Kenilworth Uyogo Friendship Link (KUFL)
To benefit Kenilworth and Uyogo communities mutually by working to improve health, education and the relief of poverty in Uyogo Ward in the Tabora region of Tanzania.
The Kenilworth-Uyogo Friendship link (KUFL) started in 1979, when the people of Kenilworth raised over £2,400 for its International Year of the Child project to enable a Mother and Child clinic to be built and equipped in the village of Uyogo in the Tabora Region of Tanzania, using local materials and labour. Since then, the assistance provided by KUFL has expanded greatly!
Project Areas
Protection of Health
The Mother & Child Clinic was completed in 1982. Since then Kenilworth has maintained a friendship link by correspondence, exchange visits and raising funds to equip the clinic, support other projects, such as the village dispensary, and ongoing support to complete a maternity ward and an operating theatre. Uyogo is now a medical centre for surrounding villages, with its own ambulance, recently provided by the Tanzanian government.
Relief of Poverty
The villagers make bricks and build the clinic buildings, classrooms and houses whilst KUFL supply money for the materials such as roof sheets, cement and windows. The Tanzanian government then pays the teachers’ salaries, so we all work together. We support self financing projects that allow the Uyogo community to raise their standard of living.
Advancement of Education
KUFL have funded the building of classrooms and teachers’ houses in Uyogo village and in two other villages in Uyogo Ward, Kasela and Igembensabo. We also sponsored village nurse Joyce Ongati enabling her to complete a doctor’s course in Dar es Salaam. She was working in the main District Hospital in Urambo, near Uyogo, but now work further away.
KUFL Guiding Principles
Community Participation
- Identify priorities for projects. The Uyogo community knows best what will make a difference
- Community contribution of time, labour and materials. (e.g. locally produced bricks)
Work with Local Government
- Ensure investments are aligned to government plans and support. (e.g. government organised staffing of the dispensary)
- Local government official Charles Mswima was appointed by the Local District of Urambo as KUFL’s liaison person.
Local KUFL Representation
- Our main local liaison person with the Uyogo community and project manger is Lucky Mgeni, who is able to consult with and listen to the Uyogo villagers and leaders, guide the KUFL resources on the ground, support problem solving as projects are underway, and importantly, to provide feedback to the KUFL committee, in Kenilworth, as to what is working and what needs attention.
Using Local Suppliers
- Any materials and equipment, e.g. bicycles, waters pumps & roofing material, are source locally, helping to stimulate the local economy.
Building Partnerships with other organisations (Especially where there are shared objectives)
- Friends of Urambo and Mwanhala (FUM) & Nkokota Friendship Link, both operating in geographic areas overlapping or not far from Uyogo.
- Water Aid have expertise in drilling water boreholes and developing ‘Clean Water’ projects.
Sustainable Support (KUFL is in it for the long run, dependable and trusted in Uyogo and in Kenilworth)
- KUFL has been working with and supporting the aims of the Uyogo community for nearly 45 years.
- Ongoing work with Kenilworth School, gives Kenilworth school pupils the opportunity to learn about Uyogo, Tanzania and to contribute significantly to KUFL’s aims.
Focus Areas
| Access Healthcare | Access to Education | Access to Water | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why is it important? | > Maternal & Child Health > Other Medical Issues | > Umiki Secondary School teaches 4 years of education for boys and girls. It has a huge catchment area and a good record in exam results. > Educating girls, particularly, is proven to have a huge effect on improving their and their children's lives. | > Important for hygiene, health, cooking and washing. |
| What are the specific challenges? | > Distance to hospitals > Money, travel time, urgency | > Girls are vulnerable walking alone the large distance to school. > Girls expected to do household chores after school. > Education traditionally focussed on boys. | > Women and children collect water from a distance. This impacts income generation and education. |
| How is KUFL helping? | > Building maternity ward, health clinic & provision of equipment. > Project to produce re-useable, washable, locally made sanitary pads | > School bicycle scheme, so that girls can get to and from school safely and quickly. > Building classrooms. > Building teachers' homes | > Support to build rainwater harvesting tanks. > Support for projects to take water from a bore hole to the health clinic, Uyogo Primary School and public points. > Bringing water from a bore hole to Umiki Secondary School. |
| What are the results? | > Dispensary and mother & child clinic well used, well stocked with medicines & access to running water | > Sufficient bikes on loan for all girls students to safely access school. | > Has made a great difference to girls' school attendance. > Increase the number of girls applying to Umiki Secondary School. |
Uyogo & Kenilworth Comparison
| Uyogo | Kenilworth | |
|---|---|---|
 | Flag |  |
 | Street View |  |
| Urambo District, Tabora, Tanzania | Location | Warwick District, Warwickshire, England |
| c. 27,500 (2012 Census with 2.98% growth) | Population | c. 22,500 (2021 Census and 0.6% growth) |
| Swahili, though up to 129 other languages stemming from Bantu, Cushitic, Nilotic or Khoisan are spoken throughout Tanzania | Languages | English |
| ~ 1135 m above sea level | Altitude | ~ 77m above sea level |
| Gravel / Unpaved roads | Transport | Transport Local Train Station, Motorway and Road Network, Birmingham Airport |
| 3 Primary Schools / x Pupils 1 Secondary School / x Pupils | Education | 6 Primary Schools / 1,500 Pupils 1 Secondary Schools / 1,780 Pupils |
| 74% Population below international poverty line | Economics | 0.2% Population below international poverty line |
Uyogo Location
Uyogo is in the Tabora Region of Tanzania, in Africa
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