Yesterday we began work at Njia Nne, or four corners,
primary school, and we expect to be here three days. Our health screening began with children in
pre-school, which is the equivalent of kindergarten in the US. The total enrollment at Njia Nne is close to
eight hundred children, ranging from pre-school through standard seven.
In Tanzania, parents must pay for their children to go to
school and education is not mandatory, although most families are able to find
the money for the fees, uniforms and supplies.
All schools require uniforms, white shirts combined with shorts for boys
and skirts or jumpers for girls, and the colors vary by school. Before a child can advance to the next
level they must pass an exam. So there
is a wide range of ages in each grade and children can advance to the next
level when they are ready. Primary
school is pre-school , followed by standard one, standard two, and so on. Some children begin as young as four and we
have seen one boy of fifteen in primary school.
After primary school, if the child has qualified, the next level is form
one followed by form two and on up to form seven. Form six and seven are comparable to our last
two years of high school.
Doctor Arleigh, Casey and Elise worked with the team for the
first time and their skills were put to use at different stations. Arleigh did an abdominal check of all the
children, something we were not qualified to do before she joined the
team. Malaria is a severe problem in
Tanzania and repeated bouts can cause an enlargement of the spleen, which
requires treatment.
The high point of the day was watching Cindy teach the OSU
chant to a group of about 50 waiting children, forming the letters with their
whole body and finishing with a shout of “Cowboys!” The children loved it and their antics put a
smile on our faces.
Because the “bell” to end the day (a rusted wheel from a
car, struck with a metal rod) rings at 2:30, our work stopped earlier than
usual and we arrived back at LJS well before dinner.
While the team was working at the school, Bishop Mike was
with Pastor George Pindua, assistant to Bishop Mameo, and journeyed to the
Kilosa district. Mameo is in Arusha,
studying for his Master’s degree in Theology, and Pindua holds the reins during
his absence. Mike’s introduction to the
parishes in the diocese will continue this week under Pindua’s direction . Several stops were made before Kilosa and one
in particular involved a lively and stimulating conversation with two lay
evangelists in the Masaii village of Parakuyo.
In Kilosa, several hours were spent with the Pastor and his family and
they finished their visit getting caught up on world news—watching the BBC,
Aljazeera and MSNBC.
Today, Tuesday, we had to make a quick rearrangement of our
transportation because Barbara’s vehicle broke a stud off of the wheel and
needed a few hours in the shop. Most of
the team climbed into the Dalla Dalla,
and Kristen took her car with the last four members of the team. A Dalla
Dalla is a van-type vehicle that fits 14 Americans in addition to the
driver…or 30 Tanzanians. In Tanzania,
there is always room for just one more.
Our work area at the school is a broad expanse of
hard-packed dirt shaded by an enormous mango tree, with branches radiating out
15 feet from a broad, forked trunk. We
began where we left off yesterday and before noon had surpassed the prior day’s number of 211
children registered. The health issues
we are finding are primarily low iron (anemia), enlarged spleen and heart
murmurs. We are writing referrals for a
little more than 10% of the children we have screened.
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