During my trip in April, I decided that this year’s main project would be supplying desks and chairs to Uguzi Primary School in Buigiri Village. Although my past main projects have been concerned with helping the blind, it is good to provide benefits to the wider community as there is also much need there. Previous projects include building 3 houses for the families of urban blind beggars, setting up income generating projects for 11 families (eg a plough rental scheme, a grocery) and building a dozen small scale chicken farms. Each project costs roughly £1000 and have been funded either by Ampleforth College in Yorkshire or Our Lady Queen of Heaven Primary School in London.

I visited the workmen at SIDO in Dodoma to get an idea of the prices of the different types of desk and chair. Further research confirmed these were fair prices rather than ‘white man prices’. When I returned to the UK I left it in the capable hands of Mr Omary to organise and a few months later they were built and delivered to Uguzi. I have said it before on this site, but desks and chairs are very important. The alternative is you sit on the uncomfortable floor and you don’t learn to write properly. It also helps instill a little bit of pride in the school.

How the children usually sit

The desks and chairs arriving from town on the back of a truck

Waiting outside

In all their glory

After the photo was taken, they were divided up between two classrooms.