CARTA A DOMINIC

Dear Dominic,

I have no words to thank you mosT sincerely for having made my DREAM BECOME TRUTH!

I studied at Escola Anexa from the age of 8 to 12 (Primary Education in Mozambique). The school was made out of trees and covered by grass. It had no doors, chairs, desks or windows. We sat on chunks of wood and wrote on our legs! Every Saturday we had to cut grass to cover the school ceiling, as to prevent the rain falling into our classrooms! Cutting grass to cover the school ceiling was the most unpleasant experience I ever had. It was very painfull exercise as in order to last longer, only 'pulled grass' and not the grass that was cut would be accepted by the teachers! For young kids as myself pulling the grass was dangerous as the grass was sharp. If badly handled it would wound as it did so often! Up to now, though more than 30 years have elapsed, when I recall the Saturday grass cuttings exercise, I can not stop the tears in my eyes!

I left the school in 1982, when I was 12 years old. Went to the then and up to now only secondary school in he district. My class had about 40 students and there were only two places at the secondary school! Competition was fierce: only the two best students would gain access to secondary school. I made it, with another classmate, Rogerio Jucundo, who came second best and went all the way to get a degree in economics at the Eduardo Mondlane University. Rogerio now works for he Regional Branch of the Mozambicxan Electricity Company in Beira. Most of my 35 or so colleagues never made it, so the were very good students! It pains me when from time to time I meet some of them selling gods at the local markets or worse!

Twenty years later I visited the school and I could not believe what I was seeing: the same old school, the same building with no chairs, windows or doors!

I had no money to help but I decided to do something! The rest you know!

Once again thank ou very much for helping me help my people!

Your thankful,

Manuel de Araujo

Sao Domingo, Dominican Republic