June 2012, Travels To St. Dymphna

In June, I traveled to Arusha, Tanzania for 2 weeks to visit St. Dymphna Special School and have many things to share with you. Since my last visit the 2nd addition to the school has been completed (minus the installation of toilets, showers and plumbing in the second restroom facility). It was nice to be able to see all of the children learning/playing in their classrooms.

Pictures of most recent classrooms and school cafeteria (a volunteer has purchasd tables and chairs for the cafeteria and they are waiting for them to be finished)

During my time at the school a gracious volunteer, Shyam Devani, raised money by hiking Kilimanjaro, which provided enough money to build a school well. He oversaw the construction process, helped negotatiate for building materials, and even did some hands-on work of the building of the well. The well will allow the school to have access to running water at all times. They will be adding gutters to the school, which will drain water into the well and allow the school to store water. Below is a picture of the well during construction process. I will share photos of the finished project when done.

St. Dymphna's Immediate Needs:

We plan to add western style toilets, a shower and plumbing to the school restrooms. This will cost approximately $800,000 = $550.00 US Dollars

Lastly, the school vehicle is in need of a new engine and the seats need to be welded. This will cost approx. $3M TSchillings = Approx. $2000 US Dollars

St. Dymphna Sponsor A Student:

Because the school was privately started (with no government involvement) the government will not help with any operating costs. In addition, students who attend St. Dymphna Special School come from very poor families who can barely afford to eat for the day, let alone be able to pay a tuition to send their child to school. This means that the school relies on donations/sponsorships/volunteers to help with the school operating costs.

It costs approx. $1.2M TSchillings to fund a child's education for ONE Full school year at St. Dymphna. This is equivalent to $800 US Dollars for one school year. If you or anyone you know is interested in sponsoring a child's education, please contact me and I'd be happy to help you set this up.

In addition to the well, the school is in immediate need of a Septic Tank, which will cost appromixately $1.5 Million TSchillings = Approx $1000 US Dollars.