Our visit in June was most productive and more was achieved than expected. After a number of meetings with the representatives of various committees from Chitemo and Nyhinila villages it was agreed that the piglet breeding project would provide the best means for the villages to maintain their schools and pay the teachers. Now that 5 village members had been trained in animal husbandry specifically for the breeding of pigs the next stage would be to build the appropriate pigsties. A budget for the cost of the pigsties had been produced for SEEDS and funding would be transferred in stages as the building progressed.
The schools were running smoothly with 114 children in Chitemo and 55 in Nyhinila. These numbers fluctuate on a weekly basis going up rather than down! The outdoor equipment has proved very popular with the children and grown ups alike! We had the opportunity of supply both schools with a substantial amount of teaching materials and also metal trunks to use for storage. Meetings were held with the two teachers and the 5 who are in training at present. I was informed that a new curriculum for pre-schools would be available by September and these would be purchased for both schools during our September visit. Regular inspections by representatives of the education authorities would be made of the schools to ensure that all is in order. Each school was also to have added a small classroom for the teaching of the youngest children. Benches and chalk boards were to be supplied.
A visit was made to the Tanzanian Livestock Research Institute to discuss the supplying of an appropriate breed of pig for the villages and it was suggested that the Large White was the best breed and would give the most yield of piglets. These would be purchased during our September visit. The Institute would also pay visits to the villages to ensure that all was going according to plan. The project will take time but in due course funds will build up to maintain the schools and pay the teachers thereby enabling the villages to become independent and self supporting.
As always it was good to have time with the children engaging in various activities including lots of singing.
The return trip in September is to ensure that all is going well with the schools, the bore-hole and most importantly the piglet project.
No comments:
Post a Comment