The Naurei Project consists of a three-classroom block and attached auditorium on the school grounds of Secei Elementary in Arusha, Tanzania. The first phase of the project was completed in 2005 and consisted of the three classrooms, now serving 56 children. These children have disabilities ranging from simple learning disorders to more severe conditions such as cerebral palsy. A number of the children with learning disabilities have now re-entered the regular classrooms and we are proud to boast that one child (Kennedy) came in 4th in national exams last year.

One of the rooms in the unit is used for vocational training where sewing and crafts are taught. In addition, there were a number of teen age boys in need of a skill. After consideration, myself and a group of the parents decided that a brick making project would be more appropriate than the carpentry they had originally considered. The reason being that it required less fine motor skill. The group is now selling their product to contractors in Arusha and earning money. They are proud of their work and proud of themselves.

Phase 2 was the addition of an auditorium attached to the special needs unit and a part of their property. This auditorium serves the entire school of 1500 students. As the property of the special needs unit, it is also rented for community events and serves to sustain them in buying classroom resources. The government has allocated another teacher and is impressed with the units’ progress. We believe that providing them with a place in the community has elevated their status and relieved some of the stigma.

Plans for the upcoming year are to fund a lunch program which is estimated at a little more than $2000. for the year. This would enable them to extend the school day and allow their families more time to work. We anticipate that this extended day will provide more education and a nutritious meal for our students.  It will serve their families by removing some of the previous time constraints on work and increase income. We have done a baseline assessment of family incomes and will review it in a year but believe that they will be able to sustain the program from their increased income. Future ideas include partnering with a local fair trade organization and investigating the possibilities of exporting crafts that the families or students may produce.

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