Matthews' time in Tanzania

"Oh, The Places You'll Go!" Faraja's Graduation and Beyond

When we left Faraja in May 2010 everyone asked when will you return? "Someday..." we told our friends with a weary smile. 'There's no way we can come back after being home only four months!' we said amongst ourselves.

But, the lure of graduation and e-mailed pleas of the students won me over. I had to be there when the 16 students we had come to know and love proudly walked across the graduation stage. It was a wonderful all-day affair. Faraja's second class to graduate commenced at 10 a.m., October 10, and wrapped up at 4 in the afternoon.

A blaring brass band led the graduates from the school up the hill to the church. Every important person spoke: members of the Tanzanian parliament, bishops from the Lutheran Church of Tanzania, Pastor Kileo, the principal, and Gunter Neidhardt, director of the Faraja deacon school. Younger students and deacons sang, danced and read poems, and then a collection was taken for a new building, the graduates and the graduation celebration. The small sanctuary was overflowing with beaming parents, siblings, grandparents and friends of the graduates. During the 4-hour ceremony students hobbled out of the building to stretch and the old and young dozed off, resting on their neighbor's shoulder.

The smiles on the graduates' faces were priceless when presented with their diplomas, and, those of their parents! What an accomplishment. Physically disabled or not, these remarkable young people are eager to learn and become productive citizens. The students at Faraja are bypassing their peers because the private education they receive at Faraja is top-notch for Tanzania. Faraja provides small class sizes, a well-stocked library, computer classes, training for teachers, and outside volunteers and sponsors.

During my 10 days in Tanzania I celebrated but also got down to business to ensure these students get the best possible secondary education. In a meeting with three administrators we discussed how and where these young adults should continue their studies. Students take a national exam at the end of primary school, at age 12 to 15. If they pass the test and can afford more schooling, students go on to secondary school; if not, they attend vocational schools or go back to the family farm. The Faraja Foundation is dedicated to seeing all students continue in to the next phase of their education, vocation or work.

There is a saying in Tanzania: "Do not go downhill if you have already climbed uphill." Graduates of Faraja are well along in their uphill climb, and we believe they would be best served at a private secondary school. For many of the students, a secondary education in a government school would be a step in the wrong direction.

The administrators at Faraja identified the nine brightest graduates, and the Faraja Foundation will help them pursue an education at private schools. The cost of a private education is the same as Faraja's yearly tuition. For $1,200.00 per year, or $100.00 per month, a student gets room, board and an education where they can continue their uphill climb.

When these graduates leave the "comfort" that is Faraja they will go out in to their 3rd world country without the safety net of living with similarly disabled people. Being disabled in a poor country like Tanzania is more of a disability than in America. Tanzania is just now working on their Act for Persons with Disabilities (like our ADA).

I talked with the students about what they will do, how they will react, when people stare at them or are "curious" (a new vocab word!) about their physical disabilities. We did role plays on being an advocate for themselves and each other, if they end up together at the same secondary school.

The day before I left Tanzania some of the students and I took a walk to Karanz, a nearby village. On our way we stopped at Nicodemus' home where we looked at photo albums (my graduation gift was one of them), had soda and crackers and talked. Nico and his mother presented me with a live rooster, a gift we often ended up with, its feet strung together hanging upside down, eyes bulging in terror. We left the bird with his mates and continued to market day in Karanz.

Market in Tanzania is a "sea of humanity," as friend Dave Crowner put it. But, talk about standing out in a crowd: a white-haired white woman pushing a wheelchair among the brightly colored Maasai selling their vegetables and grains. This was just what we talked about: how to react when being stared at!

Beatrice bought a card she gave me the next day, along with some sugar cane. Then we were on our way back to Faraja. "Motha, can I help?" Daniel offered, and pushed Elias in his wheelchair back home. Gerald carried my rooster and pulled a classic trickster move. He put his thumb between the body and wing while showing me the rooster had a problem, possibly a broken wing. I touched the wing - his protruding thumb - and jumped. Samweli pulled a Hugh Matthews and fell dramatically down on the path as we walked back to Faraja. Jokesters - a fun, not-so Tanzanian trait.

