Updates
We will keep this page updated with as many photos and entries of our experiences as possible. The fist week shall be spent at Lilingu Primary school.
Additional plans
After our visit to Lilungu Primary school, Catriona and I have decided to make the most of our time in Tanzania. We have planned to stay on and soak up as much culture as possible.
The first thing we will be doing is raising money for Cancer research, a charity that is very close to both of our hearts. We will be raising the money by climbing the largest freestanding mountain in the world- Mt Kilimanjaro!
If this is something you wanted to donate towards then follow the link below, any amount would help:
The whole climb is going to take 8 days. We start our climb on the 8th August 2010. Again we will endeavour to keep this page updated so you can follow our progress and see whether we made it to the top. . .
After the climb we shall be visiting Zanzibar to wonder the cobbled streets of stone town, and enjoy a short tip to the beach.
Once we have immersed ourselves in the culture there, we will be going on a three-day safari where we hope to be able to track down the illusive ‘big five’ (Lion, African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Leopard and the Black Rhinoceros).
DAY 1 - Arriving in Dar Es Saalam
Catriona and I met the others at The Cock of Tupsley in Hereford at miday on Thursday. We travelled to Worcester in the St Mary's mini bus where we picked up some other travellers.Then we headed onto Heathrow, terminal five.
Catriona and I met the others at The Cock of Tupsley in Hereford at miday on Thursday. We travelled to Worcester in the St Mary's mini bus where we picked up some other travellers.Then we headed onto Heathrow, terminal five.
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After we checked in we waited to board the plane that would take us 10 hours to Dar Es Saalam, Tanzania.
Once we arrived we were stiffled by the heat and humidity, even though it is winter here it is still hotter than our hottest summer day. After meeting with Walter and some others we took a cramped mini bus ride to Kurisini where we would spend the night before getting another flight to Mtwara.
We had arrived early in the morning so it had been arranged that all of us (4 teachers from St Mary's, 3 from a Worcestershire school and 2 from Ledbury) would spend some time enjoying the surroundings. We took another taxi through the centre of Dar to Hotel Giraffe, the journey took about one and a half hours due to the heavy traffic through the centre of the city.
Giraffe was a tourist hotel that overlooked stunning views of the Indian Ocean. We spent some time walking on the beach and swimming in the pool. After time was up we headed back to Kurisini to rest before dinner.
Day 2 Travelling to Mtwara
In the morning we woke at 4am to get a taxi to the airport for our next flight. The flight was fairly short and we arrived at a small airport to be greeted by George Mbesigwe (Head teacher of Lilungu, our link school) and Neema Malivatha (another teacher at this school). They welcomed us with huge smiles and immediatley we felt at ease.
Again we travelled in a mini bus, this time it was so full three people had to take a taxi. It was only a ten minute ride to St Michaels where we were to stay for our time in Mtwara. We all had lunch together before the others moved onto their respective destinations.
After lunch we went to the site of a new church with Walter and the Bishop of Hereford. George also came with us. The new church is a result of a joint project between Ledbury dioscese and Mtwara dioscese. The views were stunning and the project is something that all involved should be proud of. We have only been here a short time but already can see that the churches of the area are a huge part of the community and provide a sanctuary for worship.
Once we returned to St Michaels, George left us for a while so we had time to unpack and rest. Within a short time however, we had made friends with three children who live at St Michaels. They loved the bubble wand that we had brought out. Their names were Eboni (aged 5), Bonita (aged 5) and Gerefance (aged 5). They didn't speak any English and we knew little Kiswahili but that didn't stop us from communicating and playing together.
Upon George's return we ate lunch and George took us for a walk around the surrounding area. As we walked he spoke about problems facing children and people in Africa. One of which was the presence of HIV and Malaria. He explained the government is doing all they can to raise awareness of these problems but lack funding to make a real impact. Everywhere we looked there were huge signs (like road signs) informing people of the dangers of HIV, which were trying to deter them from spreading the disease.
Our walk soon brought us to the local hospital. It consisted of run down one story buildings known as wards. These were connected by an open walk way down the middle of the hospital. Each building was designated a diesease or other purpose such as under fives, post natal and ante natal...
We found this walk very difficult as there didn't appear to be any proper hygiene rules or anything resembling the level of care and comfort we are used to in England.
