What do we actually do during a school visit? The principals are informed about the visit of TaC-representatives some days beforehand. They are to produce reports about the student’s academic and personal development and to discuss any issues with us. Today we visited two girls’ schools, one of them is called Lwak. Lwak is a very big school with a population of over 1000 students! The principal is a nun, who is truly committed to her school. Thanks to the school’s capability and transparency, they attracted many serious donors over the last few years. Terre des hommes sponsors 100 girls here, a Canadian NGO around 80. Rotarians have donated new sanitary facilities and new buildings are put up with various funds at almost every corner. After the meeting with the principal (and sometimes the class teacher), we ask to be taken around to assess the school’s facilities. We found Lwak to be very organized, extremely well kept, very tidy (the first school to have dust bins!), bustling with new buildings and initiatives. In order to generate a small income, the school hosts a bakery and rears chicken. They even have their own dairy cattle as well as pigs. Health care is not neglected here: there is a qualified nurse on stand-by, the school possesses a dispensary and a sick bay. Further, the principal keeps stunningly professional files of all sponsored students, every Shilling is accounted for. We learn a lot today. And surely, this is exactly the kind of school we want to co-operate closely in the future. After talking to the principal and evaluating the facilities, we got to see our sponsored student here, a girl we are very proud to have. Macreen excels in all subjects and wants to become a lawyer. When I ask her which cases she would want to tackle, she immediately replies that she wants to fight for the right of the girl child. The potential and determination of this 15 year old impress me: Macreen is a clear high potential, who will make TaC even more proud in the future.
During the interviews I normally also ask about the guardians, the siblings, how the children spend their time off school, and about potential health problems. If we encounter medical problems, we arrange for health checks and our local volunteers try to contact the guardians for further consultancy. Lastly, we decide whether or not to shortlist the school for further collaboration. In a case like today, that is not even a question though!
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