Supporting Orphaned Kids and Communities in Africa

Thanks so much to everyone who donated. The funds were put straight to the installation of a fence at the school. Here are photos mid construction and the progress of the trees:

New Website:

https://www.communitiesassist.org

Aim:

The aim of this fundraiser is to gather the money to build a fence out at Sinya Primary School, a remote boarding school for 1200 students in desert-lands at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. In partnership with the school, Communities Assist's goal is to turn the barren landscape into a green, nutritious environment for growing crops and feeding the Boarding school kids and local Maasai community. In the process, students will be taught the principles of permaculture and creating a sustainable system that can provide regular and reliable food year-round. Currently, wildlife such as elephants, giraffes and zebras roam through the school grounds at night, destroying trees, vegetation and fruit and vegetable gardens. In building a fence, the hard work of Communities Assist, teachers and students will thrive, turning dust into nutritious soil feeding healthy, organic food to young kids.

Any additional funds will go towards a much needed bore hole at Rainbow Ridge (home to 208 orphaned kids since 2006 and demonstration site for permaculture), allowing for consistent, reliable access to water.

I please ask you to read about my time in Tanzania working at Rainbow Ridge and learning about the amazing potential this Australian based charity has to impact the lives of vulnerable children and communities in Tanzania. Talk to parents, extended family, friends about the great cause and appeal to their generosity. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Kili Kids:

Sinya Primary School (current tree protection method):

My time in Tanzania:

I have known about Communities Assist and Rainbow Ridge my whole life, since it was founded by John O’Reilly (my uncle) less than 2 years after I was born. To arrive and meet the local Communities Assist family and see Rainbow Ridge was surreal after all I had heard over the last 17 years. For over a month across July and August 2023, I worked with the Green Team at Rainbow Ridge. Under the guidance of Farm Manager Frank Kimaro, I learnt about permaculture principles, ethics, techniques and methods of design. Every day there were significant steps forward with the completion of the Nursery along with the Solar Dryer, both becoming crucial parts of the site’s food production and preservation. There was a lot of energy and eagerness to prepare Rainbow Ridge in anticipation for the first ever permaculture course to be run as a demonstration site that began on December 11. Fields were harvested, swales were formed, and seedlings were transplanted from the Nursery into the gardens. As part of sustainable waste management cow manure was used in numerous ways to create manure tea (sustainable fertiliser for crops), compost, feeding banana trees and biogas for cooking. The key result of this sustainable system is healthier soil, hence healthier plants, healthier food and healthier people. Electricity has been connected to the grid which has also allowed for the use of an electric water pump to pump water from the creek and circulate around the property to the kitchen, showers, toilets, water tanks and to the newly installed drip irrigation system. Rooms were prepared for the kids and course students including the instalment of new windows.

A highlight was going out to visit the kids at Sinya Primary Boarding School with Mama Gretha and Ide. I was able to provide the kids with school shoes bought from a local second-hand market along with daily essentials. It was extremely exciting to meet them all and talk about how much they love their school and how their studies are going. Mama Gretha and Ide also told me the large impact and gratitude from the local community for the school’s new bore hole, leaving significantly more water available in the community bore hole for nearby families and livestock. The future plans of Communities Assist in connection with Sinya Primary starts with a fence around the school to prevent local wildlife such as Elephants and giraffes from entering and destroying vegetation, allowing greenery to flourish in the way it has at Rainbow Ridge. In doing so, the 1200 kids at Sinya Primary are taught the techniques and principles that make it possible to turn a desert landscape green and share their knowledge at home to produce their own crops and food supply.

The impact of any donation to these kids and the local community in Maili Sita, Tanzania is extremely significant and can create lasting change in such a way that these communities can support themselves.

Many many thanks,

James Morrisey

Rainbow Ridge Site 2006:

Rainbow Ridge Site Now: