Painting Buhangija

Buhangija Nursery is only two and a half months old. It has been set up in a disused room which was mainly used for storing maize. Before it was started, the young children in Buhangija had nothing to do except sit in the dirt. As well as a lack of education, they also had very little attention, care or positive adult interaction. We have written about the nursery in previous blog posts and the progress that has been made over the past few weeks.

Due to the bags of maize and other food that continued to be stored in the room, the 60 nursery children were accompanied by as many mice and thousands of insects. Counting and avoiding vermin had practically become a nursery activity. As educational environments go, it was far from ideal. The walls were stained, mouldy and discoloured. The room stank. Children outnumbered tables and chairs.

A few weeks ago, with the help of wives of Mwadui miners, the large nursery room was divided into two areas. Interviews were carried out to find a second teacher to facilitate the establishment of two, smaller classes. The bags of maize and other junk was moved to another store room and a carpenter was brought in to make child sized tables.

When we got word of how much money had been raised in Ireland, refurbishment of the nursery began. With help from Claire, Filipe and Nida we chased out the remaining mice, painted the walls blue and disinfected everything we possibly could. Alice got to work and we painted number fish, alphabet balloons, waves and trees. Clouds will double as future projector screens and mushrooms will be used to help the kids learn how to count. Click here for more photos.

It took a hot, dusty week but we reckon it was worth it. The rooms have been transformed. In the middle of one of the worst places we’ve been, there is now colour, activity and somewhere for children to learn. Claire and Alice will be training both teachers to give the kids the best possible educational experience - an experience that will include how to wash hands and teeth, free play time and basic medical treatment.

We, on behalf of all the children, want to say thanks. Everything we did was made possible by donations in Ireland – through fundraisers in Swords and Greystones as well as gifts from people. Thank you all so much. You really have made a huge difference to some of the most vulnerable, disadvantaged children in Shinyanga. Incredibly, there is still quite a lot of money remaining so we’re still busy on other projects – we’ll keep you posted!

Swahili words of the day: Asanteni Sana (Thank you all very much)

Come on Ireland!

 
After four weekends of struggling through frustrating breaks in Michael Corcoran's RTE radio commentary, it took a three hour bus ride to Mwanza to find a TV showing the rugby. Although we would have been willing to walk if we'd known what an exciting, tense, exhilarating afternoon it was going to be.

Toasted with 'foreign export' Guinness (it's nothing like home!), Ireland's Six Nations win was met with delight by our new American friends (yes, Johnny Sexton's sort of like the quarterback) as well as ourselves. In a week that also included Paddys Day, we found ourselves missing Ireland more than usual, but someone's got to introduce Tanzania (well, a Mwanza hotel at least) to rugby, particularly when Ireland are so good at it!

Swahili word of the day: Raga, sasa tafadhali (Rugby, now please!)

Chicken Run

As well as painting the school blue, last month’s Danish visitors brought hard earned funds collected in Denmark to fund poultry keeping projects for widows in the Shinyanga area. AICT has a ‘widows group’ who meet regularly and plan projects to help and equip each other. Their primary focus is on assisting the establishment of small scale businesses to allow local widows to improve their standard of living.

Widows are a particularly vulnerable group in Tanzanian society. The lack of social welfare, absence of pension schemes and a cultural reliance on men to be the primary earner means that the death of a husband instantly removes any source of income from a grieving household.

The AICT widows committee had decided to use the donated money to provide group leaders with strong, secure chicken houses to serve as examples to others within their communities. The recipients had attended training sessions to help them effectively keep and increase their flock. The (free range) eggs and meat will provide them with food and what is not eaten can be sold. As part of the scheme, the initial beneficiaries have been encouraged / obliged to share their knowledge and livestock with other needy widows.

Both of us spent a day helping to move bricks, mix concrete and cut wire as part of a team that included the Danish donors, the widows themselves, local children as well as the chicken house ‘fundis’ (technicians). Five coups were built in 5 days so we were all kept busy! It’s a small but good start and we all hope that sharing and community spirit will allow more people to benefit in the future.

Swahili words of the day: Kuku na Mayai (chicken and eggs)

Bring, Take, Donate!

Following a visit at Christmas, our mothers (Donna and Joan) decided to organise and host a fundraiser for Buhangija - the centre for children with albinism here in Shinyanga. Ably assisted by Steven, Eric and Clare, last Friday night saw the Riasc Centre in Swords besieged by happy swappers and bargain hunters.

Alice was particularly disappointed not to be able be there in person. Paul was quite glad to avoid any scenario with the potential to fill our house with junk pre-loved antiquities.

So we just wanted to say thanks. Thanks to everyone who helped to host, organise and run the event. Thanks to all who attended on the night to rummage through what we hear was a veritable treasure trove of delights. Thanks for all the money that was donated with incredible generosity - we don't have a final total but it's far more than we expected.

As we have written previously, the children in Buhangija live in terrible conditions. Every cent raised will be used to the best of our ability to improve the lives, health and prospects of children with albinism in our town.