Summer is winding down, and in the U.S., students are heading back to school! In Tanzania, our students will also be returning to their university programs in the coming months. With this return to school, Project Wezesha faces a new batch of tuition bills. We’d love your continued support – a contribution toward the continuing education of the young men in our program: 2nd year university students: Lameck, Yohanna and Elias; 3rd year university students: Hamisi & Mayani; and, 4th year university student: Simoni. The average cost for one year of university for these young men is $1700 each.
We would love to find sponsors for these young men to ensure their costs are covered completely. One idea we’d like to present is “funding families” – small groups of friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues who collectively commit to raising $1700 to cover the costs of one student. If you’d like to create a “funding family” and sponsor one student, email us and we’ll help you get the information you need to share with your community and raise the money. We can provide images, stories, reports, and more about the young man you’ll be supporting. Email us today to get started: projectwezeshatz@gmail.com
We can assure you that there will be a profound impact from your investment. We have only seen positive outcomes since we began our scholarship program in 2009. Here are some inspirational updates we received this month from some current and former students: Lameck, Sospeter, and Dibeit.Continue reading “Seeking “Funding Families” to Support Students”
Happy New Year, Project Wezesha Supporters! We wrapped up 2016 with a really cool pilot project that we’re excited to tell you all about.
As most of you have learned through these reports, education in government village schools is readily available, but not always of the same quality as that experienced by the youth in urban government schools or private schools. The short list of reasons includes lack of support for ongoing teacher training, limited English proficiency of teachers and students, lack of educational resources (e.g., laboratories, textbooks, maps, technology), and long walking commutes to schools with no meals provided on site (i.e., hunger, diminished attention spans).
For quite some time, Lucas and I have puzzled over what we can do to build on classroom-based learning. For the past few years, we have been providing additional tutoring for our students between terms and after school, especially for those struggling in particular subjects. The students are always grateful, but it still didn’t seem like it was having enough of an impact. Students continued to struggle in classes and some weren’t finishing secondary school with marks high enough to get them into high school or vocational school. Continue reading “Launching an Academic Study Camp”
Happy Autumn to all of you! The leaves are turning in their brilliance here in Vermont, but back in Tanzania, rainy season is upon them – which means everything gets so lush and green!
Students are getting ready for their end-of-year examinations. Let’s just say there are some stressed students in our midst! These exams play a significant role in the lives of students in Tanzania – determining for some whether they will be able to attend secondary school, determining for others if they will continue to study at the secondary level, and determining for yet another cohort whether they will move from secondary school into high school. The stakes are high!
But in the spirit of Autumn, we’d like to celebrate that for which we are grateful. Lucas recently spent time traveling around and visiting some of our current students and their teachers to see how everyone is doing. Here are some highlights.
Ezekialshared his story with us. He said that he was born in 1997. He attended Mungonya Primary School in Kiganza, Tanzania and finished in 2012. He began secondary school in 2013 with the help of Project Wezesha and this year, he is completing Form 4. He is one of our high school hopefuls who will take the exam this month. We will get his results in December and find out if we can support him as he pursues studies through Form 5 and 6. Ezekial wants to be a doctor. He says that in Tanzania, many people die due to a shortage of doctors in the region. He wants to fill that gap and we want to help him do so!
Ezra
Ezraalso shared some thoughts with us. First, he says he thanks God because he was blessed to have a father who cares about him and education. When Ezra was young, he didn’t like studying. But his father gave him advice and highlighted the example of a cousin who did very well in school. With this cousin as a role model and his father as his mentor, Ezra studied with renewed enthusiasm. After his standard 4 exams, he was ranked second in his class. He was motivated to become the top in his class, so he studied even harder. Throughout the remaining years in primary school, Ezra was ranked first in his class. It was this ranking that landed him a spot in our scholarship program. He did so well on his O-level exams that he was sent to a boarding school in another region, where he studies Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. His dream is to become a doctor – with a rather specific focus on kidney problems. We love his focus and determination! He also takes his exit exams this month and we see a bright future in higher education ahead!
