Baking up new kitchen in Africa

BAKING FOR AFRICA: Rachel Judd is fundraising for a new kitchen for a school in Tanzania. PHOTO/GEORGE NOVAK

Tauranga woman Rachel Judd loves food so she is baking for Africa.

Miss Judd, 24, is baking biscuits in an effort to raise money to make sure kids in Tanzania get at least one decent meal a day.

The early childhood teacher travelled to Tanzania with her church last year to help at Joshua School Arusha. Many of the children at the school are sponsored to be there and could otherwise not afford to go to school.

"I loved it so much that I'm going back. I've already got the flights booked," she said. "Because I've decided to go back I wanted to contribute to the community. Because I love food I thought why not do this for the kitchen?"

Miss Judd leaves just before Christmas and will be volunteering at the school for three months. "I'm an early childhood teacher, trained as a primary teacher, so helping out in the school is my passion."

Each of the school's 270 students receives a cooked morning tea and lunch every day, she said.

"Some of the kids are sponsored to go to school so they come from really poor families so it could be the only meal they get every day."

Currently the food is cooked under a rough shelter with no storage facilities.

The school has already been given $2000 towards the kitchen and has put down a foundation, including the base of a cool store.

So far Miss Judd and a friend have baked more than 200 biscuits and raised about $200 from selling them.

Her givealittle page has also raised almost $800.

Miss Judd said her first trip to Tanzania had left a lasting impact on her.

"Africa couldn't be any more different to New Zealand if it tried.

"It was just the amount of poverty. Over there every second person you talk to has lost family because of disease, parents that have lost children, miscarriages all the time just because of the lack of medical care."

Visit https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/kitchen4joshuaschoolarusha to donate.