The Anvil – June 2026

Double Your Impact This Small Charities Week

Through the Big Give’s Small Charity Week campaign, every donation made to TFSR Cymru will be matched by the People’s Postcode Lottery up to £2,500. That means a £10 donation becomes £20, a £50 donation becomes £100, and every gift has double the impact. In one week, we are aiming to raise £5,000 in total to pay for electrical vocational training in rural Tanzania.

By donating to us during the campaign, you’re not only supporting a cause you care about – you’re making your contribution work twice as hard. 

How it works – donate to us via the link on our website or our page on the Big Give’s Funding for electrician training in rural Tanzania – Big Give between midday on the 22^nd June and 5pm on 29^th  June, and People’s Postcode Lottery will match your donation until our target of £5,000 is reached. And remember to include gift aid to increase your donation by a further 25%

Donate today ( and encourage others to) and help make twice the difference.

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Meet Saidi Maguta: Supporting Young People Through Skills and Tools in Rural Tanzania

For more than 20 years, Saidi Maguta has been helping people build better futures through practical skills and access to tools. As Workshop Manager for Tools for Self Reliance Cymru at Kalwande Vocational College in rural northern Tanzania, he has seen first-hand the difference that donated tools can make to people’s lives.

Saidi was born in 1962 and lives in Tanzania with his family. He is married and has two sons and one daughter.

His working life has always been focused on practical skills and helping communities. Before joining TFSR Cymru in 2005, he worked as a motor vehicle mechanic with Finwater Consulting Engineers from Finland, helping with the drilling of shallow wells and boreholes. He later worked in the same field with Tanzania’s Ministry of Water. After that, he joined the Rural Integrated Project Support (RIPS) programme as a blacksmith trainer and instructor, working with village artisan programmes.

Saidi has now been working with TFSR Cymru for almost 20 years.

Reflecting on what motivates him, he says:

“I am very happy for what I am doing and I love my job because it helps people direct, especially youths, to make their life easier and to avoid poverty somehow.”

One of the most exciting moments at Kalwande Vocational College is the arrival of a shipping container full of donated tools from the UK. The impact is immediate.

“When the containers of tools arrive, people are very, very happy, especially youths who have skills but no tools. They are plenty of them and the demand is big.”

For many young people, having access to good-quality tools can be the difference between remaining unemployed and starting a trade, earning an income and supporting their families.

Saidi is keen to express his gratitude to the volunteers and supporters in Wales and across the UK who donate tools and give their time freely to support the work.

“About those people who use their time, effort and money to help us, we have nothing to say more than ASANTE SANA. We thank them very, very much. God bless and very much greetings to all there at TFSR Cymru.”

“ASANTE SANA” means “thank you very much” in Swahili – a heartfelt message from Saidi and the many young people whose lives are being changed through the gift of tools and skills.

 

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THIS PROJECT REALLY CARES FOR THE POOR!

A story by Chacha Wambura, a 37 old carpenter in Mara region. He has a family of two wives and seven children. He is a chair of group called Mapambano (Struggle) with five members and the group was established in 2019. When the PO was on his mission of gathering trainees for the next short course, he visited the group and had some conversations with Wambura. 

‘My name is Chacha Wambura a resident from Musoma township, Mara region. I am a carpenter by profession and I had been working in the trade for the last twelve years. I was working ‘under the sun’ until in 2023 with no proper shelter and my office roof was a tree shadow under which I was working. Later on in the same year I received a tool kit from TFSR project after being advised by my friend to send some requests. The kit contained simple tools like hammers, saws, chisels etc. Then I just asked a question to the project coordinator (PO) whether I could get an electric grinder since I had a plan to extend my trade to aluminium works. I just tried my luck since in my entire area no fundi (artisan) had such a tool. When I saw him writing something in his note book I was a bit exited. Four months later the officer came again and he brought me a very good, strong and quality grinder! It was a big surprise to me and even when I showed it to my group members everybody was exited.

Just as I planned before, we have now extended our work to include aluminium works such as making gates, window and door grills, and other metal work. That development had impacted my family a lot as in just the past two years I have bought a boda boda (motor cycle used for commercial, purposes) which adds mu family income. As a group we have a good thatched shelter with electricity installed. In addition we have saved some money in the bank with the aim of buying a welding machine to make our work more professional and productive. So you see, the project has changed our life from just simple poor artisans to serious fundis who can even compete with others in town. In fact I never thought before that such wazungu (Europeans) project can reach people as poor as we were. On their behalf, thanks so much and may God bless you all’

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Local upcoming events:

• June 28 9:0 – 15:30 -Crickhowell market hall on the same day as the Crickhowell Craft fair day – we will have a stall there selling our refurbished tools and our shop will be open.
• July 5th – Insole Court Village Show – we will have a stall there selling our refurbished tools – https://insolecourt.org/events/
• July 23 – 27 – LANDED FESTIVAL – LLANDRIDNOD WELLS
  LD1 6HH. we will have a stall there selling our refurbished tools and will be running blacksmith and woodworking workshops.
  https://www.landedfestival.co.uk/