The news this week about some of the younger children at Mayega is indeed heart-warming.
The Standard 7 exams at the end of primary school are critically important in Tanzania. They are a fork in the road. It is the end of school education for children who fail. A pass means onto secondary school. We have been waiting somewhat nervously for Elizabeth, Paschal and Yohana’s results. Safe kabisa, they celebrated with Grade B’s. All of the subjects were passed by each of them – Kiswahili, English, Social Studies, Mathematics and Science.  Very well done to all the children. Mayega Primary School entered 74 children for the Standard 7 exams and an overall B was the top grade gained in the school. Yohana was one of three pupils to gain an A pass in Maths
Three things have been learned. 1. Our Mayega children are bright (which we knew). 2. Our Saturday teachers, Seba and Julieth, are making a difference (which we assumed). 3. All the other children will be inspired (which is what we wanted).

We can proclaim that the chance of Shida falling over at anybody’s door is mercifully receding.
Mayega’s bravest child has recently completed another 500 mile journey to Moshi, and has had the fourth operation on her right eye. It lasted 5.5 hours. Again, there was a nervous wait for news. A quote from Shida then said it all, ‘I can see Kilimanjaro with snow on the top’. How wonderful.
As ever, Leah (Mayega’s matron) was at Shida’s side sharing the fears, pain and joy. They have now made three visits to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre and travelled over 3,000 miles in the process.
Busega Scotland relies completely on the compassion and dedication of our Tanzanian colleagues and on the generosity of our supporters. The initial target of £1500 to fund Shida’s treatment, and expenses, has been well exceeded. Together we can do so much.
Shida will travel back to Moshi at the end of January for a check up, and hopefully treatment can start on her left eye. As her sight improves we can begin to think about school attendance. There are no special needs facilities at Mayega Primary School, so this will be another challenge in helping a wonderful little girl.

It was a day of celebration for 5 of our former Mayega boys. They have grown into 5 fine young men and celebrated the end of their auto mechanics training at Kalwande College. We were thrilled that Hasan received a special college certificate for his work as Student President and for the way he had conducted himself throughout the past three years. The students have already gained a National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering awarded by the Vocational and Education Training Authority of Tanzania and are now about to sit their final Diploma exam. We wish them every success.

The ‘Shindig for Shida’ has generated the highest ever total raised by Busega Scotland for a single event. Some fundraisers running over a number of days have raised more (such as the shop and sponsored walks) but the total raised for the Garmouth concert has passed the £1000 mark. We are stunned.

The event was headlined by 40 Elephants, a folk rock group named after an all female 18^th century criminal gang operating in London’s Elephant and Castle. Our 40 Elephants were supported by other local musicians, young and old, playing a variety of traditional and contemporary tunes. Despite a foul, wet night the audience of over fifty were superbly entertained, and served stovies (a traditional Scottish potato based dish) and oatcakes to keep their strength up.

John and Christine felt humbled by the support of their home village. The efforts of trustees and supporters were remarkable, in organising a ‘Name the Whisky’ competition, a raffle, cooking and serving the food, donating the ingredients, and advertising the ‘Shindig for Shida’ far and wide, by posters and online. The Total Giving page has been particularly successful and is still open for donations at  https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/shindigforshida

The most impressive thing about the event was the quality of the musicians – all local to the village of Garmouth. What talent, and what willingness to help a child many thousands of miles away. A video was made of the event, which Shida and her friends at Mayega will see and they will know that so many people are rooting for them. The evening was finished off with everyone joining in the Tanzanian national anthem, ‘Mungu Ibariki Afrika’! It was all so inspiring.

The home of Busega Scotland is Moray, the Scottish county that boasts 50 ‘Speyside’ whisky distilleries. On 3^rd October, a bottle of ‘Macallan Valerio Adami 1926’ 60-year-old single malt whisky was sold at auction for a word record price of £848,000. It was described as the ‘holy grail’ for its rarity, vintage and artwork.

200 miles and a world away from the auction room in Edinburgh, Busega Scotland volunteers were making sales of second hand goods in support of Shida, the nine year old girl at Mayega Children’s Centre with serious sight problems. We were joined by a lady called Karen, who had worked in retail, and helped us sort out our jumble of clothes into their various sizes. If you are not careful in our shop, you can transform in an instant from customer to sales assistant! We were happy to help a local nursery school with clothes for a scarecrow; with a ball for a bored kitten and fabric for a dog sofa!

Our support for Shida continues. In John and Christine’s home village of Garmouth, there will be a ‘Shindig for Shida’ on Saturday 13^th October (with folk music and stovies) starting at 7.30pm (no tickets, just turn up).

Despite all this energetic Busega Scotland work, we would be pretty sure that the money raised will fall a little short of the £848,000 paid for the Macallan! If you would like to reduce the gap, it is possible to donate online for Shida at https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/shindigforshida

Stop press: final takings for the Busega Scotland shop totalled £1475. Many thanks to all who made this magnificent total possible.

The article on 22.09.18 described the ‘Capital growth’ in credit unions (vicobas) in Igombe and Chole. All the women involved have done incredibly well in managing and growing their funds.

It is with great pleasure that Busega Scotland has paid the final instalment of its grant to the Chole 2 group. The £100 brings the total capital donated to £340. This is essential to get the vicoba going, as generating capital themselves is beyond the final means of the women, who live in a very rural area.

The Chole women attended a meeting with Julieth Godwin, our Assistant Project Leader, who checked the group’s records and made the payment. This model of financial support puts the onus on the women to manage their money, building-in self-determination and promoting independence from the outset.

Julieth passed on thanks from Chole 2 to Busega Scotland and our supporters, who have made the project possible. When we receive such thanks, we are always quick to say that it is the women themselves who have grasped the opportunities their vicoba has given them and so many congratulations are in order. It is great to see how there can be such progress in the lives of Tanzanian families, by us working together and in providing such simple and straightforward support.

Rev Gadlord Deuli is both the Busega Scotland Project Leader in Tanzania and a pastor in the Charismatic Episcopal Church. He is responsible for the Holy Trinity parish in the city of Mwanza and is the Area Dean, supervising four other parishes within the Mwanza Diocese.

These duties are very demanding and Rev Deuli divides his time effectively between Busega Scotland and church duties. He is Christine and John’s major contact for communication between Scotland and Tanzania, and this is one of the main reasons why our organisation is so productive in its various projects. Pastor’s knowledge, skills and experience are crucial to the work that is undertaken on the ground.

On 30^th September, Rev Deuli received a major ecclesiastical honour by being made a Canon. This is an honorary title given in recognition of long and dedicated service to the diocese. The photographs show the honour being bestowed, Mr and Mrs Deuli at the resulting celebrations and Canon Deuli with his great friend and spiritual mentor, Canon Andrew Mohamed.

Busega Scotland sends its congratulations and best wishes.