Tales of Tanzania – part II

School without walls
Confused expressions glance our direction expecting miracles from us. A mixed bag of people, ranging from 12 to 30 years old, 4 ft tall to easily 6 ft 3in, with the latter ones struggling to fit into the green benches layed out in front of them in the makeshift classroom.

Three days ago this classroom was but a plot of sand near a concrete wall and hall. Tents had been erected; benches crammed in and wonky frames of wood were assembled hastily to create whiteboards. The nearby hall was an old dirty room before we arrived, now it enjoyed water facilities on good days, a seemingly infinite supply of medicines and four rooms, each equipped with a doctors’ table and chair, together with a bed for the patients. Mater Dei clinic had finally opened in Buza, Tanzania, and together with a school housing 80 students, this was to be our new work compound.

Each blank face is scared to talk and focuses solely on us. Day one in school has never felt so challenging and exciting. On a mental platform, our first task was to ensure we were lowered from our stage, and the students all felt at ease with our presence. An efficient ice breaker chipped away the silence, and cracked smiles all around us as the students got to know us, and more importantly each other. We are all from different walks in life; however one thing is in common: the desire and will to start learning a new language, English.

The groundwork for the school started months before our arrival. Faces charity (VO/0151) members met up frequently to plan lessons; each focusing on different units we felt would make a difference to each individual. A constant thread of e-mails tied the group together, and the support from the general public, some major companies and our friends and families went a long way in getting us to East Africa, were we hoped we would create waves, and not simply drops and ripples in the deep ocean.

With the groundwork digging solid foundations, eight poles stood tall barely holding together two tents creating the two outdoor classrooms. Exposed to the elements, our main worry was rain, as each cloud threatened to floor our school, and each rainy patch created reservoirs on the roofs of the tents, which provided good entertainment as we reached to remove the water, showering ourselves accidentally in our first attempt.

It was now time to immerse ourselves socially into the country. We had seen the stunning plains, and one beautiful offshore island, however we did not know the place socially.

Flashes of pearly white smiles can be seen all around us. The frowns and moans of Western societies had been traded with grins and chuckles. This place feels more welcoming than any European city I’ve travelled to. Here people’s heads aren’t facing their Blackberry as they zoom past you on the subway, clad in an Armani suite hidden behind the darkest of shades. Expression here is joyful, and each hand pivots on its wrist rapidly as each stranger waves to the Muzungu. These barefoot people in tattered clothes are happier than anyone in Europe. They are not spoilt by our comforts, and they are not blinded by greed. They have accepted their situation, and chose to make the best out of it in a positive manner, not frown at their lack of comforts.

The next three weeks would prove to be a challenge, as both the school and clinic got busier as each day went by. Apart from English, we also set out to give the students their first exposure at using a computer, and having taken no less than 11 laptops with us from Malta, we introduced the students to MS Word and gave them their first experience in typing. Opening the laptop cases felt like unwrapping presents on Christmas, as students’ eyes opened wide with excitement and curiosity. Most of them had never seen this foreign device. As we opened the laptops, eyelids opened further, and soon students refused to blink, in case they’d miss a movement of magic from the new objects.

We drilled the basics in, and though it may have taken them the best part of a minute to find each individual key, we were chuffed report that by the end of the first lesson each student managed to type a basic sentence, including punctuation. This new world was an exciting one for them, and as confidence grew daily, their learning ability and potential increased steadily, in both English and MS Word. To our astonishment, students seemed to grasp the basic concepts in computing much faster than in the foreign language, and while in English they struggled to distinguish between the vocabulary of ears and eyes, they zoomed ahead on MS Word, and soon managed to type a whole article, including a picture and a fancy looking word art.

Life in the clinic was also well underway, and after a busy opening week at work, it was now time to settle into our new roles and routines, jotting down notes in our journals whenever possible.