newsletter | winter 2016 · pdf filemo e.v. adlerstraße 8 d - 84453 mühldorf a. inn...

BONFAREMO e.V.

Newsletter | Winter 2016

BONFAREMO e.V. | Adlerstraße 8 | D - 84453 Mühldorf a. Inn | www.bonfaremo.org

http://www.bonfaremo.org/

MO e.V. Adlerstraße 8 D - 84453 Mühldorf a. Inn

BONFAREMO e.V. Bonfaremo e.V. | Adlerstraße 8 | D - 84453 Mühldorf a. Inn | www.bonfaremo.org

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Dear Members, Supporters and Friends,

As the year comes to an end, we reflect on the progress we have achieved in the last 12 months with

pride and gratitude.

Thanks to your support we were able to donate a total of 67,056 EUR to our partner schools, at a

1.3% rate for administrative expenses. We were delighted to provide 4 children with sponsors and

welcome 17 new members to our organization (23 new members, 6 exits). In addition, we

successfully applied for funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and

Development and were able to support the shipping of agricultural machinery to Tanzania. On the

administrative front, we completed the automatization of our accounting system, and improved

communication with our partner schools by introducing monthly conference calls with the project

managers.

Our detailed successes by school:

PEMACA – Primary School Kenya Spendensumme

Operational expenses 19.006 €

Salaries 11.630 €

Basic needs (water, fire wood, electricity) 1.705 €

Groceries 3.500 €

Teaching materials 673 €

Other (e.g. taxes and fees) 1.498 €

Furniture (chairs, tables, etc.) 673 €

Agriculture 2.523 €

Infrastructure 11.164 €

Donations for child sponsorships (in addition to operational expenses) 1.339 €

Total 34.705 €

Expansion of the school to include one more class. PEMACA now serves ~140 Students

and employs 9 teacher and 3 staff members.

Development of infrastructure: (1) construction of new toilettes, (2) Completion of the fourth

classroom, (3) start of construction of a new classroom and (4) renovation of the kitchen.

Joint development of a framework for the re-launch of the volunteer program.

Community support for Helen and Denis after the destruction of the house.

Malage Vocational Training Centre Spendensumme

Solar power project 19.391 €

Agricultural well 3.985 €

Farm machinery (tractor) 1.000 €

Operational Expenses (additional salaries, government fees) 1.124 €

Total 25.500 €

Construction of solar power system under the guidance of Thomas Steinberger and with

funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Reduction of

electricity costs by 95%. Independence from the unreliable electricity grid to guarantee

smooth running of classes.




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Continuation of the construction of a well on Malage Vocational Training Centre’s

agricultural lands.

Assistance in providing farm machinery in cooperation with PROBONO.

Msafiri Primary & One World Secondary School Spendensumme

Msafiri Primary School (10 sponsored children) 4.907 €

One World Secondary School (2 sponsored children) 970 €

Total 5.877 €

Continued sponsorship of 10 children at Msafiri Primary School.

Continued sponsorship of 2 children at One World Secondary School.

Reflecting on this successful year not only evokes deep gratitude, enthusiasm and pride in the work

of our project managers on site, but also highlights our tasks for next year. In 2017 we plan to address

the following projects.

Recruitment of new members to develop a sustainable donation structure for the

organization.

Recruitment of new sponsors.

Increased transparency for our sponsors in regard to the individual development of the

sponsored children. Development of opportunities for sponsors and sponsored children to

interact directly.

Re-working the website

Systematic funding of our project with the long-term goal of attaining financial independence

for the schools.

Re-launch of the volunteer program at the PEMACA Primary School with the goal of

developing improved teaching methods and materials.

In the name of Gasiano Senzighe (Malage), Peter Nyagah (Pemaca), Michael Mngara (Msafiri) und

Dr. Köhler (One World Secondary School), as well as the entire management team at Bonfaremo, I

wish you all a joyful holiday season and Happy New Year 2017.

