Help Build Our Farm School
Donation protected
Please help us save this amazing school program and these model teachers. Our current location is no longer affordable and we are in danger of losing the school in the next couple of months. Instead, we need your help to move the school to a more affordable, safe and sustainable location. We ask for help for seed money to help us move to and start a larger farm to become self-sufficient. #Floodgardenschool
(Flood Garden Preschool School)
Dear Friends,
Our Flood Garden School is a small primary school in Arusha founded by David Gido in 2009. David was born in Rwanda where his father was killed in the Hutu/Tutsi clashes of the late ‘90s. His widowed mother returned to her native Tanzania and, as is common, David was not accepted by his new stepfather's family. As a result he has a soft heart for indigent children who face a life of extreme poverty and difficulty because of circumstances outside of their control. David felt such empathy that--with his own money--he rented a building a started a school. In 2012, he built a little farm in front of the school which he called the Flood Garden. This was to be a garden that would flood the community with kids who could do amazing things. On the farm, children learned about all aspects of life by growing vegetables, raising rabbits and chinchillas.
(We have few resources but our school is always happy)
The little farm quickly became an integral part of the school curriculum as it replaced the need for expensive traditional classroom materials, labs and other conventional resources; the little farm has become the best textbook. The little farm has introduced a better diet for the school meals program and has created a kitchen garden model that has spread to the community. The idea of growing one's own food in a crowded, low income urban setting soon caught on with the neighbors and we began to see small vegetable pots and tiny lots filled with the products of the seeds from our garden. It has also become a place where the teachers can learn and innovate their lessons and skills every day.
(Our kids love, love, love to sing)
HERE IS WHERE WE NEED YOUR HELP:
The current school location has become too expensive. As of a month ago, we can no longer pay the rising rent costs. In a couple of months we will have to close the school since we cannot afford the rent in the city. Our wonderful teachers have been working now for several months without pay to help meet the rent costs. Their commitment to the children is admirable but not sustainable and neither is our stay in the current location. Because most of our parents cannot afford school fees, many of our students will sadly go back to the streets.
In Tanzania, most secondary schools conduct classes in English. However, only the expensive private preschool and primary schools teach classes in English. Most poor children attend Swahili speaking primary schools so they are then not able to enter most secondary schools since many children cannot speak English.
Our school is the only free or super cheap English language primary school in the area so our kids, even though they have humble beginnings, will be qualified to attend secondary school anywhere in the country. We are heartbroken to think that we might have to close.
A viable solution is to move this school to the countryside and away from of the pricey crowded inner city. We found 2 acres of land outside the city where we would like to expand the little farm to a full 2 acre farm to make become more sustainable. In the new land, we will rebuild the school and start a farm large enough to support the dietary needs of at least 120 primary school students, the salaries of the teachers and caretakers, school materials and school maintenance fees for years to come.
(David Gido, the young founder and head master of the Flood Garden School)
We would like to rely less and less on charity and use this seed money to work to become a model of self-reliance for our students. We are asking for seed money to turn our Flood Garden School into the Flood Garden Primary Farm School. We also welcome help in the form of information, contacts, ideas and technical support.
We are Teachers helping Teachers
My name is Matinga Ragatz. I have been a successful educator for over 20 years. I have received multiple education awards, including 2011 Michigan Teacher of the Year, and have an interest in redefining the purpose of schools to create better economic opportunities for children by providing a more relevant education experience (my credentials ). I met the founder of this Arusha school, David Gido in 2012 when I traveled to Tanzania. I worked with him to design the Flood Garden concept and created the current school curriculum. We have been working together since then and have developed a lifelong friendship.
My friend Denise Walker and I belong to the Network of Michigan Educators, an organization of award winning teacher leaders from the state of Michigan working to strengthen and elevate the teaching profession. When I told Denise about David Gido, she immediately responded to the call for action joined our team. Because David Gido is a teacher, he is one of us and his school is now OUR SCHOOL.
We asked ourselves,
WHAT IF...teachers and friends of great education would help support David and his innovative farm school project? What if the farm school provided real problem/inquiry opportunities for children from all over the world to do research and find solutions?
Denise Walker retired from serving as an early elementary teacher and Language Arts specialist in an urban setting in Lansing MI. (1997-2014) During her teaching tenure she used project/inquiry based learning as her primary teaching context (Link to some of Denise’s work ). In 2010 she achieved National Board Certification, the highest credential available for teachers in the United States. As a highly accomplished teacher she founded a state wide network dedicated to promoting and supporting National Board Certification in Michigan. While working as a program developer at Michigan State College of Education (1993-1997) she helped pioneer demonstration site schools across that nation that exemplified best practice in service learning. From the beginning of her educational journey she has believed in the John Dewey model of hands on education.
