WITH AMZING SUPPORT FORM THE DONORS, WE HAVE BOUGHT and DELIVERED A FIRE TRUCK TO TANZANIAN VILLAGE, BUTIAMA
The aim of our campaign was to collect funds for buying a fire truck and necessary equipment as well as creating a fire brigade in Butiama, Tanzania.
Butiama is a place where Polish Resurrectionists have been working for years, including a priest, Daniel Hinc. Together with Kuba Walkowiak
they both noticed the problem and a necessity to set up an operable fire station there, one which will be able to ensure safety of the
inhabitants. At the start of the campaign the closest fire brigade is located 45 km from the city, which in fact made it impossible to provide aid to the
people. The aim of our campaign was to collect 200,000 for the purchase of a fire truck and necessary equipment, deliver the fire engine as well as establish a fire brigade there in Butiama, Tanzania.
Goal: PLN 200,000
More information about the organizer, purpose, purchase, location and current collection status – on the project website
Website: http://www.gasimyafryke.pl
Goal # 1 Purchase of a fire truck & adjustments.
Goal one – achieved thanks to wonderful Donors!
Goal # 2 Equipment necessary for safe use of the fire truck
Apart from a fire truck we are planning to equip Butiama with the equipment necessary for safe use of the fire truck and efficient fire fighting. That includes not only firefighter suits, but also helmets, shoes, gloves and vehicle equipment. The list is long and will be adapted to the collected funds on an ongoing basis. We keep our fingers crossed, ask you to do the same and to support our campaign.
Goal #3 Transport to Butiama.
In spring 2020 we were planning to deliver the fire truck together with the equipment to the village in Butiama but we had to change this plans due covid-19 pandemic. The world has stopped. Finally between 6th and 18th August 2021 we have worked on the shipping process – customs, taxes, clearance, i.e. we have finalised the wagon’s exit documents. A drive to Poznań on 6 August and a few hours in the customs agency, but we got it – the wagon has been formally customs-cleared and, with a set of documents, is ready to go to port. Booking the shipment is done thanks to Sigma Shipping, which has been providing us with advice and technical support for many weeks. With a complete set of documents and a booking number, we set off for the port in Germany in just a few days to be loaded onto the ship.
On 18 August, the car was shipped from the port of Bremenhaven – fire engine was finally going to Tanzania
We had to collect the car from the harbour in Dar Es Salaam and deliver it to Butiama on wheels. It has been a large logistic operation, so we decided to help some Tanzanian children while on the road, as these student were supported by the Have a future Foundation since 2012.
On 15 September 201 , our team – including drivers (Roman, Kuba) , mechanic (Andrzej), Father Hinc from Butiama and our volunteer (Jarek) – arrived in Tanzania, and Agnieszka from the Have a Future Foundation also flew in over the weekend. At the same time, the purchased car arrived by sea. Thus, on Monday morning, we start the customs and formal procedures to take the car out of the harbour and move on. Due to the agreement to hand over to the local services and the partial exemption from customs duties that this entails, the process is not simple and straightforward – at least eight different offices await us, several of which we will be returning to more than once. Tanzania also has a well-known mode of operating in a field climate, which means definitely…..no hurry. Slowly.
Thanks to Fr Daniel Hinc and the proxy of the Tanzanian guard Mr Kimaro, for their help in the next few days. We will need it 😉
Already the first morning on the road showed that Dar Es Salaam – officially a city of 6 million, unofficially it could be definitely more – is being heavily modernised. It took us more than an hour and a half to drive the dozen kilometres to the port and find the right institution in the absence of street numbers and the exact location of offices on maps.
You are welcome to take this ride with us. 😉
Details and photos here: 1st part of the trip, 2nd part, 3rd part including Karatu and National Parks, last and final day.
Arriving by cart in Butiama is not the end of our adventure in Africa 🚒😁 As it turns out, this may just be the beginning! 🎊
We came across several fire engines here, albeit each one different, and there was definitely very little equipment in working order or actually equipped, unfortunately. The firefighter training is very good – more on that in a separate post soon, nevertheless the learning is largely ‘in absentia’. They hear about and learn about many things ‘in the dry’ – for lack of equipment.
