Karibu! Nyegera!
“Karibu” means “Welcome” in Kiswahili. Kiswahili is the national language in Tanzania.
“Nyegera” means “Welcome” in Kihaya. Kihaya is the language children learn at home in Bushasha village.
Welcome to the Kids’ Corner!
We hope you’ll enjoy visiting here and learning a little bit about the life of children in Bushasha village.
We’re building a new school in Bushasha village so children like the ones you see in the picture at the top of this page can get a good education.
Are you wondering,
Where in the world is Bushasha village?
Look at the map to the right. Move the map around until you find Bushasha.
Seasons in Bushasha
Do you see the dotted line going across the map just above Bushasha? That’s the equator, the line that divides the northern half of the globe from the southern half. Bushasha is just south of the equator, so it’s warm there all year long, although it is a little bit cooler in the winter (June – August) than in the summer (December – February). Because Bushasha is very close to the equator, day and night there are almost the same length all year long. The sun rises at about 6:00 every morning and sets at about 6:00 every evening. It doesn’t matter if it is June or December.
The change from day to night happens much more quickly at the equator than it does farther north in places like the US and Europe. So in Bushasha, if you see the sun is close to going down you’d better hurry home or you’ll be walking home in the dark!
Can you guess how long it takes to fly to Bushasha from where you live?
You can see how good your guess is by following these steps. Read ALL the instructions first:
- Click on the words “More options” in the top left corner of the map. That will take you to a new page with a bigger map.
- Click on the airplane picture at the top left side of that map.
- Type in the name of your town and state and then hit the “enter” key.
- Close that page and come back to Kids’ Corner when you’re finished.
How close was your guess?
If you live in Seattle, it takes 1 day and 9 hours. That’s a long time! Of course, that includes a few stops on the way. The actual time in the air from Seattle is about 20 hours. But that’s only to fly to the closest big airport, in Entebbe, Uganda.
Can you find Entebbe on the map?
From Entebbe you have to ride a bus for 6 hours to the town of Bukoba, and then take a car on a dirt road for one more hour to the village. If it’s the rainy season, the last five miles of the road will be very muddy. You might even have to walk. Do you think you will be tired by the time you arrive?
School in the Village
What does your school look like? How many classmates do you have? What kind of things are in your classroom? Take a few minutes to picture your classroom in your head.
Now try to imagine what school is like for children in Bushasha.
What you just imagined is a normal school for many children in Tanzania, especially children who live in the countryside.
Would you enjoy going to a school like this? Do you think you would learn much?
There are lots of other things that might surprise you about school in Tanzania…
Language at School
One of the most difficult things about school for children in the village is language.
The language children learn at home is called Kihaya.
Let’s learn a bit of Kihaya. You already learned “Nyegera”, which means “welcome.” Here’s how to count to five.
emoi
ibili
ishatu
inai
itanu
The language used in primary school in Tanzania is Kiswahili.
Now let’s learn some Kiswahili. You already learned “Karibu,” which means “Welcome.” Here’s how to count from one to five in Kiswahili.
moja
mbili
tatu
nne
tano
Can you see some similarities between the numbers in Kihaya and in Kiswahili? The languages are related to each other, so some things are similar, but they are completely different languages. If you only know Kihaya, you will not be able to understand what someone is saying if they speak Kiswahili.
In elementary school, textbooks and lessons are in Kiswahili, but most children don’t know Kiswahili when they start school. They have to learn a new language before they can learn anything else!
Imagine going to school as a new kindergartner. Imagine that when you get there all the teachers and older students are speaking Swedish, all the books are written in Swedish, and all the lessons are taught in Swedish! Maybe you will want to run back home!
There are lots of other things about village life that might surprise you, too.
- There are no are TVs, no computers, and no smart phones
- There is no electricity—make sure you get your homework done before it gets dark!
- That is, if you have time for homework. Most village kids have lots of daily chores to do, like fetching water or firewood, helping with cooking, and taking care of younger brothers and sisters. And there’s no such thing as an allowance!
- Even at school there are chores to do. For example, school children must often collect firewood for their teachers.
How much do you know about life in the village??
Try this short quiz to find out!
What do people use to cover the floors in their houses?
What is the most common food people eat for dinner?
How do people usually carry heavy things from place to place?
What is the most popular sport?