George
George, like Ezra, was inspired by a parent – but in this case, his mother. George saw how hard life was in the village and he saw how hard his mom worked to provide for him and his siblings. She encouraged him to study. He studied hard throughout primary school and succeeded in the exams to get into secondary school. His ranking as top of his class caught our attention. Life continued to be difficult for George through secondary school, however, because he had to walk a long distance. He later decided to move closer to the school – where he had to cook and care for himself. Fortunately for George, he did excel in secondary school – scoring high in Division 2 on his Form 2 exams. We expect an equally high result on his Form 4 exams in his track: Physics, Chemistry and Biology. George would like to be an Engineer, specializing in the Oil and Gas industry, and we’re proud of him for having tenacity and vision!
Prospective Students
As students graduate from our program, space opens for new students to join us. Lucas and our friend, Madaga – an amazing local educator – have started to visit local primary schools to scout for new students to join our program. They have created an assessment tool to do some initial screening. Once we get exam results from these recent Standard 7 graduates, we’ll be able to announce who is joining us. The photos of the young girls below are the faces of some of our potential new students. Join us in sending them hope as we await their results. We’ll soon let you know who will join us in January!
Asante Sana for all of your support. Please know that our work continues as long as there are children in need of education … i.e., forever! … or for as long as we have the capacity to do so. As you know, we can’t do this without donors who are willing to contribute to the cause. Now that secondary school fees have been waived by the president, we can focus on the critical costs of keeping students in boarding schools, buying text books, and funding support classes between terms.
Please share the work we do with friends and family (click the sharing buttons below) and of course, chip in when you can (click ‘Give Now’ here on our donation site). Let us know if you’d like to know more about how you can help.
With gratitude,
Rai Farrelly & Lucas Lameck
Co-Founders, Project Wezesha
Ismail joined our program years ago! He was among the first scholarship students that Project Wezesha admitted into the program. After secondary school, Ismail didn’t score high enough on the national examinations to go to high school, but he had the option of our continued support through vocational school. Since then, he has been immersed in his studies to become a mechanic and driver, which will open many doors to him in the Kigoma region, and well beyond! But without further ado, these are his words to you!
My name is Ismail. I’m living at Kiganza, Tanzania. I was born on May 12, 1990 in Kiganza, Kigoma. I’m living with one parent – only Mother. My Father was died the year 1998. The time when Father was died, he was remain with seven children and I’m a fourth child born. I was starting primary school the year of 2000, and I finished the year of 2006 for that year, I was fail the Examination and I repeated primary school at Kagina primary school in 2008. I passed the Examination and I was so happy for that time.
Then I joined secondary school Form One at Kagongo Secondary. It was 2009 up to 2012 – I finished form four. I was happy because Project Wezesha was supporting me to cover all cost from form one up to form four at Kagongo Secondary School, under Sister Rai and Brother Lucas – Thanks for all.
After Secondary, I was continue to study to join (VETA) – the means of VETA is VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINIG AUTHORITY. I was taking Motor Vehicle Mechenics, under the cost of Project Wezesha, between the year of 2014 up to 2015 and I’m continual to train even now. At the year of 2015, I had a Debe of 300,000 Tanzanian shilings. This is the cost of fees per year for my course. Also I have a challenge, because I like after this grade I need to continual grade three, up to grade four. I’m still sending my request for Project Wezesha (PW) to continue to supporting me up to the end of my study – not only me, but also and other people.
For myself I’m attaching so many thanks for Project Wezesha and all peoples or any Organizations who is supporting Project Wezesha to supporting me from begin up to now, because without Project Wezesha it was difficult for me to be here right now.
So I don’t have more to say, but I can say thanks, thanks, thanks a lot and God blessing you and Project Wezesha. Also I wishing you to continue to help other poor people like me because there is some people they need to get Education but they don’t have any supporter to supporting.
THANKS,THANKS,THANKS A LOT
YOURS,
ISMAIL
So, along with Ismail, let us extend our deepest gratitude for your support. Know, as always, that your contributions to Project Wezesha go straight to the cause. We’re a small organization and you can always trust that when you donate to our programs, the money goes to one of 3 places:
The schools (school fees)
Local shops (for textbooks and supplies as needed for our students)
Lucas’s Salary (his annual salary is $3,000 – and boy do I wish it could be more! Half is paid by Project Wezesha and half by Girls Education International. By local standards, he’s doing well, but on his salary, Lucas supports his family – paying school fees, covering medical expenses, buying food, clothing, and basic housing needs. He’s a good man, that Lucas!).
