The whole
group arrived at Tumaini at 9:00 AM. After depositing our equipment, the head
teacher, Mr. Paul, gave us a tour.
Children in a number of the classes either sang to us or greeted us in
another way. We saw dormitories,
classrooms, and of course, the new library and computer lab. It is hard not to be impressed with all that is
going on at Tumaini – and the whole group was suitably impressed!
The
students conducted three interviews on Monday – with Mr. Jimmy, Madame
Christine, and the teacher who is currently serving as the librarian. In addition, Ashley picked up B-roll around
the campus. There is so much to see – children in class, laundry hanging on the
line, dormitories, the kitchen that puts out 3 meals a day, plus a snack, for
900 children, as well as teachers, staff, and visitors like us, the sports
activities, the places outside where children wash their hands, the sewing shop
where uniforms are made and mended, and so on.
Tea is
served at around 10:30 AM – a sweet, black tea along with delicious rolls made
in the kitchen. What a treat! Lunchtime is 1:00 PM, and we were included in the
fare of rice and beans, spinach, and fruit. When we were here in 2013, the
lunch consisted only of rice and beans, or another, similar, hearty dish, with
no vegetables or fruit. Since then, a
nutritionist from Long Island University did a nutritional analysis and made
suggestions for changes in the diet, which the school implemented. We attribute to that change the addition of
the spinach and fruit. (The same nutrition professor will be back in Karatu in
another week or two, with a group of students, to do a second analysis of the
diet at the school. One of her students arrived early to do more volunteer
work, and she is staying at the Volunteer House with us.)
While the
BECA students worked on production, I wandered into the library and offered to
help. I was able to read with a couple
of children and brainstorm with a volunteer on ways to encourage children to do
more reading. I can think of few things I enjoy more than reading to children,
so I was in my element!
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