Greetings Project Wezesha Supporters,
I had the great pleasure to spend part of May and June in Tanzania with our students and partners in Kigoma. I’m delighted to share some updates, stories, and photos. Please make sure to visit us on Facebook to see even more photos and videos! Continue reading “Summer Update – A Report from the Field”
Project Wezesha was founded when Lucas and I responded to a request for support from the chief of Mgaraganza village: Can you help us build a secondary school? Of we course we said yes, but we then had to come up with funds. We raised money little by little. But then – a miracle! Our miracle was Shelmina Babai and Minaz Abji. These two remarkable souls, born and raised in Tanzania and Uganda respectively, were set to marry. They desired nothing more from their wedding guests than contributions to Project Wezesha so we could construct Amahoro Secondary School. Their aim was to honor their fathers through this amazing gift. Continue reading “A Little Help From My Friends”
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.
Ezekial shared 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 also 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, 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!
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
We’re at the half way mark of a new school semester and are eager to share some updates on our students. These updates are based on a report compiled by Lucas after many calls and personal visits with teachers, headmasters, parents and students.
As each year passes, our student numbers ebb and flow due to graduation and new enrollment – and unfortunately, also due to dips in retention. These dips are often the result of failures on national examinations. Students take examinations after Form 2 and Form 4. If they fail Form 2 examinations, they have the option to repeat Form 2. If they fail Form 4 examinations, they can repeat, quit school all together, or opt for vocational training in a career center. With that information in mind, here are some updates on our current cohort of students.
One of our Form 4 students, Albert passed his Form 4 examinations and has been accepted to start high school (Form 5) this summer! We are thrilled about this news and are looking forward to see what he chooses to focus on for his Form 5 and 6 studies. Another of our Form 4 students, Shabani didn’t pass his examinations, but he did well enough to enter VETA for vocational training. Lucas is currently working with him to identify a potential focus for career training. It will be his choice if he continues and what path he chooses. 
Two of our Form two students, Sango and Amina did well on their Form 2 examinations and will continue on to Form 3. These young girls are excited by the challenge to keep studying at a secondary level. We continue to support them with additional study support outside of their regular class time as we’ve come to learn it’s key to success for students attending village schools.
We also have six students – Simoni, Mahamudu, Rahma, Ezekial, George and Hassani who are moving on to Form 4 at Kagongo and Bitale Secondary Schools this year. They have really dedicated themselves to their studies and we are proud that they have made it this far. Each of them is doing very well – in particular Ezekial, George, and Simoni. Simoni is one of our top performing students – always at the top of his class – and will hopefully follow in the footsteps of Dibeit, Saidi, Tumsifu and Albert – to go on to High School!
In our boarding schools, we have three students entering Form 4 – Waridi and Ezra. They are both doing very well because, as Lucas says, all students in the boarding schools do well. Placement into secondary school is determined by the government. Placement into boarding schools is based on high performances on secondary school entrance exams. In many ways – for a young Tanzanian – this is winning the lottery. The schools are well equipped, the teachers are dedicated and well prepared, and the fact they live on campus increases their focus and chance for academic success.
Sadly, there were students who failed the national examinations and made the choice not to continue studying (not to repeat a school year and try again). Lucas felt great pain in reporting those updates and even delayed his report because he didn’t want to share bad news. We have to believe that we didn’t fail them, but rather that the system failed them – a system in which students who barely speak English are required to switch gears in the middle of their educational experience and start learning all subject matter in English. It’s a broken system and one that I wish I had the power to overhaul. In time, I believe the government of Tanzania will find a solution – whether that be starting English earlier or continuing education in both Swahili and English at the secondary level. Nonetheless, for now – it’s not working and the inability of our students to complete their education is one price that is paid. So, we wish them well on their journeys and hope that the time they did have in school gave them an opportunity to expand their knowledge base and build a relationship with education that will serve them for life. Best of luck to Oliva, Samiru, Mussa, and Mariam.
To make sure we end on a positive note, let us not lose track of Dibeit, Tumsifu, and Saidi who continue to study hard in Form 5 at their respective boarding high schools in Dar Es Salaam and Arusha. Ismael continues to study at VETA to become a mechanic and driver – he will be completing his studies and entering the workforce this year! Hindu and Khadija are reunited in Oman. They are both working there and living with host families. They make a monthly salary equivalent to their families’ annual income and they send most of their earnings home to support their loved ones, while exploring a new land, language, and culture together! They send us messages regularly on What’s App and Facebook so we can see how they’re doing. All signs point to happy!
