Today we visited a nursery school or what we would call a pre-school in a place called Loiborsoit, Tanzania. This small village is about 2 and a half hours drive from Arusha and where Pastor Elijah lives.
On arrival at the pre-school we notice there are lots of children and the teacher is beaming at us - very happy for our visit. Like all tanzanians they view visitors as a blessing.
Some statistics about the class:
40 children
1 head teacher
1 assistant teacher
1 cook (plus a reserve cook)
The staff are paid a pittance. The head teacher is paid 40,000 tz shillings per month about $40 CAD which is about half of the minimum wage here. The assistant is paid 35,000 tz shillings and the cook 25,000. So mostly they do it for love.
There are 8 chalk boards for the children to share and 4 tables between them and not enough chairs. In winter, some of the children sit outside because there are not enough chairs for them to sit on.
The children walk a long way to get to school with some walking as little as 20 mins but others walk hours.
The parents pay 500 shillings per month per child which is the equivalent of 50 cents which isn't very much but still some are behind in their fees due to the terrible famine and water shortage in that area.
The children's curriculum includes health, math, science, swahili, english, social studies and habits. The teacher is very innovative considering how few resources she has and the children play in the dirt at break time. Toys are very few and very old.
The children are served porridge and a piece of fruit for snack. Some of them are so hungry and although they sit patiently on the ground while the cups of porridge are served it is obvious that some of them are desperate for food. The cook serves the children 2 cups at a time. One little boy reached for the cups every time she appeared with them. He was eventually served when she reached his place in line. Before eating they take the time to thank God for the food.
There are about 200 children in the area who could benefit from this school but unfortunately the teachers turn children away due to lack of room, resources and teachers.
The playground
If you have any toys, paper, pencils, crayons or craft you would like to send to this little school they would be so happy to receive them. Please email us for our mailing address and make sure you mark your package "No Commercial Value" for used goods or we will be charged import duty.
Sometimes I am embarrassed when I remember how I would toss crayons when they were too small or broken when I lived back in the west....
I think my mum even reminded me when I didn't eat my food as a kid.... "think of the starving children in africa" .... it never had the desired effect. .... until now...
God bless this little school in Loiborsoit.
Comments