An Opportunity to Help

We have an opportunity to acquire an acre of land near the Ndandini Primary School to use as a "community garden".  We have talked to the community about this concept for over a year.  They are eager to contribute.

Here is the idea:

1.  Our donor community contributes the funds to secure the land, fence it, and acquire and install a drip-irrigation greenhouse system similar to the one that we have already installed at the Ndandini Primary School.   The preliminary estimates are that the cost will be in the area of $12,000 to $14,000 to buy the land and the greenhouse system and to buy and install a fence around the acre of land.

2.  The village secures volunteers from the village area to contribute their labour (free) to plant the crop, oversee the community garden, and manage the operation.  The greenhouse at the Ndandini Primary School which has been started already will serve as the training ground for these volunteers.

3.  All proceeds from the community garden crops would be used to fund the operation of the well in order to keep the cost of the water as low as possible.

I am looking for expressions of interest and donations from all parties who may be interested in participating in the project to get a community garden implemented at Ndandini.

The greenhouse that we have installed at the Ndandini Primary school is performing wonderfully.  After only 2 months of us buying it for the school, the tomato plants are already starting to flower!  This proves that the community garden would be a great support project for the well and the village.  Take a look at all the tomato plants in the first greenhouse.

You may make a contribution to this project by clicking on the "Donate Here" area at the top right of this blog.  Or contact me at terryumbach@gmail.com .  Thanks

For your interest, an acre of land would potentially allow the village to eventually install 6 or 7 greenhouses.  Amiran Kenya, the supplier of the greenhouse system, has documented that the proceeds from one year of crops is enough to buy another greenhouse.  So, this could be the start of a very worthwhile economic development project for the village.

Terry

Tomato Plants Are Growing/Visitors at Ndandini!

This week we delivered a camera to Ndandini so that the teachers can send us photos.  Here is the first photo from them.

It is GREAT to see the progress they have made with growing their first crop of tomatoes.  This is what it looked like only a month ago.

This week Greg Jewett (from our partner Rotary Club in Saint John NB) and Jon (a reporter from the Telegraph Journal in Saint John) visited Ndandini.   Greg has been teaching the teachers on how to use the internet so we expect to hear lots more from them.

Jane and Titus are two of the teachers at Ndandini Primary School.  Here is "Our First Email" sent from them:

Our school is appreciating all the services you people from Canada (and Rotary clubs around the world) are giving to us ,indeed we are very grateful and we still request you to continue with the good work .
yours faithfully jane and titus .

Here is what Greg has posted on his blog about their visit:

On October 14th:
Jon and I have been here in Ndandini now for a couple of days. This is the first chance I've had to get on the internet and update you. I'll be brief so I don't use up all of their internet time.

So far we have had a complete tour of five or six schools in the area, having visited each classroom and having met approximately 1250 students. We taught them all to "Hi Five" which was new to them and a lot of fun for us.

We are camping out in the generator room at the wellsite which is a really nice hotel room for us to use. The concrete floor is a bit unforgiving for my old bones but jon is sleeping well. So far no strange diseases or sickness of any kind. It has been about 35 degrees each day but we haven't lost our acclimatization from summer yet so it doesn't feel too bad. We are drinking about two liters of water a day though.

The well is an amazing accomplishment. Jon is writing profusely and we're taking lots of pictures. We have so much to tell but it will have to wait until we get home.

Willl update again soon, most likely from Mozambique. We're leaving for Pemba on Saturday. We will be sad to leave here ... so many new friends and so much fun playing with the kids.

On October 15th:
Well, a very emotional departure from Ndandini. In just a few short days we feel like we have become extended family members of these villagers who are so welcoming and hospitable. Their quiet and unassuming demeanors are such a treat for two boys who are used to a much more materialistic culture. We were treated to two beautiful lunches at the school. The only regret that we have is that neither of us was able to eat everything that was set before us. The first lunch treat was chicken and the second beef. We know that the teachers went to great lengths to provide us with these beautiful meals and we appreciated them so much.

I finished up today with what computer training I could squeeze in with the teachers at the Ndandini Primary School. The teachers are very eager to learn about computers and the internet and I had a great time teaching them. They are like sponges trying to absorb it all, anxious to pass it on to their students. Jon is spending his time talking to the villagers, getting their stories, and taking lots of pictures. We are going to have an amazing story to tell when we get home.

Duncan started up the generator at the wellsite today just for us to show us the whole system in action. It is truly amazing with everything running like clockwork. Duncan has done a masterful job in pulling this all together onsite. He is truly a master craftsman. He and his helpers were working at putting up a fence around the whole system today. Even at noon when the temp hit 40 degrees they kept going. Jon and I tried hard to find some shade to sit in but at noon at the equator there isn't very much shade.

After getting back here tonight to our two star hotel in Nairobi and having a shower we feel like we are in a five star. The generator room was a great spot to stay on-site, though. I was actually starting to get used to sleeping on the concrete floor...only woke up two or three times last night with an arm or leg asleep. We have a real bed to sleep in tonight, but I might have to move to the floor if I can't get comfortable :)

Tomorrow we head for Mozambique for the second half of our trek. I'm really looking forward to going back to see my old friends there.

Terry

Ndandini Update as of October 2/10

It has been 4 weeks since our group attended the dedication ceremonies at Ndandini. And even though we are all now back home in Canada, Denmark and Nairobi things are continuing to happen.

The seeds have been planted in the greenhouse and garden at the Ndandini Primary School. There is much excitement waiting for them to sprout.

Our Project Manager Duncan is making plans to return to Ndandini on October 12th to complete the fencing around the well site.

From October 5th to 10th Aksel Neilsen, from our partner Rotary Club in Aalborg/Stigsborg Denmark, is presenting "The Ndandini Water Project Story" to the European Rotary Institute being held in Denmark. We are hoping that the exposure will bring more interest from other Rotary Clubs in what we are trying to do with our www.onevillageatatime.ca project concept.

This past weekend, Silas Oswe was at the Ndandini Primary School providing some computer and internet training for the teachers so that they can make better use of the computer which we provided for the school.

From October 12th to 15th, Greg Jewett, from our partner Rotary Club in Saint John New Brunswick Canada, and Jon MacNeil, a reporter from the Saint John Telegraph Journal, will be going out to Ndandini. While there they will help with the fencing project and also provide some additional computer training sessions for the teachers. They will also likely do some lessons for the school kids as well.

Joan Merrick, who visited Ndandini back in September 2007 and again with us last month, is working on putting together a scholarship project which we hope will result in there being donor funding made available to allow promising students to attend secondary school - young people who otherwise could not afford the us$120 per year which the government does not subsidize - and give them a chance to advance beyond the life of poverty which otherwise would overtake them.

I am working on trying to create a project to bring solar power to the secondary school so that we can also install a computer lab there. I am hopeful that we will be able to attract a couple of Rotary Clubs to undertake this project.

And just yesterday I received an offer from a person in Nairobi, who discovered our blog and has been following it, to create a website for the people of Ndandini so that their story and progress can be told to the web world.

All the support from our various donors, partners and followers is much appreciated.

Stay tuned for more news.

The ball is starting to roll.

Terry