What makes the Flood Garden Farm School Project stand out?
Problem/Inquiry based learning model
We aim to offer learning opportunities that build on the ingenuity of children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Everyday, we work to help our students tell their story and imagine a future where they are not shakled to their biographies.
We aim to focus on building a diverse set of skills to allow our students to better seize opportunities to improve their quality of life. With simple tools and concepts that respect traditional ways, we build skills that will enable them to find their way in today’s global economy.
We aim to make our programs self-sustaining with a decreasing reliance on charity and financial sponsorship.
-We aim to place small in-house industries in our learning models to encourage hands-on opportunities from an early age.
-We aim to set up long-term learning programs that start at age 3 and follow them into young adulthood.
We aim to create our problem/Inquiry-Based Learning model that is tailored for the cultural and social needs of the children we serve.
Our teachers are well trained in our learning models. As native citizens of their community, they are deeply committed to the mission of improving the quality of life and self-determination of children through education.
Your generous contributions will go towards
-Purchasing 2 acres of land appx 40-50 miles from current location
-Digging 2 water wells for farming and for the school
-Building adequate safe residential options for some of our homeless students
-Paying for 3-4 months training for the teachers and staff (large scale farming)
-Building one outhouse/washroom, an outdoor kitchen and tool/storage shed
-Purchasing a small school van to transport the children to school and to transport the farm goods to market
-Purchasing 6 goats, 20-30 chickens, fish, rabbits and a few ducks
-Building 2 large fish farm ponds
-Building safe animal pens and providing feed for them
-Buying and electricity generator
-Purchasing farm equipment (e.g., vegetable seeds, insect netting, organic fertilizers, water hoses, etc)
-Building classrooms
We also welcome your ideas, suggestions, networks, advise and technical support. (@matinga)
(Latifa and Lilian's mom got green pepper seeds from our garden and now can celebrate her own harvest)
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and for understanding the urgency of our situation. The community around the school has benefited greatly from our seed gifts and community education programs.
With your help, David and his staff can not only keep up the good work with our students but continue to create a better quality of life for our kiddos and their families.
Thank you for telling your friends and families about us. We are certain that our students will be the future engineers, farmers, doctors, teachers and leaders in the city of Arusha.
ASANTE SANA
(Thank you very much)
Click HERE for 2018-19 Project Update
(Flood Garden Preschool School)Dear Friends,
Our Flood Garden School is a small primary school in Arusha founded by David Gido in 2009. David was born in Rwanda where his father was killed in the Hutu/Tutsi clashes of the late ‘90s. His widowed mother returned to her native Tanzania and, as is common, David was not accepted by his new stepfather's family. As a result he has a soft heart for indigent children who face a life of extreme poverty and difficulty because of circumstances outside of their control. David felt such empathy that--with his own money--he rented a building a started a school. In 2012, he built a little farm in front of the school which he called the Flood Garden. This was to be a garden that would flood the community with kids who could do amazing things. On the farm, children learned about all aspects of life by growing vegetables, raising rabbits and chinchillas.
(We have few resources but our school is always happy)The little farm quickly became an integral part of the school curriculum as it replaced the need for expensive traditional classroom materials, labs and other conventional resources; the little farm has become the best textbook. The little farm has introduced a better diet for the school meals program and has created a kitchen garden model that has spread to the community. The idea of growing one's own food in a crowded, low income urban setting soon caught on with the neighbors and we began to see small vegetable pots and tiny lots filled with the products of the seeds from our garden. It has also become a place where the teachers can learn and innovate their lessons and skills every day.
(Our kids love, love, love to sing)HERE IS WHERE WE NEED YOUR HELP:
The current school location has become too expensive. As of a month ago, we can no longer pay the rising rent costs. In a couple of months we will have to close the school since we cannot afford the rent in the city. Our wonderful teachers have been working now for several months without pay to help meet the rent costs. Their commitment to the children is admirable but not sustainable and neither is our stay in the current location. Because most of our parents cannot afford school fees, many of our students will sadly go back to the streets.
In Tanzania, most secondary schools conduct classes in English. However, only the expensive private preschool and primary schools teach classes in English. Most poor children attend Swahili speaking primary schools so they are then not able to enter most secondary schools since many children cannot speak English.
Our school is the only free or super cheap English language primary school in the area so our kids, even though they have humble beginnings, will be qualified to attend secondary school anywhere in the country. We are heartbroken to think that we might have to close.
