Build a Kitchen and a Dining Hall for 200 students

Jambo

Though the classrooms were empty in June our campus was still abuzz with activity and workmen. Our dream of building a new dining hall continues to come closer to fruition as each shovel of dirt is removed and paver is put into place. Your continued support is very much appreciated and we can’t thank you enough.

The first floor is almost completely erect and the students, staff and families are amazed at the continual growth of our campus. With the new kitchen area in place, Cook is able to serve 200 students delicious meals in a clean and sanitary area. We continue to work on the completion of the Dining Hall so our students will not have to walk through the rain on wet days to eat in the partially completed cafeteria that continues to get wet during the rainy season.

Your generosity continues to bring us hope and motivates us every day. It is something that we remind the students of daily. Dreams do come true and the best things in life are the things that you work hardest for. We would like to invite you all to school so that you can have the opportunity to see how we have grown and the learning and joy that continues to fill our campus.

Ahsante sana for your continued support.

All the best,
Rose Hogan

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Jambo!

With each new day our Dining Facility dream comes closer to fruition. Our campus is continually busy with men working to complete our facility and students laughing, playing and learning. Your support continues to benefit so many children and trickles down to the families and community of the Midawe Village. Each day we are reminded that dreams do come true and it is especially important to thank everyone who helps make them happen, so thank you. 

With our new stoves in place our cook is elated with the ease at which he can now make meals for our students.  A happy cook, ensures happy students and staff! We recently were able to open our new library, within our Dining Facility, and it is filled with exciting books and supplies to help support the learning and imagination of all of our children. A permanent roof on our Dining Hall will be our next major endeavor. This wonderful space continues to be used, not only for eating, but for parent meetings, staff meetings, school assemblies, study spaces, and on occasion additional classroom space.  

Join us this week in supporting our GlobalGiving efforts to complete our Dining Facility.  No donation is too small and many will be matched by GlobalGiving.  Donors who set up a new monthly donation to a project will have their first donation up to $200 matched at 100%! This allows your donation to impact us even further.  If there is anything we have learned in these last ten years it is that dreams do come true and the world is filled with truly kind and generous people.  We may live far from one another, but Ikirwa School and the wonderful students that attend it each day bring us all together. Continue to follow our progress and adventures in learning on Instagram@ikirwa.school and on Facebook at Ikirwa School Project. 

All the best,

Rose Hogan

Jambo

We hope this letter finds you well and you are enjoying a year filled with happiness and joy.  Our students continue to thrive at school and we have you to thank for that. They have just left for the end of term break and our campus is very quiet.  Our cafeteria is no longer filled with giggling, chatting students. We can all look back on our school days and remember what it was like to go into the cafeteria filled with laughter and conversation and enjoy some time with friends and leave the academic pressures in the classroom. 

This year we have been able to make wonderful progress on our Dining Hall.  Our new kitchen is open and in full operation.  The three new stoves are incredible.  We have running water and some electricity which make cooking and cleaning much easier for all of our staff and students.  To say that our staff and student body are thrilled is an understatement.  Richard M. Devos once said, “Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push.  A smile. A world of optimism and hope. A ‘you can do it’ when things are tough.”  Our momentum was spurred by the kitchen opening and we are overwhelmed with the support we have received. Our goal for this year is to complete our Dining Hall. Without the continued contributions from donors like you and the support and hard work provided from the local members of our community this endeavor would continue to be just a dream. 

Each day brings us closer to reaching our goal and with that our excitement builds.  Our campus is growing with your support.  It has been ten years since we opened our doors to children and we have gone from a one room school with a cafeteria with food cooked over burning wood, to 10 classrooms with a functioning indoor kitchen with three stoves and a dry, cement covered cafeteria. We feel truly blessed and so thankful.  Our students continue to thrive and excel in their studies.  They are wonderful children with many hopes and dreams.  With your help our dreams of a new facility will come true by supporting our GlobalGiving Dining Hall campaign.  

Continue to stay safe and healthy. 

All the best

Rose Hogan

Follow our adventures in learning on:

Instagram@ikirwa.school 

Facebook at Ikirwa School Project

Jambo

We are thrilled with the progress that has taken place these past few months on our Dining Facility and wanted to share with you our incredible progress. A new roof has been placed on the first floor and many doors and windows have been installed. The most exciting news of all is that our four stoves have been purchased and put in place. We are currently working on putting the connecting pipes and lines in place and soon we will be making our meals from our new kitchen.  There are still many areas of our Dining Facility that need to be completed, but these giant steps towards its completion motivates us every day.  

Two years ago our Dining Facility was just a dream, a wish for the future, but today as our structure grows and we watch the daily progress Christopher Reeves's quote, “So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable” seems so appropriate. Our progress is living proof to our students that though many dreams do seem impossible, with hard work, determination and the ability to build relationships with those around you dreams can come true. We are forever grateful to all of our generous donors who support our school and never stop dreaming along side us. We will continue to dream and set goals for ourselves, which this years includes bringing our Dining Facility as close to completion as possible.  

Your continued financial support allows our students to enjoy their meals in a dry and dust free environment. As we progress we will continue to keep you informed of all that has been accomplished through pictures and letters.  Please watch our progress and adventures in learning on Instagram@ikirwa.school and on Facebook at Ikirwa School Project. 

With deepest gratitude and warmest wishes. 

Rose Hogan

Jambo

It has been several months since we last updated you on the progress of our wonderful Dining Hall and all we can say is WOW!  With your generous donations we have made tremendous progress towards the partial completion of the first floor and are now working on securing a roof that will support our second floor.  The weather has been on our side and the materials for the continuation of construction are available and on campus.  

Every day the students have an opportunity to use the partially completed dining hall for their meals and classroom space and get more excited with each passing moment on the growing structure.  We are blessed to have a world wide community of donors who support our goal of providing an area free from the elements for the students to eat in and that understand our need for additional classroom space, in addition to a library and computer lab.  Locally, our community has gotten involved in the construction and the daily transportation of resources and materials. It truly takes a village. 

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.” It is with this great notion in mind that our campus continues to grow and our students dream of futures beyond their villages if that is their desires.  A library will provide them with reading material that not only supplements their studies, but cultivates their imaginations.  Our computer lab will provide them with technology skills that will carry them far into the 21st century. 

The learning, laughter and excitement that fill our classrooms and playing field each day is truly special.  Ten years ago Ikirwa School was just a dream that is now a reality. Today we continue to dream about a facility that will house classrooms, a dining hall, library and computer lab and see it take shape before our eyes is truly special.  If there is anything we have learned in these last ten years it is that dreams do come true and the world is filled with truly kind and generous people.  We may live far from one another, but Ikirwa School and the wonderful students that attend it each day bring us all together.  We look forward to your visits, letters and emails.  

Stay in touch and most importantly ahsante sana for your continued support and thoughtfulness.

Rose Hogan