Arc welding in Rwanda

[simons]

I was sitting in a restaurant in Musanze (small town in Rwanda) on Sunday and there were a couple of lads doing some fabrication work in the car park. When I saw their kit I just had to take some pictures. I looked at them, kitted out with cheap plastic sunglasses for eye protection, then their kit and crossed myself. They laughed.

Now I have a serious request. If anyone reading this has an old arc welder they no longer use at the back of the shed, then donating it to a Rwandan will give them a lifetime of work. I am back out here in Feb with 30kg of spare luggage allowance and I have a contact at an NGO who would be able to pass it on to a suitable recipient. I usually take clothes and even the odd manual sewing machine, it all helps. I've no idea how you would get it to me but we will solve that problem later. So if you are interested in giving someone the gift of employment, please get in touch.

Btw I'm not a scammer. I've lurked on this forum for years, mostly on the MIG side, but that sort of kit is way too complex!

Regards

Simon

Take a look at their kit. I watched them fix it after one of the cables caught fire and they just carried on....

 

[HughF]

I had the rear bumper on our toyota alphard re-attached in Dhaka, Bangladesh with something that looked similar....

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Wow.. let me speak to boss man. We might have something knocking about in the warehouse.

 

[HughF]

Before I gave them anything I'd show them how to cut and fabricate properly. No excuse for that shocking bit of box section work there, even if all they had was a hacksaw (which was probably all they had)...

 

[simons]

Actually my meal was disturbed by the sound of an angle grinder. I was shocked. You are quite right Hugh. Out here one tool serves for everything! Sadly I'm not here to give those kind of lessons...

 

[cumbriasteve]

If a member is kind enough to donate a machine to what appears a worthy cause it would be nice to see where it ends up, should be easy enough to arrange with the widespread use of the internet and camera phones.

 

[Gareth J]

Snap,

Just got back from a trip to Nepal.

(Note the ip67 rated cover!)

Saw some really shonkey welds, including plenty of structural ones, even in places you'd expect much better... Like the airport building! In fact I can't remember seeing a decent weld out there!

Bearing in mind the relative low cost of buzz boxes and the relative high cost of shipping second hand ones around, maybe a more cost effective solution might become buy 30kgs worth of welder next time they're on offer at Lidl/Aldi!

 

[p0689109]

I have a couple I have picked up you can take. PM me.

 

[indy4x]

I have a Clarke 210A arc welder but also a shed load of rods going spare, happy to donate. Welder was recently treated to a new electrode holder and earth clamp as well

I bought it new back in 1993, it has seen intermitent use over the years

Only downside is its going to be close to your 30kg limit

 

[WorkshopChris]

I would imagine fixed shade masks and lenses they could fassion holders for may help them get better welds from the existing kit as well as being lightweight to pack and ship.

 

[BarrieJ]

I've donated unwanted tools to these people before, it looks like Rwanda is not on their list, but it's possible they might have good advice on transport etc.

Tools for Self Reliance (www.tfsr.org) is an international development charity in the United Kingdom which recycles and refurbishes tools and sewing machines and supplies them to partners in Africa in conjunction with training programmes.

Tools for Self Reliance has a network of volunteers in the UK who refurbish donated tools and prepare kits suitable for use by trades people and small-scale enterprises in Africa. The main recipient countries are Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, Sierra Leone and Malawi.

Tools for Self Reliance was founded in 1980 and is based in Netley Marsh, Hampshire, and is a registered charity. Its patrons include Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Tools for Self Reliance was a member of the anti-poverty campaign Make Poverty History in 2005. The Chief Executive Officer of Tools for Self Reliance is Sarah Ingleby.

They can be contacted on: +44 (0) 23 8086 9697 or email on: info@tfsr.org

 

[steviec_lj]

I've an Aldi BuzzBox going begging if it's of any use?

 

[HughF]

Yes, my uncle who is a retired tool dealer has donated some stuff to TFSR, I understand they do good work.

 

[fizzy]

And if it is of any use I would be prepared to do a few subsidised shipments out there - I could do 30kg as an example for £90 - by air door to door within reason.

 

[rikrobson]

I've an Aldi BuzzBox going begging if it's of any use?

they might sent that back!!!!!

 

[Onoff]

The lightest thing has got to be one of the Aldi inverters but I reckon the humidity out there might kill it! Still, 3-year guarantee...

 

[Agroshield]

I would urge anyone not to send an inverter. The power supply in many parts of Africa is not as reliable and not as well regulated as here and will kill an inverter in a very short time. A simple transformer machine would be much better and is repairable locally if it does break.

 

[tinker jim]

Along with a arc welder you may collect some welding lids no long in use off forum members as I don't think sunglasses is going to give your peepers much protection in the long run.I must admit I have seen worse including a chap who thought mig welding with no shielding gas was the way forward lol

 

[simons]

All

First of all sorry I've not been about for a couple of days. In my defence I am working out here and it does get in the way. And one day I had a massive hangover. Thank you to those people who have offered to help, that is Barrie J, P06891091 and indie 4x. Barrie J your buzzbox is sophisticated in comparison! I've checked my luggage allowance for the next trip and it's not as big as I thought, I have two x 23kg spare. So are any of these machines going to come in at 23kg? In particular yours indie 4x, as I will defo be passing you on the M4 in December when I get back.

Point taken cumbria steve. I will be visiting the aspire NGO in Kigali this Feb, and I would be proposing to drop anything I take out with them. Check out their website...

http://www.aspirerwanda.org/

Peace (the boss) will make sure it does some good. It's easy enough to get a picture with Peace. But she may be able to arrange a pic with the final recipient.

Simon

 

[indy4x]

@simons will get it weighed and let you know

Chris