Update From Tanzania!
Students at the Shade School cafeteria.
The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
- Psalm 121:5-6
Shade School - Tanzania
In 2023, ARDF partnered with Shade, a Christian organization in Tanzania focused on empowering children, families, and communities affected by albinism and other vulnerabilities. Tanzania has a higher prevalence of albinism, and these students are often marginalized in many ways. Shade’s vision is to provide a safe, unsegregated educational environment where these students can thrive, grow, and encounter the Gospel. Their school has begun recently but is already becoming well known in the community for the excellent education it provides for all of its students. ARDF helped to raise money for a new cafeteria and a third school bus at Shade School.
Susan Grubbs, part of the Shade team in the United States, recently visited Shade School and was able to see the new cafeteria and school bus. She shared the following with us.
It was a joy to be in Tanzania last month and see the impact of your support at Shade School.
Twice each day, 207 children make their way across campus to a spacious new cafeteria to enjoy breakfast or lunch. It is a place full of noisy conversation and joy as the children sit with their friends at new tables and chairs, in a space designed to meet their needs for years to come. They waste no time finishing off meals: beans and maize; enriched porridge; ugali, beans and pumpkin leaves; and other traditional Tanzanian meals. Since the school year began in January, over 18,000 meals have already been served in the cafeteria. For some children, these meals make up the most substantial part of their daily diet.
All but a handful of Shade students board the buses in the afternoon to go home and again in the morning as they return to school. It is one of their favorite parts of the day. They pile in together—kids with albinism and without, those from vulnerable homes and those living above the poverty line, those with and without disabilities, those from Christian, Muslim, and non-religious families—competing for space to wave goodbye out of the windows. Most of Shade’s scholarship children would not be able to attend Shade School without the buses, as their parents rely on bicycles, hired boda-bodas (motorcycle or bicycle taxis) and their feet for transportation. ARDF’s matching gift was essential in securing an essential third bus this year so more children can go to school.
With your help, Shade is taking the children who are most rejected and least likely to get any privileges of society, and giving them a quality education, nutritious food, free transportation, a place among their peers, medical care, and most importantly, the love of Jesus. Thank you for partnering with Shade to be the Lord’s hands and feet as He fulfills His promises in Psalm 121:5-6: “The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.”
We are inspired by the work of Shade and thankful for their loving presence in Tanzania!
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