1. School/college links

One of the main purposes of this visit was to establish links between Worlebury St Paul’s First School in Weston with Ngembambili Primary School in Luhimba and between Weston College and Nguluma Secondary School in the village.
                                          
                                                                     Ngembambili staff

Ngembambili is the newest of the three schools we have helped build in the village and Nguluma has been up and running for 6 years, providing secondary education for the young people of the district for the first time ever.

        
The link between Weston College and Nguluma School came about following a visit to Luhimba last year by Dave Cook, sports co-ordinator at the college. Dave spent time at the school training staff and students in sport. He also donated sports equipment to the school and was able to sponsor a number of students to take their A levels in a local sixth form college. The staff and students at Nguluma are very enthusiastic about the link and it is hoped that this will lead to exchanges of students and teachers, which will be of great benefit to both establishments.

Worlebury St Paul’s First School – Gillian Quick, the headteacher has supported the project for a considerable time. Now she, her staff and pupils are excited about forming an educational link with Ngembambili which will hopefully also lead to teacher exchanges. Mrs Quick will be visiting the school with me in October. On this visit I took gifts from Worlebury – letters, books and equipment, as well as some money raised by the pupils (which will be used to provide toilets for the school!). I brought back a variety of artefacts – musical instruments, clothes, toys, carvings as well as photographs which were gifts from the school in Luhimba.
                                           
                                                        Ngembambili headteacher and pupils
I am so pleased that these links are being formed. Backwell Junior School has had a successful link with Luhimba Primary School for eight years and there have been a number of teacher exchanges during that time. It is important for young people to develop a mutual awareness of each others cultures, lifestyles and traditions, thus encouraging a global awareness and understanding.
                                           
We are also grateful for the support we have received from Ashbrooke House School over the past year.

2. Care Home links

One of the newest initiatives in the village is the building of a care home for those villagers who do not have a family to care for them. This has been funded by Weston Homemakers Club, which adopted Luhimba as one of its charities last year. I am now delighted that Abbeyfield Homes in Weston plan to link with the new home, offering support in a number of ways.

3. Other Village Projects

Thanks to all our loyal and generous sponsors, all secondary students from the ward villages have half their school fees paid. We recently extended this to cover those students moving on to A level studies and this year some of those are progressing to college courses and these will also receive help from the project – and to think that until 6 years ago they didn’t even receive secondary education!

The ring well for the secondary school, which provides clean water for the whole school community, has been completed, thanks to support from Weston Rotary Club which over the years has provided so many essential facilities for the village.

Backwell Rotary Club is providing £5000 to purchase science equipment for the school, and the Rotary Club of Nailsea and Backwell is continuing to sponsor 10 students at the school.

The new village office, started last October, is now nearing completion, providing a wonderful new amenity for the village, and plans to install an irrigation scheme for the farmers are going well, thanks to Dublin Rotary Club working with Iringa Rotary Club in Tanzania.

Mr Rusty, the lorry donated by our dear late friend Kevin Donachie, has been hired out to a wholesaler by Luhimba Village Council and is now earning a regular income for the village. All the contents, which were so kindly donated by so many friends in and around North Somerset, have been put to good use.

So many thanks to all our loyal and generous supporters and donors.

4. Agriculture

Under the leadership and guidance of Joseph Simsokwe, the village Agricultural Extension Officer, farming techniques have improved considerably over the years. Joseph is now encouraging farmers to diversify.

As well as keeping cattle and growing traditional crops like maize, farmers now keep more poultry, goats and pigs and grow other crops like paprika and ground nuts. Joseph has a very large area to cover. This used to be daunting for him, but the motorcycle we bought him last year has transformed his life. He is now a happy man!

5. Student Gap Year Scheme

           
We introduced this a couple of years ago and last autumn two girls – Carys Evans, a graduate from Plymouth University and Leanne Thomas from Weston, spent three months living in the village and working in the secondary school. This was very successful. We would welcome enquiries from
anyone who would be interested in participating in this scheme.

7. My Maasai Experience

This has very little to do with the project but I thought you might be interested to hear about my Maasai experience.
             

A couple of years ago I made friends with Isaac, a Maasai who sells jewellery in Zanzibar. I have helped him by selling some of his jewellery for him here. In return he invited me to stay with his family at his home in a remote Maasai village near Kilimanjaro in the north of the country. We made a 9 hour drive from Dar es Salaam and little did I realise what was in store for me! I stayed a couple of days in Boma, a simple village way off the tourist trail and had the honour and privilege of sharing their lives with them.
                                          
Everyone wore the traditional Maasai costume. I slept in a simple hut, eating their traditional meals and watching them go about their daily tasks herding cattle and goats. It was like a dream. There on one side Mt Kilimanjaro looked down on us, whilst on the other Mount Meru rose out of the clouds.

