Drought in Shirati Raises Food Prices!

We celebrated Spring with plenty of rainfall here in California, but Winter and Spring rains did not come this year to Shirati and Nyamagongo. Like much of the Horn of Africa, rains have been scarce in Tanzania, and people in our region are worried. The price of food is rising at an alarming rate, and many in this region depend on farming to feed their families. The photos below show the stark contrast: A typical year’s crop at this time of year is shown on the left, while the photo on the right shows the present state of crop growth last month in Nyamagongo.

Your donations at this critical time help us continue to provide lunch at Tina's Pre and Primary School for our students, staff and teachers! For some children, this bowl of ugi (cassava porridge) is the only food for the day. Please DONATE NOW.

The Story of Nelson and Max

We’d like to share a story with you about one of our students, Nelson.

Nelson was born in 2006, at Shirati Hospital. His mother died in childbirth and his father was nowhere to be found, so a neighbor, Mama Baracka, brought him to her home where she was raising several other orphans. Nelson grew into a delightful, cheerful, and playful little boy, but very small for his age and very slow to develop cognitively.

Meanwhile a young man from California, Max Perel-Slater, had moved to Shirati after volunteering with REACH Shirati in 2006. He formed a bond with Nelson, and decided to pay Nelson’s school fees at the local government school near Mama Baracka’s home. After a little while, the teachers told Max they felt they couldn’t teach Nelson properly. Max then paid for Nelson to attend other nearby schools, but they all felt they weren’t right for Nelson. Finally, Max arranged for Nelson to have an educational evaluation in the nearby city of Mwanza. The professionals who assessed Nelson explained that most schools teach to the national exams, which would not be a good fit for Nelson. The evaluators said Nelson should go to a school that cares more about the whole child – they recommended Tina’s Pre and Primary School, even though that would mean a long walk to school and back everyday!

Nelson, pictured below, is now thriving at Tina’s School, where he is treated with affection, compassion, and respect.

Max Perel-Slater, second from right, standing next to our founder Christine Chacha in the 2006 photo below, lives in Shirati year round and is the co-founder and executive director of MajiSafi Group, majisafigroup.org.

Rainwater Catchment Tanks

In 2009 and 2011 our volunteers helped build two rainwater catchment tanks at Tina's School in Nyamagongo. These tanks have served students, staff and the surounding community since then. But this year they didn't even meet the most basic needs of the community. We hope next year's rains will fill them up again. 

 
Watch the Video
 

Math and Water DO Mix!

Jasper Feinberg, one of our volunteers made this video about the opportunities lost when families spend hours a day collecting water. Water is a precious gift, not taken for granted here.

 
Watch the Video
 

Community Women's Group

Besides the rainwater catchment tanks, our many other community development projects with the Nyamagongo Community Women's Group help stretch scare resources.

 
Community Projects
P.O. Box 7776, Berkeley, CA 94707-0776
510.273.9044

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