First, it is with great sadness that I report the death of Michael Carey, the founder of The Luhimba Project. Michael passed away peacefully at Cleeve Court Nursing Home on 8 December. He was 97 and was the inspiration behind the project since he set it up in 1984.
                                                         
Michael lived in Wrington and in those days I was head of the village primary school. After his first visit to Luhimba Michael came in to the school to tell the children and parents all about the new project. His enthusiasm was so infectious that it rubbed off on me and I was hooked!

Michael visited Luhimba twice, in ’84 and ’85 and during those two visits he laid down two important principles – that everything we did was at the request of the villagers so that it was within their culture and understanding, and that every penny we raised went to support village projects. These are still our principles today.

Michael’s impact on my life and, more importantly, on the lives of the delightful people in this remote community, has been massive. Michael’s enthusiasm, sincerity, vision and sometimes mischievous sense of humour made the project what it is today and will continue to be our inspiration in the future.

Luhimba – the first 25 years

This year The Luhimba Project celebrates its 25th anniversary and it has been an honour and privilege for me to have been involved from the beginning and then follow in Michael’s footsteps as leader of the project. What has happened in the village has been wonderful and also to see how the project has spread outwards to the surrounding villages and beyond. Linked to this newsletter is a piece I wrote for the Wrington Village Journal a few months ago.

UPDATE on VILLAGE PROJECTS
                                              
Nguluma Secondary School: It is almost seven years since the secondary school opened in Feb ’02 giving the young people of the area secondary education for the first time. Thanks to our loyal sponsors we were able to run it as a private school for all that time, but the intention was that it should eventually become a government school. We are delighted that this happened last year. The government agreed to adopt the school over a phased 4 year period. A new head, Lawrence Komba, was appointed by the government. He is enthusiastic and keen to work closely with us.

Students still have to pay school fees and teaching resources are desperately needed so our sponsorship is as important as ever and will help ensure that the school’s future is secure. Also it is heartwarming to see that several students who have successfully gone through the school and gained their ‘O’ levels have now moved on to colleges, including some at teacher training colleges and we would like to continue supporting these. So we would be very pleased to hear from anyone who would like to help sponsor students through further and higher education.

                                              
School Links: Following the on-going link between Luhimba Primary School and Backwell Junior School, two other links have been formed. Weston College is forming a link with the secondary school and Worlebury St Paul’s First School in Weston has established a link with Ngembambili Primary School, the newest of the three primary schools we support. In October Gillian Quick, the head of Worlebury visited the village with me to meet the head, staff and children of Ngembambili and to discuss future plans for the link.

                                
Gap Year Scheme: We started this scheme a couple of years ago and interest is growing. We have 4 students going to Luhimba in March for a 3    month stay, working in the secondary school and a further 4 going in September, also for 3 months. Also a visit by a group of students and staff from Weston College is being planned. This will do so much to support the school and will be a brilliant experience for the students. If you know of anyone who might like to know more about this scheme, please refer them to the Luhimba web site (www.luhimbaproject.org.uk) or give them my contact details

Mr Rusty: Just an update on what has happened to Mr Rusty, the lorry which our good friend, the late Kevin Donachie donated to the project over 2 years ago. Kevin very kindly gave us the lorry to ship out much needed equipment – hospital beds, farming equipment, supplies for the schools, clothes, tools, generators etc. With Kevin’s generosity and the support of many of his friends and business associates the lorry travelled all the way to the village and all its contents were put to good use. But the story doesn’t end there. The villagers put a lot of thought into the best use of the lorry. Mr Rusty’s nationality was changed (it was re-registered as a Tanzanian vehicle) and was hired out to a wholesaler from the nearby town of Songea. So Mr Rusty is now travelling around the Songea district delivering goods and making a regular income for the village.

