This successful project was thought out and applied for by Mo and Jo and the funding came through the NZHC.
There was a small management fee for it which Mo and Jo put to purchase an office photocopier, but otherwise the rest of the funding went to the primary schools and was managed by the volunteers working in the location of the targeted primary school.
Mo and Jo worked out that each volunteer would be able to assist six primary schools in their general area and as well Mo and Jo had a couple of schools that they wanted to assist.
In the event some of the volunteers did not have the time to put into the project and others were unable to take up their full allocation, there were a variety of reasons. Some didn't want to participate.
This worked very well for our projects because we were already working with primary schools, while the other volunteers were not so it was very easy for me to add other schools to the list. As well the project made us more visible in the villages and out environmental programme was more readily taken up.
The other thing was that I really enjoyed working in the schools.
As I had already been around a good number of schools, I had a good idea of what was needed, especially the rural ones, so I was able to provide advice to Mo and Jo on what was appropriate.
It should be pointed out that schools in Tanzania in those days were under resourced and conditions were tough, especially from a western point of view. Since then there has been a lot of investment and improvement in the education sector but what we did at the time was pertinent and very important.
The project ran on for a few years and was tweaked over the years and actually became a large part of my work - but lets go back to the beginning.
There was a shortage of desks, and at schools such as Engorora (now Kisongo), pupils were sitting on rocks or broken bricks, in some places boards sitting on concrete blocks served as desks. And where this was not happening, three kids sat at desks designed for two. The combined tally of desks was high, and we needed to find a manufacturer.
Mo and Jo, because of the work they did, had contact with different people than we associated with simply because of the nature of our work. Of course Big E wanted his mate, the brother of the Major General, to build the desks and knowing what I know now, they would have creamed it. I found these two brothers at Ngaremtoni who's business operated under some obscure chemical importer's name, but their business was the manufacture of wood products.
They were most gentlemanly which is what you would expect from a business that was about to land a big contract. But these guys were gentlemen. They provided an example of their work and their price was 'delivered on site' and yes they had a truck they used to hire out as well. Their price was very competitive.
There was a holdup. It was difficult to obtain timber that was dry and of the wider dimensions that was required. Cypress timber, Cupressus lusitanica was the most desirable timber because it held nails better, but I could see we would use more Silky Oak, Grevillea robusta because it was more available. However it would require extra bracing.
The paint on school blackboards was worn to the state that they could not be used. The blackboards were made by plastering a cement base onto a wall and after smoothing it off, applying the blackboard paint. On most the plaster had deteriorated and the paint was badly faded.
Most schools could not afford to buy chalk!
There were not enough text books to go around the class, and some of them were simply out of date.
There were no teaching aids such as maps, science kits or world globes.
There was a lot of building work required, but the direction was that only school toilets could be built. Obviously someone had seen them and thought them a health hazard. That is probably very correct as there was no water available for 'modern toilets' or even for washing hands. All school toilets were 'bomb boxes', pit latrines, and the challenge was to breathe while you were using them!
However, I always had the feeling that addressing the toilet issue was not a priority. Certainly the schools did not see them as a priority.
So it was a matter first of finding the numbers of the required items. I helped Jo with the purchases because there was a need to negotiate prices and I was getting good at that. Mags helped Jo bundle things up in school lots and the was a lot of work involved in that too.
Josiah was helpful in this as he wanted to see the available funds go as far as possible - and he was interested in education - Mama Ng'ida, his wife is a school teacher.
The Primary Schools Assistance Programme was set to start.
There was a small management fee for it which Mo and Jo put to purchase an office photocopier, but otherwise the rest of the funding went to the primary schools and was managed by the volunteers working in the location of the targeted primary school.
Mo and Jo worked out that each volunteer would be able to assist six primary schools in their general area and as well Mo and Jo had a couple of schools that they wanted to assist.
In the event some of the volunteers did not have the time to put into the project and others were unable to take up their full allocation, there were a variety of reasons. Some didn't want to participate.
This worked very well for our projects because we were already working with primary schools, while the other volunteers were not so it was very easy for me to add other schools to the list. As well the project made us more visible in the villages and out environmental programme was more readily taken up.
The other thing was that I really enjoyed working in the schools.
As I had already been around a good number of schools, I had a good idea of what was needed, especially the rural ones, so I was able to provide advice to Mo and Jo on what was appropriate.
It should be pointed out that schools in Tanzania in those days were under resourced and conditions were tough, especially from a western point of view. Since then there has been a lot of investment and improvement in the education sector but what we did at the time was pertinent and very important.
The project ran on for a few years and was tweaked over the years and actually became a large part of my work - but lets go back to the beginning.
There was a shortage of desks, and at schools such as Engorora (now Kisongo), pupils were sitting on rocks or broken bricks, in some places boards sitting on concrete blocks served as desks. And where this was not happening, three kids sat at desks designed for two. The combined tally of desks was high, and we needed to find a manufacturer.
Mo and Jo, because of the work they did, had contact with different people than we associated with simply because of the nature of our work. Of course Big E wanted his mate, the brother of the Major General, to build the desks and knowing what I know now, they would have creamed it. I found these two brothers at Ngaremtoni who's business operated under some obscure chemical importer's name, but their business was the manufacture of wood products.
They were most gentlemanly which is what you would expect from a business that was about to land a big contract. But these guys were gentlemen. They provided an example of their work and their price was 'delivered on site' and yes they had a truck they used to hire out as well. Their price was very competitive.
There was a holdup. It was difficult to obtain timber that was dry and of the wider dimensions that was required. Cypress timber, Cupressus lusitanica was the most desirable timber because it held nails better, but I could see we would use more Silky Oak, Grevillea robusta because it was more available. However it would require extra bracing.
The paint on school blackboards was worn to the state that they could not be used. The blackboards were made by plastering a cement base onto a wall and after smoothing it off, applying the blackboard paint. On most the plaster had deteriorated and the paint was badly faded.
Most schools could not afford to buy chalk!
There were not enough text books to go around the class, and some of them were simply out of date.
There were no teaching aids such as maps, science kits or world globes.
There was a lot of building work required, but the direction was that only school toilets could be built. Obviously someone had seen them and thought them a health hazard. That is probably very correct as there was no water available for 'modern toilets' or even for washing hands. All school toilets were 'bomb boxes', pit latrines, and the challenge was to breathe while you were using them!
However, I always had the feeling that addressing the toilet issue was not a priority. Certainly the schools did not see them as a priority.
So it was a matter first of finding the numbers of the required items. I helped Jo with the purchases because there was a need to negotiate prices and I was getting good at that. Mags helped Jo bundle things up in school lots and the was a lot of work involved in that too.
Josiah was helpful in this as he wanted to see the available funds go as far as possible - and he was interested in education - Mama Ng'ida, his wife is a school teacher.
The Primary Schools Assistance Programme was set to start.
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