Progress up to July 15th 2007.

 On July 14th 2006 we successfully completed the purchase of one and a half acres of land, with water and shade , at Shiri Mgungani, some four kilometres from Moshi town.  The site has good access and a magnificent view of Kilimanjaro. We were warmly welcomed by the local people who anticipate many advantages to our building the learning and resource centre near their village.

By November 2006 we had plans for the centre professionally drawn up.  The centre will consist of a main building, comprising a science laboratory, computer laboratory with access to the Internet, a textbook library and a conference hall, together with seminar rooms and an office. In addition there will be a dining hall and kitchen and a small hostel.  The land around the buildings will be landscaped into gardens which will serve as outside classrooms.  Thus, the centre will be available to teachers seeking professional development, to classes at those many schools which do not possess science or computer laboratory facilities, to any groups who wish to hold conferences, and to adults who wish to extend their education in, for instance, computers.  The centre may also be used by the local community for social functions.

In late June 2007 we were able to begin construction.  We made the decision to start with the dining hall, on the grounds that this smaller building would provide us quickly with a space to work, with a space to meet and confer and with a basic space that might be used by the local community. The fact that the building will be equipped with a kitchen would also help to provide employment for the local community.  By July 15th the foundations were completed.  We expect this first building to be functioning by the end of 2007.

In addition to building, WATU has continued to support many local students from primary to university education, we have begun to distribute science, mathematics and English language textbooks  and we are sponsoring an important theatre in the community project in the latter part of the year.  We have plans for seminars on participatory pedagogy, and on the teaching of English.