While we were supposed to post Meghann’s Strategic Planning follow-up  piece yesterday, it isn’t quite ready yet. Life in Tanzania moves at its own pace, and that pace is slooooow and unpredictable and requires patience! Not to worry, that post is coming, and it’s going to be an interesting one, as the team has devoted many, many hours to strategic planning workshops this month.

Today, however, I have something for you that is also very interesting and important. Last month we published Sophia’s narrative and then followed that with this post addressing the importance of honesty. We plan to post more student narratives here over the next few months, but first we would like to back up and explain the writing process that the students went through to produce their narratives.

Adam Rubin, TFFT’s Full Circle Program Director, explains:

I chose this project because I wanted to do something that could allow the students to open up, both to themselves and to one another. I had noticed emotional barriers for a number of our girls in class 4-6 (all of the 4-6 Full Circle participants class were girls). I thought there could be a link between emotional issues that are kids haven’t yet overcome and academic struggles and that the opportunity to share their stories could be therapeutic.

Of course, in doing so, Adam needed to be sensitive to the kids’ traumatic pasts. He had earned the kids’ respect and trust over the months he spent working with them, but as a young, white, American male, he wanted to make sure the girls felt as comfortable as possible being interviewed on some very personal topics.

Adam, Sam, and the girls

Adam, therefore, explains that,

asking the Secondary Students to help me with the project was a clear choice. They viewed it as an opportunity to be role models to their younger brothers and sisters (we even had Ombeni interview little sister Julieth!). Some of the students cried, while others kept a straight face, and others smiled. Some opened up completely and told the truth, while others invented stories of their childhood in what appeared to be either a defense mechanism to avoid a painful past or a recollection of the story that was told to them by family. The entire interview was conducted in Swahili and the answers were also written in Swahili by our Secondary Students. The process took one Full Circle class period, and Fratern (who helped and interviewed Witness Yonah) and guest teacher, Sam Satock, joined me. Sam helped explain the process to our students and answered questions about the interview along the way. Then, Uswege helped to translate all of the stories from Swahili to English. Finally, Anne Rhett photographed the girls, and I combined the stories and photos together into what is now a short collection of their narratives.

Ombeni interviews his little sister, Julieth

As we continue posting the narratives, you will notice that they follow a similar structure. This is because the students all answered the same questions before composing the narratives:

1)     Please describe yourself. How old are you and which class are you in? What is your favorite subject in school? What do you like to do (play, sing, dance, draw, write, study, read, etc.)?   Who are your best friends? What do you love most about yourself (self-esteem)? Please describe your traits (i.e. beautiful, smart, funny, caring, nice) and your skills (i.e. writing, singing, dancing, cooking, drawing). What kind of person are you? What are your best qualities?

2)     Please describe your childhood. Where did you come from? Are your parents still living or deceased? Did you know your parents? What happened to them? What about your brothers and sisters? What was life like growing up? Who took care of you? When you were very young, what were your goals and dreams? Did you think you could achieve your goals and dreams when you were very young? If yes, why? If no, why not?

3)     What was the saddest moment in your life? Please explain what happened and how you felt. At that time, what did you think your future was going to be like? Did you have hope that things were going to improve? Where did you get your hope and inspiration from?

4)     When did you join The Foundation for Tomorrow? Did you stay in an orphanage? If so, which one? How has TFFT changed your life? What has TFFT given you? Please explain the happiest moment in your life. Please explain what happened and how you felt.  How will you use your education? Now, what are your goals and dreams? Do you think you can achieve them?

Thank you, Adam, for thoughtfully designing and facilitating this writing process. We hope to expand on this project this summer using the Literacy Through Photography approach—more on that to come! Meghann will also share the outcome of the meeting she had today in Moshi with the POFO (Positive Outcomes For Orphans) research team, a subset of the Duke Global Health Institute. I can’t wait to hear what TFFT’s team learned about POFO’s work with cognitive behavioral therapy research and intervention for orphans in Tanzania.

Have a wonderful weekend!

I have been back in Tanzania now for almost a month, and once again I am inspired and excited. Not only have we celebrated our scholars academic success, I have seen firsthand the physical and intellectual growth in all of our children. It is crazy how much growth happens in 4 months (the time between my visits).

I spend most of my days with the team in the office for the first half of the day and then visiting our partner schools or one of our partner orphanages in the afternoon. Interacting with and listening to our children gives me hope and brings me joy.

