Under Construction

For the last few months we have been working with an extremely talented and generous web designer Jalena Penaligon. It's been a long process as every inch of our old website needed work. Jen Rosenberg and Sean Leyva have lent a helping hand with our temp website as well as organizing the overload of MB of pictures and video. Although, I'm not completely done with all the language, we are plugging away and hope to go live in a month or so.

Jalena and I had another meeting to work through some of the design details. She made a beautiful new logo that I can wait to use for everything. I'm really looking forward to the next stages of this org and couldn't be happier with the new logo/website to represent that.

I know I'm not the only one that is ready for a website that can truly reflect all the hard work and dedication everyone has put into TEP from day one. I am forever grateful to Jalena not only for lending us her talents for months on end but for continuing to give TEP's voice a platform (and pretty one at that).

Stay tuned for the official release date but until then check us out on facebook at tzeducationproject, on twitter @tz_educ_project and even on linkden at 'tanzanian education project'!

-Cassie

Looking Back

Lately I have been hit with the bout of nostalgia while combing through the pictures I took in Tanzania. Granted it hasn't been that long since I left Bunju, but places like Bunju leave an indelible mark on your life. As TEP lays the groundwork for a new website, I have been tasked to select a few pictures of my own for the site. The amount of pictures I have from my trip is staggering and each one brings to mind Bunju, FANAKA, and all the loving people I had the opportunity to spend time with. Every picture I come across reminds of all the hard fought success TEP has had with FANAKA. Not every picture one is a gem but the few that are will always have a special place in my conscious. Pictures of smiling students, hard working TEP volunteers and tireless administrators really puts the challenge of scouring thousands of pictures into perspective. I take immense pride in choosing the best pictures that represent the massive effort put into making TEP and FANAKA the organizations they are today. With that said I hope that the mountains of pictures I have now are just the start of an ever growing collection that I hope to one day maintain with future trips to Bunju. I cherish every friend that I made and every stranger who welcomed me with open arms while in Tanzania and my photos are what tie me to those memories and people on the other side of the world. I very proud of the work I have done and hope all who visit TEP’s new site in the future share in that feeling. We are all looking forward to the future of TEP with the future launch of the new website; I hope you all do to.  

Sean Leyva 

2013 Focus - Help Us Raise $25K

The Tanzanian Education Project continues to focus on self-sustainable education projects in the East African Nation of Tanzania. In 2013 TEP is working to develop solutions for a problem that most children encounter even after successfully being a part of our programs – a lack of skills. The majority of the population is unable to make it through the secondary education system however for those few that have, even fewer are able to go onto to school from there. Over the past four years, TEP has witnessed many bright, dedicated students fall into crime, prostitution, free labor and idleness because their options for vocational training are few and expensive.

Micro business runs the Tanzanian economy and although TEP has seen success in these endeavors the aspect of training and skill building has been an enormous challenge. A program with trained craftsmen and teachers paired with an active business model is believed to serve the greatest amount of students in the most meaningful way.  This program will offer the development of business and marketing skills in addition to valuable vocational training.

TEP is hoping to develop two programs in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam. One is a health clinic that is located just outside the gates of Olof Bethsaida Girls Secondary School and Orphanage. This dispensary will provide much needed medical services to the village but also will give the students of Olof a place to learn and develop skills in the health field. The dispensary will provide services at a competitive price which will be used to keep the business operations running.

The second is an education program in Tegeta that combines business with arts. The students will learn business skills such as marketing, inventory management, staff management and customer service in addition to vocational training in the Arts. This will include, basket weaving, painting, wood carving, sewing, fabric making, jewelry making and other crafts to gain skills and certificates that are applicable and valuable to their society. The school will run a storefront business as well as send students into local tourist areas to sell their work in order to offset some of the operating costs which will keep school fees competitive. The storefront and traveling sales will provide on the job training and additional internships will be required to in order to obtain additional certificates and networking opportunities.

The Tanzanian Education Project knows much of the success for both programs will be up to the local staff and partner groups that will join us in this mission. Although both projects are in their infancy, TEP volunteers and partner schools are looking forward to watching these projects develop. We are confident that one day these vocational training programs will flourish as other TEP projects have in the past. 

