Peace House

Peace House
Main building, offices, classrooms, teacher space.

Class rooms

Mount Meru in the background.

Their globe for education
 is a blow up globe.

After a quick lunch at Tumanni Cottage, we took off for Peace House which is a school for orphans. Most of the orphans are here because their parents died of HIV/AIDS. The school opened in 2007, we visited it in 2008 when it was very new and just beginning. A beautiful 150 acre property with very new buildings. However, in the last couple years because of poor/corrupt financial management it almost closed in March 2012. The last director ran it into the ground, was not paying vendors, accumulated a lot of debt, meals were cut, programs were cut, salaries weren't being paid -- and in the end he paid off his unpaid staff by telling them to take whatever they wanted and then he himself just disappeared. He told them that they could "take a roof if they could find away to do it." The school was stripped bare, science instruments gone, computers gone, copier gone, if it wasn't nailed down it was gone. It was left to bare bones. Of the 17 teachers left, only 7 stayed.

In March 2012, Bishop Thomas Laiser stepped in to save the school from closing even for 18 months. At that time, of the 140 students left, 70 graduated, leaving only 70. Today, the school has 320 students -- but very little equipment. The school is on its way back but needs help...financial and gifts like computers. It really tugged at my heart because I saw it when it was so very vibirant and filled with life and activity.

Please note, that the pictures below are from 2008...the welcome desk was full with someone to greet us -- now no one there. The rooms were warm and decorated. There was activities on the activity board, a new tractor in the court yard, students, now all of that is missing -- although the students are coming back there is no science equpment, the computer lab is empty, books are scarce and this all happened just recently in March 2012. It breaks my heart because the potential was so great for orphans of AID victims.

Once front desk

They once had equipment...gone.

A computer lab without any computers.