Manyata Primary School

Manyata Primary is situated almost due South from Makumira and in fact the mfiriji that irrigates the farms of Manyata starts in the stream just below our house.

The route we usually took was to pass through the Makumira farm on the south side of the main road. This track has a few boggy areas but is generally negotiable; passing Mama John's house and the two Diocese houses. Once on the Old Moshi Road, turn right and past Uraki Primary School to a track on the left that heads toward the railway line.
For me, finding places as by dead reckoning because there were no signposts and few schools advertised there presence. This changed when the government passed an edict that all state schools had to have a sign to show the location. Some signs were elaborate while others were barely adequate.

The track down to the school was perhaps five kilometers and once over the railway line, there are rice paddies that keep the track boggy. There are often ruts where tractors have become stuck. So picking a path through there can be a bit tricky!
One day when our son and his wife were visiting, we called at Manyata and were asked to transport a woman with a broken leg to hospital. She lay in the back of the Landrover and with her 'support crew' we numbered twelve. I knew I needed to climb onto the uncultivated edge of the rice paddies or we would become stuck, so using speed I drove up the bank - the vehicle lurched and for a moment tilted steeply. Once on the level, as my passengers again began breathing, Craig quietly said, 'Shit Dad!' and they all clapped!

The black cotton soil has a high silicon content and when wet becomes very stick and is a challenge to drive on. I used to say that even if you spit on it, it is difficult to drive on.
One day we had planned to deliver school text books and some trees and carry out a small seminar/demonstration. Joshia was with us because he was going to read the story 'Ndoto ya Grace' - I occasionally employed his services to help with some seminars.
As we passed through the Makumira farm, there was a short burst of rain and while the track to Manyata was wet, I managed to reach A large part of my brief was to work with schools and we had success with many and failures with very few. There are no favorites and I enjoyed my involvement with the kids, teachers and parents. Many schools were special to me and Manyata was a special one. In this case the teachers were special as were the kids, but I believe that their and character came from those village families.within three kilometers of the school. The soil was wetter and built up on the tyres so I could not steer. Joshia and Loti were afraid that I might slip into the ditches each side of the track that were about a metre deep. Discretion being the better part of valor, I stopped.

Very luckily a tardy student from the school arrived and we instructed him to bring back ten senior boys to help us - this was Loti's idea, thinking they could push us.
Well the whole school arrived and soon unpacked our load and began carrying it bit by bit back to school. This was not a chore for them - they were please to help a mzungu and carrying things on their head was perfectly normal.
Luckily there was no more rain and the track dried out so we proceeded on to the school where Joshia read/told the story and assisted with the song, 'Tunapenda' which became our anthem. Well Joshia was the choirmaster at Kimondolu for a time, so he was keen that the song was sung well.

I had my eye on the weather and we did not carryout the full programme we had planned but before we could make our move, there was some insistence from Mwl Tito that we 'kunywa soda'. It is seldom that we just drink soda, there is always the food and the female teachers had prepared rice and beans for us and some roast meat. Politeness is two-way and I did not consider refusing - although I was anxious, I just smiled a lot and the rain held off until we reached the safety of the main road.

Part of my brief was to carry out environment programmes in as many schools as possible and we worked with many. I chose no favorites although some were better experiences than others. But some were just very special and Manyata was one of those. The kids, teachers and parents were special and I think most of that came from the home-life within the village.

Our first priority was to carry out the environmental programme and plant trees at the school to teach the students the value of a healthy environment. As with most of the schools, the target was the senior students - that is students from Std IV up - but it is never possible, the whole school attends and participates - even when it comes down to planting trees, providing shelter for them and watering them. If we were at any school, the younger students wanted to see us and listen to what we had to say. It was usual to award prizes for the best work and we provided trees to be taken home and planted. The seminar was a mix of 'formal' instruction from Loti, singing led by Mags, and I carried out some role plays and told a story or two. I hoped it was fun and informative.

