Kighare Secondary - Usangi

John Reed April - May 2008

I’ve been in Tanzania for a month now and it is interesting reading my first blog to see how my opinions have changed. In many ways things are the same, friendly welcoming people, beautiful scenery, and wonderful hosts.
I can now beat Ali at drafts, which is apparently a major achievement. I didn’t tell him that I am a pretty good chess player but it took me ages to master the strange Tanzanian rules and a 10 by 10 board. Usangi still is a safe and secure place. One day I felt someone was following up the hill but it came to nothing.
Teaching the local ladies English was a lot of fun. They were great students and have excellent English accents. They just don’t seem to understand that 2 o’clock means 2 not 2.30 or 3.00! Songs go down well particularly 10 green bottles. Mr Ismaeli has introduced me to a lady of 110 years (her 3rd son was 75). I have gone on some lovely local walks and been greeted with endless good cheer. I know enough Kiswahili to explain that I am a teacher. This seems to satisfy local gossip needs.
My teaching is now finished as the examinations have started. Form 1 have been attentive and fun. All 70 plus of them work so hard. Taking a photo is hard but I have tried. Many of them have high ambitions which are great and many have the ability to succeed. My two forms 3 have been good with one or two off days. Teachers in the UK please note that these are not the same as off days in an English comp. It just means they weren’t all as committed as usual. Often the problem is that the start of the lesson so messy with the students coming in late from doing jobs. Their English is not as good as I thought and many of them have not good maths skills. The topic was functions (!!) so it was a challenge. Nevertheless many did well and responded to having their books regularly marked (with stickers) and also to me dashing round trying to help them.
The big cloud has been corporal punishment. It has now exceeded my wildest expectations and sometimes I have gone back to the volunteer house in shock. It seems uncontrolled, indiscriminate and violent. As the term has finished there has been a little bit of an ‘end of term’ feeling that characterises all schools, exacerbated by a shortage of and absence of staff. The reaction of some of the staff was not worthy of any teacher.
Apart from that I was concerned by the situation of the girls. The head is the only female teacher. During my time she has been absent about half of the days. There is no one for the girls to go and see apart from male teachers. Also that sense of restraint and good sense normally provided by female teachers is noticeably absent.
So I left after my teaching was over. Staying to supervise exams seemed fruitless. During all this time my support from Mondo Challenge has been endless, helpful and sensible.
This experience has been extraordinary, seeing a country from a perspective so far removed from that of a tourist. The people here live life little above a poverty level and work very hard. Age is not a limiting factor and grannies work from dawn to dusk doing hard physical labour. They are kind and generous and have high expectations for their children and of the education system. One can easily over romanticise the culture in such a beautiful setting but there are pluses over European life, almost no litter, non existent consumerism, a great feeling of community, wonderful hospitality and endless cheerfulness and laughter. The price is high, however in long days of work, lack of reading materials and limited ability to travel. It’s at least one hour to a metalled road. There is continued shortage of cash and an education system constrained by numbers, lack of teachers, and lack of good teachers.
The birth rate is very high. 7 or 8 children are normal in a family. I would guess the mountains may not sustain the increased population. The fragile infrastructure will struggle to keep up.I said goodbye to Mr Ismaeli and his wonderful family with regret and sadness. I beat Ali one last time at drafts before I left.