Whew!

The students have gone home for a three-week break -- it doesn't give us a break, but it does give us a bit of a breather.

I said goodbye to them last Saturday and immediately tested 16 candidates who want to join us for the second term (9 of them made it). I've also been working on some planning for next term, including trying to hire an agriculture teacher (part-time).

Today I toured the Jesuit residence with Sossy (I'm pushing for it to be named Fabre House, but we'll see what happens). It looks as if it will be completed in time to host our 12 guests from Chicago-Detroit Province Jesuit high schools and the 10 visitors from schools of the Eastern Africa Province. It will be tight, but we'll make it, I'm pretty sure.

As I said in the title: Whew!

Some More Wildlife

I let Chui out last night because he was restless -- unusual for him. In any case, he ran up to our roof as soon as I let him out, and I thought nothing more of it.

An hour or so later I was in bed and I heard a cat fight. I thought maybe he found his sister, who ran away as soon as she arrived 4 months ago (and whom we see from time to time). It wasn't a long fight. I then heard something hit a rail and then silence. I went back to bed.

This morning I went looking for Chui and found a dead genet just outside our house. Chui took care of us -- but got beaten up. All day long he's been listless.

Here's the dead genet.

Language School

We are running our own 3-week language school for students at SPCHS who are struggling with English. Our students are on break, but 7 of them (rather than the 15 expected) showed up this morning.

The morning is divided in thirds. The first third is grammar (taught by me); the second third is writing/speaking, and the last third of the day is reading. I taught all three parts today and most enjoyed the second part during which the students got into pairs and came up with 5 sentences to describe a photograph they were shown.

What struck me is how there is not a bit of a critical faculty that's been developed in these kids. Schooling here is all about memorizing things, about memorizing answers, etc. The idea of figuring out vocabulary from the context of reading -- and struggling to do that rather than simply being given a list to memorize -- is so foreign to these kids. I have to take deep breaths because I get so frustrated (not with them but with how they've been so poorly served).

I cannot wait for the teachers college to get up and running to start helping teachers to do something different in the classrooms.

Gotta Be Honest

There are few things I don't like about TZ. But here's one of them: Disregard for traffic safety. And tonight I witnessed the aftermath of a fatal accident for the second time in as many years. I won't go into the gory details of what I saw along 200 meters of roadway except to say that it was a motorcyclist who lost his life.

There is such disregard for life among drivers -- including traveling at 100 kph on city streets, daring to pass with on-coming traffic. I have had enough of it. Really.

A Marvelous Night for a Moon Dance

What a sight last night! The lunar eclipse. It took about an hour for the full moon to turn a dusty orange as the shadow swept across it. It was also interesting to see the stars come out as the moon got darker. Really, a beautiful sight to behold.

Obviously with the title you know I'm thinking of Van... (not the best version).

Wild Kingdom

I won't bore you with another Chui story except to tell you that I was narrating to Sr. Maria Chui's latest kill (a rat that it brought to me for my approval before the coup de grace), when she got excited. "Oh, Father! I forgot to tell you the news of Miyuji" (an area on the northern edge of Dodoma -- rather like a mini-Vatican given all the religious institutions. We're on the southeastern edge.) The news? They shot a leopard (chui) at the Ivreas' novitiate!

A leopard (or any other big cat -- or big wild game of any sort) is very rarely seen in these parts. Two years ago, according to Sr. Maria, five elephants were seen just a few kilometres farther north than Miyuji. Now that's exciting.

The other wildness was the phenomenon of a kimbunga, a whirlwind. I heard the rustling of leaves and looked out my window to see it start under a nearby tree. Within five seconds this mini-tornado gathered strength, shaking loose the dead leaves of the tree, gathering the litter on the ground and heading right toward our building. It passed us and then continued on the field on the other side, moving very slowly and filling the sky with leaves and litter (cement bags from the construction site). All I could think of was the sad death of a Standard 8 boy at the Lutheran Junior Seminary where I studied Kiswahili. His mother had witnessed a kimbunga pass him, and 2 weeks later he died in a horrible accident. She was certain the whirlwind was composed of evil spirts. Having witnessed it, I can see why.

July

It is closer than it appears on the calendar. Ours will be a full one.

First, we have visitors from the United States headed here to take part in a very interesting meeting. Teachers/administrators from various schools of the Chicago-Detroit Province of the Jesuits (12 of them) will join teachers from our school and other schools of the Eastern Africa Province of the SJ for a week to discuss what it means to teach at a Jesuit school. The goal is to give both a global perspective; a second goal is to help relatively young Jesuit schools hear from their "elders" about what it means to be a Jesuit school and then to figure out what that means in different situations.

Among the participants in this group are a number of friends. Its organizer is Fr. Martin Schreiber, SJ, who is pursuing is doctorate in education at Loyola U. Chicago. Fr. Michael Caruso, SJ, and I lived and worked together at Loyola Marymount U, Los Angeles. Mr. Kyle Chandler is the Dean of Students at U of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, where I was principal during his time there as a student. He's a good guy -- but I'm an even bigger fan of his mother, who went out of her way to support me and the school.

Our mornings will be filled with discussions about various aspects of Jesuit schooling; the afternoons will be an opportunity to do some service. The evenings will provide our visitors an opportunity to reflect on their experience.

