October 2016

Minchinhampton - Nkokoto Link - Update October 2016

The latest development in the Link’s work in Nkokoto is to set up the new micro-finance scheme for villagers in Nkokoto village. Stima, our local representative, is working with the Co-operative Officer from Urambo and the village chairman to agree a structure of agreeing which applicants from the village will be the first to receive a loan, to a maximum of 10,000 Tanzanian Shillings (£40) in order to set up a business or enterprise which will benefit the village and give opportunities to improve the lives of the applicant. For example, we are hoping that some of those Nkokoto students who we have sponsored through their two years at the Urambo Folk Development College will return home and set up a business using their skills learnt during their two years at the college, perhaps, designing and making school uniforms, or providing a mobile phone charging service with a solar panel purchased through the scheme, or clothes for selling in the market at Urambo or even perhaps a bicycle business maintaining and repairing the bicycles we have provided for the Students attending Vumilia Secondary School. We will keep you all informed of how this exciting scheme develops.

The Link is also intending to supply the village clinic with medical materials and clinical equipment that it so badly needs to supplement the limited facilities that it already has. This will be done by communicating with and through the local health services rather than sending it out from the UK. The Link continues to support Nkokoto School with books, P.E. equipment and teaching materials, and of course continues to sponsor Nkokoto young people at their secondary school, Vumilia School.

We are told that electricity has reached Nkokoto!! This doesn’t mean, of course, that every house in the village will now have electric lights, a fridge, a cooker and a tv!!