Charity 'astounded' after Maidenhead church collects two tonnes of tools

A church on Westborough Road has expressed its gratitude to the community for a generous response to its latest hand-tool collection for charity.

Boyn Hill Baptist Church has once again been gathering donations for Tools with a Mission (TWAM), a charity that refurbishes equipment and sends it to Africa to help people launch their own businesses.

TWAM sends out more than 260 tonnes of refurbished tools each year — items that might otherwise be destined for landfill.

This marks the third time the church has participated in the tool-collection initiative, following previous drives in 2018 and 2022, all aimed at helping communities in need gain the equipment required to learn a trade.

The most recent appeal ran throughout October and collected more than two tonnes of items, including motor-trade and horticultural tools, sewing machines and fabric, and IT equipment.

Rev Amanda Redwood said: “As a Church, we want to say a huge thank-you to everyone in the community who gave.

“What seems like a load of tools at the end of their lives will be revamped, shipped off and given a new beginning.

“Many people in Africa will have the opportunity to climb out of poverty through the training that Tools with a Mission gives and the provision of the tools so individuals can start their own business.

“We would like to thank the community for their amazing contributions.”

The charity will use the items to create trade kits tailored for builders, electricians, plumbers and other tradespeople.

TWAM CEO John Noble visited the church on Sunday to help load the donations into a van.

The volume of textiles alone required a second van to transport everything to the refurbishment centre.

“This time, we were quite astounded because it was really a lot of tools,” John told the Advertiser.

“It was really lovely to go there and see the support and the friendship for Tools with a Mission.

“Sewing machines are our favourite item because we pack them into tailoring kits, and one sewing machine enables a mum to stay at home and start a business.”

TWAM, founded more than 40 years ago, supplies tools to around 540 charities offering skills training in Zambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi and Burundi.

Next year, the charity plans to expand into Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda and is seeking regular donations to support its growth.

“By far the biggest cause that those charities work towards is related to women because of the cultural challenges that women face in those areas,” said John.

“Other charities help ex-convicts, marginalised youth, and the disabled. There are many causes – it’s quite varied.”

He explained that tools go through ‘varying degrees of refurbishment’ depending on their condition.

“You get some stuff you scrap and sell the scrap, and some we sell off to raise funds, which equates to 25 per cent of our income as a charity, and we send the rest,” said John.

“We collect about 400 tonnes and send 260 tonnes.

“A lot of the tools get wiped down and cleaned off, but for things like sewing machines and knitting machines, they get fully serviced.

“For computer equipment, it gets wiped and new software loaded.”

Although the process is an ‘expensive exercise’, John said it remains invaluable to the people who receive the tools.

“It’s not just the giving of tools, it’s also given in love,” he added. “It’s the incredible generosity.”