Warmest wishes

Tim-Hendrik Meyer, Chairman




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Table of Contents

Theme Page

Our sponsored children 5

Looking for new sponsors 6

Our projects

Pemaca – Report from our project manager Peter Nyagha 7

Pemaca – Denis and Helen – a thank-you 9

Pemaca – Reinstatement of the volunteer program 10

Pemaca – Infrastructure development 11

Malage – A message from Gasiano Senzighe 12

Malage – Final report from the Solar Power Project 14

Malage – Arrival of the tractor for the agricultural branch 16

Challenges for 2018 17




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Our sponsored children by Felix Garbe

In the course of 2016 we were able to provide four new sponsorships, which we would like to

introduce to you here.

Last year, Tina Ngano Ibrahim completed elementary school at

Msafiri English school with good grades. In January, Tina was able

to enter neighboring One World Secondary School Kilimanjaro

where German couple Köhler successfully implements

contemporary ideas and methods to educate their students. Tina

settled into the school well and we are pleased that she was

afforded this opportunity.

Ever since her sister started at One World Secondary

School Kilimanjaro two years ago, Angela Frank

Rajabu has been waiting for her chance to enroll as

well. That day finally came in 2016, and Angela says it

was the happiest in her life. She is a highly motivated

and intelligent student and works diligently toward her

dream to become a doctor some day.

Stephen Kungu has six older siblings and his father died five

years ago. His mother occasionally does laundry for the neighbors

to earn a little money. Stephan was unable to attend school for one

year because his mother couldn’t earn enough money to pay the

school fees. The family does not have any savings and any income

is immediately used to cover basic needs. Children such as

Stephen show us again and again how important even small

donations can be.

Faith Wanjiku is one of two children who were orphaned

when their mother died three years ago. Since then, the

siblings have lived with their grandparents who are quite

elderly and find it increasingly difficult to care for the children

themselves. The support their granddaughter Faith received

greatly relieved them and secured Faith’s education.

www.bonfaremo.org/patenschaften




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Looking for new sponsors by Felix Garbe

We would like to introduce the following children from the PEMACA Educational Centre. All four

children come from needy families and are already enrolled in the school. Unfortunately, the families

of these children were unable to afford the school fees several times. We would therefore like to

provide sponsors for them:

PEMACA Educational Centre

Daniel Kipenu

3 years

Anniela Lujabuka

5 years

Nickson Kanene

6 years

Serah Tenkes

7 years

Although the Msafiri English School in Tanzania is completed and has all necessary facilities, there

are always children who need our support in order to attend school there. As this is a boarding school,

the monthly contribution is 50€. These four children are currently waiting for support, which, with your

help, we will hopefully be able to provide in the near future.

Msafiri English School

Shedrack

5 years

Joshua

7 years

Faraja

10 years

Faraji

10 years

You can learn more about all eight children on our website:

http://www.bonfaremo.org/patenschaften

We would like to thank all sponsors who already support our

children from the bottom of our hearts.


http://www.bonfaremo.org/patenschaften



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PEMACA – a report from our project manager Peter

Nyagha by Peter Nyagha

Dear friends, below please find a very brief update of the 2016 school year. We continue to be grateful

for your support and trust. Without you PEMACA would not be possible.

SCHOOL REPORT:

143 pupils (Pre-Unit: ~60; Class 1: ~34; Class 2: ~18; Class 3: ~22; Class 4: ~13)

12 staff (9 teachers and 3 support staff)

The school year was concluded last week. The school will reopen on January 2nd, 2017.

Pupils were given presents and those promoted to the next class were read and

congratulated. The pupils performed well this term. Science and mathematics were

particularly strong.

English is now the established medium of communication at school, an achievement making

us proud. Pupils however continue to struggle writing and reading English. A challenge we

want to tackle next year and for which we hope to receive support in the context of the

volunteer program.