The school, through the Headmaster and the school committee requested further assistance. They asked for a tree nursery and they asked for the school to be rehabilitated as termites had eaten most of the wood. The first request was easy, the other took consideration

Early plantings










Plantings doing well, mulched as well.













Teachers Urio and Kitomari admire Erythrina









Prizewinners and teachers/Loti/me stand in front of trees.










Special commemorative millennium tree.

We had formed a school committee called 'The Environment Club' and Lily was the chairperson - she is figured in other posts - she became the 'boss' of the tree nursery we established there as a response to the school's request.
We spent a few days there setting things up and providing the basic materials and tools needed. The idea was to grow trees to be supplied to the homes of the school kids. It worked very well and was still going six years later.

From time to time we took trees from our nursery there to keep up motivation and especially we supplied the species that were popular - Grevillea and Mchongoma. I guess some of these were actually sold.










Construction of nursery site










Preparing potting mix










Cutting pots to size










Filling pots ready for pricking out.










A good days work completed! Pots filled and seedlings pricked out.

The Primary Schools Assistance Programme was successful for us and the schools we were involved with but the Head Teacher of Manyata Primary School, Mwl Tito pointed out that the woodwork of the school building were eaten by termites. We had a good look and the door frames, the window frames and the rafters were all eaten and tunneled through so it was easy to stick a finger right through the wood.
I recieved a formal letter from the school committee requesting my help to raise funds to rehabilitate the school buildings.
My reply was that I would try to raise funds, but they should cost out the work to give me a basis to make a funding proposal. From my experience with Big E I had decided if the budget was inflated, I would simply walk away from it.
In fact the budget came back at Tsh3 000 000/- and was within two or three thousand shilling of my estimate. [I was used to making contract estimates in my old forestry days.]

Part of the agreement I made with the school was for them to kill all nearby termite nests - that is the queens. That was complied with before the news came through that NZHC had approved the Tsh3 000 000/-! There were smiles at the school the day I conveyed the news!

The budget included funds for a fundi and the school employed a local man who knew his trade and offered good advice. Now and then he would turn up drunk to the school to demand more money from me, but I held to the school's budget - which the committee agreed with. The guy was fine when he was sober - quiet and respectful.

The roofing iron was 'the old stuff, not like the paper thin new stuff' so it was salvaged and stored to be replaced once the rafters were erected. Not one sheet went missing - that is of note! But it was a dangerous job salvaging the roofing iron because the rafters were very weak!
We ended up treating all the wood with waste engine oil to deter termites - it stank but not as bad as some proprietary treatment that we trialed.
The plates, rafters and perlins were replaced and the door/window frames.
I saved money by bargaining for the timber myself and transporting it myself. This left funds to plaster the classroom floors and plaster the walls and floor of the teacher's office.
We had carried out all the work specified under budget and carried out further work until the funds were exhausted.
You know, Mwl Tito was a humble man - at no time did he request work done to his office, and it did need repair.











Unloading timber at the Head Teacher's office.










The Fundi with repairs to the window frames.










Roof trusses erected and half the roofing iron replaced.

In my experience, the village people are very grateful for any assistance given to them. There are instances where we were asked for the moon but could only deliver some rice, but the gratitude was always there.
The people of Manyata were of course grateful for the assistance we were able to provide and they honored me by asking me to be guest of honor at the Std VII graduation.
This is an important time for the senior students who had completed their last national examination.

At primary school there are two national examinations. The first is Std IV which is really to give the students, the school and government a measure of the progress each student had achieved.The Std VII examination is where the student passes to gain entry into a government secondary school. Those who fail do not get a place in a government secondary school.
Students earlier make a choice of which secondary school they wish to attend - some have a reputation and other kids want the experience of boarding away from home.
Those who fail [and those who want to] can apply for a place in a private school and there is a wide range to choose from. These schools are much more expensive than the government schools so there is more pressure on parents.