After years of fundraising and some very generous support from all of you, Amahoro Secondary School opened its doors in January, 2015. The opening ceremony was a fabulous event with music, dancing, singing, speeches, laughing, honoring, and hugging!
But most importantly, there was a school opening!
In January 2015, school officially began. 75 first year secondary students joined their peers in classes with new and excited teachers. The surrounding community was thrilled to welcome this school to Mgaraganza. Children from the lakeside villages of Mtanga and Kigalie would now only walk one hour to school instead of two! The children of Mgaraganza village would only have to walk about 10-20 minutes, rather than an hour and fifteen minutes – as they did when attending school in Kagongo Village.
Through our joint efforts, we were able to make this happen! We constructed 16 rooms – 4 quads with space for classrooms, offices and laboratories. With the help of our rockstar donors Shelmina and Minaz, we also built state of the art latrines for the school.
Is the job done? No. There is still finishing work to be completed on some of the classrooms.
Is our job done? Yes.We believe in honoring our commitments, and so we have. The local and regional governments and the Ministry of Education have made commitments to continue the final touches on this school until it is ready to host not only Form 1 students, but cohorts of Form 2, Form 3, and Form 4.
Did Project Wezesha make any other commitments? Well … maybe.
In 2015 the Prime Minister of Tanzania mandated that all schools have laboratories to better support the development of education in STEM fields. In particular, all secondary schools must have labs to explore chemistry, biology and physics through hands-on practice. His goal is too ambitious and likely will not be realized – um, actually, it wasn’t realized. He wanted all ward secondary schools to be equipped with labs by May 2015. This might have been doable in certain developed and wealthy regions of the country (i.e., Dar es Salaam), but not in the majority of the country.
Project Wezesha plans to help the local government in Mgaraganza village as they construct labs to develop a community of creative and critical thinkers who can reach high school and pursue academic interests in any field they want – including science and technology!
So, what’s next?
We are closing this campaign and want to thank all of you for your fabulous support over the years. Our next steps … We invite you to continue supporting our efforts in Mgaraganza, Tanzania through our newly launched campaign: Provide Science Labs for Tanzania Secondary Schools.
‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding. -Alice Walker
If ‘Thank You’ is a prayer, then we are always praying and you are in our prayers. It seems impossible to adequately express our gratitude for your participation in this journey! But we hope that you’ll continue to venture on with us.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – talking to Lucas Lameck always puts the biggest smile on my face. Lucas is the heart and soul of Project Wezesha. Today, he updated me about the upward momentum for scholarship students in our program – students that you help support!
Here are some of the highlights:
Kiza and Hajira are rounding the bend in secondary school. This month, they will sit for their Form 4 Exit Exams. These exams are difficult and stressful and let’s be honest, most students are not well-prepared in village schools to take a national standardized exam. But we think Kiza and Hajira will do their best and lay out some nice options for themselves. If they do well, they have the choice to go on to high school. If they don’t pass, they can let us know what next steps they wish to take – and we’ll try our best to support them!
For some of our students who didn’t pass secondary exit exams, that next step was vocational school. This past year, our former student Diana graduated a program offered through the Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA). Now, using her newly developed clerical skills, she is working in Mwanga market as a secretary. Lucas told me today that she is so happy because she is making money for her family, who still lives in Kiganza village.
Amosi, one of our bright young students from Kiganza village also finished secondary school. He has since taken a job as a teacher in a nursery school (pre-school) in Tabora! We’re so excited that one of our graduates is a school teacher, and can only imagine what an impact he’s having on these cute little learners!
Several of our other scholarship students are still studying in Form 2 or 3, and a few of them are staying at the top of their class in their respective schools, including: Simoni, Ezra, George, Ezekial, and Rahma.
In December 2016, I’ll be traveling to Tanzania again. When I’m there, I’m hoping to meet with Saidi in Arusha and Tumsifu in Dar es Salaam to see how our first high schoolers are doing! I’ll also check in with Dibeit by phone (but by all accounts on Facebook, he seems to be doing well!). I have to say, knowing them from the time they were 10 and 11 years old in a village without electricity to now being their friends on Facebook while they live in cities and go to high school – well, it’s pretty incredible!
