One Final Step

We are in the process of getting the school registered with the government. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have received certification of ownership and management, and now we must pursue this one final step.

Today I was assisted by the headmaster of a Catholic school down the street from our own. He shared with me his school's application for registration and gave me some tips regarding the Chief Zonal Inspector of Schools, who must inspect the school and forward the report to the ministry of education.

So....today I'll be putting together the portfolios of required documents and will write a letter requesting an inspection. After waiting months for the ownership and management certification, this final step will go very quickly -- so I have been told.

Also today I will interview a candidate for the biology/agriculture position. Say a prayer that he or she is outstanding in his/her field -- couldn't resist that pun.

Heri ya Krismasi!

Merry Christmas! (A greeting that's good, remember, until 6 January.)

Though I have been here for 1.5 years, this is my first Christmas here in TZ. Last year I returned in mid-December for my mother's funeral and remained through Christmas.

So what can I report? Well that it is less frenetic, certainly. There is some exchange of cards, but gift-giving the way it has been constructed activity in the US is nowhere to be found.

Our festivities began with Mass in the Night (the technical term that some interpret as Midnight Mass). Ours began at 9 p.m. It was a big production. One of our German volunteers, Jana, has a friend (Dorian) visiting here. I enjoyed watching his facial expression at different points. Two in particular: (1) When there was a procession at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word. For big feasts this procession is customarily done here. It includes dancers, women with braziers of incense balanced on their heads, and a toddler holding the Bible in a kikapu, also balanced on the head of a man. (2) When the goat was brought up as part of the offertory.

On Christmas morning I had Mass at the outstation a few kilometres outside of town. There were about ten infant baptisms. (Don't know quite how this tradition began, for the usual time for such is on the Sunday that ends the Christmas Season, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (this year on 10 January.) In any case, the folks at this mission parish are always so kind and patient with me and my bad Kiswahili. As I told them (in my bad Kiswahili), not only can I not speak the language properly, I can't even manage to read it properly.

I ended my post communion remarks with a call-response, which the people here love. I said Mungu-pamoja-nasi (God is among us). And they responded, Mwokozi wetu amekuja (Our saviour has come.)

Today I was not scheduled for any Mass, so I did something I rarely do: I went to our domestic chapel for Mass instead of the parish church. And not only that, I spent much of the day lounging around doing nothing -- and it was wonderful!

I Think We Can, I Think We Can

Those words of course are from the children's book The Little Train that Could. They are my mantra right now -- I'd be less than honest if I didn't admit that the mantra is interspersed with "I hope we can" and "We better"! That is I think we can [I hope we can; we better] get our buildings ready for the 23 January 2011 arrival of our students!

I went to the site today with two Salesians -- Brother Jos and Father Jos. The Salesian high school and technical school are a couple of kilometres down the road from us.

Here are some pictures I took -- you'll note glimmers of green following our rains.

The Multi-Purpose Hall is Painted.

The Classroom Block is Ready (except for tiling and chalkboards)

The Jesuit Residence Should Be Completed by June.

Did you know that all the woodworking (door jambs, doors, furniture, cabinets, etc.)
is made on site?

Hope you noticed the glimmers of green above -- it doesn't take much for nature to show its thanks.

Kwa Heri, Baba Askofu!

Farewell, Father Bishop!

Today His Lordship, Jude Thaddeus Ruwa'ichi, Bishop of Dodoma, presided at a morning liturgy at which service he confirmed countless children and a few adults. I'm sure that someone knows the number who were confirmed -- someone better know the number confirmed. From my part, all I can say is that it was like the proverbial sub-compact at a circus: they didn't stop!

The bishop is very counter-cultural. By that I mean to say that I have never been at a Mass where he presided when we didn't begin early. Today was no exception the Mass scheduled to being at 9:30 began about 9:22 -- and we ended just after noon. Our bishop is known for his knowledge of the scriptures -- and known for being generous in sharing that knowledge in his preaching.

The celebration provided the opportunity for our parishioners to wish the bishop (beloved by the people) all the best as he moves to Mwanza, on the shores of Lake Victoria, where he will become the archbishop. In addition to the large parish celebration, there was a smaller celebration with the parish and domestic workers in our Jesuit residence. It was a delightful afternoon filled with laughter and conversation. I do very well with the laughter part; for the conversation part, I continue to struggle!

Before the bishop left, I asked if he wouldn't mind taking a picture with some of the young men who regularly help as servers and otherwise. These young men are always quick to welcome me, to help me with my Kiswahili, and to assist folks here in any way they can.

As I noted, our mid-day meal was shared among the Jesuits, the bishop, and the parish and domestic employees. One of the things that made me very happy was the question, "Shawny na Rolla, wako wapi?" "Where are Sean and Laura?" (It is very hard for folks here not to end a word with a vowel --99.99@ of Kiswahili words do. Thus Shawny. Likewise, the confusion of the English 'l" sound with the "r" sound is also common; thus Rolla. Laura is considering going by her middle name in Kiswahili -- Neema, Grace.) We are very lucky to have these two American volunteers (along with the German volunteers who are working in projects other than the high school) who are not shy and who in a month's time have manage to burrow deep into people's hearts. In fact, Sean and Laura left today to join the other volunteers from Dar es Salaam and Moshi at a retreat in Tanga. I'm sure they'll profit from the retreat, and I'm also sure they'll return even more thankful for our wonderful climate here in the Dusty D.

