Sowing to sew!
An update from Compassion UK
We’re in the middle of our two gift Sundays to kick off fundraising for Phase One of our Farnborough building project. You’ve probably heard us mention that we will be gifting 10% of the money we receive to other worthy causes that have both a local and global impact. I shared recently on here about the money we were able to give to the Tearfund Trash for Cash Initiative.
I was really inspired by a trip I took with Compassion UK back in June 2023 as I saw first hand the impact that the local church around the world is having to transform local communities, in partnership with Compassion. Many of you have been giving to our building project already which means we had some money available to tithe and bless others. On my visit I was really struck by many people who had been able to support themselves out of poverty, which began by them learning vital skills such as tailoring. We decided to gift approximately £7500 to a Compassion Project in eastern Tanzania, who wanted to build a tailoring suite for their community. We’ve recently received an exciting update from Compassion UK on how the project is going.
The TAG Maseyu Student Centre in Morogoro, eastern Tanzania, supports 246 children and youth. Many, after finishing their formal education, find it difficult to create financial stability. This is due to the lack of practical skills training and resources available for the youth in the area. Unemployment is high, and without practical skills, these young people are struggling to find work to support themselves. The centre’s aim is to ensure all the registered children are free from poverty in Jesus’ name. While the centre is supporting these 246 children through school, the staff noticed the lack of practical skills that these children needed to grow up to be financially independent. They proposed to build a tailoring classroom which is now being built and all 246 students will benefit from training and access to the machines in the classroom. With your support, this intervention began implementation in December 2023, with construction beginning in April 2024. All of the participants will benefit significantly from the skills gained in this intervention as many young adults who graduate from their formal schooling find that they struggle to be self reliant financially. With your support, they will be able to start business within their community, repair and make their own clothes and learn practical skills that will serve them well in the future. Children will be able to break the cycle of poverty through learning new skills and build sustainable businesses as a result of this intervention. You are enabling this centre to be the support these children need, as they plan for the great future God has for them. Thank you.
With your support Compassion Tanzania is equipping 246 children with tailoring skills by:
Building a practical learning environment for youth, equipped with ten sewing machines and two overlocker machines.
Selecting competent tutors to train the students and provide space for the youth to practice what they learn.
This facility will also be available for more children who attend the centre in the future. The children will participate in tailoring workshops to equip them to be ready for the world of work when they graduate from the child development programme. This will support them to become self-sufficient and to thrive. Construction has progressed well, with the roofing and plastering still to be completed. The foundations have been laid, walls raised, and concreate beams installed, ready for the roofing to be installed. Once the construction has been completed, upskilling the participants can begin and they will learn the skills they need to confidently start businesses and be able to sustainably repair and make clothing articles at home.
Poverty can inflict low self-esteem and low expectations of the future. With your partnership, this intervention is enabling the TAG Maseyu Student centre to equip 246 children to learn skills that they can use to build businesses, and eventually provide income for their families, releasing them from poverty. The construction is almost finished, and training can soon begin for these children. Your support is allowing this centre to meet the needs of children in poverty, and opening up a future of independence, dignity and empowerment. Your support is creating resources that will not just be used by the 246 children currently enrolled at the centre, but for many more children in the years to come. The construction is almost finished, and training can soon begin for these children.
Construction has been steady and the roof is being installed
I hope you’re inspired reading this. Whether that’s in Morogoro in Tanzania, or Farnborough in England - as the local church we have the same mission to see people released from all the different kinds of poverty they face, including material, relational and of course spiritual.
What a great reminder that the money we will give to our building project isn’t about buildings - it’s about the people inside them.
THANK YOU for all you have given, and all you will give.
Sonia Hopkin
Kerith Farnborough Site Pastor.