Just back from a full day in the field. First we visited a community that is part of Plan's Promoting African Grassroots Economic Security (PAGES) project, which also comprises the donor group's school in Murambi. This future-school has yet to begin construction, so we met the community on the site where it will be built. We then visited a nearby school where most of the children who will attend the new school currently are. We learned from the Headmaster that classes are so full, and classrooms so few, that there is a double-shift to allow as many students an education as possible. Makes for a long day for the teachers, some of whom are still transitioning from teaching in French (the former official language of instruction) to English (mandated a few years ago).
Here the mayor of the area welcomes us back (we had met him last week at the donor group's Murambi school) and suggests that we consider a second home for all our visits :) He was very gracious.
In the afternoon we met a Village Savings and Loan Assn (VSLA). We sat in on their weekly mtg, to learn how they operate and how they are using their loans to ultimately increase opportunity for their families. This group was an extremely disciplined one - they set their own association rules and regulations, some of which include significant penalties for missing a meeting without a valid reason, being late for a meeting, or forgetting your association documents. This group was all business indeed!
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