It's Already November 11th- Have You Ordered Your Kanga Keepsakes Yet?

Just a reminder that its already mid November (is the year flying by or is it just me?) and if we haven't gotten your order for a Holiday Gift Donation or Kanga Keepsake order today! 

Holiday Gift Donation is a special way to give the gift of charity while show your love and thoughtfulness to anyone you know. When you donate in the name of a friend, family member or co-worker; your loved one will receive a personalized package letting them know of your thoughtful gift and will show the impact they have on the children of the world.

Kanga Keepsakes are super cute bracelets made from unique Tanzanian fabric called Kangas. Order some for yourself, friends, family and even co-workers. Tons of styles and colors to choose from. 

 1 for $8

2 for $15

5 for $20

It's easy---just email us at tzeducationproject@yahoo.com to place an order OR see your favorite TEP volunteer!

TEP Hard at Work

TEP Hard at Work

Summer is officially over and Cassie, Katie, and Sean have all returned from volunteering in Tanzania.  Fall is now here, with winter upon us, meaning Christmas is just around the corner.  The TEP members have been hard at work crafting this year’s Holiday Gifts, Kanga Keepsakes.  Over the past couple of weeks TEP members have been busy ordering silicon bracelets and cutting up Tanzanian fabric to create Kanga Keepsakes.  For those of you that do not know, we think that Kanga Keepsakes are the latest fashion statement, offering a bit of Tanzanian flare, as the bracelets are created with fabric brought back from TZ.  

How did TEP come up with this unique gift idea?  Many meetings went by with members suggesting ideas for this year’s Christmas push, one idea stuck…the Kanga Keepsakes.  We all thought “what better way to bring Tanzania to the US and into the homes of our supporters than by providing bracelets created using Tanzanian fabric.”  We wanted to be able to provide TEP supporters with a part of Tanzanian style as many of our volunteers’ homes are full of TZ culture that they brought back with them.  These keepsakes remind us all that what TEP is doing and how important it is, not only to the schools and people of Tanzania, but because it also affects us in the US.  As the organization grows, we too as members and supporters grow as individuals.  

What is really great with this year’s Holiday push is that these gifts are connected to what the money raised is going to…our new project, the ARTS Program (Approach to Learning Real-World Trades and Skills).  This new program will provide training to learn the skills of painting, sewing, basket weaving, as well as additional artistic skills necessary for children to have.  The program will allow Tanzanians the ability to provide for a better future.  As TEP members are crafting away, we know that what we are doing is a lot like what the money raised will be going to, Art.  Kanga Keepsakes are great to have on your wrist as not only a way to show support for TEP, but as a constant reminder of how far we have come over the years and what we have to look forward for years to come.  With your help, TEP will launch this new artisan development program and provide many Tanzanians with a chance at a healthy and prosperous future. 

Anyone interested in putting some Tanzanian flare in their life, and the lives of their friends and family, please contact TEP at tzeducationproject@yahoo.com.  We will ship them directly to your doorsteps just in time for the holidays.  Say it with me: Kanga Keepsakes Stocking Suffers! :)

-Jen Rosenberg

Kanga Keepsakes- Get Some Today!

We have officially launched this year's Holiday Gift Donation campaign. This year give the gift of donation for for your friends, family and co- workers, plus it's an awesome way to support your favorite charity! 

Your gift this year will go towards all of The Tanzanian Education Project’s life saving initiatives. One of our new projects is our ARTS Program (Approach to learning Real-world Trades and Skills).  This much needed vocational training will give skills in areas like painting, sewing, basket weaving and wood carving to give these hard working children a chance at a brighter future. We need your help to raise $25,000 to make this dream come true. 

But there is something extra special this year. Get yourself a Kanaga Keepsake to show you are a part of the cause. Better yet, share some with you loved ones to help spread TEP's mission.

1 for $8

2 for $15

5 for $20

  

To place your order just email tzeducationproject@yahoo.com and we will ship them directly to you!

A Day in the Life of TEP

Here are some of my favorite pictures that I was able to take during my internship in Bunju. I am so glad that I was able to Help out TEP in Bunju and shed light on some of the things the organization does on a daily basis. -Sean

Cassie helping out at a study session

Donated Soccer Balls to Hope and Joy

Enjoying a good cleaning

Study Session

Toothbrush donations

Fundraiser shirts being made.

