Vacation

The students left on Saturday for their "summer" vacation, though on this half of the world it's the cold season. So they will be in their villages for the next six weeks. The food situation is still not very good in Engaruka, so there are some with relatives in Arusha who will stay there instead. Kashu had pneumonia, so he got medicine and rested and went to Engaruka a day late.

On 16 June the parents and students will all come together in Engaruka Chini for a meeting. We'll talk about their obligations as parents, the kids' obligations as students, progress, and updates. We were hoping that the students would have been getting training and seminars on Saturdays, but the funds for those things are stuck in limbo for the moment. So the seminar we planned to have them facilitate to the youth of Engaruka will have to wait.

first quiz results

Cleopa, shown here with his mother, was the top performing scholarship student on the first of the monthly exams.


Every four weeks or so, students take month-end exams in all 12 subjects. The results for the first quiz for the scholarship students, as follows were abysmal. In the Tanzanian system, marks above 50 percent are passing. A rough guide to how marks are considered:

80 - 100        Excellent
60 - 80         Good
50 - 60        Fair
Below 50        Failing

	Avg	History	Chem	Cmrce	Bookkp	Physcs	Geogr	Math	Comptr	Biology	English	Swahili	Civics
Cleopa	71	47	85	81	78	65	62	69	90	30	95	69	79
Immanuel	49	45	50	83	30	45	20	x	70	30	30	56	76
Nyando	42	38	55	44	25	23	26	20	35	27	58	61	94
Kashu	40	49	15	x	62	46	13	39	35	13	40	82	46
Saruni	38	24	70	27	20	50	25	11	35	29	60	68	x
Elia	32	15	25	16	25	25	16	12	10	14	54	86	89
Loshiro	27	05	10	20	40	24	30	25	25	12	20	83	20
Neema	25	32	35	20	11	10	25	11	11	13	20	48	63

In case there is confusion about the abbreviations used in the table, the subjects taken are history, chemistry, commerce, bookkeeping, physics, geography, mathematics, computers, biology, English, Kiswahili, and civics.

When asked why they performed so poorly, students said they struggled with the exams because the were written in English, which they don’t know. Indeed the student who scored the best on the English exam was also the top performer in almost every other test. Others said they weren’t given enough time to finish some exams.

The normal punishment for the students in this country would be for me to beat them. I told them that if they continue to see themselves as little children, waiting to be beaten before doing what they are supposed to, they will continue to fail. I sent letters home to their parents explaining again that a condition for the scholarship is good performance on exams and that they need to push their children to get the uchungu needed to make it in this system. When the students return to school from the week-long Easter holiday, they will be watched more carefully. I am asking the teachers not to allow them to take part in sports unless they have averages above 50 percent. They also will not be given money to travel to other towns to see their school’s soccer team compete, nor to participate in the pastoralist students association conference later this month in Monduli.

For the most part, these students have been treated like little children their whole lives and have always been told what to do. If they didn’t do as told, they get beaten. A challenge ahead of us, and the thing we are praying for, is that they learn self-determination and practice self-discipline in the coming weeks.

There are some valid excuses for poor performance. Neema, for example, was walking long distances to school and was given a lot of housework to do at the place where she was living. Elia had an eye problem that made reading painful. Most of the students are far behind their classmates in English comprehension, which makes taking tests in English difficult. We don’t yet have money to buy textbooks with.

To address these, Neema has moved into the dorms, Elia will be given glasses when he returns from Easter holiday, and all of the students are getting tutored in English 3 to 4 times per week. Therefore we expect the next exam results to be much better. We will show them where they can find the textbooks they need in the school’s small library.

We also expect the students’ English comprehension to have improved by the end of April exams, helping their results.

-dm

Health problems

Several of the scholarship students have had to go to the hospital. Elia had some eye problems that made him very sensitive to light and caused his eye to turn yellow. He went to a free eye clinic and was told that he needs glasses, which he is waiting for. He said that since then the problem has improved. He is strong and tries to read even when it’s hard.

Cleopa had a strange skin rash, and was given an injection that solved the problem in just one day. Saruni got malaria along with extreme headaches.

Glory broke her shoulder last year and it occasionally still bothers her. I gave her ibuprofen to tide her over for a few days until she could go to an orthopedic specialist. Venance took her to Selian Hospital at Ngaramtoni, where she got x-rays and an exam. The orthopedic doctor said she’s fine and the bone has healed properly, though it might still cause her pain. It was not Glory’s first time to go to the hospital. After talking with her, it seems she might be homesick. These students just finished 7th grade last year, and they can get the same longing for home that college freshmen in America get when they first go off to the dorms. For these children, it sometimes causes them to lose track of their schoolwork and try to get away from school. We talked to Glory about the problem and sent her home for Easter Vacation.

The second week of March, three students went to the doctor. Since then, none has not complained of sicknesses and all have stayed at school.

Yesterday, the students all went back to their villages for a week-long Easter vacation. They’ll report back on April 14. We pray that they come back refreshed and focused, ready to study even when it’s hard.

-dm

Why I want to get an education

I’d like to study because later I will be able to drive my life forward and the lives of my children and family. I don’t want to suffer in the future. I also want to study for the sake of gaining knowledge.

Education is not like the cows, who can all die when the drought comes. Education stays with you and never dies. It’s not like the the farmer who is severely affected if the rains delay. Education has no seasons. It’s better to rely on education than anything else, except for God. --by Cleopa Joseph

***

I study so that I can get a better life later that shall be good, and because without education you cannot build your nation. I also study so that I can have knowledge of a variety of different topics in my life.

I pray to God that he gives me strength to study hard, and I pray for the strength of those who sponsor our scholarship. I really like engineering and I know that it requires much education.

To be an engineer is something that has been on my heart for a long time, and I pray that God continues helping me take steps in my education. --by Loshiro Saibulu

***

I finished primary school in 2003, more than five years ago. Since then I have just stayed home, working my family’s small farm. For all those years I prayed for this chance, and I thank God for answering my prayer. Without this chance, I would still be working on our little farm. I know that I need education to have a better life and a better job one day. The best way I can show my gratitude to God and to our sponsors is by studying hard with all my might from today until I have finished secondary.

As I wasn’t discouraged for those years at home, I say you should not allow yourself to be discouraged until we are all together with Christ in heaven. --by Immanueli Ismaeli

test

fggff gfg fgfgf g fgfgf gfgfgfgf g fgf.