Tuamkeni Orphan School
Wake Up!
"Tuamkeni," translated
from Swahili means "Wake Up!" It is the name of a pre-primary
school for orphans started by Mama Constancia Tarimo in an effort
to get the community to "wake up" and help the community's
orphans. A committee of six women in the community support Mama Constancia's
initiative by raising money within the Sokoni 1 district of Arusha
to fund the pre-primary school where 35 orphaned children ages 3-5
are currently enrolled. These children are getting a head start on
education and receive at least one healthy meal per day.
The current school is held in a one-room wooden shack rented for about $20 per month. There is no electricity, no bathroom facility, and the school room is furnished with only rows of benches. A non-certified teacher is presently being paid a salary of $50 per month to teach the children very basic education.
While 35 children currently attend Tuamkeni, there is a need for pre-primary education for 70 orphans within the Sokoni 1 community. Lack of resources and space prevent Tuamkeni from enrolling more students at this time. Mama Constancia is currently pursuing the acquisition of land within Sokoni 1 in order to construct a pre-primary school. The school will have two classrooms, an administrative office, storage rooms, latrines, and a playground.
OMEGA has partnered with Tuamkeni in the effort to construct a pre-primary school and is encouraging Tuamkeni to raise 10% of the overall construction costs locally while OMEGA seeks the additional 90% of funds from foreign donors and work teams. A basic budget summary for the construction of the pre-primary school is listed below. If you are interested in supporting OMEGA and Tuamkeni in this effort, you are welcome to contact OMEGA for a detailed proposal and budget.
| Total Funds Needed | ||||
| Line Item Category | Tuamkeni Cash | Donor Cash | OMEGA Cash | Total |
| Salaries & Benefits | 0 | 5,040 | 4,800 | 9,840 |
| Supplies & Materials | 3,000 | 27,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Travel & Transport | 0 | 0 | 600 | 600 |
| Other Direct Costs | 0 | 864 | 4,896 | 5,760 |
| Total Costs | 3,000 | 32,804 | 10,296 | 46,200 |
If you are interested in this project and would like more information on supporting or adopting Tuamkeni School please contact Jerry Hale at jhale@omegamission.org.
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