Thank you for all of your continued support. You may never actually experience the return on your investment, but trust me when I say that our students certainly do! They are very grateful for the opportunities that we have collectively afforded them and not one penny has gone to waste!
Please consider continuing to support our program so that we can make sure that we can cover the continue costs of high school, vocational training, and tutoring for our students. (Click Donate to your right. Asante!)
We are very proud to announce that as of Summer 2015, our three young men – Dibeit, Tumsifu and Saidi found out which high schools they will be attending starting July 18th. School assignment is based on secondary school exit exams, and the fact that these three are going all over the country speaks to how well they did!
Dibeit was selected to attend Mahiwa High School in the Lindi Region of Tanzania. He will study a PCB combination – Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Tumsifu was selected to attend Kibiti Secondary School in the coastal region just outside of Dar es Salaam. He too will take on the ambitious PCB combination. Both of them have goals of becoming doctors! We’re hoping they excel in their high school program so we can continue to help them pursue university studies. Continue reading “Evidence of Impact – Sky’s the Limit!”
Our next update is from Kagongo Secondary School. In August, Lucas and I went and visited with our new Girls Education International Form 1 students, and we also met with 6 of our current Project Wezesha students. These 6, Marieta, Olivia, Sango, Simoni, Mahamudu, and Ahmadi wanted to share with us some of the challenges that students are facing in the village schools.
In this video, they share their honest views on the situation. I admire their willingness to speak candidly and their ability to think critically about the roots of their problems.
Before you watch, I have to also be an advocate for the teachers, who come under harsh judgement by the students at times. In many cases, it’s true – the teachers are not performing at their best. The reasons for that vary from insufficient government support (large class sizes, no textbooks), to disenchantment with living in the village (they don’t get to choose where they work). Of course, other factors such as personality, motivation, and organization are likely contributors.
Two of our students mentioned that teachers come and go. The reality is that student teachers do come for their teaching practicum and internship on a short term basis. This seems to cause confusion for our students – understandably so. But, all student teachers do teaching internships. The key is to organize them well so that they compliment student learning and support existing curricula, not lead to disruption. But – this is work for another phase of our long term vision!
For now, please take a moment to hear what our students have to share. And remember, at the end of the day – they still choose education over no education, even if the reality of their situation is less than ideal.
We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the start of a new season! I know in Tanzania, everyone is very excited about the coming end to a long rainy season … ah, but of course – the water and vibrant green of the landscape during this season is so refreshing!
In Tanzania, our students actually start their school year in January (not August or September as in many parts of the world). So, they are in the early stages of a new school year. Nonetheless, the year is off to a race for some of them – namely Saidi, Dibeit and Tumsifu who are currently in Form 4. This means that these three very bright young men are rounding the bend in their secondary school experience.
They will take two mock exams this year and then in October, they will take the high stakes final exams to see if they qualify for entrance into high school (and we know they will!). At that point, we’ll have some big decisions to make and we hope you’ll join us in making them. Continue reading “Our Boys – Approaching Graduation”
My days were winding down fast toward the end of my time in Kiganza and it suddenly seemed like there was so much to do before leaving (which is rarely really the case, but it’s amazing how much extra you can create for yourself when there’s a deadline – I’ve always worked better that way as my parents and colleagues and friends and dogs and … well, everyone knows!).
One of my big projects and the most important I’m sure, was wrapping up a little idea called the Kiganza Children’s Education Fund. The idea came to me and Lucas once upon many of our hours together. It was always so disheartening to me to know how few children attended secondary school (relative to the number of children in the village) because their family simply could not afford it. For a child to attend Form 1 and 4, the cost is around $100USD per year because for the first and last years there are exam fees and other extra costs. For Form 2 and 3 the cost is only about $20USD per year, which is extremely manageable … for me! For these people, it’s still a steep expense in their life when their monthly income if they’re lucky can reach $30, but often hovers much lower – especially for those who march great distances to sell fruit or vegetables in neighboring villages, often coming home with only a few hundred shillings profit (equivalent of a few dollars). Continue reading “Secondary School Scholarship Recipients”
