Tadworth and Walton Overseas Aid Trust

LAST UPDATED:  24th Feb 2008

Click here for a report on completion of Solar Lighting Project at Berega Hospital, Tanzania

TWOAT Diary for 2008.

 

SUNDAY 14th September 12 noon

Spit Roast

Kaprifel, 54 Meadow Walk Walton

Tickets £10

 

SATURDAY 11th Oct 7.30pm

Annual Social Meeting

St John’s Church Hall

Opposite Tadworth Station

 

 

For the latest information about these events please contact Mike Fox

 01737 350452.

For links to other Surrey Aid Trusts go  here

 

 

 

 

 

Most Recent News

 

We are very grateful for Christchurch URC for allowing us to hold our Quiz Evening in their Hall in Walton. The 50 attendees helped raise nearly £400.

 

Our street collection raised £382 and we subsequently received a further cheque for £100 from a street donor who read the leaflet describing our activities, which we were distributing and wanted to help us with extra funds.  This was a marvellous gesture and a great encouragement to us all.  

 

Our usual bottle stall at the Walton May Fayre on May 17 was very successful despite the steady drizzle and we raised exactly £300. We had one or two bottles left over for future raffles.  Many thanks to all those that donated bottles or frequented our stall. 

 

In May and June John Allinson lead two circular sponsored walks which have so far raised over £1600 with more sponsorship money to come.  Well done to all those that walked and sponsored!

 

On June 14th the North Surrey Downsmen (see http://www.downsmen.co.uk/Framebottom.htm ) entertained us with Barbershop singing and the evening raised over £600. 

 

Two more dates for your diary - we are organising a Spit Roast Lunch in Meadow Walk on Sunday September 14 and we will having our Annual Social Meeting on Saturday 11th October at 7.30pm in St John’s Church Hall opposite Tadworth Station.

 

We have recently donated £700 to pay for cardiac equipment sent to Uganda by a surgeon at St Anthony’s Hospital who is training Ugandan hospital staff in the latest heart techniques and sent £600 to assist agricultural development in a community at Katete in Zambia. (see their web site http://tikondane.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=38 )

 

 


Chairman's Message - 2008

I am very pleased to tell you that during 2007 we were able to generate over £18,000 for the projects we supported.  A list of those to whom we sent funds in the year 2006/07 is included below but in addition to these a further £5,200 was donated to St John’s School for the Deaf in The Gambia. This came from The Funding Network (TFN) as a result of TWOAT’s endorsement and a presentation made to them by John Allinson.  The money is to fund the installation of solar panels to power the lighting in classrooms where sign language and lip reading are used. This is the first stage in a larger project to use solar power to reduce the school’s dependence upon the unreliable mains supply in The Gambia and to cut their spending on electricity. 

 

It is notable that nearly half of our support is now going to projects, like that for St John’s School, associated directly with improving the lives of children and this will also be true for the funds raised by this year’s Christmas Appeal as outlined below. 

 

The 25th anniversary of the formation of TWOAT took place on the 19th October 2007. Thanks to the generous help of our supporters over the last 25 years we also reached the milestone of having provided more than £200,000 worth of aid to projects in the poorest parts of the world.   To mark the occasion of our anniversary we committed to pay for the construction of a new classroom for an orphanage at Chosica in Peru.   We started support for this orphanage in 1987 and have regularly provided them with funds for a variety of projects and general running costs ever since.  In early September 2007 we sent £1500 to initiate the construction work and we plan to send a further £1500 to complete the work early in 2008.  We will use monies raised in this year’s Christmas Appeal and from the very successful concert which was staged for us by St Cecilia Chorus on 29th September.  

 

Any funds raised in our annual appeal over and above those specifically needed for Chosica will go to others of our projects associated with children.

 

RECENT FUND RAISING AND PROJECTS SUPPORTED

 

We would very much like to thank all those who have helped us to achieve another fantastic year, in particular the Friends and Supporters of TWOAT, the local Churches, the Walton May Fayre committee and other voluntary and commercial organisations. Most recently the choir of Walton Primary School sang beautifully for us at the Christchurch Sing Carols event, kindly organised for us by Ray Brotherwood and Dennis Lanaway, where the money raised, including Gift Aid, will increase our funds by nearly £400.

 

We have recently sent £500 to the RUSH project to construct a house and to provide stock to start up a small market stall for a family in Kenya.  This money was donated by attendees at our Annual Social Meeting following an impassioned presentation by Liz Noble who organises RUSH and lives in Reigate. We are also supporting Duncan Smith from Reigate, a nurse tutor, during a VSO assignment in Kampala and have sent £1300 to fund a small wheel chair workshop run by Motivation in Sri Lanka. You can find details of Motivation, VSO, RUSH and other projects via our web site (see below).

 

We would be interested to hear about any young people with local connections intending to undertake a Gap Year assignment who might like to become linked with TWOAT.  

 

Finally could I please remind you all that we are able to increase the money we give to our projects by over 25% when we can reclaim Gift Aid.  If you have not already done so and you are a UK tax payer, please make sure we have a signed Gift Aid declaration form from you – these can be obtained from me or our Treasurer, John Tedder (see contact details on front page or email me at mike.fox2@ntlworld.com). 

