YOUNG people from Milford Haven have been having a 'crate' time by helping a project in Tanzania.

Members of Milford Youth Matter recently teamed up with Milford Haven Rotary Club to build 22 wooden storage crates, which will be used by Tools for Self-Reliance to ship refurbished hand tools to training projects in Tanzania.

Milford Haven Rotary Club supplied the wood, designs, and delivery service, and shared their skills and expertise with the young people.

Tools for Self-Reliance is a UK-wide initiative where groups collect old and unwanted hand tools and sewing machines.

They clean, sharpen, repair and send the machinery and tools to community groups, presently focusing on Tanzania.

There is a continuing need for tool crates to support the project, and the strong partnership between the Rotary Club of Milford Haven and Youth Matters' Routes to Opportunity project will continue this activity.

"The Routes to opportunity project works with over 57 different business and organisations locally," said Milford Youth Matters coordinator Dayle Gibby.

"We put emphasis on collaborative working with partners such as Milford Haven Rotary club to ensure young people have access to new opportunities and to benefit from the knowledge and experiences from wider members and organisations within the community."

"By being involved in this programme, young people of Milford Haven have themselves created the means by which others can also benefit from self-help. TFSR works with communities to support marginalised people, empowering then to meet their needs on a sustainable basis," added Paul Bridgman of Milford Haven Rotary Club.

The Routes to Opportunity project is a programme run by Milford Youth Matters and Pembrokeshire Youth Services, located in Milford Haven Youth Centre and funded by the Big Lottery.

The project offers young people aged between 16 and 25 eight weeks of vocational training support and training in a number of areas such as bicycle maintenance, woodwork and gardening.