DINKA Update

We are so excited to report that our kids in the Pilot House program have just finished their very first school year with DINKA Schools and they have done tremendously!

For those of you who don't already know, DINKA is "a newly established English medium school in Arusha that offers quality pre-primary and primary education that meets parents and pupils demands and current trends in education" - Mr Mchuma, Principle of DINKA.

In June and July, the kids' learnings were focused on plants, trees, flowers, and farming. DINKA arranged a school trip for the children to the Agricultural University in Tengeru. The kids loved the field trip, making it an enriching and exciting way to finish off the unit!

Fabulous photo of the children in the classroom, courtesy of DINKA! 

To finish off this year's school program, the DINKA students put on an end-of-year concert which almost all of The Small Things volunteers and staff were in attendance. One of our volunteers, Mark, is a teacher by profession and was able to assist the children with their performance which included a drama, song and dance. Everyone had a brilliant time!

We are extremely proud of their progress, seeing improvements in our kids' English language skills, cognitive reasoning, vocational skills, motor skills, mathematics and reading. While the successes are many, we will continue to work with the children on their weaker areas to ensure they are prepared for next year's classes.

A brilliant concert!

While the children have been on summer vacation this month, Anna, Auntie, Isaak, Queen and Agape from the Pilot House have left to spend the holidays with their extended families. We have also welcomed to the Pilot House a few of the older kids who were raised at the Nkoaranga Orphanage, but had gone off to boarding school through another organization, TFFT. As they don't have family to return to over this break, our Pilot House kids have welcomed their old friends, treating each other as brothers and sisters. Further, extra volunteer shifts were scheduled for the Pilot House to ensure the children received increased attention and stimulation during their break.

We are so grateful to have such dedicated volunteers who make such a difference to the lives of the children.

To top it all off, we will be welcoming four new additions to the Pilot House! This next upcoming school year, Baracka, Maureen, Miriam and Neema will be moving up from the Orphanage now that they have all turned five and are ready to join the rest of their friends at DINKA School! We are so excited to see them thrive in their new environment. That said, all four children will be in need of additional sponsorship to support this new chapter in their lives. If you or anybody you know might be interested in sponsoring their education, we'd be extremely grateful if you could take a look and share our Education Sponsorship link.

Beautiful girl, Miriam! 

Our stylish little lady, Neema!

Our funny and cheeky little man, Baracka!

Our fantastic little mama, Maureen! 

So, to complete this school year, The Small Things would like to say a MASSIVE thank you for allowing such projects to happen and to be so successful. The children are clearly happy and we cannot express our gratitude enough. Your gracious contributions and support are appreciated wholeheartedly and do not for a second go unnoticed.

Asante Sana! (Thank you very much!)

The Small Things

Happy and content children. The perfect picture.