Stellaandgirl

School Uniform Project

ABCD: Art Building Children’s Dreams (UK) or ABCD (UK) is very proud to have recently teamed up with the Rotary Club of Morden, South London, who have kindly sponsored a school uniform programme for 3 primary schools in Tanzania. This is in addition to a sponsorship from a long-time emigre of the village, Ndenny Meakins, now living in Canada.

ABCD (UK) has worked as a charity HMRC registered no. XT38573 for two years now, supporting orphans and otherwise vulnerable children (OVC’s) in Lyamungo Sinde in the Kilimanjaro region.

ABCD (UK) continues to raise money from the sponsored sale of children’s art work and from the sale of locally made African curios to support the children through payment of school fees. These help to provide supplies for school meals and for some small infrastructure funds like water and electricity supply.

In April, 2015 Morden Rotary Club agreed to donate £500 for the replacement of school uniforms for the village children. At a cost of just under £10 each we were able to commission 45 uniforms and to pay a village seamstress along with two of her helpers to make these uniforms (thus creating work within the village). This, as stated above is in addition to CDN600 donated by Ndenny Meakins.

The first phase of the school uniform programme began on 12 May (see picture left) with the remainder promised by the beginning of June. The uniforms are being distributed to the graduating classes of the primary schools firstly in honour of the children’s achievement at that level and secondly to allow the uniforms to be handed down to siblings or to others in the village.

Lyamungo Sinde (L.S.) village hosts 3 primary schools; L.S. Primary (see left), Mwowe Primary and ARI (Agricultural Research Institute) Primary. Lyamungo Sinde Primary was the first to benefit. Mwowe and ARI will soon follow.

The uniform programme augments the support already offered by ABCD (UK) and has created a lot of excitement in the village. We are very proud to have been able to implement the programme with the help of the Morden Rotary Club. In actual fact, as a member of Morden Rotary and as Operations Manager for ABCD (UK) I have been able to implement the programme personally. Both organizations now hope that this can be an ongoing programme to add to those already under way in the village.

As we are all aware, the need in Africa is great. The level of poverty normally does not allow schools to maintain the same level of support that schools in the west enjoy. Children also have access to only 1 change of clothes so the uniforms begin to look pretty rough by mid-term. It is with thanks to the Rotary pledge that we are able to substantially enhance children’s pride in their education. So, from ABCD (UK), a huge thank you to the Morden Rotary Club.