I have started to read more blogs recently, and one that stands out challenges us to “Choose Joy.”  I love that mentality. In life, whether here in Tanzania or in the West, there challenges, obstacles, and hurdles can get in the way, but you can turn your day around by “Choosing Joy.” I look to my kids for joy, and in turn I see the value in our work. I have yet to be disappointed:

I have found myself more than once sitting on the steps of the girls’ dorm talking about the future with our girls as they wonder, how do we move forward as young women? How do we impact our communities?

Our number one student Richard, told us that even in his new, more academically challenging school, he will strive to be number one.

Salvatory Seth (left) and Richard Augustino (right)

Irene Peter found out that George Mavroudis, one of TFFT’s supporters, will take her up in an airplane in a few weeks so that she can start to realize her dream to become a pilot.

Irene Peter, future pilot

Much of my time here this month is also focused on our 3 year strategic plan. We are working with In-Depth Consulting, our stakeholders here on the ground, and our Board of Directors to define our collective vision and to develop a strategy to achieve that vision, identify our threats, implement our mission, and drive results. As I examine our work over the past 5 years, I can’t help but be proud. We have empowered hundreds of children to believe what once seemed impossible. We’ve brought NGOs, the government, and the community together to challenge status quo and look for a plan to not only advocate on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children but to take steps to make real changes.

strategic planning session

A friend here challenged me last week to focus on actions that are transformational. Be confident that we have the power to change policy and improve the QUALITY of education on the district, regional and national level. Moving forward, I hope this will be a theme with my blog posts, I want to be held accountable.

I want you to ask us what we have done this month that is transformational? Keep asking us, “what are your plans?” “How do you plan to do X,Y & Z?”

In return I will share with you guys our steps towards transformation. It is not only affecting change amongst our scholars, we have now taken on the stance to make this difference at the community level throughout Tanzania. The challenge is large, but what challenge isn’t?

While our strategy is not complete and will continue to evolve, I am enthused by the conversation and engagement we have seen this week in our workshops with other civil service organizations, interested individuals, partner orphanages, partner schools, our students, private sector partners and other educational institutions working here in the Arusha area. Tuko pamoja (we are united).

To be continued on Thursday. Happy Tuesday!

See more pictures from Meghann’s trip here and read about the half marathon she and some of our students are training for here.

What makes your family special? You may eat three meals a day, take the kids to school, and have routine doctors checkups, but is that what makes your family unique? Or is your family is special because of the relationships that exist, the traditions you create, and the everyday moments that are personal to you and the ones you love?

Think of the little “nothings” that you do for your loved ones every day. These moments often come disguised as ordinary because they come and go without even being noticed… they may even seem routine—reading a bedtime story and tucking kids into bed; preparing a PB&J sandwich for lunch; a kiss goodbye; waiting at the bus stop; asking about homework; sitting on the sidelines of a soccer game; etc.

In a loving home environment, these moments are natural, and they happen time and again… every. single. day. However, to many, such moments would in fact be extraordinary.

They would be extraordinary because these “no-big-deal” moments mean:

You are loved. Someone cares for you. Someone looks after you.

These seemingly small acts silently communicate over and over again:

“I love you”

“I’m proud of you”

“You mean something to me”

“You are important.”

Too many kids in this world do not have this.

TFFT is proud to have 82 kids on scholarship. Most importantly, we are proud to personally know the children we support. We aim to provide much more than education, a backpack, food, etc.

A person survives with food, water, and education. A person thrives with love, support, and guidance. We want our TFFT kids to thrive.

We recognize that most of life’s most important lessons are typically modeled in a healthy home environment. Our children suffer from traumatic pasts lacking stable home environments, and Full Circle, TFFT’s after school program, aims to meet the personal and emotional needs of the orphaned and abandoned children we support. This program is custom designed to develop leadership skills and confidence and to provide students with the skills necessary to become independent, responsible, and compassionate adults prepared to live healthy and productive lives.

We make each of our scholarship children a promise:

“We will be there for you. We will support, encourage, and guide you. We will cheer for you and challenge you. We will open your eyes to life’s possibilities, and we will share in your dreams. We will be your family.”

Our team on the ground runs this program and works with the kids daily. We support our scholarships children for an average of 12 years. We attend their graduations, celebrate their achievements, ask them about their dreams, and teach them how to care for themselves. Through Full Circle we strive to provide those extraordinary “everyday” acts.

