Ruaha Secondary School
Honors & Grants
2008 Sustainable Design Condo's
Benefit Ruaha
Architect and developer, Ben Hufford, merges the highest design and building standards into his new housing development project in Portland, Oregon, US and then designates money from each sale to build dormitories for Ruaha. When the buyer purchases a three-bedroom condo at the "Tanzamook" on Tillamook Street, Hufford says, "the fourth bedroom is in Africa." Ben plans to go to Ruaha to help coordinate the design and construction of the dormitory. Ben Hufford was the architect who traveled to Tanzania in 2006 to create development plans on behalf of the architecture firm Yost Grube hall.
2008 Karimimanesh Memorial Fund
The first $10,000 of the Naiyareh Karimimanesh Memorial Fund has been received. This is part of an $80,000 commitment to Ruaha Secondary in Tanzania specifically to build another boy's dormitory. This fund was established by Naiyareh's family in her memory and the dormitory will be built in her honor.
2008 International Foundation
The International Foundation of Fairfield, NJ, granted approval of a $13,636 grant towards the science lab equipment and furniture for Ruaha Secondary School.
2008 Houston Frees Foundation
This small foundation in Houston has granted the Ruaha School a $10,000 Grant for science laboratory development.
2006 Computer Training for Teachers
The goal is to train teachers at Ruaha Secondary School, in Tanzania, so that they can certify their students upon graduation in various IT tracks, in order that their skills will be marketable in the workplace.
Tena West, a technical trainer from Microsoft® in Redmond, and Paymon Amini of San Francisco, both technology training experts, worked with the teachers at Ruaha from mid-August until early September.
They gave an intense technology workshop on the basic Microsoft® curriculum for Office – Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint®, and took an LCD projector with them as a gift to the school and to help in their presentation of the material.
Tena also offered an “Executive Secretary Certification Program” which she and Mahnaz Javid designed.
The special sacrifice of these two professionals is exemplified by this fact: until they met at the airport, they had never met one another. A shared mission and trust brought the two teachers together to serve.
Paymon writes, “I can't express to you how amazing this trip was. 
Tanzania itself was just a different world. I'm still not over being there. Tena was a great presence, always positive and always looking for ways to offer more training in various areas to help these people out. I was also very much amazed at how Becky Fairley and other members of the staff handle everything and run the school. They have to deal with a different shade of adversity and are doing a marvelous job. The last day at the school the kids put on a show singing and dancing that had me speechless. 
I will treasure these moments for life.”
More photos taken by Tena:
2006 New Kitchen and Well Donated
The Zamani family offered $100,000 to provide a new kitchen and well after their return from the visit in February. John Truchard from San Francisco has also most generously contributed toward the additional expenses of the construction of the well. After seeing the needs at Ruaha, he, too, was determined to assist in the school's development by seeing that major construction objectives were covered. We so appreciate these thoughtful and most timely gifts as all the water at the school had to be boiled before using. THANK YOU!
top2006 Four Men Visit Ruaha to Help
Development Plan
For four days in February, Mr. Payam Zamani, Mr. Mansour Movafagh, Mr. Abdul Hussain Zamani and Mr. John Truchard toured Ruaha Secondary School in Tanzania. They walked over the 72 acres of land that the school owns, spoke with the staff, students and parents to learn their feelings about the school and assess the needs there. They created a stacked-ranked list of priorities to be addressed.
The result of these extensive investigations is that they feel the school is very well-run and the students are happy being there. The staff is dedicated to their students and together they are accomplishing the development plan set forth for the next five years. However, there are some urgent pressing needs which should be addressed. Among these are a new kitchen, a new bore hole (well) and the construction of two science classrooms. As it is now, all three meals a day for the 700 students are prepared in pots over wood burning fires outdoors. This substandard kitchen has served the school since the beginning, but certainly needs to be replaced now. Water, too, is a true concern. All the drinking water must be boiled before use. A reliable, clean source of water is a must.
Because both the need for a new kitchen and the well are pressing concerns, Payam and his wife, Gouya, have most generously and immediately determined to provide the funds for a kitchen for the school as well as a new bore hole. Such generous hearts they have to meet the needs of so many!
A local engineer is helping with information about improved, fuel efficient wood stoves that will be the core of the new kitchen. Soon a local architect will begin drawings of the kitchen itself and the surrounding building.
A formal proposal from the water authority in Iringa is expected soon to help Ruaha staff in locating the new well, designing the distribution system (pump, tanks, pipes), preparing the tender documents, selecting the drilling company and doing the follow up water testing.
The new boy's dorm funded last summer is about 2/3 through the completion of the foundation. Heavy rains during this second half of the rainy season slowed construction progress after a real drought during the first half. The goal is still to complete the building by the end of September.
Here are some more pictures of the school classes, students and campus that were taken by these visitors:
2006 Yost Grube Hall Architect
Makes Site Visit
The Yost Grube Hall Architecture firm, in Portland, Oregon, has offered Mona Foundation their assistance in updating the master plan and arriving at a preliminary design for the boy's dormitory at Ruaha. Ben Hufford, who is a planner and architect, traveled to visit Ruaha in February 2006. After consulting with staff, students, parents, and maintenance personel, he has come up with a complete set of drawings, suggestions, and recommendations for the school for the next five years of development.
Upon his return to the United States, Ben met with colleagues here to share his drawings and plans. The architects asked questions about wetlands, water storage, building regulations and materials. A top priority suggested for the school is a well, as all water used for the school must be boiled at this time. Plans are being drawn up and proposals are underway. We thank Ben for his personal sacrifices and his time and talents in offering these gifts to the Ruaha school.