Oldonyo  Sambu is a mainly Maasai community about 35 km north of Arusha. When you make your way up there from Arusha the landscape changes very quickly. During the dry season the lush Arusha area which is fed by the waters of Mount Meru changes to a dry and dusty desert like steppe which is marked heavily by erosion. The main road from Arusha to Nairobi passes Oldonyo Sambu. Getting to the school means getting off road via a natural road. Our bus kicks ups so much dry dust that the passengers in the back feel like being in a sand storm.

 

Oldonyo Sambu primary school has currently 936 students from Standard 1 to Standard 7. Only Standard 1 class which has 245 students is split into two classes, for Standard 2 – 7 there is only once class per grade level. For Standard 2 this means 161 students in one classroom. 4 – 5 Students share simple bench table sets which are made for 2 students. The rooms are cramped, often have broken windows and no ceiling. During the dry season the dust from outside finds easy ways into the classroom.

 

The school caters for two villages in the Oldonyo Sambu Community: Lemongo and Lemanda. Students walk up to 8 km one way to get to school every day. Ideally they should have lunch at school which is mostly not happening due to lack of money. Students arrive at 7 am to the school. From 7 – 8 students help clean the environment of the school, they sing the national anthem and do other whole school activities. From 8 – 3:30 students have 8 periods of instruction.

 

Staff consists of 17 teachers. It is amazing to see the passion with which the teachers engage in their profession despite all the adversities.

 

After having had several meetings with the principal and a meeting with the teaching staff we came up with a priority list of things to do to improve the schooling situation of the students:

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• Renovating a ninth classroom: The room is currently used as a storage room for building and constructions materials. A new floor needs to be put in, walls need to be sanded an painted and a ceiling needs to be put in.

• Setting up a library: Currently the former staff room with about 20 m2 is used as a storage room for old text books. We intend to furnish it with shelves and providing books for the students

• Playground: In 2016 we started building a playground with a slide, two swings and tires in the ground and hanging from trees. We would like to extend the playground as it resonated very well with the students

• Sport facilities: Currently girls have no facilities to play net-ball. We would like to fix 4 net ball posts.

• School Materials: Buying and making school materials which teachers can use in their classes

• Shamba – School garden: We discussed the possibility of creating a school garden which would help grow food to feed the students during lunch.

• Supporting the teachers: To show our appreciation for the hard work teachers do on a daily basis we regard it as important that we support them with things they need. We started in 2016 by providing 2 water filters which provide clean water from any source. We are now looking into providing desks and chairs and maybe laptops or desktops.