I have been here for a week now, and am just starting to get adjusted to Tanzanian life. I got back to Arusha late on Monday from my safari with my friend Nicole, who is also volunteering here for the summer. We went to Lake Manyara National Park, the Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater and saw so many beautiful animals and had a wonderful time!Yesterday, I went to the school for the first time and am moving in today. I am sharing a small room with another volunteer, Celia, who has been here for almost 2 months already, but is leaving on Wednesday. I took my last hot shower for a long time (I don't know when I'll get another one) and I guess I'll see how I do without electricity or running water.
The school was similar, yet very different from what I thought. I had expected it to have very limited resources, but somehow it was different when I actually saw it. It is literally in the middle of nowhere. It is surrounded on all sides by corn fields, coffee and banana plantations. We walked 2 kilometers from the car to the entrance of the school, because the dirt paths are wide enough for only two people to walk side by side.
At the entrance, there is a well that they have to fetch their water from every day. Kids were doing their laundry beside it, and clothes were hanging all over the bushes. When we came in, they all said, "Good morning Madame" and started following me. I met the headmaster, who lives on school grounds constantly surrounded by the children. Many of his own children live there too, and help with administrative tasks and the like. Of course, that means that his grandchildren live in his same house too-- I couldn't really count, but there must have been more than 10 people just living in his house. He had his youngest grandchildren climbing all over his lap and he just sat there smiling and holding them. I can already tell how much he loves all the children and how much they mean to him.
The part I really wasn't ready for was just how rough their living conditions were. I went into the girls dormitory, where they sleep two or three girls to a bed. The beds are bunked and practically on top of each other; there is maybe two feet of space in between the beds and the room is definitely filled to capacity. In between, under, and all around the beds are piles of clothes, I couldn't tell if they were clean or dirty, but they were all laying in heaps inside and around suitcases, which I quickly realized were their only possessions. Each girl had a small suitcase, which when filled with their school uniform and a kanga (a blanket-wrap that women wear here over their clothes) were half full. There was a girl in the corner laying in bed and moaning, and someone explained that she was very sick and probably had malaria. I couldn't believe how casually they said that, like it was just a headache or something.
The classrooms are in a similar condition. I am sure they cram too many students in a classroom, and beside the tables and chairs, the only thing in there is a chalkboard. I went in to the staff room, which was completely vacant. There was a box of chalk in there and a couple of pieces of paper taped to the wall, and that was it. I don't understand how the teachers teach without any resources, and especially how the students learn when they either have completely blank books, or no books at all. William told me that nobody has ever brought books to the school before, and I really believe him. The only written things I saw were either too dusty or beat up to decipher, or more than 30 years old and such dry material that I wouldn't even want to read it.
I haven't brought all my books out yet, but I am so excited to do so and to see the children's faces when they see the colorful illustrations and can read the stories that a child should read. Above are a couple pictures, some of my safari and a couple of primary school students. Enjoy and you'll hear from me soon!
Jessie
