Risen Day-Care Nursery and EYFS School, and soon Primary School, needs your support!!!

Hi! We are currently in Tanzania near the town of Mafinga, as volunteers at ‘Risen Day-Care Nursery and EYFS School’. Today we would like to share with you the story of a family embodying total self-sacrifice for the sake of education: Robart and Nitike Mdamu and their two children Alice and Brian, who live at the self-made school with no running water or electricity.

In a country with a notorious shortage of schools, getting a proper education is a challenging feat. Robart and Nitike were able to graduate as high school teachers with the help of relatives and neighbours, but could not practice due to the lack of job offers. To make a living they sold vegetables at the central market of Mafinga. Two years ago, rising rents forced them to move to a new community in the outskirts. When the neighbours found out that Robart and Nitike were teachers they asked them to provide an education for their kids. As an income was needed, he continued working at Mafinga’s market, while she began teaching. First it was 4 children and then many more came. This prompted the couple to found Risen School. Many families in the neighbourhood cannot afford paying fees, so Robart and Nitike have erected the School with the support of volunteers and donations.

Together with three other volunteer teachers, Crister, Angel and Nasra, the couple offers basic education in Swahili and English to the kids in the community. Risen School now welcomes 42 students from 2-5 years old, providing a daily breakfast and lunch to every child. Some families participate by giving food when they can, but others have no means to compensate Robart and Nitike either in kind or in cash.

Currently, the couple faces the challenge of the monthly rent of the land plot where the school is located at their own expenses. With the help of many volunteers and donations from all around the World they have purchased their own piece of land and started building a new school. In addition to Day-Care Nursery and EYFS they want to open primary classes, so as to offer the largest possible number of children the chance to choose a profession and thrive.

### PHASE 1 ###

FINISHING THE NURSERY, KITCHEN AND TOILETS ### THIS PHASE IS FINISHED, THANKS FOR YOUR COLABORATION!!!

We were able to gather enough money to get the nursery open and running the 10th of January as promised.

--> 50 DESKS <-- IT HAS BEEN A HUGE SUCCESS!!!

We have been able to get the 50 desks needed. This has been an amazing effort from all of you and we are utterly grateful, thank you all.

### PHASE 2 ###

Then, the goal in the coming months is to build a primary school for the kids to benefit from a quality basic education. 

To complete the project, we need to reach the goal of £12.000 for the following:

Future for the school

Nitike and Robart intend to turn the project into a self-sufficient school. To achieve financial independence, they are creating a permaculture system, namely a virtuous circle. By growing a large amount of fruits and vegetables, they will feed their own family and the students. The surplus shall in turn be sold to fund other needs, such as buying school supplies and paying the teachers’ salaries. The river running through the land will irrigate the vegetable garden and the farm, also providing water for the daily needs of the school. So far, Robart and Nitike have successfully produced onions, maize, potatoes, beans and avocados, and will grow other foods and fruit bearing trees as the project proceeds. They are also raising three pigs to be sold when adults, and shall buy chickens and a cow for additional income.

Education in Tanzania

Public schools in Tanzania have very few resources. As the population and students continue to grow, the government is struggling to create enough teaching positions. Therefore, some government school teachers have classes of over 100 students. As teaching conditions are indeed problematic, too many pupils leave primary school without having acquired basic reading and writing skills.

Another relevant and tragic issue is the high number of people with AIDS (HIV) in the region. It is particularly important for Nitike and Robart to participate in the education of children from an early age so that prevention in schools becomes part of a global education approach to citizenship and health. They have children in their care who have been diagnosed as HIV positive. Other kids have lost their parents to this disease, and live with a grandparent or other relative.

How can we help Robart, Nitike, teachers and every child in the area today?

Thank you so much for your generous help,

Vicente Gomez, Ana Rivas, Charlotte Puycouyoul, volunteers in Risen Day-Care and Primary School

Please check out our website and social media for more.

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