Welcome to our September e-news We continue apace with the collection and refurbishment of tools. We are incredibly grateful for so people donating their unwanted usable tools to us. We have had to add extra storage capacity to our main centre in Ipswich to store them. A great problem to have! The containers continue to be prepared and shipped to Africa. You will see below the highlights of what we have just sent to Uganda. We are now busy preparing the next container to Zambia. So please be encouraged by the story of lives changed through your support. Mike Griffin Chief Executive
Climate change always had the most damaging affects on the most vulnerable ultra-poor communities
News from Africa:Responding to climate change in Northern Uganda We hear so much about the effects of climate change on our world and the ever increasing extreme weather events being experienced. Africa has suffered from such events as well as the long term change in climate patterns. We hear from our partners and friends that the rains no longer consistently fall and as a result the crops fail. That the rains come during the dry season and as a result they wash away the newly sown seeds before they have time to germinate and establish. This has had devastating results on many ultra-poor communities where TWAM works and where communities rely on subsistence farming (living in virtually no-money economies and relying on growing all their own food) where money in not available to buy food if crops fail. One such community TWAM supports is Opuyo in Northern Uganda. It is experiencing these challenges and has turned to TWAM for help. Their aim is to support the most vulnerable by giving them resilience through education and skills. So they identified the groups they most needed to support. They were:
Child-headed families (children who have lost their parents generally to HIV/AIDS and who are trying to survive alone).
Unskilled young people suffering long term unemployment because they have no education or skills.
Children refused schooling because they have no money for school fees.
The Opuyo group realised the only way for these groups to survive natural disasters and unemployment was through education and skills learning. But they had to ask themselves the tough questions of ultra-poverty:
How do we find the resources to build a school and skills centre at times like these?
How do we find the money to equip our school and pay our teachers and trainers?
How do we break the iron grip of poverty when everything seems to be working against us?
The answer for Opuyo was to turn to TWAM for the resources to build the school and skills centre and crucially to fund them.
Welcome to our September e-news We continue apace with the collection and refurbishment of tools. We are incredibly grateful for so people donating their unwanted usable tools to us. We have had to add extra storage capacity to our main centre in Ipswich to store them. A great problem to have! The containers continue to be prepared and shipped to Africa. You will see below the highlights of what we have just sent to Uganda. We are now busy preparing the next container to Zambia. So please be encouraged by the story of lives changed through your support. Mike Griffin Chief Executive
A student learning tailoring in the completed skills centre
Opuyo continues to give hope. It is testament to their determination to help meet the needs of their local community through a self-sustainable project that is robust enough to weather the effects of drought and natural disaster. Opuyo has achieved so much already thanks to TWAM tools and their own immense vision and determination, but they have far bigger plans. They are now using the tools to start animal husbandry and plant citrus plantations to further guarantee their income. But they could not do this without TWAM tools, which in turn have been saved mostly from landfill and refurbished to their original purpose. Another great win for the environment and the battle against climate change,. Over 30 years experience has shown us that the best way to tackle vulnerability to natural disasters is to partner with charities who equip people with a diverse range of skills so they can become more resilient to the natural disasters that inevitably come. Tools really can be the difference between life and death for whole communities. Thank you for helping Opuyo to offer life and hope to so many. We’ll give the last word to them: “We appreciate and are so grateful to TWAM who have supported us to ensure that we can offer relevant practical training skills to the rural youth and community."
Any amount you give will help groups like Opuya overcome the results of ultra-poverty and build resilience against climate change. Please support our vital work if you can. You could make a donation by clicking on the link below
Read more on our new blog We put lots of short stories on to our instagram blog. To read these and follow us, please click on the link below. There are some great stories to read from Africa and the UK.
In early September we sent our third container to Uganda. It contained 764 machines and tool kits. Below are the highlights. Ugandan law does not allow used computers to be imported into the country..
172
Sewing Machines
13
Knitting Machines
12
Hand Knitting Pack
23
Carpentry Kits Trade
15
Carpentry Kit Workshop
172
Builders Kit (Box of 2)
11
Groundworkers Kit
12
Agricultural Kit
17
Motor Mechanics Kit
9
Mechanics Workshop Kit
25
Drill and power tools
14
Plumbers Kit
17
Electricians Kit
0
Computers
Thank you for your support
We are so thankful to all our supporters. Without you, none of this would be possible. With your help we weather the storms and most importantly help our friends across Africa weather their storms too.
Your support makes sustainable livelihood creation possible for thousands of people in poverty each year. Please share our passion with others!
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