(Those are bags packaged I helped package here. It gives me chills to see her holding one)
Africa.
I am wholly overcome by a wave of thoughts and emotions every time I think about it.
Here's the run-down on how things are going and what we hope to do in the coming months:
School
Update:
After the January team saw the conditions that the girls live in now, they realized there was no way that they could wait for June for the dorms to be complete and that the dorms somehow needed to house more girls. The girls have been moved out of their previous living situation until the dorms are completed. Tina cried as she talked about how thankful and emotional the girls were. I now understand what a life and death situation this was for them. They lived with four to six girls crammed in a space scarcely larger than 8' by 6'. The doors did not lock properly, posing a real and terrifying threat to the girls safety. They did not have water or bathrooms and the only window was about a foot wide and covered by a piece of canvas. The plans for the dorm are being reviewed by an engineer to expand from a capacity of 80 to 156. The computers are almost there! In January Andy trained the teachers and some high-achieving students to use to software installed on the computers.
In-Progress:
The dorms are still under construction and hopefully we will finish up construction and furnishing in June. There are also more than a few students failing. To help them make the most of the opportunities the school provides we are setting up a mentoring program to help these kids and we will continue to train the rest of the students on their new computers. To accommodate the new number of girls in the dorms, the lounge area was taken out, but the girls are still in need of a space to relax and study. We will also be working to furnish a classroom in a way that can allow it to function as both a lounge and as a classroom as it is needed. Finally, although the students at the school do not have the volume or amount of books that we do here, they still have a need for backpacks. We have come up with a pattern and found some old sewing machines which will be included on a pallet in our next shipment. We are hoping that this can become another source of income for the school as they grow to be self-sufficient.
Feeding Center
Update:
I should first explain the village's situation. The feeding center is specifically a children's feeding center which serves mostly orphans. These orphans used to spend all their time scavenging for food, a rarity given the recent droughts and the devastation they have brought to the region's plants, animals, and people. The children recieve two meals a day but only if they have gone to school. The reasoning is that if they were spending all their time looking for food, if they are provided food, they will then have time to go to school, so they are recieving an education and being cared for in the mean time. Our first feeding center is coming along great. After last June it still needed some work (things like outlet covers, doors, plumbing, you get the idea). As of January it seems as though these have all been taken care of and the whole community is enjoying the center. The center, much like the school, is also becoming more independent.
In-Progress:
The governor has donated 15 acres of land to us! With this land we're hoping to establish another feeding center using the blueprints from the first, with a few changes as we have learned a lot from building the first one. We are currently focusing donations toward finishing the dorms at the school, but as soon as that is paid for, we are going to hopefully begin to fund this second feeding center.
Goats
Update:
Last June we were able to give the villagers several goats. During the January trip three of the goats gave birth to four healthy kids (one set of twins!). Why goats? They are more economical in terms of how much they cost to raise compared to how much revenue they produce. In comparison to cows, they are more disease-resistant, eat less, and their milk sells for a higher price.
In-Progress:
We are designing goat pens to be built as an addition to the existing ones from last June. The mothers need an area to nurse their newborns and all the goats need an area to sleep where they are not laying in their own waste. We will be building these new pens in June.
Rock Bridge/ Teacher Bikes
Update:
I am wholly overcome by a wave of thoughts and emotions every time I think about it.
Here's the run-down on how things are going and what we hope to do in the coming months:
School
Update:
After the January team saw the conditions that the girls live in now, they realized there was no way that they could wait for June for the dorms to be complete and that the dorms somehow needed to house more girls. The girls have been moved out of their previous living situation until the dorms are completed. Tina cried as she talked about how thankful and emotional the girls were. I now understand what a life and death situation this was for them. They lived with four to six girls crammed in a space scarcely larger than 8' by 6'. The doors did not lock properly, posing a real and terrifying threat to the girls safety. They did not have water or bathrooms and the only window was about a foot wide and covered by a piece of canvas. The plans for the dorm are being reviewed by an engineer to expand from a capacity of 80 to 156. The computers are almost there! In January Andy trained the teachers and some high-achieving students to use to software installed on the computers.
In-Progress:
The dorms are still under construction and hopefully we will finish up construction and furnishing in June. There are also more than a few students failing. To help them make the most of the opportunities the school provides we are setting up a mentoring program to help these kids and we will continue to train the rest of the students on their new computers. To accommodate the new number of girls in the dorms, the lounge area was taken out, but the girls are still in need of a space to relax and study. We will also be working to furnish a classroom in a way that can allow it to function as both a lounge and as a classroom as it is needed. Finally, although the students at the school do not have the volume or amount of books that we do here, they still have a need for backpacks. We have come up with a pattern and found some old sewing machines which will be included on a pallet in our next shipment. We are hoping that this can become another source of income for the school as they grow to be self-sufficient.
Feeding Center
Update:
I should first explain the village's situation. The feeding center is specifically a children's feeding center which serves mostly orphans. These orphans used to spend all their time scavenging for food, a rarity given the recent droughts and the devastation they have brought to the region's plants, animals, and people. The children recieve two meals a day but only if they have gone to school. The reasoning is that if they were spending all their time looking for food, if they are provided food, they will then have time to go to school, so they are recieving an education and being cared for in the mean time. Our first feeding center is coming along great. After last June it still needed some work (things like outlet covers, doors, plumbing, you get the idea). As of January it seems as though these have all been taken care of and the whole community is enjoying the center. The center, much like the school, is also becoming more independent.
In-Progress:
The governor has donated 15 acres of land to us! With this land we're hoping to establish another feeding center using the blueprints from the first, with a few changes as we have learned a lot from building the first one. We are currently focusing donations toward finishing the dorms at the school, but as soon as that is paid for, we are going to hopefully begin to fund this second feeding center.
Goats
Update:
Last June we were able to give the villagers several goats. During the January trip three of the goats gave birth to four healthy kids (one set of twins!). Why goats? They are more economical in terms of how much they cost to raise compared to how much revenue they produce. In comparison to cows, they are more disease-resistant, eat less, and their milk sells for a higher price.
In-Progress:
We are designing goat pens to be built as an addition to the existing ones from last June. The mothers need an area to nurse their newborns and all the goats need an area to sleep where they are not laying in their own waste. We will be building these new pens in June.
Rock Bridge/ Teacher Bikes
Update:
These are both new projects that have to deal with difficulty in transportation. Several leaders of the village (and I'm pretty sure the headmaster of the school) live across a riverbed that is difficult to cross, but hopefully will not once we build a bridge across. Bikes are a rare and coveted luxury in Africa. As spread out as the area is, bikes can easily cut travel time literally in half. Also, as remote as this village is, the school hopes to attract teachers by providing them with a bike as long as they are with the school.
In-Progress:
To help improve transportation across the river, around the village, and attract teachers to the school we are designing and building a rock bridge and buying ten bikes for the school with packages for maintenance.
In-Progress:
To help improve transportation across the river, around the village, and attract teachers to the school we are designing and building a rock bridge and buying ten bikes for the school with packages for maintenance.
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