The format of the graduation is similar each time and is a good send off for the students [who finish school as early as September].
We were greeted warmly and were refreshed with a soda. Then there was the formal welcome to which I replied by a greeting and thanks.
There was entertainment from each class, singing and dancing and some acting including reminders of what I had done there and a reminisce of the time I taught them touch rugby when I ripped my trousers! There is the risala which a a song/chant itremising the things I had done and the thanks and including Loti, Mags, the Diocese, the Agency, and NZHC. Lily led the risala and later presented me with a handwritten copy of it to keep.
I made my speech and wished the student well for the future and presented them with a certificate of achievement.
There was food and the roast goat, keki, I had brought five crates of mixed soda with me to add to the contribution.
Later there was a social, where the Std VII students mingled with us and danced among themselves.
It was a full on time and an honor to share in it.









Singing the risala.










Presentation of soccer ball and netball to head boy and girl.










Senior school and teachers with us on graduation day.

Mwl Tito on my right and Kitomari adjusts my collar. The senior teachers.

Akeri & Valeska

This is an introduction to the primary schools, rather than the villages of Akeri and Valeska. We we to have a long involvement with both these schools as time went on, but before I proceed there is some background.

The Primary Schools Assistance Project continued, but Mo & Jo had moved on and their replacements did not really want to be bothered with this project, but because the funding had been approved, they handed it out to the various partner organizations involved without regard to how well the money was spent. Their attitude was the organizations had 'one bite of the cherry' and good outcomes or bad, the organization must live with the outcome. In fact I had a serious debate because he could not see the benefit of school text books as people could learn without them! The guidelines were basically the same - the only building was for new toilets but rehabilitation of classrooms was allowed, desks were supplied, text books and teaching aids.
There is more to this story.
DME were given the funds and they had used the vocational college - Shule ya Fundi - to carry out the work. In the end I stepped in but on this first tour I was establishing the environmental programme and at the same time checking on the progress of the assistance project. This all became a bit like Big E!
I write from my diary.First met with Mchungaji - Pastor - from Akeri at the Total service station at Tengeru, Loti was with her. We turned off the main road at the bridge and headed up the hill through coffee and banana plantations. Practicing my Kiswahili, I wrote 'hali nzuri' which means the environment was in good condition.
Way up high there is a T intersection and we turned left to the saddle where 24 acres was in church ownership and where both the school and the church 9with several outbuildings stood all in the same compound.


The church was large and modern, and there was an old church that had been built from local stone. This church was falling down and I was pleased to hear of it's historical importance and was to be restored.
There stands a monument to the first missionaries who were actually slain by the Meru People, but the site later became a mission station and was pretty much self-sufficient.
There is huge potential for an environmental project here and probably easy because there is good rainfall and fertile soils.

The primary school has a large roll and the buildings need some work. The desks had not yet arrived but work had started on the new toilet block.
The Head Teacher was a woman who was obviously dedicated to her role and she introduced us to the Environment Teacher who was also enthusiastic. There was good potential to work with school on tree planting projects.

We left the young woman - Pastor - who had been an excellent guide at the church office there. I though it a wonderful thing that Loti had taught this young woman at Makumira Secondary School.

I had not planned this day but it turned out to be daunting because we travelled from one end of the Diocese to the other!

On to Valeska [which is far to the south of Usa River]. We passed through Dolly Estate where there is a primary school and a sisal factory. The estate is a sisal plantation.
The road is difficult with mud holes water crossings and passes through the village of Kwaugoro and on through savanna over dusty tracks. Now and again there are Mbuyu, Baobab trees.


We met with the Pastor and he took us to meet the Head Teacher of the primary school. The Pastor seemed only interested in some plantings around the church and seemed more interested in us working with the school.

The school consisted of a clay-brick office and one tiny classroom which was falling down, brick by brick. There was a newish concrete block building which was two classrooms but only partly built.
The rest of the classes were under two large Acacia trees.
The school roll was large - 800 kids of several tribes including Maasai and Meru.