A Word of Thanks

I just received a report of donations made through the Chicago-Detroit Provinces (soon to be Province without the "s"!). Thank you to our generous benefactors.

Your generosity will make an amazing difference. I will try to get out to the site in the next few days with my camera so that you can see what sort of progress we are making. And I cannot wait for you to have the opportunity to meet the members of our school community, who are pretty special people.

Karibuni nyote St. Peter Claver High School!

Habari Njema!

Martin Waweru, SJ, just called me from Dar es Salaam with good news: We have received all of the exemptions we applied for from the Tanzania Revenue Authority and a school bus will be arriving in the next few days. We began the process of purchasing the bus 2 1/2 months ago! This is a great relief.

We've applied for assistance from two foundations for the purchase of a second bus, too -- ours will be a big school! Say a prayer that the officers of these foundations see the merits of this project -- AND that if they so see it and do provide the funds that we don't have the same difficulties with the TRA again!

Martin had further good news: Our tractor should be on its way to Dodoma soon.

All good news -- habari njema.

Pole na Majukumu

That is one of the secondary greetings one hears here -- or at least that I have heard often these last days. After the traditional Habari za asubuhi/leo/jioni/kazi/nyumbani?, etc. -- What's up this morning/today/this evening/with your work/at home?, etc. -- the second greeting might be something like pole na majukumu, sorry for all your responsibilities/tasks/duties.

My days have been filled with lots of tasks -- but the days have been for the most part delightful. Six of our seven teachers showed up (if anyone knows of an agriculture/biology teacher I'm in search of such!) and we've had some very good time together so far; but this time together requires a lot of planning on my part (even though I did remote planning for these days a year ago!). I am very happy with these folks, and I think we'll make a very good team.

We've met for two weeks now. Our meetings serve as a sort of crash course regarding Jesuit education and some details regarding the school. We've had some nice discussions of the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and how we might make use of this teaching model at our school. The presence of our volunteers Sean and Laura has been invaluable because they can speak of their own experience of Jesuit education -- from a student perspective.

We've also had other productive conversations about the educational realities here in Tanzania. I'm thankful for the presence of a Jesuit scholastic who has been assigned to the school for the coming seven or so months, Maurice Mkhotya. He'll act as a sort of assistant -- and at times as my vicar.

Maurice is from Singida, which is about 3 hours away; he was an English teacher before joining the Jesuits. His contributions have been very helpful.

I meant to take pictures of the teachers today, but I was distracted (see above re: many tasks!).

My days start at 5 a.m., when I make the proximate preparations for our daily meetings -- reviewing my notes, getting materials prepared, etc. I then have morning Mass (today I was at the Brothers of Charity -- Upendo Brothers -- just outside of Dodoma proper). I grab a quick bite to eat and then continue getting things organized for our meeting that starts at 8:00 a.m.

The afternoon is spent with other tasks involved in getting the school opened: working on some continuing admissions issues, preparing orders for textbooks, reviewing teaching schedules, etc. In the evening I do more planning for the teacher meetings and do some correspondence.

My relaxation these days really has amounted to trying to keep up with family and friends. Folks have noted my presence on the Internet at odd hours. In fact, I am often texting or talking at 2 a.m. in the morning -- wireless broadband has been a great thing for me!

Things are only going to get more hectic, I know -- and I'm happy for that. I am eager to get my office moved from the parish offices to the school site and to be able to hire a secretary. I am not the most organized person, and having a secretary at this time will be a great help to me (I won't be searching through piles to find things, etc.).

Post-Rain Flora & Fauna

The flora can wait until things turn really green. For now, it is enough to share with you the immediate effects of our rains: scorpions, toads, and bugs of every sort -- along with the advent of some birds that have been otherwise absent.

Two nights ago when I went to bed I saw a scorpion on my wall -- one of the little ones (maybe two inches long) that are said to pack the biggest punch. On Friday I was at the school site with our teachers and came across a worker doing battle with a scorpion that looked like this:


Mind you, the photo doesn't capture relative size -- it was at least six-inches long. Not as toxic as the tiny ones, but scarier to look at.

The arrival of the rains will be the subject of my homily for Advent III tomorrow -- God keeps the divine promises, and there is life and hope to be found in those promises. (Doesn't mean there aren't some scary things, too, though!)

Year-End Review

Many folks take this time to review their philanthropy, realizing the tax benefits of charitable giving before year's end.

As you do, may I invite you to remember us, please. Our needs our great. Please use the link at the right of this page, which link will take you to the donation page for the Chicago-Detroit Province Jesuits.

Even the Fireworks!

What a wonderful evening we had on the 9th, Independence (Uhuru) Day. Martin Waweru, the scholastic who serves as our minister (Jesuit-speak for the person who takes care of practical matters in a Jesuit community) organized a very pleasant celebration.

