Kisondela Shadowing Day (26/07/16)

   Today was a very early start for everyone, especially for cook team three who had to get up at 4:45 to prepare breakfast. We set off on the hour long walk, to Kisondela secondary school, just before sunrise.

                   

    When we arrived at Kisondela we were quickly grouped and were escorted to our classes. Groups either shadowed Form 3 or Form 4 students, which are the equivalent to year 10 and 11. Every group had a different timetable; my groups first lesson was geography but others had English or maths. In geography we learnt about the characteristics of rivers; the teacher took the whole class outside to participate in a practical, where a few students poured buckets of water out on a slight hill, to show how the channels form together to create a river. We then had another one hour and twenty-minute lesson in biology. The lesson was about the classification of living organism; all of the English students found it quite challenging.

                                                                              

  It was very interesting to see how different the teaching styles are in Tanzania compared England. One of the major differences was that students remained in one classroom all day and the various subject teachers came to the them rather than students moving to different classes. Due to the lack of resources the classrooms were very basic in comparison to the likes of St Benedict's and Westlakes; the majority of students had a wooden desk to themselves but some had to share, there was no electricity in the classrooms so the teacher just used a chalkboard. Nevertheless, the Kisondela students did not let this phase them as they were all very ambitious; many had their sights set on prestigious careers such as doctors, engineers and teachers and some even aimed to be the president of Tanzania.

                                                                              

   After all nine lessons were over, we were all really hungry. Dinner time wasn't until 2:30pm; we were christened with traditional Tanzanian ugali (maize flour with water) however Kate's christening was different because it took place in the physical form of beans being poured over her (beans make her bork). We also had to eat with our hands, which we were not used to, although we embraced it as it is a cultural exchange.

   After dinner, we all went to the sports field to play a game of football against the Kisondela students. Surprisingly we won 3-2, probably due to Robyn's impressive mid field skipping abilities.

   Overall is was a really interested day and we all learnt a lot about the culture and the education system in Tanzania.

         

   P.S. quick poll: if there was a giant spider in your bedroom, which could potentially be deadly or cause a slight rash, would you…

a) kill it 

b) let it run around the room causing havoc

#WILLYOUSAVEBARRY comment below

**results to follow**

                         

 

By Jessica Jenkinson

P.P.S The spider is NOT deadly, before any parents get too concerned. I propose addition to the poll of option c) Humanely remove the spider from the room. (P.P.S added by Amy)

Kisondela Oi! (25/7/16)

On Monday morning, the focal activity of the outward programme really began: school visits. The first school on our agenda was Kisondela Secondary School. As will be the case with all our secondary school visits, we were scheduled to visit Kisondela over three days; the first of these days being the infamous 'welcome day'.

The journey to Kisondela takes around one hour from the bible centre on foot so we had to be up early enough to get breakfast and be on our way. We had arranged for a taxi to carry the large bags of gifts that we had procured for the school, while we trudged the dusty, uneven paths, shortly after sunrise.

 

At 9am exactly, we arrived at the school and engaged in the Tanzanian greetings to which we have become so accustomed. There were 'shikamoos' dished out to anybody seemingly official looking, some of these appropriately (the headmaster of the school), others less so (his PA). We were then taken on a tour of the school compound where we saw crops being grown for pupils' school meals and were awestruck by the beauty of the school's surroundings; vast mountains and abundant palm trees made the area seem more fit to be the setting of a novel than a place to learn maths, English and science.

                                                                                                                                                                           

The 'Officials' and Becca

After a traditional lunch of rice (Tanzania's favourite carb) and beef, we were taken outside for the real welcome to begin. We were blown away by the scale of the event; hundreds of people, from teachers, pupils, education officials and even local villagers, were assembled to make us feel 'warmly welcomed' at their school. We heard speeches from several officials thanking the link for our contributions of resources, past and present. We heard about the progress of the current project, the construction of a new administration block, and were able to see that it was going well. But, perhaps most importantly, we saw passionate performances from the pupils that had clearly taken weeks of time and effort to perfect, all for us. It was amazing to see the wonderful dances and remind ourselves of the true purpose of the trip: the cultural exchange. We were even invited to take part in some of these dances, which was hilarious. The audience were clearly entertained by the 'wazungu' trying to match the rhythm and enthusiasm of the Tanzanians (I still haven't quite mastered the ululation sound, but I'm trying!).

