LAKE NATRON (Lake Natron). Judi Wineland of Thomson Safaris began funding construction of a rudimentary school in Lake Natron even before the founding of Friends of Tanzanian Schools. When Judi became a founding director of FOTZS, she convinced the organization to provide additional financial assistance to complete the construction. Although Friends of Tanzanian Schools approved the project, completing construction proved elusive. The school is in a remote rural area on the Somali border frequented by armed Somali bandits. Several times Friends of Tanzanian Schools had to suspend its efforts to transport building supplies to Lake Natron because of concern about robberies by bandits en route or theft of construction supplies once delivered to the school. In 2002, finally the school was completed.

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