A Tanzanian crafts collective staffed by people with disabilities is all set to open a brand new centre in the town of Iringa.
In just over five years, Neema Crafts, which was started by CMS mission partner Susie Hart as a paper-making workshop with three young deaf Tanzanians, has grown to an 80-strong organisation making and selling paper and card products, bead jewellery and woven goods.
There's even a cafe staffed by deaf workers - customers fill in an order form, attract the waiter's attention by means of a flashing light, and even learn a bit of sign language from the menus.
Neema was beginning to burst out of its old premises and has just moved into a brand spanking new building, all set for a grand opening later this month.
The new centre adds a dedicated physiotherapy space, which will serve people like Musa, an 11 year old lad with cerebral palsy, who until six months ago had never spoken or wallked. A visit from the Neema physiotherapist, Beatrice Swai, inspired his doting grandmother to see what he could achieve. By the next visit a week later she had fashioned some crutches and Musa was standing. Another week and he was walking. After a few months Neema was able to fund an operation for Musa and he now he's able to walk without crutches - and can be seen heading through town to school every morning.
It's a truly inspiring story which many CMS supporters got to hear about last summer when a group from Neema toured the UK. If you didn't catch them, or haven't yet come across the amazing Neema story, visit their website or take a look at some of the recent stories about them on the CMS site:
Working with the poo-r at Greenbelt
Honoured with Tanzania's freedom torch
Japanese ambassador presents fat cheque
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