By Tracey Morris, Bristol refurbishing group

This year’s Bodgers’ Ball at Hawkchurch on the Devon–Dorset border came with sunshine and celebrity endorsement.

Technology enthusiast, scientist, writer and broadcaster of such programmes as What the Romans did for us, Adam Hart-Davis attended the Ball in another of his many guises, that of amateur bodger. A real gentleman, as genuinely delightful in real life as he is on TV, Mr Hart-Davis was happy to add his stamp of approval to Tool for Self Reliance’s work in Africa, as he bought a supply of woodworking tools from our stall.

We had a great weekend, raising over £2,000 split equally between Tools for Self Reliance and the Bristol group, where it will be added to funds for our next project. This is almost double last year’s total and a record for this event!

L to R: Bob, Shelley, Adam Hart-Davis and Tracey

The dynamic duo hope to time their Thames Trek to perfection, arriving in Teddington Lock in 17 days time – so they can put their feet up for a well-earned rest over May bank holiday.

You can sponsor Gordon and Bob as they make their way downstream via their fundraising page at Virgin Money Giving. Please help them if you can!

Thames Trek fundraising page

Give your palate a treat at Colbury Memorial Hall, Totton on Friday 18 May, 7 pm til 10 pm. Wine and meal included! Raising money for artisans in Africa. Booking essential. Tickets £9 from Jo or Loraine. Recommended event

19 May – Activity Day and AGM, Netley Marsh

This year’s Activity Day and AGM is on Saturday 19 May. As usual, we have a packed programme for you, including updates on what’s happening in Africa and the UK, and a chance to talk to other supporters and enter our Art from Scrap competition. The AGM itself is free but we are asking for a small contribution of £5 to cover costs of lunch and snacks during the day. Numbers to Loraine in advance please!

30 Jun – Open Day, Netley Marsh

If you missed out on last year’s Open Day be sure to join us this summer! Find out all about us and have fun at Netley Marsh on Saturday 30 June. Last year’s highlights

8 Jul – Asics British 10K London Run

We are looking for a team of six runners for this annual fixture on the sporting calendar. If you’re interested in running and raising money to change people’s lives you’re just an email away.

30 Jul to 31 Aug – Workcamps, Netley Marsh

We are hosting two summer workcamps this year involving students and young people from mainland Europe – they run from 30 July to 10 August, and 20 to 31 August.

5 Aug – Open Garden, Biggar, Lanarkshire

Broughton Place Farmhouse in the Scottish Borders opens its garden to the public. Cream teas in the cow byre, ducks and hens for the children, great views over the Tweeddale Hills. Sunday 5 August, 2 pm – 5.30 pm. Admission £4, children free. Proceeds to go to Tools for Self Reliance and Scotland’s Garden Scheme beneficiaries. Read more

If you’re coming to any of the events at Netley Marsh or just want to pop in, this is where we are.

Postcode SO40 7GY
Lat 50º 54’ 59’’
Long -1º 31’ 49’’

A reminder that the offices and workshop at Netley Marsh are open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. We’re closed on bank holidays.

Tel: 023 8086 9697 Fax: 023 8086 8544 Email: info@tfsr.org

2011 – another year to be proud of

In 2011 we gave hundreds of people in Africa the practical help they need to work their way out of poverty and head toward a better life, including many of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in African society. The benefits reached much further, with colleagues and their families and whole communities benefiting too.

How did we do this? We sent tools that would have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds if bought new in the UK. And we helped our partners deliver vital training – training that multiplied the benefits of the tools many times over, and gave people new skills and qualifications.

In our 2011 Annual Review you can read about:

• the impact our work has had on the lives of ordinary people
• how we spent your money
• how we listen to the needs of our partners in Africa
• how people all over the UK are motivated to help
• how you can get involved, right here, right now

You will find a full breakdown of our income and expenditure in our Annual Report 2011.

Click here to view our Annual Review & Annual Report archive.

Forty-nine other businesses are benefiting from the project. You can read about some of them in SIDO’s latest feedback report.

Entertainment includes live music, Michael O’Leary (storyteller), archery, motorbikes, children’s games and competitions, and dance workshop, together with demonstrations of traditional country crafts. Oh, and did we mention the tea and cakes?

Entry and car parking are free. Starts 11 am and continues til 4 pm. For directions scroll to bottom of page. We hope to see you there!

