New site for the Sunshine Nursery School
June 2022, Sinshine Nusery School, Arusha – On a bright morning in May, I spent my time working with some Volunteers from Step Africa. We enjoyed each other’s company as we painted the walls of the Sunshine Nursery School. During a break, two of the volunteers, Marion from Austria and Annie from Ireland, came over and asked me some questions about the school. We talked about the monthly rent which is increasing month by month and the poor condition of the kitchen. I told them how the school would soon become unaffordable to run. They wanted to help the Sunshine Nursery School. They asked me if it would be possible to work together to locate and build a new school for these children. Later this day I showed them an empty site that I had nearby and we discussed the possibility of building here. On that day, in that moment, we made an agreement - we are going to build a new Sunshine Nursery School and we will start immediately. There will be no more rent to pay and it will belong entirely to the children. And on that day we began the process for construction. We decided that the school will include a classroom for at least 40 children, a kitchen, a toilet for boys and girls, a playground and a fence for the children’s safety. As the days went on myself, Annie and Marion continued to work together and meet up to ensure the construction was coming along well and everything was going to plan. We had a great team working with us and they were very fast. The word of our work began to spread and soon there were more volunteers from Step Africa who wanted to join our project and help. We had many donations - a water tank, a stove, the construction of a water pipe and painting of the walls inside and outside. Our project is nearly finished and we plan to open the new Sunshine Nursery School by September 2022. Asante sana!
New opening - Mwanzo Daycare
May 2022, Mwanzo Daycare, City of Arusha – This success story begins on a summer’s morning in Arusha when a friend of mine called me and asked for urgent help. She planned to open a daycare centre close to the main market of Arusha. The women who are working at these markets everyday are not allowed to bring their children with them anymore. Because of this the parents would have to leave them on their own at home or either would need to stop working, which feels impossible as they need the income. With a daycare nearby, the women would be able to continue working and they would not be worrying about their children and their safety. As my friend had to move to a different city with her family I decided to open Mzwano Daycare in May 2022. Mwanzo means a ‘New beginning’ and It is a new beginning for many of these women, their children and me. The Daycare is a hidden green paradise surrounded by Avocado, Mango and Banana trees, in the middle of the busy rushing city centre of Arusha. It includes two main buildings for the children and staff and now thanks to Marion and Annie, two specially engaged and kind-hearted volunteers from Step Africa, we have a little playground as well. The biggest attraction is our new chicken coop with more than 20 chickens, which was also financed by these two generous girls. The children can step outside and collect their very own eggs for breakfast. At present, we can accommodate up to 30 kids at the daycare. It is open from 6 in the morning until 6 in the evening. Our in-house cook prepares three warm dishes per day for each child. We also have two teachers who are takingcare of the children, playing games and educating them since the very first day. Volunteers from Step Africa have helped Mwanzo Daycare to become a reality for children. They have been so generous with their helping hands and donations that support us and allow our journey to continue. The daycare has now become an official partner project of Step Africa and Volunteers are very welcome to come visit and play with the children whenever they please and also to support and help the daycare in any way they may see that they can. Asante sana!
Great opening - “Tree school” moves into building
January 2022, Ndoto Nursury School – After months of teaching under a tree, the community of Moira Kiloriti village was very happy about the big opening of a proper school building for my Ndoto Nursury School students.
Thanks to StepAfrica (www.step-africa.com) and their dedicated volunteers Anna and Annabell with their non-profit association ndoto Tanzania (www.ndototanzania.com), the construction work could start October 2021 and led to this great success.
There is still a lot of work to do - for example we received new furniture end of April 2022, but everybody involved is very proud. It touches the lives of so many kids in the village. Asante sana!
A bicycle for Lalashe
January 2022, Moita Village – When I met Lalashe, a student of mine, life was giving him and his family very hard times. His parents were often not able to buy food for him and his sisters and he had to sleep on the ground.
Everything changed for the family when my friend Beate from Germany decided to support them. Beate now helps the family with food regularly and bought beds and mattresses for everyone.
She sponsored Lalashe’s obligatory school uniform and – as one of the most exciting things that ever happened in his young life – he got a bicycle for his 7th birthday. This was the first time he ever got a birthday present. Asante sana!
Boxes from Germany
December 2021, Maasai villages – In the villages it lacks the most basic things: food, water and clothes. So, it is an extraordinary happening for the family and kids when boxes from Germany arrive.
The second large box this year by my German friend Mel contained clothes, school material and toys, which she collects from friends and family on a regular basis. In addition, Mel sometimes sponsors other urgent needs like medical treatment and sun protection for my two albino students. Other boxes come from Germany twice a year from my friend Beate. Beate makes regular financial donations to sponsor food for needy families, has donated some football shirts and has helped with the projects already mentioned. Asante sana to all of you!
Three schools in three days - Food for Kids
November 2021, Maasai villages – Excitement, happy faces and a lot of joy were the result of a campaign organized by three female volunteers. My German friend Steffi, social worker Irene from the organization StepAfrica (www.step-africa.com) and me were able to provide the kids and visitors of three schools with a great range of cooked food: a variety of rice, chips, spaghetti, chicken, tomato sauce with minced meat, coleslaw and spinach. It was wonderful and very satisfying moments seeing these kids enjoying a proper cooked meal. Some kids ate chips or spaghetti for the first time in their lives. Seeing this touched the hearts of all supporters involved. With this, 400 people could be fed during the three days.
Additionally, every child at my schools received a bag of food to take home for the summer holidays. It included one kilogram of rice, beans and sugar, a pack of salt and one candy. Furthermore, every school received four soccer balls.
All this is the result of the strong cooperative work between dedicated people and me who deserve sincerest thanks: Steffi, a German supporter, who collected donations from friends and family in Germany before coming to Arusha and also helped me with this website, and Irene, who is a social worker from the above-mentioned organization StepAfrica, who is responsible for the outreach programs. Asante sana!
Sanitary pads and FGM education
May 2021, Moita Kiloriti Primary School - Creating awareness on how to use reusable sanitary pads, refusing the cruel act of female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriage is one of my passionate missions. These practices are still very common in Tanzania, especially in the villages due to missing education. Thanks to Angelika from Germany, Dr. Stefan Stein and the Sankt Georg Ritterorden, I could meet the needs of my maturing female students, distributing some of those sanitary pads and educating them at the same time about puberty, their changing bodies and the harm of FGM.
Moita Kiloriti Primary School was the first school I worked as voluntary teacher in the Maasai villages after the call of the village’s leaders before I founded my own three schools. After I realized what young women in the village are going through, I started this additional mission. Many girls drop school when they start to get their period as they feel ashamed about their dirty clothes. This fact also contributed to the problem of early marriages. Helping them with sanitary pads is a way of helping them to continue with school and reaching their dreams. Asante sana to all of you who touch these girls' lives!
Renovating Nduruma Sunshine Nursury School
May 2019, Nduruma - What a challenging task to renovate an unattended building and making it a proper school! The main problem is, of course, to finance these kinds of projects.
Fortunately, special people make special challenges doable. Supporter of this project was Beate from Germany. Her money was used to buy a door, painting and windows for the newly established Sunshine Nursury School. Thanks to her generosity also chairs, tables and 80 exercise books were there when I first started as voluntary teacher in this area. Asante sana!
