Over the past couple of months I have been working with the staff at one of the elementary schools in my village. We have designed a project that will start a school garden, build a kitchen for the school lunch program, and dig a staff latrine. We need your help to make sure the project goes as planned. Please donate here. All donations can be made online through the Peace Corps Partnership Program, and every penny of your donation will be put towards our project. Thank you for your help!
We began the first phase of the project, the planting our garden, last Saturday. Check out the pictures! The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade boys spent a couple of hours one morning softening up the ground with their axes and hoes. We haven’t had rain since October, so the ground was hard as a rock, and the kids did a lot of work. Then they hauled ten wheelbarrows full of dirt, sand and manure to the garden to mix and water. We’ll let it sit for a couple of weeks so it can begin to break down. As soon as it’s ready, we’re going to start planting trees! Our first trees are going to be Moringa, an extremely versatile tree that is packed full of nutrients and grows well in our climate. The leaves will make great additions to rice sauces, and the seeds can even be used to purify water.
Later this month we will start construction of the kitchen building and latrine. The kitchen will have enough space for several women to prepare food, and since it is on the school property, it will be an easily-accessible place to prepare school lunches. It will also have a roof to protect the women from the sun and dust, and a door to make sure the goats don’t eat the lunches. And the staff latrine, your basic hole-in-the-ground, will be a much-needed addition to the school grounds, saving the staff trips to neighbors’ houses to use the facilities.
The school staff and students are very excited about the garden and kitchen in particular, and everyone is eager to get started. Now all we need is a little financial help to buy construction materials and seeds. Please donate here. We appreciate anything you can give, and remember, every penny of your donation will go towards our project. Thank you! Merci! And I ni che!