In 2008, when we started supporting students by paying school fees and mentoring them on their options, we figured we would help a handful of students. Thanks to your support, we’ve helped dozens and we hope to continue!
Please consider sharing this project through Twitter and Facebook (share buttons below!) and encourage friends to chip in. Funds pay school fees, buy textbooks, and pay for additional support (tutoring) between semesters to make sure they are coming in on level for the next term.
Here are some updates since Amahoro Secondary School opened. Since our big bash to open the school in January, school has been in full swing! The first term ended in May and the students enjoyed a summer break in June. Classes started back up in July. The teachers and villagers are thrilled about the school – parents never imagined they would have a secondary school right in the village.
Lucas met with some of the parents recently (see pictures) to discuss ways in which the parents can best support their children to be successful in school. Among the ideas they shared, parents are committed to making time after school for students to study. They are also going to make sure their children get up and out the door each day to arrive at classes on time. (You know how hard it can be to get teens out of bed! In Tanzania they’re up with the roosters, but getting the sandals to the sand for the walk to school can be a challenge!)
The teachers are grateful for the opportunity to be teaching in such a lovely, tree-rich environment. There is always a breeze up at Amahoro and the views of the surrounding hills and forests of Gombe are stunning! But, most of the teachers are either staying with families in the village or commuting from town (not a short distance!). This set-up may ultimately result in discontent, unmotivated teachers or resignations. Our next initiative will be to work with the village and town governments to fast track the building of teachers’ houses near the school.
In addition, we are planning to launch a campaign to help the school finish up its laboratories so that they have the mandatory labs and equipment to properly teach Chemistry, Biology, and Physics. Keep an eye out for information about those campaigns in a forthcoming update.
As part of the Girls Education International expansion into Tanzania, we have 15 girls studying at Amahoro Secondary School. Project Wezesha continues to support all students in our scholarship program by paying for additional support classes (what they refer to as ‘tuition’) throughout the year. In this way, our students can stay after school and work with teachers to really dig deep into the subjects that present them with the most challenges academically.
My next trip to Tanzania will be December, at which time I’ll be identifying teachers who wish to be involved in a two-way teacher training program with volunteer student teachers from other countries. It will be an ambitious project, but it’s the area through which I think we’ll see the most impact on education. Walls and books only do so much – the teachers really create the learning opportunities and if they’re not motivated, prepared, inspired, and supported then things continue – status quo. We prefer to move education forward to ensure that more of our students reach high school, college and beyond!
This is sure to be my favorite update so far. After four years of fundraising, planning, negotiating, (struggling), and succeeding – we are so excited to share the news that Amahoro Secondary School is open! There are 70 Form 1 students currently studying in our completed classrooms! Of this cohort, 15 are newly added girls for our Girls Education International Scholarship Tanzania program! We really couldn’t be more happy, excited, and hopeful!
In January 2015, I traveled with two friends to the Kigoma Region. For the first few days, we met with leaders at the district level – planning the opening party, budgeting for the festivities, negotiating PW’s contribution and the government’s contribution, and much more. We visited the site of the school and met with the enthusiastic and proud new Head Master, Mr. Kumenya, as well as the local village leaders who have been working with us since the beginning. Village ‘Diwani’ (Chief) Patrick Maganga was on hand all week – preparing the final details for the opening, including finishing the latrines, building steps into the classrooms, and staying on top of official business (organizing entertainment groups, arranging the schedule of events, staying in close contact with district leaders, etc.). He is a model of what true leadership should look like! Thank you, Diwani Maganga!!
One of the final hurdles to overcome prior to the opening of the school was completion of the latrines. I’ll admit – I was very impressed when I finally saw them! Our top supporters, Shelmina and Minaz are responsible for the completion of the latrines. (Thank you, Shelmina and Minaz!!) The latrines come complete with porceline base toilets and a state of the art system for storing waste – which will last up to 70 years before it has to be cleared out by truck! Not just your average hole in the ground! Of course, our fabulous builder Isaya Lameck brought his A-Game to finish them, and his crew of laborers put in many hours digging deeper and deeper through very rocky soil. It was one of the toughest parts of the overall job!
