A Fence for Water Buffalo

PTVN has let me know that kindergarten fund contributions have exceeded the project cost. Good news? Absolutely! The facility itself was only the first need; now we can tend to the details.

First, a little more information on the school. The village of A Xing is comprised of seven hamlets. Each hamlet needs its own kindergarten, but they share a single, larger primary school. With the addition of the David Warner Kindergarten three of seven hamlets now have facilities for their pre-primary kids.

Following are excerpts from an email "interview" with PTVN's in-country representative, Quang Le (more aptly called Saint Quang Le... you'll be hearing more about him in the future).

SWB: Where will the children go to school once they've "graduated" from Kindergarten?
Quang Le: They will go to the primary school that is located nearby.

SWB: How many students are attending?
Quang Le: 35 children.

SWB: Do the children have to pay to attend the school?
Quang Le: No, it is free.

SWB: Will the building also be used for meetings and other community functions?
Quang Le: It depends. The local authority can borrow the kindergarten to use for other hamlet multi-purposes when the school is off (or not in the school days).

SWB: Has the school been furnished and equipped with needed supplies?
Quang Le: They still need some more, especially one organ (keyboard) to serve for the music time. The average organ will range from $50-$100 USD.

SWB: Is there a plan to maintain the facility?
Quang Le: No. It does need to be painted each year.

SWB: Are there any special items (classroom or playground equipment, etc.) they might need?
Quang Le: There are three main items that the kindergarten really needs:

- A kitchen (children have to go back to their home for lunch, because the kindergarten has no kitchen). There is a project proposal for building a kitchen for A Xing kindergarten. It costs $1000.00 USD.

- Playground. The kindergarten now has no playground. They hope to have something like slide, see-saw, wheel... and it costs $700.00 USD minimum.

- Fence. Without fence, water buffaloes often go inside and damage the kindergarten.

A fence for water buffaloes? As Dorothy would say, "We're not in Kansas anymore."

Happily, the current Kindergarten fund surplus should go a long way toward meeting the needs identified by Quang Le. We hope to purchase and deliver the keyboard for the dedication ceremony on March 22. We should be able to approve the kitchen and fence... maybe even some playground equipment.

So thank you, one and all. In with the lunches, out with the water buffalo!