SAFARI PROJECT
Under the Tree School
1. Building the school has been a difficult process, but we managed to bring all parties together. On Aug. 26, materials were on the ground. As of October 23, all bricks and foundations are laid. The roof is being completed. Soon work will start on the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms.
2. I spoke to Nicola Maguolo of Smiley Hands Tanzania concerning the school and he proves to be a very good man. He is working very hard in the area with the school and the teacher, Sokia Yohana.
3. This is the 1st brick structure ever built in Mongere Village, so we are being very careful in the construction phase. Gasper has travelled to the village many times to straighten out the direction. He has been very kind to do this.
4. We were $200 dollars short on the construction because we did not account for transportation of the craftsmen and their food. That has been taken care of.
5. The village called a meeting and asked us to attend via skype. Ryan Bush, Robert Cheatwood, George Barrera, Burt Fuller and I spoke with them. They expressed thankfulness to us for building the school. In addition they communicated challenges the village is facing.
6. A map of the land and school has been drawn and all things are in the open.
7. Because this is a two-room school, there is a need for a second teacher. Malik says if one teacher is sick, the other can still teach in the school. This second teacher would receive a monthly payment for teaching, same as the first teacher. The first teacher receives $50.00 each month.
8. The second teacher is a difficult task because this teacher must be a graduate of college with a teaching certificate. One of the difficulties in the Maasai tribes is no one has been to school or has this certificate. (Only 5% of Maasai have been to school.)
9. The school fees for the Under the Tree school are $1 dollar a month, per student. This is all the families can afford. The village tells us 65 students are ready to attend.
Additionally,
1. We have an opportunity for a second classroom in Talawanda. It is a very good offer from the government leaders there. The leaders have offered us a room in the government school. This is for a good relationship in the society.
2. We are invited to provide the teacher and if possible, we can give the students nourishment, as is done in Mungere. The teacher is $150 each month due to it being a government school. The cost of food is very low, probably not more than $20 dollars a week to supply all students well.
3. Our goal would also be to send one pound of corn, beans, or rice home with the student in the evening to take to the family.
4. We will provide school uniforms, made by our sewing group in Morogoro, funded from the U.S. side.
Sheep and Goats
1. A report came to us that 7 goats had been stolen from the herd of the wife of Steven. We asked for a meeting to see what had happened. They sent Niney.
2. Niney says, this is a false report. She said 2 Goats were taken from the herd, but with the permission of the family leader. One goat was slaughtered for food and given to Steven’s wife. The second goat was sick. It was sold for 60,000 shillings and the money was placed in her budget. The number of the goats increased. The goats had children, so nothing was lost. She said there was no bad motive and this was as we had requested for her benefit.
3. Niney said, concerning our brother. The last word that Steven spoke on this earth was to tell the preacher to watch for his family. He said, there was no one else who could do it. Tell him...he said, watch for my family. This is the message Niney gave to us. We love our brother and miss him so much. We will watch for her.
Talawanda
1. I had a meeting with the director of the Talawanda School of Preaching. As you know, six student preachers reside at the school. Unfortunately, the school has lost the U.S. support due to Covid 19. They are without basic necessity at this time. Over the last few months, Safari Project has been working with the school to find ways to improve their life. We have several projects in place, such as honeybees and hogs. This month we are planting Cassava and beans. We have provided some basic needs such as sugar and oil.
2. We are constructing a small, two room home, next door to the school. Joseph, who is a student, will become watchman for the land and the school. He will live there with his wife and two small children. He will receive $30 dollars each month for his service. If we can find funding, we will also provide his wife with a sewing machine so she can work for the family.
3. Work in the church goes well.
4. Sewing project in Morogor is great. The women have finished classes and created a women’s group with a constitution and registration. They have purchased a business license. This is very encouraging because they did this on their own. They have requested our assistance in getting to the city. We will assist them. Additionally, they will make the school uniforms for Under the Tree School and our class in Talawanda. (We will seek funding for each student’s uniform)
5. Every month each woman from the sewing group is contributing $2 to their business account from the sale of items. Sister Stella is the leader.