Some photos from previous years

This is where you’ll find us.

Postcode SO40 7GY
Lat 50º 54’ 59’’
Long -1º 31’ 49’’

I am very happy with the improvements in my life. I am now able to look after my siblings and I am enjoying better health.

Elizabeth is thriving. For the last two years she has been a master tailor, recruited by one of our partners to help train the current crop of trainees with five apprentices under her wing. This is a happy outcome for a young woman who was forced to leave school at 11. She fell into various low-paid jobs including washing dishes in Kumasi. This was seasonal work and required her to make regular long journeys to and from her home. It was during one such journey that she was approached by community organisation Youth Alive.

After completing Youth Alive’s comprehensive three year vocational training course in 2009, Elizabeth felt confident enough to set up her own tailoring ‘shop’. The first thing that hits you when you arrive at Elizabeth’s workshop near Navrango is that there are no walls and no roof. She has got used to working outside with only the trees for shelter, but realises the limitations this places on her business. She is saving hard and is looking forward to the time she can move into secure business premises.

Elizabeth’s workload is uneven but she gets enough to see her through most weeks. She has built a reputation for quality and good customer care. She does this by charging a fair price and trying to balance her customers’ needs with their budget.

She says, “I am very happy with the improvements in my life. I am now able to look after my siblings and I am enjoying better health.”

Among the 27 Singer sewing machines given to Youth Alive were a number of hand machines for St John’s Integrated Secondary School in Navrango, a specialist vocational training centre for students with hearing impairment.

When we visited, the sewing room was a hive of activity and the students’ work shone. But the sewing department isn’t the only one to have benefited. The woodwork department also received a large carpentry training kit.

One of St John’s students proudly displaying her work

Our latest container of tools left Netley Marsh on 29 March bound for artisans’ workshops in Tanzania.

Thanks to volunteers in Bristol, Castle Cary, Netley Marsh (day and evening groups), Holt, Sheffield, Clun, Bristol, Northampton, Ringwood, Nottingham, Exeter Men in Sheds, Wakefield, Southwell, Milton Keynes, Baildon, Llanelli, Edinburgh, Sutton, Middlesbrough, Bakewell, Weston-Super-Mare and Swindon for helping to make this happen.

Some of the toolkits being loaded

We are looking to appoint a Partnership Development Officer to work at our offices at Netley Marsh. The post holder will:

• develop new and existing partnerships with appropriate African organisations
• develop, manage, monitor and evaluate projects with partners
• manage the tool sending process with partners and colleagues

You will need:

• practical experience or knowledge of rural development, ideally with artisans or micro-enterprise
• to enjoy working with all kinds of people, from UK volunteers to African artisans
• to be ready to spend up to 10 weeks per year working with partners in Africa

This is a permanent post subject to satisfactory completion of a 6 month probationary period. Salary ~£24.7K, 10% non-contributory pension and 25 days holiday.

• Job description/person specification (57 kB)
• Application form (pdf) (96 kB)
• Application form (Word version) (271 kB)

If you are interested in this vacancy please submit your completed application form by email to jobs@tfsr.org. Postal applications are also permitted.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 10 May 2012. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held week beginning 21 May 2012.

Tools for Self Reliance
Netley Marsh
Southampton
SO40 7GY

The Kinghorn Ecology Centre’s tool refubishers are arousing lots of interest and for all the right reasons. Among their proponents are MSP David Torrance, who said “This is a fantastic project which really benefits the local community.” Enterprise Officer Julie Wesencraft described the tool workshops as “inspirational”.

Centre manager Jo Hobbett said, “We have two or three young men on placements plus a core of seven other volunteers. The intergenerational mix works well and the young volunteers really do learn from the older ones.”

Tool refurbishing started at Kinghorn in March 2011. Refubishers meet every Monday afternoon, even in the depths of winter, which shows considerable commitment considering they operate out of a drafty old barn.

This is a fantastic project which really benefits the local community.MSP David Torrance

The group has begun refurbishing tools, not kits, to get its hand in. According to Jo, “We are at the stage now of having to spend more time sorting out tools before the weekly workshops so we can be a bit more organised. We are very keen to try and complete a full kit for Tools for Self Reliance soon.”

The team also refurbishes tools for destinations nearer to home. This includes gardening tools for tending a vegetable plot at the centre, managed by a local befriending group.