News

A Great Start: 8 Homes At Kazunzu Published: 05 Feb 2020

2019 was a landmark year for Vine Trust as we began construction of the first of 40 homes at Kazunzu “Village of Hope”, a village which will provide a stable and secure upbringing for orphans from the islands and shores of Lake Victoria. The first two homes were constructed in May 2019 with the support of a team of volunteers from Falkirk Trinity Church. After working tirelessly over the summer to complete these initial homes, our team of “fundis”, led by Programme Director Samuel Limbe and site manager Leonard Chegene, also completed a further two houses!

October saw the arrival of 19 volunteers who received a warm welcome from the surrounding communities before coming together to work on homes 5 & 6. They were joined by Archbishop Musa Magwesela (pictured with volunteer, Rev Alex Currie) to plant a line of pine trees along the main avenue of the village and visited a local plant nursery to choose citrus, mango and avocado trees to accompany the next houses to be built.

November saw a team of 19 volunteers from Babcock International. The third team to travel to Tanzania as part of the Vine Trust-Babcock volunteering partnership, the 2019 group were the first to visit Kazunzu. The seventh and eighth homes flew up with the team efforts of our volunteers, our great fundi team and even chef Titus, and Samuel’s wife, Pendo joining in with lugging the bricks. On their last day, the group made sure to pass by seamstress Hannah’s stall at Sengerema market before their departure to collect the traditional clothing she had created for them over their two-week stay.

“The biggest impact from the trip was probably the positivity of the communities in Tanzania. Everyone is always smiling and welcoming and making the most of what they have.” Babcock Volunteer 2019

The fundis continued on site to complete the homes, resulting in 8 fully completed homes by the end of the year – a resounding success! We very much look forward to seeing how the village progresses.

Can you support Kazunzu Village of Hope? Please consider giving to support the future of this programme.