6. Called a repair man to make adjustments to the machines as they were breaking strings. Repairs are complete. Machines are good.
Mtu Wa Mbu Bible School
1. Instructors:
Gasper Julius Wissibo and Kennedy (Mtu Wa Mbu TZ)
Morris Gasper (Arusha TZ)
Greg Dixon (Northport Alabama)
Doug Panell (Virginia)
Gary Box (Oklahoma)
Barry Hyche and Brandon Key (Adamsville Alabama)
Brady Johnson (Jasper Alabama - Woodland Trace)
Sydney (Jamaica)
2. Work in Mosquito River is good. We have started a plan to send out students each week to the new congregations. These congregations are Majengo, Morogoro, Selera, Mgeta, Msanta. We are also sending preachers to Haydom, and Babati.
3. We are sending the students by bus, motorcycle, and van. We have funding for the bus tickets and motorcycle for at least 3 months. If we plan well, we might make it into 2021 before we run out of fund.
4. This is an effort to grow the experience of our students and bring maturity to the congregations. We also gain knowledge of needs and news from these areas. For instance, if there is a death, the school can send someone to be with the family, or in some cases provide assistance.
5. Our students baptized Esther on Sunday August 23, into the church.
6. Felecian met with the family of his bride. They requested 4 cows and 4 sheep for their daughter. We sent people with him and tried to complain the price was too high for a poor young man. So, after much discussion, they say they will accept two cows and four goats. We agreed with this and Felecian paid that price. He will be married in October. She is a wonderful young lady. Her name is Rosie. She is very happy. She will work in social services.
7. Our student Miriam married September 5th. She married our former student who is now the preacher in Monduli. We gave her a wedding gift of $50 dollars. This will pay for most of her wedding. She says she is very thankful.
8. Israel’s health is good now. 3 of our sick students have recovered. (Francis, Israel, John) We called a meeting with the family of Godfrey to discuss his health. He has agreed to go to the hospital. We transported him there. Update on Godfrey: He is not well. We have sent him home to his family. We hope he will recover. We also went to the neighbors and met with them. Because Godfrey was not well in his mind, he called the police on the neighbor who is a well-respected man in the village. It was very embarrassing to this man. So, we sent the school to his house to say we are sorry for that issue.
9. Mollel has pneumonia, high blood pressure, and asthma – he was admitted to the hospital in serious condition but is now returned to the school. The insurance we have for the students has saved us a lot of money this year. As you know the cost is $5 dollars per year, per student.
Shamba
1. We have decided that since we have a large amount of corn we should go ahead and trade for beans and rice. This will give our students a variety at mealtime. We will also sell corn to buy fruit for lunch.
2. Most of the clothing the students had was damaged during weeding, hoeing, and harvest. We will sell some corn to buy button up shirts for the students, so when they go out to the churches, they will have something nice to wear. Update: The shirts and clothing are purchased and distributed.
3. Bought a hoe and gum boots for Tanga. We also purchased insurance for one of our sick workers. We provided food (flour, sugar, corn, and rice) and some small funds for the work they are doing.
4. To speed the work in Tanga, we hired a tractor to plow the ground. The second planting season is here, and we must plant soon. On 9/24/2020 we recieved the report, heavy rains have arrived and all cassava is in the ground. This is a good report. Work was complete.
5. On the September 14th we took seeds of cassava from Tanga to Talawanda for planting. Also, we beat the rain there.
6. We provided beans to eat for the students at Talawanda School of Preaching and some other small items such as sugar and oil.
7. At this time, there are many fish in the Mtu Wa Mbu region, so we have sent some to Talawanda.
Tanga
1. On Sunday, August 23, Melody, Gasper and I spent some time, in a small village, via skype, near Tanga. The purpose was to assist with a major issue there. The meeting went very well, and the outcome was what we had hoped. We have been invited to the village in person when we come again.
Other news
1. On Mt. Meru there was a hole. The hole was 10 feet round and 20 feet down. An old lady, trying to gather firewood, fell into the hole and despite the best efforts of those around her, she passed away. Gasper will go and try to see what he can do for the family.
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