The party was a smash! There were entertainment groups from the village and neighboring towns. They brought in an MC, a DJ, and set up a big tent for the VIP guests. Parties like this are a very big deal for villages and they let it show!
There was a theatrical song and dance performance, dancing by youth hip hop groups, and even some dancing by our current scholarship students. Interspersed with the entertainment were speeches by the village and district leaders. The village exective officer read a speech prepared by Lucas which outlined the timeline of the project, acknowledged the many contributors – near and far, and ultimately celebrated the big opening day!
The District Commissioner, Ramadhani Maneno gave a big speech about the promise of the future with education at the helm. He told the crowd of over 1,000 that I would be back in the future with volunteer teachers of English, Science, and Math to help build capacity … no pressure! (Any volunteers?)
After all the dance, music, and speeches – they revealed the beautiful foundation plaques on the wall of the school. And then – the feast! All villagers and VIP guests were treated to a celebration lunch. Lucas showed that his skills even extend to being an event caterer and food server! He was tireless in his efforts to make sure this entire celebration was a huge success. By the end of the day, needless to say – we were all an exhausted group of planners and supporters!
But enough reading … take a little break from whatever else you have to do right now and watch this video mash-up of the celebration!
Thank you very much to everyone who has collaborated, contributed, and cheered along the way! We’ll continue to work with the leaders and the headmaster to continue this school’s development – building laboratories, finishing additional classroom spaces, and of course – getting the football pitch ready for matches! So – we’ll take you along for the journey for as long as you’ll let us!
Greetings and gratitude from Lucas and me! I’m happy to share some updates with you about the progress toward opening Amahoro Secondary School in Mgaraganza Village, Tanzania.
This past August, I traveled to the Kigoma region to visit with Lucas and check the progress of our project. I was a little surprised to see that very little actual work had been done since his April update. In other words, construction was at a standstill – halted due to lack of funding. As usual, the wheels were set into motion when I arrived.
Meeting Local and Regional Leaders
The first line of business was to visit the regional leaders from various Ministries in the government. I was invited to a meeting in Kigoma town to address the leaders and share my gratitude, concerns, and hopes moving forward. We expressed our gratitude about their recent commitment to contributing to the construction of teachers’ houses and laboratories* for the school. We noted our concerns about the pressure of fundraising and challenge of meeting the opening day deadline. We stressed the need for the government to continue their support until the end. We also shared our enthusiasm for the possibility of teacher education and teacher exchange in the future (my ‘pet’ plan for ensuring quality education at this school). They applauded our efforts and echoed our hopes and excitement.
*Note: Recent legislation in Tanzania mandates that no school open without laboratories in place. While this places a huge obstacle in the road for opening schools in villages, it aims to address the current plight of village schools, which is the prevalence of unmet promises by school administrators and leaders to follow-up on the construction of laboratories. Most village schools never see spaces for students to explore physics, chemistry, and biology to the extent necessary for measurable success in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields.
We also met with the Kigoma District Commissioner, Mr. Maneno who guaranteed his support for this project. Mr. Maneno is new to his position as of this year. He made a trip to the village to visit the school and meet with the local village leaders. He was very impressed by the work that had been completed thus far. He gave speeches of praise to the local leaders, community members, and workers. He also promised to do everything in his power to make sure the school opens in January 2014.
Of course, we had our own meetings with the village leaders. We discussed my concern over the delay in work in recent months. We identified a breakdown in communication between political leaders in town who disperse the money, and the village leaders who sign for and collect the money. Our faithful Chief Maganga stepped in and made some phone calls to make sure the funds would be released. This money would allow our builders to complete the entrances to each classroom.
Meeting with the Children
Our most important stakeholders are the children. There are a handful of them who are present at the school for every gathering of the leaders (mostly because they live next to the school). The kids showed us their twist on using the classroom space in the months leading up to the school opening (see photo).
In the month after my visit, Lucas rallied the students of Mgaraganza Primary School to come and do a clean up at the secondary school. They came with brooms and tools to prepare the assembly area in front of the classrooms. Of course, they didn’t harm any of the lovely trees that will shade them as they have their daily morning assembly!
