Our Trustee Jenny Cosgrave is stepping down from the Board of Trustees after 15 years. Jenny has managed to join us at most of our meetings, either virtually or in person, despite being based in Mexico and, more recently, The Netherlands. She first visited Kindwitwi when she was the CAFOD youth representative and spent two months living in the village helping the local team with their IT skills and teaching English. More recently in 2022 she visited with our Chairman Geoff, to evaluate the programme and strengthen our links with FRRTL. She has also produced our newsletter for many years.

In her final trustees meeting earlier this year, Jenny said:

"RLT has been a constant presence in my life as it has grown and evolved over the past 15 years. As I step away, I do so with immense pride and gratitude for all the experiences I’ve had along the way — from getting to know the people of Kindwitwi and playing a small part in their lives, to connecting with our incredible supporters here in the UK. Your dedication and commitment have been the driving force behind our ongoing connection with Tanzania, and Kindwitwi in particular.

I’d especially like to thank my fellow trustees, who so generously give their time and energy to carefully steward the funds entrusted to us. It’s been a true privilege to know you, work alongside you, and learn from you. Thank you!"

The Trustees wish Jenny all the best in her future endeavours and thank her for her long-standing commitment and contribution to the work of the Rufiji Leprosy Trust.

The World Health Organisation, WHO, has declared that it wants to have moved from 'eradicating leprosy as a public health problem' to 'elimination of leprosy disease'. The aim is to have zero disease, zero stigma and zero disability by 2030.

In 2023, 1454 new cases of Leprosy were detected in Tanzania, which sadly means the country remains on WHO's list of 23 global priority countries where leprosy is still a significant problem.

Dr Nnally, the District TB and Leprosy Co-Ordinator, suspects there are areas in Rufiji where leprosy has started to re-emerge. In December last year, RLT provided the funds for him and our Acting Manager, Salum Kipaloya to visit the village of Tawi, a hundred miles south of Utete. They screened 42 people for leprosy and found two positive cases. They were able to initiate treatment for these two cases and provided the patients with protective shoes.

Staff at the Tawi dispensary had refresher courses on how to spot new cases of leprosy and administer treatment. Patients attending the dispensary for other reasons were also told about the signs of leprosy.

Dr Nnally also took the opportunity to screen 40 people for TB and awaits the results of specialized lab tests for this.

The house renovation programme is going well. The Board of FRRTL, our beneficiary organization in Kindwitwi, met and appointed a local builder to commence work on the programme. One of our beneficiaries wished to remain living in a traditionally built house. He is pictured here at the start of the renovation work to his house. Beneficiaries who live in more modern houses are also having improvements made to their accommodation.

Local builders have been engaged to renovate other buildings in need of repair in the village and to build new latrines. Work will start again after the short rainy season has ended.

The building work has been made possible with a Grant from the St Lazarus Trust.