the Village Africa friend who sent it.

Teacher Athumani (left) receives the gift from John Shekuamba, Village Africa’s Assistant Director

May 2018

Village Africa asks supporters to give £3 a month (or what they can afford) to keep Village Africa’s ambulance service running. We need help to continue this life-saving work.
Village Africa supporters were asked to ‘opt in’ to mailings to comply with new data protection regulations in the UK. Please contact info@villageafrica.org.uk if you would like to do this.
The ‘long rains’ from February to May were particularly heavy this year. They greatly hampered our work and caused many extra costs. Fortunately, the Village Africa ambulance service kept running. Many thanks to all our donors and to our excellent drivers John Samweli and Edmundi Senkunde.
On the positive side, the beans and maize crops are doing well.

Foroforo Primary School receives 6 school toilets and 3 water tanks kindly funded by Kids Helping Kids and built by Village Africa. Celebrations included traditional dancing by the men.

Lunch Club held at Waterlooville Baptist Church raises money for the charity.
Village Africa ambulance – Baby girl born in hospital after an emergency trip. Here she is (Mariam Ali) with her mother Maajabu Hosseni from Milingano. A big thank to our donors who made this possible.

A football and netball equipment (2 posts, 2 sets of bibs and a netball) given to Mibukwe Secondary School. The school has cleared an area to make a court. Thanks go to Kath Culkin, past Village Africa volunteer.

Thursday Group at Waterlooville Baptist Church – Caroline Johnston gives a talk about Village Africa’s achievements.
Village Africa ambulance – Rashidi Mohamedi from Kwembalazi had an emergency trip as he was suffering from chest problems.

Village Africa joins Smile at Amazon.co.uk. Amazon donates 0.5% of the net purchase price (excluding VAT, returns and shipping fees) of eligible purchases to Village Africa when chosen by its customers. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1122410-0
Baby Jackson named after Jack Armstrong, a past Village Africa volunteer. Jack had visited the family with a fellow volunteer to help with farming. The baby is the son of John Kijazi who was the first Village Chairman when Yamba became a village.

Central Men’s Group in Dudley receives a presentation from Doug Brazenall following his visit to Yamba.
Yamba pupils write pen pal letters to children at Chapel Allerton Primary School in Leeds, UK.

Queen’s Inclosure Primary School – Caroline Johnston gives a school assembly about the charity’s plans.
‘Stay Local’ magazine, May 2018 edition carries a one-page feature about Waterlooville Baptist Church’s ‘Petrol Can Appeal’ to raise money for fuel for Village Africa’s ambulance.

April 2018

Eight new desks for Yamba Primary School from the Simba Club community fund. Village Africa has now made a total of 700 desks since the charity started in 2006.
The desks were taken outside for the photo shoot.

HobbyAid sends knitted clothes for children in Yamba. Here is Ginzela Daniel with her mother Mshaghulwa. Thank you to all who knitted them. It gets cold in the mountains from July to September.

Malaria – Village Africa’s ambulance service rushed Maiko Edmundi to hospital in Tanga for treatment. He has now recovered and is back home in the village.

March 2018

District Commissioner, Lushoto – January S Lugangika becomes the first DC ever to visit Yamba. He is pictured here with Village Africa’s Director, Caroline Johnston.

Emma Southey visits Village Africa in Tanzania. Emma is a Director of the charity. Previously she was our Volunteer Liaison Officer and before that one of our building volunteers. ‘Baby’ Emma presented her with a watermelon as a gift. Another baby was also named after her in March.

Doug and Moe Brazenall also visit Yamba. Moe is our Child Sponsorship Co-ordinator and there are currently 112 students in the scheme. Doug is a great fundraiser for Village Africa and has twice trekked from Tanga to Yamba (100km) to raise money for the charity. A baby was named after Doug during their visit.

February 2018

New uniforms for Simba Club primary school pupils. Many thanks to their sponsors.

January 2018

Village Africa thanks XL Catlin for its generous grant which funded our ambulance service for one year (2017). In this period, there were 36 emergency trips to hospital and 48 non-emergency patients used the vehicle also.

The Wickford Church of England School donates to Village Africa’s ambulance service. The school chose Village Africa as its Charity of the Year from Sept 2016. It held many fundraising activities including a big breakfast, a cake sale, a summer concert, a Christmas concert and one male teacher even waxed his legs! The cheque was presented to Caroline Johnston (Director) on her visit to the school. She met all classes and showed them photos of the ambulance and some patients it had helped in 2017.
Queen’s Inclosure Primary School raises money for Village Africa at its Christmas Concert. The money was given to Caroline Johnston at a school assembly when she updated the pupils and teachers.

