Barclays fund raising team takes breather in Arusha
By Arusha Times Correspondent
The Barclays Bankintends to raise one million British Pounds to support various
community projects in eight countries insub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania.
The money will be raised through a five-month expeditionby eight volunteers from
South Africa. The expedition, which started in June this year in London driving
all along, will complete its long trek in Cape Town, SA in November.
The eight-personteam, led by Roger Horrocks as crew director, was inArusha last
week after a four-month trip that took it through France, Portugal, Spain,
Italy, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya.
Speaking to journalists Mr. Horrocks said they took off their journeyon four
vehicles at Canary Wharf in London on June 14with a mission to raise money to
assist the poor and sick in Africa.
The expedition passed through the African countries, where Barclays has a
presence. Along the way, the bank hosted awareness-raising functions to support
its cause.
He said in Tanzania the funds to be raised will go for fighting malaria which
kills about 100,000 people annually , 70 per cent of them being children and
pregnant mothers.
The funds would be channeled through the World Vision, which is implementing
various community projects in the country. In Uganda and Kenya the funds will be
used to support the disabled and disadvantaged children respectively.
Speaking at a brief function, Barclays Corporate Relationship Manager, Linus
Kweka, said his bank normally allocated one per cent of its pre-tax profit per
yearfor community projects.
Currently Barclays hasfour branches in Tanzania: two in Dar es Salaam and one
each in Arusha and Zanzibar. The bank intends to expand further in the
countryfollowing the recent buying of ABSA (Amalgamated Bank of South Africa) by
Barclays.
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