The rooster was beheaded that night to be ready to cook after church on Sunday. Beatrice, Nico, Goodluck, Daniel, Samweli, Gerald and Lazaro came over to the guest house to cook Mr. Rooster. Crackers with peanut butter, an apple, orange, and one chicken was on the menu for seven people. I shared one last meal with some special kids on the same porch where we shared many meals with friends during our 9 months at the school. It was a fitting end to a great ten days at Faraja.

Have a look at 15-year-old Beatrice Elia's card she wrote to us after graduation. Kay Etheridge and Don Walz, friends from Gettysburg, are sponsoring her secondary education. The child you sponsor will e-mail or write and give you a glimpse in to their life in Tanzania. Visit http://www.farajaschool.org/ or send your check to:

Faraja Fund Foundation

912 Hanover Avenue

Norfolk, VA 23508

To know nothing else is to want nothing more.

“To know nothing else is to want nothing more.” –David Lamb, author “The Africans”

Field trip to Arusha National Park with standard 7

If you have never seen a map, how would you know where your country is or for that matter, your continent? If you’ve never put a puzzle together, how would you know the straight edges go on the outside? If you’ve never experienced interactive teaching, how would you know how to actively learn rather than parrot and be scared of your teacher?

Education in Tanzania is modeled after the British and German system from a half century ago, with little change since then. When Tanzania became independent the British colonialists left this country on its own. Some of you may remember regurgitating information that was lectured. Some also remember being hit by your teacher. This is the norm for Tanzania.

A child enters his or her local government school at the age of six, along with 60 to 100 other children who share one room, one teacher, 10 books, 15 desks and a black board. School is thirteen years here like in Germany. So, kindergarten – standard 7 is primary school. If a child passes the standard 7 exam they can enter Form 1. Form 1 – 4 are our high school and 5and 6 are kind of like junior college. If a person has an education through Form 6 their education is beyond 98% of their fellow countrymen. Vocational school, diaconal school, or going home to the family are the options if a non passing score is obtained in standard 7.

Government primary school in Karatu

Primary school is mandated by the government and is supposedly free although uniforms and school supplies are not provided and are a must. Also, many children stay home to take care of siblings, parents, and/ or farms. Teachers earn two thousand five hundred to three thousand dollars per year. Remember the average daily wage is $1.50 per day.

Most private schools are significantly better by having more books, better teachers, and more workable class sizes; and better students. Private schools cost $750.00 – 1,200.00 per year and many are boarding schools. So, yes, this includes tuition, room and board. Teachers earn between $4,600.00 – 7,000.00.

Six percent of the children go on to our equivalent of high school (forms 1 – 6). When this country gained its’ independence there were 120 professionals in the country. The literacy rate was 15 percent. After Julius Nyerere (“the father of Tanzania”) became president, the literacy rate jumped to over 90 percent.

Last January, one hundred thousand teachers were needed. The government put out an order. If you have a primary education (finished 7 grade) you must teach at the primary level and those with form 4 or above were to teach the upper levels. We visited Marangu Teachers College with the Crowners in January where Dave’s aunt started the library. The books she brought in 1952 are still used today, thus NO inventive, interactive, stimulating teaching methods are used in the classroom today.

Kate was given a book, St. Judes by one of their sailors this past summer. This book has been our beacon of light as it explains how education CAN work in Tanzania. It was written by Gemma Sisia. She is an Australian who married her Tanzanian safari driver and at the age of 23 began work on St. Jude’s School. Her classes are all in English. The school is a model of how progressive education can work. In fact it’s really the only hope. We read her book, watched St. Jude’s promotional video, and have visited the school three times now.

Her father-in-law gave them a small piece of land which has grown into 3 campuses educating 1200 students in and around Arusha. This school is amazing. Their mission statement is “Fighting Poverty through Education.” They take only the brightest and poorest children. If one child is educated this will sustain the whole family in Africa. St. Judes has passionate, educated people to carry out their challenging plan. We are hopeful that great new leadership can be born out of schools like St. Judes and Faraja.

