August 2021 Update

After a month-long break in June, Twegashe students are all smiles to be back in school!

We’re hoping that you’ll be smiling, too, as we share some of the exciting things that have been happening here at Twegashe School.

A New Teacher

One new source of smiles among the students is the arrival in early July of our third teaching staff member, Madam Brigitha. Madam Brigitha has had several years of experience teaching primary school, and has also worked for an organization that serves low-income and disadvantaged Tanzanian children. She is creative, full of energy, and loves children…And we are delighted to have her on board!

One of Brigitha’s special interests is environmental stewardship. We’re looking forward to having her put this interest into action helping Twegashe students understand the importance of caring for the earth. We know that Brigitha has an adventurous spirit because she comes from a distant region of Tanzania and has chosen to live and work in this rural area although she doesn’t speak the local Kihaya language. We’re convinced that the mix of ideas and traditions created by having a diverse staff will benefit Twegashe’s students.

Goat Project

Also new on campus are several young goats, donated by the family of first-grader Zelda. As our first livestock project, these goats will help Twegashe School achieve its goal of giving children a well-rounded education that includes practical topics in addition to academics. Goats are a valuable source of protein and a good income source for village families, so knowing how to care for them can be very beneficial.

One of Zelda’s jobs at home is helping to care for the family’s goats. She is a very energetic girl, so we hope to channel that energy into a leadership role at school sharing her goat-tending skills with her classmates. This new goat project will also provide a good source of protein for the school cafeteria and a source of fertilizer for the school garden.

Cafeteria Tables

Another new feature at Twegashe School is tables for the cafeteria. Since this space will double as an auditorium, we wanted tables that convert to benches. But alas, there are no school furniture companies here with dozens of options to suit every need. Instead, we went to a carpentry shop in Bukoba  and showed them our idea, using photos from an online catalog. They had never seen, let alone made, this type of table, but they seemed eager to give it a try. After many, many iterations and many visits to the shop to check on their progress and make recommendations for changes, they finally came up with a prototype that worked.

A month or so later (and after quite a few more trips to the shop), ten shiny new tables were delivered to the school. The children love eating on these new tables rather than on mats on the floor, and cook Gau testified that serving and clean-up are easier, too. The first day we began using the tables, the cafeteria was a-buzz with excitement!

Teacher Training

The goat project – and the school garden as well – provide opportunities for hands-on learning outside the classroom. A major goal of Twegashe School is to deliver “hands-on, minds engaged” learning inside the classroom as well. Putting this goal into action means that teachers need to be trained, since this kind of education is not the norm in Tanzania.

Through our contacts with other schools in Tanzania, we were fortunate to find out about a teacher training program run by the Joshua Foundation in Arusha that focuses on positive discipline and student-centered teaching. All three of our teachers have attended the first of three week-long training sessions in Arusha. In late July “Teacher Sam” came from Arusha to Twegashe for two days of on-site classroom mentoring to follow-up on that training. The teachers are very excited about this opportunity to learn and grow as professionals, and we are excited to have found a training program with objectives so closely aligned with the objectives of Twegashe School.

Just two days after Sam left, Keela Williams arrived from Seattle to provide several weeks of continuing education on Montessori techniques for our teachers. We are following the Montessori model only for the kindergarten class, but we want all teachers to be familiar with this method of teaching so they can cover each other’s classes effectively. Keela provided all the Montessori materials that we have been using, and on this trip she brought along two suitcases with even more fun stuff!

Teacher House Solar

We expect that opportunities for professional development like these trainings will help us to attract and retain qualified and dedicated teachers. But another important “perk” for Twegashe teachers is comfortable housing. In May, a donation from one of our wonderful supporters (made in honor of a group of her friends who call themselves the “Southern Sisters”) allowed us to install solar power in the first two teacher duplexes. It’s so cheerful now to see lights shining at night from the houses on the hill! Thank you Southern Sisters!

Fire Season

We’re getting more than enough sun right now to keep the solar batteries charged up, since we’re in the middle of the driest season of the year in the Bukoba area. And the dry season means fires here, just like in the western US. Unfortunately, these fires are not natural. They are set intentionally to encourage the growth of new grass shoots that grazing cattle are very fond of. Setting fires like this is illegal, but catching the culprits is difficult, so the fires are very common – and quite dangerous. Since Twegashe School is surrounded by grassland, we mentioned this danger at the last parent meeting. Parents organized a work party the very next morning to hoe a fire strip around the campus. Thirty parents showed up to help – a sign that parents recognize the value of Twegashe School!

Happy Students

Students seem to value their school, too – at least they clearly enjoy their time here. Before the June break, many of them told their teachers they would rather keep coming to school than have a vacation. We gave them that opportunity in part, inviting each child for “Library Time” at least once a week during the month-long break. Teachers also spent time during the break working individually with students who they felt could use some extra help.

After the relative silence of the break, it was great to have all of the students back when school resumed in July, to see so many smiling faces and hear their happy chatter! One day soon after the break, we met first grader Frank looking especially happy.

“Frank, you look very happy today. Why are you so happy?”

His response, “I’m at school!”

A huge thank you to the many wonderful friends and supporters of CORE Tanzania who are making it possible for Frank and his friends to be so happy at Twegashe School.

 

P.S. You may be looking for the usual construction update in this newsletter. Here’s another opportunity for us all to smile as we report that “Phase 1 construction is complete!” Many thanks to all of you who helped us reach this milestone. Now it’s on to Phase 2. We hope you’ll stay with us to finish the job!