Reneal Board Meeting Update [2018-12-10]
The Reneal Board of Directors met in mid-November to address a very full agenda. Board members Sharon Fingold and Katherine Yen debriefed the rest of the Board on their experiences during their visit to Tanzania in late August. It is invaluable to have these new perspectives! There is nothing like being there to really understand the opportunities and challenges. Below are some of the highlights of the Board meeting.
1. The Board has approved an expansion of the scholarship program at Mwandet Secondary School in Tanzania. In School Year 2018, Reneal provided scholarships to six Form 3 (9th grade) boarding students with academic promise and financial need. These scholarships include dormitory accommodations, dorm living needs (sheets, blanket, bucket, etc.), food, uniforms, school supplies, toiletry items, and a daily stipend of about 25 cents per day for each student. The grand total per student was about $400 for a full year of support! In 2019, Reneal will double the size of this program, adding six Form 2 students in addition to continuing support for the six 2018 scholars who will be entering Form 4. We are excited to expand this program for additional students in 2019.
2. Thanks to generous donors, Reneal will be installing systems in two additional high schools in Arusha District in early 2019. We are very grateful for our Reneal School Liaison David Nyangaka and Reneal Computer Technician Robert Nyangaka for coordinating this work. Thanks also to the professionals at Habari Node and Arusha Node Marie for their assistance in these installations!
3. The Board voted to approve an extensive proposal for work in the fall of 2019 in Arusha District. This includes computer lab installations in four new high schools in Arusha District, major upgrading of old hardware at two existing schools, and minor updates and enhancements at other existing schools. It is an ambitious program of work, but as David says frequently, “TOGETHER WE CAN!” We have already received a generous donation of 21 laptops from Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District toward our goal of 120. We are also very grateful to the Danville Sycamore Valley Rotary Club and Network the World for their commitment to supporting this proposal.
4. Back in August, Reneal had the good fortune of meeting Rick Smith of “A is for Africa” (www.aisforafrica.org). This committed non-profit organization has been working since 2007 to improve the opportunities and educational conditions for the students of Matim Primary School in Arusha. In a happy coincidence, Matim PS is just steps away from Mukulat Secondary School, a 2013 Reneal computer lab recipient. We were thrilled in September to meet teachers from Matim and show them the Reneal system. It took just a short conversation with Rick and Mary Anne Smith of AIFA upon our return to the US to realize that we had a wonderful collaboration opportunity at hand. Thus Reneal and AIFA are partnering to install a Reneal system in early 2019 in the computer lab that exists already at Matim. Reneal has already sent much of the necessary equipment to AIFA headquarters in Maryland, and it will be carried in January to Arusha for installation. We are thrilled that students at Matim will have these new resources for learning – and that they can continue to use the same system when they advance to high school.
5. The Board approved an expanded job description for Tanzania Computer Technician, and this position was offered to and accepted by Robert Nyangaka. We are very excited to have Robert’s expertise and energy to help us support the schools in Arusha District.
On top of all that, we are headed to the Philippines in January! We are in the process of planning our work there. Reneal Team Philippines has done several installations in 2018, so one very important task is visiting those schools for additional training and support. Our team has been very busy with other tasks – we’ll highlight that in a future blog. 2019 is looking great!
[Photos: Reneal Scholars in Tanzania, Reneal Computer Liaison Robert Nyangaka with Matim Primary School teachers Madam Neema and Mr. Lang’o]