Visit from the Rotary Club of Monduli
The Club was very pleased to welcome members of the Rotary Club of Monduli from Tanzania when they visited recently to talk about the work they are doing. The Rotary Club of Southampton East is supporting the Rotary Club of Monduli in their work with Noonkodin Secondary School which is located in the remote mountain village of Eluwai, northern Tanzania, where most of the residents are Maasai pastoralists.
Southampton East has agreed to fund the School's plan to rent a plot of land in an area where the threat from wild animals is less, and the rainfall better. They have calculated that for £400 they could rent and plough a 3-acre plot, buy maize seed, pay for the labour for sowing and harvesting, buy bags for storage, and transport the harvest to the school. They estimate that this would yield enough maize and beans to feed the school (200 students, 12 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff) for 2-3 months, as well as providing seed for next year's harvest.
Pictiured right are Club President with Kephas Mungaya Ndiamasi, the president of the Rotary Club of Monduli, is also head teacher of Noonkodin Secondary School. Also pictured is Rotarian Grosper.
Noonkodin is the only school in Tanzania that offers a special programme (alongside the normal subjects like Maths, English, Science, Geography and History) to encourage its students to:
• Document and record the knowledge, traditions, songs, stories, proverbs and dances of their communities
• Do their own research on plants and trees used in traditional herbal medicine
• Learn about other cultures through Global School Partnerships
• Bring together indigenous knowledge and modern technology for sustainable livelihoods, e.g. cultural tourism, handicrafts or music.
The school has almost 200 students aged between 14 and 25, over 60% of them female Some of these girls and young women have run away from home in order to escape female genital mutilation and/or forced marriages, often to men in their fifties or sixties.
Like all secondary schools in Tanzania, including those run by the government, Noonkodin charges fees to its students to cover the costs of tuition - and, for over half of them, board and lodging too. But for pastoralist families struggling to feed, clothe and educate as many as 12-15 children, often with little or no cash income, even this modest fee is difficult to pay. Sponsorship by well-wishers in other countries, via the registered charity Serian UK, is a vital lifeline to help the students continue their education!
Demand for scholarships far exceeds supply, and there are currently over 30 young people who will have to leave Noonkodin this year unless someone comes forward to sponsor them.
Making a regular monthly contribution of £12 would support a day student, £20 a boarder, or £25 a special boarding scholarship for a vulnerable girl. One-off donations are also gratefully received. If you would like to sponsor a student click here to download sponsorship forms.
