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.