Who we are
Tendeso e.V. was founded by us, a group of dedicated people in Freiburg, Germany in 2017. As a spin-off out of Freiburg’s ‘Engineers Without Borders’ group we strive to realise technical, social and cultural development projects guided by the principle of capacity building. Our aim is to contribute to improvements of living conditions in countries of the global south with small to medium scale projects. A crucial point for us is the idea of sustained advancement. We support our project partners in their own actions with our abilities.
Tendeso is shona and translates as ‘That which makes us strong’.
We work towards this goal by planning and constructing infrastructure with focus on water and renewable energies. Technical training and consulting as well as educational and public relation activities are another important aspect of our work.
Our partners usually have an idea but need support in planning or additional funds to realise their project. We help with everything from dimensioning of the system, selecting a local supplier (all components are bought from and installed by local companies) to fundraising.
Our motivation and our kick-off project
During an internship at an SOS children’s village in Harare, Simbabwe, our chairman Dr. Andreas Wagner first visited ‘Kutenda Children’s Home’. Prosper Maponga, our contact person and head of the orphanage pointed out to him the poor electricity supply situation at Kutenda. After ongoing contact and mutual sharing of ideas we decided to support the orphanage in installing a sustainable energy system. Having started as a private initiative we soon decided to found a non-profit association. This allows us to enhance our public relations work and to realise similar projects as a cohesive organisation.
We are convinced that our longtime experience with development cooperation, our technical know-how, cultural understanding and our small number of members make our work efficient and permanent. 100% of our donations are used for specific projects.
We are glad to welcome you on our website! Feel free to contact us with your questions or subscribe to our newsletter.
Solar energy for Kutenda Children’s Home
Kutenda Children’s Home is located near Bindura, a village in Simbabwe’s north west. Twenty four children of different ages and several staff members live in six houses. Government funding exists in name only. In order to support themselves, residents grow corn and breed chicken collectively. They also produce and sell peanut butter, fishing and sew school uniforms. The hereby required water is currently pumped using a diesel generator. Fuel is expensive and at times hard to acquire. A more sustainable solution is the installation of solar system. This would greatly improve many aspects of life at Kutenda: The peanut putter and sewing machines run on electricity. A refridgerator could be used to cool chicken before selling them on the market. Excess electricity can be used for lighting or charging phones for the community thus generating another source of income. A solar water pump would improve sanitary facilities, and enhance crop yields. All this results in increased independence under the guiding idea of capacity building.
The system we are planning to install will cost between 2000 and 8000 Euros. We are currently looking for sponsors to support the project financially. If you are interested please don’t hesitate to get in touch!