Two years on...

Nyanza Primary School

Unbelievably, it’s two and a half years since we were in Tanzania so this blog post is a long overdue update on what’s been happening at Nyanza Primary School. We only get occasional information and often just an assurance that all is going well so we were delighted to recently receive a very encouraging update about what has been happening from Canon Arthur Mauya who is the education link officer for the diocese. (See previous blog for more details about him.)

Firstly, however, can we say a huge thankyou to all those of you who have faithfully contributed to The Porridge Project, often without any feedback. We have greatly appreciated your prayers, financial support and interest, and hope that the following news will inspire you as much as it has us and will enable you to see what has been achieved over the past two and a half years.



The Porridge Project kitchen built by the local community

Arthur writes,

“The school and the community of Nyanza village would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to you all for your wonderful generosity. Since this project was introduced in 2016 it has made a big difference to the school, and frankly speaking, the impact it has made is immeasurable! May God our Almighty richly bless you for what you are doing in this poor community. The children, the staff members, the village government and most of all the community are very happy with this project. They strongly support it and kindly ask you to continue supporting it in the coming years.”

The table below lists the number of pupils registered for the incoming school year. Every child will benefit from The Porridge Project. There are 7 members of staff, (4 male and 3 female) and 7 classrooms for 640 children!

CLASS	GIRLS	BOYS	TOTAL
Nursery	31	33	64
Class 1	43	45	88
Class 2	61	58	119
Class 3	52	56	108
Class 4	44	62	106
Class 5	19	39	58
Class 6	34	15	49
Class 7	28	20	48
	312	328	640

Queuing for porridge

Arthur states that the benefits from the Porridge Project for the children are as follows:

· Children’s health has improved
· Many more children are coming to school on a regular basis

· In 2016, 74 children in Classes 3 and 4 were deemed as being unable to read, write and count but in 2018 there were just 12
· Last year’s final exam pass mark was 60% while this year it has risen to 82%
· This year 47 pupils out of 58 in Class 5 passed their national exams with grades B-D
· The children look happy and eager to learn

  

It would appear from the statistics that the number of children attending school after Class 4 drops significantly, most likely because the children are needed to work at home or to earn money. Education is not a priority for those whose main aim in life is to survive. 

Arthur also writes that the role of parents has massively increased:

· After the Porridge Project was set up the parents and wider community were united together in constructing a proper kitchen and a room where food is stored securely. Your financial support has  helped to put a roof on it to protect it during the rainy season

· The parents, along with the school staff, have planted a school shamba - a plot where they grow maize for lunch so that children may have a longer day at school
· The parents are motivated and want to continue to pay for the school’s cook and guard
· Parents now come to school to hear about their children’s progress at school which is a new initiative
· Parents are purchasing cups to cope with the increasing number of children and also to replace the broken ones



Maize being grown  for school lunches

Arthur notes that the school and the wider community greatly appreciate the project. They have seen the benefits from it and have decided that they want to work very hard by taking part in it but also to supplement the maize production so that each child has lunch at school twice a week. From now on each parent will contribute 2.64 kg of maize to the school for this purpose. There are also challenges ahead in that the kitchen needs finishing and also needs a proper floor. The doors and windows also need to be fixed and the walls need plastered as they will inevitably be washed away by the rains. It is also difficult to cope with the ever-increasing number of children joining the school. When we were working at Nyanza there were 450 children at the school - now there are 640 children but still only 7 classrooms and 7 teachers. Arthur asks that we continue to support the local community of Nyanza Primary School both financially and in prayer. Next year the school will be connected to the main electricity supply and he would love the school to have at least one computer to be able to communicate by email and a photocopier... "so that they can do more exams to improve their academic performance!"

We are excited and enthused by this news and want to continue to support the school, especially because the community has grasped the vision and are prepared to be involved. We are very aware that the project could easily have disintegrated if the community had not taken ownership of it and we are extremely grateful to God for the progress that has taken place over the last two and a half years. 

If you would like to continue to support The Porridge Project that would be wonderful but we do not assume this - please let us know if you want to terminate your giving. Thank-you once again for standing with us in supporting these folks who may seem a very long way away but who desperately need our help. Your support is clearly making a difference in the lives of not only the children but of the whole community. 

With many thanks,

The Campbell and McFerran Families

For support information email: teamtanzania2016@gmail.com
 

Team Tanzan – 4 months on

It’s been four months since we left Tanzania and we can honestly say that not a day has passed that we haven’t thought about our time in Musoma. It was an amazing adventure and truly a life changing experience for the ten of us, but for the people we met there, life simply goes on.

