16/04/12….Old, unwanted tools could help others

THE Rotary Club of Thame is asking the public to check their sheds and lofts and bring their old tools to the Market square car park, near the Market House, Montesson Square, on Saturday morning, on May 12, between 9am and 2pm.

Every year the Rotary Club of Thame runs a collection point for unwanted tools. These are then taken to ‘Tools for Self Reliance’ at Netley Marsh near Southampton, the charity which refurbishes them and sends them to NGO’s (Non Governmental Organisations) in Africa. The NGO’s then distribute them free to men and women who can then use them to obtain work.

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 items to be collected:

?Sewing machines
?Blacksmiths tools ? especially anvils, leg vices, hand
operated pillar drills
?Carpentry tools ? especially large carpenters’ vices,
metal jack planes and tri-planes, drawknives;
?Engineering and Metalworking tools ? especially HSS
twist drills, metric taps & dies, hand operated bench
grinders;
?Bicycle repair tools ? especially spoke spanners;
?Shoe repair tools ? especially complete sets of individual lasts;
?Auto mechanics’ tools ? especially HD screw jacks, tyre pressure gauges, foot-pumps;
?Electrical repair tools ? especially multi-meters, Arc
Welders (240V);
?Industrial quality power tools ? especially drills and
bench grinders.

The 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 will then 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 go on May 12, contact Thame Rotary via their website: www.thame.rotaryweb.org