The teaching staff is very motivated and works together very well. Two of our teachers (Irene

and Josef) will use 2017 to finish their college degree. They will attend college during school

vacation, allowing to retain their full-time positons at PEMACA. Irene and Josef have put

aside part of their salaries to pay for the college tuition fees, they do therefore not require

additional support. We intend to be very supportive to allow both Irene and Josef to

successfully complete their college degrees. This will hopefully allow them to become better

teachers benefiting PEMACA.

We will process several salary increases in January, as we have made no adjustments in

the past 3 years. I will further have to let one staff member go as his commitment is not in

line with the rest of the team.

Two volunteer visitors from Msafiri visiting PEMACA in September highlighted their concern

in regards to sticks in the classrooms and their fear of physical disciplining measures.

Discussing this concern with me, I highlighted that I do not approve of any form of physical

disciplining at PEMACA and that I am unaware of any teachers using violence towards the

students. The sticks are merely used for pointing to the blackboard. Disciplining at PEMACA

is conducted by the following measures:

o Cleaning the classroom

o Cleaning school grounds

o Helping with gardening work

To reemphasize that physical disciplining is forbidden and retrain the team on alternative

measures I will conduct a workshop with them at the beginning of the next school year.

We can overall look back on a very successful school year, however, have also identified several

challenges that we would like to tackle next year.




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CHALLENGES:

Infrastructure:

o Finishing the construction of class 5 and build class 6.

o Renovating the school including the installation of gutters.

o Building a water tank to improve the school’s drinking water supply.

o Digging a borehole to allow us to establish our farm as a profitable entity that we

can leverage to subsidize the school.

School Operations:

o Although most students can speak English, few continue to have problems in

reading and understanding English. There is need to develop a library and buy

story books of different levels so as to help pupils in reading and understanding

the language.

o The school intends to introduce debates, form a school choir and engage in reciting

poems so as to improve the language.

On behalf of staff, pupils and the entire community at PEMACA I would like to use this opportunity to

wish you all a merry Christmas and a prosperous 2017. I would further like to extend my personal

gratitude towards BONFAREMO. You provide us with prosperity and hope.

Yours faithfully, Peter.




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PEMACA – Denis and Helen – a thank-you by Tim-Hendrik Meyer

In November we were informed that the house of our students Helen and Denis had burned down.

The children and their grandmother, with whom they live, were able to get out unharmed, but lost all

the family’s belongings. We received an overwhelming response to our call for donations, and within

one week we were able to provide Helen and Dennis with initial funding. We would like to share with

you this thank-you from their grandmother:

“Dear Bonfaremo. Hello. We are grateful for the effort and help you have shown for us. We have

received 75.000 KES as a way of your help. May the lord add more to the person who is

concerned. We humble ourselves as a way of giving thanks towards you.”

- Helen & Denis’ grandmother -




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PEMACA – Reinstatement of the volunteer program by Tim-Hendrik Meyer

In the course of this year we were, unfortunately, unable to send any volunteers to PEMACA Primary

School. Through extensive conversations we learned why the principal Peter Ngare decided to reject

the program, and together we defined the following solutions.

Reasons for rejecting the program Solutions

Tasks: Unlike Msafiri, PEMACA Primary School

is not a boarding school. For this reason, Peter

has doubts as to whether meaningful work can

be given to volunteers.

Joint development of meaningful and well-

defined tasks. Documentation of these tasks in

a mission statement.

Volunteers’ Qualifications: Because students

come to the school only for their classes, Peter

particularly needs qualified volunteers who can

help in the classroom.

Exclusively send volunteers who are qualified

educators or are students in the field of

education.

Costs: The costs of the volunteer program

were defined in 2012 and no longer cover

basic living expenses.

Alignment of the volunteer program with the

structure used at Msafiri covering room and

board. 11 EUR per day – in the first 3 weeks

9 EUR per day – after the third week

We would like to present our mission statement and kindly ask for your assistance in finding qualified

volunteers, who are enthusiastic about helping us to improve our classes at PEMACA Primary

School.

