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December 2020x
Sad news – Bishop Anthony Banzi died on 20 Dec 2020 at Muhimbili, the national hospital. He was Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tanga.
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Village Africa partners with eBay for The Big Charity Sell. eBay is donating £5 for every £1 a customer donates to charity through Community Selling between 1-20 December. This will be capped at £500,000 in total and at £25,000 per charity. https://pages.ebay.co.uk/big-charity-sell-faqs/index.html
November 2020
Village Africa wishes good luck to the following students as they start university.
Jackline John is studying Accounting and Finance in the Public Sector at Mzumbe University. Jackline attended Amani Kindergarten, Yamba Primary School, Kongei Secondary School (Forms 1-4) and Machame Girls Secondary (Forms 5-6). A big thank you to her Simba Club sponsors in the USA and UK for their kind support.
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Village Africa partners with GivingTuesday.
Village Africa donors are encouraged to make the best of the national lockdown by preparing to help Village Africa on Giving Tuesday (1 Dec 2020).X
Supporters are asked to find creative ways to raise or save money to donate to Village Africa.
Giving Tuesday has been running in the US since 2012 and the UK since 2014. It now runs officially in over 70 countries worldwide and people from over 150 countries take part in the global giving campaign to support good causes.
Giving Tuesday is MASSIVE! It holds the world record for the most money raised online for charity in 24 hours.
To donate, please go to https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ and choose Village Africa.
October 2020
Village Africa is delighted to win a Lloyd’s Market Charity Award 2020.
Village Africa will receive an unrestricted donation of £15,000 (paid across two years). Thanks to a generous donation from Lloyd’s to Lloyd’s Charities Trust the Awards were made even more generous than usual to help charities meet funding challenges caused by the pandemic.
We are very proud to be recognised in this way and the donation will greatly help us to keep our life-saving health and important education work running in remote villages in Tanzania, East Africa. Many thanks to Lloyd’s Charities Trust for choosing us and for this large contribution.
Every year, the Lloyd’s Charities Trust donates to charities on behalf of the extraordinary individuals in the Lloyd’s insurance market who volunteer or fundraise in their spare time or have been helped by a charity themselves. In our case, we are grateful to Sarah Mayne for being our Chairman and for giving so much of her time and expertise to Village Africa.
Twitter:@LloydsofLondon
Linked In:@Lloyd’s
#LloydsResponsibleBusiness
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Congratulations to Valentina Edmundi on passing her Diploma in Agriculture and Livestock. After passing Form 6 (A levels), she went to Ilonga in Morogoro to study for two years for the Diploma. A big thank you to her Simba Club sponsor in the UK and to her family for supporting her.
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Hilda Richard is back home in Milingano after an emergency trip in Village Africa’s ambulance. She broke her arm after a fall and was rushed to Tumaini Hospital in Tanga. Many thanks to all the donors who made this urgent journey possible.
Congratulations to Alfred Vicent on completing his National Service. Many students, like Alfred, take up this opportunity after passing Form 6 (A levels). The 3 month placement (July-Sept 2020) was in Kibiti District in Coastal Region. Alfred gained new skills in security and production. Alfred is from Yamba and is in Village Africa’s Simba Club for his studies.
Local tailor Robati Hassan Mswaki measures Thomas Martin and other Simba Club primary school pupils for new school uniforms. Robati lives in Milingano. Thomas is in Yamba. Thank you to all the sponsors for their generosity. It helps the children and their families and creates local employment wherever possible.
September 2020
Congratulations to Agnes Marko, Hellena Philipo and Luciana Casmir from Yamba for passing their kindergarten teacher training. The 3-year course at Sahare Teachers’ College in Tanga led to a certificate and a diploma. Thank you to Agnes and Luciana’s sponsors in the UK and to Centennial Academy in Canada for sponsoring Hellena.
Baby boy born in Milingano Dispensary after an emergency trip from Yamba in Village Africa’s ambulance. He is called Derek Kelison and is pictured here with his mother Antonia Charles. A big thank to Village Africa donors who made this journey possible.
Yamba pupils enjoy an exchange of correspondence with students from Kingfisher Primary School in Yeovil, UK.
Village Africa’s head builder has a fractured arm and twisted joint. Peter Sebastian, known as Sheshe, was hit by a motorbike while walking in Milingano.
Yamba students write to their penfriends at Chapel Allerton Primary School in Leeds, UK.
August 2020
Congratulations to Father Baruti, Co-founder of Village Africa, who has been given the honorary title of ‘Monsignor’ by the Pope.
Thank you to Sean Campbell who walked/jogged 67 miles along the Cotswold Way in aid of Village Africa. What an amazing achievement! Sean was a Village Africa building volunteer so saw the need in the villages himself. Thank you to all who so generously sponsored him.
Congratulations to Paulo Edward from Yamba who has started Form 5 (A levels) at Coastal High School in Tanga. Paulo went to Yamba Primary School and passed Form 4 (O levels) at Mgwashi Secondary School. A big thank you to his Village Africa Simba Club sponsor in Ireland and his family for supporting him.
