The schools in Kalwala do not only get pupils and students from the nearby villages but also from places further away. This is because the possibilities to get education in the region are limited. But also the good reputation of the schools in Kalwala plays a part. Attracting students from far away is nice but has a drawback. Walking all the way from home, spending the day at school and then walking back home without any food is tough, especially for teenagers. And not only that, insufficient nutrition also slows down the intellectual development and limits the ability to concentrate. Therefor there was already for some time the wish to supply all students – about 400 in total – daily with a healthy meal at lunchtime. Hence we were all very happy when the foundation School Support and Beyond offered to adopt the realization of the necessary facilities as a project (the Schoollunch project). They will (financially) take care of the construction and furnishing of a dining hall and kitchen and the realization of a school garden for growing maize and vegetables. Last November the project had its kick-off and the maize has been planted – just in time to make full use of the rainy season. Soon the construction of the dining hall will start.

The administration block that has been worked on all 2013 reaches its completion. The building also has a staff room for teachers of as well the secondary school as the vocational school. In this staff room a computer and Internet facility is going to be realized. In that way lecturers have the opportunity to keep track of the latest developments in their fields and to enrich their lessons with realistic and up to date examples.

A delegation of the foundation mentioned before as well as a representative of SOZ will visit the schools in Kalwala by the end of next March. During that trip they hope to realize the computer facilities and to discuss the Schoollunch project with stakeholders in the schools and with representatives of the Ministry. These discussions will also give input to the new Strategic Plan. As well this Plan as the evaluation of the past planning period will be published on the SOZ website by the end of 2014,