After this we returned to our accomadation, we had tea (5 slices of bread and a boiled egg) then played with the children. This time we gave them a small note book and pencil each. We had great fun trying to teach them some English. This was followed by dinner and an early bedtime.
Day 3- Church and beach day
Today was another early start. We got up at 6am as the church bells chimed outside our window. By 6:50am we were outside the church with George, greeting members of the church community. At 7am Mass began. . .
at 8am it was still going. . .
at 9am it was still going. . .
at 9:30 it was over.
During Mass we had:
Readings from the Bible
Singing from the Gospel choir
Preaching by a visiting priest
Communion, delivered by Father Jerome
Announcements
Chicken and ground nut auction
After Mass we ate breakfast (five slices of bread and a boiled egg) and met with the treasurer who walked with us around the site of St Michael's telling us all about the future plans of the church.
We went to our room for a nap, but the children came knocking at our door so we played with them until George came to collect us for lunch. We travelled by what we would call a tuc tuc to George's house.
Readings from the Bible
Singing from the Gospel choir
Preaching by a visiting priest
Communion, delivered by Father Jerome
Announcements
Chicken and ground nut auction
After Mass we ate breakfast (five slices of bread and a boiled egg) and met with the treasurer who walked with us around the site of St Michael's telling us all about the future plans of the church.
We went to our room for a nap, but the children came knocking at our door so we played with them until George came to collect us for lunch. We travelled by what we would call a tuc tuc to George's house.
There we were welcomed by his wife (Goldiva), two children (Switbert and Beatrice) and his nephew. After exchanging introductions we sat down with George and his wife for lunch. After eating we were given a tour of his house and garden.
We met some of the childrens friends outside who were making models out of clay. We were very impressed at the detail in them.
On the walk back to the Tuc Tuc we met one of George's good friends, who is also the school inspector of Lilungu Primary school... Imagine being best friends with members of OFSTED!!!!!!
Back at St Michaels we gathered our swimwear and George took us to a 'pub' to have a Fanta while he met with some friends and community members to discuss the plans for their up coming wedding.
We then travelled onto the beach, where we were able to have a swim in the clear waters of the Indian Ocean and watch the sun set. We didn't spend too long in the water as George was waiting for us on the beach.
We then travelled back to St Michaels for dinner and George taught us a traditional card game- Lasti Cardi which we played until bedtime.
Day 4 – Official business
After breakfast, George collected us and took us on a short walk to meet the Municipal director and education officers at the Municipal offices for Mtwara. Here we were introduced to various officials involved in the running of education for schools with Mtwara, this included Lilungu. We were made to feel welcome and valued as we shared lengthy discussions over the intensions of the link and what we hoped to learn from each other.
Once all business was concluded we paid our first visit to Lilungu. When we arrived we were greeted by the whole school, who sang and presented us with garlands. Everyone was so happy to see us despite having never met us before. The whole situation was quite surreal and extremely overwhelming. We were at once made to feel at home in George’s office where we were introduced to a few of the teachers. We noticed George only had two pictures on display-one of the President of Tanzania and the other of us which we had sent out earlier in the year, a symbol of belief in the work both schools are committed to doing in order to make the link work.
Following our morning tea break we met with the school’s newly formed link committee and staff of the school. Everyone was pleased to see us and eager to ask questions about the teaching strategies and techniques we use in Ledbury. For all of us it was an extremely useful and eye opening discussion, we were already begging to draw comparisons and see similarities.
Once the meeting was over it was the end of the school day 2.20pm. The children finish at this time because they need to be able to walk home for lunch without it being in the heat of the day. Before the children go home they hold a whole school assembly. The children’s singing was unbelievable, so much pride and passion from every single one of them, it totally blew us away.
In the evening George took us to the municipal market. It was huge, George explained that this was the place to buy anything and everything. For people that were unable to make it to the market it was common for some people of the town to come and buy things in bulk and then sell them on in there own little villages. It was here that we bought our Ktanga and had them made into traditional Tanzanian outfits so we could wear them to school. The whole outfit was made to measure and cost us just £9!
That was the end of another bountiful day.
Day 5 – In the classrooms
After eating a breakfast of five slices of white bread and a boiled egg, we headed off to school. Neema (one of the school’s teachers) met us and travelled with us in a Tuc Tuc. The journey took about ten minutes and took us through the main part of the town. School for the children starts at 7:20am, they then have a few minutes to collect rubbish and sweep the school grounds.