                                                                                                             

                                                                                                             

To finish off a fantastic day, the English students were invited to play volleyball against the Tanzanian students. All our students took part and even Julia and Andrew 'took one for the team' so that some leaders were represented in the game. Partly because the rules of the game were only followed loosely, and partly because I spent the majority of the game horizontal working on my tan, I'm unsure which team won. Regardless, both teams seemed to have a great time.

 

We headed home that day on the long and winding road to Lutengano tired, happy and overwhelmed by the welcome we received from a school so limited in material resources but so rich in love.

Carly

 

Church and Chakula (24/07/2016)

Rolling out of bed into our 'church clothes' – a phrase used for the only bits of clothing not yet covered in dust – we ate a breakfast of pancakes and sugar, with chai or hot cocoa.

After much confusion over cook team 3's ability to simultaneously clean up after breakfast and get ready for church, we piled onto Lulu, the infamous CRCL bus that I'm sure has already been mentioned in previous blogs. Hurtling across Rungwe's pothole-infested roads (nearly as bad as Whitehaven's) and bolder-like stones, we finally arrived at Ano's church.

The church was decorated with some children hanging precariously from a climbing frame outside, in brightly-coloured kangas and the tiniest buckled shoes. Many were accompanied by mothers with babies dangling from slings made of kangas on their backs, and vibrant patterned dresses made at the local market. Dressing up for church is a must in Tanzania, and the 'Sunday best' tradition is still very real.

Because we were early when we arrived, we sat in for the end of the first session of church – bible study. Despite being spoken in Kiswahili, the faith and passion many of those in the church had transcended language. It was very clear to see how much God means to this very small, very rural community.

The second session of the service was devoted to evoking Jesus – this was done through song and dance. We were told to expect a more lively service than those we were used to in England, though none of us expected the appearance of two gargantuan speakers and a full routine. For the next two hours we spent at the United Assemblies of God church, we were encouraged to join in singing, dancing and praying. We sang a few songs of our own, Colours of Day and Amazing Grace included.

Afterwards, we were invited into the pastor's office, where we were offered chai and tiny sweet bananas with the ends cut off. Becca picked up her third handwoven basket of the day – a traditional Tanzanian wedding gift. Many karibus were exchanged, and we felt just as welcome as we have throughout our time here.

After church, we hopped back onto Lulu and drove to Dorothy's (an RCCL leader) teacher training college. We went on a tour around the grounds, and met some of the college's students. The grounds were beautiful, and we saw more of the oh-so-familiar Coca Cola billboards that seem to plaster every inch of advertising space.

 

 

 

 

 

Unbeknownst to us, Dorothy and her helpers had prepared a huge feast under a makeshift gazebo. Traditional Tanzanian foods such as rice, fried plantain and pili pili peas were accompanied by familiar foods like roast potatoes and spinach. Boxes of sachets of Konyagi and bottles of Serengeti beer stood with crates of 7up and tropical fruit juices.

About 30 minutes later, all that remained was one crate and three questionable pieces of pork. All the while, a combination of Western rap and hip hop music and what can only be described as some version of Tanzanian Bollywood music was blaring through some more Marshall speakers. It was a surreal experience to say the least.

The afternoon turned into evening, and the evening turned into night. Everyone was up and dancing;

 

Soon it was time to leave, and after several group photos and many hugs, those going on homestays went one way while the rest of us went back to the bible centre.

We finally went to sleep, wondering what our first secondary school visit would be like.

Ashleigh Huddart