Last night I heard from my good buddy Kajuna who's another teacher at the school where I was teaching. I heard got some very good news from him and some very bad news.
The good news was that the results for the Form IV students were out and I could look them up online. I did, and I was very pleasantly surprised. The girls did extremely well on the tests and they're the best results the school has ever had. None of them failed their exams overall, and not very many failed math. This is very exciting. Most of the girls are going to be able to continue their education in advanced level. It's great to see the vast majority of the students succeeding. I'm extremely proud of them and how hard they worked and that it all paid off for them.
A little while later, while I was still pretty euphoric from the good news, I got the bad. I've mentioned before that largely because of the school being a boarding school in an isolated area I became extremely close with a lot of the students, and many of them began to feel like kid sisters to me. There was one in particular who would always make a point to say hello and talk and joke with me and came to me almost every day with math and physics problems she had done and asked me to grade them for her. She is an extremely bright and hard-working girl. Most of all, she was really good at figuring things out, which is so, so rare in a culture that discourages asking questions and too often emphasizes rote memorization in education. She wasn't the smartest kid I taught and she goofed off a bit too much, but there were very few kids I taught who I felt had as bright a future as she did. What I found out though, is that she's pregnant. In Tanzania the law says that girls are not allowed to attend school if they are pregnant or have kids, so she's been kicked out of school. She's only 15 and now her future has been completely derailed. I'm angry because she knew better, but also I feel awful that because of this one mistake she may have ruined her chances of ever getting a good education. It doesn't completely rule it out, because she will be able to learn on her own or get a tutor and sit for the exams, but now it's going to be much, much harder for her, especially with a kid to take care of. I know her family is well-off, so hopefully something can be worked out, but it breaks my heart. And of course, in a place with the HIV rate at almost 10%, pregnancy isn't close to the biggest thing to worry about from unprotected sex. I keep thinking about how she was so upset about me leaving Tanzania. She could be very stubborn and insisted that she wouldn't like her new math teacher just because he or she wouldn't be me. She was also one of several of the girls who wrote a note for me before I left. I just hope she can learn from this and think about the consequences of what she does. I think she can be a great mom, but she's just so young.
The job search for me continues. Hopefully I'll know about grad school soon and then I'll be able to go more decisively for either a long-term or temporary job.
6 comments:
Hi Andrew, Your diary is fascinating. We spent time travelling in the Usambara mountains recently, and were very interested to read your comments, especially about the Kongei school, because the daughter of our guide goes there.
Can you give us some more info on the school? We are interested in ways to help such a school in the Lushoto area. Many thanks, and Good luck with the job hunt! Jo (from Basel, CH)
Hey Jo,
Kongei is in the Gare Ward, about three kilometer before Gare village if you're coming from the Lushoto-Mombo road. The school's a Catholic girls' boarding school with about 350 students. It's only been around for a little over ten years, and the school's performance has been improving every year. It's undergoing a lot of construction right now, so it's certainly a school that would appreciate any help it can get. If you click the link to my picture site at the top of the page you can see a lot of pictures of the school and the students. It's the first link on the "Links" section. Right now there are two Peace Corps volunteers teaching at the school who replaced me. What's your guide's daughter's name, by the way?
Hi Andrew. Thanks for this info. The pictures are great. We'd be interested what the admission criteria are to the school. I undertand it's fee paying, but is admission also on a merit basis, or can anyone go who can afford the fees? Is there a system of grants for gifted kids who can't afford the fees? How is the school currently funded? Could you give us the name of the Head of school, so we can write to them directly. Thanks again for your help in this!
Our guide's daughter is Tarciana. I think she was form II in 2007.Do you know her?
All the best. Jo
All schools in Tanzania charge fees, but at private schools like Kongei they are a good bit higher than the government schools. The school does have a test for admission. The school also gives scholarships to a several girls from the local area every year. Most of the girls come from farther away like Dar es Salaam, Tanga, and Arusha. Admission is merit based, however sometimes some of the local girls are allowed in despite performing below the usual standard. This is done because there simply aren't good primary schools in the Lushoto area, so the local girls have a disadvantage.
The head of school is Sister Christa Kimashi. You can write to her at PO Box 61 Lushoto.
I do know Tarciana. I was her math teacher. She was in group that did a song at the graduation last year. She's got a great voice.
Hi Andew, this is really helpful, and so much faster than waiting for snail mail from Africa! Thanks again for your input. We'll write directly to the Headmistress for further questions on how to support the school.
How funny that you know Tarciana. It makes the world seem so small! I hope her maths is as good as her singing :) Her father is a great guide, and he used to be a teacher too.
Wishing you every success in your future career.
Jo
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