Update 12 Aug 12 - Kilimamoja Village School

50% COMPLETE

The villagers and tradesmen are working steadily to construct the 2-classroom school and it is on schedule. As you can see from the progressive photos below, the floor slab is done and the walls are finished, with the concrete lintel beam being formed with wood planks. Very crude construction (plywood for formwork is not available), but effective. I'm always amazed how the tradesmen can create a building with nothing but simple hand tools.

By the time I go to this project in September, the roof will be on, and the only thing left to do will be the final painting and cleanup, and of course, the official opening and celebrations where donor plaques to commemorate the generous donors will be mounted on the classroom walls. 

Thursday, 2 August 2012


WE MADE IT! WE REACHED THE $18,000 FUNDRAISING GOAL TO BUILD THE KILIMAMOJA VILLAGE SCHOOL PROJECT IN TANZANIA.


THANK YOU TO THE DONORS WHO HAVE GENEROUSLY CONTRIBUTED TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE.


It is already under construction and Alan will be travelling to Tanzania on 4 Sept 2012 for the last 2 weeks of the project and will send photos and updates of the project when he is there.


The photo below shows the progress of the construction as of 2 August. The village volunteer labourers and hired tradesmen are working hard and long hours to complete the construction by mid September for the start of classes then. 


The second 2012 project, the Kitchen and dining Room building at the Gongali Village school site, is about to start construction on 3 August with the portion of the funds raised to date. More on that project in the next blog.

FUNDS URGENTLY NEEDED

The Kilimamoja Village School building project in Tanzania will start construction in August this year. The village tradesmen have been selected to work on the project and are awaiting approval from us to begin construction. For complete details on this project, go to our website www.PrimarySchoolsForAfrica.com . Refer also to previous blogs.

As of 16 July, 2012, we are currently at 82% of the required funds needed to complete this project.

We urgently need to raise $3,200 more dollars within the next few weeks. 

In the Kilimamoja village area, 41 children  are waiting for this school to be built so they can start their first year of schooling in September 2012.

If you are a first time donor, please address your cheque to:
"Primary Schools For Africa Society"
and mail to:
Primary Schools For Africa Society
3301 Wordsworth St,
Victoria, BC, V8P 4B9

Or,

Visit our website www.PrimarySchoolsForAfrica.com and click on the Donate button to use your charge card.

A tax receipt will be sent out.

Please phone Alan Roy at 250-598-4207 or e-mail at aral@shaw.ca if you would like to discuss or if you have any questions.

The children of Kilimamoja thank all those who have donated thus far.

Kilimamoja Village School - Phase 1 - Water To The Site 


The location: Kilimamoja Village near Karatu, Tanzania. On the road to the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Game Reserve.
This new school project has been on our list since mid 2011 when we approved it based on the village mayor and council commitment to satisfy all our requirements, ie, land title, supply of teachers, furniture, etc. 
PSFA visited the site last November to a surprise turnout of about 50 villagers who greeted videographer Justus Lowry and me with singing and dancing. The District Chairman, Lazaro Titus, the District Education Officer, Mama Vennerando and the village mayor, Winner Msemo officiated in an impromptu ground-breaking ceremony to convince us, I guess, that the project will proceed. At that time, the best we could do was to promise that, subject to fundraising, this project was the next one on our list.
Now, we're receiving e-mails from our Tanzanian agent Mathew Sulle that the village is getting excited about the prospect of finally getting their primary school in September 2012, our slated next construction visit. We've raised some of the funds through generous donors, but still need more to complete this project and the Gongali Phase 3 project, a Kitchen and Dining building.
Our previous blog of our Kilimanjaro Climb adventure in September 2012 describes how it will help with the funds for this school.


In the meantime we are happy to report that the first phase of the project, getting water to the school site, has just been completed.  This is a huge thing for the school's operating success. We funded the connection of a pipe system to an existing Water Point several hundred metres from the school. The cost: $1,400 CDN. We're now ready for the school to begin construction in September.

briefing villagers at the school site

Water now flowing to the site

the Water Point we connected to

discussing the location of the school with local officials

Mount Kilimanjaro Climb Fundraiser - 2012


We are planning a big adventure in September for anyone interested in making a huge difference; a climb up Mt Kilimanjaro, followed by a visit to a school under construction, paid for by the funds raised for the climb. To top off the itinerary, a 1 day safari to one of the best game reserves in Africa, the Ngorongoro Crater Reserve.


As a minimum, we need a team of  4 or 5 persons. If more are interested, we will have a second team, or a third team......


Details  below. More information available from Alan Roy, phone 250-598-4207, or e-mail aral@shaw.ca. 

www.PrimarySchoolsForAfrica.com

Alicia Lee - Artist and Partner with PSFA

Alicia Lee is a renowned artist who has made a wonderful decision to "give something back". She is donating a portion of all future sales of her paintings to Primary Schools for Africa (PSFA), a registered Canadian charity, towards the construction of new school projects underway in Tanzania, Africa.

To date, along with her friend Sang Han, she has donated $6,500, enough to cover the cost of one new classroom. In recognition of her generosity, PSFA will be naming a future classroom after them. It will be called the Alicia & Sang Classroom.

Alicia will continue to donate portions of her paintings' sales to PSFA, so please visit her website to see her gallery of beautiful paintings. Her interpretation of form and use of bold colours is unique. My wife Maureen and I loved her style, so we bought four paintings.

Visit Alicia's website, www.aalicia.com. You can help support the construction of new schools in Tanzania by purchasing a painting or two of her wonderful collection. The proceeds are needed to fund this year's projects in the villages of Gongali and Kilimamoja. 

For charity information, visit our website, http://www.PrimarySchoolsForAfrica.com/

Alicia Lee and Sang Han's $6,500 cheque for a new classroom