A loving 'thank you' from Ukerewe.

Hello again,

A couple of days ago we received an e-mail from Alex Magaga.  We thought it would be good to share it with you.

Dear Diane and Derek, Steve and Patricia and Brenda and Robert,

Hope you are all keeping well.  I just wanted to share with you some feedback we have received from our Village Ambassadors following our outreach programme in which you fully participated when you came out to volunteer with our Organization. 

The reaction has been simply overwhelming.  We have received a lot of thanks from members of the community in the villages you went to with us.  We are thanked for the things we gave to people in the community and members of the community here send lots of love and deep appreciation for all your support.  Our organization has always worked to support people in the community in the same way, but we have never been able to reach so many people in so little time and be able to give so much to so many.  Our village Ambassadors are being thanked everywhere in their villages, and been asked to send lots of thanks to you all for coming out and be part of our community and support people in a way not many people have done before.  We are getting a lot of credits as an organization and it is all coming from the villages, but we feel you deserve the credits more than we do, as nothing could have happened without you coming out with so much for people in our community.

The village where I took Diane and Brenda the first day, the LVC Ambassador told us how one family said you were the first visitors to walk into their home and give clothes and soap, things that matter so much in their lives. 

The village Derek and I went to, one child told our village Ambassador that it was hard for them to understand how it was the first time we had met them, yet we loved them so much and gave them things they have never had all their lives (Shoes).  Hope Derek remembers the family. 

The village I went with Patricia and Stephen towards the end of your trip, the Ambassador was asked by one poor family (we gave toys and clothes first), 'When would you ever return to the island to see them again', as you were such lovely visitors.

The village we went with Robert and Brenda (Musozi) I think this was the village we gave out so much stuff in one go! the community was thrilled.  The village leader said to our Ambassador that how you helped people in the village was the best and most generous way people in his village have ever been served.  He asked if there was any way many volunteers like you could come to help people in his village in the same way in the future?

So you can see how the reaction has been from the community.  We are so happy you chose to help the community through our Organization and the name LVC has grown faster than ever!  Receive lots of greetings from all of us, Mama Lucy, Benjamin, the teachers (Mpuluko), the Tailoring ladies, Briquette ladies, Everest and all the children at Lake Victoria Children, Ukerewe.

This is what I wanted to share with you all,

Many thanks and Best Wishes.

Alex Magaga
Chairman LVC. 


Our thanks to Alex for his moving report. We will remember the time we shared with these lovely people as one of the most rewarding times in our lives.  Sometimes you don't have to speak the same language to experience a very strong bond. Just being there together, sharing smiles and understanding their hardships goes a long way to supporting each other.

Until the next time,

Best Wishes,
Diane and Derek

Update on Lake Victoria Childrens Tailoring Shop, Ukerewe.

Hello to you all,

Recently, we heard from Alex Magaga, Chairman of Lake Victoria Children, that the Tailoring shop was going from strength to strength. It was not only Alex's dream, but the wish of Mage and her team of machinists, for material from which they could make clothes as well as doing mending for the community.

Thanks to a local hospital in the UK who were replacing the ward curtains, we were given a large quantity of material which was transported in the container to LVC Tailoring shop, and the machinists are now busy sewing and the goods are successfully being sold.  The machinists get paid for what they produce, thereby helping the ladies to support their families.  For a very small fee, the ladies can also use the machines to make their own childrens clothes.

In the photo below, Alex and Mage are discussing the material.

We were also given a quantity of white bedding sheets, which had been discarded from a nearby Caravan Park.  The sheets had all been laundered and again these are in LVC Tailoring shop and are now being made into white school shirts, and sold.

On the left of the picture below is a wooden unit which Pat and Steve paid for, and some of the sewing goods which they also sent in the container.

It is truly wonderful that goods in our country which have become surplus to requirements here, can have a second life in a country thousands of miles away, and importantly, bring in revenue to help educate and feed small children.   It makes you feel good to be part of the process in helping others to help themselves.

Until next time,

Best Wishes,

Diane and Derek.