You will remember from the last newsletter that the Rufiji Leprosy Trust made funding available for renovations to be made to several buildings in Kindwitwi. During the trustees visit in autumn of 2022, it was clear that the buildings were really run down and not safe or hygienic to work in nor for the children and teachers to run the kindergarten from.
We are happy to say that renovations to the two kindergarten buildings, the chapel and the administration building are largely complete. There are still some finishing touches needed, including connecting the buildings up so there’s electricity but work has most definitely progressed and the bats that were occupying the roofs of the buildings have now officially moved out! Here are some before and after pictures of the renovations:
Kindergarten
The roof has been raised for better ventilation and the building replastered and painted.
The teachers are also able to use the second kindergarten building once more. Previously it was too dangerous to use because of the bats and several holes in the floor. This means that the children are now properly separated by age and are much less cramped than before as all the children had to be in just the one room! This building (in the photo on the left) is directly next to the main kindergarten so the children still have lots of fun playing together during break and lunch time!
The children and teachers are really happy with their renovated classroom and say a big thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. THANK YOU!
Administration Building
In recent months, the team that carry out the work on behalf of RLT had no suitable place to work because the buildings were so run down (and again, the bats had moved into the roof). We are glad to say that Salum (centre manager), Tatu (finance controller) and the rest of the staff now have a safe place to work from. Below is the renovated building. If you visit Kindwitwi, it is one of the first buildings you see as it is situated right on the main road that leads you down to Utete.
Finally, in May of this year a small amount of funding was released to do general repairs to the house of one of our full care patients, Mr Kipoloya. We look forward to sharing photographs with you in our next newsletter.