He brought our grill (not quite a grill but a charcoal tub -- I guess tub is the word for it) onto our front porch (screened). We grilled a leg of goat (nyama choma) but also had what folks here call sausages -- American hot dogs.

It was a very nice change of pace, sitting on our front porch, chatting with one another and Sean, Laura, and Jana. As we chatted we began to hear rumbling in the distance. And then the streaks of light from the sky -- nature providing us with Independence Day fireworks.

The exciting thing is that it is 3:20 a.m. as I write this -- and it is still raining, steadily.

Can't wait for 12 December, which is not only the feast of OL Guadalupe but also Kenyan Independence Day -- hoping that Martin, a Kenyan, will have a repeat performance!

Address

I've received a couple of emails in the last few days from people who were ignorant of my mailing address (very wise otherwise, though!).
Even though we'll be moving, the best mailing address remains the one for the Jesuits here at the parish:

Marty Connell, SJ
Jesuit Community at Airport Parish
PO Box 1079
Dodoma, TANZANIA

In general items in Tyvek envelopes pass customs without a problem. (And thieves don't tamper with them either.) Larger packages (for things like, for instance, um, a french press coffee maker or stovetop espresso maker or a coffee grinder) usually make it through. The best way to value items is to consider what you might pay for them at a garage sale.

Mungu Ametusikia! Mvua Inanyesha!

God has heard us! It is raining! (HARD). Now all we need is three more months of this.

Testing, One, Two, Three

Yesterday we held our second set of admissions tests. We were expecting over 60 candidates for admission to Form One, and I made copies for 90 (thinking that many people might just "show up"). Well, I made about 56 copies too many.

Of the 34 students who tested, I will offer admission to 28 of them.

The day went smootly, and I was thankful for the assistance of Scholastic Maurice, and Teacher David, Teacher Sean, and Teacher Laura.

Tomorrow we begin our teacher orientation. I was happy to receive an SMS earlier today from one of the teachers I was uncertain about, and SMS announcing that he was in via. And now Teacher Moses is here (He actually spells it Mosses, but I've changed the spelling for English readers!). I'll start to get him settled tomorrow afternoon.

Rainy Season

It is supposed to be the rainy season, and all of the hints of nature are indicating it is so -- but so far only one rain.

You're welcome to join me in the following prayer:

O God, in whom we live and move, and have our being, grant us rain, in due abundance, that, being sufficiently helped with temporal gifts, we may the more confidently seek after eternal gifts. For the sake of your holy Name.
Amen

Keeping Up

It's hard to keep up with work that requires a computer when there's no electricity. We were without electricity most of the day, the day during which I was going to finish up composing our second entrance tests, followed by proofing, printing, and collating them. Ah well, it gave me a chance to plan our teacher orientation -- using pen and paper to do so!

December and the beginning of January will be devoted to forming the faculty regarding the philosophy of St. Peter Claver High School. It will also give them a chance to get accustomed to my management style. Some teachers at schools where I have served might disagree, but by-and-large, I think former colleagues would agree that my approach to leadership in schools is to listen carefully, to find common themes, to articulate these and encourage discussion, and then to decide. My role following decisions is to follow through with resources to ensure success regarding any decision and the necessary accountability.

Teachers are due to arrive on Monday. There is one slight problem: 2 of the 7 candidates have not signed contracts, though they assure me that they intend to do so. One of the candidates did sign a contract, but he has recently been unreachable. I am learning, my friends, that this is the life of a school administrator in TZ.

Site Meeting

Just got home from a day-long meeting at our site. I think we're going to make it re: timing. I really now do think we'll be able to start on time (which is actually two weeks later than what "on time" formerly was)! Whew! Maybe I'll start sleeping more now.

In my absence there was one rain -- our first since March. From what I understand it was a good rain, lasting for several hours (and coming down in buckets). Nature is already saying its "thank you," and things are turning green. We just need three more months of such good rain, and we'll be set!

My frustration for the day? We still have not our relief from import duty and taxes from the Tz Revenue Authority regarding our school bus.

Nipo Nyumbani!

I'm home.

And glad to be here.

My days away were rejuvenating, but there's much to do here and I'm glad to be back to it.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the UNESCO conference was not everything that I'd hoped. I felt very much on track with UNESCO regarding St. Peter Claver in at least one regard: philosophy. One of the foci of the conference was the importance of introducing students to philosophy even at the high school level (and earlier!). In fact, our students will have a course devoted to moral reasoning taught by one of our volunteers, Laura. It won't be a history of philosophy, but it will be an opportunity for them to engage in "doing" philosophy.

I arrived home yesterday afternoon after a 7 hour bus ride from Dar (and a days' long journey the day before from Paris). I had the 6:30 a.m. Mass this morning and then headed right out to the site. I was pleased to see great progress.

We'll have a second entrance test on Saturday. I'm a bit concerned with the boy:girl ratio, however. We have a few seats left, and I'd like those to go to girls (they make up less than 1/2 of the students already accepted).

