Fundraiser in Arusha to build a new girls' dormitory!

Habari from Tanzania!

Hello to everyone out there.. it's Vanessa here in Arusha. This week has been a busy one here at the school - students are preparing for the district examinations.. good luck to all the Form II's who begin writing them this week! The drought continues which has been stressful for everyone in the area (water is scarce, the price of maize, rice, and sugar is very high) so thankfully we had a good rainstorm today! Last week we focused on HIV/AIDS, other STD's, reproduction, and healthy relationships. On Tuesday, I held a seminar for all the boys at the school (~100) so that they could also have a chance to learn and to ask their questions in a comfortable and safe atmosphere. Questions and discussion abounded and it proved an excellent opportunity to waylay various misinformation (ie. one gets HIV from using a condom). It was amazing how thankful the students, male and female, were to have a chance to talk about this quite sensitive but vital information.

We brought up a group of teachers from St. Constantine's (a private international school here in Arusha) on Friday and Saturday as they were very keen to see the difference in teaching environments. A great experience - camping amidst the Maasai bomas and exploring the school in the morning.. many of the teachers were very surprised at the basic nature of the school and admired the staff here at Noonkodin (who really are amazing!)

I head back up to the school tomorrow as the road was washed out today, another busy week ahead! I hope all of you are well, more to come!

News From the Girls!

Vanessa, the Canadian nurse who is over at the school is going to gather information from the Kamilika sponsored girls to share with those of you here in the US who are sponsoring girls.  Stay tuned for their hopes dreams and fears from the school.

Jazz Night

We are going to have a Jazz Night next year to raise money for the new dormitory.  The girls are sleeping 2 to 3 to a bed and the roof leaks.   It will be with Darius Brubeck and many other wonderful jazz musicians here in Santa Fe!   I'll keep you posted!!!

Santa fe Community College for Frida!

Lori Moody from Awakened Connections has a program to bring students here to get a degree at the community college.   One of our Maasai girls at the school will be the first from our school to be selected.  we are all anxiously waiting for the results of her exams which should be announced in a few months.

Good Morning!   This is my first time blogging, and I'm really excited.  We have a lot going on with the foundation and the school.  Vanessa Somos who will also be blogging is at the school writing some health curriculum for the girls so that whether or not they pass their state exams they will leave with an awareness of how their bodies work and how to take care of themselves.  Powerful information  that they can teach to their villages.  Information about diet for example.  I am seeing most of the same diet problems that I see here in the pueblos, which have led to diabetes and obesity.   We want to help them avoid that.

Next year we will be having a fundraiser, a wonderful evening of Jazz and African rhythms  with Darius Brubeck among others.

There is a new logo that you can see on the blog.  I drew a Maasai necklace and we are using it on the business cards and letterhead.   I designed Humankind Foundation to be an umbrella for whatever education minded projects arrived in the world but I realize now that we are focused on the Maasai and I'm not going to go off to New Guinea or Mongolia to start another project at my age.  Our impact and the changes we have made have been so thorough that we want to keep going north of Monduli.

Test

TESTESTESTEST