Morning assembly today was just as fantastic as yesterdays. Some of the children were playing drums and all of the children were singing as they were dismissed and lead away by the school prefects to there classes. George showed u around the school grounds and talked to us about the project to build the children bigger and better toilets. He also showed us the house on site for teachers to live in. He explained that it is normally reserved for the head teacher; however, George had the means to build himself and family their own house, which allowed him to offer the house to teachers that would benefit from being closer to school.
During the course of the morning we visited pre standard 1, standard 1 and standard 2 classrooms to find all of the children sitting on the concrete floor and totally focused and content in their work. We were amazed by this because there were so many children in one classroom, yet all were fixed on their work.
Classroom sizes during the week we visited:
Pre Std 1 = 65
Std 1 = 207 (2 rooms)
Std 2 = 183
Std 3 = 240 (2 rooms)
Std 4 = 153
Std 5 = 141
Std 6 = 136
Std 7 = 123
When we entered the classrooms the children stood to salute us, many greeted us with the saying ‘shikamoo’ to which we would reply ‘maraharba’, this exchange was a greeting of respect, said by all people to their elders.
The afternoon consisted of more meetings where we were shown some of the schools resources and examples of the childrens work. George is a forward thinking head teacher (someone we think is the male version of Julie), and is the first person to volunteer to pilot new schemes for the district. One of which was demonstrated to us. The school had a TV which would connect to a mobile phone, through which the staff could access government videos to aid the teaching of Maths, English and vocational skills.
Later that evening George and Father Jerome took us on their motor bikes to a place called Mikindani, were we visited the old Boma and other historical sites. This is an extremely important town for Tanzania and holds a lot of history. To read more about it follow the link below, today’s entry is long enough already. http://www.mikindani.com/history.html
Day 6 – Community visits
Today the plan was to spend the day at school followed by meeting members and families of the surrounding community.
Yesterday George had explained to us how difficult it is to find good English teachers, followed by the question - would we like to teach a lesson. We were very unprepared but more than willing to rise to the challenge.
We taught an English lesson to standard 7, there age ranged form 12-14. The children already had a good understanding of numbers, so we started by re-capping numbers 1 to 10 followed by teaching them the names of some basic fruits. We wanted to make the lesson fun so we taught them the game ‘my grandmother’s shop’. The children worked in groups of 10 or 11 to practice the new language taught. After some practice, we had one volunteer from each group to the front to show the class. It was good fun and everyone was taking part. Despite there being 153 of them, we felt that everybody had learnt something from the lesson. It was good to see every child engaged and willing, desperate even, to learn. We finished by playing head shoulders knees and toes, lots of laughing was done and plenty of fun had by all.
After the lesson, George took us to see the library. It wasn’t a library for the children like we have. It was a storage room for the schools textbooks and equipment; everything was kept in a derelict building with a leaking roof. There were not very many resources and what they did have was used and reused. However, they had just purchased a 3D model of an eye which was to be used for science lessons, George was extremely proud of it.
Once the school day and had ended George took us to visit some of the children's families that attend school. These were children with learning difficulties or families with difficulties within the community. We first place we visited was the street office. On the wall, was a list of all of the children and families within the area that needed extra care or support. It was the officers’ job to try to provide it. The first home we visited was a traditional house built from clay and woven sticks with a palm leaf roof. It belonged to a boy and his family. George explained the boy had autism and possibly suffered from epilepsy. His mother worked full time to support them so the grandmother was left to look after he boy and his brothers and sisters. She made mats to bring in some extra income. We had a go at this, it was quite fun but neither of us could imagine doing it for hours at a time. The grandmother talked to us about her worries and the difficulties of looking after him.
The next house we visited belonged to a man who had suffered a work accident and become paralysed. His wife had left him after the accident to raise his two sons alone. The man could no longer work so rented his house out to make some income to provide food for his family. He was extremely emotional about how his role as a father had dramatically changed, his sons were now the fathers and took care of him everyday. We were quite overcome by this families situation and the difficulties they face everyday.
The next person we met was a man who was extremely happy and ambitious despite being in a wheel chair. He has had lots of children and is a very successful member of the community. He is a ember of the Ledbury Lilungu link committee at the school and is often involved in fund raising for the school. He was an inspiration to meet.