I hope you will try to be more aware and appreciative of the extraordinary moments hiding throughout your days. Each is a true blessing!

THANK YOU to all who participated in our SHARE the Love Campaign by making Valentines for our kids. We will hand deliver these cards made with so much love and care to our kids in a few weeks, and they will each feel a little more special and loved after receiving them.

We recently read this, and loved the idea of Generosity Day on Valentine’s Day. There is still time to STACK the Love and help the TFFT kiddos thrive by supporting Full Circle! Full Circle costs $265 per child annually… less than a dollar a day can provide a year’s worth of extraordinary moments. We’re closing this page at the end of the day, so head over to donate $10 (the cost of a box of chocolates!) in honor of Generosity Day!

Wishing you Peace, Love, & Hugs,

Kaitlin and TFFT

Mambo!!

On Friday February 3, 2012 was a big day at Usa River Academy. It was actually a different Friday. Normally if you step in this school at around 10 a.m. students and teachers will all be in their respective classrooms proceeding with studies, but this was definitely a different one. Even if you hadn’t been to this school before you could tell that something was going on. When we walked into the school compound we were given a sign that we should go directly to the dining/conference hall. The kids were all dressed nicely, the conference hall was well arranged, students were seated according to their grades, and no body was in the staff room.

As we walked into the conference hall, everyone was standing up attentively singing the National anthem and of course the school anthem. Usa River Academy had organized the day to reward the best performers in the last year’s National Exams. These were 2011 Class Four Students, 2011 Class Seven (primary school graduates) as well as 2011 From Two Students.

TFFT was well represented amongst the best performers. There was a total of twelve kids who were mentioned to receive awards, and four (a third) of them were TFFT kids. It’s very encouraging to see an amazing performance from children who were very disadvantaged, children with poor educational backgrounds, and children who have gone through so much in the past. Really, I experience the difference TFFT makes to its scholarship children every day.

Joyce Elipokea received an award as a second student in her classroom in the Class Four National exams.

The Beautiful Joyce

Salvatory Seth positioned as the first student in the class Seven National Exam.

Salvatory with Fratern (our Managing Director) at Graduation in September

Ombeni Elisante was the most improving student in the Class Seven National Examination

Sweet Ombeni

Richard Augustino positioned the first student in the Form Two National Exam.

Mr. Richard Augustino!

They all received certificates from the School Management and handled to them by the Usa River Academy Director in hand with TFFT Director. The Class three students (Age 7-9) were well equipped to entertain the crowd with songs written and performed in French language.

Apart from the above students, Irene Peter emerged as the first girl in the Form Two National Exam. She also positioned the 5^th student entirely and she was also the First in English as she scored 90% (A+ according to Tanzania grading system). “There are only four boys ahead of me, and next time there will be no body ahead of me”. This is what Irene keeps telling us, and we are very confident that she could definitely make her dreams come true.

Irene, right, with Nicemary (TFFT Scholar) and Melissa (Teacher Training Director)

Overall TFFT students did pretty well and we are so proud of them.

Go TFFT Go!!!!

Hello and Welcome to February!

February is (usually) a very cold, wintry month, and, to be honest, it’s also a tricky fundraising month for TFFT. It’s short, the holiday giving surge has come to a close, and we don’t want to ask the majority of you who recently attended a TFFT event, paid your Scholarship Dues, or made a holiday donation, “hey, will you open your wallet? Again?”.  To you we just want to say shout, “THANK YOU!!” over… and over… and over again. Our reality, however, is that we do still have to meet our monthly fundraising minimum in order for TFFT to move forward.

What’s wonderful is that Valentine’s Day transforms February into a month filled with paper hearts, candy, and L-O-V-E. That’s why this February we are asking you to join our first annual Spread The Love Valentine’s Challenge. We’re asking that you roll up your sleeves and get your family more involved with TFFT by participating in this engaging and unique challenge over the next two weeks.

We created this challenge with a few goals in mind:

- To offer a way for you to directly connect with our students
- To find something fun for you to do as a family
- To spread awareness and to raise some funds during this short month

We hope you’ll join us in one or both of the following ways!

Option One… SHARE THE LOVE:

Make Valentines for our kids!