Babu and Cassie hard at work

Library @ Olof

FANAKA Stationary advertisement

Hope and Joy Primary students

Katie hard at work teaching the students

Worth Living

As I sift through all my pictures to update Facebook and the blogs it sends me down memory lane. I can hear baby Donny's clapping hands, Sophie's sweet voice, the rumbling of the lorry's on the road. I can smell the meat cooking, fresh sea breeze and garbage burning. I can feel sickness in my throat and gut, happiness as Babu mumbles a story about his village and a deep purpose for this life I was given. It puts a knot in my gut that I can't seem to shake. As I move on with life here in the states this feeling will sneak up every once and a while but I just learn to live with it.

Many people go through life too afraid to risk loving because of the hurt that could come. I've had my heart broken but I survived. I think many people avoid traveling or getting to know new people because its too big of a risk. The more people you love the more risk there is they can hurt you. Risking that hurt is what makes life worth living. That knot is what reminds me that I'm alive.
-Cassie

Saying Goodbye

This doesn't get easier. It almost hurts a little more each time. I fear losing my family, friends, village, school, just about everything while I’m gone. I know I will pour myself into TEP to do’s on top of getting my life back together in order to stay busy because truthfully that’s my only coping skill. Leaving this place, these people, is hard on every volunteer. We all deal with it in different ways but we come back to our lives at least a little bit changed. It’s the support from my family, friends, neighbors and donors that keeps my pain at ease.  All I can do is wish for their continued support. For those of your reading this, I thank you, not only for me, but for all of us volunteers.

Chop Chop Timber

As I was busy finishing the ten thousand things before I needed to leave, I was looking around for my right hand man Mwenda to help me with the growing list. I met him behind the house along the road where he was spotting the soon to be falling tree that Babu instructed the fundi to cut down for timber. It was becoming clear that despite the extraordinary effort of shirtless Mwakioma up in the tree with a machete, it was going to take a whole lot more to get this huge tree down.

The ‘house men’ took the big sailing rope from the shed and wrapped it around the tree. Fabian in his church gear took the end and led the five others to take their stance. I watched from the side as they gave all their might at the rope to keep the tree from falling onto the road and neighboring house. The tree swayed too much for comfort and their footing looked less than sturdy. Albert was nearly horizontal when I thought it couldn't hurt if I stepped in; who doesn't want to try out their 4^th grade tug of war skills in real life? We tugged and tugged for what felt like forever as we all feared the tree would teeter to the wrong side. The tree seemed bigger than life and my hands weaker than ever before. Despite my fear, I couldn't help but laugh that Fabian was wearing his church clothes to do such a dirty job. One the count of ‘tatu’ we gave it our all and finally it seemed the tree was coming down our way. Before I knew it, we all dropped the rope and picked a route hoping it was the way out. I’ll never forget Albert’s face of shear panic, in slow mo “ruuuuun!”

We all made it out safely and managed to get ten sheets of lumber out of it. Every day in Tanzania my skills and knowledge are used in ways I never expect. Whipping out my tug of war skills seems to put a perfect bow on the last three months. It is this moment I’ll remember when I even think to doubt my contribution to this family. 

-Cassie

Stabilization before Progress

As my last days are counting faster than I can even keep up, the work still to do seems endless. I have this feeling every time I come and this is just about the right time for the panic to set in. We have worked days and nights to stabilize FANAKA so we do not lose another school. It was heartbreaking to lose ELA and I refuse to not do everything we can to keep the school open. Now that we have a proper management team in place, it is now time to reanalyze our priorities; starting with the resources we already have.