The final home we went to belonged to a family who are living with HIV aids. Three members of the family have had aids two are still suffering. One of those is a nine year old girl. Despite speaking an entirely different language the grandmother spoke directly to us and really wanted us to understand all of the problems they face on a daily basis. The girls father is never home as he works far away and the mother of the girl had passed away. The grandmother is the girls sole carer. One of the difficulties they face is getting the girl to school and getting the medicine she needs to take everyday. The medicine makes her tired so some days she does not make it to school, because of this she does not have many friends. George explained that when she attends school she is given food to keep her diet balanced and varied, as without this the medicine won’t work. We stayed with this family until it was dark listening to everything they had to say and wishing there was something we could do that would immediately ease there suffering. Unfortunately there is no immediate remedy, so George stressed that instead of feeling helpless we must continue working together to raise the awareness of aids and it’s effects.
Another physically and emotionally exhausting day but one that has humbled us and will stay with us indefinitely.
Day 7- Parachute day
As you can guess by the title of today, we played with the parachute. One of the gift we bought out here for the school was a parachute. We used the morning to teach the children and staff some games so they will be able to continue using it when we have gone. We all had such great fun. We decided we would let the pictures do the talking.
After a morning of parachute games with pre standard 1 we attended a drama session taught by Neema. The children acted out a teaching sinario in English for us to watch. It was very impressive. At the end of this demonstration we had the opportunity to ask the children questions and vice versa, an activity which we found very insightful. It was interesting to see all of them ant to visit or live in England.
This afternoon we had time to carry out our ‘private assignments’. We chose to spend this time working on the partnership agreement with George. We worked collaboratively and included ideas and suggestions from all parties- this really is a JOINT partnership.
In the evening after school and dinner George took us round the town centre of Mtwara. We visited the library, post office, football stadium and the credit office that handles the pay for all government workers such as teachers.
Once back at the church we used father Jerome’s computer to type up the partnership agreement ready to present it to all of the staff, officials and school committee the next day.
Day 8- Busy day
Last night Geroge presented us with some traditional outfits so we could wear them today. He anted us to look ‘beautiful’ as it was such an important day. He also gave us a necklace each which was traditional Mikondi art.
Once our usual breakfast had been eaten we went to the municipal offices were we met again with the municipal director and the education officer. They looked over the partnership agreement and viewed it with intrigued eyes. They asked us lots of questions about how we intended to achieve the things written, it was all a bit scary and intimidating. Even George admitted to us that he was a bit scared as we were leaving. All went well and in the end they all seemed happy and contented with our answers so let us continue our last full day in Mtwara.
From the offices we went to school (after a long wait for transport) we picked up Neema, father Jerome, Dorris and Joyce, then we headed out to visit another of Tanzania’s hidden treasures – Ruvula Marine Park at Mnazi bay.
Here we saw the power station that turned gas into electricity for all of the district. We had opportunity to ask questions about how it worked and the effect it had on the protected marine park around the corner. We had the opportunity to visit the most beautiful beaches we had every seen and go inside the newly built office for the preservation of marine life.
On the way back along the dusty bumpy road we stopped for a drink and to buy some fresh coconuts, one of which George cracked open with a stone and allowed us to drink the fresh milk. We had never tasted something so good.
On our return to school we met with all of the staff at Lilungu to share and sign the partnership agreement. Once all of the formalities had been discussed we celebrated with a cold bottle of Fanta. It was a euphoric moment for all.
As we were left alone back at the church we couldn’t help feeling we had had another great day but it was saddened when we realised this was our last full day of adventure for us here. We did not really want to leave.
Day 9- Leaving
As we packed our bags we looked around the room that had been our home for the past week. So many memories and friends had been made. Although we new we would see them again it didn’t stop the sadness in our hearts as we said goodbye to the sisters, and other that had been looking after us.
George, Neema and Father Jerome were there to see us off at the airport. After we had had breakfast with the St Mary’s teachers (who had returned to catch the same flight as us) we pilled into the car and waved a final goodbye to the children and friends we had made at St Michaels.
We arrived at the airport and soberly said goodbye, there were a few tears from Neema and Annika. There was no time to dwell as we were off to start our next adventure in Tanzania.
