04.04.21 Play in to help out

Play in to Help Out is up and running!

Busega Scotland’s African-themed activities week is underway.

We have a number of Goody Bags available that you can receive by emailing busegascotland@gmail.com

The activities include:

Goody Bag 1 – Children’s Writing and Drawing Competitions with prizes

Goody Bag 2 – Leisure Activities – African Music, Film, and Street Food Recipes.

Goody Bag 3 – Storybooks 1 & 2 from our People and Places Project

Goody Bag 4 – Champagne Quiz

Please note that there are return dates of Friday 9th April for the Quiz and Children’s Competitions.

It would be great if as many folks as possible could join us by Zoom on Saturday 10th April at 7pm for our one-hour Presentation Evening. We will be providing the quiz answers, announcing winners of the competitions, giving a short talk on ‘Busega Scotland – making a difference’ and launching ‘Kusafiri Nyanza’, our activity and well being event running throughout the summer. Here is the link:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87319250091?pwd=WjB0dFhZOE9wdXRLTGswRFlDYlp3QT09

Everyone joining in Play in to Help Out will be entered into our Mayega Shuka Raffle.

7.3.21First meetings

Julieth Godwin has been working with women in Mayega and Mikuyuni villages to establish two new groups, following our Sharing Christmas appeal last year. Julieth’s role is to assess women recommended to her by local leaders to see if their circumstances lend themselves to participating. The aim is to support women with dependent children who are burdened by low incomes. The loans provided through vicobas (village community banks) set up in partnership with the groups provides a modest opportunity for women to grow their small businesses.
As Julieth said about her assessments, ‘I am always looking at the whole family situation, such as what kind of house they have, do they have valuables in their home, are they residents of the area and what is their economic status? Is it a family having a woman with a big responsibility for caring?  Is she doing all the work of earning at least a family income?  This can be proof enough that this woman should be included in our project’. The assessment is a skilled job that is aided by a family circumstances questionnaire but a lot depends on Julieth’s experience and judgement.
Both groups have had their first meetings and Julieth will monitor attendance, group functioning and members’ savings into the vicoba before making the first Busega Scotland capital payment. If all goes well three payments will be made over a period of a year. The capital donation is equivalent to £25 per woman and groups have about 30 members.

7.3.21 More from Mayega

The Children’s Centre was honoured recently by a visit from Mr Anderson Njiginya, the Executive Director of Busega District Council. He came to speak to the staff and children about Covid and reassure them about the situation in the district. The government of Tanzania has been reluctant to acknowledge the presence of the virus in the country but is now urging caution. There is no lockdown but mask wearing is being encouraged. In Mayega  the use of a mask is being misinterpreted by some village children. They run away in panic thinking it is the sign of an infected person!
We have revised our Covid Action Plan in line with the national situation. This is a subtle process. The measures put in place have to be in concert with government and community expectations. The revisions are discussed and agreed with Tanzanian colleagues and cover travel and personal protection measures. The Children’s Centre has full PPE but thankfully nobody at all connected with Busega Scotland has been affected by the virus so far.
Several months ago our first Mayega dog, Simba, was knocked down and killed on the road outside the Children’s Centre. This was a great loss as Simba was very friendly and loved by everyone.  Floppy has now arrived as his replacement. He will be looked after by Paschal. There is a kennel and the perimeter fence has been repaired, so we hope our new friend will be with us for a long time. Karibu Floppy. He has been described to us as being ‘very polite’!

17.2.20 Getting on with life

It is always good to hear about how our ex Mayega Children’s Centre young people are getting on. We have an open door (or open phone) policy and keeping in touch or dropping in is encouraged. Some youngsters are in regular contact and others not. Their choice.
Leukondia had been missing for a while. Away from Mwanza looking for work and he has been successful. About 20 miles from the city is Kikongo, on the shore of Lake Victoria. It is the point of departure for ferries across the lake to Busisi, 3km away. Several years ago a minibus went into the harbour and many people were killed. Perhaps stimulated by that disaster, the government is constructing a bridge – the longest in East Africa and the sixth longest in Africa. Leukondia, in the hard hat, is employed in the construction. Here is a link for more information.
Work begins on 3.2km bridge over Lake Victoria – Bridge Design & Engineering (Bd & e) (bridgeweb.com)
Working in Mwanza city, in an electrical/hardware shop, is Margreth. She has a certificate qualification in electrical installation. A clear help in the work she is doing. Looking very smart, she dropped in at the Busega Scotland office for a chat.
Margreth’s classmate Tabu is out of town and helping her sister with childcare (and also doing some shop work). Tabu (back left in the photograph) is a mainstay of her church choir. Choirs in Tanzania perform an important social and recreational function, and their sound is uplifting (and often very loud!). Enjoying an African church choir is one of those ‘must do’ experiences. Tabu is a very good singer.

1.2.21Mind and body

January is a busy month at Mayega Children’s Centre.
The children start their new school year and it is time for smart new uniforms. We also keep our library up to date with primary and secondary school texts. Mwalimu Reni travelled into Mwanza to choose and purchase the books. Mr Reni and Patron Emmanuel have worked hard to establish a learning culture at the Centre and have been rewarded with some superb exam results (there are earlier articles about this on the News Page). We ensure the children have the resources to stretch them.
But a man cannot live by books alone (or something like that). The end of January sees the arrival of the bulk food (and other essentials) shop, brought from Mwanza by lorry. It’s more than a trip to Tesco’s and keeps the Centre going for four months, As well as making sure we don’t run out, the presence of supplies in the store is a great reassurance to children who know what hunger is all about.