• Email kaitlin@thefoundationfortomorrow.org, and we will match your family with one (or many!) of the kids
• Spend time with your family creating Valentines
• Take a picture of the process and post it on our Facebook wall, tweet it, or email it to us so we know you’re participating
• Send the Valentine to: P.O. Box 470836, Charlotte, NC 28247
• We’ll send the love overseas to our students!
• We’ll showcase the Valentines here, and the most creative Valentine will receive a $100 gift certificate to P.F. Changs for a night of family fun!

This is such a great opportunity for you to (literally) shower our kids with love, and we really cannot wait to see what you create!!

Option Two… STACK THE LOVE:

Help spread the word about TFFT and help support TFFT by requesting small donations from your friends!

• Set a goal of recruiting 10, 20, 50, 100 people you know to make a small donation to TFFT
• Be creative about the amount you request–”kiss your latte goodbye,” for example
• Set up your very own fundraising page on CROWDRISE
• Share your Valentine Challenge with your social network
• The person or family who recruits the most people to donate wins a $100 gift card to The Palm!

The main goal here is to harness the power in numbers and to make a BIG impact with many $1 $5, $10, $20.. donations!

Thank you all for reading this blog, being our cheerleaders, and going out and spreading TFFT’s story with the world!

Leave a comment or email kaitlin@thefoundationfortomorrow.org with any thoughts/questions.

We must also give a big THANK YOU to Peggy Tuttle of Tuttle Design Studios who spent hours creating the custom illustrations you see above. Thank you, Peggy, for bringing our vision to life with your playful drawings!

This year’s first teacher training was held recently at Star High School. The theme for the training was “Managing Classrooms Effectively to Maximize Student Learning,” and we covered Classroom Management, Assessment, and Grading. Held at Star High School last January 4th to 6th, fourteen teachers attended the training.

Apart from inputs from the facilitator about classroom management and what it covers, the training became a venue for the teachers to share their own strategies on establishing and maintaining classroom conditions that facilitate teaching and learning. As expected, the session on addressing misbehaviors in class was the most heated. TFFT advocates for positive behavior modification approaches where corporal punishment does not have a place. We spent the session distinguishing between punishment and discipline. as quite often in Tanzania (and in most developing countries) these two are used interchangeably and even thought to be the same. There were exercises that involved the teachers in drawing up natural consequences or disciplinary measures for common misbehaviors they encounter in class. I believe the session opened their eyes, but honestly I am not expecting that it would change the discipline system overnight. The teachers even said the parents expect them to cane the students!

Group work is a main feature of TFFT workshops. The group presentation and the “grilling” of the presenters by the other groups is always the most enjoyable part of our trainings!

A lot of interest was also generated regarding different types of assessment, and the teachers requested another training that would further discuss this topic. The school manager, Father Mike Mushi, requested that we create a training schedule for the whole year so that the teachers can plan their activities accordingly. “The teachers do not want to miss out on these opportunities,” he said. Father Edward Urassa, school headmaster, and I are working on the 2012 Star High Teacher Training Program.

Denise McFadden and Fratern Tarimo, TFFT board member and Managing Director respectively, attended the closing ceremony and helped in awarding the certificates to the teachers who completed the 3-day training.

Denise McFadden addresses the teachers during the closing ceremony. In the picture too were TFFT’s Fratern Tarimo and Star High School school manager, Fr. Mike Mushi, and outgoing deputy headmistress, Sr. Mosha.

Mr. Henry Sanga, participant, receives his certificate.

The training’s best performers

2012 promises to be a busy year for the teacher training program, as the number of training beneficiaries has increased to four, with the lifting of the service suspension for Usa River Academy and the addition of Matonyok Primary School, a newly-opened non-profit school managed by a long time TFFT partner, Matonyok Parents Trust.

]]> http://tfftafrica.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/tfft-teachers-training-2012-kicks-off-at-star-high-school/feed/ 1 tfftafrica 2 1 3 4 http://tfftafrica.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/the-absolute-truth/ http://tfftafrica.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/the-absolute-truth/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:41:56 +0000 tfftafrica http://tfftafrica.wordpress.com/?p=332 ]]> Memory has a way of embellishing, omitting, and altering life events, and as with any reflective writing, the absolute truth can become skewed. Sophia and the other girls in classes 4 through 6 recently worked with our Full Circle Director to write down their stories as they recalled them.

