We have been approached by Pastor Urio Elipokea for help in completing the building of a  new school in Kisongo just outside Arusha, Tanzania. The Pastor works as a taxi driver to raise money to help build the school and pay his staff he has also sold all of his personal belongings to get this project off the ground. He has four staff working for him.

The project was started so that the youngest children of the village do not have to cross a very busy road that separates the village and also walk the long distance to the nearest school which is already overcrowded with up to eighty pupils to a class. The main road  which they have to cross has already claimed a few lives and also many injuries.

We are trying to raise £1899 to complete the second classroom. If you would like to help please donate to African Orphans UK stating which project you would like to assist with

 "Education is the key to progress"

Ensue Community School is run by a small church community of Kisongo. It was the idear of Paster Elipokea W. Urio. Soon after God sent him to the poor area to start a church he realized the problem of education. He wanted to help the kids who were hearding goats and cows without knowing anything about thier future.

In May 2006 he started a group discussion within a temporary structure (church), and the class started from there. He had to teach them in Kiswahili to the end of last year (2006), but realized that Swahili would not be  enough to build a stong base of education.

He started with 82 pupils when the education was free but when he introduced a small  fee, the number decreased to only 4 early that year, simply becouse most of the parents couldn't afford the $5.00 per month contribution for the teachers and staffs salary.

Early in 2007 he hired a professional English medium teacher with the small contributions made  from the parents and  by selling his own personal possesions like his car, TV and phone to pay his wages. The class has now grown to 35 pupils and the number is increasing day by day.

The small amount of funds he has raised so far has enabled the classroom construction to begin but thay still need to be completed and the furnished.

OUR GOAL

The overall goal of Ensue Community School is to achive a transformation in Education of all its poor families in our communities, enabling them to enroll and succeed in education.

 Please help the community of Kisongo and make a donation or sponsor a child to attend school!

Paster Urio was interviewed by the Arusa Times for the following artical.

www.arushatimes.co.tz/local_news_6.htm

Youths network braces for active role in development

By Edward Selasini

Youths in Arusha have formed a group called Arusha Youth Network (AYN) with the aim of creating direct interaction among the youth organizations and other parties. The network wants to facilitate active youth participatory projects, policy design, (from grassroots level to regional level) and advocate youth development.

The chairperson of the network Elipokea Urio, speaking to the press last week, said that they wanted to bring about a real change amongst the youth in the areas of development, poverty reduction, HIV and AIDS, policy design. The initiative will supposedly support decision making at all levels.

Urio said another goal of the network was to create unity between Arusha Youth Network, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), political parties and government officials.

AYN will mobilize target groups from a grassroots level to a regional level through sports, games, culture and other talents.

 
The AYN steering committee includes the chairman Elipokea Urio, executive secretary Regina Njau and Moses Mashalla who is the coordinator.

Treasurer of the committee is Itika Martin, while sports and games officer is Edward Noah and Henry Cigwasi is the deputy secretary.

Arusha Youth Network was formed on March 16 this year with the vision of fusing youth and change, an idea from the World Bank.