30.1.21New horizon

Our Family Support Project has established women’s groups in Igombe, Chole and Mayega. This adds up to six in total. Around two hundred families have been supported. Building on this success, we launched a Sharing Christmas appeal, and, well beyond expectations, the response from our supporters has allowed two new groups to go ahead.
One will be in Mayega and the other in the village of Mukuyuni.
Our Assistant Project Leader, Julieth Godwin, said, ‘Mukuyuni is new to us. It is about 6 miles from Igombe and inland from Lake Victoria. It is not a fishing village and people rely on agriculture, collecting firewood, making charcoal and breaking stones for gravel, to make a living. About 500 people live there and they have a primary school and dispensary’.
Julieth is working closely with local leaders. Together they identify women who will benefit from group attendance. Julieth’s visit to Mukuyuni in January was affected by the rainy season weather. Julieth said, ‘it was raining so hard we couldn’t reach many families. I visited three and then had to give up but I’ll be back in February to complete the assessments. The families are very poor and the soon our group starts the better’.
The main purpose of a group is to have a vicoba (Village Community Bank) that can provide business loans to women members, allowing them to grow their small businesses. A group of 30 women can expect £750 from Busega Scotland, over a period of a year, and members add their own savings and loan interest to grow the capital. The vicoba is owned by the women.

29.1.21Annual reporting

Busega Scotland has prepared its Annual Report and Financial Statement for 2019-20. The accounts have been externally verified, as required by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). The Annual Report and Financial Statement was approved at the Annual General Meeting of Busega Scotland on 12th January 2021. Our Annual Return to OSCR was submitted on 14th January and our page on the regulator’s website can be accessed through the following link.
The process described above is for our accounts in Scotland. In Tanzania, our accounts for 2018-19 have been audited by Phares K Songo and Co, who are Certified Public Accountants and Auditors. The Auditor’s Opinion is that the ‘Financial statements are in agreement with the accounting records’ and they ‘give a true and fair view’ of Busega Scotland’s financial affairs in Tanzania.
You can access the Annual Report and Financial Statement 2019-20 and the Auditor’s Opinion 2018-19 in the Accounts and Annual Reports page on this website.https://busegascotland.co.uk/annual-accounts/

24.1.21 Growing trees

There is work going on behind the scenes to establish a Tree Garden project involving a school in Elgin, Rotary, Mayega Children’s Centre and Mayega Primary School. We hope to apply for funding in the middle of the year but some preliminary fieldwork has been going on in Mayega.
The Centre planted many young trees in its compound from July 2019 and approximately 70% have survived and are growing well. Regular watering is the key. The School has established a pilot tree garden with over 400 seedlings and a small vegetable patch. The plan is for the seedlings to be planted out around the school and to supply neighbours.
The Tree Garden project later in the year will aim to improve the Mayega environment further and have a strong educational component. Tanzania has a problem deforestation. Not for plantations but for fuel and charcoal production.
It will be interesting to see the educational focus taken by the two schools. Initially, it seems the Scottish school has a stronger environmental/global warming interest while in Mayega it is the biology of tree growth. By bringing the two schools together in planning the project, they will undoubtedly influence each other.

24.1.21 Back to school

The new academic year in Tanzania starts in January and there is a flurry of activity at Mayega Children’s Centre. Writing books, pens and pencils etc. are bought in bulk and the children head to the local town of Lamadi for school uniform. Our four new secondary school pupils have to take their own desk and chair!
A raft of national examination results came in January. Of our three pupils in Form 2 of secondary school, one got overall Division 1 and two had Division 2. They were 7th, 13th and 14th of 174 candidates in their school. At the primary school, two S4 pupils got Grade B and were 3 and 8 in their class of 109 pupils. These are unbelievable results and a great testimony to the work of our teachers, especially in the March to July school closure period due to Covid.
It is always a bittersweet moment when a new child arrives at the Centre. It is sad that a new arrival needs our care but positive that life chances are immediately enhanced. The child is sure of a warm welcome and encouragement from the other children. Tumaini is 6 years old, and from a village near to Mayega. Karibu sana, Tumaini!
Tumaini is the first child to arrive after the Centre was connected to mains electricity.
This happened on Christmas Eve. We are now a fully serviced site. Mains and solar electricity, piped water with storage facilities and waste disposal through septic tanks. It has been a long haul but we made it!

25.12.20 Improvements and Christmas at the Centre

Busega Scotland is committed to improving life at Mayega Children’s Centre. This happens in many different ways but listening to the children and experts is an important part.
We had advice from Busega District Council, and have consulted with the children and staff, to improve the diet and menu. Conclusions were shared at a Centre Meeting, with Tangu, one of our older girls, providing the information and explanation. The major change is that porridge at breakfast will be improved by introducing milk and the use of fortified flour (with a higher protein content).
We are expecting mains electricity to be connected up to the Centre any day. All fees have been paid and our wiring certified. The need for fire extinguishers will now be greater and we had a visit from the fire department. Following their recommendations, three extinguishers were bought and training provided to staff and children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The children visited the local town of Lamadi to buy kangas or kitenges for the girls and shorts for the boys. This was followed up with Christmas lunch, having bottles of soda as a treat. Our teacher, Reni, said the Christmas party was ‘amazing’! How we wished we could have been there.