More news as the days unfold. This afternoon, I'm setting up the schedule and beginning to prepare documents for the teacher's orientation that begins next Monday.

UNESCO

My conference at UNESCO has been mixed. There was no simultaneous translation, and though my French is okay (just), it was too much for me.

It was good to get to know more about UNESCO's work, and I had a very good meeting with the permanent representative from the Sultanate of Oman, Her Excellency Dr. Madiha al Shaibani.

Struggling with a French keyboard. More later.

I Wrote too Soon

Remember that post yesterday when I mentioned how surprised I was that the traffic at rush hour was so smooth? Well, I paid for that observation today -- 1.5 hours to get to the airport, which is probably at the most 12 kilometres away from the Jesuit community.

Rain

Not in Dodoma but rather in Dar es Salaam, where I find myself today, preparing for a night flight to Paris, via Nairobi and Zurich.

Dar-es-Salaam is known for its hot, humid weather. Natives and other friends who've lived there for a long time have all told me that this year the weather has been especially bad. Leaving Dodoma yesterday, I prepared myself psychologically to face the trials of Dar (traffic, heat, mosquitoes, etc.). What a wonderful relief to find that there's a break in the weather -- only 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Farenheit) instead of the customary 40 (104 degrees Farenheit). It's still humid but manageable. And there was little traffic on our way in to town at six in the evening -- and I haven't been bitten by a single mosquito!
Today I'll meet with Sr. Mary Rose, a Congolese sister who serves as the material manager at Loyola High School, Dar-es-Salaam. I'll also meet with another sister form the same congregation, Sr. Eugenie, the head teacher at the Jesuit primary school here in Dar. We have two students from the school coming to join us, and two others now are keen on coming to Dodoma. Later today, I'll visit with a member of our advisory board, Veronica Sarungi, a mathematics teacher and educational consultant.

I suspect it will be a productive day.

Dust

I was raised with the notion that to say "I hate...." is uncouth. One should say instead, "I dislike..."

Well, I hate dust. And Dodoma is filled with it.

I also hate cleaning my room.

It's not a good combination, I assure you. (Said through a scratchy throat, watery eyes, and dripping nose.)

Pushing the Sartorial Limit

I am heading to Paris and London next week. I'll be in Paris for a conference at UNESCO. I'm using the conference as an opportunity to get a way for a bit,

visiting friends in London (our great friends at St. Ignatius, Enfield, in fact),

and my good friend in

Paris, Alexandre.
I don't have good winter clothes. I have one overcoat, a cardigan,

and a hoodie -- but that's about it. I have decided to push it a bit and bring

a little of TZ to Europe. I'm going to wear my Maasai blanket! I'll report on what people make of it. I have been always a bit wary of Jesuits who've returned from Africa wearing African dress (many Africans don't wear traditional African dress -- though, of course, many do), and now I'm taking the plunge. The blanket I have is more orange than the one on the right -- and it has subtle blue lines that establish the checkers.

Good for Mwanza, Sad for Us

The Archdiocese of Mwanza has been without an archbishop for a year now. Today that changed when Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Jude Thadaeus Ruwa'ichi, OFM, Cap., as the next archbishop of Mwanza.

Bishop Ruwa'ichi is loved by the people of Dodoma, and he's been very supportive of our many Jesuit projects. He often stops by to say hello to us here at the Jesuit residence. In fact, earlier in the summer when Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, the archbishop of Dar es Salaam, visited Dodoma, the first stop they made upon their arrival in the city was our community to have a refreshment and to enjoy our company before heading to the episcopal residence at the cathedral.

When people ask Bishop Ruwa'ichi what his name means, he tells them, "God knows." Often people press him, "No, really, please tell us what your name means." "My name means 'God knows!'" Ruwa in Kichaga means "God" and ichi means "knows." (You'll note the capitalization of the "g" in God. That's because Christians did not introduce monotheism to the Wachaga. The missionaries may have introduced them to the person of Jesus Christ, but they didn't introduce them to God.

Karibuni Dodoma, Laura na Sean!

Our volunteers from JVC arrived yesterday evening. They arrived in Tanzania earlier in the week but spent some days getting to know their counterparts in Dar es Salaam. After spending Saturday at the beach, they hopped on a bus for Dodoma yesterday. They arrived just in time for a treat: dinner out with the Jesuit community, our other volunteers from Germany, our provincial, and Jack Paquette, the assistant to the provincials of Wisconsin and Detroit, Chicago, Wisconsin for Development.

We're so glad that they arrived safely. We'll let them spend some days of adjustment and then put them to work!

Laura arrives from Dar.

Sean likes his room.

St. Ignatius is happy that they've arrived!

More Fun with Google Maps

I just discovered that Google has gotten around to improving the maps for Tanzania. Here are the directions from Airport Parish (where I presently live and where our temporary offices are located) to the OLQP campus.


