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The following report was posted
on the Robin Pope Safari -Kawaza Newsletter September
1, 2008
by Fiona Trewmby who oversees the KawazaSchool program.
It’s been a little while since we
have updated everyone with the happenings at the Kawaza
School Fund. We have had a very busy year with all of
the projects – building, students and volunteers.
First of all I would like to say a huge thank you to
everyone who has donated this year. We have had very
generous guests who have donated US$ 50,000 either in
camp or after their return home. In addition to hard
currency we have had lots and lots of school supplies
donated. One guest donated a box of crayons for every
child at Kawaza School (over 800 boxes), and another
provided plenty of absolutely essential notepads, pencils,
pens, chalk, blackboard erasers and much much more.
Of course the children also love the footballs, skipping
ropes and other games donated. So THANK YOU VERY MUCH
… it is much appreciated, and we cannot continue
the projects without all of your support.
The building projects are by far our biggest spenders
and we are moving along swiftly with these … the
toilets are nearly completed and the houses are well
on their way. We have three fabulous builders who are
taking their responsibilities very seriously. There
has also been a slight change of design with the outside
being smothered in rough cast rather than smooth plaster
and paint. In this dusty environment it will keep all
the buildings looking smart and clean for a little longer!
We tried a new builder out at Kapita – Alfred
Mbewe, a member of the Kapita community, who had not
built at a school before. He has built a fantastic toilet
and is getting started on the teacher’s house.
At Nsefu and Kawaza Basic Schools the builders (Simon
and Isaac) are building the houses and toilets concurrently.
They are almost finished with the toilets and the houses
are up to window level. This year we have tried to source
as much of the building materials as we could locally
- with all of the door and window frames being made
by local artisans.
We are just about to start our third and final term
of 2008, and all of the students gathered at Cool Runnings
(Daudi’s bar) for the day to receive their school
fees, school supplies and transport money. Daudi’s
nephew Loti was an invaluable assistant. The students
are doing very well this year, as we are being very
tough with grades and making sure that the students
provide their report forms and results. Several were
on warnings that they needed to improve their grades
to continue sponsorship and luckily they all had! I
hate saying no to people so it is a great relief to
congratulate students on a good term and encourage them
continue their hard work.
We also started our volunteer project in earnest and
had four lovely ladies staying at the volunteers' house.
Brenda was our first guinea pig and stayed for ten days.
Then Ann joined us for a whole month and really became
part of the school and village life. Not only did she
teach but she had lots of children interested in the
school garden and came up with great ways to re-use
water bottles to provide more efficient watering. Ann
was joined by Hazel (her daughter) and Erin. Everyone
found the work challenging and rewarding – a completely
different experience from teaching in a well-resourced
school where the internet provides many teaching tools.
While volunteering at Kawaza we organised a slightly
different Conservation Club meeting. Matt (from African
Wild Dog Conservation) came for a demonstration on the
radio tracking. The teacher volunteer programme has
evolved a little with much discussion with David Mwewa
(the headmaster), the teachers and the volunteers so
that everyone can get the most out of the programme.
Our plans for the future include continuing the construction
so that there are more physical places for students
to attend school and ensure that the quality of education
received by the students continues to improve.
Thanks again to all the supporters of the Kawaza School
Fund - your contributions really make a difference.
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