Our first visit to Velangaye High School was on August 3, 2005.
We came as strangers, visiting first with the principal and his student parliament. We then toured each classroom and the campus and were shocked by the conditions and lack of resources.
We were the first outsiders to ever visit this rural high school. They could not believe we were there. One student named Simphiwe even challenged us, asking why we came and what we planned to do now that we knew.
This was a relatively short visit, just an hour or so. But it left a lasting impression. Simphiwe's question resonated because she was right. Now that we knew, we had to do something to help but we weren't sure what that meant.
Since then, The Africa Project has sponsored many projects and programs at Velangaye (I'll write more about those here). Our partnership with Velangaye is very important to us. And as part of the Velangaye family, we are no longer strangers when we visit.
