Village Africa

January 2018

• 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.

June 2017

• New desks for Kwembalazi Primary School. Village Africa carpenters make 21 desks for the pupils. Many thanks to all who contributed to the Village Africa Desk Appeal. We are making the desks as timber becomes available.

• Celebrations as Village Africa hands over 6 school toilets and 3 water tanks to Kwemkomole Primary School. The work was kindly funded by Kids Helping Kids in the USA and built by Village Africa’s all-Tanzanian building team.

• Tom Dickin successfully completes the Victoria Falls Marathon in aid of Village Africa’s ambulance service. He then visits Yamba to catch up with his past pupils and friends. He is pictured here with Simba Club members. All of them are at secondary school, except one who is at university.

• Hobbyaid sends handmade toys and clothes to children in Yamba. These gifts were distributed to recently bereaved children, disabled youngsters and children who volunteered for the charity. A very big thank you to all who so lovingly made these presents and sent them from the UK. Special thanks to Jamie Conner, HobbyAid’s founder.

• Centennial Academy in Canada does a fundraising blitz for Simba Club, Village Africa’s student sponsorship scheme. It included a sponsored walk by the teenagers. Their teacher, Krystal Lapierre, was a Village Africa teaching volunteer at Mibukwe Secondary School in Milingano. A big thank you to all the fundraisers and donors.
• Malaria – Resma Abdala home after an emergency trip to hospital in Village Africa’s ambulance. She lives in Kwembalazi and was suffering from malaria. A big thank you to Village Africa supporters for the donations that made this 3 hour journey possible.

• Baby Joanna named after Joanna Leigh (nee Elgar) who was a Village Africa teaching volunteer in Yamba and Milingano in 2006/2007. The baby’s parents are John Bernard and Flora John who live in Yamba. Flora used to play at Mzizma (Village Africa’s accommodation) when she was a child and remembers Joanna from those days. She loved Joanna and has now chosen to name her baby after her.

• Queen’s Inclosure Primary School in Waterlooville learns more about the lifestyle of children in the Yamba and Milingano area. Caroline Johnston, our Project Leader, visited QI to update the pupils. QI pupils regularly fundraise for the charity.
• Village Africa’s ambulance service – Magret safely home after an emergency trip. She had broken her wrist in a fall. The terrain is very rocky in Yamba. A big thank you to all Village Africa supporters who made this trip possible financially.

• Baby Tom named after Tom Dickin who was a Village Africa teaching volunteer. The baby’s mother is Eva and she is Maiko Paulo’s sister.

• Hygiene – Village Africa nurse, Hilda Shemzigwa, gives a seminar in Makanya. Frequent handwashing helps to prevent cholera, typhoid, worms, dysentery and other sickness and diarrhoea. Makanya is 12kms from Yamba and is served by our ambulance service. Thank you to all who help finance our health work in remote villages.

May 2017

• Baby Joli named after Joli Belle who trekked from Tanga to Yamba in aid of Village Africa’s ambulance service. The baby is the daughter of Richard Martin, Village Africa’s Site Manager.

• Yamba Primary School pupils write to their penpals at Chapel Allerton Primary School in Leeds.

• Hygiene kits for all primary school pupils in Simba Club, Village Africa’s child sponsorship scheme.

• Wickford C of E School is raising money for Village Africa’s ambulance service. It has chosen Village Africa as its charity of the year. Fundraising events have included a big breakfast at school. One of the male teachers even had his legs waxed to raise money! More activities are planned. They have also collected mobile phones. Thank you to all involved.

April 2017

• Netball and football given to Yamba Primary School. These were funded by the surplus from Waterlooville Baptist Church’s Toy in a Bag Appeal. Here is a photo of the netball being presented.

• Baby Victoria named after Victoria Wilson, who was a Village Africa teaching volunteer in Yamba. The parents are Martin Thomas (Village Africa’s watchman at Mzizma our visitor accommodation) and his wife Philimina Martin.

• Village Africa ambulance service – Awazi Jabiri safely home after an urgent journey to hospital. He had a very nasty fall and had to have a brace put on his teeth. He lives in Kwemsiga just outside the centre of Milingano. A big thank you to all the donors who funded this emergency trip.

March 2017

• New classrooms – Village Africa completes two classrooms for Kwembalazi Primary School. A big thank you to the Zoe Carss Education Trust for the funding. The classrooms were received by the District Commissioner (DC) of Lushoto and put into immediate use.

• Baby Emily named after Emily Curtis, a past Village Africa teaching volunteer. The baby was born in hospital and travelled to Yamba in Village Africa’s vehicle when it was returning to the village. The parents are Maiko Paulo and Skola Maiko. Maiko worked in Village Africa’s office as a manager and Skola worked in Yamba Primary School teaching the kindergarten.

• New school bags for primary school pupils in Simba Club, Village Africa’s child sponsorship scheme. A big thank you to all the sponsors.

February 2017

• School stationery sets for pupils in Simba Club, Village Africa’s child sponsorship scheme. A big thank you to all the sponsors for helping the youngsters with their education.

January 2017

• Baby Philipo named after Phil Eastham.  Phil volunteered for Village Africa and visits on a regular basis.  The baby’s parents are Tomas Hosea and Lenada Tomas.

• St Wilfrid’s Men’s Group sent a donation as Village Africa was one of its chosen charities for 2016.  Thank you to all members for their generosity.
• Queen’s Inclosure Primary School receives an assembly from Caroline Johnston, Village Africa’s Director.  The presentation portrayed the life of a child in the village.