The village leaders were there to meet us as well as the Ward Executive Officer, and District Education Officer. They said that the NZHC policy of building repairs only was no good to Valeska Primary School and asked if NZHC supplied cement, roofing iron and timber, they could carry out the necessary work.
I promised that I would write up a proposal, and in return they should utilize the irrigation channel to carry out a tree planting programme. Because other than the two trees used as classrooms, there were on others!
On closer inspection of the partly completed classrooms, there was a stash of unused desks. Of course I questioned the reason and found that they were supplied through the project but moving them daily outside and back at the end of school would damage them quickly. So they decided to protect them until the classrooms were completed - this I thought fair.

So after a walk around the area, we sat beneath a Parkinsonia bush to share a soda, but as I made to move off we were told to wait as there was food! We sat down to chipsi mayai and chips. This is like an omelet poured over a bed of chips! Yum! So finished, politely I made to go, but out came the goat - keki! Roasted over coals. The liver was cooked and I was given first taste as the ceremony dictates and the cook who was cutting the keki worked hard to keep the meat up to all of us! Then came the roasted peanuts - the red ones locally grown. This was followed by roasted beef with ginger!
One of the woman cooking was an Indian who had married a local and she introduced the more exotic flavors to the feast.



Finally, full to my eyeballs, we managed to take our leave. These people were thanking me in the only way the knew for the desks and the promise of texts books from a list they gave me.
It turned out that I was successful in finding funds and we did build the school - more of that later.

I was very late returning home to Makumira which meant I could not meet Joshia as I promised and that I could not help another vol to transport bicycles for his particular project.

Black Cricket

Last night I killed a Black Cricket!

I do not usually kill insects, I prefer to release them, perhaps because of the naturalistic instinct within me. In fact as a child I used to draw them.
Having said that I do kill wasp nests when I can because they were accidentally introduced to New Zealand and can become plague proportions and they are predictors of our local fauna.

Until I found this one at home, I had forgotten all about Black Crickets, but I chased this one down! They are allusive and tricky to catch and this one led me on quite a chase but he ended up flattened on the floor.

At Sanawari we had no drawers to put our clothes in, so we lived out of our suitcases - not a problem at all. Except for Black Crickets!
These small beasties chirp loudly at night - probably mating calls. And they would find thier way into our suitcases and sing away to entice their mate - keeping us awake at the same time!
We can sleep through a lot - but not drunks on our doorstep or mating dogs - but a lot.
I would have to search in the dark, maybe with a torch or with a lamp to try and find our noisy sleeping companion! Sometime it would take a very long time but once the insect started its chirping, it would do so all the night long. Black and less than a centimeter they were always hard to locate!

This is why I killed him.

Reprise - The Dogs of Sanawari

If you have not done so, read 'The Dogs of Sanawari' on an earlier post.

Mo had asked if she could stay with us for the weekend because Jo was away on a working trip.
As previously stated the vols before us had issues about noise coming from the Makumira Secondary School and he had forced the Headmaster to be replaced and had moved out of the house to another on the other side of the road. Mo wanted quiet because she was studying to complete an assignment for a paper she was working on.
I assured her that it was quiet and anyway, the students were away because of the mid-term break.

This was the weekend that the Evangelists had their seminar and there was noise from them, but we were kept away by the Dogs of Makumira!
The local dogs used to form packs at night but normally there was no disturbance from them. This night though there was a bitch on heat and this brought dogs from all over the place and they even came into our compound!
Santo had dug a rubbish hole about two metres deep and one of the dogs fell in there and yelped and yelped. Mbise refused to go down in the dark to retrieve it and would not allow me - I had told him about the dogs in Sanawari. He did go down in daylight and it was Baba Joyce's guard dog - ha some guard!

Anyway not surprisingly Mo returned home early in the morning to complete her studies. And the next morning you could hear a pin drop - Murphy's law!