Who We Are
Above you can see a new group of photos from this year’s trip to Tanzania.
Charlotte Hunter will be speaking on Sunday, May 29 th at the Flagg Road Church, located at 134 Flagg Road in West Hartford, CT 06117, service begins at 10 a.m. For more information contact Flagg Road Church at 860.523.0121
or flaggroaducc@sbcglobal.net.
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Great News!! Our programs are so successful and showing positive results in large part to the continuous efforts of the Tanzanian administrators, increasing support from the parents there, and of course, your generous donations. It is clear that now is the time for us to empower the villag- ers to become more self-sufficient. This means that within the next few years, we will be assist- ing them to take over the financial support for the programs begun by Pocketful of Joy. It has always been our intent to empower the communities to move towards self-reliance; and now, we are at the threshold of having this manifest.
In what ways?
We have been cultivating the land for eight years, and the gardens are now producing some crops for sale. Trees have been planted as future cash crops, and the coffee plants will soon be ready for harvest- ing and sale. Villagers are taking on more responsi- bility to supply the maize themselves, which is the ingredient for the porridge we provide each child. Pocketful of Joy will continue to provide the sugar, milk, salaries for the cook, and transportation fees for the meal program. However, looking to the future, we are preparing to begin a new endeavor
to raise bees in order to produce honey to replace the sugar for our meal program. In addition, some enterprising students at Ntoma Primary School have asked for goats which they will raise, (supervised by the teachers), and this would help with the milk for the meal program.
It was an amazing year for reconstructing class rooms. We completed six rooms at Nyakaatare and one of the brand new rooms is for Pre-K which had been taught until now, outdoors underneath a tree. This was difficult for the little ones especially dur-
ing the rainy season. The communities surrounding each school will take charge of repairing the cooking facilities and other infrastructures; and again, this is part of the initiative to promote community interdependence and self-reliance. All three schools will also be hiring a janitor to maintain the buildings; and the fees will be paid by the parents.
April 2012This year, as I walked around Ntoma, I noticed a feeling of pride among the students. They felt good about their surroundings and the fact that 100% of the primary students had passed the national exams. This sense of accomplishment was also felt throughout Byeya, where 98% of the students passed. Also, our secondary students are now passing some of the exams due to our tutoring program begun last year. The parents have committed to sharing the majority of the cost for this endeavor again this year. Pocketful of Joy will provide funding for this project for our orphaned children and to those parents who are struggling with these monthly fees.
It is through your generous support that we are able to continue doing this incredible work on behalf of the children in three villages. Please know that your financial assistance continues to be needed as we remain committed to encouraging, engaging and empowering these villages to step up and care for their children. Thank you for everything, thank you for caring, THANK YOU!
PS. Please enjoy the pictures from this trip on our web-site at www.pocketfulofjoy.org. 501 © 3. With warm regards,
Charlotte S. Hunter US Director 24 Goose Lane, Tolland, Ct. 06084 860 875-3379 or 860 819-4163