In order to get a working budget for some of basic needs (security lights, toilet repairs and light bulbs) we need to liquidate some of our excess supplies. From the sea container there still remains 80,000 sheets of large paper. This does not include the paper used for examinations, stationary needs or the needs of FANAKA for a two year supply. We have been able to sell some to a distributor that cuts the papers into school notebooks and sells them back to schools at a discount. The others we will be used in our advertising strategy. I have developed fliers and brochures for the school to use for advertising. We have a representative of FANAKA going from school to school with these fliers and brochures to try and get FANAKA closer to full capacity.  Once we can have a proper enrollment amount, funding our new teaching, management staff as well as the necessary academic changes (such as tutoring classes for those behind in subjects) will all be possible. In addition to letting our neighbor schools know about FANAKA, we will also be giving the extra paper to these schools as gifts. This means more schools can share in our gifts and is a strong move in making FANAKA known to everyone. Thanks to a generous donation from Sean’s high school, Dakota Ridge, as well as Metro State University, more soccer jersey’s and balls are coming to FANAKA. This means the excess jersey’s can be shared with our neighboring schools so we can really spread the wealth.

Although I would love to report all the progress we have made on self sustainable projects, the reality is the condition we found FANAKA in required TEP to adjust our mission this summer. It was necessary to focus our energy on organizational restructuring, prioritization, advertising and networking in order to put FANAKA on a plan for success. Countless hours were dedicated to the evaluation of past projects and research of future TEP projects; this allows our work from America to be as strong as possible. I will not allow TEP to break ground on projects until all business plans are certain and risks limited. If this means the TEP budget sits until these requirements are met, then so be it. It’s not only best for TEP donors but truly best for everyone. If we have no school, our self sustainable projects will be for not. Thus, stabilization is needed before we can work on the future.

-Cassie

As My Time Comes to an End

My time here in Tanzania is almost up, I leave for home tomorrow and leave the people of Africa behind. I hope in my brief stay that I made an impression on those that I met. My time in Tanzania has been an eye-opening experience and I will never forget. I have been witness to so much here in Bunju that I am grateful that I was able to capture much of it on my camera. The people here are so loving and accepting that it made it a joy to photograph the students at the school and the people involved in improving their education.

In my short time here I have made many friends, I couldn't go 20 yards without someone asking me how my day is going. So many of the villagers have never seen or talked to a white person that it is the highlight of their day. They stare with such amazement that you feel like you are in a fishbowl as people tap on the glass. The kids around the village are extremely heartwarming all they want is for you to wave at them and they giggle with excitement. The villagers and students you meet have so many questions about America that I am a little overwhelmed from time to time. It is hard to answer all of them but I do my best to dispel some of the rumors they hear about America.

Over the last couple of weeks I have watched the volunteers for The Tanzanian Education Project put forth so much effort toward making the lives of these students much richer. I hope that the pictures that I have taken for the organization will help improve the lives of the students here. My effort has been nearly nothing compared to the efforts of the volunteers and donors, all I do is click my shutter and hope my images tug at heart strings. Over the next few weeks I hope to post some pictures for the blog as well as my thoughts with them. This has been one of the most amazing times in my life; I will never forget the people that I met and the friends that I made. Goodbye Bunju, I hope to see you sooner rather than later.

Sean Leyva

8/20/2012

Mikumi Field Trip

I had the wonderful opportunity to make a day trip to Mikumi National Park with the Form 3 students of FANAKA to see some of Tanzania’s most famous wild animals. Every year the Germans who also volunteer their time at FANAKA take the form three students on a safari in Mikumi National Park.  It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and the students. Many of the kids have never left Bunju, let alone made the arduous trip to Mikumi in a bus.

They’re enthusiasm was unbelievable as we made our way out of Bunju in the morning. The students were hollering and chanting for the first hour of the trip. There wasn’t a soul in Africa who couldn’t hear us coming down the road. The bus ride was long, nearly six hours to Mikumi. Don’t let the time fool you, the park was only about 150 miles away but in Africa there isn’t a short journey to any destination. After a short stop in Morogorro for lunch we finally made into the park later in the afternoon. We rounded up the students got them all back in the buses and made our way into the park.

Our first afternoon treated us to every animal you’d expect to see in Africa, except a lion. It was so incredible to see these animals in the wild. I am glad that I was able to get some great photographs of Elephants, hippos and the like.  After an afternoon in the park we stayed the night in a nice hotel in the town of Mikumi, the students were just ecstatic to be out of Bunju, they lived it up. Our journey home the next day was just as long ans drawn out as the day before. I was so glad that I had the opportunity to share this experience with the students of FANAKA, one that I am sure we all will never forget.