 

The following support was given to projects during our last financial year:

 

  Child sponsorship, Zambia                                                               £250   

  Chosica orphanage for mentally handicapped – Peru                                    £750

  Chosica - new classroom project                                                              £1500

  COMUS, farmer training, El Salvador                                                        £1320

  Computers for Schools, Ghana                                                                    £720

  HELWEL Trust, childhood development KwaZulu                           £800

  Lake Malawi Project, agricultural training                                                     £770

  Ludhiana Hospital, nurse training, India                                                         £150

  Pump Aid (via TFN), Zimbabwe                                                                  £420

  RUSH, housing & training, Kenya                                                    £750

  Sangam School, teacher salary, India                                                           £500

  SAFAD, water supply, Bolivia                                                                     £500

  Sight Savers, Uganda                                                                                   £600

  St John Opthalmic Hospital, equipment, Jerusalem                            £900

  St John’s School for the Deaf, The Gambia (for hearing aid costs etc)           £697

  Technology for Children, Kenya                                                                   £400

  The Funding Network Projects (3 small donations)                           £330

  Rehabilitation therapy for disabled, Nepal                                         £350

  VSO Uganda, AIDS awareness                                                                £1500

Other Surrey Overseas Aid Trusts

There are a number of other Overseas Aid Trusts in Surrey of which we are aware which have similar objectives to those of TWOAT.  Please use Mike Fox’s contact information (see end of page) for those where no specific contact details are included in the link given:

Caterham Overseas Aid Trust (COAT) http://surreycommunity.info/overseasaid/

Merstham Aid Project (MAP)   http://www.mapweb.org.uk/

Oxted is covered by One World Group OWG http://www.limpsfield.net/limpsfield/owg/owg.html

Purley Overseas Support Trust (POST) http://www.purleyinfo.com/company.php?cid=PUR45

Reigate is covered by SMOAT  http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?remchar=&chyno=280091

 

Project Reports - Autumn 2007

SAN ANDRES HOME, CHOSICA, PERU
We sent our usual annual donation of £750 in May.   The Home continues to grow in size, taking in babies/children who have either been abandoned, abused or whose parents cannot cope.  The second classroom is nearing completion and, as described previously, TWOAT are planning to fund the third classroom.

 


COMUS, EL SALVADOR
COMUS is a self-help organisation of poor smallholders and others.  It continues to flourish under Jamie Coutt’s guidance.  Jamie is still seeking the right ‘licences’ and outlets for the organically grown coffee to be sold in UK and Europe.   We gave Alfredo, Jamie’s very able assistant and local manager, a ‘rise’ last year and have given him a further one this year by increasing his annual wage, which is paid by TWOAT, to £1300.



GAMBIA - ST JOHN’S SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF (Danish)

The School, which is the only one for the deaf in the Gambia, continues to meet a real need. It now has 183 students with a more or less equal number of boys and girls.   During the last year we have sent money for essential needs such as stationery, pencils and batteries for second-hand hearing aids and some aids themselves (kindly supplied by Messrs Audiological Centres of Frimley, Surrey) at a total cost of £427.  We are currently working with a Danish sponsor to see if we, together with the Funding Network (see below), can fund the installation of Solar energy in the School which could provide a reliable electricity supply with no ongoing running costs.    

 

GUATEMALA – CRANFIELD’S  SAFAD PROJECT     

This year we are again giving £500 towards designing and building gravity-fed drinking water distribution systems in the district of Comanche, Bolivia.

 

TOOLS FOR SELF RELIANCE (TFSR)                                          

We have received a record number of old hand tools this year.  TFSR have renovated them and sent them on to poor countries.    Just let John Allinson (01737 213347) know if you have any.

 

SOUTHERN AFRICA THE HELWEL TRUST

We have given £800 towards a programme which the HELWEL Trust supports in Kwa Zulu Natal in South Africa for the training of “practitioners” in Early Childhood Development.  Essentially, they help poor children to learn to mix and play with others and to get ready for schooling, a very necessary requirement in South Africa.

 

TANZANIA - BEREGA HOSPITAL

In this summary of recent important news from TWOAT projects, we must mention that Doctors Noj and Mary Northway, who many of you will have met at various TWOAT events, have, after ten years at Berega Hospital in Tanzania, decided that it is time for them and their two young sons to move on to other challenges.  Noj and Mary have both accepted appointments at St Andrew’s School in Kenya where their son Joe has already preceded them as a boarder.  Their roles at Berega will be taken on by Tanzanian nationals and TWOAT will continue its contact with Berega via the UK based charity BREAD which Noj helped to found.  We are sure we speak for all of the Friends of TWOAT when we offer heartfelt thanks to Noj and Mary for the opportunity they gave us to participate in the developments that have transformed the lives and prospects of so many at Berega.  We wish them well in their new roles in Kenya.


 

VSO – THE GAMBIA

For the last year we have been supporting a volunteer, Judith Parsons, working on AIDs awareness in Uganda. We will continue to support Judith for another year. She has now moved on to another Health Centre but still in Uganda.


