Moja Kwa Moja

Each day brings forth its own challenges. The task set before us is what to do with the additional funds we have to use for the benefit of the staff and students at the school. The academic master has been most helpful, and I can say with great pleasure that we have made some real progress. We determined that the ideal situation would be one in which each student possessed a book to read during their English and Swahili classes. This would include the novels, plays, and dramas they study in preparation for their Form IV National Examinations (henceforth Grade 12). It turns out this isn't quite feasible at this point. The next best thing was to purchase as many of the each text as possible in both languages to reduce the number of students who had to share one text. The result has been wonderful.
I won't recite an exact listing of the materials we will purchase, but let me say that today was an exciting day indeed. The academic master intended to return to town late in the morning for some school business, and I returned with him. The Form 3s (Grade 11) would have their original teacher for the afternoon period instead of Mr. Nick. There is a degree of flexibility at the school which would be hard for some at home reading this to believe. We wouldn't make it back to school, as the process of actually purchasing the resources was a lengthy one.
It began to rain steadily and, then torrentially once we were at the shop. The sales associate was most obliging with the totality of our purchase. Due to its scale, we received a modest discount.
We have managed to purchase an additional set of 10 copies of each text used in the 11th and 12the grade English and Swahili classes which means that with all of the books purchased, students will be able to share a book. Now, instead of perhaps 5 to 6 students sharing one book the ratio will be 2 to 1.
We also purchased an additional 20 copies each of the 9th and 10th grade readers which students use to develop their knowledge and skill sets pertaining to English literature. Each students will in fact have their own novel to read in class. Ten copies of Kiswahili-English dictionaries were purchased as well as 10 Student English dictionaries. We are hoping to acquire more copies.
The teachers will be receiving some valuable teaching aids including extensive Examination reviews and guides linked to the National Tanzania Education Syllabus at the upper level in the subjects of Biology, Math, Physics, and Chemistry as well as Teacher Guides for Commerce and Kiswahili.
It is definitely exciting, and I cannot wait to deliver these invaluable educational tools on behalf of everyone back home to the staff and students. Even more heartening is the fact that there are still some funds remaining to make additional purchases. We will be evaluating the best way to use the moneys in the days ahead. One possibility is buying some literature from East Africa to supplement the library. This will create a reading resource which is more culturally relevant and reflective of the life, history, experiences, values, and realities of the people who will be using it.
The sun has come out. The clouds have lifted. The afternoon has brought a transformation in the skies to a warm and beautiful day. It is becoming brighter with each passing hour. We are moving straight ahead moja kwa moja.