December 2017

Village Africa buys land in Milingano to be used as a community football pitch.
Excellent exam results for primary school leavers (age 14). 18 out of 25 passed at Yamba Primary School, 35 out of 40 at Kweulasi Primary School and all 50 out of 50 at Milingano Primary School. Milingano was 20th out of 519 schools in the region. Congratulations to the pupils, teachers and head teachers. Thank you to all Village Africa supporters who have helped these youngsters in so many ways over the years. Sadly one Yamba pupil died before she took the exams but she is included in the numbers.

Photo – Juma Zuberi, Std VII leaver at Milingano Primary School. A special thank you to his Simba Club sponsor.

Yamba pupils write to their penpals at Chapel Allerton Primary School in the UK.
Lawrence View Primary and Nursery School sends Christmas cards to pupils in Yamba Primary School.

The Brazenall family donates money to Village Africa in lieu of Christmas presents. A big thank to all involved.

November 2017

Village Africa holds a Christmas auction on facebook. Thanks to all who bought lots.
Tansila James broke her arm after a fall in Yamba. She was rushed to hospital in the charity’s ambulance. Many thanks to all Village Africa donors who made this emergency trip possible financially. The trip is 100km each way on very rough roads.

50 more desks for Milingano Primary School. They were made by Village Africa carpenters Charles Bernard (left) and Emily Joseph (right). A big thank you to all who contributed to the Village Africa Desk Appeal.

Simba Club – Yeboyebo for primary school pupils in Village Africa’s student sponsorship scheme. Thank you to all the sponsors.

Joli Belle raises money for Village Africa’s ambulance service in lieu of birthday presents. She lives in Turkey. She previously trekked from Tanga to Yamba to support the charity.
Milingano Ward Football League – Village Africa’s Director Caroline Johnston is guest of honour at the final and presents the prizes.

Disabled – Village Africa distributes secondhand clothes, shoes and soap to people with a physical or mental disability in Yamba and the surrounding area. These were some of the items donated by Tanzanians to Kihime, a small project started by Father Baruti in Amani.

Photo – Alois Moses wearing his new shirt and trousers

Teacher training – Congratulations to Hellena Philipo from Milingano who passed Form 4 at Mibukwe Secondary School and is now doing a kindergarten teacher training course in Tanga. A big thank you to her Village Africa Simba Club sponsors in Canada and to her family for jointly supporting her.

Snake bite – John Hozza safely home after an emergency trip to hospital in Village Africa’s ambulance. He lives in Milingano. A big thank you to the charity’s supporters who made this very urgent trip possible.

October 2017

Celebrations at Kikumbi Primary School as Village Africa hands over 6 school toilets and 3 water tanks. The work was funded by Kids Helping Kids in the USA. The construction was done by Village Africa’s all Tanzanian building team and carpenters, assisted by villagers who brought sand, water, aggregate, bricks and timber.

Village Africa starts to build a garage in Yamba near Mzizma. The road is open so patients no longer have to walk to Kwemshi to reach the ambulance.
Austria – Student nurses Nathalie, Daniela, Johannes and Valerie (left to right) visit Yamba. They bring a football for the primary school and pencils for all the pupils.

Village Africa Ambulance Service – Shadrack Kingazi home after a trip to hospital. He needed dental treatment after he was accidentally kicked in the face when playing. He caught a lift with the ambulance when it was doing an emergency trip!

Milingano – 75 new desks for the primary school from the Village Africa Desk Appeal.

Village Africa ambulance service – Neema Salimu took an emergency trip due to complications in childbirth. Her new baby is a girl called Zawadi which means ‘gift’ in Kiswahili. The family live in Milingano

Teacher training – Congratulations to Maiko Paulo who passed Form 4 and is now doing a primary school teacher training course in Tanga. It is for two years. A big thank you to his Simba Club sponsors.

Baby Johannes – named after Johannes Mariani, a recent visitor to Yamba from Austria. Congratulations to the proud parents Clemencia (pictured here) and Richard Antoni. It is a custom in Yamba that newborn babies are sometimes named after visitors so that, as the child grows up, the visitor is remembered.

Congratulations to Epimack Francis from Yamba who has been selected by the government to join Form 5 (A levels). He has started at the government boarding school in Tanga. A big thank you to his Simba Club sponsor.

September 2017

Village Africa ambulance – Baby girl called Salome born after an emergency trip. Her mother is called Sophia John and her father is John Charles. They live in Yamba.