We also have our friends from St. Ignatius College, Enfield, London, UK, headed this way. This is an annual trip of a group of students with 3-4 adults (including Fr. Tim Byron, SJ, school chaplain). This year they will be joined by Mr. J.P. Morris, the school's headmaster. These students spend their time at St. Ignatius Pre and Primary school, but we look forward to their coming to spend at least part of a day with our students. Just as with the program above, the older students from a long-established Jesuit school can provide the proverbial shoulders for our students to stand on.

There are many other "happenings" during that month, including an intensive English language course for our students who are struggling.

In the meantime, our students' noses are to the grindstone -- they're quite serious about preparing for their term examinations which begin next Monday.

Wageni Wengi

Many visitors to my office these days, and it is affecting my efficiency. A lot of folks stopping by selling their various wares, now that they know we're up and running. Today: office furniture, brick facing, and representatives for Barclays.

We also have parents of potential students stopping by, t00 -- ready to transfer them here at the second term. In fact, we have 12 spaces available, so we might be able to take some of these students if they qualify. I wish more of them were girls so that we'd even out our numbers a bit.

More on the Dedication

I'd hoped to share with you many pictures. I lent my camera to a student in the journalism club and she took a lot of pictures, but most of them are -- like the one below -- of her friends:


But she did manage to take some others as well. For instance, you can see how our multi-purpose hall was set up.I've written about how Hon. Dr. James Msekela the regional commissioner, who has helped us along the way (including fighting for the purchase of our school bus to be tax exempt), had indicated that he would not be present. He was, along with Hon. William Lukuvi, the former regional commissioner of Dodoma. You see them in the following picture, on the right. That's Fr. Chesco, the bishop's vicar general, blessing the memorial plaque. The student is Emmanuel Msussa, one of the nicest people you ever want to meet.

After the classroom building was blessed we processed to the other buildings:

The library among them:

I hope to share more in the coming days.

You Wanna be in Pictures?

Our journalism club needs cameras. Many folks have old digitals in the back of desk drawers, etc.

If you want to put them to good use, you could send them to us for use by our students. Email me, and I'll share with you an inexpensive way to get them here.

Dedication Day

I don't yet have pictures to post (I lent my camera to our journalism club -- and hope they (1) took good pictures and (2) return the camera), but I can report the day was a success.
It's almost 11:00 pm as I write this, and I have spent most of the day standing and am a bit tired -- the kind of tired where your mind continues to race, but your body is feeling it.
In any case, it was a good day. We started by blessing the classroom building and then went around to the other buildings. This was followed by entertainment by our students, who did a very nice job.
The tradition is to do fundraising at such an event, and we followed the tradition, raising 22,000,000.00! That's Tsh, not dollars. It's a very nice thing, in fact, to know that families are so generous, donating money to ensure that students from poor families might attend our school.
Following the fundraising we enjoyed a very nice lunch and closed the program at almost 4:00 (my day started at 5:50 a.m. in my office).
That wasn't the end of the day, however, for we had the dedication of the new Jesuit residence soon after. Whew.
Pics to follow, I hope.

Humility

A day doesn't go by when someone doesn't mention that ours is a school that already has a national stature -- and that is after not even five months. Such talk can go to a school's head!

We've met the antidote for pride! The VIP section for our dedication continues to dwindle. First the bishop discovered there was a more important event requiring his attendance; then the provincial informed us that he will be unable to attend because of more pressing matters in Nairobi.

The president's office has informed us that they have not received a single one of the three different invitations sent. The regional commissioner (rather like a governor, but appointed) will not be able to attend. I could go on.

It reminds me of something I heard once:

A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, 'Come, everything is now ready.' But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, 'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.'

The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.' The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.' The master then ordered the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'" (Lk 14:16-24)

Reflecting

As I prepare for our dedication on Saturday, the images of so many people have come to mind.

We have so much to be thankful for -- and so many people to thank. The Our Lady Queen of Peace Foundation most certainly, because they have provided us with an amazing campus filled with opportunity. But there are so many others as well who have been so generous.

And I'm thankful for the colleagues God has sent our way. Chief among them are our sisters of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea. Srs. Maria, Immaculata, and Beatrice have been such great companions; they have enriched the lives of the Jesuits here in Ihumwa.

Thankful for our lay colleagues without whose diligence nothing would happen.

And of course, I'm thankful to the One without whom nothing is or can be.

It's Not Too Late!

Our container has not left the port, so there's still time to send some school materials to St. Peter Claver High School.

We are having great difficulty procuring quality chalk erasers and sponges for cleaning, so those are two things that certainly would be put to good use.

Here are directions re: sending.

On a related matter: I no longer have any shame re: begging. Already our blackboards are falling apart. They are made by painting the wall with black paint. I would really love to have proper porcelain boards here -- that last forever, as my American readers know. If anyone knows anyone....

People Get Ready!

The train's a-comin', yes; but that's not what I'm talking about.

Our dedication is just around the corner, and my days have been filled with preparations. And when not preparing for that, I've been writing a narrative for a grant for a sizeable chunk of change.

But I took a brief break from it this afternoon because I had to meet one of the e

ngineers at the classroom building. Today I remembered to bring my camera, so you can see our sign going up.

What? You say you've never heard of St. Peter Laver? He's the patron saint of launderers, of course.

Oh, and while I'm at it, here's some cuteness for you: