School lunches, uniforms, pencils, pens, notebooks...

My latest journey of good deeds began in January, and since the school year starts in January in Tanzania, we decided to focus primarily on the needs of students. During this time, it's necessary to buy new uniforms if the old ones are worn out, purchase shoes that the children have outgrown, buy backpacks, pay school fees, buy at least the most basic school supplies, and bring corn and beans so there's something to eat for lunch. This is a huge burden for most families, and not many can afford to buy all of this for their children. So we decided to help them out a a little. At first, I thought I was in for a nice, quiet season, but in the end we were busier than ever :D.

We selected two state-run rural elementary schools. A total of 410 children attend the school in Longoi. They are looked after by five teachers and two volunteers. In Upareni, there are 546 students and 8 teachers who take care of them! If we do the math, we find that there are about 60–70 children per teacher on average. That's quite a lot, isn't it? There is so much that needs to be done in the schools: water, food, uniforms, school supplies. These are the very most basic needs that need to be met. In Longoi, there is a severe water shortage. The climate has been changing significantly in recent years, and the rainy seasons can no longer be fully relied upon. It has been a year since it last rained in March. For most of the year, the children at school have no drinking water; it's difficult for them to wash their hands or flush the toilet. Teachers and students have planted trees and plants on the school grounds, but most of the time there is no water to water them with. They do fill large water tanks, but that is terribly expensive, and the water runs out in just a few days. However, we are not yet able to overcome this challenge. The only solution would be a well. The school asked the Ministry of Education to draw up a budget for drilling, which was estimated at 28 million Tanzanian shillings. That's over 220,000 Czech crowns. A huge sum. The water table is deep, and the soil in this area is very rocky. This would significantly increase costs. Moreover, there are few people doing this kind of work, so they can afford to set high prices. They have no competition. We had no choice but to put this project on hold. We discussed with the teachers what was most needed, drew up a budget, and decided to purchase uniforms for the students most in need, as well as pencils, pens, erasers, and pencil sharpeners. And, most importantly, plenty of corn and beans. School lunches? Quality standards, nutritional values, healthy eating, hygiene, portion sizes, variety in the menu, soup, a main course, or even a choice between two dishes? Well, kids and students here can only dream of that : ). Here, teachers have to work hard just to make sure the kids get something to eat every day. And what do they have for lunch? A handful of boiled corn with an even smaller handful of beans. Every day. Well, not every day. Until the supplies run out and are refilled. Every parent is supposed to bring a certain amount of corn and beans for their child. However, as we've discovered, in Longoi, the parents of three-quarters of the children simply don't contribute to the lunches. So the portion that's supposed to be for one child has to be divided among several children, and ingredients have to be sourced wherever possible. And if they can't be found, there's nothing to eat. This means that if the children don't eat something early in the morning, around six o'clock, they don't eat again until they sit down for dinner at home. So it was clear that we would need to help replenish the supplies. At Upareni, things are a little better. Only about 150 children there do not contribute to school lunches. So we set a goal to provide lunches for 450 children for around half a year. In total, we supplied the schools with 500 kg of beans and 1,470 kg of corn this time. The rest, if possible, will be delivered during my next trip. We found a tailor and a dressmaker, went to the school to take the children's measurements, headed into town, bought fabric for skirts for the girls and shorts for the boys, and distributed a total of 48 uniforms to the children most in need. Together with shorts and skirts, the students also received shirts and sweaters. We purchased pencils, pens, erasers, and pencil sharpeners for all the children in the schools. In Upareni, we paid the water bill.

We helped several children from other schools pay their school fees, and we bought shirts, sweaters, and plenty of pairs of shoes and socks. We didn't forget about the Kikavu nursery school either, and we brought them pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, plenty of notebooks for the entire school year and 100 kg of corn for porridger. And of course, every single child had to get something sweet to eat. They always wait impatiently for that : ).