View Larger Map

OLQP from Google Earth

View Larger Map

Mavuno

That's the Kiswahili word for harvest. Last month the harvest was celebrated here. The harvest festival among Catholics in Tanzania is celebrated as a thanksgiving celebration. It is not celebrated with any great feast; no turkey (which is called a "wandering duck" in Kiswahili) and stuffing is served; no one suffers from tryptophan overdose. It is celebrated simply by sharing what one can with those who have less.

As you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States later this month, may I invite you to consider the psalmist's words, "How can I repay the LORD for all the good done for me?" (116:12).

Our needs are great here in Dodoma. Please feel free to email me -- I can help you answer the psalmist's question!

Karibuni Tanzania Sean na Laura!

Our two volunteers from the US have arrived safely and are resting and getting to know the volunteers in Dar es Salaam. On Sunday they will make the six-hour-plus trip by bus to Dodoma.

We're very much looking forward to their arrival and are thankful for their generosity. Sean and Laura will be with us for two years. I'll introduce you to them after I've met them myself!

What's that in the TV?

It's the Dry Season...

...but that doesn't stop shrubs from flowering. You might have seen a "bottle brush" tree; I call this a "tooth brush" shrub because the blossoms are a bit like tooth brushes.

Progress on the Dormitories

Finishing up the courtyard:
A view from the administration block (presently under construction; when completed, it will be a five story building housing the administrations of the high school, vocational training college, and teachers training college.)

A view to the open end of the courtyard.

One of the laundry rooms (4 in each dorm with 10 sinks in each). Yep, laundry is done by hand and will be dried in the courtyards.

Keeping a Lid on It!

It is not so easy to keep one's roof in place when the wind is as strong as it is here in Dodoma. Here are some local roofs.

Paint and Windows

The progress on the classrooms is speeding up! I'm happy with our colour choices.

Biodigester

Here are recent pictures so you can see the recent progress on the biodigester -- looking backwards in time. The next step? To send a skinny person into the structure to disassemble the forms and send them out piece by piece. Included is a photograph of the final water filtration -- the wastewater is being reclaimed for the irrigation of trees and grass.

Book 'em, Danno

Our books have left the warehouse in Atlanta and are en route to Dodoma!

Changing Education

How Big is Africa?

This will give you some perspective.

Scenes from OLQP

Here are some pictures taken by a recent visitor, AJ Cabrera. The first two were taken from the Land Cruiser on our way up to the university from our campus -- you get a sense of who our closest neighbors are and the conditions under which they live.

The remaining pictures of from a visit to the site a couple of weeks ago. AJ and his colleague Steph from the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (International) USA came to check us out. Accompanying the three of us were a group of Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea, Italy. Their novitiate is just down the road from the Jesuit parish and their provincialate a bit further down the road in the village of Veyula.

We're hoping that they'll be our colleagues, directing boarding, serving in the girls' dormitory, and serving as the school nurse. I will be so happy when their collaboration is confirmed. It was last February when I was a a diocesan meeting of the religious of Dodoma that I first met them. I turned to my Jesuit companion and asked, "Who are those sisters?" I wanted to know because they obviously delighted in one another's company -- formators and junior sisters and novices all. As I've come to know them, this first impression has only been confirmed. Like the Society, they are an international congregation, and this fact is another thing that commends them re: working with us. This year they are celebrating 100 years on the continent and 50 years in Tanzania.

So, do you think it will be done by the third week of January? Say your prayers!

Catching Up

After the whirlwind of the last weeks, I've spent the last days trying to catch up on other things than admissions -- like following up with faculty whom I am in the process of hiring, working on the article that I write about here (but don't actually write!), etc.

I have had only one set of parents come in upset that their child was not admitted. "We just don't understand it: our daughter's in the top ten percent at her primary school." I tried to counsel them and ease their pain. Wisely, they weren't satisfied with the balm I offered and asked to see the actual test. When I showed them their daughter's entrance test answer sheets they replied that the writing was not their daughter's. And then I noticed the number on the test: 195.

There was a glitch somewhere along the line, and we had ended up with two 195's. I'd solved the problem by adding an "A" to the number to distinguish the two. The problem was that in the space provided on the answer sheets, candidate 195A wrote not the examination number issued by us for this examination but the national examination number. I did what I thought was good detective work, but in fact I switched scores between the two students. The girl ended up with the score of a boy who had the worst performance of anyone on the test -- and he with hers (rather higher in ranking!).

The parents were ecstatic to find this out -- as was I because it means one more girl in the school. As soon as they left I realized what I was faced with: calling the parents of the boy who was moved in the opposite direction from chosen to not chosen. I decided the best thing to do was just to send an SMS, explain that there was a clerical error and that they should come to my office. The father came this morning. I was ready for ugliness and was warned by folks that there most certainly would be. Not only no ugliness but instead understanding and gratitude that I had reached out in such a professional way. Whew!

Other parents have stopped by thanking me for he decision. The fact of the matter is that decisions were all made blindly. Names only appeared at the very end of the process. It is nice, nonetheless, to have a chance to meet parents of our future students.

Not everyone who stopped by to say thank you was a parent. The superior general ("mama mkuu") of the St. Gemma sisters stopped by thankful that one of their sisters will be among the students in Form One. Yep, you read that correctly. Many sisters come to religious congregations from the villages, having finished only primary school.

