Sponsors in Tanzania | When teachers help teachers…

Fritz Mehlich is not only a retired teacher and Tanzania lover, but also the sponsor of little Rose in the Schulbank scholarship program. Fritz is familiar with the educational problems in Tanzania and spent a long time thinking about how he could use his experience to support schoolchildren in their schools alongside his sponsorship of Rose. He quickly realized how long it would take to think about it. Go there, experience it for yourself and get to work! Here is his report on his six-week trip to Iringa:

A visit to Iringa, well, we had toyed with the idea, but then everything happened much faster than expected. The first sponsorship meeting got the ball rolling. When I asked whether it wouldn’t make sense to set up remedial lessons and/or homework supervision for our children, Alexander thought it would be a good idea and so, after a follow-up meeting, we agreed that I would join the Koesters family on their planned trip, which was due to start on February 7, 2016. The joint trip was intended in particular to make it easier to establish contacts with the individual schools. So off we went on February 7, with bag and baggage, for six weeks of gaining experience and learning.

The flight was quite uneventful, apart from one passenger who accidentally disembarked in Nairobi, so we had to wait an hour. After the visa and customs formalities, we took a cab to the lodge on the Indian Ocean and between 1.30 and 2.00 a.m. I was able to go to sleep. We spent a few days here and then set off for Iringa in the Land Rover. We arrived there after a stopover with Amanda, a friend of Alexander and Helena. I stayed at Neema Crafts, a guest house run by the diocese of Ruaha, which provides work for disabled people.

On the day we arrived, we visited Ummusalama Primary and Secondary School, where some of our children attend primary school. The principal, Mr. Mohamed Said, gave us an extremely friendly welcome and my job for the next four weeks was secured for all but a few days. It consisted mainly of supporting the group work in the primary and secondary school. The learning and teaching conditions are not comparable to those here, too many pupils in the classes, no teaching and learning materials apart from chalk, but with good results in some cases. As Destory was in DAR at the weekend, I made my way alone to Star International School on the first Saturday, where my sponsored child was supposed to be. After a few detours, I was successful with Pik Pik. Unfortunately, it was difficult to find a godchild, as both the picture and the surname could not be assigned, but this was clarified with Destory at a later date. During a tour with one of the teachers, I got to know the classrooms and common rooms. Everyone, teachers and pupils alike, was very friendly and welcoming. All of the schools have all-day lessons, which means that childcare seems difficult to implement for the time being due to space constraints, but the idea was described as helpful and good by everyone I spoke to, so the days that Destory was in Iringa were filled with a visit to St. Dominic Savio School, a large school with classes that were unfortunately far too big, and Ukombozi Primary School.

In both, we had conversations with the school management and teachers, in the classes I was able to introduce myself and answer questions from the pupils and repeatedly realized how unequal the opportunities and learning conditions of these children are compared to ours.the rest of the time I explored the city, visited the market alone, the hospital and another market with Destory and at the weekends Isimila Stone Age, an excavation site, as well as rock paintings. Iringa is not a tourist town like Moshi or Arusha, but it is a starting point for trips to Ruaha National Park, a medium-sized African town with the typical stores and craftsmen on the streets, situated on a plateau with new development areas, respectable houses and the huts on the edges and slopes without paved roads and infrastructure. It was an eventful and memorable stay, which showed that help is also useful on the ground, even though there are so many NGOs in Tanzania.

Best regards, Fritz Mehlich