An SSE employee has completed a trip of a lifetime to Tanzania after months of fundraising with The Vine Trust.
Wendy Davidson (25), part of SSE’s Training team, has returned from her two week labouring trip to Moshi, a small town in the south east African country on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro, where she and 19 others from her local church helped make a difference to the community.
The group were able to visit Tanzania through a partnership with charity, The Vine Trust, which enlists support from volunteers to help some of the poorest children and communities in the world.
Reflecting on her experience Wendy said: “Our time in Tanzania was spent working really hard in hot temperatures building homes for the most needy children and families.
“We laboured alongside local builders, walking long distances to get and return water to the work site, lifting heavy rocks to build foundations, passing buckets of sand to each other to mix the cement and much more.
“We were privileged to also visit Fuka School where I got to put my teaching skills to good use making Tanzanian and Scottish flags with the children, which was very rewarding and a lovely experience to be a part of.
“We also visited Kalali orphanage, which is home to babies and toddlers as young as five months old, who have lost their parents, mainly through childbirth, AIDS and HIV.”
Wendy was joined by members from Letham St. Marks Church and Perth North Church who managed to pay for the trip through various fundraising events. Wendy’s colleagues at SSE also helped her raise an outstanding £670 towards the trip through raffles and a bake sale.
SSE also donated safety gloves and safety glasses as personal protective equipment to Wendy and her group which were then given as extra safety protection for the local workmen and builders in Tanzania.
On returning to the UK Wendy now plans to head back in July this year with another work party allowing her to meet again with the children and families she connected with during the first trip.
“This trip has truly changed my outlook in life and made me take nothing for granted. I’m really looking forward to returning later this year to do more to help the local community there,” added Wendy.
Anyone who would like to make a donation towards Wendy’s next adventure can find more detail on her fundraising page.