February
Church Reports 2018
February 2018
Minchinhampton Nkokoto Link
The Link keeps in regular, usually weekly, contact with Stima, our local representative in Urambo, and just before Christmas he sent an appeal to the Link on behalf of Elia, the village Headteacher, and Milton, the village chairman. The primary school’s toilets which are simply pit latrines, had collapsed and could we finance the rebuilding of a new set of toilets? Without toilets the school would not be able to open on January 8th . The estimated cost for the Link to provide was 2,080,000 Tanzanian shillings (£693 at the exchange rate of 3,000Tshillings to one pound.) We readily agreed to fund this and also to fund the completion of the new toilets that I saw being built when I was in Nkokoto recently. The picture below shows you the state of the latrines that the children have to use at the school.
Following discussion of my report on my return from Nkokoto, the Link has also made decisions on which of the many possible projects in the village to support during the first part of 2018. These are :
· Equipment and materials for Nkokoto Primary School – 3,000,000TSh The Head and teachers will decide what they need most and buy it locally;
· Repair the Clinic Nurse’s house which had been badly damaged by termites and weather and make it habitable – 900,000TSh. Labour and materials all sourced locally;
· Give 400 mosquito nets and solar lights (called voltlights) to the poorest families in the village and to those who are disabled or have AIDS within the family;
· Finance improvements to the village meeting house, the Elders to decide what they require, within a capped budget of 900,000TSh;
· Buy footballs, netballs and equipment for recreational use by the Nkokoto children and teenagers , to equipment to be kept secure by the village elders;
· Support for the poorest and/or most struggling householders to enable them to buy school uniforms, shoes and school materials for their children;
· Continue with the microfinance scheme, (even though 6 of the 28 loans weren’t repaid and the money and or the person went missing!!) initially only providing loans to those who received a loan in the first phase of the scheme and have repaid it, but perhaps extending the loan scheme to others in the future. The picture below shows the ladies at Nkokoto market set by under the microfinance scheme and providing the families with a steady, if but small, regular income;
· Purchase enough bicycles so that every student living in Nkokoto can have one to get to and from secondary school. In the past, we only gave bikes to those students sponsored by the Link, now we have treated all secondary students from Nkokoto equally.)
· We are waiting to hear from the Headteacher of Vumilia Secondary School whether we should consider supporting the provision of school meals at the school.
The Link is also planning as soon as possible and as soon as finances are raised, to support the building of two teacher’s houses in Nkokoto. This will improve their living conditions but will also help to recruit teachers and encourage them to stay working at the primary school.
There is so much we can do to improve conditions in Nkokoto, there will never be a time when we say “….job done!!” This support for Nkokoto has only been possible because of the generosity of those of you who support the Link. Thank you to you all.
Monthly Report Menu:
Rod Harris, Chairman,
07775652379 / 01453 872317 / rodharriswoodchester@gmail.com