WANTED: Your old sewing machines & tools for self-reliance charity

THE Rotary Club of Thame is asking the public to check their sheds and lofts and bring their old or unwanted tools to the main car park in the Upper High Street, Thame, near the Market House, Montesson Square, on Saturday morning, May 24, between 10am and 1pm.

Blacksmiths, Kigoma & Kasulu with the donated tools they have benefited from

Every year the Rotary Club of Thame runs a collection point for unwanted tools. These are then taken to Tools for Self Reliance, a charity at Netley Marsh near Southampton, that refurbishes tools and sends them to NGOs in Africa. The NGOs then distribute them free to men and women to work with.

Rotarian Erroll Bateman said: “The Rotary Club of Thame would like to encourage everyone to check their garages and lofts and bring their unwanted items to us to give the craftsmen in Africa a chance to put their skills to good use for the benefit of their community as we believe it is a worthy cause.”

Here are a few examples of useful items welcomed by Tools for Self Reliance:

Good quality Singer round-bobbin hand machines – because spare parts are easily available in the UK and all over Africa for these old but solidly-built machines
Electric sewing machines. These need to be in good working order and be capable of zig-zag stitching and embroidery. A foot controller and instruction manual, though preferable, are not essential
Plumbing tools – especially heavy duty floor-standing pipe benders
Arc welders (240V, stick type) plus accessories
Carpentry tools – especially large carpenters vices, metal jack planes, tri-planes and drawknives
Building tools, especially builders squares and corner trowels
Engineering and metalworking tools – especially HSS twist drills, metric taps & dies and hand-operated bench grinders
Bicycle repair tools – especially spoke spanners
Shoe repair tools – especially skiving knives
Auto-mechanics tools – especially heavy duty foot-pumps, tyre pressure gauges and piston ring compressors
Electrical repair tools – especially multi-meters and desoldering equipment
Industrial/professional quality power tools – especially heavy duty drills and bench grinders
Blacksmiths tools – especially anvils and leg vices
Overlockers

Collected items will be taken to the very well equipped TFSR depot at Netley Marsh where they will be refurbished by a group of retired engineers before being packed into containers for shipment to African countries. From the port of arrival they are taken by members of the organisation to villages to help the people become more self-reliant.

If you have got tools available to donate and you are not able to come on the May 24, please send us a message via Rotary’s website: www.thame.rotaryweb.org
or ring: 01844 212 623 or 07764 85 49 49