Written by Hugh Priestner, TWAM Volunteer 'Do you remember the little books by Roger Hargeaves? His most famous collection was The Mister Men . But I remember one called Roundies and Squaries . And the best page of all proclaimed: Roundies count their blessings; Squaries count their money! There is no time quite like Christmas for reminding us to count our blessings. So how might we go about that? Our time is a great gift and so are the resources we have been given. We will

We’re excited to share some wonderful and unexpected news! TWAM has been honoured with the Excellence In Vocational Empowerment Award, from the West Nile Quality Brand Awards in Uganda. This astonishing award truly belongs to everyone who supports, donates, volunteers at, and believes in our mission. We’re humbled and deeply grateful. We’ll keep striving to live up to this recognition! Below is what the award committee shared about this recognition: "Dear TWAM Team, Warm gree

The indomitable Steven, one of our volunteers who refurbishes tools at home, has shared a major milestone about his work this year. "Well," he writes, "I have just finished wrapping my restored vintage sewing machines for 2025. These will be collected early in January 2026." "I believe that, through great teamwork, TWAM has a system in place which has now allowed me, as a home worker, to restore around around 50 machines in 2025." Just one of fifty sewing machines Steven has

Sheffield Tools For Africa ( https://st4a.org.uk/ ) are one of our partners and local hubs. The wonderful people at ST4A support TWAM by collecting and refurbishing tools for us, which we then organise and send to Africa. Chris, one of the team at ST4A, got in touch to tell us about how someone was able to support both their work and TWAM's mission: " A huge THANK YOU to Rotary Club member Richard for allowing Sheffield Tools For Africa the free use of his garage to store to

We have partnered with the wonderful Machine Knit Community, who are raising funds for our mission. You can support their JustGiving initiative for TWAM here https://www.justgiving.com/page/mkc-twam MKC is a friendly, supportive community for machine knitters from around the world. They are sponsoring our work, supporting the 189 knitting machines refurbished and sent by TWAM so far in 2025. More info about MKC and the amazing work of Nic, Steve, and everyone there is on thei

We are delighted to partner with The Dusty Shed, who have supported us and our mission since March 2024. Part of the 'Men in Sheds' community movement, The Dusty Shed provides a safe place for men (predominantly older gentlemen) to get involved in their local community through craftwork. So far, they have made eight kind donations of tools to TWAM. George, Development Officer at The Dusty Shed, kindly wrote an article to celebrate their partnership with us, which reads: ' Sin

In October, TWAM Ipswich celebrated its 500th carpentry kit sent so far in 2025 - a major milestone! And this snapshot from Zambia tells of the impact just one carpentry kit can have... The carpentry worksite at Mentra Youth, a place where futures are built... It may seem ramshackle, but the carpentry worksite at Mentra Youth training facility in Zambia is a hive of activity. And it lies at the heart of a mission that goes beyond its wooden posts and corrugated iron roof. TWA

We often read the stories of people who receive sewing machines in Africa and how it has changed their lives. But where does the journey begin? This is the story of Wayne from King's Lynn in Norfolk, England. He has donated so far about 60 sewing machines to TWAM, and he is still going strong! Wayne (right) with TWAM collector Don and a newly refurbished sewing machine! When TWAM first met Wayne in June, 2023, he refurbished sewing machines as a hobby - and had about 18 machi