Last week we were joined by Lesley and John Hough who are the founders of Tanzania Rural Revival. This Lincolnshire based charity works with existing structures in Tanzania (local government, schools etc) to identify and fund projects tackling the most pressing hardships faced in the undeveloped rural and remote communities.
John lived and worked in Tanzania in the 1960’s when it was a newly declared republic, with a single party state, operating on socialist principles. Returning some 30 years later with Lesley, John was shocked to find the rural communities had seen little development, with high levels of poverty and poor access to education, employment and basic infrastructure.
Using John’s contacts in Tanzania, whilst fund-raising from friends in the UK, John and Lesley set out to identify projects in areas such as health, infrastructure and education that could make significant and lasting improvements to peoples daily lives and future prospects.
Projects include supplying water pumps and training people how to maintain them, building toilets and dormitories in schools, and providing school uniforms and stationary to enable poorer children to attend classes.
The charity runs a ‘tight-ship’ releasing funds in tranches only when each stage of a project has been completed. Progress is generally checked in person either by Lesley and John, who aim to visit every year, or their trusted local contacts. There is also a requirement that those set to benefit contribute to the project, either financially or physically.
Tanzania Rural Revival is a registered charity, primarily funded by regular contributions from individuals. Visit their website to learn more or find out how you may be able to support their work.