UGANDARAINBOW AFRICA

Our sponsored child, Andrew Gumbo sent us a Christmas card and is continuing to progress with his studies.

 

MALAWILAKE COMMUNITY CHICKEN FARM

Colin Ellesmere joined a recent meeting of the TWOAT committee to give us an update on progress with the vocational training activity we helped to fund last year.  A current priority is the establishment of vegetable gardens to support communities suffering from the impact of HIV/AIDS.  The committee agreed to provide a further £770 to assist LMP with their work.

 

INDIA SANGAM SCHOOL

This Indian village school has appointed a qualified headmistress who will start in July. It will be interesting to see what changes she makes. The numbers of pupils have increased; some of them are from other villages so the school bus is much used to bring them to the school as there is no public transport. Next term we hope to forge a link between the school and a local school here as Sangam have an opportunity to make use of an email facility.

INDIALUDHIANA HOSPITAL

We are sponsoring another student nurse this year.

 

THE PHILIPPINESASCT (SCHOOL AND  ORPHANAGE)

Ruel Luarca has completed his formal education so we are no longer supporting him financially but we have been pleased to hear that he is working for an auto repair company, not far from his home, and is able to help other members of his family with monies from his earnings.

 

ELMINA YOUTH TRAINING PROJECT, GHANA

We have donated £800 towards the equipment needed for a training project in the poor fishing village of Elmina to encourage the younger members of the community to learn a trade or skill to lift them out of poverty.    The project embraces training in clothes making, masonry, basic computing skills, carpentry, etc.  It is overseen by a minister who was linked to the Good Shepherd Church in Tadworth some years ago.

 

THE KAKAMEGA PROJECT, KENYA

This project was set up by a Reigate resident and a friend in 2002 as a result of a holiday in 2002.   It aims to help a village to help itself in a number of ways, not least in coping with the effects of HIV/AIDS in the community.   It is overseen by an African couple in the village who not only ensure donations are well put to use but advise on needs.   We have given £750 for the building of one or two houses for the most needy in the village.

 

St John Eye Hospital (Jerusalem)

Our Xmas appeal monies went to fund support (false eyes etc) for people who have lost their eyes due to accidents, disease or sadly, and all too commonly in this part of the world, as a result of civil unrest.

 

TFN IDENTIFIED PROJECTS

We have continued our membership of the Network.  We have given a total of £520 to two of their projects so far this year.   The first was for the provision of clean water and the improvement of sanitation at schools in Zimbabwe. The second was for the re-equipping of workshops for the training of the children of “social outcasts”.    We are hoping they will consider helping towards the start of solar lighting at St John’s School in the Gambia, described above.

 

GAP YEAR PROJECTS

Unfortunately the Gap Year student we had expected to support this year decided that she could not undertake the trip due to a need to re-sit some of her exams. 


 

GAP YEAR - GENERAL

You may have seen some adverse publicity concerning the usefulness of some Gap Year projects in the press recently.  TWOAT takes a view that there is still plenty of opportunity to build cultural bridges as well as doing good work during such assignments.  However, we prefer to support individuals who have some particular connection to this area, as an opportunity for direct contact with the person undertaking the Gap Year helps us to confirm that the assignment is worthwhile.  Please let us know if you are aware of any projects that might be appropriate for us.  

 

OTHER PROJECTS

In addition to the above we have continued contact with or given financial support to Adopt A Granny (Ecuador), Motivation (Central America and Africa), Street Child (India), Disability and Development Partners (was called Jaipur Limb in Nepal), Imagine (Mozambique), Motivation (various), Street Child (India), SOS Children’s Villages (Georgia), Pilcomayo Primary Health Project (Argentina) and Vision Aid Overseas (various).

SOS Children’s Villages (Georgia), Pilcomayo Primary Health Project (Argentina), FRIENDS OF CALCUTTA RELIEF SERVICE

 





All those who have been involved with running TWOAT have been deeply impressed with the generosity of people who have donated their time and money over the years and with the calibre and compassion of the aid workers the Trust has supported. We look forward to the future and the privilege of helping those very much less fortunate than ourselves.

To find out more about TWOAT contact the Chairman, Mike Fox on 01737 350452 or email: mike@twoat.org

 

 

 

 

COMMITTEE AND/OR TRUSTEES (T)

 

John Allinson 28 Shelvers Way, Tadworth 213347

Christine Maudesley 61 Chequers Lane,Walton 813957

 

Haro Bedelian 30 Downs Way, 813261

Sally Nethercott 6 Station Approach, Tadworth, 813600

 

John Buckoke 25 Shelvers Way 356815 (T)

David Northway, Hon. Sec., 97 Shelvers Way 354674

 

Alan Corrigall, 25 Copley Way, 357713

Dick Shelley, 5 Whitebeam Way, 817930

 

Michael Fox, Chairman, 49 Shelvers Way 350452

John Tedder, Treasurer, 103 Shelvers Way 851963

 

Mary Heath 7c Walton Street, Walton 814345

Ron Webb 32 Heathcote, Tadworth 373548