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Visit to partner school in Tanzania – Summer 2008
21 November 2008
Since 1999 Dr Challoner’s High School has had a close link with Mvumi Secondary School near Dodoma, Central Tanzania. When we first visited Mvumi in 2000 the school was in a sorry state- classroom with no furniture, no electricity, sporadic running water and more importantly no books. In the years since then we have raised a huge amount of money through various fundraising activities which has contributed towards the building of dormitories, improving classrooms and buying resources for the library.
This year we set off straight after the end of the summer term, and arrived in the village tired hot and dusty after 24 hours of travelling. We were laden with gifts contributed by the girls and parents of DCHS- it was fun getting through customs with over a thousand stuffed toys. The students of Mvumi came out in force to greet us- proving to be our first real cultural shock. Being much more affectionate than we are they all wanted to greet us by hugging us, stroking our hair and holding our hands. We soon got used to this, and the girls very quickly formed close friendships with the students.
We were staying the Harry Rose House- the new dormitory for senior girls. In order to accommodate us, the residents had moved out of their rooms and were sharing three or four to a room meant for two.
The first weekend we spent getting acclimatized to village life. We wandered round the market, bought ‘kangas’- the Tanzanian sarong-type garment. We went to a local church service where we were greeted like visiting dignitaries, painted the bathrooms (we felt we had to pay our way!) and started getting used to the Tanzanian way of life.
On the Monday we went to school. Everyone joined in lessons- some teaching English, some helping with Maths or Science and some even teaching Commerce. It was fascinating seeing how different the lessons were from our own. The lack of resources means that teachers are used to teaching orally and by rote, so the students tend to listen carefully to what is being said and (if they have an exercise book and pencil) write it down. More and more recently, the students are being given the opportunities to do their own research and to learn by asking questions and by challenging ideas.
Most of the first week was spent in this way but we also had the opportunity to visit the homes of some of the sponsored students, join in sports afternoon, go to a cultural celebration at the local church, debate the advantages of single sex education, visit the local hospital, and help out at a local agricultural project.
Perhaps the most moving part of the week was the visit to Buigiri School for the Blind. In Tanzania, all primary age children receive state education. Blind and partially sighted children are mixed in with fully sighted children for most of their lessons, and have some special lessons in using the Braille Machines and weaving. We played a game called Goal Ball, where a ball with a bell is rolled across a court and the team has to catch it before it hits the wall- easy enough, until the blindfolds came out! We lost. Badly.
They took us to assembly where we greeted them all and gave out some of our gifts-the soft toys proved to be hugely popular even amongst the older boys and teachers. It was a deeply moving experience, seeing the children helping each other, and so happy to receive such a small gift.
After a week we had to move on, although by now we really felt as though we belonged in the village. Many tears and hugs later we pulled out in the bus to embark on our 17 hour trek across the country to Arusha. It was time to see the other side of Africa. We went on Safari to Ngorongoro Crater where we saw a lions, zebras, impalas, elephants and rhino. At one point we were lucky enough to watch a lioness and her cubs feed on a zebra right by the side of our jeep.
After all the excitement of that we felt we needed a break, so moved on to Zanzibar- the Spice Island- where we had a few days to relax by the beach, shop and visit a Spice Farm. Our final evening was spent in possibly the oddest entertainment ever: local dancer performing a range of traditional dances getting more and more dramatic as the evening went by. We thought the bowls of fire would be the climax of the night until the pythons came out. After much squealing and running away we all had the chance to dance with the snakes- lovely.
This trip is a truly life changing experience. Those girls lucky enough to be selected find that it colours their future choices and affects many of their decisions. Many of them have been back to work in the school during gap years and some have gone on to medical school and spent time working in the local hospital. This year we hope to continue our fundraising efforts, focusing our attention mainly on raising £2000 to go towards equipment for the new blind unit- where students from Buigiri can get a (rare) secondary education.