Sophia

Sophia beautifully and bravely shared her recollection of her past. In doing so she stated that her father was stabbed to death and her mother was killed in a car accident.

Upon reading Sophia’s story, Fratern, our Managing Director, called the guardians who care for Sophia during the school holidays and verified that her father died of natural causes and her mother fled. We cannot know how Sophia’s grandmother explained her parents’ absence to her. We do, however, know that Sophia’s past—as with all of our kids—was difficult and tragic. We could have omitted those “inaccurate” details from Sophia’s writing, but we chose to leave them. It may not be the absolute truth, but it is Sophia’s truth. Conversely, we also want to make sure that we remain honest with you on this blog.

This also brings up some important questions:

What is the best way for us to help our kids cope with their past?

How can we best address our kids’ complex emotional needs?

What do inconsistencies in stories about our pasts reveal about ourselves and others?

Baba Juma greets Sophia as she returns home for the July school holiday

One of our main priorities in 2012 is to help our children emotionally. All of the kids TFFT supports have been through a lot, and we will never know for sure the exact complexities of some of their pasts. Meghann will spend her much of her time in Tanzania next month meeting with individuals who are experts in this field. We will search for a social worker who will then work with our kids on an individual basis.

Nicemary comforts Neema because she's feeling sad

We will keep you updated on our progress in finding the right person to work with the kids. Meghann leaves for Tanzania tomorrow, so let’s wish her safe travels, “Safari njema!”

My name is Sophia, I am ten years old and in Standard Four. My favorite subjects in school are mathematics and geography and I really enjoy studying. I was born in the Tengeru Region of Arusha, Tanzania. Both of my parents passed away when I was very young. My mother was killed in a car accident and my father was stabbed by a knife. I was very young when my parents died so I never had the opportunity to see them. The stories of my parents’ deaths were told to me by my grandmother, who was the only one that was there to take care of me.

The saddest moment in my life was the time my grandmother told me that my parents had passed away. I felt really bad at this time in my life because I was lacking basic needs like food, clothes and education. I had a feeling that my life would be so difficult because those who were supposed to help me were not there. Even through all of this, I still trusted that my life would improve and that I would receive a scholarship to attend school even before I reached Standard One.

I joined The Foundation for Tomorrow when I was in Standard One. TFFT has changed my life in very big ways. First they gave me education – I had the opportunity to learn just like other people and also I was able to receive a quality education at a good school like what I am at now. TFFT also gave me things which I needed for school like clothes, shoes, soap, etc.  The happiest moment in my life is when I received my scholarship from TFFT and I was able to go to school. I felt so good after getting the scholarship and I was very happy. I will use my education in a good way and I will work hard in class. Still my dream is to be a teacher, and I know I can do it.

**Sweet Sophia write this narrative in the summer of 2011. She is now in Class Five.

*** Thank you to Anne Rhett for the beautiful photographs of Sophia

****Leave your thoughts/encouragement/support/questions for Sophia in the comments, and we’ll pass them along to her.

I also slept a lot and had fun around the house. My friends and I also went for a few tours in the neighborhood, It was enjoyable and fun. One day we just went for a walk and we saw a very big river which looked very beautiful. We sat on the big stone in the river and every one of us wished to swim but we couldn’t because we never had any clothes with us for changing.  We started making stories, laughing, jumping on the stones and climbing the trees around the river. Accidentally one of my friends jumped into the water instead of the stone, so the clothes she was in were all wet and we all had to wait for the sun to dry her clothes then we leave the place together as we went together.  We thanked God that the friend wasn’t hurt.  Instead of her being sad, she was very happy for what happened because we wanted not to leave the river early.

When her clothes were dry, she said still they were not yet dry.  We all told her that it was not safe for us to be late and of course we were all girls, something that worried us.  We all said bye bye to the river so we could leave and go back home.  When I got back home I was very tired so I just took a shower, changed my clothes took a rest, when I woke up, I ate my food, drunk some water, and then went out for some fresh air.  I sat under the tree then my brother came, we started making stories. He asked me “what post do you have in school?” I told him I am a prefect in English department he laughed and told me that I didn’t write well in English but I only speak well, and when I speak I speak like a European girl.  I told him to stop his jokes as he was too much on me just because I am the English department prefect.  After that it was already dark. My brother told me to get in the house because it was not safe for me to stay out when it is dark.  I obeyed him and went in the house.  We all went for a night sleep. The next day I was just at home reading my books so I wasn’t that much bored.