Please send applications to [email protected]!

Mission Statement

Students are struggling with learning how to read. The volunteer should therefore

o develop teaching methods to allow students to improve their reading skills. This

includes teaching materials.

o teach these methods to the existing staff.

The volunteer should further

o support the staff by developing learning materials for existing courses (e.g.

worksheets, group exercises, field trips, etc.)

o teach English to students & teachers.

o support in setting up a library and facilitate the adoption of the library by both

students and teachers.

o focus on English literature + means of motivating students to read.




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PEMACA – Infrastructure Improvements by Tim-Hendrik Meyer

We were able to support the PEMACA primary school this year with the construction of new

bathrooms, the completion of the fourth grade classroom and the renovation of the kitchen. In

addition, we were able to begin construction on the fifth grade classroom. The construction is divided

into four phases. As of today, we have been able to fund the first two phases:

Phase 1 (foundation): 200.000 KES (1.770 €)

Phase 2 (walls): 200.000 KES (1.770 €)

Phase 3 (roof): 150.000 KES (1.320 €)

Phase 4 (plastering, windows, doors, furniture): 250.000 KES (2.212 €)

It is our goal to complete phase three of the construction by the beginning of the next school year

on January 02, 2017 in order to guarantee the continued operation of the school.

Please use the following designation for donations: <PEMACA grade 5>




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Malage – a contribution from Gasiano Senzighe von Gasiano Senzighe

Dear friends,

I would like to use this opportunity to provide you with an update of operations at Malage Vocational

Training Centre. BONFAREMO’s support has made our school more modern and has helped to

establish Malage as a renowned stepping stone towards self-development. Most of our students have

employment and therefore are enabled to run their lives more smoothly. Thanks to you we have been

able to construct 2 classrooms, 1 dormitory for the boys, 1 dormitory for the girls and buy its land, 1

operational borehole and 1 borehole under construction, as well as a solar panel system allowing us

to operate the school almost entirely independently from public supply. Your advice has been most

valuable both to the Centre as well as to me and my family. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS 2016

(1) Solar System: Our school is benefitting from cutting down on our electricity bills from the

national grid by establishing a solar power system. Before we had solar power the electricity

bill at the main campus was about TSH 225,000/= per month. Now the bill is about TSH

17,500/= per month (-93%). This is already a solution to the challenge of paying a lot of

money only for electricity. This amount could be less than TSH 5,000/= per month after the

3 phase system that we have installed functions at 100% capacity (solution is under

investigation). At the campus where the girl’s dormitory is located, the bill has gone down

from TSH 189,000/= to TSH 76,000/= per month (-40%). This bill is still higher because of

the necessity of pumping water from the borehole located on this campus. Solar power

which has been set on this side can only operate the water pump for a short time and we

therefore have to continue using Tanesco (national electricity provider) to pump water. We

are still under investigation to make the system more powerful for all operations. THANK

YOU VERY MUCH for your support in making this great project possible.

(2) School year: In 2016, Malage finished the year with 57 boarding and 11 day students. This

number does not reflect the full capacity of the centre. This was due to the poor economic

situation of many parents and their inability to pay the school fees. The neighboring

vocational training centre was closed because no students applied for the 2016 school year.

Malage became the examinations centre for the end of year examinations. Students from

two other centres came to Malage for this reason. There were 97 students altogether for

examinations of level 2 and 3. My dear friends, I can generally say that Malage Vocational

Training Centre is one of the exemplary schools in our district and region. It is running all

programs according to the rules and regulations of the authorities. The new section of ICT

(Information Computer Technologies) is running more smoothly as we now use the laptops

which you provided to us.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

(1) Operational Cost: After the election of a new president in October 2015, a lot of changes

have occurred. Policies have changed and new taxes have been introduced. Economic

inflation went up and the economy was close to stagnant which made operations at Malage




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more difficult. As a private training centre we had to pay taxes, which were not there before

and this has affected our financial ability to pay even teachers’ and workers’ salaries for

November and December 2016. These salaries will have to wait till mid-January next year

after the arrival of students with new school fees.