Sean Leyva

8/18/2012

The Countdown 8-8-12

The Countdown

Katie Poch

            Hello, Katie here! Well it is down to less than a week until I head back to America. I feel I still have so much stuff to do.We are really in the heart of our work right now. The changes we have been planning during the last two months for the new management at FANAKA are finally starting to take place. We have interviews on Saturday (11-8-12) for a new headmaster, new teachers have been coming to see the school and cleaning of the new offices has begun. It has been a long but rewarding process. The school is really starting to come together. It is sad to think that I will be leaving FANAKA, but glad that the school will now be in new hands.

            I have been busy trying to get everything done on my to do list. This is hard since one simple errand, such as going to buy books for the children I live with, takes a full day. It is hard to get anything done here in "American Time." Everything takes three times as long to do; this is just part of their culture. The traffic is a lot heavier, the roads are in poor condition, the vehicles are old and few and the people are never in a hurry. These is some of the qualities of why I love Tanzania, but also the reasons I feel so rushed during the last few weeks of my trip. Tanzania has been the best experience of my whole life. It is sad that I will be leaving but this place will have a special place in my heart forever.

To Bagaymoyo and Back

To Bagaymoyo and Back

Katie Poch

  

Hello everyone, Katie Poch here. I hope all of you are enjoying your summer; it is coming to an end very quickly. Yesterday I had the privilege of going on a field trip with the form four students. We went to Bagamoyo, about 45 minutes away, to the ruins, the old building where the slaves were traded, The Catholic Church Museum, and also to the beach.

 

The students learned a lot about their country and how it began. They saw where the first people that immigrated to Tanzania lived, they learned about the slave trade in the past, and also where the first Catholic Church was founded. They had learned about these things in their history classes, but to see the places that were talked about in their textbooks was very interesting to them. By their expressions, I could tell how happy the children became when they saw these places with their own eyes. We were not very far from the school, but many of the children had never been to any of these places before. Some of them had never even been to the beach! This was crazy to me as I have only been here for 2 months and have been to the beach many times. Seeing how excited they were to be able to go out and see their country was so rewarding.

 It made me realize how important, not only textbook knowledge is, but how essential to the children's education it is for them to get out of the classroom and do hands on activities. These kids deserve all of the privileges we have in America, and this field trip was just one small way of them being able to have them. 

In a Flash Everything’s Gone

Today, Saturday August 4, I (Cassie) was busying working on some FANAKA advertising at our stationary shop when Mwenda busted in the door. He said his classmate and one of my students who graduated in 2009 from FANAKA just called him to notify him of a family tragedy. I could tell Mwenda was upset because his English became extremely broken and he was moving the fastest I've nearly ever have seen from a Tanzanian. I finally got it out of him that the student was Kelvin and his family’s house burnt down just hours ago. We dropped everything and rushed to town to do our part to help.

We ended up meeting Kelvin outside his technical college where he is learning Tax and auditing. He explained that a week ago he paid all his school fees that allowed him to sit for his examinations that started in just two days but the University called him shortly before the fire to say he needed to bring his receipts to prove he paid, or he couldn’t sit for his exams. Although situations like this are stressful, he thought he could just go home, grab the receipts and everything would be straightened out. As he sat in his final lecture for the day, his friend sent him an SOS message. He stepped out not expecting to hear some of the worst news he could imagine; his family’s house burnt down with everything they owned inside.  He rushed home to find his house black as night with all his possession gone.

When we arrived it was absolutely heartbreaking to see what little possession they had to start, sitting in the yard ruined. With crying and prayers in the background, Kelvin walked us around his small house where his brother, two sisters and his mother stayed. Although the cement structure of the house remained, every couch, picture and bed was gone. Luckily, no one was hurt. But, in Tanzania there is no such thing as insurance. When you lose something, it’s gone for good. There is no government support, no insurance check coming in the mail and no means to recover important documents. Kelvin sat holding a folder of charred papers that included barely readable documents that proved his life accomplishments, including those essential receipts. He held it up with tears in his eyes and said, ‘madam, this is my life. This is all I have left.’

