Moshi, Tanzania, East Africa
2010 Elimu Africa Grant Amount: $5,000.00
Purpose: To purchase two computers, printer, worktables, chairs and bookshelves.
2009 Elimu Africa Grant Amount: $4,000.00
Purpose: To purchase textbooks for classroom use. Students were previously sharing one textbook among three students.
Elimu Africa is very proud to help this project that is a wonderful collaborative effort between school administrators, staff, parents and students. The school began with a just seed, a good idea and lots of sweat. The Holy Childhood Pre-school was initiated in 2000 when the parents of Matala village approached a group of Catholic nuns who were working in the village to discuss the problem of children who were roaming on the streets rather than attending school. Read Headmistress, Sister Macrina Shine’s description below for the details.
Holy Childhood Description
Written by Sister Macrina Shine, Headmistress in 2009
Holy Childhood School is located in North Eastern Tanzania, in the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in the rural district of Moshi. Matala village, where the school is particularly located is semi-arid with unreliable rainfall. As a result of this, its people are economically poor. More than three quarters of the population depends totally on agriculture. Due to drought faced by farmers, most parents are financially poor and they can hardly meet the educational needs of their children such as paying of the school fees, uniforms, learning materials like textbooks, exercise books, rubbers, rulers, pens and paper.
In order to meet our goal of providing quality education to all the needy children who come to our school, we wish to find a means to equip the school with enough learning materials which will in turn help to develop in our students a culture of reading and learning that will eventually prepare them for a brighter future.
Holy Childhood Goal
- To eradicate poverty and ignorance through quality education.
Objectives
- Give quality education to pupils 7-14 years.
- To cultivate a people that will in the future find better job opportunities in the country and also to provide job opportunities to the people around the village.
- Develop learning and reading culture in students and their families.
- Ensure that children receive basic needs and rights such as education, food, clothing and healthcare.
Background
The target group includes marginalized and underprivileged children, both girls and boys between the ages of 7-14 years of age. The total number of direct beneficiaries will be 630 children for the 2009-2010 school year.
The Holy Childhood School originated through The Evangelizing Sisters of Mary (Catholic nuns) who are dedicated to creating a better world for all and to supporting all children in need, especially those who live in the surrounding village, Christians and non-Christian alike. Discrimination of any type is not allowed in the school. The aim of our school is to support all children who are in need. We focus on the materially less fortunate families, the majority of whom live in the village that surround us.
Origin of the project
In the year, 1998, the parents of Matala village and the sisters rendering service in the area met to discuss the situation of the children who were not attending school. In 1999 the decision was made to begin the nursery school, so that less fortunate children would have the opportunity to meet their basic education needs.
In January 2000, the nursery school started with 60 children and as of 2009, the number has increased to 250. In 2005, the parents met again, with the hope of starting a primary school so that the children in the village could continue improving their academic performance and receiving quality education. Though there are other schools in the area, they are very far to walk to, and transportation is extremely difficult. Thus it was decided (with the help of School Administrator Sister Lydia Assenga) to expand Holy Childhood into a primary school.
Sister Lydia and the parents met to discuss the issues and decided to expand Holy Childhood into a primary school. To raise funds for materials, Sister Lydia purchased seeds to grow onions, tomatoes and other indigenous vegetables to plant on the large plot of land near the school. The nuns, the parents and the students cultivated, harvested and sold the vegetables at the local market. The proceeds from that effort went toward purchasing the first set of primary textbooks. The garden project continues to help sustain the programs at the school.
In January 2007, the primary school began with 80 pupils. In 2008, 80 new pupils were accepted, and 80 more in 2009. As funds allow, Holy Childhood will continue to add students each year to continue providing disadvantaged students in the village with the opportunity to receive education and have a chance for a successful life.
Elimu Africa got this email below after Holy Childhood students received textbooks and educational materials we funded. As always, we give grateful credit to our generous donors who made it possible for us fund this wonderful school.
“Hallo,
Much Greetings from the Holy Childhood School. I am glad to let you know that we are all fine doing well.
Once more thank you so much for your love and care for the needy children.
I have sent you some of the photos and the receipts of the books we have bought. As you can see in the photos we bought the globe, which is very essential for teaching Civics, Geography in class three and four next year.
The children are very happy and exited as you can see in the photos, they were very grateful and appreciated your kind generosity, they told me to tell that THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH, MAY GOD BLESS YOU A HUNDRED TIMES. This was and will be their prayer.
Pass our sincere greetings to all our friends over there.
Yours Sisters Macrina & Lydia.”