Moshi and Vicinity

Friday I went over to Tumona to see the new science classroom and to inventory the science supplies.   Friends of Foot2Afrika donated money towards the completion of the classroom, and a lot of progress has been made, but it is not at all ready for use.  However, Lukumay, the headmaster, assures me that it will be ready by next Wednesday when we start the first of two teacher workshops.

The school already possesses a fair amount of glassware and a lot of laboratory stands, and even some chemicals.  We made a list of things we still needed and headed to town to buy supplies.  Moshi doesn’t seem like a promising place to buy science lab equipment, being a rather unimposing, dusty town, but tucked away are several shops selling chemicals and lab supplies and we were able to buy everything we needed.  Monday we will go over and start setting up for the workshop, although the room undoubtedly will not be ready.  But I can start mixing solutions and organizing the equipment and  chemicals.

Today Johnson (the founder and project coordinator at Foot2Afrika – Tanzania) took a group of volunteers up to Karamba, a Maasai village near Lake Jipe, almost in Kenya.  It’s very remote, with very little contact with the outside world.  Foot2Afrika works with the village on a variety of projects including medicine, food and water.  The only available water is a muddy cow pond, and in the dry season even that dries up and the residents must walk a long distance to get water.  Last year Foot2Afrika supplied water filters, and the goal is to have a well drilled. 

Our group brought food supplies – rice, flour, sugar, soap and cooling oil.  We distributed these supplies at two bomas.  At the end, the villagers presented us with a goat (alive).  We brought it back alive, and its present whereabouts are unknown to me, but I suspect we will see it for dinner tomorrow.

Arriving in Moshi

I arrived in Moshi Tuesday night, and surprisingly, my baggage made it with only one item broken:  the looseleaf notebook containing all my laminated handouts got its rings bent and no longer works.  In the scheme of things, that's nothing.

I had a meeting with Abihudi Lukumay, the headmaster of Tumona.  Today we will meet again, and we will begin getting the school organized for the installation of the equipment and the teacher workshop next week.  The students return January 8, and I will stick around to observe and troubleshoot.

We had some good news at Tumona:  Silvia, one of the form 4 students who got a sponsorship through Drew School, passed all subjects on her O-level exam, earning a Division 2 (which as far as I can tell is the equivalent of all B's).  She plans to continue studying science in A-level.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Tanzanian education system, primary school runs from grades 1-7 ("standards 1-7").  Secondary School is Forms 1 - 4, the equivalent of grades 9-11.  At the end of Form 4, students take a national exam and those who fail cannot go on with their education.  Those who pass with a low mark are able to take various types of vaocational training (including teaching, which I find disturbing).  Those who pass with high marks can go on to High School, Forms 5 and 6.  In high school, students specialize in an area such as sciences or liberal arts.

However, not all communities have high schools, and the government assigns students to high schools where their subject specialty is available.  We're hoping Silvia doesn't get sent too far away; but the costs of her education will be too high for her unless she receives sponsorship.  It's one of the biggest barriers poor children face in getting an education.

Friday Harbor Washington, 2 days before departure

The day after tomorrow I leave for Tanzania.

 During the past school year I spent considerable time researching the Tanzanian Practical Chemistry handbook, to try to understand what types of experiments a student in Tanzania is expected to perform as part of O-level chemistry.  Of course, the vast majority of Tanzanian students have no access to laboratory facilities of any type, but our intention is to start with Tumona Secondary School and to build a functioning science classroom that can be used by Tumona students and students from three nearby schools.

In the past two years we have brought some equipment to Tumona, helped the students to paint some educational diagrams (including a periodic table) on the walls, and worked a bit with the science teachers.  However, this year marks a departure as we attempt to bring a fully functional, if basic, chemistry lab to Tumona and to do systematic training with teachers on how to use the equipment, and how to use lab experiments to improve students' mastery and retention of the material.

I've developed nine laboratory exercises, and am bringing some equipment with me and will buy other equipment and chemicals in Tanzania.  I'm planning a two-day workshop for teachers at Tumona and the three neighboring schools.  However it appears that up to 45 teachers (which would be every teacher in the School District) wants to come to the training.  So we'll see what happens.

I'm fully expecting that things will go wrong along the way, and that this will be a learning experience for us all...