As you
know, this year, the HIV Support Group at Dwambazi Rural Hospital started a
nursery school for students affected by HIV who are between the ages of 2 and
10. The goal is to prepare these
students for entrance into primary school, with lessons on speaking basic
English, social studies and math. The
school has enrolled 68 students, 48 girls and 20 boys, with two full-time
teachers. The intention for starting
this nursery school is to prepare all students for entrance into primary
school. Since more than 70% of the
students are female, this is a great opportunity to instill the importance of
education in young girls. The expectation is all students will attend primary
school after they have successfully completed lessons at the nursery school. They meet at the Under-5 shelter on the lakeshore
in Machilika. School began this term
and attendance is high. After the
completion of the chalkboard, the school had one more request before rainy
season: a roof to keep them dry. 
A "before" shot of the roof
It is
expected that rainy season will be here by December and many students who
typically attend primary school in Dwambazi will not be able to walk to
school as the path that they use is a high flood area. During rainy season, this village is cut
off from the rest of Dwambazi.
Students have attempted to go to school in previous years, however
three have drowned. To ensure these
students are continuing their studies, the nursery school has hired an
additional teacher where they will join the nursery school students at the
Under-5 shelter in Machiika. However,
the roof on the shelter is in great need of improvement. The Nursery School Committee and I discussed
the possibility of a metal roof, as this would last many years, however the
building is not built in a way to sustain such a roof. We would need to make vast improvements and
time was limited, so we decided to thatch the roof with a plastic lining to
reduce leaks in the roofing. This will
be a temporary fix as the committee collects more funds for a more permanent
roof next dry season.
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I wrote a small grant for the plastic for the roof and we
received the funds in the same week.
Within days, the plastic was purchased, measured, sewn together and
placed on the roof. The community
donated thatch and worked on the project tirelessly until the day of the first
rain. The students cheered and danced
and consequently, they were
able to attend school during rainy season because they were protected from the
elements.
An "after" shot of the roof
As
always, my favorite part of any day is to visit the nursery school and listen
to the children practice English. I
taught them “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and they love to play “Duck,
Duck, Goose.” They teach me songs, as
well, but I can’t possibly keep up with their dance moves (even though I am an
impeccable dancer).
