Geita - Part 3

 This afternoon we drive even further off the beaten track to visit our next school. 

We started supporting Chemamba Primary School last year and I have really been looking forward to going back. This school is located in a very poor farming area so I have been interested to see how they got on with the computers. They are also one of the smallest schools we have supported with around 650 pupils and 8 teachers. However over the last year they have done really well, they are very enthusiastic about the computers, make good use of them and keep in good contact with me.

When we arrive we are met by the Head Teacher and Tausi, the teacher who does the ICT teaching along with her colleague Victor, and who send me the reports.

Tausi explains that they have now moved the computers into a much better room. She also has her desk in this room so she can supervise the computer usage and offer help where needed. She has printed off lots of information sheets using the computers and printer and put these up around the room.

Tausi also explains that they are the only school in the area that has computers so a lot of teachers from nearby schools come to use them. However she makes sure that they always bring their own paper if they want to print anything and that they contribute towards buying new printer cartridges when necessary and the cost of the electricity. She is very strict 😀. But of course this makes perfect sense and is something we encourage all schools to do.

The teachers then want to show us some other improvements that have happened at the school. They now have several new classrooms funded by a government scheme. These are all in use but the children were at lunch when we visited.

They also have some new toilets being built to replace the old ones but they are waiting for a permit to allow them to install the water tanks. From what we could see (and smell) the sooner they are ready for use the better. However nothing happens quickly in Tanzania!

We then return to the computer room.

This school has been really good over the last year, sending me regular reports and loads of photos. They have also looked after the computers really well. We now tell them that we have brought them another computer which is greeted with applause and thanks.

Tausi is one of the few Primary School teachers we have met who speaks really good English so this really adds to our visit and gives Robert a rest from translating!!

Eventually it is time to leave. As we drive back it starts to rain really heavily. When we get to the junction where we would normally drop Hamisi it’s pouring so we decide to take him all the way back to Katoro and then we drive back to Geita.

Luckily by this evening it has stopped raining and we meet up with Robert and Shabani for dinner. We go to a local restaurant which has plenty of food already prepared. We go and have a look at what is on offer and make our selections. Peter is happy as they do the small fish that he likes. I actually go vegetarian as the place has a good variety of vegetables, bananas and beans.

This place doesn't serve alcohol so after we finish dinner we go to a bar where we meet up with Robert’s friend Msale. Msale speaks pretty good English so we have an enjoyable evening getting to know each other.