The Kilimatinde Trust - charity supported by the Ten Percent Foundation 2016-2020
We
thought it might be of interest to outline where the Ten Percent
Foundation spends some of its money. The first charity is the
Kilimatinde Trust. This is a UK charity linked to a specific area of
Tanzania. One of our trustees knows one of the teachers at the school we
support; St John’s Seminary in Tanzania.
|
The
school is based in the Singida region of Tanzania, which is located in a
semi-arid zone in central Tanzania with an altitude ranging from
900m-1,500m above sea level. The whole region has 346 villages, an area
of 49,341 square km and a population of around 955,000. The majority of
people in the area work in agriculture and livestock rearing as their
main economic activity and means of livelihood. Bullrush Millet and
sorghum are the main staple crops, though maize is grown in many areas
despite low yields, due to taste preference. There is very low
agricultural production in the region, mainly due to low and erratic
rainfall, which ranges between 500 and 800mm per annum (Snowdonia in
North Wales gets 3000mm annually by way of comparison!). There are two
seasons – the dry season from April to November and the rainy season
from December to April. The region experiences recurrent famine due to
low yields when there is a severe lack of rainfall and drought
conditions. Some cash crops are grown in the region; mainly sunflower
and sesame for oil. Some tobacco and cotton is also grown.
|
|
St
John’s Seminary is a school linked to the church in the area and is
within the top 300 schools in Tanzania for results (by 2013 levels). The
the school has 250 students, 30 teachers and other members of staff.
The education offering includes the full spectrum of academic subjects.
The school also teaches additional courses in Tailoring and Mechanics.
The students also get training in Leadership, husbandry, management,
store keeping and book keeping.
The
school has a range of issues which include too few dormitories and many
in need of repair, too few classrooms, no library and paying for the
cost of electricity and water. They are looking to be self sufficient,
including rearing pigs, cows and goats and a school garden.
We
donate money to sponsor 4 children at the school each year. This is a
very small charity and this means that our donations seem to go quite a
long way. We have a commitment for 5 years to donate £2,200 to the
school to pay for the education for 4 children each year.
In
2016 we sponsored 4 children, Yunice Charles, Jonas Yasisni, Elizabeth
Earnest and Elizabeth Keneth. They have written to us as follows:
“Thank you for helping us in paying our school fees..you are helping us get an education.” Yunice Charles, Form 4.
“I want to give thanks for those who have given their money to pay our school fees. I wish to give them good health because they have good hearts, others don’t give like this”. Elizabeth Keneth, Form 2. “Thank you to those who are helping us with our school fees, may they continue with their good hearts”. Elizabeth Earnest, Form 2. “Thank you for your help. Without your help I wouldn’t have this chance to go to school.” Jonas Yasisni, Form 2.
The charity information can be found here – http://www.kilimatindetrust.org.uk/st-johns/
Festa
and Grace, who run the school, keep a blog here –
https://festoandgrace.wordpress.com/. There are quite a few references
to religion on the site and the blog because the school is part of the
Diocese of the Rift Valley, but we are keen to focus our donation on the
educational aspect of the work of the school rather than the religious
element.
For further details about the Ten Percent Foundation please visit https://www.ten-percent.co.uk/charitable-trust/
|
|
Comments