Protect Girls from FGM in Tanzania

Dear generous supporters of NO FGM! Safe House and Training Centre, Tanzania

JUST A FEW DAYS UNTIL  “GIRLS SAY NO!”

There are just a few days left to get your tickets for our major London event, “GIRLS SAY NO- celebrating Tanzanian successes in beating FGM ” at Westminster Central Hall on Thursday October 2^nd. This will be a wonderful evening with inspirational speakers including Dr Ann Marie Wilson who knows more about FGM in Arica than anyone else, student activist Muna Hasan and our own Mama Rhobi Samwelly. There’ll be music from Freddy Macha and his band. Food and soft drinks are included in the ticket price of £20.00. So please come and support the Safe House project and have an excellent evening. You can buy tickets on-line at https://mydonate.bt.com/events/whall/174692or you can get them on the door. However in that case phone Ann Marcus on 020 8668 5230 by Sept 28^th as we need to know the numbers for the caterers.

BY THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH: A REFUSAL OVERTURNED

Mama Rhobi, the leader of our Safe House and Training Centre Project, arrives on September 27^th for an information-giving and fund-raising tour. The visit has been paid for by two of our members and there is no cost to the project. But it nearly didn’t happen! On the 18^th August Mama Rhobi heard that her visa to come to the UK had been refused. The grounds given were that “she did not have a strong connection to Tanzania and that her income was low”.  No strong connection? Born there, educated there, married there, a mother there, in full-time employment there, backed by her Diocese and Bishop……… The fact (and much more besides) that she is due to speak to a committee of the House of Commons was ignored. Many of us wrote at once to our MPs (thank you if you were one who did) and after a highly anxious wait, the decision was overturned. If you would like to know why Mama Rhobi is such a passionate campaigner against FGM, you can read all about her at http://hiaragirlpower.blogspot.co.uk/

WHERE YOU CAN MEET MAMA RHOBI – IF YOU WANT MORE DETAILS PHONE 020 8668 5230

Sun Sept 28^th     Blackheath, South London

Wed Oct 1^st        Winchmore Hill, North London

Thur Oct 2^nd       GIRLS SAY NO- Westminster Central Hall, London

Sun Oct 5^th         St Peter’s Church, South Croydon, London

Mon Oct 6^th       Woking, Surrey

Thur Oct 9^th       St Thomas’ Church Huddersfield, Yorkshire

Sat Oct 11^th        Askham Bryan, Near York, Yorkshire

Sun Oct 12^th       Halifax Minster

Sun Oct 12^th       Bamford Chapel, Rochdale

Mon Oct 13^th     Worcester University

Wed Oct 15^th     London, House of Commons – if you wish to attend, phone Julian Marcus on the number above

Sun Oct 19^th       Sanderstead, South London

HOW’S THE FUND-RAISING GOING?

Overall, we need a bit over £70,000 (costs have risen) to build and equip the Safe House and Training Centre. So far, thanks to you and many others, we have raised £48,150. So we are almost on 69% of what’s needed. As you can see from the latest photo, most of the shell of the buildings is already in place and roofs will soon be going on.  The next lot of money will go on plumbing, solar power, water harvesting and furniture and equipment. Our dream is to get the buildings mostly finished in the next 3 months. 

Thanks for your help so far!

• Come to Westminster Central Hall (PDF)
  

ASANTENI SANA is what our friends in Tanzania say to you- or in English, A VERY BIG THANK YOU to all who have contributed to our NO FGM! Safe House and Training Centre appeal.

Our Tanzania Development Trust (Reg. Charity 270462) is quite a small organisation, run entirely by volunteers in the UK and in Tanzania. We have had 39 years' success in helping our project partners achieve small and medium sized projects in Tanzania, but the idea of raising enough money to build a Safe House for girls refusing or escaping from female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM) was quite daunting. It would be our biggest ever project with a target of £65,000 for the whole project.

However the kindness and generosity of our donors has been most moving and quite wonderful. In the Spring Global Giving Challenge, our first target was to raise at least £2,000 from a minimum of 50 separate donors, and then if possible to reach $4,000US - that would give us a permanent presence on Global Giving in the United States. In fact 253 people contributed a total of £8,761 and that's before Gift Aid is added. However, Global Giving is only part of our fund-raising for this project. Two children in Germany gave their pocket money. Maya, Amy and Chlöe, three girls from Kind Edward Vl school in Stafford raised £166. Dr Ian Dobie did a Fell Run and raised over £400. An Artist sold her paintings and cards and contributed £250. Students from Croydon College's Access to Nursing Course held a cake sale which produced sticky fingers and £170. Dr Roz Lee, a GP and potter held a sale of her ceramics and donated over £890. Janet Chapman organised 'Songs for our Sisters' a fund-raising concert in Hackney and that brought in over £1,000. A couple who wish to be anonymous have donated £5,000+ Gift Aid. Many people have donated amounts large and small- and as of today we have  raised close to £42,000- or about 65% of what we need.

The 'cutting season' begins in December in Mara Region, so it was important to get the building under way, as a sign to the village communities which practise FGM that there will soon be a loving refuge for girls who are daring to say 'No FGM!' and a place for them to stay and learn skills which will make them independent. We have therefore sent the first £26,000 to Mara so that the building can begin. We shall post pictures in the next report.

Now, A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY: WEDNESDAY 2nd OCTOBER. Please come and meet Mama Rhobi, the Project Leader on Wednesday 2nd October at 7pm in Westminster Central Hall. One of our members has paid for Mama Rhobi to come to the UK and she'd love to thank you in person. There'll be other great speakers and Tanzanian music and food. Tickets are £20 and you can get them at http://tinyurl.com/k8hgvj3  I'll also hope to meet you there.

Once again, thank you to everyone who has contributed. Every one of you has helped to bring the opening of the Safe House closer.

Best wishes for a very good Summer

Julian Marcus for the Safe House Team

Links:

• Here's the website for the project

• Westminster Central Hall Event Oct 2nd (PDF)