The 294 students here, who range in age from four to 15 years old, were getting by with just one textbook for every four students and only 122 desks.

In the short 4 years that we have been at Eluway Primary School we have purchased desks and school supplies.  We’ve also renovated classrooms and the teachers staff room and constructed toilets and a kitchen.

To ensure that there is reliable access to water, we’ve installed a rain catchment system and storage tanks.  We have also installed solar lighting in the staff room and the 6th grade classroom to allow them extra time to study for the national placement exams.

And as part of our efforts to both conserve natural resources and provide a future source of nutrition, hundreds of local fruit trees have been planted.

 

If you’ve been watching the news, you may have seen stories about the lack of sufficient rains in Africa, and the worry of possible famine as crops cannot grow and livestock is dying. As part of the GCF WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Initiative, we funded a water drilling rig ($246,000) in partnership with Wine to Water, led by our friend, Doc Hendley, to provide access to water at the schools and villages GCF supports in East Africa.

After permitting delays, government delays, and ensuring all the proper authorities were notified and gave approval, the team was finally able to drill today, and had success!

The drilling team is a mix of Christian and Muslim men, working together (not common in Tanzania) learning about and from each other. The drill hit water between 140-150 meters, but continued to drill to 160 meters, so there is plenty of water for the Eluway school and community.

The Eluway Primary School is a mixed gender school in the heart of Tarangire educating Maasai children in the area. The school has 294 pupils. It’s not very old…registered in 2012 with only 1 teacher and 54 children, but it’s grown quickly. The unique thing about this school is the community built it under the leadership of Chief Lobulo. He actioned the community leaders to collect a cow from each homestead which he then sold to build the classrooms and the office. The ladies gave 20% of their jewelry sales to build the toilets on site. And now they have water!

As more schools and communities receive this life-changing gift, we’ll be sharing the good news with you.

Another reason for me to pause and think about my favorite quote:

“Someone else is dreaming about what you take for granted” ~Anonymous

Stay safe and well.

Jan