A Warm Welcome

Ron and I visited Colbitz in early October to present our first sponsorship payment to two staff from Itamba school, David Tukinde and Geoffrey Ngogo. For me it was my second visit to Colbitz and it was lovely to meet old friends who I had got to know both in Stourbridge and in Colbitz. Dieter very kindly ferried us to and from Hanover airport which is a good hours drive away from Colbitz. Gaby and Dieter were having a very busy time offering hospitality to David and Geoffrey but Ron and I were warmly welcomed as well and greatly enjoyed family meals with the children. It was a great opportunity to spend more time with Dieter and Gaby and to get to know them individually.

David, Geoffrey and Itamba

We learnt that Itamba school is near Matamba which is 500 miles from Dar es Saalam on the coast. It is in the south of Tanzania where there are very few roads and it is a 9 hour coach trip to Dar es Salaam. The area is on a high plateau enjoying fertile land and freedom from malaria. We need to get a good map of Tanzania to see exactly where they are!

David Tukinde is the Headmaster of Itamba Secondary School and he also teaches physics and geography when necessary. The local diocese of the Evangelische (Lutheran) Church in Tanzania owns the school but this Diocese only has this one secondary school. The flight from Dar es Salaam to Amsterdam was the first time that David had flown and he seemed to be particularly struck and slightly depressed by the technological and material developments he saw in Europe compared with those available Tanzania. When we visited the village museum in Colbitz with its supply of old kitchen stoves he remarked that his wife still used a stove very similar to the “antiques” he saw. David ‘s wife is Onolina Nyambo and they have 5 children ranging in age from 6 to 18 years old.

Geoffrey Ngogo is 33 and married Happiness Manga in 2001. His wife now teaches at Itamba and they have one son, Sylvester. Geoffrey used to work as a building technician for the Diocese working in close association with an architect but he has recently, since June 2005, been the Acting General Secretary of the Diocese and also manager of the school.

Beds, books and tractors!

David told us that their main problems were a shortage of books, with one book between 10 children and also a shortage of boarding accommodation for the girls. They are hoping to build more houses for the girls but at the moment girls are having to sleep head toe sharing a bed! David also remarked that there was a shortage of teachers but more are being trained and debt relief had resulted in a cut in the cost of schooling by the government.

When I got back from Colbitz I found a website for “CAMFED” International which is dedicated to extending girl’s access to education in poor rural communities of Africa. It states that Tanzania has the lowest secondary school enrolment rates in Africa. The government wants to increase enrolment from 6% to 50% in the next 5 years. In January 2005 CAMFED launched a new education programme in the Iringa Region in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania so it may be helpful for us to let Dieter know about this organisation so that he can explore whether David and Geoffrey might access its support?

David and Geoffrey were very appreciative of our commitment to sponsor 2 students at the school and of the extra amount that we presented for equipment/ books this year. They said that we would receive a letter from their Bishop. They explained that places would be allocated to students in late 2005 when children would know whether they had passed exams to go to government secondary schools. “Currently only 1 in 10 girls in Iringa district who complete primary school pass their national exams and find a place at secondary school”. (www.CAMFED.org). Clearly Itamba school is providing an education for some of the other 9 in 10 girls whose families see education as a way of “breaking the cycle of poverty”.

David and Geoffrey also mentioned a problem with the school tractor. Although their land is fertile and the Diocese provided a tractor some time ago, it has apparently broken. This made me think of agricultural equipment and tools generally and of WORKAID, an organisation that collects old tools, refurbishes them and ships them to projects in Africa. I phoned WORKAID and discovered that there are particular problems and bureaucratic delays with collecting goods from the port in Dar es Saalam and costs with getting things through customs so these issues would have to be looked at before WORKAID could provide equipment. Again we could maybe let Dieter know about WORKAID? I have also recently heard of an organisation of farmers in Worcestershire who seek to support farmers in Africa. I could find out more about them.

and Laptops????

The German link with Itamba school is 20years old and we learnt on our visit that other local parishes around Colbitz are also involved. Parishes in the District presented 2 laptops to David and Geoffrey at the end of their visit. These laptops will be of great use to the school staff and students. The TV news here yesterday talked of laptops for every child in Africa at a $100 each. Such modern technology is clearly beneficial but surely children will need to read and write first in order to really use such a tool? And that is where Itamba school fits in. Virginia Williams
Useful Websites:

www.camfed.org – CAMFED International
www.tanzania.go.tz/government/education - Tanzania government website
www.britishcouncil.org/tanzania- British Council in Tanzania

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