Below is an update on the projects we have in our program of support for the Kitenden Community and Children. You will see we have made significant advances on projects we have been working on with Future Warriors for quite some time. The provision of these facilities and infrastructure will provide very significant assistance to the children and the community and are paving the way for longer term educational and other resources to serve the Rotary Pillar of Elimination of Poverty through providing Education, Nutrition and Clinical services.

Thank you all for your support without which we could not make these facilities available. We have made significant progress with a number of projects that have been pending. The construction of new Medical Clinic building (which is located quite close to the Preschool) has been completed by the Tanzanian Government. Support for the Clinic and the wellbeing of the children and the community has always been part of our Kitenden project. Recently we arranged for the supply of birthing kits for midwives. These were provided by Zonta and another supply is in the pipeline. Future Warriors Project (FWP) and Sianga Kuyan have negotiated with the Longido District for the connection of electricity to the Clinic and the Preschool. This will involve the installation of two power poles and wiring and connection to the Clinic building. Connection to the Preschool will follow later. This has cost A$2000 which we have provided. We have also provided funding for medical equipment comprising an Examination bed, Delivery kits and Delivery bed, a Sterilizer, a Microscope and various scales. The cost of this equipment is just under A$3000 and will be presented to the District authorities responsible for the operation of the Clinic.  We are also building two toilets and a shower for staff and patients as well as constructing an incinerator. These will cost just under A$2500 plus labour charges which continue to be negotiated. Finally we have authorized a maintenance program for the preschool. Maintenance on a routine basis has been lacking over the past few years which was noticeable on our visit last year. This is an operating cost that should have been spread over the past few years. It will cost just over A$2000 and will be undertaken at the end of this month.

The provision of all the above will be of immense benefit to the community and their children and we are very pleased that the persistence and hard work undertaken by Sianga and his staff have brought these achievements.

With Best Wishes Deborah and Howard

This year has seen some advancements in the operation of the preschool – much of which is set out in the attached Annual Report. Paul and Marcia Armstrong and myself visited the preschool in March. Following that visit the following improvements were made to the facilities:-

• The new building that was to house the relocated kitchen and provide accommodation for visitors and volunteers was altered to make it more comfortable and usable. It will now accommodate 4 visitors and has a tiled shower/washroom and interior toilet (western style!) but no hot water!
• The kitchen for the preparation of children’s meal was built separately outside the new building for ease of preparation. Visitor and volunteer meals are prepared in the inside kitchen.
• 20 new stools and 4 tables were ordered for the classroom.

The above cost A$2500. We identified the need to provide more protein in the children’s diet with eggs, thus we commissioned the sourcing of building a chicken coop and secure free range area for 25 chickens.  This has been quite a frustrating exercise as whilst we have a detailed costing, the provider cannot or will not provide us with a documented construction plan. So this is on hold at present. The objective of this project was not only to provide protein for the children, but to get them involved in looking after the chickens and also to introduce chicken farming to the community and encourage them to starting their own farms as an additional source of income. The new Medical Clinic building which is located about 150mt from the preschool was finally finished by the Government, and is staffed by two new nurses. But whilst when we left at the end of March the electricity line had been installed to outside the Clinic – it remains to be connected. This restricts the equipment that can be used and no one is sure when the Government will provide the power and the connection. This is important for the preschool as it will only mean one more pole and cable to provide electricity to the preschool. We had hoped that the community would commence to contribute to the operating costs of the preschool as it has been made clear to them that they cannot rely on the Rotary Club and all our Class Sponsors to continue to fund the preschool well into the future. Unfortunately the drought has returned to East Africa which will impact on the community crop income. An enrolment fee has been set (at 25,000 tzs –which is about A$15) but this has not been paid. The drought has increased the preschool numbers because the children are fed two meals each day. The acceptance by Rotary of the Kitenden Preschool and Medical Clinic as a tax deductible project through RAWCS, has been of substantial benefit for fund raising. However for compliance we are now required to vet all expenditure and this has given rise to documentation problems which require monitoring with Future Warriors. Finally, there is no doubt our support for the preschool is making a substantial difference for the children’s education and nutrition. The local Primary School head confirmed to Paul Marcia and myself during our visit that the children from the preschool were well advanced in their ability compared with children who had not been given this early training. So Thank You everyone for your support during 2016.