A School Day at Notre Dame

Today I visited the Notre Dame Secondary School in Njiro where we sponsor 10 young women and one young man. I sat and talked with them about their days, their plans and their lives for about an hour.

To begin with, the lack of electricity is challenging everyone's lives in Tanzania because of random blackouts by the government. In Njiro, there has been no electricity for 3 days - and with no generator, that means the girls head to their bunks at dark - We have purchased solar lights for our sponsored students so that they can at least read in the evenings. But back to their days...

They rise and shine at 4 a.m. - cold water bucket baths. At 5:00 they go to their classrooms where they study until 7:00 (light providing). At 7:00 they drink porridge - don't know what you think is porridge but after much explanation from them, I gather it is a liquid combination of maize flour boiled with water and maybe some sugar. At 7:30 they have assembly, prayers and the official start to the day. Class follows from 8:00 to 10:30 when they stop for tea and "scones" - something tells me this is not the kind they sell at Starbucks or Sarabeth's. Classes resume from 11:00 to 2:20 at which time they have lunch. Back to class or other meetings from 3:00 - 5:00 when they break for a little rest, clean up until prayers at 6 - 6:30 followed by dinner. Lunch and dinner usually rotate among makande, beans and ugali with vegetables. Rice is a special meal about once a week.

The boarding girls return to their rooms after dinner at which time they can continue to study - if they have lights. But morning is coming soon - 4:00 - except for when they sleep in on Sundays until 5:00.

The girls don't consider their lives easy - but they don't complain and they know that this school - and a good performance on their Form 4 (12th grade) national exams - will determine their future. And here's where there is a similarity to the U.S. - the subject that lowers their overall performance on standardized tests each year leading up to the final Form 4 graduation test is..... MATH and SCIENCE. So we are supplementing the payment of math and science teachers to encourage good teachers to stay at Notre Dame and even teach extra classes on Saturdays.

For our students, these realities will pave the way for tomorrow's opportunities.

One Year Later - Continuing Our Work

One year after our first blogs last summer, much has changed with EdPowerment – while much has stayed the same in Tanzania’s agricultural areas. Our good news is that in the next two weeks, water will start pumping from the Kilimahewa project. Check out the pictures – 2 tanks, one for the school and one for the community to use to promote sanitary conditions in their homes and crop development in their shambas (farms).


Next, take a look at the Kilimahewa students enjoying a lunch of makande (beans and maize) that guarantees some nutrition for them each day – and had just about eliminated absenteeism. Which brings me to our student population – now 59 teenagers, 12 of whom will take the Tanzanian QT 1 (Qualifying Test for the equivalent of 10th grade). If they pass, we will continue to provide Form 3 and Form 4 (11th and 12th grade) instruction, after which they will take the QT 2. If they do well enough, some may even be able to enter higher education certificate, diploma and degree programs.

Just a little while ago, they were young people who had no educational alternative and no hope to build a future.













And how things stay the same...

I included some pictures from a visit on Friday afternoon to the homes of two of our students. On a good day, they walk 3 miles, then board a local dala-dala (bus) for the remaining 4 miles to our small school. When the bus is full or doesn’t show, they walk a total of 14 miles in one day – just for a chance at further education. You’ll see some pictures of their families and the circumstances that are typical of the population we serve.


Of course, because hospitality is most valued here regardless of one’s economics – chai was quickly prepared for us. The "bebe" or grandmother (these respected voices are never shy) urged us to build a hostel (dorm) for the girls so they could learn in a safe environment and not face the daily risks of long walks to and from school in the early morning and evenings.

As we learned about their harvesting of corn and one family’s intention to sell a ram in the coming weeks (in order to pay school fees for an older girl to attend vocational school), we heard this beautiful harmonious singing. Sure enough, just a short walk away, a church appeared, hidden in the trees, with a choir preparing for Sunday service – singing, swaying and offering gratitude. The combination of simple joy and thankfulness also doesn’t change in this materially poor but spiritually rich community.

What's in a sign?

IDENTITY. For the families, teenagers and teachers at Kilimahewa, this is no longer the school that no one knows exists. Although you can still pass it quickly on the main road, you now will know it is there - the Kilimahewa Educational Center - because we have a sign! Our logo is the sunflower - a symbol of light, growth and nourishment, because sunflower oil has many important uses throughout this region. This sign gives a name, and pride, to the place where teenagers come each day to learn and discover a path with a future.

Better than oil!

WE FOUND WATER!

Can you really put yourself in their feet and think of living without water at the turn of a knob? No flush toilets, no showers or baths, no way to quench thirst and no liquid for cooking. What you would get, however, is exercise, because to fill your bucket you would walk sometimes more than a mile to the nearest stream. For some, there may be a public spigot in walking distance - but this water costs money that the poorest of poor do not have.

In these exciting days for Kilimahewa, the Maji Drilling company showed up late last week - amid all of the building repair work - and began to drill the bore hole in search of water. Although it is not an educational project, EdPowerment committed to this endeavor early on because water is essential to uplift the poor in this community. It will facilitate healthier lives and a better food supply for our students and their families. In turn, this will allow for greater financial support for the school. In addition, without a better water supply, it is impossible for us to provide decent toilet/sanitation facilities and develop an on-site lunch program in which women can prepare the local makande dish of maize and beans for the students.

Drilling itself, however, is no guarantee of water. And so today, when we in the States got the email - we have water - it was time to celebrate. Mama Grace was so upset that she did not have her camera to capture the event - the children and teachers ran out of the classroom, community members gathered, and her cell phone began to ring from places near and far: all this in a community of limited communication. Mama Grace said they called it a "river" and it truly will be a river of life for these people.

Huge challenges remain - further drilling is necessary, the water must be tested, the proper pump determined and then a security system put in place, in addition to system for allowing access to the water - but with some kind of contribution from the community. But for now, the possibilities are endless.

Sweat equity

Our "fundi" (contractor) from the Karanga Vocational School began a "makeover" of the Kilimahewa school about two weeks ago. Although the "kids" hated to be out of school - this is Tanzania where school is a blessing - Mama Grace divided them into teams to help clean up, fix and improve their school. I am going to share a few pictures with you to see this process. Don't really have the before/after shots yet, and we are still waiting on a few things such as the new desks and blackboards (in this regard, TZ is just like our contractors here - all done except for.....) but already the atmosphere is clean and more fitting for a place of learning. The students are joyful and the best piece of news is that a new teacher who has a good command of English and readily connects with the "kids," has joined our community.

We think that this formula - students who want to learn, teachers qualified to teach, an atmosphere conducive to both, and support from those with resources - will make Kilimahewa a model - albeit a small scale model - of effective education in Tanzania's poor communities.