School & Library
Investing in Education
I have been actively supporting a school in this area for the last 4 years, because ultimately receiving a good education may be the only way out of the endless cycle of poverty and unemployment which exists here. The Camperdown Combined School is unusual in that it has good infrastructure ,sound security, an impressive principal, and dedicated staff. It is, however, desperately overcrowded, lacking in equipment and teaching materials, and dealing with children from disadvantaged and in many cases damaged backgrounds.
The school vegetable garden, which was this year's project, is designed to teach all the students how to plant and care for the vegetables, and hopefully transfer this knowledge to their families. The vegetables will be used for the school feeding program and any surplus will be donated to needy families.
For the last two years we have paid the salary for a administration assistant, a qualified person whose contribution has helped the smooth running of the school and greatly relieved pressure on the overworked principal and staff, who receive no time out from face to face teaching for administrative duties.
In 2013, work at the school continued. The salary for an administration assistant was paid for another 12 months. The school garden which is thriving, received more seedlings, and large water tank is now fully installed with underground pipes to directly water the garden. The produce from the garden is used for school lunches, and the surplus given to needy families.
The school has many other pressing needs, but each year I wait to discuss with the principal which ones are most urgent before deciding on the project for the year.
I have been actively supporting a school in this area for the last 4 years, because ultimately receiving a good education may be the only way out of the endless cycle of poverty and unemployment which exists here. The Camperdown Combined School is unusual in that it has good infrastructure ,sound security, an impressive principal, and dedicated staff. It is, however, desperately overcrowded, lacking in equipment and teaching materials, and dealing with children from disadvantaged and in many cases damaged backgrounds.
The school vegetable garden, which was this year's project, is designed to teach all the students how to plant and care for the vegetables, and hopefully transfer this knowledge to their families. The vegetables will be used for the school feeding program and any surplus will be donated to needy families.
For the last two years we have paid the salary for a administration assistant, a qualified person whose contribution has helped the smooth running of the school and greatly relieved pressure on the overworked principal and staff, who receive no time out from face to face teaching for administrative duties.
In 2013, work at the school continued. The salary for an administration assistant was paid for another 12 months. The school garden which is thriving, received more seedlings, and large water tank is now fully installed with underground pipes to directly water the garden. The produce from the garden is used for school lunches, and the surplus given to needy families.
The school has many other pressing needs, but each year I wait to discuss with the principal which ones are most urgent before deciding on the project for the year.
The Library
In 2010, with the help of another volunteer from the US, we were able to establish a library of reference books, teaching aids, fiction and non fiction works, in a poor rural school. The library now has over 1600, books, but I will continue to fundraise to add more to this. The library is making a noticeable difference in the literacy levels of the children, and is also helping to promote a love of books and learning. The fact that it has been looked after carefully, and the books are still in good condition, attests to the high standards and discipline of the school. At the end of my 2011 visit, I learned that the school I support recently won a regional reading competition, outperforming 25 other schools. The headmistress arttributes much of this success to the fact that the library has given the children a love of books and reading that they did not have before. For Dorothy, my friend from the US with whom I collaborated in 2010 to establish the library, and who selected and catalogued the books, this is music to our ears. |