Help from Tumaini in Canada

RR SMITH MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

The RR Smith Memorial Fund is the charitable arm of BC Retired Teachers' Association and has generously donated the following:

2018 = $1000 to buy Daftari notebooks for 67 Secondary School Students to attend school in Kayanga and Ngara districts
2019 = $1,250 to fund college tuition for 10 students for the first year of a two-year course in the career of their choice
2020 = $1250 for their second year of college was gratefully received
2021 = $2,000 for other students to attend college
2022 = $2,500 for A Level students
2023 = $3,000 to purchase 12 treadle sewing machines for the tailoring schools
2024 = $2,500 to purchase Daftari notebooks for 167 students to attend school
2025 = $2,500 for students to attend normal college to learn a trade such as electrical, plumbing, construction, etc. which almost guarantees the successful students will get jobs.
2026 = $3,500 for more students to attend normal college to learn a trade

On behalf of all the students whose lives have been improved by these generous grants, the board members of Tumaini Fund Canada express their heartfelt thanks to the retired teachers of BC.

ROTARY CLUBS

After presentations and appeals to local Rotary

Clubs on Vancouver Island in BC, Tumaini Fund Canada was delighted to receive generous donations:

In October 2018, a cheque for $1,000 from

Nanaimo Oceanside Rotary to assist with

building a fresh water well in Kagera.

In November 2018, a cheque for $1,000 from Lantzville Rotary to purchase fabric for school uniforms to be sewn in Tailoring classes in

Kagera.

In November 2024, a cheque for $1,000 from Parksville Rotary to purchase treadle sewing machines for tailoring schools in Kagera.

Upon completion of a two year tailoring course, graduates keep their machine to start their own

business. There are five tailoring schools With this yearly replacement, there is an annual need for 100 treadle sewing machines.

GETTING INVOLVED

See our brochure 2026 TFC brochure

The Tumaini team and the recipients of support in Tanzania deeply appreciate:

* Sponsorship of a child or family

* Help with education expenses (Daftari notebooks,

treadle sewing machines, carpentry tools, and solar

lamps)

* Donations towards a new house, a well, a bicycle or a

goat

You can also:

* Donate your deposit-fee recyclables

* Volunteer to sew or knit at home

* Share your fundraising ideas

* Help at events (Christmas Craft Fair below)

TRANSPORTING DONATED GOODS FROM CANADA TO KAGERA

In 2014, Tumaini Fund Canada was delighted to

receive a donated 40-foot shipping container and transport costs from ICROSS Canada. Packed with urgently needed supplies from Compassionate Resource Warehouse, the container travelled by sea to Dar es Salaam and then by truck to Muleba. The container was welcomed with joy by the Tumaini staff and local hospitals, schools and communities who shared in the wonderful donations that were unloaded, including medical equipment, school supplies, clothing, tools, and toys—which were shared among local hospitals, schools and communities, before the container was repurposed as permanent storage for Tumaini.

Transport in personal luggage
Personal Care Kits, urgently needed by Tumaini

school girls, have been carried by kind volunteers travelling from Canada to the UK and Guernsey;

then onward by visitors to Kagera or included in

the next Guernsey container to Kagera.

Pallets

Over the years, pallets of essential items have

travelled from Nanoose Bay by rail, sea, and truck

to reach Kagera. More recently, shipments are sent via Guernsey containers, creating a safer route for vulnerable items like Personal Care Kits, blankets, and sweaters.

Shipping by Canada Post

Recently we have started mailing boxes of 25 PCKs via Canada Post to Dr. Susan. The postage for each box is about $200 and is paid for with money from our bottle and can recycling program. We are very grateful to those who donate, sort and transport deposit-fee recyclables to the bottle depot.

As of May 2026 a total of 2411 Personal Care Kits

have been shipped. Below, some personal care kits being packed up to travel with Dr. Susan.