In September, SIFE Newcastle will officially launch their second international and sixth project in total. The project is called ‘Time for Tumaini’, with Tumaini meaning ‘Hope’ in Swahili; the national language of Kenya, where the project will be based.

The project will work with people in Kangemi; a large slum, with over 100,000 inhabitants, located in the west of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi.

Through working at a grassroots level the project will aim to tackle the problems of extreme unemployment and access to clean water that exist in parts of Kangemi. This will be achieved by implementing several viable and profitable micro-enterprises; while also introducing water purification sachets, to be sold in these new businesses.  We hope to bring increased business knowledge and skills to the area, to provide a safe and viable way for people to create an income for themselves, while also having a benefit to the community as a whole.

Preparations have been taking place throughout the year by the two project leaders, second year Politics and Economics students Alice Watson and Emily King, ready for the launch in Fresher’s week.

If you would like to get involved in Time for Tumaini, don’t hesitate to contact us: sife@ncl.ac.uk. Or why not keep in contact by searching for SIFE Newcastle on facebook and following us on twitter (@SIFE_Newcastle)?

Even today the people of Rwanda are haunted by the aftermath of the genocide in 1994. The civil war, caused by tension between two ethnic groups, which led to the assassination of the Rwandan and Burundian presidents, was the ultimate catalyst of the genocide. An estimated 800,000 people were killed, but that is only half the story. Today, people must go on with their lives, with no homes and many family and friends no longer with them.

As a SIFE team we aim to help people to help themselves through the transfer of business and economic concepts. What this really means is that we help people by teaching skills and making business concepts accessible to try and improve their lives.

Our international project, works closely with the children’s charity Coco to improve the lives of those affected by the awful event. The project focuses on the Dufatanye Co-operative, located in Nyanza, Rwanda, which is a farming community of 362 people, and 23% of these suffer from HIV/AIDS.

Recently one of the Coco team was able to get out to Rwanda and assess the co-operative to find how best we can help. Lucy told us that ‘the housing was the worst I’ve ever seen’ and explained that she had visited a lot of deprived areas. She was concerned about the security, particularly for the women and children.

We were pleased to hear that she could see no obvious signs of malnutrition. The people of the co-operative told Lucy that it gave them hope and a sense of community. Many people with HIV/AIDS are isolated and the genocide is never spoken about.

The teams’ are aiming to improve the farming techniques and knowledge in order to get the best out of the land, and help with their accounting. In the future we are also hoping to improve the irrigation systems as the land is extremely wet and to help the co-operative save funds and build an ecological composting toilet.

The Dufatanye project is just one of the projects SIFE is running and if you’d like to get involved don’t hesitate to contact the new president Tom: t.j.hoggan@newcastle.ac.uk. You can also find out more by searching for SIFE Newcastle on facebook or twitter (@SIFE_Newcastle).

Last week the SIFE team put on our musical hats and joined our Crossings project in one of their open music sessions. It was a fantastic way to see how our hard work was helping members of our community. We all enjoyed making music using our voices, drums, boomwackers (plastic tubes) and other instruments.

One lady said that it provided a place where everyone felt equal as they all had English as a second language.

“ It’s a great place to make friends and improve our singing and learn instruments.”

There is also a children’s crèche so parents can bring their children to socialise while they attend the music sessions. The centre puts on a women’s choir, open instrument sessions and musical instrument lessons for asylum seekers and refugees in the Newcastle area. As well as enjoy and learn about music, these sessions are a great way for individuals to feel a sense of community.

The Crossings project has also delivered CV training to individuals as many are struggling to find employment, and helps individuals find invaluable work experience through our business contacts in the hope of improving their chances of finding a job.

It also helps, of course, with improving the members’ English and gives them a chance to talk about their culture and life before they moved to the UK.

We hope to continue to support the project as much as possible and help improve the lives of the asylum seekers and refugees in our area. See more photos on our facebook page and stay up-to-date via twitter: @SIFE_Newcastle.

One team, one dream!

Cheesy? Yes, but also true. The team have just got back from the training weekend and we are feeling officially SIFED! We had an incredible time and the passion and enthusiasm of everybody there was really infectious. It’s left us feeling more motivated then ever!

With not a minute to spare, the weekend was packed with seminars, interviews and talks all giving fantastic advice for us on the SIFE team. We have learned loads which will *hopefully* improve the team and in turn help those our projects aim to help even more.

We have an incredible opportunity up here in the North East to work with individuals who are in some of the most desperate situations in the whole of the UK. These aren’t just statistics to quote in terms of the number of individuals we have impacted, they are real people with real needs and we really can help change their lives for the better. They are the reason that SIFE exists.

It’s also great to understand that we are part of a much bigger SIFE network, we’re not alone in what we do and there’s loads of support out there for us when we need it. Together, universities up and down the UK are really making a difference to people’s lives.

Not only did we learn a huge amount, we had the chance to meet loads of amazing people, all who share our passion, and have a great time! On the Saturday night we also enjoyed getting dressed up for a posh dinner, wine and disco. Which was rather like a school disco, but all the more fun!

With more focus and enthusiasm that ever, this is a great time to be a part of SIFE Newcastle and help to make a difference. If you’re already a member we hope you can get involved with as much as possible, and if you’re not why not join the society today?

You can check out the photos on our facebook page and the website; next year we hope to take twice the number of people who came this time!

SIFE Newcastle presents The Devil’s Playground

On monday (october 31st) the SIFE Newcastle team will be hosting a halloween fundraiser called The Devil’s Playground at Sam Jack’s in Newcastle city centre. The event follows on from last year’s popular Take Me Out event, also at Sam Jack’s, which raised £500 for the team – and this event will even feature a mini halloween Take Me Out too.

Tickets for the event are only £2 advance and come with some great drinks deals and free entry to Tiger Tiger afterwards. So get on your scary costumes and join us at Sam Jacks at 8.30 on halloween!

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