Education Outreach continued
In 2006-2007, the kids created an English – Swahili Dictionary. The American kids started it with words already selected. Then the African kids gave the Swahili word. Each class received their completed dictionary.
In addition, in 2006 we filmed the welcoming ceremony that the African kids always do for us. The American kids received a copy of the DVD.
In 2008 the principal from our original American school will visit her sister school with us in Tanzania. Also, the teacher in charge of the project at another Seattle school will join us. These are such rich, authentic, cultural exchanges that they will never be forgotten.
Our educational outreach has included many capital improvements. We arranged electricity for Mhelo. When our contractor saw that there were no toilets, he felt that was a must. So we built 3 toilets with cleaning facilities so the adolescent girls would no longer have to quit school at that age.
At our other original school, Baghai, we installed water. This is such a big deal because kids would walk for hours and carry a 40 pound bucket back up the mountain for drinking water and to water their garden.
Gardening is always part of the primary school curriculum. This year (2008) we will supply our schools with soak hoses so there will be minimal water waste or evaporation.
We also have plans for our 3 additional new schools. At Kwembago we already put in water and toilets. The process was just amazing: our contractor designed the installation; his workers provided the skilled labor; and all the work was done by the villagers and school kids. Our contractor told them that if they wanted water, they had to work.
This huge job of digging a 3 mile trench, through the mountains, 2 feet deep to the water spring, took only 3 days! Totally amazing.
The Kwembago toilets include 24 stalls and privacy doors never before experienced by our girls. This has been so successful that it is now our standard. We want water and toilets in all our schools. Indeed, if we could raise the money, we would install water and toilets in as many schools as possible!
The next school that will benefit from KIDS HELPING KIDS is Yaghoi. Their sister school is Saint Anne in Seattle. The students at Saint Anne had already raised ___ in 2006, and they knew from this that it was their individual responsibility to earn and donate the money.
After visiting Yaghoi we learned that they have one of the largest student bodies of any primary school in Tanzania. Instead of the 600 average, they have 880! Their classrooms are all so full that they are bursting! They were desperate for a new classroom building.
Saint Anne has taken up the challenge. The upper class kids have dedicated their free time to sewing shopping bags which will be sold for revenue. One of the kids in that class has studied the whole project and has created a Power Point Presentation for the entire school. Her goal is to get the whole student body involved.
Meanwhile, the American mission of KIDS HELPING KIDS has been totally accomplished at this school: Kids have learned that THEY can choose to make their world a better world and directly make it happen!
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