Tarakea 2019

Tarakea 2019 Visit

Another visit toTarakea took place in July 2019 when we were joined for two weeks by a group of five parishioners from Bray Park, Brisbane. We accompanied them on a similar journey that was first taken 10 years ago by members of Holy Family Parish, Albany. Holy Spirit Parish, Bray Park has been a wonderful support to Hope of Tarakea and continues to contribute generously. 

During our time in Tarakea, we had a tour of St Pius X Catholic Primary School, where we had the opportunity to meet with the teachers and students in their classrooms. We later met with the librarian, who is a graduate teacher and assisted him to organise the library to make it more functional. We also spent some time in the computer room, where it was great to hear that the second-hand computers sent in 2011 still to continue to operate.

It is always a wonderful experience to meet with the orphans, and this visit we met with 16 young people and the volunteers who assist them. To the right of screen there is a page titled 2019 which has photos and details of those we met.

We also visited Fr Msafiri and remain in regular contact as he provides updates on the children, and we discuss options on how to best assist each child. He also continues to send annual reports on the expenses covered by the funds contributed from Hope of Tarakea.  

PHOTOS TARAKEA 2017

Tarakea 2017 Visit

In 2017, Hope of Tarakea sponsored 20 orphans aged between 14 and 22. During our most recent trip to Tarakea, we were fortunate enough to meet with 17 of the 20 orphans. We wanted to speak with each one individually about what they would like to do with their future and how we could assist.  It was a great opportunity to meet with the parish volunteers who visit the orphans, and Fr Msafiri who administers the accounts for their education. We had several meetings to discuss how to best meet the needs of each child. It was also reassuring to see that records are kept for each, and Fr Msafiri receives their school reports to keep up with how they’re going at school and will meet with them to discuss if he feels it’s necessary.

To the right of screen there is a page titled 2017, this page has photos and details of the young people we met. The following is a breakdown of what the children are currently doing:

·         12   Secondary School              

·            6    Technical College/ TAFE     
                       1 - Tailoring 
                       1 - Mechanical
                                  4 - Electrical Installation          

·          1   University – Teaching        

·          1   Establishing his own business    

The Holy Family Parish, Albany sewing and craft group were extremely generous with their time and skills, and made school bags for the orphans. 

Helen - Holy Family Parish Sewing and Craft Group

Starting the day at the St Pius X parish office; the school bags and stationery that we’d brought with us were given.

We were again welcomed at St Pius X Catholic Primary School library.  It was great to see  that a classroom next to the library, which can be used for study, has finished being built. Each class visits the library for one period a week during which time they can browse and exchange their books.

An invitation was accepted to join the year 5 computer class, in which the children were learning how to copy and paste using Microsoft Word. It was wonderful to see that all the second hand computers that were sent from Australia in 2011 are still in good working order.

Grace and Judith - Parish Volunteers

Before Class

Next stop was the staff room for morning tea where the principal asked us to pass on their thanks to everyone who has supported the school. As a special thank you, Steve and I were given the gift of traditional Tanzanian clothing.

CHILD SPONSORSHIP

Hope of Tarakea will soon be offering the opportunity to support the orphans by way of individual child sponsorship. The sponsorship will cover the costs of the child's education, including school fees, uniforms and stationery.This has been done in a general form in the past, by way of fundraising and donations. We will still gratefully accept one off contributions and donations for those who choose to contribute this way.  Fr Msafiri and his support workers will assess those in greatest need of assistance. It would be of great benefit to be able to sponsor the child throughout their entire schooling. However, this won't be compulsory as we understand that circumstances change and it may not be possible for everyone to do so.

There are approximately 300 orphans in Tarakea with only 50 having their education costs met by donated funds. Hope of Tarakea is providing assistance to 34 of those 50 children. It would be wonderful if every orphan received support throughout their education journey. 

LIBRARY UPDATE

A small group visited Tarakea in August 2013 and were pleased to see the library is now being well utilised by the students and teachers of St Pius X primary school. The books have all been catalogued and an inventory has been compiled. Extra shelving has been added to house more than 4000 books. The students in the upper primary classes are able to borrow books for a period of 3 days. On each occasion they must fill out a library card and their borrowing is recorded in a book.

 Library Card and Borrowing Book

 Librarian's Desk

 Library Extensions

 Extra Shelving

 Working Hard on Library Extension

A reading room is now under construction, so as the library can be made available to the wider community of Tarakea.