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The small community of Rongai is located near the base of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Many of the elementary students from this community are faced with walking 10-15 kilometers a day morning and night to the closest Rongai school . A makeshift classroom has been set up inside a poorly built church called the Rongai Satellite school. This reduces the walk for many students to only 4 -6 kilometers a day. This over populated makeshift one room classroom instructs over 106 students with no toilets or water. This temporary space in the church is now needed and therefore the students are faced with finding other accommodations.

A green space is now available allowing the community to build a new school for the Rongai children, however they are extremely limited to funding and resources in order to complete the building of this structure.

Through Expedition Africa, Algonquin College it has created a number of fundraising inititiatives that will allow all monies raised by the students and staff to go directly towards the building of this desperately needed school.

Preparations are now in place to allow a carpentry professor and student to travel to the village of Rongai to meet with Expedition Africa team before they climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Together, with the help of the local community, they will unite in the construction of a new school . This school will provide these students with the proper infrastructure they need to provide them with the education they deserve.

Any additional dollars raised by Algonquin students and staff will go directly towards the legacy fund that we hope will allow us to build a well with running water and provide better learning tools and materials to the school.

Students and staff can raise money by purchasing and selling Algonquin College Rainforest Coffee "SombraCafe Coffee".  For more information, please go to www.sombracafe.com or contact Dan Stratton at (613)727-4723 ex. 2177

For more information on how you can get your class and/or coworkers involved in fundraising opportunities for the Rongai/Algonquin school please contact Dan Stratton or Tammy Thornton at (613)727-4723 ex. 5062