Ready for classes

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December was a busy month for our friends in Mpalapande, as they prepared for the January opening of the new primary school.





They held a planning meeting, with diocese leaders including General Secretary Nayman Chavalla, District Pastor Ambrose Mwakikoti, and with BKB Coordinator April Trout all driving out from Iringa to discuss what still needed to be done.


At the meeting in early December, they listed the things that needed to be done: hire a teacher, get desks, set the opening day.  They decided to start the school with one class of kindergartners, and add another class each year.  The local parish was tasked with finding a teacher, and the folks from Iringa would get estimates for the desks. Shepherd of the Valley sent the funds that were needed.


On Tuesday, December 26, BKB Coordinator April Trout and Mr Frank Mkocha from the Diocese Head Office helped deliver 60 desks and benches for the students, and a teacher's desk and chair. The desks were constructed in Iringa and carried out in a big truck.



The student desks and benches are constructed with sturdy metal frames, with benches and desktops made of wood. There's a narrow shelf below the desktop for school supplies. Children typically sit three to one desk.


Thirty desks fill one classroom. Yes, if you do the math, that's an expected 90 students per classroom, for one teacher. That's a very typical student to teacher ratio in Tanzanian primary schools.


People from the village came out to help and to watch the unloading.


The teacher's desk.



Adults filled the seats first. Prayers of thanks were offered. 



Now it's the children's turn to try out the seats.




Notice the mamas watching through the window?


All is ready for the first day of school.  May this be a place where children of Mpalapande are nurtured and supported as they learn and grow. Thanks be to God for the gift of this school!

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