Just a Reminder...

...of where I am.

We were without Internet for several days. The government Internet provider was down nationally. It makes me realize just how much I depend on the Internet and just how precarious such services are here. (Fortunately we have had no problems with power recently -- and when we do it is a matter of a few hours at night.) I do have separate access to the Internet, however -- using my Kindle. It isn't as effecient as a computer, but it does the job of receiving email (hard to respond with the Kindle keyboard, though).

Among the news I received via my Kindle was that we'll be welcoming Sean and Laura, Jesuit volunteers from the States in the fall. Nice to have such generous folks join us in this exciting enterprise.

"Just Tell Us What You Need"

I read those words from various people so often. And because folks have been so supportive financially, spiritually, and otherwise, I am hesitant to ask for more help.

Any money that has been donated to OLQP by friends and family, etc. that has not been designated otherwise is going to financial assistance for students. And by the beginning of the school year in January 2011, this assitance will allow us to have 1/4 of the entrance class as fully sponsored students, a great achievement.

But we want very much for our students to have books in their hands. For that reason we are working with a local non-governmental agency, PEN Trust, to ship books via Books for Africa. We're going to share a container with some other schools. Your help with the shipping costs would be very much appreciated, so if you could hop over to the BfA site and make a donation, that'd be terrific. BfA has a policy of requiring $1,000.00 in an organization's account before posting it on the web, but if you just let the folks at BfA know that your donation is meant for St. Peter Claver in TZ, they'll apply the funds to our account. Thanks very much.

Another thought? Do folks have telescopes that are collecting dust in a closet? Last night I looked up at the sky and marveled at its beauty. How wonderful it would be to introduce students to astronomy and its marvels!

Incidentally, the same goes for used musical instruments -- if you have a horn that's hiding, a drum that's not being rolled, an accordion no longer acclaimed, or a flute that's floundered (I could go on!), we could use it here.

God bless.

A Visit to St. Ignataius Preparatory and Primary School

Yesterday I visited the Jesuit grade school (pre-k to standard 7) here in Dodoma, St. Ignatius. In the fall, its first students will graduate, and we are hoping that many of them come to St. Peter Claver High School.

The head teacher, Sr. Euphrasia, introduced me to four young women in the Standard 7 Class. All of them hope to be with us at the new school next year. I asked them what their hopes were for the future: 2 doctors, a pilot, and a business woman. High aspirations. Sic ad astra...

I spent the remaining 2.5 hours of the day with 19 teachers at the school. I presented a workshop on teaching for understanding and creating a community of learners devoted to inquiry -- relating these two things to the type of pedagogy that should characterize the teaching at a Jesuit school.

It was good to be with the folks down the road. (Down the road doesn't quite capture it: One travels about 1.5 kilometres on a paved road and then another 2.5 kilometres on a dirt road that's pretty rough. We might way that the primary school in the "suburbs" of Dodoma!)

Paying our Dues

Today I wrote two grants to help us with the purchase of a 30-seat Toyota Coaster mini-bus. Recently in a search for such a bus for our primary school, we discovered just how difficult it is to find safe and reliable used coastahs (as they are pronounced here); that leaves us with having to purchase one.

When I read the pro forma invoice from the TZ Toyota dealership, the purchase price did not come as a total shock to me: $73,000 USD. What brought on my bout of apoplexy was the import duty and VAT: $38,000.00. Yep, you got that right: a 30-seat student bus costs $111,000 -- and ultimately we'll need at least four of them.

Gulp.

Advisory Committee

We had our second advisory committee meeting for St. Peter Claver High School yesterday. Present were three Jesuits from Dodoma, Sossy, Kiarie, and me; Sr. Euphrasia from the Jesuit primary school here; Veronica Sarungi, who formerly taught at Loyola High School, the Jesuit high school in Dar es Salaam; and Professor Funja O-saki, the principal of the education faculty at the University of Dodoma. Their interventions regarding such things as curriculum and development goals was invaluable.

I'm looking forward to working with Funja on some research projects in the future.

A highlight of the weekend was the chance to spend time with Veronica's father, the Honourable Professor Sarungi, a member of the Tanzanian parliament, which is in session in Dodoma right now. Bwana Sarungi has led an amazing life. He studied medicine and did his residency in orthopedics in Hungary and was the first orthopedic surgeon in Tanzania. He ended up in politics, serving as minister of health, education and welfare, and defense along the way. It was great to hear him talk about Julius Nyerere -- I felt as if I were almost "touching" history.

A very nice weekend. Today, I plan on walking the OLQP perimeter.

Progress

Here are some photos from a visit to the site today. In order: dorm, classroom, and multipurpose hall (x3). Exciting to see the progress -- and the beginning of Phase II has begun (library, administration building, second classroom wing, chapel --more like a church, given that it will seat over 1,000-- and Jesuit residence.

More Pics from the Visit to Zuzu

A tour of the family farm; a picture of Sr. Brigitte's parents and nephew; family members, neighbors and me; grandfather (babu) and grandson.