Mshiri Vocational Training School

Vocational Training School

Gilbert (left) in his workshop

Gilbert supervises workshop

In order for the training school to be self-supporting we have some income-producing projects. One of these is a carpentry workshop.

Donated carpentry and joinery machinery has been installed and the workshop is being run by Gilbert Mremi as a commercial enterprise to help support the vocational training school with its running costs.

The School is connected to three-phase electricity and has electrical equipment as well as many handtools for use by its students.

The second and third year carpentry students learn to use the machinery in the workshop.

The Village Crafts Shop and Cafe sells some of the items made at the Vocational Training School.

At Marangu Mtoni, next to the new shop, we have built traditional thatched huts as used by the Chagga tribe. There are very few of these left and the Chagga traditions are being forgotten. This is not only a tourist income-generating venture but will serve to educate the local children in the traditions of their forefathers.

Chagga house.

Chagga house.

The second hut was built to show the next stage of traditional building which used a form of wattle and daub.

Chagga hut.

The training courses being offered have been reconsidered as the school needs more students, and more who are able to pay full fees so that the charity’s considerable annual subsidy can be slowly reduced to nothing.

A new course in motor-mechanics is now planned to offer general mechanics, as well as computer-assisted motor repair in the future. Additionally, computer training will be offered to all students at the school and this will be linked with the Guerba Computer Centre and form a satellite branch of it.

The new motor-mechanics garage and workshop is being built on a new site at Njia Panda. This is on a main highway on the plains which will make it accessible to all vehicles. The building is underway and the garage might be operational at the beginning of 2012.

Much of the money for this new project has come from a sponsored climb of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The plans for the motor-mechanics course and acquisition of land at Njia Panda meant that work on the accommodation building at the school was put 'on hold'. The garage and workshop will be completed first and then the boarding accommodation will be completed so that the course can be advertised for students from towns and cities further afield who need to board and who can pay commercial fees to help with the running expenses of the school.

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Accommodation being built

New boarding accommodation