November News

Richard Golding, a new supporter of TME, spent a few months in Uganda volunteering for Uganda Lodge and TME. He funded the entire trip himself and after a few training sessions on how to use our new handheld recording devices Richard delivered 13 new recordings plus returning with fantastic stories relating to the impact of the DVDs.
Click here to read his full report.

The picture on the left shows a class in Uganda using TME lessons and the picture on the right shows Richard handing over one of the DVD players he donated to the local schools.

On Thursday 20th November TME hosted another shopping evening at L.K.Bennett - this time at the direct invitation of (and attended by) our patron, Linda Bennett. It was held at their very elegant Covent Garden store, which meant that some of our London based supporters, patrons and trustees were able to attend. It was a great evening and reasonably well attended, especially considering the current economic climate. TME benefited to the tune of just over £500 in ticket sales, but, just as importantly, the evening generated significant interest in our educational project. We are hopeful that at least one or two of the people present will actively help us in the near future.

Recently we were able to buy 250 nearly-new TV/DVD combination units for £20 each. These had been purchased by the BBC for an exhibition and were no longer needed. Although we do not usually ship players around the world this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss so they were loaded into a 20' shipping container and dispatched to Uganda. At the time of writing this they are off the Kenyan coast awaiting clearance for the vessel to enter the port of Mombasa from where they will be transported to Pastor Paul in Uganda ( see below).

Steve was invited to attend an International Leadership Conference and the Global Peace Festival in London organised by the World Peace Federation between 20th and 22nd November. This extraordinary event saw 250 delegates gathering to discuss the importance of personal integrity in leadership and involved people from all over the world. We were able to make contact with delegates from a number of countries including Sierra Leone, Kenya, Togo, Nigeria, and activists from around the UK. Steve took part in the concluding seminar on Peace and Development held at the Excel Exhibition Centre in Docklands, where he was able to appeal to a cosmopolitan audience for help with translations. A number of delegates have indicated their willingness to help which we hope will produce many results.
Many thanks to Robin Marsh and Margaret Ali for their generous invitation!

Recently we were able to buy 250 nearly-new TV/DVD combination units for £20 each. These had been purchased by the BBC for an exhibition and were no longer needed. Although we do not usually ship players around the world this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss so they were loaded into a 20' shipping container and dispatched to Uganda. At the time of writing this they are off the Kenyan coast awaiting clearance for the vessel to enter the port of Mombasa from where they will be transported to Pastor Paul in Uganda ( see below).

Steve met Pastor Paul Kinetaama from Uganda during a recent visit to the UK. Paul has an amazing story and is now part of a church with 1,000 pastors in the Kampala area. Paul and Steve visited the shipping company which will deliver 250 DVDs to Kampala for distribution by Pastor Paul. Paul has some experience of using our discs and recounted stories of people in remote places being very keen to have more titles in their language.

On Saturday 15th November, Woodbury Park Rd Dental Surgery in Tunbridge Wells was transformed into an Art Gallery for the night. Steve and Wendy Pearce kindly loaned the surgery to Artists Cathy Layzell, Sharon Baden, Sebastian Rous, Scott Evans, Wendy Pearce, Rowena Ray, Evelyn Hoath, Glass designer Jon Stamford and Ceramacist Caroline Bishop. Around 100 people turned up and viewed the fine display of Artwork. The Charity Thare Machi Education benefited from the evening and 20% of all the money raised will go towards their work in South Africa, which is educating the poor through modern technology. Many portable DVD players will be bought, sent out, and distributed to the poorest areas where women and children will learn about HIV/AIDS and many other health issues all in their own language. A very BIG thank you to all those people who supported and helped to make the evening such a great success.

(left to right: Wendy Pearce, Sebastian Rous, Cathy Lazell, Sharon Baden)

Steve was asked to speak to a group of students from a Coventry fairtrade group about TME work and 25 turned up. They were enthusiastic and many were keen to be involved in some way. One of the organisers is a teacher at a school in Coventry where the students cover 60 languages and so she is investigating the possibilities of collaboration. Others enquired about making a disc in European languages on the topic of fairtrade to educate people about the need for action back here.