Josephat, our driver from Dar Es Salaam, teaches firefighters – he regularly gives training . He is able to impart theoretical knowledge about the different forms of firefighter work, from his knowledge of the vehicle and equipment. Now he had the opportunity to actually use this knowledge, before returning to his unit.
In the morning, after a quick breakfast and coffee, we set off to carry out a technical check of the vehicle and to “repair” the signals which, at the end of our journey, refused to work. Fortunately, the problem was mundane and replacing a fuse solved the problem 🚨🚨🚨.
In our project, however, the most important thing is…the PEOPLE.
In Butiam itself, a fantastic trio of firefighters were deployed to work on site. 💪💪💪
Today we introduce you to the first local users of the truck: Peter, Matoke and Dickson 👩🚒👩🚒👩🚒 Give them a warm welcome 🙌
The introduction to the training, i.e. the cart itself and its contents, took place while still in the parish, under the watchful eye of Kuba and Andrew.
The gentlemen had the opportunity to touch, take out, check, put away, lift, lower, enter, unfold practically every relevant component.
A good start and gallery below.
Next day would be the time for water training 😜.
A SURPRISE VISIT at CENTER FOT CHILDREN with ALBINISM
The We Put Out Africa project brought together many fantastic people for whom helping is an additional way of functioning on a daily basis.
Before showing the fire engine to the local community and introducing the new firefighters in Butiam, we visited a nearby home for children with Albinism – Tanga located 200 km away in Mwanza.
Driving the participants of our trip back to the airport, we could not miss this special place, whose inhabitants look down from the hill to the beautiful Lake Victoria. Getting there is not easy, but the excellent company at the top rewards every step.
TANGA SMA is not an orphanage or a centre, but a real home where 14 young people can feel safe and, above all, where they have found understanding and real homely warmth from the Sisters and founder Fr Janusz, as well as Kasia, an SMA volunteer currently there.
Tanga means ‘sail’ because it is a response to the needs of young people facing prejudice and the real danger of loss of health or life on a daily basis.
To this day, an amulet made from a part of their body is a valuable and desirable acquisition for many.
After coffee and a talk about how to help wisely, long-term, to make a real difference to someone’s whole life, it was time for some entertainment and joy. Although people with albinism are quite shy in their everyday life, this time they joined Cuba’s illusion show with a smile.
Anyone who wishes to support their livelihood can make a donation using the details below:
African Missions Association
Account number: 40 1600 1127 1849 0839 4000 0001
with the notation : HOUSE FOR CHILDREN WITH ALBINISM “TANGA – SAND”.
Asante sana!
Kuba, Agnes, Jarek, Andrew and Daniel 🙂 .
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You can find the projects of the They Have a Future Foundation as always here:
www.majaprzyszlosc.org.pl
Goal #4 Fire training.
Our last goal would be setting up a local fire station in Butiama, along with training volunteers in using a fire engine,
carrying out necessary repairs and effective using equipment elements with compliance with safety rules.
We have over 10-year experience in National Fire Service – thus we will do our best to pass our know-how over to the local community and future users of the fire truck.
Will they be able to make the best of those opportunities out there, in Butiama? After our last visits to Tanzania we are sure that we hand the equipment down in the right hands.
If our goals are close to yours and you are willing to contribute to the project, contact us or donate.
Fundacja Mają Przyszłość
ul. Młyńska 45
62-070 Konarzewo
Title of the transfer: “GASIMY AFRYKĘ – DAROWIZNA”
The account number in Alior Bank (changed since 01.2018)
44 2490 0005 0000 4600 3246 9899
Contact to the Coordinator and Organizer of the collection:
Phone: (+48) 600-255-710
E-mail: kuba@gasimyafryke.pl
Contact to the Foundation supporting the collection since 01.2018:
Phone: +48 883 135 051
E-mail: fundacja@majaprzyszlosc.org.pl