Faraja is really a private school with its’ computer lab, a library, field trips, 16 – 25 children per class and having western overseers; the Tolmie family. The graduates in standard 7 will be going backwards if they go to a government school next year. Our visit to Old Moshi, a secondary government school, where 5 graduates from Faraja are in form 2 was startling. I felt as though I was in a movie set. The school was built in 1932 by the British. Again, not much has changed or been upgraded since independence.

Upon seeing the boys’ report cards, we decided mostly D’s and F’s really were not what we wanted for the students we have taught for the past six months. Half of the students at Old Moshi Secondary pass the form 4 exam; there are no computers for the students and although English is the official language starting in Form 1 (8^th grade) their English is horrendous. Sharon, Daniel, Gerald, Johari, Victoria, Emmanuel to name a few of the Faraja students’, English is much better than these students who are in form 2. We will be visiting several good private schools within the next 6 weeks. Pastor Kileo’s children attended or are attending private schools. Fourteen of the sixteen standard 7 students here are bright enough to succeed in secondary school. Four or five of them are brilliant.

It is our goal to get sponsorships to private schools for most of class 7 students.

Faraja’s motto is, “Education is the key to life.” After being here working with these wonderful students, we are certain this is true.

New Year: Vitabu, Maktaba, Mazoezi na Compyuta!

A little bit of knowledge can be a wonderful thing. Back in December before the children left for the holidays six student Physical and Occupational Therapy volunteers came to Faraja for two days. They assessed many of the students, made an adaptive writing device for Godlisten, took Judica’s hand splint off to move his hand and most importantly gave us the gumption to restart physical therapy at Faraja, a school for disabled children that promises its students regular physical therapy. Seeing kids in their wheelchairs ALL day got to us. We knew they needed to get out. Having a kidogo (little) seminar with the teachers, caretakers and volunteers allowed us to move forward.
So, when the new semester and year started Pastor Kileo put PT, library and computer in to the time table. All students in Standards 1, 3, 5 and 7 rotate between PT, library or computer daily. We are getting to know the kids so much better: their individual physical disabilities, personalities and dreams. This is so much better than last semester, when we only had them for computer or crafts during the school day and made up teaching time during our “clubs.”
Maktaba, or library as we know it, is unheard of in Tanzanian schools. Faraja is special because we have a library. What a wonderful thing we have with books. Books open up our world. We have a world map posted in the library, so the kids can see where the book takes place. Can you imagine a life without books?
During maktaba we read aloud to the kids, race around the room with Seabiscuit, sword fight with pirates, think of things that are “enormous” and ask, as Dr. Seuss does, “Are You My Mother?” Then the students are able to check out books to read in the dorms and bring back later. Having the Tanzanian teachers in all three classes will keep library, PT and computer sustainable classes after we leave.

Reading is Fun-damental!
Pat and Dave (Daudi) Crowner toted over 200 children’s books to Faraja, courtesy of many wonderful people in our hometown. The Crowners coordinated this boppin’ book bonanza that resulted in the first ever Reading Is Fun-damental book distribution at Faraja School.
Eighty-six boys and girls picked out a book, signed their names on the inside cover and walked out of the library proud owners of their very own book. Asifiwe picked out a book about flowers. Omega chose a whale book, while Samweli went for “The Giving Tree;” one of our favorites. Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, and Goosebumps all now have a home in Africa. It was so exciting to watch the kids and teachers looking for that perfect first book. Yes, the teachers wanted a book as well. You know this is really cool what so many of you did to help make this possible. Pat yourselves on the back and make your family give you a 20 minute foot massage; yeah that means you too, Vance Hikes!
Twelve adults wore hats to attend RIF at Faraja. So, Nemo was there, two baseball players, a safari driver and a rasta man to name a few. We hope the children got the comparisons.
We sincerely thank all of you who contributed books, sorted books, put the word out about RIF Africa and got them over here.
A special thanks to the Crowners, who lugged those hundred pounds of books here, as well as Karie Ridgely, the Gettysburg RIF coordinator, Louann Klunk and Roger Morrill from James Gettys and all of the Kindergarten through 3rd grade students and their parents. The response for books was apparently overwhelming – over 900 books! – so the next huge job went to the “sorters extraordinaire” who had to go through tons of books to pick out the best and luckiest books to make the trip to Africa. The sorters include Janet Hikes, Dave and Pat Crowner, Kyle Meisner, and Lily Crowner. Asanteni sana!