All too often I have seen how detrimental family tragedies have on students. They can shake a student so bad that they ruin their only opportunity for a future. In Tanzania everything comes down to an exam. In secondary school they have one shot, if they blow it, they can kiss their future goodbye. For Kelvin, these life changing exams started in just two days. Everything he needed to study from was gone. Not a single pencil remained. This is the most agonizing detail of Kelvin’s story and one that continues to keep me up at night.

I had given him as much money as I could so he could start to rebuild his family’s life but it hardly put a dent in the loss.

I am asking for your support. Anything you can give will allow Kelvin to at least replace his school materials. For additional questions please email me at cassie.parkhurst@yahoo.com. All donations can be made directly to National Exchange Bank or sent to N5205 CTY S Beaver Dam WI 53916. Thank you in advance for your warm thoughts, prayers and contributions.
-Cassie

Through the Dust

The three of us have been busy tearing apart the Academic office at FANAKA. This office should be the backbone of the school, used to develop teachers as well as students’ academic performance. Unfortunately, for the past two years it has served as only storage pit.

It has always been on my ‘to do’ list for this trip as the condition of the room when I left was less than functional. As we jostled the keys to get inside, I knew we had a project on our hands. The first creak of the door let in blurry light and a spider web hung from the ceiling. Stacks and stacks of dusty, dirty copies of past exams piled from every inch in site.  The room smelled of musty paper, it pierced your nose with every breath.  Creatures of all kinds starred up at us but we pushed on. It didn't take long to develop our own filthy assembly line of organization. Biology papers went here, geography there and the ‘I have no idea what this is’ went to the far right-we’ll get to those later.
 

As grubby as this project was, it was nice to break from the mental work we have been doing day and night for the last two months. It brought me back to the ‘TZ3’ when Eileen, Teresa and I spent months trudging through piles of dusty books and soggy boxes to build those libraries.

Physical projects give your mind instant gratification. You can see the before and after. See where your sweat was left to make some sense of the mess. The message was clear, work hard and you can SEE the results. A struggle of mine as the president of TEP (and most people in the field) is that most donors push for these physical projects. They want to see the results of our time and money spent. Unfortunately, most projects that make the greatest impact are those that the results take months or even years to see. They don’t present themselves in perfect before and after pictures.

I hope that our donors will understand how much mental work has been poured into FANAKA to try and save the school. I am confident the physical results will show one day through higher enrollment rates, higher examination rates and a stronger institution being able to speak to it all.  

-Cassie

Trip to Zanzibar

My name is Sean Leyva and I am interning with the Tanzanian Education Project. I arrived here in Tanzania on the 26th of July and will be in Bujnu taking pictures and documenting life here at Fanaka memorial school for the next couple of weeks.

I’ve been in Tanzania for almost a week and I have to say that it has been quite the eye opening experience. The country is a far cry from my home in Colorado, the air is thick and filled with pollution and there are people all over the place. The streets are filled with every type of vehicle you can imagine and they are all moving in different directions, passing each other by mere inches.

Cassie, Katie and me spent the first couple of days on vacation in Zanzibar Island off the coast of Tanzania. You have to take a short ferry ride to the island and once you disembark you find yourself under a barrage of shouting from taxi drivers wanting to take you to your destination. Fortunately for us we had arranged a private taxi to take us to the other side of the island to a resort town called Nungwi.

The ride to the other side of the island was quick and the landscape was straight out of National Geographic, the forest was thick with lush palm tree and burst to life with an array of green plant life. The road to Nungwi was lined with street merchants and farmers selling their goods and when we pulled in to Nungwi I was shocked at how dead the place seemed. We had forgotten that we arrived during the height of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Since much of Zanzibar is Muslim most of the shops and restaurants closed their doors for the holiday. Despite the holiday the resort town was still pretty busy, we stayed at the Nungwi Guest House, where we were welcomed with open arms.

The innkeeper was a very nice man who kept us entertained and thankfully spoke English very well. Most of time in Nungwi was spent on the white sandy beaches enjoying the sun and the crystal clear water. To keep costs down we ate our meals in the in only shop in town that kept its doors open during Ramadan. To avoid offending the locals we ate our food in our hotel, where our innkeeper didn’t mind that we ate in front of him. Since Nungwi and Stone town are filled with tourists the locals take every opportunity to sell you just about anything. I learned really quick how to say no thank you in Swahili. Aside from the constant pestering from the local merchants we walked the beaches barefoot and enjoyed the beautiful landscape that Zanzibar has provided us.