(2) Borehole at Mkizingo Farm: I am very sad about the work of borehole at Mkizingo farm

which is still not complete. Apart from the time which has costed, a huge amount of money

has been utilized and difficulties still arise. It is unfortunate that we have reached a stage

where to go forward is difficult and to go back is also difficult. The status of the rock in the

borehole is changing every meter. However, according to people with knowledge of geology,

we continue to have good hopes of reaching water soon. If I could have predicted that we

would encounter so many challenges I would have not suggested this project to you. I

believe that it would be as easy as the first borehole. Lucky, our diggers have not yet

despaired and they continue to dig. We are now at 37 meters. According to the geologist,

ground water should be at a maximum depth of 60 meters.

(3) Teacher Training: With new requirements within the VETA program, our centre will remain

at a lower grade (VETA evaluation system), if all our teachers will not have necessary

government accreditation to teach vocational skills. Therefore, our teachers need to update

their knowledge by attending teachers’ courses. The centre currently has no financial

capabilities to support them and the teachers themselves can also not finance these

courses. This year we were able to send one electrical installation teacher to the teachers’

course in Moshi. This course will take 2 years. The course is part-time so that the teacher

is spending half of his time in Moshi and half of this time at Malage. We have 3 teachers

who require the accreditation. Supporting them would cost TSH 2,350,000/= [~1020EUR]

per year per teacher.

(4) Dining Hall: The government has decided to widen the main road next to which Malage

Vocational Training Centre is located. Our dining hall is going to be affected by about 2.5

meters by this plan. Construction work on the road is to begin in 2017. We would like to

rescue the dining hall by changing the structure of one wall and the roof. We expect costs

of about TSH 13,750,000/= [~6000EUR]. Generally, the government is required to carry

these cost, however, based on past experience, compensation can take up to 5 years.

Dear friends, we really appreciate your kind considerations to our daily challenges. You are our true

and valuable partners and we promise to be honest for what you grant us for development of Malage

and the whole community around us. Please feel free to ask questions, send advice and even criticize

if we have gone wrong. We will not be angry for that, because without criticism no improvements.

We wish you all the best daily.

Yours on behalf of Malage community, Gasiano L. Senzighe.




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Malage – Final report on the solar power project by Thomas Steinberger

After the initial construction in the first half of 2016 which we reported on in the last newsletter, we

have more good news related to the independent power supply of the Malage VTC. In March 2016

the initial solar power panels were installed to cover around 80% of the Centre’s energy needs.

However, the circumstances were not ideal. For example, the Centre was not independent from the

unreliable public power supply during the rainy season and not all devices could be powered by the

panels (e.g. welding equipment).

In order to further improve the structural and financial

independence of the Centre, the next phase was

intended to expand the power system to a three-phase

system and ideally provide solar power to additional

buildings such as the recently completed girls’

dormitory. Fortunately, we were able to secure 16,500

EUR of funding from the German Ministry for Economic

Cooperation and Development. As a result, we were

able to augment the project-specific donations and

reached a total budget of 19,400 EUR. According to our

plans, the Ministry’s funds should suffice to offset the Bonfaremo reserves for the investments in

March 2016 and to implement the entire project.

Principal Gasiano Senzighe was able to leverage the

existing know how and structures from the first project

in March for the further implementation. The devices

that have been installed so far are working well and

provide dependability for planning additional

investments. The already experienced project team of

six students and two teachers from the electrical

engineering department was able to join forces with the

engineers from our Partner from Arusha, Gilmar

Energy Supply to install the additional equipment in

only two days in late September. Thirty-five solar

panels on the roof of the Centre now generate 8 kWh

of electricity which can be saved in 18 batteries in order

to guarantee a dependable power supply when it is

dark or cloudy. The required equipment was mounted

in a way that enables easy access for regular

maintenance (see picture). We will now gather

experience with this new setup in order to make

improvements if necessary.