Major Projects for 2008/9

1. Care Home: Last year the Homemakers Club of Weston raised funds to build a care home for elderly people in the village who do not have a family to look after them. Work has started – walls are up and the roof is in place - and will continue after the current rainy season ends. This will be adjacent to the dispensary building and will be a wonderful facility for the village;

2. Irrigation Scheme: After a lot of planning and negotiating with the government water and agriculture officers in Songea it looks like work could start in the coming year. This is a major scheme and will effectively double the area of land which farmers can cultivate. As over 90% of the villagers are farmers this will have a huge impact. Funds for this are being raised by the Rotary Club of Dublin in a matching grant scheme, working with Iringa Rotary Club in Tanzania.

OTHER PROJECT NEWS

London Marathon: My son-in-law. Rob Jones and I will be running in the London Marathon on 26 April to raise funds for the project. This is Rob’s first time to run the London and my 16th time since my first one in 1986. If you or anyone you know would like to sponsor us, this can be done through the ‘Just Giving’ web site (www.justgiving.co.uk/paultemple). Or we would welcome any donations directly.

Quiz: Daphne Fowler (BBC 2’s Eggheads) has kindly agreed to organise a fund raising quiz for us in the spring. More details later.

Magnus:
                                          
Magnus is a young man in his early twenties. He lives in Mtyangimbole, the next village to Luhimba, and suffers from elephantiasis. His feet are so swollen that he has become immobile. Noel Hetherington, one of our team, met Magnus during his last visit to Luhimba. Noel and his wife Phyl decided to do something to help Magnus improve his quality of life. They bought him a hand operated tricycle. This has made life so much easier for Magnus, now that he can move around the village unaided. He is so happy.

Hilda Rounce:

Hilda was 90 last June and her daughter and son-in-law (Anne and George Horsefield who ran Kall Kwik printers in Weston for many years) made a donation to the project as part of her birthday celebrations. They told me that Hilda had worked for Singer Sewing Machines when she was younger and was herself a talented dressmaker.
                 
So during my latest visit I managed to find a shop which sold Singer sewing machines. I bought one and lots of fabrics, cottons etc and presented it to Siku Ntini, a disabled young woman in Luhimba. Siku suffered from polio as a child and cannot walk. She is delighted with her gift and has now set up her own small business making clothes.

Mosquito Nets:

Malaria is still the biggest killer disease in Tanzania and we want to do all we can to reduce the risks. One of the best ways of doing this is to encourage the use of mosquito nets. We are indebted to Bath Rotary Club for their donation of £500 which will buy about 350 nets.

Londonaires Quiz:

This monthly quiz, held in Weston to raise money for a number of local charities has, over the years, raised almost £2000 for Luhimba. They have just given us a further £200 for village projects.

Greetings Cards:


Joy Noble of Yatton makes hand-made greetings cards and over the past year she and her husband Ewart have raised over £500 for Luhimba. We would also like to congratulate Ewart on his 80th birthday on 1st Jan and for recently gaining his BSc degree in Information Technology

Weston Rotary Club:
                                                          
Weston RC have loyally supported Luhimba over the years. Last year the ring well provided by the club was completed and now supplies clean water to the 700 strong community of the secondary school. This month the club is donating the proceeds of its annual international dinner to the club.

Backwell and Nailsea Rotary Club:

This club sponsors 10 students at the secondary school and have just renewed this for another year as well as making other donations for school equipment.

Impington College

Jerry Cooper, originally from Weston, teaches at this college and, with his students, has sponsored 8 students for a number of years.

These are a few of the kind and generous donors who support us, but there are so many other individuals and organisations locally and much further afield who support us so loyally and generously in so many ways – as regular sponsors, through your gifts and donations of money, spectacles, knitted items etc, support at fundraising events. We and the villagers of Luhimba appreciate so very much what each and every one of you do to help this poor community. Again, I must thank the Weston Mercury and Charlotte Richardson in particular for making the wider public aware of what is happening in The Luhimba Project.

Thank you and a Very Happy New Year.

Paul Temple
07786651458
e-mail: Luhimba@aol.com)