Tanga in Touch

Tanga is the main town in the Tanga region of Tanzania. It is in the North-East of the country, bordering the Indian Ocean. Whitbourne is a village in Herefordshire, U.K.

	The sisal industry in Tanga collapsed in the 1960/70s, partly as a result of the invention of polypropylene. Tanga's economy collapsed with it.
	Many housewives have to walk long distances to fetch water and firewood for cooking.

Since then Tanzania (and, indeed, most of Africa) has had to cope with independence before they were really ready, soaring interest rates, and HIV/AIDS in addition to the 'normal' diseases, including malaria and diarrhoea which kill tens of thousands each year. Tanga in Touch is Whitbourne's charity which supports projects in Tanga. It was formed in November 2002 to raise money to send computing equipment to Tanga. For the first ten years, 2002 - 2012, we had three main projects:

Sending recycled computing equipment to Tanzania, and helping them to use it efficiently. There is now an acute shortage of teachers and less demand for computers.

Supporting our link parish, St. Francis, Mapinduzi, Tanga. We help to educate AIDS orphans, help to fund a micro-finance scheme and help with other projects.

Supporting the Misufini Leprosy Care Centre. In 2007 we sent money to start a herd of goats. In 2008 we sent money to enable them to grow food. In 2009 we encouraged a group of local people to form a committee. Now the committee is doing well and other charities are helping.

We aim to produce a newsletter for members around every six months. some back copies are listed on the left (PDF files - you will need an Acrobat reader), as well as the most recent one. If you enjoy reading them, you might like to consider sending a donation or even a standing order, donating some money at regular intervals. The more income we get, the less we rely on fund-raising and the more time we have to devote to managing the projects.

OUR CHARITY HELPING TANZANIA