Enjoy the snow, East coasters! We’ve seen some pictures, but for us this will be a snowless winter. Ann is upset she is missing so many opportunities to shovel your driveways and “make bank.” But, lucky for her and the rest of Springs Avenue we’ll be back just in time for lawn mowing season!

Mug Bloggin: Safari 2009

I never thought I would get so excited about prunes. Our friends the Crowners arrived last week and they brought PRUNES! They were luscious, and we savored every bite. Tons of books for RIF, Parcheesi, soccer nets, and more fruit; ah ShangriLa! Our care packages and letters from Gettysburg and Texas have been greeted with untold exuberance and excessive salivation.

It’s early Sunday morning. I have the porch all to myself. I am watching two beautiful pigeons; yes pigeons are even beautiful in Africa. They have sky blue heads and amazing black and grey markings. I’m sure they are more discerning as to where they poop than the flying rat squabs in America.

Christmas came and went, as did Will. We were all five together for one month. As our friend Janet said: "Life is good.” Our safari began with amazing mud bogging through Tarangire National Park. At very close range we saw elephants, waterbuck, dik diks, giraffes, and warthogs. We also came very close to getting stuck in the mud. Tarangire is lush after the short rains, and the animals have come to engorge on knee-high grass. It was a true adventure blasting through the mud in the bush with our driver, Julius, sweating profusely as our confidence in him and the situation fell with every drop from his brow. This was right up Will’s alley! Julius had never been to the lodge we were going to and we met no other cars. We came to a rising creek that we sent Will to ford by foot BEFORE we crossed in the car to make sure it wasn’t too deep or contained crocodiles. Oh well, we sent our dogs and small children out on to the ice first to make sure it was thick enough to skate!

After several unmarked forks in the road and Julius saying, “Boundary Hill Lodge is up on that mountain,” which we certainly couldn’t see; we arrived. Our rooms had balconies right on the edge of a thousand meter cliff with a view of the entire park. As far as you could see there was only Africa in all its grandeur. The only break in the view were two Masaii bomas with fires lifting smoke a few miles away. The cows looked like tiny ants being herded around. Absolutely the most amazing view we have ever seen. I looked over to see Nell crying; justifiably. The crème de la crème was an outdoor bathtub sitting by itself looking over the edge of the cliff. The owner said he heard a leopard last night that apparently had made a recent kill nearby so don’t venture out of your room at night. Mystique was at an all time high. A night game drive brought genet cats, several storks and kingfishers trying to roost, and two lionesses hunting. 99% of the time lions are viewed sleeping. We drove past the retreating hunters to see a Thompson’s gazelle sitting in the grass. We were all convinced we saved that gazelle’s life, at least for this night. On to the Serengeti.
The Serengeti has the largest concentration of land mammals on Earth. We all knew this. What we were not prepared for was the vastness of the plain. As far as one could see in every direction there was nothing but plain and animals. No trees. It was grass and animals to the horizon…and beyond! The Ngorongoro Crater erupted 2.5 million years ago and spewed ash for hundreds of miles to its west, thus forming the Serengeti. Serengeti means “endless plain” in Maasai. Wildebeest, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelles, zebra, and warthogs were everywhere. There is absolutely no hiding here. Secretary birds, bustard birds, giraffes, elephants, and hippos were intermingled in their respective niches. Large rock outcroppings called kopjes are interspersed throughout the Serengeti. These are where most of the leopards, cheetahs, and lions lounged. One night we heard hyenas outside our tent. We woke up to see their tracks right on our path. Yes we saw the “Big 5”: leopard, lions, rhinoceros, elephant and water buffalo. We also saw the “Small 5”: leopard tortoise, lion ant, rhino dung beetle, elephant shrew and white headed buffalo weaver. I didn’t make this up!

A brief but very cool stop was Oldupai Gorge. This is where the Leakeys found tools from an ancient upright man called “Nutcracker Man.” The exposed gorge has revealed the remains of animals and over 50 hominids. Nell highly recommends Mary Leakey’s autobiography, chronicling a whiskey drinking, cigar smokin,’ self-taught lady in a man’s profession back in the day. “We would shoot our rifles into the river and felt it was safe for the children to bathe for 15 minutes before crocs or hippos became dangerous.”

