This has been a summer of wonderful surprises:
Electricity. I started out my visit in Tloma being amazed that, after waiting for two years, the power line was being extended to a church a short distance to the school. With that, I decided to seek funds to extend the lines to the school and bring power to at least one room for the teachers. Thanks to the generosity of several previous school visitors, we were able to put in a request to the power company for that extension. That’s when we learned the government would extend the lines for about $80 if the rooms were wired. We shifted the funds to the wiring and now all 19 rooms have two light bulbs and a wall socket! The headmaster’s home is wired for power as well (with a separate meter).
The electric company is waiting for poles to be delivered, so we are hopeful it will occur soon. We are so anxious to get connected!
Printer. Later in the summer, another safari group learned that the nearest school printer was 15 km away. They immediately purchased an awesome printer and large quantity of ink and paper! The teachers can hardly wait to put it to good use.
Dining Hall. Chance encounters with long-time philanthropist Marjan Tieberink from Holland, first at a Karatu market, and a few days later when she randomly parked at my front gate for a
moment, had another amazing outcome. Two things I had said I could help the school with were speaking English to the students and writing a proposal for a new dining hall. Marjan was in Tloma building a couple of homes for distressed families, so after she returned to Holland, I asked for her input on my draft proposal. Her response was an offer to build the dining hall. She will be returning in November to begin discussions. She has embraced and is enhancing our concept of a multipurpose structure that functions as a dining/assembly hall for the school and a community center for Tloma Village. As such, it can be rented out to bring a much needed income stream to the school and provide Tloma Villagers with a place for weddings, educational meetings, or other community gatherings.
Water Well. Just before I was to leave Tloma, the school got a shutoff notice from the water company. As you will read in another article herein, the school does not have the funds to meet all of its bills. There had been several references to how valuable a well would be for the school, so we decided to do some research. We came up with an idea to drill a well, earmark a certain quantity of water for the school, and sell the rest, again creating not only greater on-campus opportunities (variety of crops, better sanitation) but potential income streams from the sale of the water and the new crops. Of course we needed to get a water survey done first, but we were excited with the idea and shared it a day or two later with an OAT safari group. Safari members James and Sabine Swallow immediately offered to pay for the initial survey. The survey has been completed and the results are favorable enough that he has now volunteered to fund the drilling of the well!! That will tell us just how much water we can expect and take us to the next level of planning.
Sanitation Station. Another unexpected surprise was learning that the Karatu Education Fund had received about $700 from an elementary school in Germany. A safari traveler had shared her Tloma experience with her school and the donated funds were sufficient for the school to purchase a handwashing station. Various styles are being considered.
Sponsorships. We just received the results from the annual Class 7 final test. There were 67 students; 66 took the test. Of the 66, 61 passed and are qualified to continue their education. Without much effort thus far, we have gotten funds to send 7 students to a boarding school with commitments for an additional 3 years. We also have funds to send one student for one year. That leaves 53 who can attend if they can afford it. I am hoping there are still a few more miracles out there for them.
Uniforms. You’ve also seen that we’ve been able to provide some students with pieces of new uniforms. So many people have been so generous. But one instance stands out for me. Jen Eddington and Ann Curlee from America brought a large assortment of gifts for the kids. They asked about uniforms and we told them we were trying to help as many children as possible. They returned to their lodge and shared our need with another couple staying there. That second couple (I’m sorry, I do not know their names) purchased 30 sweaters for the school as well as some student workbooks and other supplies.
Changing Lives. The generosity of visitors toward these students brings me to tears. I have gotten to talk, work, eat, play and visit with these kids and their families. Unfairly, I often got credit for your efforts and reaped the benefits of their gratitude. But, I came to know what a difference your gifts make in their lives, whether directly or through the improvements to the school. It has been an amazing experience for me, but has, or will be, life-changing for them.
I cannot thank you enough.
We love our school visitors!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
