Residents are being asked to take any old tools not needed to a collection point in Thame to help trainee trades and crafts people in Africa.
The Rotary Club of Thame is organising the collection in the Montesson Square main car park, near the Market House, on Saturday, May 20, from 9am until 1pm.
You can take sewing machines, tools used for plumbing, carpentry, metalworking, building, bicycle repair, shoe repair and car repair, but no garden tools are accepted.
The collected items are taken to the Tools for Self Reliance (TFSR) collection centre in Southampton, a charity which refurbishes them and sends them to non-governmental organisations in Africa. They distribute them free to men and women who are provided with training and start up kits to set up their own businesses after completing training not only in their chosen trade, but in business management, financial and life skills.
Trainee Mohammed Kanteh, from Sierra Leone, has hearing difficulties and has never attended school, but wanted the opportunity to learn a trade and earn money to support his mother and five siblings. He took part in a TFSR training programme, in partnership with Mobility Sierra Leone, and learnt how to repair wheelchairs and bicycles. He is now part of a small business, along with some fellow graduates, and they are already planning how to use their profits to expand.
Visit www.thame.rotary1090.org