Global Poverty Monitor

Next we went to the Marara Center, which is a school with a boarding house for students who live too far away. This was very impressive, and it was great to see just how far they had come for a new school in a new ADP. The school was very much focused on teaching its students skills that they can use as a career in their later life. They had gardens and orchards already established in some very rich soil. They offered us lemons to taste, and they were fully grown and very healthy and tasty. We saw they sewing room, where they had two very old-fashioned, clunky sewing machines. On the floor was an enormous pile of corn, taking up most of the room. This was their harvest from last year, which will then be separated from the husks, ground up, and made into porridge. We looked at some sewing and embroidery that the students had done, and it really was very good, and very professional.

We were allowed to see inside the dormitories, and unfortunately this area was the least developed. The first dormitory we saw slept around 30, but had only two straw mats on the floor, and a small bed with a straw mat. Serena asked how much the mats were to buy, and Alex replied that they were around $AU1.50. We all decided to pool some money to give to the school personally (i.e. not on behalf of World Vision). I gave 500’000 Mtc, which is around $27AU. Most of us gave around the same amount. The headmaster of the school was a quiet, gentle man, who seemed genuinely happy to have us there and proud of his school and the students. He was also very grateful and happy to receive the money, and agreed with Serena when she said we would like to see more beds and sewing supplies bought with the money, but that he could use it for some other purpose if he thought it better.