2013

January 2013

News received last month that the guttering had been installed on the new water tank in time for the first rain was welcome news.  See Rainwater Collection  for full report.

New water tank

Now with guttering

June

Kindergarten :  The thirty little tables and chairs, ordered in February to finally complete the refurbishment of the kindergarten, have been completed by the local carpenter to his usual high standard and have been delivered to the school.

Hard at work

Final check

Ready for delivery

Pens :  Pens to People in the United States kindly donated a further 10,000 pens www.penstopeople.org. They can only provide shipping within the USA so we had an anxious few months when we had no idea how to get the pens to UK.  However, thanks to the granddaughter of an old friend from Tanganyika days, the problem was solved when she approached the CEO of the company she works for, SPANX  in Georgia, who has generously agreed to cover the shipping costs.  Ten packages each containing one thousand pens arrived at the end of June ready to take to the school in October.

October:  Tour to Kongwa 

A small group visited Kongwa at the end of October.  It proved to be a very successful trip with plenty of interaction with the children and time to discuss the school requirements with the teachers.

Swahili Books:  On our way through Dar es Salaam we picked up a large consignment of Swahili curriculum books ordered by San Diego State University’s PHI Kappa Phi Chapter as part of the Library Project.  Kindergarten books were purchased by Maidenhead Nursery School who raise funds in support of the Kindergarten at Mnyakongo.

Mosquito nets:  We had pre-ordered the mosquito nets and these were in store at Savannah Tours offices. 300 of them this time  – thanks to supporters for their generous donations to this specific cause, to Katelyn Williams who singlehandedly raised $660 and to Cliff D’souza of Savannah Tours who threw in a further 50 nets.

Photocopier:  An ex-pupil who visited the school in August had noticed that the small printer/copier was totally inadequate for the volume of copying required for 800+ exam papers and he recommended a larger copier.  A high quality Canon black and white copier was purchased in Dar es Salaam and we took this with us.

Once the books, mosquito nets, bags of donated sports kit, and the pens were loaded we were ready to head inland to the school.

 Arrival:  Our welcome, as usual, was very moving with singing, drums and much excitement

We introduced the group to the teachers and met some of the children in their classrooms

We were invited to interact with the children in their classes

Reading lessons were held in the library

Rose, a Nursery school teacher from England, held classes at the Kindergarten – much to everyone’s delight

Goats:  We were pleased to see that the growing herd of goats is thriving.  We had received donations from people to purchase 6 goats and a little herd of milk goats was brought to the School for us to choose from.   For a full report please go to Goats for Kids  found under the heading  Lunch Program

Present herd

Here come the goats

Vegetable garden:  Kongwa region has experienced a terrible water shortage this year and sadly there was just not enough water to sustain the vegetable garden.  Another rainwater collection tank has been commissioned and the local tank builder is working hard to have it completed in time for the rains in December.  For further details please click on the link to Rainwater Collection found  under the heading  Lunch Program

Photocopier:  Delivery of the photocopier caused quite a stir . . . .

Luckily the School Inspector is qualified to deal with setting it up and maintaining it.

 Celebrations: A day of celebration was held with the children dancing, singing and performing for us.

The boxes of books were presented

Children lined up to receive a mosquito net

The pens were handed out – plenty to go round

Thanks:   Without help from ex-pupils, San Diego State University, companies and groups who donate goods and services, friends and colleagues, none of the work at the school would be possible.  Thank you all so very much.

Parting shots

The group this year:

Taken near Kongwa in October- so very dry

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