During 2007, Workaid received 82 letters and emails from projects, thanking us for equipment and saying how much the donation meant to them. This feedback, direct from the people whose lives we have helped to transform, is the main motivation for Workaid's existence - and the reason why so many of the charity's volunteers and supporters in the UK continue to offer us their time, effort and money. Here is just a small selection of recent correspondence:

Edward Lundu writes from the Carpentry Section, Maamba Youth Project, Zambia - July 2007

"I was born in 1983 and feel very privileged that I had the opportunity to complete my secondary school education in 2005. My dream was to become an Industrial Arts teacher but, due to financial constraints, there was no way I could follow my dream. However, I was very happy to join the carpentry course and learn a practical skill. Now, when I look at a piece of wood, I dream of a beautiful piece of furniture!

At the end of the course I sat for the Trades Training Course and I was very happy to receive a first class certificate. Graduation Day was the best day of my life so far and I thought that my heart would burst with joy when I received the magnificent box of carpentry tools by courtesy of Workaid. May God bless the donor of this precious gift and may He bless the dedicated staff of Workaid who worked together to find a new home for this precious gift. It is my pride and joy.

After Graduation, a local man asked me to make a double bed. Of course, I did not have any working capital, but Sr Mary kindly came to my rescue and gave me sufficient money to buy the necessary materials. These days I feel so proud as I work away to produce a perfect bed. I will recover the cost of the material plus a profit. My plan is to save the profit towards furthering my education. I will never lose sight of my initial dream and now I can dream of a future that will enable me to pass on practical skills to others. I am the first-born of a big family and, somehow, the family look to me for guidance. My answer is "God helps those who help themselves" and indeed God has helped me through Workaid. Many thanks to all the staff at Workaid and know that your good work is certainly bearing fruit in Maamba."

Edward Lundu
Please kindly receive our project progress report (August/September 2007). We received a donation of two electric sewing machines and two electric typewriters from Workaid. Our project already had four sewing machines and one typewriter. The project offers the opportunity for orphans and widows to develop skills and a government qualification to enable them to earn a living from dressmaking and keep them out of social vices like prostitution. The centre initially admitted four trainees who undergo intensive training for a period of one year. With the arrival of the Workaid donations, we increased the number of trainees from four to 10. The electrical sewing machines are faster, efficient and easy to understand. The machines have enabled us to clear some pending and very deserving cases that had been put on hold for over a year. The first group to use the Workaid machines sat for the Government Trade Test in August and all have passed. Fortunately during the break, five of the ten trainees were able to secure employment. The typewriters are for use by the trainees to acquire basic secretarial skills during their free time. The project has admitted ten new trainees and the training is quickly gaining momentum. This means Workaid is quickly changing many lives within Mathare. On behalf of the management committee, members, trainees and the entire Mathare community, we send our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to Workaid. We feel encouraged and pray for continued blessing to your esteemed organisation.

Chrispo Odhiambo Oyongo,
Meco Community-based Organization,
Mathare,Kenya

We members of the executive would like to send our sincerest thanks for the recent donation of tools to our group which empowers needy children in our community. All the tools reached us in good condition and are now being used by our trainees. We are particularly happy with the knitting machine which we wished to acquire for a long time and we've right away started the knitting unit. In August, we wrote to our past students asking them to write to us informing us how they were finding work in the field after basic training with us and their feedback confirms the positive impact that the provision of refurbished tools makes upon lives of disadvantaged groups here. We are happy to attach a few of them:

"I wish to thank Workaid through you for supporting and enabling me to have basic tailoring course at a minimal cost. I could never believe what would happen to me the day I joined PMF training centre. I had always liked using a sewing machine after dropping out of school but had no idea whether I was any good. The care that PMF trainers offered enabled me to achieve my long term objective. Equipment supplied by Workaid made this possible for me and I am indeed indebted." Joy Namata

"I am happy to inform you that I am now a fashion designer with a reputable industrial company in Kampala. Our work is to make company uniforms that include overalls, aprons, etc. Allow me therefore to thank you and all your staff for the careful training extended to me during the time I spent on tailoring course there. Bravo PMF/Workaid!" James Kato

We wish once again to thank you for your generosity and may God bless you.

Mr Kalungi, Chairperson
People's Mercy Foundation
Masaka, Uganda

More letters can be found in our newsletter Workaid World, which is published on our website and distributed free three times a year to our supporters.

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