Hi everybody. I hope that you are all well! As our tired volunteers hang up their flip-flops, hammers and football boots and prepare to head back to the good old British weather, our second successful summer volunteer programme is winding down. So it is time for our final blog entry this summer, where we will take you through the highs and lows (but mainly highs!!) of the Upendo project over the last four months:
We have had a plethora of projects for volunteers to get stuck into this summer, ranging from construction (of water storage and filtration tanks, chicken coops and kitchens), to those aimed at working with the wider community (Upendo’s Community Sports Programme), and education based projects such as teaching of the kids and training of the staff. So I’m sure you will all be pleased to know that our volunteers have been kept very busy!
Unfortunately it has not been possible to implement one of the most eagerly anticipated of the projects planned for this summer; the construction of Upendo’s roof. Delays caused by Tanzanian red-tape and the very slow process of registration as an NGO over here have held up progress much more than was anticipated. Slowly but surely we are getting there, and we would like to thank Emmaus Mossley for their continued patience and support on the matter. Do watch this space for any developments.
Frustrating though the delays with the roof are, they have certainly not overshadowed the rest of the summer’s events:
A team of engineers from Manchester University have worked their magic in the creation of a functioning (if not entirely aesthetically pleasing) water filtration and storage tank, which will be filled from water collected by gutters surrounding Upendo’s soon-to-be constructed roof. The tank has a capacity of 13,000 litres, which will more than see the children’s home through the dry season (especially if this year’s exceptionally moist example is anything to go by!). Water will be taken from the storage tank when required and disinfected using the Solar Disinfection (SODIS) method endorsed by the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the Red Cross. [For more information see this site]. Thanks to the work of Sam, Marsh and Tom, a clean, reliable and cost-effective source of water has been ensured for Upendo. Thank-you very much engineers!
At the beginning of August, work began on Upendo’s brand new and state-of-the-art chicken coop! Chicken farming is a means of development endorsed by Oxfam for its ease of implementation and relatively small demand on space, manpower and know-how. Hopefully it should prove a success for Upendo also, providing the Upendo kids with a good supply of eggs to supplement their diets. Any extras (and hopefully there will be plenty) will be sold in Upendo’s duka, thus ensuring a steady and sustainable source of locally generated income!
On the 1st September ‘Upendo Chicken’s Home’ officially opened its doors to fifteen hens and two cockerels. An amusing afternoon was spent vaccinating all of our birds… Hopefully we will not have to wait too long for our first batch of eggs… (or chicks for that matter).The kid’s return to school marked the end of two summer projects for this year, namely summer-school and the community sports programme. Our thanks go out to Michael and Hannah for their hard work on the sports programme. Community sports took place for two hours on a Tuesday and Thursday evening and we were really impressed with the enthusiasm shown by both our volunteers and the Buswelu community. There was a fantastic turn-out to most of the events from both our Upendo children and other local kids. Thanks to the work of Michael and Hannah we have hopefully set the ball rolling on long-lasting community involvement with Upendo.
We must also thank the Buswelu campus of VETA (Tanzanian Vocational, Education and Training Authority) for their support and use of their playing field. Hopefully the enthusiasm of certain members of VETA will ensure the continuation of community sports in the absence of UK volunteers! We will keep you updated with any developments on this, but the prospect of having a potential source of willing local volunteers is more than encouraging and a mark of the success of the well organised sports programme.
Teaching took place throughout the children’s summer holidays, with particular attention being given to English, Maths and Science. All of the children made good progress over the summer, particularly in English. We never cease to be surprised by some of the gems of English language spoken by the kids, although the over-use of the word ‘for’ is perhaps something we will need to work on for next summer. In the meantime “I am for eat mango” will suffice!
Outside of the main volunteer programme, members of the Upendo team have been conducting research on the family situations of the kids in our care, and where appropriate and possible, conducting re-unions between our children and their remaining family. Visits have been made to three of the home villages of our kids and re-unions for 24 hours have taken place for Mussa and Masalu with their mother and siblings, and Emanueli and Edwardi with their Grandmother and siblings.
And in other news, we need to welcome Upendo’s newest member of staff! Aged twenty-two, Eric is far from being a kid, but in many ways he is the oldest of the Upendo orphans, having been taken in by Baba J more than five years ago. It is difficult to imagine Upendo without Eric; although his contributions until now have remained unofficial. Starting this month however, Eric will become a paid employee with responsibilities at Upendo for working towards our agricultural sustainability! He will be caring for the chickens, taking care of the crops and staffing the Upendo Duka in which the produce will be sold. Welcome on board Erici!
Eric will join Prisca and Mama Emma - the children’s carers, and David our construction manager, as a paid member of the Upendo team. Working, of course, alongside Baba J and Mama Mtoto out in Buswelu, together they form Upendo’s (permanent) in-the-field co-ordination team.
Without the hard-work and local knowledge of our African team members we would not be able to function out in Tanzania, and for the next few months they will continue where we have left off; building on the fantastic progress made over the summer!
From all of us on the Upendo team, we would like to thank all of volunteers; Sam, Marshenka, Tom, Jackie, Mel, Ruth, Emma, Kate, Hannah and Michael for their contribution and hard work over the last four months. I’m sure you are all fully aware that we could not have achieved what we have without you and we hope to see you back next year!
For now, however: THANK YOU!!