As a result, we hope to be entirely independent from the public power grid and expect to eliminate

all energy costs for the Malage VTC. This way we can use the money for other purposes instead.

Part of the saved expenses will be used to create a reserve to cover future maintenance costs, such

as replacing defective parts, thus ensuring smooth operation of the equipment in the long run.




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However, the most significant improvement for the Centre is the uninterrupted and more reliable

power supply. Power outages used to interrupt classes and the operation of the Centre on a regular

basis. Now, classes can take place independent of external factors (power outages, daytime,

weather) and students and teachers can rely on light during the evenings.

The entire Malage Vocational & Training Centre sincerely thanks

all supporters of this project!




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Malage – the arrival of the tractor for the agricultural branch by Bernd Simon (PROBONO)

As expected since July, the shipping container with the tractor MF135 and agricultural equipment and

other useful items for the Malage Vocational Training Centre arrived on 17 October, 2016 at its

destination in Kisangara, Tanzania. Everyone involved is relieved and happy, especially after the

import and delivery process took an additional toll on people’s nerves and cost additional money.

Unloading the heavy equipment with simple means was an additional challenge.

But we did it!

Once the well has been completed (a project financed by Bonfaremo), the “Malage Farm” can begin

its operation and the modern agricultural studies program can begin. Three of our active supporters

are currently at the farm, and we will discuss our further cooperation with Gasiano Senzighe, the

head of the Malage VTC. Thank you very much once again to all those who supported the tractor

project with donations or hard work. In order to ensure the sustainable development of Malage’s

equipment and of the dialogue process, we kindly ask for your continued support.




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Challenges for 2018

(1) PEMACA: We would like to continue the expansion of the school in 2018 and want to focus on

school operations based on the current progress. We intend to use the coming year to develop a

sequential plan for the expansion of the agricultural operations with Peter in order to become

financially independent.

Complete construction on the new classrooms (Q1)

Repairs on the school building (Q1)

Build water tanks and pipes for improved access to potable water (Q2)

Build an additional classroom for the 2018 school year (Q4)

Connect the school to the local power grid [to be determined]

Build a library and provide books [to be determined]

The four completely planned items will cost approximately 1,519,560 KES. Given the current

exchange rate of 112 KES/EUR, we will need 13,514 EUR.

Costs

Completion of fifth grade classroom 400.000 KES 3.540 EUR

Repairs of the school building 111.000 KES 969 EUR

Water tank and pipes 205.060 KES 1.831 EUR

New classroom 803.500 KES 7.174 EUR

1.519.560 KES 13.514 EUR




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(2) MALAGE VTC: We would very much like to support Gasiano in overcoming the challenges he

has outlined in his contribution to this newsletter. We believe that completing the construction on the

water well represents the most significant contribution to advancing Malage’s financial independence.

Thus, we want to continue to pledge our support to Gasiano despite the current challenges.

Continuation of construction of the well

Salary for teachers and government fees

Training for teachers

Modifications (construction) due to the expansion of the street

We expect total costs of 29,280,000 TSH for the items listed above. Given the current exchange rate

of 2,292 TSH/EUR, we will need 12,774 EUR.

Costs

Continuation of construction of the well 5.800.000 TSH 2.530 EUR

Teacher salaries & government fees (monthly) 2.680.000 TSH 1.169 EUR

Training for teachers 7.050.000 TSH 3.075 EUR

Modifications 13.750.000 TSH 6.000 EUR

29.280.000 TSH 12.774 EUR

________

We currently have 2,896 EUR in donations available, which means we need your continued support!

We very much encourage any donation and every fundraising effort. In case you have questions,

please contact us anytime at [email protected].


newsletter | winter 2016 · pdf filemo e.v. adlerstraße 8 d - 84453 mühldorf a. inn...

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