Hi Team!
Back again so soon! After last month’s newsletter delay, we’re almost back on schedule.
July has been a great month at school and, as usual, very busy. Our annual July tour group that you briefly met in the last newsletter, continued on with their adventures; 17 hardworking Rotarians from Australia arrived over to help us out for a few weeks; mid year departures of some of our volunteer team saw us farewelling five members; the students and staff were busy preparing for the end of term exams; and old friends returned for a flying visit. Now read on for the details and photos!
The Friday Follies!
I remember weekly assemblies at school were a pretty dry affair – ponderous speeches by visiting dignitaries, the obligatory reprimand by the Head, an unfathomable bible reading by a prefect and a tuneless hymn. Not so at St Jude’s!
At our Friday assembly we now supplement the national anthem (one of the most beautiful and moving national anthems ever heard), the school song (a rollicking, jaunty number with lots of arm movements and clapping to accompany it), certificate awards for staff and students, introductions to visitors and farewells to departing staff, with great performances from various classes who have been practicing song and dance acts during the week with their creative teachers. Even our Staff Choir has joined the line-up of talent (see below).
The tables were turned one lunchtime when one of our visitors, young Rebecca Knoll from the USA, laced up her ballet pointe shoes and for the first time in the history of the school the students and staff witnessed a beautiful ballet performance with grand jeté, arabesque and amazing pointe work superbly executed.
It was considered an even more astonishing feat (excuse the pun!) when you consider that the day before she had just finished a ten-day climb to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro! She was so inspiring and made it look so easy that the girls spent their play time trying to emulate Rebecca’s pirouettes while the boys tried to figure out how to stand on their toes in clunky school shoes! I didn’t like to shatter their hopes by explaining that Rebecca had been learning ballet since she was three years old and practiced four hours a day … I can see a request for a ballet club coming up.
The Tour Adventures Continue …
My dear friend, Angela Bailey (pictured below with Evan Phillips), has lead another successful three week tour group to Tanzania.
After assisting teachers in the classrooms and playing with the children at lunchtime, they headed off to spot lions in the Serengeti, bargain for souvenirs in the craft markets, mingle with the Maasai among the bright colours at the Maasai market and swim and snorkel in the turquoise waters off Zanzibar Island. They were a great group who entered into the spirit of the tour where we really try to give everyone a taste of the real Africa by giving them the opportunity to experience what no tourist usually does – the basic existence of the battling Tanzanians. Treks out to remote mud huts to visit their sponsored children’s homes are an experience that will stay with them forever.
Below, Kim and Daniel join the afternoon school bus trip to head home with one of our students for the night.
Priscilla and Emma (below) meet the family of Lukami, one of the Maasai watchmen who guard the school at night.
Jose (below) lends a hand to our Head Cook, Josephine, by stirring one of the great vats used to cook the lunches for over 700 students and staff each day.
Lorraine really entered into the spirit of the occasion when we trouped out to Monduli Maasai Market to gnaw on goat ribs for lunch. She quickly figured out whom to chat up to ensure she got the best piece of meat!
Kelly-Anne obviously gave the thumbs up to the chief!!
One little goat (below) was definitely not going to be BBQ’d! Jacob, my younger son, decided he’d be better off as a friend than food and decided to sneak him onto the bus. This smile quickly turned to tears when the owner thought otherwise!
Emma, Priscilla, Joyce and Kelly-Anne (below) caught in a moment of indecision – how can you chose a piece of material when there is so much amazingly vibrant coloured African cloth on display!
I drove the group over to see the new farm that so many of you are helping us to buy. This will be another School of St Jude campus where hundreds more Tanzanian children will receive free, high quality education giving them the opportunity to fulfil their dreams of becoming leaders in various fields of Tanzanian businesses, industries, politics and the arts in the future.
Lyn (below) learnt a valuable skill from one of the local hunters … at least I think that’s what he uses the bow for …
Lorraine (below) took the opportunity (like many of the others who sponsor children at the school) to visit for lunch with her sponsor child, John Flavian, and his family.
And when they were not munching on goat ribs, sharing school lunches with the students or enjoying the great meals prepared by Peter our tour cook, the group sampled the fare at local restaurants. Daniel and Emily (below) agreed that you could even find a good pizza in Arusha!
And for a great view and a relaxed meal, Karama Lodge is a top spot to hang out.
Farewells!
It’s that time of year when those who come from the northern hemisphere head back to start their academic year after giving so generously of their time to us.