Just moments ago four mothers whose daughters have received tuition assistance at St. Ignatius Primary School came by to thank me in the absence of Sossy for all the help they've received over the years. They were very gracious. Couched, of course, in their expression of gratitude was a plea for continued help now at the secondary level. I thanked them for coming in and for their gracious words and explained that though financial aid decisions were not mine to make, grants would be prioritized and that I was certain their own history at SIPPS would be factored in.

Crazy, exhausting, but ultimately rewarding days. Now to get back to writing the article that refuses to write itself.

One final comment about the entrance test. I spoke with two faculty members and Sr. Euphrasia from SIPPS. They mentioned that our admission's test scores almost perfectly matched the academic performance of the students at school. This made me happy: If you're going to use examination to make admissions decisions, it's good to have one that parallels actual performance, no?

Karibu Saint Peter Claver High School

For some reason some folks meant to go to another site are ending up here.

Families who received an SMS re: a welcome to Saint Peter Claver High School, Dodoma, should click here.

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

Those words are in the imperative mood; they aren't a suggestion, they're a command. Yikes!

My heart was troubled yesterday morning -- "the best laid plans..." I was so proud that I'd figured out such an easy way to inform out of town folks of their status at 6 a.m. yesterday, using SMS sent out in batches using wireless broadband. When I went to do so, I realized I had 0 bytes in my account. I arrived at the Vodafone shop two hours later; and after waiting for twenty minutes for the shop to open, I bought the cheapest plan so I could get the information to families waiting for it.

I got home to find out that I couldn't send any messages. And then, the power went out. Finally at 3 p.m. I returned to the Vodafone shop, where the very helpful salesperson who sold me the plan despite knowing what I needed and that it was useless for what I needed, sold me an additional plan (very cheap, mind you) for SMS messages. Finally at 4:30, after many families had already been contacted by phone, I got the SMS messages out.

Thought it didn't work, it did work. What do I mean? That the SMS had listed a website (a blogger page, actually) with results, criteria for decisions, etc. For those accepted there was a link to Google documents where they could download the same documents people here in Dodoma were receiving. Already this morning there have been many visitors to the site.

Frustrating, yes; but ultimately it was an okay day (even restful in some ways given that I avoided the office -- knowing from previous experience it is better not to be available to meet on the day of publication of decisions, giving disappointed parents a day to cool down -- and given we had no electricity). Of course, not having electricity meant that I could not work on the article due in two days for a Spanish journal -- hoping to be able to spend some time on that.

This week I'll be trying to tie up some loose ends re: hiring faculty, dealing with the admissions process, and generally trying not to let my heart be troubled. (I'm reminded as I write that of Emily Dickenson's line: "'Consider the lilies' is the only commandment I ever obeyed.")

Mtoto Wako Amechaguliwa

There will be many parents happy to read those words tomorrow, Monday, morning: "Your child has been chosen." Others won't be so happy when they read "Mtoto hakuchaguliwa" -- "Your child was not chosen." And I hope others are hopeful when they read "second selection," otherwise known as wait-listed.

Our turn-around time would be quick by US standards -- within ten days of testing. By Tanzanian standards we are slower than the slowest tortoise regarding announcing admissions decisions. No apologies from me in that regard. I've taken the time to correct exams (with some great help), develop criteria, fine-tune documents, and prepare for the announcement.

When our gates here at the parish compound close tonight, I will post the results so they will be available for viewing tomorrow. At 6:00 a.m. I will inform those out of town by SMS of their status -- and in the absence of a school website, I will direct folks to go to a blogger site for further information (e.g., the criteria used for admission, their child's scores, and for those admitted instructions re: registration, etc.).

Disappointments? One great one: that we didn't have more girls test. We have accepted only 65, even after applying different criteria. That is 5 fewer than we need for a complete class. In the coming weeks we'll figure out how to proceed.

On Wednesday I'll be available for appeals -- I will have put on my armour and chilled my heart, so I think I'll be ready. In these next two days while I'm evading disappointed parents a bit, I'll be finishing an article about education and development for a Spanish journal. Thursday is a national holiday (Nyerere Day -- my favourite national holiday!); I'll spend it with some friends (a mix of ex-pats and Tanzanians involved in work with ngo's and at local hospitals) at a picnic site on a lake about 40 kilometres outside of the city. I spent Friday evening with this same crew eating kiti moto (pork) and solving all the world's troubles -- it was a needed break after some few hellacious weeks.

Soon we'll be putting to use the generosity of so many, offering assistance to those families who need it in order to attend Saint Peter Claver High School at Our Lady Queen of Peace Educational Centre.

And that, my friends, is all the news that's fit to print.

We Passed

Folks are asking how the entrance examinations went on Saturday. We passed with flying colors.

I was very pleased, and the parents were as well. Things were orderly, and many parents mentioned to me that such order was a welcome change given their experience at other schools. However, some of the good order can be attributed to few students. We had about twenty students who did not show up for the examination. I had prepared two different times because we could only accommodate so many at the primary school. In fact, all of our candidates would have had places in the morning. Oh well.

