Nkoasenga Primary School

The road continues past Leguruki to climb over a ridge and eventually down into Ngarenanyuki, a route we used most usually when there was flooding through the Arusha National Park.
Bwana Tie, as we called him [because he was always well dressed and wore a tie], a school teacher at Makumira Secondary School and later headmaster at Ngarenanyuki Secondary School had his home place at Nkoasenga and asked us to visit there. His brother also was a Makumira, working/managing the canteen and another brother had been Headmaster at Ngarenanyuke but later became Headmaster of Leguruki Secondary School. Maybe that sounds complicated, but it is some history.

The road into Nkoasenga leaves the King'ori - Ngarenanyuki road and climbs up a steepish isolated hill and the school is perched almost at the top. I was somewhat amazed at the location of the school because the students and teachers had to climb uphill to their school and otherwise, I was unsure and remain of the exact catchment area of this school.

The school is set among some mature Grevillea robusta trees and is more modern than some other schools and is clean and tidy. There is a large water tank there, and while obvious there was water there - people were using the outlet - but I never found out about the source of the water or how it was set up.

On that first visit, we happened to have a group of young New Zealand visitors with us, and they quickly made friends with some of the younger staff and of course the pupils liked to meet them, checking out the modern clothes and the long hair of the young women.

We only carried out one seminar at Nkoasenga and one planting season, including the mandatory followups. The school management had an ambitious planting plan, and we supplied all the trees for the project. Our followups showed that the plantings had been cared for well and had a good ongoing future.

I was given a goat as a gift from the school, and the poor animal suffered an uncomfortable trip to the Makumira nursery because we had to tie it's feet so it lay down in the back of the vehicle - the road home was bumpy.
I found difficulty in feeding the animal because goats are not grazers, rather they are browsers and used to nibbling titbits as the walk along. So cutting food and taking it to the tied up animal became a task for morning and evening and it actually refused to eat a lot of the food that I delivered. It liked variety and only small amounts of each species of plant material.
Of course the goat was given so that it could be slaughtered and feasted upon - and from time to time the nursery staff were licking their lips in anticipation.

As it turned out, Amani, one of our nursery workers, was married and so with a purple bow around the goat's neck, I presented it to her and her new husband during the presentation of their gifts! It all worked out very well!

I don't have so many pictures for Nkoasenga and there are gaps throughout my time - I usually didn't have the time/opportunity to take photos, I depended on Mags or someone else to take the majority.









Staff and pupils at Nkoasenga Primary School










Staff pose with our visitors - the goat is there too.










The prizewinners at Nkoasenga Primary School













Gifts given to us included two stools, kangas and a goat.










The senior staff with us after the presentation









I'm (unusually) decked out for Amani's wedding, with Mbise and the goat also decked out










Presenting the goat to Amani and her new husband

Leguruki Primary School

The village of Leguruki is the last large village on the main road Malula - Ngarenanyuki. This is the village were the Bishop had his home place and where Mch Majola had taken us to the church where he was in charge of the King'ori District within DME. We had a lot of involvement with the church and the women's group there.

The primary school is a little off the road and sits on a small hill, a rock outcrop. Because of the lay of the land the classrooms, all in a line, step down a couple of times.
Elsewhere on the internet you may find reference to this school because a German Pastor provided some assistance for a number of years and he networked with other schools in Germany. Also the relationship of the Lutheran church in Germany (mainly) and the closeness of the Bishop's farm meant that the nearest school was given assistance.
It was really good to see that a German school funded tea (with milk and sugar) and a slice of bread to each student there for a year.

Still the school was under resourced! There was a large student population because the large catchment area they came from.
The school was led by a young man, Mbise, and he was enthusiastic doing good work within the school, and encouraging any assistance that he could find. He didn't look for us, we found him

I have a note here that is distasteful for me but I experienced it from time to time. There are ex-teachers in each area who are sort of district inspectors/supervisors and they recommend things to the Regional Office in Arusha. These people have the power to move teachers from one school to another and the teachers seem to have few rights of appeal. Teachers may be set up in a village with their homes and are happily ensconced in their work. But the inspector can be bent by other teachers, who for reasons of their own want someone moved on - some of this is corrupt. Sure there are times when teachers become slack and need to moved on, but some pay their way into being left where they are too. Mbise was one that was moved, he went to Malula and we met with him some years later - Leguruki's loss was Malula's gain.

The Head Teacher's off was small and difficult for three visitors to sit with him, and we were left in there while Mbise was called to us. He was a young tidy man and it was obvious he had the interests of the students at heart and had his finger on the running of the school. The walls of his office were covered with charts and graphs showing the progress of the school and passport photos of Std VII pupils because their success in the end of year national examinations ranked the school. Many (most) of the other teachers were senior to him in age, but all seemed to me to be happy in their work and working under Mbise.
Mbise was very happy with our proposal to carry our environmental seminars and tree planting among his student. After we had set up a timetable, he took us into the village to a local restaurant. A dingy looking place with the interior painted in dark green and red - making it all the darker. Mbise went to talk to the cook/owner/chef and we partook in chapati and mtori. Mtori is a both of mutton or goat meat with perhaps onion. The colour of grey dishwater and served on aluminum plate-cum trays. It did not look appetizing at all and I have to say to those who do not like the food of other counties, you should always try. It was nothing short of delicious, hot and clean. Whenever we went back there, I was always keen on a repeat.

Over the next few years we carried out our environmental programme and tree planting projects with good success because this too was an area where there was adequate rainfall and a good water tap. Most of the villagers and schools took water from a line that starts from Lendoiya
and goes right down to King'ori, those villages higher up the took the water as they required it and there was not enough for the lower villages.

We were able to supply text books and maps/teaching aids from the Assistance to Primary Schools Project and there was much gratitude for that.
There was a line of quite old Jacaranda trees on the front of the school which shows how long the school had been established there.
One night there was a storm with very strong winds and many of the tree fell onto the school - thankfully this was at night. I was able to apply for funds for the almost immediate repair of the school and the Education Department was able to supply the roofing iron. With judicial spending, we were able to re-plaster some of the floors and walls of the classrooms. I had done a good budget with Mbise and some of the committee but savings were made by parents doing some of the work, timber cut locally and carting the materials by myself rather than hiring transport.

We had made friendships with teachers who we found posted to other schools and the kids were always very good to work with, and we found them at secondary schools through the years - even some after the so-called 'pressure-cooker' teaching training - in some classrooms.





A girl tends her tree and will later erect a shelter around it.













As a form of motivation I brought the Leguruki Primary School Environment Committee down to our Makumira nursery, to give them an idea of what we were doing and how we did it.



It was a long day as there were two loads for me to go back and forth. We supplied a lunch and the ubiquitous soda.
Amani, Upendo, Mbise and Veronica are working here and Loti stands by.
The day was a success and it built on the relationship with the school.







Kids wait for us to get organized for the prize giving ceremony.








Head Teacher, Mbise organizes some of the boys during a Prize-giving ceremony.







A lineup of prizewinners. It was good to see a range of ages and sexes.








Another group show off their prizes. Head Teacher and Environment Teacher pose too.








Another group of prizewinners.








Here I am standing beside a Loquat tree about two years old. Loquats are a very good fruit and grow well in the climate. Whenever I went to Lushoto (usually to buy seed) I would buy a bucket full of Loquats and give them to my nursery workers or neighbors on condition they returned the seeds to me. They thought it a good bargain.








Some of the successful plantings at Leguruki.








Some of the teachers stand in front of the renovated/repaired staff room.