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> VHUTSHILO MOUNTAIN SCHOOL (VMS) > VMS Projects > Building a School Addition
Building a School Addition
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Bricks for the new additions are made by the VMS Women's Support Group
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Recently we received a plea for assistance from our good friend, Sue-Ann Cook, Director of the Vhutshilo Mountain School. She writes, At the moment we are desperately trying to raise funds for 2 classrooms and a toilet block ...Funders in Geneva will help if we can (only) get initial funding for classrooms...
When we visited Vhutshilo Mountain School last summer, we were thrilled to see the new 2-room school that had been built with blocks made by the VMS support group women. It was a far cry from the original school which housed 8 students in the back of Suzi's mobile home. However, the need for quality education in the area continues to increase and her small school was bursting at the seams before it was even completed. The ever-growing VMS population of K-1 students is housed in the school's larger classroom while the smaller classroom holds the second and third graders. The hiring of a new teacher has allowed Suzi to separate 31 pre-schoolers and babies from the K-1 class, however, there was no classroom in which they could be housed. They were forced to use the dormitory of the newly built adjacent halfway house as their temporary classroom. Unfortunately, since this dorm room was built for VMS students who are battling with their strict ARV drug regime, the program had to be suspended for the present time.
Believing that education is the key to a successful future, HFL obviously felt that it was very important to assist Suzi in her pursuit of initial funding for these additional classrooms. Yet, a "desire to help" and "reality" aren't always well matched. We keep very little reserve in the HFL bank account convinced that your donations are better served helping the children rather than sitting in a bank. We are always pleasantly surprised, however, at how a generous donor always manages to send a contribution when we need it most and this was no exception.
This time, the Segal Family Foundation surprised us with a generous contribution enabling us to give Suzi the "initial funding" she needed in order to get matching monies from the Geneva funders. Mr. Barry Segal prospered in his business and became involved in what he called "the most important organization and experience in my life: The Segal Family Foundation. "The SFF philosophy coincides with HFL's philosophy in that "We believe that it is often not the amount of dollars, but the focus and effectiveness of the dollars invested that is most important."
Barry Segal founded Bradco Supply which is ranked as one of the nation's largest distributors of building materials. Once we received the breakdown of building costs, it made sense to earmark SFF's donation for the building of the new structure's roof since, ironically, Bradco began as a roofing distribution business.
To paraphrase the words of the Segal Family Foundation's mission: We continue to be grateful to all of you who ....help deserving people and improve the quality of their life....
DONATE NOW
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