The testing on Saturday was followed by correcting on Sunday. There were six hired correctors from a local teaching institute. They were very efficient, and the correcting was completed by 4:00 p.m. I spent Monday doing data entry and figuring out criteria for admission and working on our "joining instructions," a document that lays out the requirements for registration, etc.

Parents are clamoring for results. Because I had announced that they would be posted on 11 October, I feel duty-bound to keep that date. Not everyone made the cut, so some will be disappointed. It will be a test for my cold heart. I think I can manage.

I have also had the opportunity to hire another science teacher, Mwalimu Esther Said. She did a fine job teaching a lesson to Class Six at St. Ignatius Primary School. Still waiting to hear from some others to whom I have offered contracts.

And that is a quick update.

Entrance Examinations

Wow! It's been years since I've been involved in organizing such -- and even at that, I always had a admissions director to do the brunt of the work.

Tomorrow we have our entrance examination. We don't know exactly how many will show up. It could be as many as 267 students taking the examination for 140 spaces.

I've planned for every eventuality. Walked through the day in my mind repeatedly. I think we're prepared, but as one of my teachers from language school just reminded me, "Remember, this is Tanzania."
More when I come up for air!

The Saga Continues

The laboratory space just will not work. Architects, engineers, and I are brainstorming about how to use space in the wing under construction for laboratories.

We have some years to worry about the space issues of losing these classrooms (the former labs do not make for good classrooms, either). A mess, but a redeemable one.

One of my frustrations is how design and engineering are done here. The idea is that you put up a structure and then decide things (like how a building will be plumbed, etc.). As we move forward, I'll try to encourage a different approach. As assistant principal at St. Ignatius, Cleveland, and principal at U of Detroit Jesuit HS, I was involved in a number of construction problems. We had issues, but they were all taken care of early on in the design phase. I wasn't here for that, but even if I were I would not have noticed a lot of the issues because of the minimal information given in floorplans, etc.

The most frustrating thing is that it is clear that no reference was made to minimum standards for school buildings -- available from the Ministry of Education here (and available in generic form with a quick Google search).

We continue to learn!

I met with some more frustration at the post office today. That caused a bit more frustration. Eddie Siebert kindly sent tons of videos for our use. Educational ones, some for entertaining students on weekends (and helping with English skills as well), and some for the entertainment of the Jesuits. Well...the Tanzania Revenue Authority official opened the boxes (containing, incidentally, precisely what was claimed) and he's assessing us a huge duty -- 60,000 TSH. I'm sending someone else to the post office tomorrow to see if we might not get a better deal.

There are some small, wonderful moments, of course. I stopped by Don Bosco High School this morning to see if we could get faculty members there as correctors for our exams. While there I ran into some parishioners from here -- a delightful moment.

A Cooler Head

I've calmed down since my earlier post!

I just got back from visiting the site. I am now convinced that we can make the space work. Not ideal but better than the other alternatives. It's a bad design, but we can make the best of it. It was designed to provide an interesting aesthetic detail, but the design does not serve the function of the room (a laboratory). We'll be able to make the space suitable for 35 students, but we won't have much of a presentation area for a teacher. What will need to be redesigned are the design and placement of the lab benches.

I'm glad to be one day away and have the creative eyes of other people look at the space before we take a big leap of moving the labs, etc.

Why I Don't Sleep These Nights

It isn't often that I express frustration here at CHoP, but the fact of the matter is that these days are frustrating

On Thursday I went through the registry of those who received applications and compared them against those who returned their forms. Many people have not returned them. This makes our job extremely difficulty because we don't know exactly how many rooms to prepare, how many proctors to have on hand (called invigilators here), etc. I have have the help of Christopher, a youth from the parish, who has been a great help making calls, etc. We don't have adequate facilities or quite enough work yet for me to employ a full-time secretary, and he's very thorough and generous. We're figuring out exactly how many people will be here -- but it's meant a lot of phone calls. (I'm glad I asked for a registry of sales).

I left for the OLQP site yesterday at 8:00 a.m. and returned last night at 6:30 p.m. It was a long day. What did I learn? Well one thing is that my constant harping about provisions for water is now finally being heeded. I really had thought that folks were on top of this, that workers would arrive, put tanks on top of the buildings, connect them to pipes from the large tanks at our bore hole, and that we'd be in business. No such luck. More proximate tanks have first to be built near the buildings. Which means that the holes have to be dug, the concrete poured and cured..... What is clear is that not only is the idea of a Pre-Form One Session for students not likely; now a 8 January start is beginning to look elusive. I've already signed two teacher contracts for a November 1 start, having been assured, etc -- so we'll have to figure out how to employee the teachers without students.

As we toured the site yesterday with consultants, engineers, contractors, etc, we stopped by the laboratory to see a sample of a lab bench. Thank goodness for the Jesuit regent here. He asked how many people per bench. Answer: 8. How many benches in the room? 4. Now here is where difficult arithmetic comes in: 8 x 4 = ? Yep, still 32. And from the very beginning what number of students has everyone know the rooms are to be built to accommodate? 35.

