I returned this week from another hugely successful trip to Tanzania.  Whilst it is always a hard trying to settle back into life here in Australia, I have an overwhelming sense of achievement and comfort that we have some amazing plans for the future and can see each year how we are getting closer to achieving these goals.

This year was a little different for me as the children were on school holidays. I usually spend the morning teaching at school and afternoons working on completing projects, this year I had more time to spend planning, having meetings and learning more about how to effectively do things in Tanzania and the processes ( or lack of) we need to follow to achieve some of our goals.

My first week was spent meeting with Mr Massawe to discuss and agree our plans for the future, and what we need to do to get there.  Mr Massawe has done a lot of work in recent months to start the process of setting the school up to gain Primary accreditation.  This in itself is a simple process, with min requirements for land size, classrooms, teachers, etc. However there is no document that articulates this for you and criteria 'changes' slightly for every application. We decided to spend time speaking with other people who have gone through the same process and compile our own checklist of requirements.  We then discovered each step of the approval process will have its own challenges.  
For example, I went with Mr Massawe to meet with local council to obtain our land title deed – here we found even when you submit all your paperwork, it ‘goes missing’ but if you pay some money it will miraculously appear again.

Also the professor we have hired to complete our Submission, has gone on holidays for a month and didn’t tell anyone.  You start to understand very quickly why it takes soooo long to get anything done, but I must admit I quite enjoy it and find it a nice, if at times frustrating, challenge.

Week two saw us complete the medical examinations for all the children (see previous blog post). It was great to see all the children again, and I think they were excited to see me when even the kids who completed their checkups on day 1 came back on the second day – although I really think it was the peanut butter sandwiches and juice that they really came back for.

Week three saw the arrival of our wonderful friends from Star Water Pumps to drill our well.  This was a pretty exciting day for us all, even though there was no guarantee we would find water just getting to this stage was a huge achievement for us all.  A huge thankyou to Mr Ron Reed from California, who made everything possible.
Ron set up this project about 10 years ago to address the chronic water issues in Tanzania. He shipped over a small drill rig from the US and started training local Tanzanians how to drill, he now has up to 7 drilling rigs, employs over 50 Tanzanians,  and has completed over 350 wells - improving access to fresh, clean water for a fraction of the cost of big organisations.  (I was originally quoted over $25,000 and this project will cost us less the $5000 through Ron and his team)

Drilling commenced on Wednesday, and I was amazed when I arrived at School on Friday to find we had already hit the water table at 95 feet.  Unfortunately, our first attempt was not successful as it did not deliver enough water, so we are currently still drilling – fingers crossed we find sufficient water soon and next month they will return to install solar panels and pump that will pump the water to our tank (that we installed last year). Mr Massawe is currently obtaining costs to install our drip irrigation system for our vegetable garden. 

Finally Mr Massawe and I hit the shops, stocking up on simple supplies for the school, excercise books, sugar, soap etc. We also decided this year, to work to improve the nutrient value of the school porridge so have also bough ground nuts and sardines, which are also ground, into the porridge. 

Overall a hugely successful trip,  not only achieving all we set out to do this visit, but feeling a lot more clear and comfortable with what we need to over the next few years.

Thanks once again to everyone who has donated money and makes all this wonderful work possible.  You really are making a huge difference to the live of many wonderful people and children.

Asante Sana

Sara Black

PS – to see regular updates, photos and videos please like our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/KOALAProject?ref=hl

This week saw us complete the first annual Medical Examinations for the students of Kilimahewa Nursery School.

Dr Cleopa Mbwambo, is a paediatrician at the local Mawenzi hospital, and came highly recommend by Mama Grace, who we live with whilst staying in Moshi.  We were also very fortunate to have Dr Jessie, a friend visiting from the San Francisco, who is also a paediatrician, so we had some great expertise looking after our kids.

We met with Dr Mbwambo for the first time last Friday to discuss the program, agree on what would be involved and a cost for his time.  Our initial perception of Dr Mbwambo could best be described as a little man with a very big personality.  Standing approx 1m tall his favourite saying is “The kids are not scared of me because I am the same size as they are” and what he lacks in height he makes up for in personality.  Our planned 30minute meeting, took almost 2 hours learning not only about basic child health care in Tanzania, but the formula for calculating BMI, a detailed explanation of how worms travel through your system and a 20minute  ‘warm up’ discussion about how today was the Solstice and what that actually means ! We were in for an interesting few days, and we finally concluded the meeting with a Doctor and agreed days and time to start our program.  

Although the children were all on school holidays this week, Mr Massawe visited the homes of all the students to ensure they came back to school to receive their examination.  Of the 67 students we managed to have 42 return for their check ups, and another 10 from my friend Katies program at nearby Karanga village also attended. 

All children were weighed and measured, checked to ensure they had received their compulsory immunisations as a baby, and given general physical examination checking teeth, skin etc, and provided with worm medication.

Overall there were few major health concerns.  One 5 year old child is showing possible HIV stage 2 symptoms and has been referred to the hospital for further tests – it is critical however that cases like this are treated with caution as the stigma often associated with HIV could see the children treated as outcasts or even abandoned.

Another student, Junior, who is 4 years old and suffers from severe bowing of the legs, believed to be rickets, caused by deficiency of Vitamin D.  We have also referred him for further tests to try to improve his quality of life, not that anything appears to slow him down at the moment.

Other problems included one case of pneumonia, and a couple of chronic sinus infections – all of which are now receiving treatment and on the mend.

Most children have a very poor diet, consisting mainly of corn maize porridge which has very little nutrient value.  Thanks to our chicken project the children now have 1 egg per week to increase their protein intake, and I am working with Mr Massawe on improving the nutrients we put in the porridge – for example the best source of B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and Omega 3 is to mix dried/crushed sardines into the porridge.  Sounds revolting, but I am assured it is not only affordable but quite enjoyable ????

Ringworm was also evident in almost all children, some with minor irritations on the scalp others with more serious symptoms and fungal infections all over the body. 

Each child was given their own Medical Exercise book, so their parents can keep track of their health, and I also captured all data in a spreadsheet so we can compare their progress next year.  This also allowed us to compile all the required medications and take to the pharmacy – there is no such thing as a prescription here you just hand over your list and they hand you 15 courses of antibiotics. (for approx $5)

All children also received a new toothbrush and toothpaste, and have asked Mr Massawe to conduct a lesson in teeth hygiene next week.  Many children had severely rotten teeth, often caused by eating too much sugar cane and not brushing teeth.

Overall a very successful few days, and a program we intend to conduct annually.