A viable solution is to move this school to the countryside and away from of the pricey crowded inner city. We found 2 acres of land outside the city where we would like to expand the little farm to a full 2 acre farm to make become more sustainable. In the new land, we will rebuild the school and start a farm large enough to support the dietary needs of at least 120 primary school students, the salaries of the teachers and caretakers, school materials and school maintenance fees for years to come.
(David Gido, the young founder and head master of the Flood Garden School)We would like to rely less and less on charity and use this seed money to work to become a model of self-reliance for our students. We are asking for seed money to turn our Flood Garden School into the Flood Garden Primary Farm School. We also welcome help in the form of information, contacts, ideas and technical support.
We are Teachers helping Teachers
My name is Matinga Ragatz. I have been a successful educator for over 20 years. I have received multiple education awards, including 2011 Michigan Teacher of the Year, and have an interest in redefining the purpose of schools to create better economic opportunities for children by providing a more relevant education experience (my credentials ). I met the founder of this Arusha school, David Gido in 2012 when I traveled to Tanzania. I worked with him to design the Flood Garden concept and created the current school curriculum. We have been working together since then and have developed a lifelong friendship.
My friend Denise Walker and I belong to the Network of Michigan Educators, an organization of award winning teacher leaders from the state of Michigan working to strengthen and elevate the teaching profession. When I told Denise about David Gido, she immediately responded to the call for action joined our team. Because David Gido is a teacher, he is one of us and his school is now OUR SCHOOL.
We asked ourselves,
WHAT IF...teachers and friends of great education would help support David and his innovative farm school project? What if the farm school provided real problem/inquiry opportunities for children from all over the world to do research and find solutions?
Denise Walker retired from serving as an early elementary teacher and Language Arts specialist in an urban setting in Lansing MI. (1997-2014) During her teaching tenure she used project/inquiry based learning as her primary teaching context (Link to some of Denise’s work ). In 2010 she achieved National Board Certification, the highest credential available for teachers in the United States. As a highly accomplished teacher she founded a state wide network dedicated to promoting and supporting National Board Certification in Michigan. While working as a program developer at Michigan State College of Education (1993-1997) she helped pioneer demonstration site schools across that nation that exemplified best practice in service learning. From the beginning of her educational journey she has believed in the John Dewey model of hands on education.
What makes the Flood Garden Farm School Project stand out?
Problem/Inquiry based learning model
We aim to offer learning opportunities that build on the ingenuity of children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Everyday, we work to help our students tell their story and imagine a future where they are not shakled to their biographies.
We aim to focus on building a diverse set of skills to allow our students to better seize opportunities to improve their quality of life. With simple tools and concepts that respect traditional ways, we build skills that will enable them to find their way in today’s global economy.
We aim to make our programs self-sustaining with a decreasing reliance on charity and financial sponsorship.
-We aim to place small in-house industries in our learning models to encourage hands-on opportunities from an early age.
-We aim to set up long-term learning programs that start at age 3 and follow them into young adulthood.
We aim to create our problem/Inquiry-Based Learning model that is tailored for the cultural and social needs of the children we serve.
Our teachers are well trained in our learning models. As native citizens of their community, they are deeply committed to the mission of improving the quality of life and self-determination of children through education.
Your generous contributions will go towards
-Purchasing 2 acres of land appx 40-50 miles from current location
-Digging 2 water wells for farming and for the school
-Building adequate safe residential options for some of our homeless students
-Paying for 3-4 months training for the teachers and staff (large scale farming)
-Building one outhouse/washroom, an outdoor kitchen and tool/storage shed
-Purchasing a small school van to transport the children to school and to transport the farm goods to market
-Purchasing 6 goats, 20-30 chickens, fish, rabbits and a few ducks
-Building 2 large fish farm ponds
-Building safe animal pens and providing feed for them
-Buying and electricity generator
-Purchasing farm equipment (e.g., vegetable seeds, insect netting, organic fertilizers, water hoses, etc)
-Building classrooms
We also welcome your ideas, suggestions, networks, advise and technical support. (@matinga)
(Latifa and Lilian's mom got green pepper seeds from our garden and now can celebrate her own harvest)Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and for understanding the urgency of our situation. The community around the school has benefited greatly from our seed gifts and community education programs.
With your help, David and his staff can not only keep up the good work with our students but continue to create a better quality of life for our kiddos and their families.
Thank you for telling your friends and families about us. We are certain that our students will be the future engineers, farmers, doctors, teachers and leaders in the city of Arusha.
ASANTE SANA
(Thank you very much)
Click HERE for 2018-19 Project Update
Organizer
Matinga Ragatz
Organizer
DeWitt, MI