The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest perfectly round caldera in the world. As we descended in to the crater it felt as if we were going to another planet in another time. Way down below one could start to make out herds of animals. This is also where there are about 14 rhinos remaining. We saw 4 of them from afar. We followed a stream to come upon a large troop of very excited baboons. They were jumping from tree to tree showing their teeth in a very agitated state. We came to realize the reason for the angst. Lions had decided to nap right below their baboon tree. A lion would lazily lift its head and the baboons would erupt into screaming and posturing; a cacophony of disturbed monkey music.

Our trip played itself out as we drove silently and reflectively home. It was incredibly exciting to experience this with our children. An amazing land that exceeded our already lofty expectations.

Christmas brought the pig that Kate wrote about in great and gory detail on her blog. It was tasty. Our tree was a pretty green and red (duh) plant we borrowed from the school. It was grandly decorated with “stuff,” and rounded with banana leaves until we confiscated the leaves to help smoke the pig. After Christmas we went to the Indian Ocean for New Years. IT WAS HOT! We sailed on an ancient torn sail ngalawa with three smiling Muslims. It looks precarious being an outrigger…sort of, with the middle cockpit being a dug out mango tree. They take it on the open ocean to Zanzibar; yikes about 5 to 6 hours away. When we would catch a gust one of the sailors would run farther out on the frame of the windward pontoon, smiling. Captain Said was at the very crude tiller. The only way to turn the boat is to jibe, releasing the main sheet and bringing the line around to the other side. We snorkeled and SCUBA’d and tried to stay cool. New Years brought a cookout on the beach with a most amazing full moon over the water displaying a partial eclipse. A full moon over the ocean on New Years with an eclipse; no way you say; I say yes way!
Kate and Will celebrated late into the night; heck we made it till 2 a.m. We sang Happy Birthday to Kate twice to Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday to you.”
Will returns to Montana on the 16th. We begin classes on the 13th. It is good to get the students back. We have started regular physical therapy, library, computer, and English classes. Thanks in large part to the Gettysburg community we will have a RIF (reading is fundamental) book distribution. Having a book of their own will mean a lot to them.

Take care and Happy New Year, Hugh, Nell, Kate, Will and Ann

TIA-EI!

One of our mottos: TIA-EI. “This is Africa, Enjoy It!” We heard a man yell this from his Land Rover as he sped past a dejected motorcyclist stuck in the mud.

Here are a few of our sayings and anecdotes from “This is Africa, Enjoy It:”

- “I just saw a calf hop out of the dala dala (bus transport)!”
- Asefiwe’s uncle asked if Kate wanted to stay in Tanzania for a long time. We wondered how many cows Kate would be worth.
- TENESCO, the only electricity company in Tanzania decided to change their method of payment to a pre-paid voucher system. A meter box was installed at our house, the electricity was cut off, and the company has yet to turn ON our meter box to allow umeme to come in to our house. The administration building at Faraja did not have umeme for two weeks. We hope the technician in Moshi gets to our meter number before we get back from our safari.
- Sitting in on the Rwandan Genocide trial at the UN International Criminal Tribunal court in Arusha was chilling. We saw Dominique Ntawukuriryayo on the witness stand, who is being charged for three accounts of genocide, complicity in genocide and direct and public incitement.
- During walks in our neighborhood we are always greeted by a bunch of cheery, overjoyed, watotos –little kids – who want to touch us, but only the boldest actually shake our hands.
- We were the ‘guests of honor’ at a vivacious confirmation party for Rogathe’s sister. She convinced us to change our weekend plans and accept the invitation. Good thing we did, or the “guests from America” would not have been present to take our special seats under the tent, share a dance with young Sara or drive in the ululating parade from church to house.
- “Ann, you have to close the door for her. She doesn’t have a left arm.”
- On one of our walks with the children Kate asked Zakayo where was Praygod. As he pointed to the bushes and arched his hand Zakayo made a machine gun noise, “dat, dat, dat, dat.”