Geita - Part 1

 This morning we check out of our hotel, paying for the one night. No one asks why we are leaving but there you go 😀.

We set off to Ziwani Primary School who we started supporting last year, with 3 computers and a printer. Today we are bringing them 2 more computers.

It is quite a long drive from Katoro, the first 30 minutes are on the main tarmac road but we then travel another 60 minutes on a rough dirt one.

So it’s around 11 o’clock when we arrive at Nyarugusu village where the school is located.

As you can see there were some road diversions in place as they are making improvements.

When we arrive at the school we are met by the Head Teacher and the children singing a welcome song in English. It was a lovely greeting. We were then welcomed again by the Head Girl and Boy and thanked for the computers.

The Head Teacher then led us to the staff room where we met some more teachers, as well as the chair of the local CCM branch (he is the guy in the bright green jacket), another CCM member and the chair of the village committee.

There are a few speeches and Ben, the teacher who writes the reports gave us an update on the use of the computers. We then tell them that we have brought them 2 more computers which of course leads to more speeches 😀.

While all of this is going on a little girl wanders into the room obviously very interested in us . It makes me smile that everyone  just ignores her and carries on.

 

We then visit the Standard 7 classroom and the computer room.

Their computer room is nowhere near as new or as good as those at some of the other schools but it has electricity, is secure and has a decent floor and so is ok. It is actually a partitioned off area of a much larger room. There is room for the 2 new computers but we have said that they will probably need a bigger, better room if they are hoping to get anymore in the future. So this is a challenge for them.

Hamisi unloads the computers and the kids bring them into the computer room as well as bringing 2 extra tables.

The Head Teacher then asks if we would like to see the new toilet blocks that they are having built by SWASH (School Water And Sanitation Assessment). He tells us that the computers have helped them prepare and simplify all the documents required by the project.

The project is building cubicles and urinals for the boys and more cubicles for the girls plus a larger room for the older girls to use, along with hand washing areas. They hope the project will be completed in about a month.

 

You will see that the water tanks still need to be installed. If you look carefully you can see them in some of my earlier pictures.

These new facilities are really needed when you see the state of the existing toilets.

It is now lunchtime and the Head Teacher invites us and the other guests to join him for lunch at a local restaurant.

It’s a very nice meal and we have an interesting chat with the chair of the School Committee who is studying to be a doctor.

Once the meal is finished we leave the school and drive a short distance down the road to another school where Hamisi has trained the teachers. We did not select this school to support this year but Robert and Hamisi want to encourage the Head Teacher to apply again next year. While we do this Shabani seems to be entertaining the children by showing them a laptop. It’s only a short visit and we are soon on the road again.

We drive back to Geita where we have booked a room at the Lenny Hotel for the next 2 nights. We have stayed here before and know that it is ok.

We decide to get dinner in the hotel bar tonight and leave Robert and Shabani to do their own thing.

We check into our room which is very similar to ones we have stayed in before. It’s fairly spacious and functional if not necessary pretty.

Dinner in the bar was very good. There was football being shown on the TV screens so once we had finished eating we retire to our room for an early night. 

Tomorrow is Saturday and a rest day for us, our first since we left Arusha.