On my last morning there all the men insisted I accompany them into the forest for a traditional Maasai custom! In a clearing I found them cooking a goat over a wood fire. I was asked to sit down, Then I was presented with the goat’s liver impaled on a skewer which was stuck in the ground in front of me. This was sliced by one of the tribesmen using a very large knife and I was invited to eat it. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it and to their delight I ate the whole lot. The whole experience was so unexpected and I felt really privileged to be accepted into their homes with such hospitality and friendship.

Finally, thanks to Charlotte Richardson at Weston Mercury for her excellent regular reports on the Luhimba Link pages.

Paul Temple June 08 (Tel: 07786651458 E-mail: Luhimba@aol.com)
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The outstanding support the Luhimba Project has received from Rotary Clubs over the past few years has made it possible for the villagers to achieve many of their targets to improve their quality of life in the areas of education, health, agriculture and clean water.

We are especially indebted to the following Rotary Clubs for the help they have given us:

Weston-super-Mare, Yatton, Nailsea and Backwell, Dublin, Wrington Vale, Mendip, Melton Mowbray, Carlton, Dar es Salaam North, Weston-super-Mare

Over the past 6 years the support from Weston RC has been remarkable. The proceeds from the annual International Dinner have made it possible for 5 students to attend secondary school for 4 years, have helped build the girls’ hostel at the school, provide books and resources to help the teachers, help towards the building of the new extension to the Angela Cary Dispensary and provide 20 hospital beds. The club has also funded the salaries of the carers of the new care home we are building, for the next 2 years. The club’s recent successful matching grant application has provided a ring well for the secondary school, giving the 700 students piped clean water for the first time.

Yatton - During the past few years Yatton RC has made a significant contribution towards The Luhimba Project. Two years ago the club’s donation made it possible for us to complete the new ward at the village dispensary. The club has now adopted Luhimba as its international project for a second year and this is having a very positive impact on the provision of resources for the secondary school,. In 2007/8 the club is planning to equip the science lab at the school with all the necessary resources and equipment.

Nailsea and Backwell - This club has also adopted The Luhimba Project as its international project for the past three years. It is sponsoring 10 students to attend secondary school for 5 years, giving these young people a start in life which otherwise would not be available to them. The club has already made it possible for the school to set up a much needed library. The club’s on-going support is very much appreciated.

Dublin - Three years ago Dublin RC furnished three new classrooms at the secondary school with desks and chairs, as well as providing funds to buy more books for the school. This year the club is funding a new irrigation scheme for the village. This is a major project and will transform farming in the village. 90% of the villagers are farmers and this project will double the area of irrigated land over the next few years. I visited the site of the scheme with the government water engineer earlier this year and took the plans to Dublin on my return where we were received with such friendship and hospitality.

Melton Mowbray and Carlton - The secondary school in Luhimba teaches practical and vocational subjects as well as academic courses. Four years ago these two clubs, through a matching grant, provided the school with a whole set of carpentry tools, enabling the students to acquire skills which will be useful to them and the community when they leave school.

And last year these two clubs finalised another matching grant application to provide the school with solar power throughout. This has now been installed and has enabled the school to run evening classes for students and adults. We also sponsored the school secretary to attend a computer course in Dar es Salaam now that there is power in the school to run a system. The solar power system will also run the pumps for the new ring well provided by Weston RC.

Wrington Vale and Mendip - Both these clubs have been very generous in their support for the project over the past few years. Their donations have gone a long way to help us run a variety of projects in the village, as well as sponsorship from individual members for students at the secondary school.

Dar es Salaam North - Last but certainly not least is the input from the Rotary Club of Dar es Salaam North. Over the past few years this club has worked in partnership with our UK clubs to administer and oversee the various projects and matching grant applications. I am welcomed to their meetings when I am in Dar and their support, friendship and hospitality are outstanding. They are all so enthusiastic about our project and Rotary involvement from our UK clubs would be difficult without this support.

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The Luhimba Project’s successes over the years have been remarkable. These have only been possible because of the wonderful support we have received from individuals, organisations , schools and businesses here in the UK.

Rotary has provided a major part of this support and I know how much this is appreciated by the villagers of Luhimba. Isn’t it good to know that such caring generosity will improve the quality of life of this remote community in a developing country for generations to come.

Paul Temple