2020 Newsletter

Despite the challenges of 2020 The Ifakara Bakery Project has experienced success and growth in unexpected ways thanks to the continued and unwavering support of all the donors and volunteers.                       

Thank you from our hearts to yours.

This year the bakery produced 81,912 loaves of bread for the Free Bread Fund, 80% of which was given to children under 7 years old. None of this would have been possible were it not for your support. Your donations continue to make a real difference.

 Covid-19 in Tanzania

Viruses are not confined by international borders. The first COVID-19 cases were reported in Tanzania in March 2020. Over the weeks and months that followed, schools were closed, international flights suspended, and other control measures adopted. Sadly, many reports from diverse sources including hospitals and cemeteries, suggested large numbers of severe cases and deaths in many parts of the country. Despite this, the President announced the country to be free of COVID-19 in June 2020.  Schools were reopened in June and international flights resumed. Sadly the Tanzanian authorities stopped reporting case numbers in May, so the shape of the pandemic remains unknown. 

Creative Fundraising

We are currently unable to give the talks that have been our main source of income for the charity.

So we have been relying on your individual donations which arrive in the post and we have been exploring other fundraising ideas. One was a sponsored 5k run. Nineteen people, socially distanced and all over the world, ran, cycled, walked and Zoomed together to raise just under £8,000 (or 32,000 loaves of bread!) It was so much fun that it may well turn into an annual event! It was held on Father’s Day to celebrate Eugene, the Father of the Bakery Project.

Kibaoni kindergarten

Thanks to all the donations we have sent 6,000,000 shillings (£2,180) to the Kibaoni kindergarten as the new school year started just when Covid-19 appeared.

We first got involved three years ago, when the new parish priest took us to the nursery school and we straight away saw that the children were from very poor families - namely because only half the children were wearing school uniforms. Uniforms are very important to the people of Tanzania and if a child is not wearing a uniform it is an indication of extreme poverty. Uniforms are often given more importance than food. 

The bread and tea were just being given to the children when we arrived. The children sat on the concrete floor on small mats. The excitement of receiving the bread was palpable. It was enjoyed with enthusiasm. For most of these children this would be their only breakfast. 

New Website

IBP has a new home online www.bakeryfund.org. The new website contains information from the original site plus the addition of a modern look, new photos, videos, up to date content and donation buttons. We are also now on Facebook and Twitter. We are proud to say that all this work has been done by a team of talented international volunteers. Many thanks to you all.

2021 - Twenty Year Anniversary of the Bakery

Twenty years ago Margaret and Eugene, fondly known in Ifakara as Mama and Baba Mkate (Mother and Father Bread) showed the sisters of St Francis how to bake bread for the first time using the equipment Margaret and Eugene provided after years of fund raising.

Since then over 1 million loaves have been baked! The Free Bread Fund Margaret and Eugene set up continues to provide  ‘daily bread’, a lifeline to those in need in the local community.

New ways to support

As communities around the world are hit by the impact of Covid 19, the need for the work of charities such as ours has become ever more important – and you are making sure this happens.

Donations can be made through the website and now there are other ways to support the Bakery Fund:

Amazon Smile – When you use Amazon, go to smile.amazon.co.uk, There you will be prompted to select a charitable organisation, type in The Ifakara Bakery Project and start shopping! Amazon will give us 0.5% of the net purchase price (excluding VAT and other shipping fees) of eligible AmazonSmile.

 The Ifakara Bakery Project (reg. Charity 1114531) c/o Margaret & Eugene Schellenberg 18 Grange Hill Rd, King’s Norton, Birmingham B38 8RG, UK 07599 127 331,  Emschellenberg@aol.com,  www.ibpfreebread.com