We are delighted to tell you that after a long struggle  Zabron has found work as a waiter. His situation appears secure as he has a one year contract. Zabron and Zawadi , former Mayega orphanage kids,  both studied hotel management and were the inspiration for the Moving On Project. Well done Zabron.  Zawadi is now happily married and working in her family’s charcoal resale business. We wish them well as they build a future for themselves.

Sarah tries out a tablet computer donated to the Mayega Children’s Centre. Its amazing how quickly children get the hang of things! We are still working on trying to get an internet connection but pre -loaded educational games gave her something to try out.  There are no telephone lines in Mayega . Internet is over the mobile phone network . Although we managed to get two different connections both were very slow. It may just have been a bad internet day- we have been having many of those. We will explore this further as educational internet access would help the children .

Sarah enjoyed taking many photographs but most were of her feet! A little more practice needed.

Rev Deuli and the Holy Trinity Parish Church, Mwanza (Charismatic Episcopal Church of Tanzania) joyfully accepted the gift of communion trays from The Mearns Coastal Parish of the Church of Scotland. People said they could not believe that they had such a gift from Christians in Scotland.

Holy Trinity is a very poor congregation. They have no building but meet on the rooftop of an office in Mwanza.  Christine and John received their usual warm welcome here and  had the pleasure of presenting  the surprise gift on behalf of the Scottish Church.

At the end of April, John and Christine Carney travelled to Basel, Switzerland to meet members of the congregation, and the Living Links committee, of the Anglican Church Basel (ACB). The church has supported the Mayega Orphanage for a number of years and is now interested in the Moving-on Project. John and Christine delivered two presentations, at the morning and evening services, and had lunch with committee members. It is Living Links who make recommendations to the church council on what charitable causes ACB will support. The indications are positive, with Assistant Chaplain Rev Dr Russell Hilliard describing Busega Scotland as the ‘real deal’. It will make such a difference if Living Links do decide to recommend the Moving-on Project. John and Christine enjoyed the warmth and hospitality of ACB, and thanked the church for their interest and support of the work in Tanzania.

Students return to classes after the Easter break and they look smart in their new college T shirts.

Their timetable this term  includes, practical classes in Motor Mechanics, Theory, Technical Drawing, Religion, Life skills, English Communication,  Science, Computer Applications, Entrepreneurship, Mathematics and Environmental Cleaning. They are going to be busy!

Busega Scotland has been very active over the last week in its Scottish heartland of Moray. It never ceases to amaze us how willing people are to help projects based in a country some seven thousand miles away. But help they want to do.

In John and Christine’s home village, a lady up the street knocked on the door to say she had ‘a few jigsaws’ if we could sell them for our funds. When we went to collect a ‘few’ turned out to be thirty-eight (!) and these are destined for the charity shop in September. They will fetch a good price as jigsaws are very much in demand. A very big thank you goes to Mrs Marnoch.

Networking is an important part of what Busega Scotland does to tap into the goodwill that abounds. TSI Moray is a voluntary sector ‘hub’ based in Elgin and on 23^rd March it held its annual ‘Joining the Dots’ conference. Christine and John went along to set-up a stand for Busega Scotland. Great contacts were made, with the possibility of future joint working with other organisations. The workshop sessions on funding applications and marketing were also very useful.

Hairy Beasts

Moray is the home of a new and rare species, the ‘hairy bottle’. It has now been found in two locations – the Station Hotel in Burghead and in Community Care at the Moray Council. The only photographic evidence shows trustee Mike McClafferty with Davy Hill, the landlord of the hotel, and the hairy creature. He/She was so popular that customers paid £56 in an attempt to win the little darling, and the bottle of whisky attached to it. Thanks go to Steven Dean, who donated the ‘water of life’, and to Davy and Kirsty Hill at the Station Hotel .

It was revealed at the Quiz Night that John Campbell had won Community Care’s specimen. Only the bottle now remains and probably not too much inside it! Thanks to trustee Joyce Lorimer for donating the whisky and making it hairy. Hairy Bottolologists say no stem cells are required, just an attractive bottle (whisky or otherwise), some string, address labels and sellotape. If you can get a bottle and want to have a go, raising £50 for Busega Scotland, without a hairy beast being harmed in anyway, then please contact Christine and John for details.