Each Christmas, the Mayega children travel the 10 miles or so to the market town of Lamadi to shop for some special clothes. Shopping at this time of the year can be as time consuming in Busega as it is here. There is no Tanzanian online so it is the traditional foot slog to find what you like and what fits. It is so important that the purchases are made by the children themselves, with the guidance of staff. Having money in your hand to budget and spend is a life skill for all children but particularly at Mayega, when this is not part of day to day experience. As well as shopping for ‘best clothes’, a trip had previously been made for play clothes and soon it will be off to Lamadi again for ‘back to school’ uniforms etc.. The school year starts in January. The children enjoy their trips to town as major social events and they love to dress up.

Mayega Children’s Centre is well known and has a good profile in Busega District. This means we often get visits from other organisations keen to see the Centre and meet the children and staff. The last visit was from PCCB or the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau. Fear not  this was not an investigation but a social call at the invitation of the District Commissioner! The visitors brought gifts in the form of 25kg sugar, 40kg rice,10l of cooking oil, 4 dozen soft drinks and 2 buckets of detergent. Very welcome and very well received. The PCCB staff spoke to the children about honesty and integrity.

Our Project Leader Gadlord Deuli was invited to a seminar at the Busega council offices in Nyashimo to discuss the contribution made by local children’s services and the regulatory requirements of the Tanzanian government in their delivery. The seminar was organised by the District Commissioner and one of the main speakers was Kubagwa Madadila, the District Social Welfare Officer, and our main contact in the council.