PRESS RELEASE
7th November 2011
Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visit Wonder Workshop in Dar es Salaam
As part of their current tour of Tanzania, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on Monday toured The Wonder Workshop in Dar es Salaam.
The Wonder Workshop is a non-governmental organisation established in 2005 by Mr Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE, with its aim to train people with disabilities in skills such as welding, carpentry and bead making enabling them to make a living and support their families, often for the first time.
Driving to work each day in Dar es Salaam, Mr Joynson-Hicks, a photographer, was struck by the number of people with disabilities he saw begging on the streets and was moved to provide them with work, and with it hope. So he started by teaching a handful of people with disabilities welding skills and The Wonder Workshop was born. Since then the organisation has grown and now has 40 employees, 30 of whom have disabilities many as a result of contracting polio as children. The team makes artistic metal, wood, soap, bead, and paper products from recycled materials such as scrap iron, empty wine bottles, banana skins and pineapple tops. The organisation is sustained through product sales with some welcome donations assisting in expansion projects.
“We are delighted and truly honoured to welcome The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to our workshop in Dar es Salaam. They toured the whole workshop first visiting the wood section, then the welding section and then they saw how we make beads from ground down wine bottles and learned how we make paper from sustainable materials such as pineapple tops. They showed great interest in all the people here and the products that we make and I would like to extend our warmest thanks to them for including us in their visit to Tanzania,” commented Mr Joynson-Hicks following the 40 minute visit.
Shukuru Lindunga, who was born with impaired feet leaving him with limited mobility, has been an employee at The Wonder Workshop for five years and is now running the shop. He said, “We have been quietly preparing for a few weeks for this special visit and it was very exciting to meet a future King. The Royal couple asked lots of questions about our work here and I was proud to show him the wide range of products we make from materials which people think they have no use for. Before joining The Wonder Workshop I found it hard to find a job as many employers were not willing to take on someone who was not able to walk properly but as you can see from our work here, people with disabilities are able to work just as well as an able bodied person. I would encourage people to come and visit us at the Workshop and see our products.”
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For photographs of this event please contact the Press Association
For more information please contact: Tel: +255 754 051 417 / Email: info@wonderwelders.org
PRESS RELEASE - UK
7th November 2011
Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visit Tanzanian organisation founded by East Sussex man
As part of their current tour of Tanzania, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on Monday toured The Wonder Workshop in Dar es Salaam; a charitable organisation set up by Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE, originally from Broadoak, East Sussex.
The Wonder Workshop is a non-governmental body established in 2005 to train people with disabilities in skills such as welding, carpentry and bead making enabling them to make a living and support their families, often for the first time.
Driving to work each day in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Mr Joynson-Hicks, a photographer, was struck by the number of people with disabilities he saw begging on the streets and was moved to provide them with work, and with it hope. According to World Health Organisation estimates, there are approximately four million people with disabilities in Tanzania, which is one of the poorest countries in the world[1], and there are very few services available to them. In 2004, Mr Joynson-Hicks started by teaching a handful of people with disabilities welding skills and The Wonder Workshop was born shortly afterwards. Since then, the organisation has grown and now has 40 employees, 30 of whom have disabilities many as a result of contracting polio as children. The team makes artistic metal, wood, soap, bead, and paper products from recycled materials such as scrap iron, empty wine bottles, banana skins and pineapple tops. The organisation is sustained through product sales with some welcome donations assisting in expansion projects.
After the 40 minute visit, Mr Joynson-Hicks said, “We are delighted and truly honoured to welcome The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to our workshop in Dar es Salaam. They toured the whole workshop first visiting the wood section, then the welding section and then they saw how we make beads from ground down wine bottles and learned how we make paper from sustainable materials such as pineapple tops. They showed great interest in all the people here and the products that we make and I would like to extend our warmest thanks to them for including us in their busy schedule.”
Mr Joynson-Hicks, aged 40, also set up the country’s largest one day charity event - The Dar es Salaam Goat Races - which has brought in nearly GBP160,000 over 11 years for worthy causes. He was awarded the MBE for his services to Africa in the latest round of Honours and his investiture will take place in Dar es Salaam during the Royal visit.
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For photographs of this event please contact the Press Association
For more information please contact: Tel: +255 754 333 007 / Email: info@wonderwelders.org
[1]The United Nations Human Development Index 2011 ranks Tanzania among the 40 poorest nations in the world.