HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL

Mwereni School is among 33 government schools registered in Moshi Municipality. The school was found in 1943 and in 1989, the Unit for the Blind was started here; initially with 6 blind kids. Currently the school has 27 teachers,7 supporting staff and 700 pupils of which 37 out of them are visually impaired who fall into two main categories. There are 21 total blind kids (14 boys and 7 girls) and 16 partial blinds (9 boys and 7 girls) out of 37 visually impaired, 8 have skin problem whereby 6 of them are albinos and 2 have Xeroderma Pigmentsom(XP)

WHAT IS XERODERMA PIGMENTOSUM or in short XP

XP is a rare genetic skin disease. This is a disease where DNA is incapable of repairing itself especially to constant exposure in sun. The sun emits Ultra Violet Rays(UVrays) which has a disastrous damage to our normal skin and more dangerous to people with XP and albinos because they lack the pigment to protect them from the UVrys.For example, when the sun burns our normal skin our skins fights and the sunburn goes away before our skin gets roasted ,but people with XP the sunburn burns them furiously and it never goes away. It burns the corneas (outer layer of the eyes) ,the ears, the brain and the skin.

At the minimum, brief exposure to the sun can cause freckles and blistering, At its worst, XP can cause eye lesions that result in blindness, increased incidence of cancer of the lips, eyes, mouth, tongue, developmental disabilities, hearing loss and mental retardation. If the children with XP are not protected and grow up in the sun, the damage is irreversible, and fewer than 40 percent of patients survive beyond age 20.

A good example is one of our blind kids Ali Amir who has XP and he developed deadly skin cancer in his mouth which was fortunately removed in United States of America at the National Institute of Health Hospital where surgical removal of the lip lesion was done on 28th July 2005 by highly professional doctors of NIH under the workmanship of Professor Kenneth H.Kraemer the Head of National Cancer Institute in U.S.A. When Ali was asked how he felt immediately after the operation, he replied," My lip is no longer painful," It is no wonder that Ali Amir could have died, had he not received this treatment in U.S.A.

The trip to U.S.A was an opportunity to interact and
attend Camp Sundown. This is a special camp where children and adults with XP schedule their outdoor activities in the night that are usually performed during the day in order to avoid UV rays. It is therefore not surprising to call Children with XP THE CHILDREN OF THE MOON.

This medical visit in U.S.A has had really positive impact in our school.It has enabled us to gain comprehensive knowledge on XP, how to take care of kids with XP.It has cemented good supportive relationship with many friends in U.S.A as well as the donation of the Building which is Uv-proof and it cost $ 66,500.00.

This building can shade off ultra violent rays by
99.4% We hope that this project will be a challenge for the government and the community at large to develop special services for pupils with XP and Albinos all over the country .

APPRECIATIONS TO THE SOUTHBANK INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

On behalf of Mwereni Primary School I pay tribute to:
1. Philomena Clancy.
She first visited my school two years ago and in fact we had not even figured out that her visit would be so supportive and beneficial to my school .We have appreciated in the way she has been communicating to my school, the way she quickly realizes the problems
and needs of my school which have ultimately
brought about the unprecedented developmental projects mentioned above. We have learnt a great deal of how this teacher was apt to see the actual needs of my school, the way she was organizing and supervising her students under her care, the way she was working non-stop like bees. We regard Philomena as our a caring ,loving, ambitious , industrious ,innovative and a charismatic mother and teacher .Before her departure we signed a memorandum of Understanding aimed at cementing and encouraging this good relationship and friendship be maintained for the benefit of our two schools and of course two societies who share common historical background politically and in most cases culturally.

2.We also pay tribute to Russell and Hillary the co-teachers who rendered uncountable services to our school. We noticed how Russell worked non-stop to install and configure The Internet and download a lot of programs in our computer, rearranging the computers, etc, etc. Hillary on his side despite the severe sun managed to teach our kids sports and different games. In fact his impact into our students will have everlasting motivation in the world of sports and games, etc, etc 3.We pay tribute to all the students who worked so hard to make Mwereni change. Among other good works; the students taught in the classrooms, painted the classes, repaired our desks, digging the pipe-trenches, teaching sports, games, drama and the like. If you were able to see them how they were interacting with our teachers and students, you would think that they are students of one mother and one father. This shows that the students are well disciplined and that they have made many new friends and with Internet Service available in our school they will communicated from time to time. So we really pay tribute to:
NIDA,ALEX, ANDREA,MARINE,DARIA,EDDY,NATHAN,GREG,MATHEW
PETER,JOEL,MATHEW K and KADRI,SILVERNUS.

WE ALL LOVE AND APPRECIATE THE GOOD WORK DONE BY THE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF SOUTHBANK INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL.
As we celebrate the good achievements so far recorded, We still have a lot of challenges that need addressing so that the government in collaboration with Good well wishers and donors like the Southbank International School, can find ways of reducing the intensity of these needs hence enabling us to break loose from tentacles of poverty and backwardness through Education.

In the name of our ALIMIGHTY GOD We pray that the developments so far achieved must be maintained with all our energy.

Once again we Say ,AHSANTE SANA for accepting our invitation to visit my school and hopefully you be able to make other well wishers and donors realize the many needs faced by our blind kids in a poor country like Tanzania where- by without support from developed country we will not be able to make our people self-reliant to eradicate poverty through education. Finally we wish you and all the accompanying teachers and students a comfortable stay at Mwereni and a safe Journey back home.
DO REMEMBER US!
Sincerely,

DAMAS F. URENGE
THE HEADMASTER
MWERENI SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
P.0.BOX 10242
MOSHI-TANZANIA