Meeting our new Headmaster, Mr. Kumenya
Headmaster, Mr. Kumenya
In September, Janet Chapman – a UK-based volunteer with GlobalGiving and the communications manager with the Tanzania Development Trust – visited Lucas and took time to learn about our project. She met the village leaders and Lucas, and made a videoallowing us to introduce our new Headmaster, Mr. Kumenya. We hope that her response to the visit is positive and that she can help us garner more international support to complete the school.
At present, my plan is to be in Tanzania again this coming December/January for the opening of the first phase of the school!
But, we’re not there yet. The missing pieces at the moment include the latrines that are required before a school can be open (for obvious reasons). If you can chip in today, you can help us channel money to the project so that we can get them into place on the school site. Every little bit counts, as you know! (Why didn’t I think of the Ice Bucket Challenge!?) As always, we can do NOTHING without you! Thank you so much for your support thus far. Please spread the word wide and far. Just click DONATE to your right. Asante sana!
Twice a year, Lucas makes his rounds to the various schools where our scholarship students attend. He checks in with the headmasters and teachers, he gets updates on our students, and he collects report cards. Like a proud but nervous baba and mama, Lucas and I wait in anticipation as the grades roll in. Well, Lucas has more of a wait as he has to sit there as the headmaster or secondmaster meticulously copies from the grade books into a report for Lucas. Subject by Subject, score by score, letter grade by letter grade, and then finally the average. (I just have to open the email and see all of Lucas’ scans.)
I’m not going to sugar coat it. Getting good grades in remote village schools is a challenge. You can view a chat on the topic with our students Hindu and Saidi here:
Here’s a quick refresher on the realities:
Secondary School teachers in Tanzania don’t generally want to be sent to the village schools. They are often trained in cities and large towns and hope to get an appointment there. For those who want to work in the village, they have a sense of committment to the children and communities. For those who would rather be back in the cities, it’s a struggle to show up every day with the energy and motivation to teach well. Why? (see #2)
Children in village schools are already at a slight disadvantage. Primary school teachers only have to complete secondary school, but are not required to pursue any further teacher education. Therefore, they are often underprepared to manage and promote learning well. Not to mention, one village classroom can have up to 100 students! (continued in #3)
Secondary school subjects in Tanzania are taught in English. Primary school is taught in Swahili. (Need I say more? I will.) Teachers sometimes don’t speak English very well, but they teach subjects in English. Students barely speak English when they reach secondarly school, and now they are learning all their subjects (e.g., math, history, physics, biology) in English. This has been well documented as ineffective in my field (Applied Linguistics) but, it’s a byproduct of colonialism, so we just have to wait it out. Soon, the GOV will hopefully embrace dual immersion in primary or bilingual approaches in secondary (still requires English proficiency in teachers).
Students don’t have books. Most village schools have one book – for the teacher. The students have no books. There is no electricity, therefore no copy machines (therefore nothing to take home and study besides what is copied into one’s notebook).
Families in villages have a lot on their plate – from supporting large families through subsistence farming and fishing to managing health issues with limited infrastructure. The women rely on the children in many ways – they help mind siblings, carry water, tend animals, prepare meals, clean, etc. So, school can, at times, take a backseat to the rest of life.
Does it seem like I’m preparing you for the worst?Well, in part – I am, but not completely.
Some of our students are not getting very good grades in their subjects. When they are selected to the scholarship program, we have them sign an agreement that states that they will maintain a certain grade average and if they fall below that average, they will receive tutoring for 4 months. If their grades don’t come up, they will unfortunately lose support.
Can Lucas and I cut anyone from our program?No. Does that make us bad ‘business people’?Maybe. But, I know that even when our students get an F or a D in their courses, it’s not because they don’t want an education. It’s not because they hate to study or go to school. Most of them wake at 6am and walk for up to (and sometimes over) an hour each way without breakfast or lunch. (I love that last part because it sounds like a ‘fly-in-the-eye’ campaign – i.e., an exaggeration to tug at heart strings. It’s just reality. I do the walk with them when I visit, and their capacity to storytell and sing the whole way there and back blows me away! I’m usually the one complaining about the heat, dust, distance.) They are failing and flailing due to no fault of their own. The system – it’s all about the system, no matter where in the world you look. So, until the system changes (and beyond) – we’ll stand by them.
