Dear all,

As the latest volunteer joining Solidarity with Orphans for 4 months from early December it is with great pleasure and excitement that I can inform you of the two projects which I will be undertaking during my stay in Bukoba.

The recent purchase of a delivery truck for the soap production team has been a great step forward in the process of optimising the management of this activity and should now allow us to resolve some of the other challenges which we are currently facing. Following on from the latest great analysis published by the team I will be working on a series of prioritised tasks; attempting to stabilise our upstream supply chain through longer-term fixed contracting and secondly, liaising with customers, existing and potential, to assess whether our product line needs altering. In so doing we also hope to structure long-term sales contracts. We anticipate that with success this will allow us to simultaneously cut raw material costs per unit produced while increasing the number of units sold, thus increasing our profitability in this activity.

My second project will be offering teaching of business skills to the sisters in Bukoba. I hope to impart knowledge accrued through my graduate business degree and my experience working with both large corporations and NGOs. The focus will be on those areas where the benefit will be greatest, including marketing, supply chain management and finance training. We anticipate that positive effects will be visible across all business activities.

Clearly, these two projects will build on our core ambition to give the organisation a stronger commercial footing, which in turn will deliver the sustainability we seek.

On a personal note it is a privilege to have been welcomed so warmly into this community and I am looking forward immensely to working with such talented and impressive people over the next few months and hopefully beyond. It goes without saying that I welcome your comments and feedback on this note.

Kind regards,

Rob Smith