All the dust and dirt − piles and piles of it − was shoveled into buckets and moved outside, filling in the trenches around the building where plumbing had been laid, and covering our volunteers. Next, our wooden plank ramps were replaced by solid ground, now sloping up to meet the doorways.

In preparation for painting and installing windowpanes, each of the metal window frames and grills had to be completely cleaned of cement, rust and dust, a process that kept volunteers straining on ladders. This job was helped along yesterday by our youngest volunteer, Christophe Poulin, who has arrived ready to work, along with his family. Christophe spent his first day on-site working hard, and has already made friends with many of the local kids! A young Maasai girl named Tumaini, is also now part of ROTH, as one of our scholars. For her story, see our Personality of the Week profile .

After a hard day, the volunteers know that many others around the world are supporting their work. Most recently, we’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people who have donated online at the Giving Pages of volunteer Dr. Christine Lee and Board member Mylène Dmitri. So far, $5,000 has been donated to ROTH through Christine’s page, and what’s more, she’ll be matching all donations up to a total of $5,000! 

Mylène, who serves on our Board and has been a major fundraiser, lives here in Arusha. She has been instrumental in coordinating this project, and has raised $3,770 on her page thus far.

As we begin our final month of constructing the classrooms and dorms of the Maasai Women Secondary School, we’d like to say thank you to all the generous donors who have supported the work of ROTH, as well as all of our wonderful volunteers!

Volunteer Christophe plays with kids from nearby villages.

The dust flies as volunteer Sophie cleans off all the window grills in preparation for painting.