Dear friends, family, and faithful followers,
I hope this newest blog update finds everyone well and happy. We have had another eventful week here in Bunju A, Tanzania, and I am anxious to tell you about it.
Since we last met one another in the magical world of the internets, we have visited some friends, done much administrative work, conducted and taught classes and made some amazing connections.
On Friday morning, we were finally able to visit Olof Bethsaida Secondary School and Orphanage, thanks to the generosity of our friend Aichi. Aichi picked us up on the road in Bunju A, and drove further north through Bunju B and into the country. The scenery was beautiful; it is exactly what one expects to see when one pictures “Africa”. There were incredible rolling hills, lush greens, red roads, and a cool misty fog lying everywhere. We climbed and descended many hills, finally entering a game reserve (where I had hoped to see some monkeys, but alas, no luck this time) and eventually made it to Olof.
Olof has an incredibly beautiful campus, and I was so happy to finally get to see the third school being helped by the Tanzanian Education Project. Cassie had warned me that I would be hooked on Olof as soon as I arrived there, but I was not prepared for how wonderful and place and how deserving the students would be. From the entrance, the campus slopes down into a valley, with a few buildings for dormitories, classrooms, administrative buildings, and housing for volunteers. That day, it was cool and drizzling, and we could see some volunteers working hard on constructing a new library for the school. The administrators were absolutely delighted when we told them we would be bringing some books and the girls would be able to utilize their library right away.
Our friend Aichi, who had escorted us to Olof, was interviewing five candidates for a mentorship program, aimed at helping girls who are interested in the sciences. Before our visit, five of the top girls in the sciences had been selected, and that day Aichi was interviewing them in order to select two who would have the opportunity to visit Dar es Salaam and be paired up with a prominent female scientist and learn about her profession. Teresa and I got to sit in on the interviews while Cassie went over some administrative details with MamaChristina, one of the matrons of the school. It was difficult to select just two girls out of the five candidates, as all seemed incredibly intelligent and motivated, but after each delivered a speech about what they would like to become after university, we selected Winnifred and Prisca (hopefully, we will have photos up for you soon!). Both girls were very excited and flattered and are now looking forward to their trip, which they should be making tomorrow!
After we got a tour of the campus, which is very green and decorated with beautiful gardens, we climbed back into Aichi’s car and headed home. When we arrived back in Bunju A, Teresa said she was feeling ill, so we went back to Bibi and Babu’s immediately so she could rest. Later in the day, as we prepared to go visit our friends Billo and Eve (Bibi and Babu’s son and daughter-in-law), we managed to convince Teresa that she should get tested for malaria on the way there, as she had been feeling ill all week. Albert took us to a clinic on the way to Makumbusho (where Billo lives, just outside of Dar es Salaam), and despite our language barrier, he was incredibly helpful as always. Teresa was seen by a doctor right away, tested, and we discovered that she did in fact have malaria. She got the necessary medicine, and decided that she would stay at home for the weekend instead of staying at Billo’s.
DO NOT WORRY THOUGH, TERESA HAS FINISHED HER ROUND OF ANTIBIOTICS AND IS IN TIP-TOP SHAPE!
While T recuperated under the careful eye of Bibi at home, Cassie and I had an enjoyable time with Eve and Billo. They are a wonderful, welcoming couple, and it was so nice to be able to spend the weekend with another part of the Kahatano family. We saw a show with ethnic dancing and it was fantastic! I really enjoyed being a bit of a tourist for the weekend. On Sunday, Billo and Eve drove us back home and spent the day in Bunju A, visiting and checking in on Bibi and Babu.
This week, we are continuing to try and work out the issues of the timetable for Fanaka, as we are getting rid of one period at the end of the day, so we must rearrange teaching loads and when certain classes meet, all within the strictures and requirements of the Tanzanian government. This is incredibly difficult and very trying, but we are almost finished and will have the new timetable solidified before regular classes begin again on July 5th. The reasoning behind shortening the school day is that so many students do not bring lunch, nor can they afford to buy lunch. So students go without eating until their lunch period (7:40am to 2:30pm), and then have two more classes after the lunch period, making the school day last until 4:30pm. Even for those students who can afford lunch, they are tired and unable to function in their afternoon classes. Right now, since the school is so under budget, we cannot afford to feed those students who are going hungry, so our only solution, really, is to make the school day a little shorter.
In addition to revamping the timetable, we have drawn up several proposals including a proposal for a study hall period (as when students do not have class, they run rampant on the campus, and then are difficult to corral for their next class, which disrupts the entire day), a system of positive reinforcements to reward those students who excel in their class and make improvements, new discipline procedures, and a set of guidelines for teacher conduct. Hopefully, these new administrative proposals will help the school run more smoothly in the future and eliminate issues of tardiness on both the parts of teachers and students. Our headmistress, Matilda, is working incredibly hard, taking on these new proposals, even though she is trying to finish up all of the grading from last examinations, and we are especially grateful to her. Also this week, Cassie met with Allen, the bursar (head of finances) for Fanaka to discuss some important budget issues.
Also this week at Fanaka, the shelves in the library were finished! They completely cover one wall of the library and look wonderful! I am so eager to get them stocked full of books for the students.
We were also able to see the shop Babu was able to rent out in order to raise revenue for Fanaka. It was really exciting to see some fruits of our fundraising efforts. We have an ambitious goal of getting the shop finished and stocked by mid/late July. Bibi and Babu’s son Billo will be taking part of his holiday out to help get the shop up and running. It is right along the main road coming into Bunju, so hopefully we will get some good business.
The sea container has yet to arrive, but the office in Dar continues to assure us that it will arrive at Fanaka this week. We are all hoping that this will work out, as we begin accruing port fees tomorrow.
In conclusion, we have made some exciting progress, seen some interesting new things and come up against some more hurdles. I am keeping a positive outlook, though sometimes the prospects and magnitude of how much work we must do seems daunting. There is so much work yet to do, so many more funds yet to raise, and of course there is never enough time. However, I am cherishing every minute here, and though working on “Tanzanian time” is sometimes incredibly frustrating for me, I absolutely love being here.
Thanks again to all our friends and family working hard at home. We miss you dearly.
xoxox,
Eileen
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