Mr Bob (below) was our ever cheerful, ever calm and ever helpful head computer technician who kept us all sane when (as anyone who has worked on computers knows) there were those inexplicable moments when the screen would go blank, a file would disappear, a strange message would pop up, programs would behave strangely (and it was nothing we did, of course!) and you would hear a mournful wail, “BOOOOOOOOB!! HELP! I NEEEED YOUUUU!! And every time he would jump up and calmly and efficiently sooth the panic with his capable and ‘healing’ hands.
To keep over 70 computers, powered by sporadic and fluctuating 3rd world electricity, running and functioning smoothly is a mammoth task and he did it … such a shame he found his passport that I thought I’d hidden beyond detection ….
Another great loss was Felicity (below) whose many years of teaching experience were not only appreciated by the children she taught but were passed on to the less experienced Tanzanian teachers who learnt so much from her. She always had time to impart her knowledge with patience and kindness. All the staff and children will miss her but we understand that there are others who need her too - her daughter is giving birth to twins in a few months! We only helped her find her ‘lost’ passport after she promised to consider coming back when the twins are out of nappies! We’ll be waiting!
Sarah, Rachel and Mary-Kate were three other volunteers who although came over as short-term volunteers, worked so hard while they were here, I think they packed in a years worth of jobs and responsibilities! Sarah work hard in the PE department, Rachel assisted with the art classes and Mary-Kate took on the pre-school children with special care for the ones with learning difficulties. Not only will the children miss their love and attention but the other volunteers will miss their great company as they leave many good friends behind. We wish them all happy onward travels and success in their future careers.
The Rotary RAWKS team is raring to go!
Brian Pattinson (below) rounded up a great bunch of Aussie Rotarians and friends to come out for a few weeks to do whatever we needed them to do. Inspired by Brian’s amazing organisational skills and capacity for hard work, this team of 17 has worked so hard since they got here that they completed the original tasks ahead of time and stood at my desk and said, “So, what else can we do?”
And not only did they arrive over with the most amazing collection of modern electric building tools but with clever convincing and powerful persuasion they managed to collect such a huge amount of donated goods that I’m surprised their flight from Sydney managed to skim the tops of the Blue Mountains let alone get them to Africa! And they must have done some clever talking at the boarder inspection – even I would have been suspicious that they were smugglers!
Just check out the loot below! As well as the tools, there were books, stationary, games, sporting equipment, school socks, bags, toys … and the list goes on and on. And not only did they have to collect it but they had to lug it all the way here as well!! A truly amazing effort!
After all that, I thought they might like a sleep in when they arrived – not a bit of it! Early breakfast and straight on the job! I pointed to the garage (below) that needed a roof and with remarkable teamwork they figured out how they would do it, what they needed to buy and after a morning in town with instructions there was serious sawing and banging noises until sunset. The mechanics are going to be so thrilled that there will be an area in the wet season in which to fix the buses.
PDG Rotarian Alf (below) marked out the wood for the roof trusses.
Electric tools! Our local carpenter, Toto fundi, who has been in charge of making every window, door and roof in the whole school, was more excited than my kids at Christmas! Luckily David was there to ensure he didn’t get too carried away and lose bits of himself in the excitement!
Within days the roof was taking shape.
While the banging and shouting was going on at the garage, other members of the team were making wooden book holders for the library, assisting in the classes, tutoring in the reading groups and, like Liz (below), helping in the library.
As I write, the group is enjoying a six-day safari visiting the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara, which they really deserve. I look forward to welcoming them back on Friday and hearing all the stories about lion kills, stalking cheetahs, leopards up trees, rampaging elephants and the bad breath of hippos.
Visitors!
Luckily for us we can’t keep my good mate Ruth Knoll away! She was back this time with her family to climb Mt Kilimanjaro and we were thrilled that she still had the energy to call in and see us. Not only does she arrive with suitcases stacked with books for the library, sets of readers for the English classes and great DVDs for the staff and students but from her own experience of running a school in the USA she has a wealth of knowledge and ideas to impart.
And we’re not the only ones who enjoy seeing Ruth. She and her family sponsor a little girl in Standard 1 so Kareen (below with all the Knolls) was very excited to meet the whole family this time.
And it was a great treat for the Knolls to visit Kareen’s family at their humble home in Arusha as Mama Kareen is a champion mandazis maker. For a living she bakes these tasty little local cakes and sells them on the street. So breakfast with Kareen’s family included a mandazi making lesson for Hannah and Rebecca (below).
Thank you all so much for supporting this project as we really are moving mountains over here. “Keep it up” as our teachers say to our students when they are doing something right!
Big hugs!
Gemma