We are so happy to announce that thanks to our generous donors, ABCD has been able to fund the construction of a new school kitchen for Kiunguni/Komalyangoe Primary School. As you can see by the photos, the old kitchen was in desperate condition…you can see a part of the old kitchen behind the new one. Most primary school kitchens are in this condition because the schools cannot afford to upgrade them.
These are the ‘buildings’ in which local mamas work over an open fire to cook breakfast and lunch for the children. Dirt floors, leaky roofs, access by vermin, and smoke filled interiors make for a very unhealthy environment for food preparation, and for the mamas themselves. In addition, the depletion of the forest reserves surrounding the schools to provide firewood for the cooking fires is a serious concern to the Tanzanian government. Children are often required to scavenge for firewood and bring some from home to school everyday.
The new kitchen has a cement floor and walls, good ventilation, storage room, clean food surfaces and a government approved, energy efficient stove which has 3 cooking surfaces and uses much less wood. ABCD has also provided brand new stainless steel pots for the kitchen. The local company supplying and installing the stove provides training for the mamas in the correct methods for its use. We feel it’s also heartening that the local economy is helped through the labour and materials that our ABCD projects use. Whenever possible we also ask the local builders to hire our own skills-trained ABCD students.