Keeping the river clean – Large bowls distributed to primary school pupils in Simba Club. Villagers need to wash clothes at the edge of the river and not in the river to prevent the spread of illnesses such as typhoid, cholera, worms, vomiting, diarrhoea, skin complaints and bad eyes.

Mobile phones – Thank you to Wickford C of E School in the UK for collecting phones for Village Africa. A special thank you to the parent who managed to get 10 new ones for us.
Hoes for farming – Distributed to all primary school children in Simba Club. Nearly all families in the remote villages are subsistence farming. In Yamba the main crop is beans and in Kwembalazi and Milingano it is maize.

Photo – (left to right) Zainati, Samimu, Zakia, Mwanarusi and Zikiri at Kwembalazi Primary School

Austrian student nurses Lisa, Judith and Julia visit Yamba. They bring reams of paper, paints and paintbrushes for Yamba Primary School, key fobs for Village Africa staff and tiny solar grasshopper toys for the children.

Photo (left to right, back row Lisa, Judith and Julia, front row John Samweli (driver/senior manager), Mzee Bernard (watchman), Edmundi Senkunde (driver/senior manager), Martin Thomas (watchman), John Shekuamba (Assistant Director) and Mzee Jango’fua (watchman).

New desks – 11 desks for Kwembalazi Primary School made by Village Africa’s carpenters, Emily Joseph and Charles Bernard. Many thanks to all who contributed to the Village Africa Desk Appeal.

August 2017

Village Africa ambulance service – Paulo Mbiu fully recovered from malaria after an emergency trip to hospital. He is Village Africa’s Assistant Head builder and has helped build many classrooms and school toilets.

Sad news – Helena Francis has died of kidney failure. She was a Std VII pupil at Yamba Primary School (age 16) and lived in Kwemshi. Helena was treated at the regional hospital (Bombo in Tanga) and the national hospital (Muhimbili in Dar es Salaam). Thank you to all Village Africa supporters and staff who helped Helena in so many ways since we started the charity in 2006. You made her life, albeit short, happier and more comfortable than it might have been otherwise. A special thank you to her Simba Club sponsors who supported her education for 7 years.

Village Africa ambulance service – Baby boy born in hospital after an emergency trip. His name is Jackson. His parents are Vicenti Kasmili (father) and Salama Vicenti (mother). They live in Milingano.

Celebrations at Kweulasi-Kibaoni on the completion of six toilets and three water tanks for its primary school. The project was kindly funded by Kids Helping and Kids and built by Village Africa. Construction took under six weeks. Thank you to the villagers for their great cooperation.

Village Africa ambulance service – Petro Dastani recovered after breaking his arm playing football in Yamba during the school holidays. Petro is in Simba Club and is studying at a school for talented students.

Sarah (left) and Felicitas (right) visit Village Africa in Yamba for a few days. They bring gifts of clothing, toys and school stationery for the children from their family and friends in Italy and Austria. They are student nurses.

Village Africa ambulance service – Baby girl born in hospital after an emergency trip. She is called Zawadi and her parents are Salimu Hasani (father) and Salama Costantino (mother) and live in Milingano.

July 2017

Avocado tree – Avuniwa fell out of the tree when picking fruit. He was rushed to hospital in Village Africa’s ambulance. Fortunately no broken bones! He lives in Yamba.

Cold weather in the mountains – Primary school children in Simba Club receive coloured sweaters to wear after school and at weekends. They also receive blue school sweaters once a year. The sweaters are made locally on knitting machines. It is particularly cold this year. Thank you to all the sponsors for their generosity.

Pneumonia – Edith Philipo has recovered from pneumonia after an emergency trip to hospital in Village Africa’s ambulance. She lives in Mweni.

Sixteen more desks for Kwembalazi Primary School from the Village Africa Desk Appeal. They were made by Village Africa carpenters Emily and Charles.

Baby Caroline named after Caroline Johnston, Village Africa’s Director in Tanzania. The baby is the daughter of Peter Shemweta who gives farming seminars on behalf of Village Africa.

Pneumonia – Yulia Anton home after an emergency trip in Village Africa’s ambulance. She lives in Kwemshi in Yamba and was suffering from pneumonia. It is very cold in the village this year. The villagers have no heating, except fires in the kitchens. A big thank you to all Village Africa supporters who sent money to make this journey possible.

Joanna Leigh’s family and friends collect loose change for Village Africa.

Village Africa

IT IS POSSIBLE!

Pages