Work Accomplished--More work to be done.

Philip

  Connie's son Philip has recently returned from Kinyambu and Nzavoni 
  schools, and other places in Africa, and sends his report.

   At the schools I was welcomed with lots of fancy ceremony,  dancing, and 
  singing, which was much appreciated. 

  Kinyambu

The new Kinyambu library

    The teachers and students 
  of Kinyambu primary are 
  really happy to have their new library. They recently got a lockable metal vault in the back of the building where they can store valuables. That's been really helpful now that they have a few laptop computers etc. to keep safe. 

They also mentioned to me that they are really happy with the fence at the school. It's already allowed more trees to grow in the school grounds since it prevents grazing animals from venturing through the area. The gate project has started now, as it was just funded while I was there. They were happy to hear that news. The finished gate will completely seal in the whole school yard. 

The kitchen at Kinyambu school needs replacing.

After looking over all the things that the Friends of Kinyambu and Rainbow of Hope for Children have provided for Kinyambu primary school (for which they are all very thankful), I had asked what the next priorities should be for them to improve conditions there. One of the top priorities was a new kitchen. The kitchen they have is quite small and starting to crumble. 

Other priorities are a new administration building. Theirs is also getting quite old (built in 1974) and showing some wear and tear. It's much too small to comfortably house everyone who needs to work there. They also thought that some permanent metal soccer nets would be a great benefit for the kids. 

Nzavoni

Next I went to Nzavoni school. There are 130 students attending the school.  The first picture is of their newest classroom with some of the kids at school that day walking by. That building is quite good, but unfortunately it's the only good building at the school. 

The newest Nzavoni classroom

The next photo is from inside the other classroom building, which you can see is really starting to crumble with a huge crack in the wall. Just above the crack, you can see that the rafter in the roof is nearly completely eaten away by termites. There is also a hole in the metal roofing there that lets a lot of water seep into the class when it rains. 

Crumbling classrooms that need replacing.

The much needed new building project for Nzavoni is now funded and will have three classrooms and a teachers' room with a vault in it for valuables.

My meeting with Nzavoni school was quite productive. Simon and I met with the parents of some of the students from that school who came out to talk about the project to build two new buildings for Nzavoni. They will be helping dig the foundation of the buildings and providing some security to make sure that none of the new building materials get stolen after they are delivered. The parents unanimously (and enthusiastically) agreed to volunteer their time to help with the project. We had 40 parents there who all voted in support of the project. I also presented a laptop computer to the principal of the school, and a soccer ball for the students. They were really excited about all of it!

These school projects are making a difference for the students and teachers, and are an asset to the whole community.