 After a couple of days in beautiful Nungwi we made our way back to the main port city of Stone Town, stopping to enjoy a spice tour on the way. IT was amazing to see just where the everyday spices I eat everyday originate. Once in Stone Town we checked into our hotel, Cassie Katie and I began to walk around town and discover what Stone Town had to offer. Much like Nungwi, Stone Town was pretty much closed down for the Muslim Holy month. The narrow streets of Stone Town are filled with people and cars whizzing by and any shops that where open were filled with tourists. The town has a very old feeling to it and the Arabic architecture adds to that aura. We splurged a bit in Stone Town and had a few nice meals and a hot shower or two. The following day we hopped on the Ferry, which was a nightmare, the ocean was rather rough and made the boat and our stomachs jostle in every direction. Once back in Dar Es Salaam we got our sea legs back and began the journey to Bunju.

Sean Leyva

8/1/12

Arrival To Tanzania

We made our way to Bunju tonight and the drive into Bunju was a commuter’s nightmare, a two lane road bumper to bumper, all the while breathing in all the smoke and exhaust which is so thick it irritates my skin. We arrived at Babu’s after a long and bumpy ride, where he opened up his house to me. Babu showed me picture albums from his wife Bibi’s funeral and showed me pictures of his family. He showed me around the house and introduced me to everyone living there. The barrage of names and people was a little bit too much to remember but after sometime here I am sure I will get to know the people much better. Afterwards we enjoyed a nice meal of rice and beef and made our way to our quarters on the school grounds.

We are living in the teacher’s quarters on schools grounds in a nice little house with two rooms and three beds. According to Cassie and Katie we are living in some really nice digs, and compared to others we are but as long as I have a decently nice bed to sleep in and some food in my stomach I am good to go. I thought that getting away from the luxuries of home would drive me nuts but being away from that 24-hour news cycle and Facebook and just the general bombardment of information the internet provides is actually quite relaxing. The language so far has been my biggest hurdle, carrying on conversations beyond the general niceties is hard, I only know greetings and goodbyes.
 

Today was my first day in Bunju, and at Fanaka. Cassie introduced me to the school administrators and the teachers and walked the school grounds with me and introducing me to every single class. She told them that I was the new volunteer and would be taking their pictures for the next couple of weeks. So far the kids have been a little stand offish but began to warm up as the day went on. I could tell that I was a little bit of a distraction from their studies when I walked into or by a classroom, someone new for them chat about. The school is bustling, the students move from class to class as the bell rings for them to do so.

I am so lucky to be raised in the American school system because many of these kids don’t have nearly as much as I did in school. Unfortunately the classroom are filled with the bare necessities.All any have is the desk in front of them and a pen and paper to write with. The library is small but it is the pride of the whole school it is filled wall to wall with novels and textbooks. The students here are very fortunate because what they have is pretty good compared to other parts of the country. TEP has done a lot to help out the students here but much more is needed to continue the real work that is getting done here. The need for real dedicated teachers is the most pressing necessity, passionate teachers, like Katie, help inspire their students.

After some school business and further introductions we headed down to the schools stationary shop on the main road in Bunju. The road is lined with merchants selling everything from food to cells phones. As we walk down the road it becomes quite apparent that we stand out like sore thumbs, especially me. The children like to shout “Munzungu(sic)” which means white person, at you quite a lot. It is actually a term of endearment. We did some light shopping, buying a phone for me and picking up some bottled water and bread. The air is so humid here that any activity is a cause for mass sweating, something that is new for me being from dry and arid Colorado. Cassie, Katie and I spend the afternoon catching up on some work and talking to a former teacher, Peter, in our living room. He has a lot of questions about America and I try to answer the best I can. The people here are filled with myths about the States and I was glad that I could clear some of these up for Peter. I would get them in detail but I’ll leave that for another time.

We ended the day watching some of the students play Football (soccer) where they finally warmed up to me and my camera. They love hamming it up for the camera. As night drew the a close we walked back to Babu’s for a dinner and afterwards we walked back to the school and were greeted with some beautiful singing from our neighbors and our beds.

Sean Leyva

7/31/2012