Tanzania Visit 2011
A team of six people visited Tanzania in October/November. Since our last visit, Tuishime School had become a lot more professional and serious in its provision of high quality education which is probably due to the excellent exam results that Standard VII pupils achieved in 2010 as well as the influx of new teachers. The children at the school are a complete delight and it was a joy to see their happy smiling faces, how much they appreciate being educated at school, their enthusiasm and the competitiveness between children during competitions.
The team ran a number of activities at the school including an art project with baby and puppy classes, teaching the young children songs which they later performed and two sports afternoons. We took 120kg books with us in our luggage so the library is now well stocked although donations of reading books are still welcomed. We also took over some laptops and science equipment for use in the school. Two new classrooms had been built since the 2009 visit and renovations to improve school buildings were being carried out whilst we were present.
We visited a number of other schools and a teacher resource centre which was helpful in building up a picture as to the needs within the government sector. The team also helped at an orphanage, bringing a lot of pleasure to the children as they ran an art project and played sports. We met with district education officers and carried out preparatory work for the Send a Computer Scheme, which is an exciting and ambitious project for us. Some of the team went on a two day safari and visited a clinic and school set up by YWAM in a Maasai area.
We met some of the students that we are sponsoring through their education and were encouraged by their dedication and the way they are grasping the opportunity given to them. Arusha New Clinic is slowly being completed and we hope that full operations will start in the early part of 2012.
Martin and Felix took a trip to Mwanza and on to Rwanda where they met a number of people who have experience of agriculture, water and literature focussed projects. The trip was long, and at times difficult, but it broadened my knowledge of the country and has created new openings to start different types of work in Mwanza.
All the team were delighted by the way that they were welcomed and taken into the homes of Tanzanian friends for the period of our stay. We were impressed by the work that many Tanzanians are doing to help the poor, which is in addition to their regular jobs, and the dedication and sacrificial living that this requires. It is always a great encouragement to work with the church in Tanzania and to experience the vibrancy of its faith. We were all aware of God's protection over our work and in our travels and the many answers to prayers that we experienced.