kindergarten bread
daily bread improves learning:
The free bread fund provides daily bread for four Kindergartens in the Ifakara area: Kibaoni, Katindiuko, Tangani, and Jongo . The Kindergarten project started outside of Ifakara, first providing bread to a community in Idete for their young students in 2005. Since then, the local schools in Ifakara saw how popular the program was, and how much their students would benefit if the project grew.
Idete Kindergarten
Idete is approximately 20 miles West of Ifakara and can only be reached using treacherous roads. The Kindergarten, which uses the Montessori system, was started in 2005 with 60 children of 3 to 6 years. We were approached by the school when they were opening and decided to do a trial run for six months.
The teaching and the supply of 'Free Bread' proved so popular with the local community that the kindergarten had to expand rapidly. With the help from a UK Rotary Club they were able to acquire the necessary additional teaching equipment and they now have some 140 children regularly attending school. We were able to match the increased requirements for 'Free Bread'.
The teachers of many schools we visited assured us that they enjoy 98% - 99% attendance for most of the terms due to the children’s improved health by receiving daily bread.
Kibaoni Kindergarten
We first got involved three years ago, when the new parish priest took us to the nursery school and we straight away saw that the children were from very poor families - namely because only half the children were wearing school uniforms. Uniforms are very important to the people of Tanzania and if a child is not wearing a uniform it is an indication of extreme poverty. Uniforms are often given more importance than food.
The bread and tea were just being given to the children when we arrived. The children sat on the concrete floor on small mats. The excitement of receiving the bread was palpable. It was enjoyed with enthusiasm.