So why write a new blog now? Well, many of you have been so interested and supportive in what we were involved in that we thought it would be good to update you with what has happened in Tanzania since we left.

We managed to achieve quite a bit when we were there but we couldn’t spend all the money that had been raised in the two and a half weeks that we were there. We therefore allocated the rest to a number of projects and most of these have since been finished. You may remember that we built a goat shed - it's still standing thankfully and is now occupied by breeding goats. Two other goat sheds have since been completed and are well stocked too. This makes such a big difference to the families who own them as they now have a sustainable source of income. We also left money to fix up goat sheds that have fallen into disrepair; including Winifreda’s who supplied us with the goats.

 

Meanwhile, work at Nyanza Primary School has continued and has completely transformed the school. The toilets we were building have been completely finished and the water tank we started is now fully operational providing a vital source of clean water for the whole school. We also left money for an additional water tank to be built to see the pupils through the dry season and this has also been completed. The other soil floors in the classrooms have been replaced with smooth concrete floors and the dusty brick walls have been plastered and painted. These physical changes have made such a difference to the pupils and the teachers, providing an environment that is much more conducive to learning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This however wasn’t what made the most significant difference to the children in the school or what made the biggest impact on us as families. You may remember that we started a Porridge Project where we enabled all 450 children (who only have one meal a day in the evening) to have a mug of porridge mid morning. We left Tanzania when the Porridge Project had been going for one week but a month after we returned we were emailed a report by Arthur, the local education officer. He had visited the school one Friday and, where normal attendance on Fridays was about 200, on that day 536 of the 548 pupils were there! Arthur said that attendance has increased from 55% to 95% since the Porridge Project began. What a difference a mug of porridge can make!

 

It is amazing to think that not only do these children attend school more regularly but that they have some food in their stomachs, rather than sitting though classes feeling desperately hungry. Thank you for the part that many of you have played in this. We left enough money to provide for the Porridge Project for a further six months but we have committed to fund this venture on a long term basis. It takes £320 per month to pay for porridge for all 450 children – that is around £15 per day.

If you would like to support this project financially, we have set up a porridge account that some friends and family are already contributing to. A one-off gift or an ongoing monthly contribution would make such a difference, no matter how small. All contributions would be gratefully received by us, but more importantly by the community of Nyanza. If you would like to make a contribution please send money to our Porridge Project Account:

Sort Code 09-01-26

Account No:  14271365

For more details contact us on teamtanzania2016@gmail.com
 

Final Thoughts

We sadly left Musoma behind on Monday 25^th July after an amazing two and a half weeks. We have been so impressed with the incredible work that Go MAD are doing in Tanzania, with limited resources. The staff team is just amazing and it will be so difficult to replace Andrew and Deb as they move on to new adventures in their lives. We continue to pray for Claire as she remains in Tanzania and for Graham as he continues to head up the work. If you as an individual, or as a family, are thinking of doing something like this, we would highly recommend Go MAD.

Next stop for us was a 4 day holiday on the island of Zanzibar, which lies off the coast of Tanzania. This was a great time of relaxation, reflection and time to think through what we had experienced. It was great stop-gap before hitting home and provided some much needed space for everyone. 

Before we sign off we thought it would be useful for everyone to have their say about what stood out for them over the past few weeks...

McFERRANS


Jonathan – “What an amazing adventure from start to finish! We expected things to work on "African Time" but the reality was so different. We couldn't believe how quickly things happened and how plans came together and worked liked clockwork. It was also great to see the real sense of community. Parents, staff, community leaders and school pupils all worked together with us. This meant the impact of what we did reached much further than we initially anticipated. We were so grateful for the prayers, support and encouragement from friends and family back home and so conscious of God's hand of protection on us throughout our whole adventure.”
 

Susan – ”God answers prayer! Of course this is something that I should be well aware of but when we were away it was incredible to see this in such a tangible way. To be kept safe as we hurtled along dust roads in a land rover that was packed a bit too full, to be kept well when the potential for sickness was so high, to see the children particularly adapt so well to new surroundings, sights and smells was just amazing.
But most of all to be aware that we, and the money that had been so generously raised at home, were the answer to others' prayers was the most incredible thing for me. Before we went to Musoma we knew that we would build goat sheds, a water tank and some toilets, but what I was so struck by was the real sense that God had planned way before we knew anything about Musoma that we would be linked with the school at Nyanza and would be able to help make such a difference to the lives of the children and wider community there! What a privilege to be a small part of God's great rescue plan for the world!

