Tuamken Project Update

Great things coming out of Africa today!

Thank you for following along and thank you for having patience those of you that have been expecting this for a few days now. My goal with this post is to simply share the events that took place on Monday. I don’t know any way things could have gone better, and I’m very excited to tell! This is the ‘gist’ and I am excited to share in more detail when I return. Also, look for a post tomorrow that is more of my spiritual experience, observation, and encouragement about this leg of the trip.

Praise God because the day was truly divine.

I met Mathew in town at 7:30 on Monday morning. We first went to his house and sat down to go over finances. Bibi Monica was there to greet me.

First thing, we went through all of the finances of the school. They have kept DETAILED documents and I was extremely impressed and satisfied of how well they have tracked everything. I saw proof that every dollar given to the school went directly into their school bank account which is tracked by the Government and the Ministry of Education. Then he went through every single receipt of what they have used the money on and explained what it was for. There is documentation that all purchases went to true needs of the school; food, supplies, rent for the building, and teacher salaries. It was total transparency and I felt very confident with how they have handled things. Also important is that they have been saving a little each month, which was great to see.

After, we opened a long talk about sustainability. There is a good opportunity to have animals out at the new land and teach the kids to harvest eggs, raise chicken and goats, and sell for profits that would help the school. They went through a process with their government that also allows them to educate students that are not OVC’s (Orphan’s and Vulnerable Children). At the moment all students at Tuamkeni are OVC’s, but this is an important step to have this paperwork done as Mathew and I both agree it may be valuable in the future as part of the conversation of sustainability. The goal is to have the school fully support itself. One way that may happen down the road is allowing a handful of students that can afford school fees to pay their way, which will in turn support other students that can’t.

Next, Emmanuel showed up at the door and needed money for his school fees. A little background… In addition to the 37 students AT Tuamkeni, we support 37 MORE students (who used to be at Tuamkeni, and have outgrown the school). Monica and Mathew pay much of this out of their own pocket. All 74 children are identified as Tuamkeni students, and EVERY Saturday they ALL meet at the school and have lunch together to maintain community. We have hired a bible teacher that comes each Saturday to speak to the kids about Jesus.

So, when Emmanuel arrived he was the first of 3 students of the 37 being sponsored elsewhere which came THAT MORNING needing money for school fees, a field trip, or medicine. Mathew and monica paid for each of them out of their own pocket. During the 2 hours I was there at their home; Monica received 4 phone calls from schools where students are. I am convinced that Monica and Mathew are heroes to the community, and truly the amazing people in this world that are doing God’s work.

The last conversation at monica and mathews home was about construction. And it was a great one. Mathew had a detail breakdown of the cost to build from the fundi that built Glorious school (a nearby school ran by Monica and Mathews Daughter and son in law, and also directed by Hannah and others from the US).

The first document was a detailed budget for a standalone classroom, and then another was an analysis of adding a second classroom onto it. There is a diagram and plans included, total cost of the first classroom is $5,366 USD (with a row built in for margin of about $320). The add on classroom is a bit less than that but same ball park.

After the discussion we went to Glorious and met the fundi (construction manager) there. I also met 3 wazungus (white people) there that were other 'directors' along with Hannah. I saw the building they had built off the same plans, and it is 80-90% complete. They talked me through the process of building, and said that it happens fast and they had no hangups. The fundi confirmed that he is available for hire anytime.

I had about 45 minutes of discussion with the white people at Glorious and was super encouraged. Very clear evidence that what we are trying to do is feasible. They are going to come with me to Tuamkeni today and then we are going to have lunch together and talk through some things some more.

After Glorious we walked to Tuamkeni. I saw all the classrooms and was warmly greeted by the kids. There were only 3 students I recognized. Onesmo, Calvin Robert, and Zaituni.

It was just about lunchtime, but I interviewed Thomas, the new teacher, for about 15 minutes. He was very impressive; clearly loves the Lord and the kids. I wrote down some of the things he said about his teaching style and how we will incorporate scripture into the school. He made me a list of school supplies and books he needs and we fulfilled the list this morning. The desks we had built were still being used! and the uniforms still being worn although many of the students that are out in other schools kept their uniform, and a lot of the new students do not have uniforms (which you will see in the pictures)

Then it was lunchtime. We assembled the kids together and Thomas asked me to speak. So Mathew and I reminded the kids how much God loves them and cares for them, that we believe in them at that God's plan for their future is bright. We prayed together and then ate rice and beans with the kids.

Then...... visited the land in Kisongo! Kisongo is about 6 miles out of town. It's safe and it’s beautiful there. A lot of construction is happening and the land value has already gone up since it was purchased last year. The plot is much bigger than I imagined. It's perfectly flat and entirely cleared out, so no clearing of trees or anything before building. I took note of the wind direction and found true north, made a diagram of the size etc. Also cool, is that World Vision is doing a big water development project there. Literally, 100 feet from the land there is a brand new borehole drilled with a faucet for clean water. Mathew also said World Vision's project made it suitable for anyone in the area to pipe into the main supply and have running water. He said it is super easy to do because we are SO close to the source. We dreamed about where the school might go and prayed over the land. Pretty awesome view of Mt. Meru in the backdrop as well. On the drive home he gave me a stamped copy of the sale agreement, which DOES say it's sold to Tuamkeni, which we needed to make sure of.

Lastly, Mathew and I went back to a coffee shop to chat some more. The spirit was moving. At this point we took a close look at cost to build. We talked about logistics of hiring a dala dala (bus) to transport the kids out there (about a 20 minute drive) should we build. We simultaneously felt it was right to build one classroom first, and then eventually add on the second. So the Goal has become and is now a little over $5,000. I started to bring up fundraising and he stopped me.

He started quoting scripture, and explaining how there is a common theme in the bible about how it always starts with us surrendering what we have to God and then allowing Him to multiply it. We talked about Jesus feeding the 5,000 starting with a few fish and a loaf of bread. Ironically, we are raising $5,000. He also brought up the widow of Zarephath and how God multiplied flour and a jar of oil (1 Kings 17:7-16). He looked at me and said "We must start by surrendering what we have, and then God will multiply". And he says you and me, 50,000 each. We each took 50,000 tsh out of our pocket and put it on the table. we both put our hands on it and he prays this really long prayer in Swahili, and then I prayed asking God to multiply it to the $5,366 for the school.

I know I sometimes can over dramatize things, but I know God was there in the moment and that the spirit was flowing.

Talking it through… Mathew is able and agreeing to raise 10% locally for the school, and he outlined how, and has already had a business owner agree to donating truckfulls of sand and gravel. It came out to almost exactly $500 he will raise, and between us and other volunteers we will come up with the rest.

So, there it is! A pretty divine day and one giant step closer to the dream.

I’m out of time now but look for more to come.

In Him,
Andrew