Saturday, August 04, 2007

Sponsor a bus

Hey, we have become the proud sponsors of two buses at the School of St Jude. Among the jellybean buses, there's a purple and a light pink. They're ours.


Currently the School has over 840 students coming to the school from a radius of over 40km. The Big Purple Bus helps to pick up a number of children who live in Sanawari, on the other side of town. Some of these children still walk a bit to get to the bus stop as a lot of roads are inaccessible for buses. But imagine they had to walk all the way to school! With the help of sponsorship the School is able to keep up with the bills for fuel, tyres and maintenance.

The light pink bus helps to pick up a number of children who live in Mburiet, Engosheraton and Unga Limited, one of the poorest areas in Arusha. In Mburiet there is an orphanage called Huruma. Eight of the children living there attend The School of St. Jude. Until last year, they had to catch a “dala-dala” (local minibus) first, up to an area called Engosheraton where they would catch the school bus.

This was not only a very long journey for them, but also getting complicated when for some reason the little ones had to go home by themselves (the older ones staying back for tuition etc.). But this year, the Light Pink Bus is going all the way up to Huruma (that is, whenever the weather situation allows, as with too much rain the road gets too muddy) to pick up these eight and two other children who live nearby. Then it picks up students from Engosheraton and Unga Limited. Unga means Flour in Kiswahili and there is a large flour factory as you enter the area.


Weekly diesel bills for the School's fleet of buses cost $2,000. Without the buses, the School would not be able to serve the large area that it does. As well as picking up children and teachers for the daily trip to school, the buses are used to transport all kinds of goods for the school, including bulk food supplies for the kitchens.


It's great to see so many happy faces. These kids are glad for the opportunities they receive when they are accepted into the School of St Jude. Like most kids, they like to learn, and this School is almost their only chance of getting a good education. Schools in Tanzania have very rough buildings, almost no resources and too-few teachers. Everyone who visits the School of St Jude remarks on the joyful spirits and appreciation of the children.


So, you know that your contribution is going where it is needed, and that it will be appreciated. Add your bit now. Use the ChipIn tool at the top of this page, or visit the School website to become a donor.

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