Engineering team take on homebuilding African adventure

charity: Rosyth dockyard staff have been fundraising to support their trip to Tanzania

Nine employees of a Fife firm are to put their engineering skills to the test in East Africa.

Staff from Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard facility are off to Tanzania to build homes for some of the country’s most vulnerable people.

They will team up with other employees from across the firm’s UK network to construct properties for families in need, allowing them to stay together after lifechanging events.

The trip is being undertaken in association with the Edinburgh-based Vine Trust, a relationship established after Babcock renovated the charity’s medical ship MV Hope, which was launched from Fife by Princess Anne earlier this year.

Donna Maplesden, who was project manager for the renovation, is one of the Rosyth team journeying to Africa and said: “Having project managed Forth Hope, I am excited to go to Moshi to support other projects.

“Seeing the fundraising efforts of the team, and hearing the buzz of excitement as the expedition nears, brings a clear focus to what we are doing.”

As part of a party of 26 Babcock employees from around the UK, the Fife team will work with their colleagues to build three homes, supporting the Vine Trust’s target of constructing 100 new residencies for families living in extreme poverty.

Before making the 7,000-mile journey to the city of Moshi, staff have had to undertake a host of fundraising activities to pay for the £26,000 trip, staging long distance cycle rides, bake sales, African themed meals and auctions.

Claire Laurenson, a project management apprentice from Dunfermline, said the combined effort would pale in comparison to the work they will be carrying out in Tanzania.

“I think I’ll get a great sense of achievement from working under pressure and in surroundings that I am not familiar with,” she said.

“The expedition will be hard but seeing that we have helped make a significant improvement to someone’s life is an experience I’ll remember forever.

“Overall, I am nervous but excited about what lies ahead.”

I think I’ll get a great sense of achievement from working under pressure. CLAIRE LAURENSON

The trip is being undertaken in association with the Edinburgh-based Vine Trust.