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:

Falling Behind

Yikes. I know I don't post as often as I used to, but I don't have the available time as I used to -- or the internet connection.

The second reason was taken care of today when I bought a new modem, my old one having given up its digital ghost. I had a number of rather important emails to get out this past week. Every time that I went into town to send them (using the connection at the parish), they had either Internet problems or no power.

Today I am connected. Alas, I have no time to do anything other than this brief, pathetic explanation. Expect more soon, however -- certainly details about our dedication, scheduled for 4 June.

Construction Update: Kama Kawa

"Kama kawa" is slang for "as usual" (short for kama kawaida). We're behind schedule. The plan was to have the chapel and the Jesuit residence completed by 4 June, but that is clearly not going to happen.

I can report that there has been substantial progress in the last weeks. Our students will most likely be able to move to the other wing of the dorms. They'll be leaving rooms with rough cement floors and cabinets without shelves or locks. They'll now have tiled floors and very nicely made, lockable cabinets.

The classrooms are tiled and the poor-quality doors have been replaced. I need to find good quality porcelain chalk boards -- the black paint on the walls doesn't cut it with me.

The chapel will be basilica-size, and I think it will be a very nice space.

The Jesuit residence is far larger than we presently need, but I think it will suit us as we go forward.

The dispensary design was improved with the excellent suggestions of Sr. Immaculata, our school nurse.

The library will have an airy, spacious feel. Our students cannot wait for this facility to be completed. They love books -- and that makes me very happy.

The laboratory block is coming along nicely. Regular readers will recall how disappointed I was when I realized that our architect had designed our labs for 32 students -- and no teacher! The solution was to make those four labs (the fourth having been dedicated to agriculture) into 2 computer labs, a geography room, and a music room.

The administration block is off my radar screen -- I'm guessing nine months to a year before it is occupied.

Our playing fields/courts are on their way to completion.

And that's the quick rundown.

Apologies for the horrible format, but given that I am taking advantage of a few moments of adequate internet speed....

Chui

That's the Swahili word for leopard. It is also used by many for tiger. And it is the name of my cat. I would have never thought that I would own a cat before a dog, but here I am with a lovely male kitten on the verge of maturity.

About one month ago, I received two kittens from my American friend, Andrea. One was gray in colour, so I gave him the name for smoke "Moshi." We had hoped that the two of them (brother and sister) would control the rats approaching our place from the bush that surrounds us. Within a day they ran away. Two days later Chui was found crying at the matron's house and we decided to bring him inside to get him used to us. It worked: He has made himself right at home.

Unfortunately Moshi has not returned, though there have been Moshi sightings on the campus.

Chui provides us hours of entertainment as he chases ping-pong balls, wrappers, and bags. But he is living up to his name -- he's a fierce predator. In addition to countless grasshoppers (very high in protein according to my Ugandan friend whose people eat them), he's caught three rats. I know PETA folks won't be happy to hear it, but he enjoys playing with his prey (of whatever sort) before finishing them off.

Who would have every guessed? As I wrote elsewhere, my mother would be appalled to think that I now own a cat, but I do! (Now for the dog!)

Meeting of Heads of Schools

In my capacity as Assistant to the Provincial for Education, I convened a meeting of the heads of schools of the Eastern Africa Province of the Jesuits (that includes Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda -- and now we can say SOUTH Sudan).


The meeting exceeded my expectations. We enjoyed one another's company, profited from the experience of one another, and grew from the collegial encouragement.

I also had the opportunity to meet up with two Jesuit friends: Cyriac Francis Malasi, a scholastic who had worked on this pro now studying theology at Hekima College, Nairobi, and the rector of Hekima College Jesuit Community, Fr. Gabriel Mmassi.

Not only that, I also had a chance to see the school sponsored by our lay friends in the Christian Life Community, St. Aloysius High School, on the edge of the infamous Kibera Slum of Nairobi. I was very impressed by the students and staff of this high school.

It was a good trip, but I was away from school for some excitement that it would have been better if I had been present: We had a fire in the boys' dormitory. The cause of it remains uncertain. Damage was limited to one room. The good news is that the dormitory was empty AND that all our systems worked. The alarm went off, Sr. Maria (in charge of boarding) went to investigate and saw the black smoke rising; when she arrived, she found workers already extinguishing the fire. The whole incident (dealing with the immediate issues, police reports, contacting parents, etc.) was very ably handled by Fr. Kizito, who acts as my deputy in my absence.

Opportunities to Help

Repeatedly, people ask if there are other ways of helping us than simply writing a check.

We'll have a partial of container of books coming this way very soon due to the generosity of a lot of great people who have contributed to Books for Africa, and I have recently been told that we can solicit some of our own material to be included along with the books provided by them. This came as welcome news.

If there are musical instruments in the corner of closets in your home, we could use them. If you have sports equipment no longer being used, we'd gladly take them off your hands. If you'd like to visit an art store and buy some art supplies for our art club, the students would rejoice. If you know of a school with microscopes or other equipment languishing in a store room, our science teachers will bubble over. No longer used digital cameras would be a great gift for our journalism club. Oh, and other "school supplies" we could use are clean (no viruses) usb flash drives, quality staplers, and other office "stuff". May of these things are available here, but their quality is low and their cost is exorbitant.

I have been told that the best way to send such items is pack them in a Rubbermade storage box and send it to
Books For Africa-Atlanta
2971 Olympic Industrial Drive SE, Suite C
Smyrna, GA 30080

The container should clearly state that the items are school supplies and for St. Peter Claver, Dodoma.

Thanks for whatever you can manage.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

I'm in Nairobi and have excellent Internet service. Why didn't I take some pictures to update my readers on our progress? A real missed opportunity.

I am here in Nairobi, wearing a different hate than usual. I'm here as the assistant for education for the Eastern Africa Province of the Jesuits. On Thursday evening we'll begin a two day seminar for the heads of Jesuit educational institutions -- looking at the characteristics of Jesuit education and how those get lived out in the day-to-day in different circumstances.

I had a twelve hour bus ride yesterday from Dodoma to Moshi.

View Larger Map

(Looking at the map, you may ask why I didn't just go straight north through Kondoa and Babati. The answer is simple: That more direct route is via the Cape-to-Cairo Road. It is also known and the Great North Road. The only thing great about it is its length -- it is unpaved most of the way, and given that we just finished the rainy season it is in horrible condition. You cannot get a direct bus by taking that route.)

I managed to start and finish a 400-page book that Waweru lent me -- better than looking at the road and all the near misses! I had a marvelous time with our two Jesuits in Moshi, Tony D'Souza and Edmund Mallya.

This morning I hopped on another bus at 6:30 a.m. and got to Nairobi eight hours later. Actually with the road between Arusha and Nairobi now mostly paved it could be a much quicker trip -- but the inefficiencies at the border slowed things down considerably.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that we're holding our students more accountable re: their behaviour. For the most part, they are responding well. We really do have good students -- but they are teenagers!