Lukas Msumari and Joseph Thomas home after emergency trips in Village Africa’s ambulance. They both suffered bushknife injuries at work (on separate days) and had to be carried to Village Africa’s garage at Kwemshi. Thank you to all donors who funded these journeys.
Congratulations to Detiva Joseph from Yamba who has passed Form 4 (O levels) and has started a 2-year VETA tailoring course in Dar es Salaam. VETA is the Vocational Education and Training Authority. A big thank you to her Village Africa Simba Club sponsor in Australia.
School stationery, toiletries and blankets given to primary school pupils in Simba Club, Village Africa’s child sponsorship scheme. It is cold in Yamba at this time of year.
July 2020
Sadly, Melania Bernard died. She was paralysed and had stomach pain for a few days before she passed away. Melania was a Village Africa housegirl in Milingano throughout the volunteer programme (2006-2012). She was very popular with volunteers and greatly loved by them and all at Village Africa.
Baby Paris named after Paris Ackrill who was a Village Africa teaching volunteer in Milingano. The baby is the daughter of Mathayo Yambazi who has worked for Village Africa as a watchman and a carpenter.
Village Africa ambulance service – Ester Dastan back home after an emergency trip from Yamba to Milingano Dispensary when she was unconscious. Thank you to all donors who made this trip possible.
June 2020
Sean Campbell to walk 30 hours along the Cotswold Way in the UK in aid of Village Africa. Please check out the details and sponsor him on this link.https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=SeanCampbell15&pageUrl=1
Coronavirus has reached Tanzania. Please see this link for the latest number of cases https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.
The first case in Tanzania was reported on 16 Mar 2020. The Tanzanian government banned mass gatherings and closed schools on 17 Mar, followed by colleges and universities on 18 Mar. Social distancing was recommended from 3 Apr. Dar es Salaam residents were ordered to wear masks from 20 Apr. The government has disseminated health education at national and local level and Covid-19 is being discussed widely on social media. The public is aware of the disease and its seriousness. Village Africa has put prevention measures in place to protect its staff. We plan to continue running our ambulance service.
University and Form 6 (A level) students returned to their studies on 1 June 2020. All other schools restarted on 29 June.
April 2020
It is now possible to pass Milingano bridge again in good weather. Devastation was caused by flooding that started in September. x
Caroline Pugh takes on the 2.6 Challenge in aid of Village Africa. She successfully cycled 26.2 miles / 42km during her excyclathon (exercise bike in the garden) during ‘lockdown’.
Village Africa is proud to be part of the 2.6 Challenge. Supporters are asked to join the nation, think of an activity based around the numbers 26 or 2.6 and complete it on or from 26 April. It is open to all ages and abilities. Please fund raise or donate at the following site. https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving (Please remember to choose Village Africa.)
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Recycle and help Village Africa as you Stay at Home. Ziffit is a free web service that instantly values your books, games, DVDs and CDs and lets you generate cash quickly which can be donated directly to your Virgin Money Giving fundraising page for Village Africa.Use the ‘lockdown’ extension to have a sort out and help others at the same time! https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/fundraisers/get-inspired
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March 2020
Six school toilets and three water tanks completed for Mibukwe Secondary School. They were constructed by Village Africa’s team of builders and carpenters and generously funded by Kids Helping Kids.x
Edith Anthon gave birth to a baby girl called Sara after an emergency trip from Yamba to Milingano Dispensary in Village Africa’s ambulance. Unfortunately, the bridge to the big hospital in Tanga was impassable due to heavy flooding. Fortunately, the outcome was good and both mother and child are doing well. The journey was kindly funded by a Lloyd’s Market Charity Award. x
Luciana Casmir and Agnes Marko do their kindergarten teaching practice at Yamba Primary School as part of the third year of their course. They chose to be in their home village. The subject of this lesson was ‘Health and the Environment – hygiene’ (hence the teaching aids). They are being sponsored on their course through Simba Club, Village Africa’s student sponsorship scheme. x
Sadly, James Donovan has died. He was the first Finance Director/Treasurer of Village Africa. He helped us to set up the project and worked hard to establish it and make it successful. We will always be grateful for that. James did this voluntary work, alongside his senior career and busy family and social life. He was a very popular man, well known for his sense of humour.Unfortunately, James suffered from cancer. Condolences from all of us at Village Africa to his wife Anna and their two young sons.https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/In-memory-of-James-Donovan?fbclid=IwAR2Y9VZOydPjv-kOSPuw1KX9mpBrFfpog9azUQHdcxkK0k9t0RUwyGvGqW8x
February 2020
Thank you to the Lauber family from Germany for sending gifts to Yamba.
January 2020
Baby Kathrin named after Kathrin Oberhuber, a student nurse from Austria who visited Yamba.
Joseph Titus from Yamba has passed his driving test. He did the VETA driving course in Tanga after passing Form 4 at secondary school. Many thanks to his Simba Club sponsor in the UK.x
