Recently Mama Lucy wrote this note, and sent the photos below, to share with you her next goal: a school bus for Shepherds Junior. She wrote:

“Our next goal is to have reliable transport for children and teachers. The school van we have is for 18 passengers, but carries more than 30 pupils and five teachers. In order to fit, they have to carry one another. More than 140 of our pupils depend on one school van and one hired van for transport each day.

If it was possible for our school to move from a rented building to our very own new beautiful buildings, and if we started carrying pupils with one “Toyota Corolla” as transport (carrying up to 10 pupils instead of 5) in 2004 and now we have a school van, definitely, we can move from that to our school bus. How? I don’t know, but I know there’s a way!

This came in my mind several times one evening before I went to bed, on 19th June 2008. I closed my eyes, then started to see the trend of pictures of how we started. It was like a movie. A very interesting one!

Abruptly, a certain song came in my mind called There’s a way to Cross River Jordan. I found myself singing the song for not less than 15 minutes.

By then, I was trying to think of how pupils are squeezing in our school van and a hired vehicle. There’s no more space for even a single child. The teachers too, are squeezing in the same vehicles. Not enough air inside, but they are still happy! That’s how we are moving!

What will be next if more students will join our school, and need to use the school transport? That is a major question clicking in my head.

We do remember of how you good people struggled to make sure we have land and buildings. As you did for that, your donations still count a lot! Many new children have come to our school since you’ve helped us to build such a great facility; now we need to find a way to get all of the children who want to attend our school safely to and from school each morning and evening.

Thank you so much for your help. We do really appreciate it!

Tomorrow, I’ll depart Frankfurt for Tanzania. On this trip, I’d hoped (and still hope!) to make our next loan, for a school bus for Shepherds Junior. While we’ve raised over $6,000 toward the effort to date, the total cost of the bus is estimated to be $25,000 - so we’re definitely not there yet. As of now, we also have outstanding commitments for an additional $12,500, but we’re not certain when these funds will be made available to us; they may not come in until later this year. In any case, to cover the entire cost, we need to raise an additional $6500 as soon as possible. I really hope you’ll help by donating now, and spreading the word to others who might be able to help out. Remember, this school was built primarily from donations of about $20; if we all do a little, together we can make an epic difference.

One of the parents at the school, Gidori, once told us that his son, Gideon, wouldn’t be able to attend Shepherds Junior if transportation weren’t offered. He simply can’t afford any other form of transportation that’s safe for his son.

What impact has the availability or lack of school transportation options meant to your child’s education?