I asked our architect and engineer whether our teachers would choose by lottery which 3 students would not receive laboratory experience and whether it would be on a weekly or annual basis. They'd known about this issue for sometime and didn't mention it. I had brought up the inadequacy of the design after the visit of Fr. Joseph Afulo, who had taught science as a regent at Loyola High School and who noted the design issue immediately. I was was assured at the time that everything was well-thought out, etc.

I was furious yesterday and found it difficult to keep a lid on it. We began to look for solutions. Can we pop out walls? Can we do this? Can we do that? A look of horror descended upon the professionals in the group when I mentioned, "Of course, the client can't be held financially responsible for labour and material costs for correcting such a grievous error in design?"

As the others walked in circles trying to figure out how to deal with the issue of making a curved wall square, I took a walk to cool down. And a perfect solution hit me. It will in fact provide a better design. We'll use classrooms in the Phase II wing for laboratories, and use the laboratories for other classrooms. This itself will take some creativity, but it is the best we can do, I think. We'll work some more on it, but this is the most practicable solution I think.

There were some design issues with the Jesuit Residence, too. Some misplaced windows, lack of ventilation, lack of emergency egress. On our part, we didn't provide for a place to put our car keys, mailboxes, community bulletin board, etc. The result is that we will now have an attractive entry way from our garage where we will keep these things.

A frustrating but ultimately rewarding day. It reminded me of Tony DeMello's story, "Good Luck. Bad Luck. Who Knows?"

Full Days

I've had two contracts of the five I've offered returned. We now have a Kiswahili teacher (who will also serve as an assistant of sorts to me, too) and a geography/history teacher. I'm waiting for returned contracts from biology/agriculture, physics/maths, and English. In just a few moments I will be interviewing someone for business subjects (and civics for this first year), and tomorrow I will interview someone for chemistry/maths. It would be great to have all the faculty decisions made before I make the admissions decisions.

And speaking of admissions decisions. I have to say I'm pleased with the efficiency and order with which we're proceeding. Relevant information has been entered into a spreadsheet. This morning, I did a trial merge in Word, and it worked! So next week when students arrive they will receive an examination card that has their name and examination number and photo; the card will also have general instructions (like "don't write on test sheets" and "write your examination number on all answer sheets). I have a check list of things to be done, have invited invigilators and outlined their duties. If all goes according to plan (fat chance!), it should go well. The question will be whether we will need an afternoon testing. We're uncertain of that because contrary to the explicit directions on the forms, it seems some folks think they can bring the forms with them to the exam.

On Friday morning we have a site meeting with the contractors, sub-contractors, etc. These used to be finished by noon, but now that we are completing one phase and starting another they're much longer meetings. Exciting in many ways, but long. We're fortunate to have very good folks working on this project.

Many other things in the works as well -- details to follow in due time!

Maji ni Uhai

On Thursday I headed to the site with Mama Mcharro, a hydrologist. She was successful with our first well, which provides us four times more water than we’ll need with a campus full of students. But you can never be too careful here regarding water. In one of the major traffic circles in Moshi is a statue that has the following words on its plinth: maji ni uhai, water is life. (Incidentally, one of the Kiswahili words for “traffic circle” is kipulefti, taken from the signs in English often posted at such places.) We recognize how precious this resource is and are trying to be good stewards and good examples for others. We’ll reclaim water for use in irrigation and will “harvest” it during the rainy season from the many square feet of roofs on the campus.

Mama Mcharro is very excited about the project and is happy to help us, but not without some trepidation. On each visit to survey and make her calculations about drilling, she’s encountered snakes: puff adders and cobras. Saint Patrick managed to get them off of Ireland, who will rid us of these creatures here?

While at the site I stopped by to check on the progress of the biodigester. Pretty amazing to see what’s happening on that front. I cannot underscore enough what an important role our using this as our means of treating wastewater will play. Already we have had two other institutions – one of them the University of Dodoma – visit us to enquire about the process. It is good to serve as a model for smart design – not cheap, mind you, but good!

Our carport is presently being used as a manufacturing site. The aluminium windows are being assembled there. It is pretty amazing to see the efficiency of the process, from cutting the aluminium and assembling the sections to inserting the glass and screens. At the same spot our desks are being manufactured.

In the office we’ve been busy with our admission applications. They were due last Wednesday. We’re still waiting on quite a number of them in anticipation of our testing day, 2 October. We’re putting our candidates’ information on a spreadsheet; once we have the data from the entrance tests we can enter that and begin to make admissions decisions.

Finally, I’m spending today finishing an article for a Spanish journal published by Radio Ecca. I’ve thought about it a lot, have written a number of notes, but now is crunch time, and I must actually write the article. (This reminds me of my mother. Several years ago I asked her how she was enjoying reading The Agony and the Ecstasy. “Well the agony is picking the book up, and the ecstasy is putting the darn thing back down.” The ecstasy was being asked to contribute to the journal; the agony is actually doing the work.)

omnia optima.