There has been so much happening at Bandari this year. Keep reading to get an update!

End of the School Year

As we head towards the end of the school year we have been reflecting on what has been a very busy year, and celebrating a lot of fantastic accomplishments. Our Grade 4 class recently sat their National Exams and the kindergarten class also recently held a mini graduation celebration, marking the end to their first year at Bandari. We wanted to say Thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped make this happen.

Magic Summer Festival

We are extremely excited to announce that we are holding our first ever Magical Summer Festival on the 6th of January from 11am – 6pm at the Port Fairy Showgrounds. This will be a celebration of local music, food, beer and wine. We will also have a range of free activities for children to enjoy such as: jumping castle, mini golf and giant games.

We have a great group of musicians performing on the day including Eddy and the Exciters, Evie Mae, Danielle and Scott, Lee Sonnyboy Morgan and Flynn Gurry.

Tickets are $25 per person available via the button below (Accompanied children under 16 are free).

This is our major fundraiser for the year and we would really love to see our supporters there to enjoy what should be a fantastic day.

The Meades visit Bandari

Daniel and Michaela Meade spent a month in the middle of 2023 volunteering at Bandari, together with their four children. They shared the following reflections with us about their time there:

The thought to travel to Tanzania and volunteer at Bandari came about by chance, only 3 months prior to us landing at Mt Kilimanjaro airport. We had been considering what would be a fulfilling trip for us to make with our four children when an article about Bandari appeared. We then set up a few meetings to research what would be involved and how to make it happen. Obviously we had some reservations about how we would go travelling the 30 hour journey with our 4 kids under the age of 8, who had not been further than QLD. However after we chatted to others who had been before, we asked our kids if they would be keen – they jumped at the opportunity. Despite nerves they were very excited at the prospect of meeting new friends, seeing a new country, seeing lions and elephants but also they were pumped at the thought of unlimited movies on the plane.

The kids got right amongst it from day one, it was easy for them to feel welcome because of the great nature of the students and teachers at Bandari. Our older three , Seamus, Ailish and Cassidy spent each school day in the classroom learning with the other students. When possible they joined in the class lessons. When this was not possible they worked on some material provided by their regular school, St Thomas’ Terang. They all got involved in the playtime activities and it was pleasing to see them playing so well with the local students. Our youngest, Keenan, was enrolled at the nearby childcare centre who also were fantastic at making him feel welcome and he even learnt a few songs from his short time there.

Our roles at the school included: aiding the teachers, dental health promotion, assisting with the animals on the farm, perimeter fencing repairs, helping with the new biogas system and painting some of the classrooms. We also got into the playtime games, with several lunch breaks kicking the Aussie Rules footy and playing markers up. The students were naturals and picked up the skills very quickly. There were also multiple very serious games of volleyball that included the students and teachers. One day a teacher even asked the Principal for a lunchtime extension to complete the match.

 Our kids got a lot from the trip, from making new mates, handling being outside their normal environment, learning a new way in the classroom, immersed in a new culture and seeing the Big 5 game animals on our safari.

We would like to thank the teachers at Bandari for making us all feel welcome. It was a real joy to see how they genuinely cared for their students. The project manager, Glory, was extremely helpful with whatever we needed and the school is very fortunate to have her and her skills on board. Mama Jacqui showed great care for us in our accommodation at the Hospital House as did the local doctors and nurses whp called in regularly to say “mambo”. As mentioned, we received great help from home prior to the trip. Thank you Martin and Karen, Seif and Catherine, Charlie, Ruth and Glen.

We look back on our time in Mto Wa Mbu with great memories from our experiences and even more so from the wonderful people we met. We would highly recommend a volunteer visit to the school to anyone, even those with young children, actually, especially those with young children as they will learn so much from the experience that will stay with them forever. We have seen what great work the school does. Most of the students would not be going to school at all, if it weren’t for Bandari. So if don’t already sponsor a student, and you can spare $300/yr, please consider supporting a student or two through their education. We can see that Bandari makes a world of difference to the children of Mto Wa Mbu.

We need your help

We have two really important roles that need filling for next year – if you have the skills required, or know someone who has, please let us know.

Treasurer: As our Treasurer, you will join our board and be responsible for recording and monitoring our financial situation, preparing annual budgets in conjunction with the Project Manager, transferring funds to Tanzania, and presenting financial statements to the board.

Bandari’s annual budget is currently around $150K and our finances are managed using Xero software.  Our current treasurer can help get you familiar with our systems and ensure a smooth transition.

Media and Promotions volunteer: As our Media and Promotions officer, you will be responsible for creating content for a range of media platforms, primarily our Facebook and Instagram pages. We also produce several newsletters per year for our supporters. Content ideas and photographs are generated in conjunction with other Board members and our Project Manager.

Could this be you? If you would like more information please email us at thebandariproject@gmail.com 

The Wild Nature Institute

We were very lucky to have a visit from the Wild Nature Institute recently. They are an organisation that promotes the protection of animals and the environment.

They provided us with over 100 storybooks and took two of our classes on a safari to Tarangire National Park. This is a special experience that it generally out of reach to most locals due to cost factors. Our lucky Grade 3 and 6 students had a wonderful day trip in the national park amongst the wildlife.

Thank you so much to the Wild Nature Institute for supporting our school.

The Bandari Family is growing

We are so excited to be soon welcoming two new members to the Bandari family. Our Project Manager Gloria, and our Principal Zawadi are both expecting babies in the new year.  We wish them all the very best and can’t wait to meet our new family members.

Selecting our new students

Our team have been busy visiting families and interviewing students as part of the process for selecting our new kindergarten class. This is an extremely difficult job, as there are so many students that we would like to help. If you are interested in sponsoring one of our kindergarten students in 2024 please click to find out more.

Merry Christmas!

Our students are looking forward to Christmas. They have been enjoying making art work and decorations to celebrate. On behalf of our students and our Bandari team we wanted to wish all our wonderful supporters a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for your continued support, Bandari would not exist without you – we cannot thank you enough.