Jack – “ For me a highlight was going to Nyanza primary school and getting to see the difference we were able to  make to hundreds of children's lives. I also loved working alongside some great people who were staying and working at Eagle Lodge. I found it really challenging to see how happy and content the locals people were when they appear to have  so little. It has made me realise how fortunate I am in so many ways.”


Patrick – “I really enjoyed being able to interact with all the people at Nyanza primary school and playing football with the naturally gifted boys.
Something I found challenging was worrying that when we leave the things we have started, like the porridge project, that it may not continue but I really hope it will.“


Harry – “I loved building the toilets and getting to use some tools. I liked the pick axe and the machete!! The children were friendly to me and I loved playing with them. I learnt some Swahili too!
Sometimes I was a bit sad because a few of the jobs were too hard for me like cutting the wire for the water tower and I got too hot.”

 

CAMPBELLS

Peter – “One of my highlights was being a part of God's plan coming together for Nyanza Primary School. Arthur (see previous blog) had been hoping and praying that someone would come to help the pupils and encourage the staff in a poor, rural primary school. We went with a desire to help meet the needs of local people and, if possible, in a school.  It was therefore very exciting as it all came together. It was also really humbling to work 'shoulder to shoulder' with the community and to see how the generosity of people at home made such a life-changing difference to the people in Nyanza. It was very challenging to see the overwhelming need of the people as we drove to and from the school each day. Our efforts seemed like a drop in the ocean and yet I know what was done will make a real difference to the quality of children's and teachers' lives now and into the future.

Lisa  - “Having the opportunity to take our kids to Africa was incredible – for them to experience the sights and smells that are impossible to explain, to see the reality and starkness of poverty right in front of their noses as opposed to just hearing about it... bumping around in the back of a clapped out land-rover and learning new building  skills together, having that sense of getting your hands(and faces and sweaty bodies) filthy dirty as you serve those who possess nothing...actually knowing that there are 480 children that will be a little less hungry and thirsty every day is just great – it hasn’t changed the world, but hopefully it will have changed the worlds of those individuals.  Obviously there were tough times too and grace and patience were sometimes in short supply. It’s been great to come out the other side with relationships tried, tested and made stronger...I don’t want to forget  either the present luxuries of having a warm shower, a clean toilet and food that doesn’t potentially make you sick. It was just a huge privilege to be able to go and to be part of God working out his purposes in our world...                

Kate - “One of my highlights was seeing the difference that we made (even though it was small) in the lives of the children at Nyanza PS. I also loved visiting the children's home and playing with the babies and toddlers, though I found it hard to hear the stories of how they had become orphaned or had been abandoned. One of the most challenging times was when we visited the school for albino children. It was very difficult to see the poor conditions that they lived in but at the same time it’s the best place for them as they're much more vulnerable in the outside world.  Africa has changed my perspective and deeply humbled me. It has made me realise how fortunate I am and showed me that even though the people of Musoma have so little, they are so happy and friendly - I need to appreciate what I have.

Tom – “I really loved working on the projects and helping the local people. I was interested to see how the children and their parents had so little but were so happy.”

Ben – “I really liked sawing, hammering and drilling to help build the toilets and water tanks. I found it hard coping with the changes in food and accommodation, meeting different people all the time, having to work so hard and being part of a team.”

 Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this blog and to pray for us. We were so aware of being protected and of having “smooth passage” on many occasions. We also kept very healthy apart from the odd stomach bug which is much to be thankful for. If you do pray, please continue to remember Nyanza PS and Arthur as he seeks to implement the new initiatives there. Please also pray for wisdom on our part as we seek to follow up things from home and to make good decisions about finance allocation. We thought you might be interested to see know what the money that we raised went to and will continue to fund: 

NYANZA PRIMARY SCHOOL

2 cubicle teacher’s toilet

2 concrete water tanks

2 new concrete classroom floors

2 classrooms plastered and painted

Existing concrete floors patched

Sports equipment

Teachers’ chairs

Exercise books, pencils, chalk, crayons, manilla card

Porridge Project set up to feed every child a cup of maize porridge/day

Also:

3 goat sheds

3 goats

400 mosquito nets for school malaria awareness day

Planting of Moringa trees that produce highly nutritional powder

House for Evelyn who has nowhere to live

Thanks again for all you interest and support and if you want to know more, get in touch with any of us.