Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Let the teaching begin!

Look how peaceful he is...
So things have gotten a little bit more exciting around here.  The weekend before school started, me, Scott, Laura, Sarah, and Liz went on another safari since it was Sarah's birthday and Laura had never been on one.  Two safaris in two months… I really do love Africa!  And this time was amazing; along with hundreds of elephants, giraffes, and zebras, we saw a male lion basking in the sun.  Our driver Abdallah actually drove so close to him, we could have literally reached out and touched him!  He was monstrous but really beautiful.. we were hoping to see him chase after an animal and tear it limb from limb with his razor sharp teeth, but no such luck.  He just yawned and continued sleeping, paying us no attention.  It was still really cool though.
Me and Scott by the hippo pool.


A little family of elephants!








After a full day of searching for and staring at all the incredible animals, we stayed the night at a nice hotel in Morogoro (the town two hours from the village where we go to get supplies).  We were so thankful to take a long, nice hot shower and to eat a delicious meal that we didn’t have to cook.  I also got my first package since being here!  I was so excited! Sue D. sent me so many wonderful things, including school supplies, shoes for the kids and for me, and some spiritual literature I really needed.  Thanks Sue!!  I’m so grateful to have wonderful friends like you in my life who support me and the work I am doing here.  Keep those packages coming!  It’s really nice to have something to look forward to.  If you do send something, be sure to write ‘donations’ on the box so the Tanzanian government doesn’t keep the contents for themselves… I have heard they do that..  
Farida and Joan say hello and thank you for the shoes Sue D.!  We love you!


A couple of the village kids.  See the difference?
Most of you know I am working here as a teacher in a private school that was started by a wonderful non-profit, Hands4Africa.  I want to explain a bit about the school system here in Tanzania.  It sucks.  The government schools are abysmal, the classes are full of about 100 children because there aren’t enough teachers, the teachers that are there hardly show up because there is no accountability, and if the teachers do make the children work its to memorize their books- there is no creative thinking whatsoever.  Did I mention they also beat the children?  The whole system is a failure.  Only about 60% of children have the option to even start school because they either cannot afford it or there is not a school anywhere near them.  The students who do get to start school hardly ever get to finish.  Primary school is Standards 1-7, after standard 7 (about 7th grade) the students must take a test to get into secondary school (equivalent to high school).  After secondary school, you take a test to enter into a university. The passing rate is 40%, and more than half of all students cannot pass to get into secondary school and less than 1% actually go on to university!  With the majority of children forced to leave school at the age of 12, they must settle for a village job (where they make about $2 a day) and submit to a life of poverty.  Most young boys join workers at the farm, growing maize or tending to cows, while the girls must become house servants.  They cook and clean and take care of children for another family.. it also means the man of the house they are working for gets to use her for anything he wants, including sex.  No wonder there are so many young teenage girls who are HIV positive and pregnant. Without an education, there are no viable options for these children. So good schools are absolutely essential!!   With a good education and the ability to speak English, students are ten times more likely to go to a university and get a meaningful, well paying job.  If they get a good job, they can pay for basic necessities like clean water and health care.  Then maybe, they will wait to start a family until they can afford it (instead of continuing to have babies that they can’t feed).  And when the time comes and they do have children, they will be able to send them to a good school too so then their child can have a meaningful life. These students could be part of the agent of change for this place and it all starts with an opportunity for a good education.  That is what we are doing here.  We may not change all of the world, but we could change the world for the children at our school.

The kids trying to take our test.. if you can't tell they don't have a clue.
To see how our school measured up to the government schools, me and Liz held an experiment a couple weeks ago.  We had a few of our students gather ten of the kids who go to a normal village school, we promised them cookies so it was easy to find kids to participate.  First of all, you can just tell the difference between our kids and them.  Our kids are decently clean, well behaved, and respectful.  The village kids are filthy, don’t wear any shoes, push each other around, and act like hoodlums.  We gave them each a test that our students had taken at the end of the school year in June (on which we had an average of 75%) to see how they did compared to us.  It was a massacre.  Most of the children could not even spell their own names, they couldn’t count to ten, none of them knew any English…and they just stared at the test, completely unable to even answer one question.  We felt it was mean to continue so we took the tests away and gave them their cookies, knowing that those kids were doomed.  And there wasn't a thing we could do about it.  For the first time, I realized the gravity of the work I am here to do and how important our school is. 

My first science quiz... the average was an 80%
My students taking the quiz.
Well school finally started a few weeks ago and besides getting disgustingly sick for two days during the second week, everything has been going great.  I finally have a set schedule again- those of you who know me know I don’t do well with lots of idle time!   Not to mention, I absolutely love my job.  It is truly the most rewarding, incredible feeling I have ever had to teach these children, I feel like I was meant to be here all my life.  Their love, their joy, their willingness to learn... lifts my heart in ways I have never experienced.  Plus it’s really fun!!  They love learning, and I love teaching!  I have mostly been teaching English and Science.  We talk about why cleaning our bodies is important, what germs are, what diseases are caused by, why we brush our teeth, why we clean our foods before we eat them, why we boil water before we drink it… its all related to science, but it’s also really necessary for the way they live here.  Most people don’t know why when they drink the river water, they get sick with typhoid.  Or why their teeth are black and broken by the age of 12.  Or how to prevent disease- many people believe only a witch doctor can cure them.
As much as I love teaching them these things, it can be really hard too because all the knowledge in the world still can’t change their current circumstances.  I talk about why it’s important to drink clean water but many of my students will never have access to it.  There aren’t any dentists here so even if they brush their teeth, cavities can still grow and decay the teeth til there isn't anything left.  And though they may learn about diseases, there is such a lack of medicine and health care that even when they do get sick they may not survive.  I try not to think too much about these things because it makes me feel so sad and hopeless...  but all I can do is pass on the knowledge I have and do the best I am capable of, hoping and praying that it will somehow make a difference.  Also I have to keep in mind that it’s not up to me to save these children, that is God’s job.  I am just His instrument, trying to obey His will for my life. But that does not mean it's always easy.

It’s difficult to talk about some of these things, and it may seem that I am being harsh or bleak.  But it doesn’t do any good to hide the truth of what is going on over here and awareness is the first step in making a change.  There are many wonderful, beautiful things about this country- the people, the culture, the language.  But there is definitely a lot of progress that needs to be made.  And though it is hard living without many of the comforts I am used to, the children make it all worthwhile.  I am so grateful to have this opportunity and to do something for once that is not all about me.  God has truly blessed my life.  And I hope God blesses all of you!  Take care.
At the end of each day, the children pray together out loud.  Cutest.  Thing.  Ever.

P.S.  I read all the highlights from the Georgia/Clemson game and all I have to say is... GO DAWGS!!!!