Today schools close doors and children will be on holidays for the next three weeks. Term 3 will resume on Monday 16 September. This is a demanding period as candidates get all the pressure as examination dates become closer!

At Simoshi, we use this holiday period to repair all the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS), a great opportunity to refurbish all damaged parts because no food is being prepared. IICS maintenance is free to all participating schools, every year, for a 10-year period.

Some schools only need repairs once a year, while other schools need attention every single holiday (three times per year). The reason for these recurrent damages found are mainly related to how the cooks operate the IICS and the water content of the firewood used. This is why it is critical to implement training sessions every other month, to ensure the best practices on how to operate the IICS are followed.

It is a lot of hard work especially when cooks leave the job and new staff is hired, buy it is gratifying to see how the behavior positively changes and it is straight away reflected on the condition of the IICS.