On Christmas day, we (I mean me, my brother and my sister) took tea and bread early in the morning with some local fruits around our place; mangoes, bananas and sugar cane. We cleaned the house and started decorating it with many staffs without forgetting the Christmas tree.

The Christmas trees were just around our home place, the local ones, but they were very good and beautiful to look at.  We also had some flowers and many other things.  On this day we started to cook the food early because we had many different kinds of food to prepare, like spaghetti, rice with beans, chips with eggs, meat with chapatti (local bread), and also cooked vegetables.  There were drinks also of different types and boiled milk which is my best drink because I have some problems with my stomach.  It was a very nice day, every one was happy and enjoying it.

We had visitors who were our relatives from different places and friends who I studied with in my primary school. We played many good games.  The day was over with a lot of gladness and happiness to everyone.

After all that everyone was attentively waiting for the New Year.  On the New Year ’s Eve no one went to sleep, we waited to see the new year 2012. At 12:00 O’clock on dot everyone was happy, making a lot of noise as I was among them, beating drums and everything else.  In the morning we woke up, took tea and started cooking earlier.  Different foods and different drinks and even some few snacks it is my favorite thing to do (eating snacks) every time! Some of which are Kebabs, sweets, cake, pan cakes, beeps, and many other things.  I enjoyed the day till the end.

It was nearly opening the school time after the New Year holiday, so after two days I started preparing myself for school which opened on 8^th January 2012.  I wouldn’t come to school this day though because we got a problem in the family and that’s why we remained at home.  My aunt, the sister to my father, died so we had to remain at home for the burial.  On 12^th January, 2012 we came back to school, both my sister and myself.  Every one knew about what happened, so the teachers, the school management and our fellow students felt sorry and they were like, “sorry guys for what happened”.  So my sister and I said thank you its life don’t mind.  And I tried to forget everything about home and brought my mind back to school, and I started learning normally with my fellow students.  This was all about my holiday and it’s the holiday that I loved and it’s the December holiday that I always love the most.

Your Daughter,

Nancy

***Leave Nancy a note in the comments, and we’ll pass them along to her!

I have been harboring desire of going back to the classroom to teach. Through Full Circle, I relived my teaching days, preparing lesson plans and activity sheets. But as a teacher I know that one can only plan so much. A session is always dynamic, especially if you allow the students to participate. A student’s question could lead you discussing things you did not anticipate. Two weeks ago, my session with our Form 2 scholars took this unexpected but rather enjoyable turn. Fratern was there, pitching in when necessary. From biodiversity and ecosystems, we ended up talking about acid rain and the Kyoto Protocol. Fratern even had to recall his Chemistry and write the formula for carbonic acid. It was a vibrant discussion. I did not plan to give them an assignment but the session, rich and stimulating as it was, merited it. I invited them to write their thoughts about how a country can develop without causing too much damage to the environment. The work below was submitted by Richard Augustino.

How development can happen without causing too much damage to the environment

By: Richard Augustino, TFFT scholar, Form 2

Development is gradual change from a bad situation to a better situation both economically, politically, and socially. Nowadays development brings a lot of problems to the environment, which can be solved as follows:

• The government and international organizations should be active enough in supporting and governing different activities like industrial activities which is the leading pollutant of the environment. By doing so pollutants may be minimized.
• The combustion system in engines must be fitted with efficient facilities so that the amount of greenhouse gases can be reduced if not eradicated totally.
• Develop the use of alternative energy sources, which are environment friendly like solar power and wind power.
• There should be strong policies governing industrial operations and ensuring that people who invest in industrial development are given proper education on how to handle waste products properly.
• Industrial wastes should be treated to render them harmless to the health of people, plants, and animals.
• There should be establishment of other economic activities like fishing, tourism, and market gardening instead of depending on mining and other activities because these industries pollute the environment leading to health problems.
• Reforestation and afforestation should be undertaken. Trees should be planted where they are cut down and planted in areas where they don’t exist at all.

Generally, according to what are mentioned above, great change should be done in the industrial sector by developing other activities so as to avoid over-dependence on manufacturing and mining industries.

The theme for this month is Nutrition and briefly I told the kids what to expect. The secondary kids are already excited, and Dickluck have already expressed his intention to be the first one to cook!