But, the good news is – we have some shining SUPERSTARS in the group who show us the potential of a bright young child when given the right balance of support (i.e., financial, emotional, physical and familial) and determination.
So here are the highlights!! (i.e., the Good News) (Note on Curving the Grade Scale: American A = TZ village B; American B = village C; students are praised for receiving Cs and Ds)
Girls
Amina, one of our first year Form 1 students really blew me away! She scored a B in Civics, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology!! There’s no stopping her if she can keep this up! Bravo, Amina!
Rahma, another new Form 1 student, earned an A in English, B in French, and a C in History, Geography, Chemistry and Physics. She has quite the range of strengths!
Khadija was one of our first ever scholarship students. She graduated from secondary school and now studies at the Vocational Training and Education Authority. She is doing exceptionally well and has secured a B average and a rank of 3rd in her class. Her favorite subjects appear to be French and Computer Applications.
Boys
Tumsifu is one of our Form 4 students. His overall, cumulative grade average is B!! That is amazing, folks. His top subjects are Civics, History, Biology and Geography.
Simoni, a new Form 1 student, was sure to be a rockstar. Our intern Katy knew that about him the first time she taught as a guest in his class. Sure enough, quiet little Simoni secured an A in Civics, Chemistry, Biology and Swahili with a B in History and English. He has an overall B average!
Samiru, one of our new Form 1 students, had a very successful first year. He earned a B in Geography and a C in Physics, Chemistry and Math!!
George had an amazing first year with an A in Biology and English and a B in History, Geography, Swahili, Math, French and Chemistry! Way to go!!
Mussa, another new Form 1 student, rounded out his first year with a B in the following: Physics, Biology, and Chemistry!! Wow! Go, Mussa!!
Mahamudu also joins his Form 1 peers with a strong start, earning a B in Physics and Chemistry. (I’ll have to praise these STEM field teachers when I see them this summer!)
Ezekial, another Form 1 student, earned a B in History, English and Biology.
Albert held strong during his Form 1 year with a B in Civics and a C in Geography, Swahili, Biology and Physics!
And last but never ever the least, my best buddy since 2008 – Saidi!! Saidi moved from the village school in Kiganza last year to live with Lucas and attend a private school in town. His father wanted our support in that decision because the village school wasn’t keeping up with Saidi.
Saidi, as a Form 3 student, has earned an A in Math, Physics, Commerce, Swahili, and Beekeeping! He has a B in Civics, English, History, Geography, Chemistry, and Biology!! He is ranked 2nd in his class – in a big private town school! Remarkable!!
Wow – what an update! I wish I had more high grades to report, but you know – we’re really just proud of all of our students for continuing to get up every day and go to class. In fact, after recieving the reports, I emailed Lucas to find out why some of them were not doing so well. He went to their schools, met their teachers and conducted interviews. The findings: they wanted to be there, their attendance was good, their family support was in place, and they were having no problems at home. I can’t point a finger at the exact problem, but many factors are at play – student motivation and desire are NOT two of them. So, keep it up, kids!
Thank you so much to all of you for helping us keep them in school, in pursuit of their dreams. We’re in this for the long haul. You’ll know how they’re doing now and and down the road.
For now, there are three things you can do to help us:
Spread the word. Please share our website and Facebook page through your social media networks. Bring us up in conversation and let people know why this cause, among the many you could support, matters to you.
Build a Fundraiser. GlobalGiving makes it very easy to build your own fundraiser. Go to our project page, scroll down to just beneath the big Donate button; click on the little green fundraiser button and voilà! You can build a page for a wedding, holiday, sporting event, etc. You can personalize it and tell your friends why you want to help.
Donate. Of course, at the end of the day – Lucas and I are Project Wezesha and we just have to keep making the ‘ask’. If you have a little to spare, feel free to share. It goes a long way – literally and figuratively – to complete the amazing start to what you see in these pictures!
Ismail joined our program years ago! He was among the first scholarship students that Project Wezesha admitted into the program. After secondary school, Ismail didn’t score high enough on the national examinations to go to high school, but he had the option of our continued support through vocational school. Since then, he has been immersed in his studies to become a mechanic and driver, which will open many doors to him in the Kigoma region, and well beyond! But without further ado, these are his words to you!
