Student Selection in Tukuyu

Photo: Mount Rungwe, taken from hotel room in Tukuyu. The area below the mountain is covered with many small farms
Photo: Mount Rungwe, taken from hotel room in Tukuyu. The area below the mountain is covered with many small farms

Dear Friends,

We are currently in Tukuyu, which is located in what is referred to as the Tanzania Highlands. The high elevation means a very pleasant climate – to the point that Linda starts looking for a sweater in the late afternoon! We arrived here in on February 20th, after traveling from Moshi by plane with a connecting flight in Dar es Salaam to Mbeya. From Mbeya we travelled by bus to Tukuyu. In 2012 I made the trip from Moshi to Mbeye by bus. Although the bus trip was interesting (in that I saw much of the countryside and had the opportunity to observe people) it takes about 18 hours– assuming no breakdowns.

Moshi lies on Kenyan border, and Tukuyu is seen to the south near the Malawi border
Moshi lies on Kenyan border, and Tukuyu is seen to the south near the Malawi border

After checking into the hotel, we walked to the school and were welcomed by staff and students, including some that we currently sponsor. This visit was mainly social. The next day we returned to talk about candidates for sponsorship. Candidates for sponsorship are those students who are currently reaching the end of their first year of studies – they will start their second year in April. We focus on student files, which contain a detailed student autobiography (written when the student initially reports to the school), input from school staff on academic progress and input from the principal about ability to pay school fees and other observations. We identified a list of eight candidates, which was then narrowed down to six to reflect our financial ability. The following day we met with the students, explained the sponsorship program, solicited their applications and met one-on-one for interviews. We agreed to sponsor each of the six students. We want to tell you a bit more about the students in a later newsletter, but here is a photo of them:

 Newly sponsored students

We also met with Anna and Nanelwa, the students whose biographies were featured in the December and January newsletters. We enjoyed meeting them. Here is a rather posed photo of Anna and Nanelwa:

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Anna, Nanelwa and the six newly-sponsored students expressed their appreciation to all of you for giving them the opportunity to complete school and be able to support themselves and assist their families.

Let me give you an overview of the six new students who you assist in supporting:

  • All six of the students come from a peasant (subsistence farming) background
  • Student #1 lives with her mother with three siblings. Mother sold the small farm to pay school fees
  • Student #2 lives with both parents and three siblings. Her father is unable to work on the farm due to an accident
  • Student #3 lives with her mother and grandmother with two younger brothers. Her mother was burned when she fell into a fire, due to an epileptic seizure
  • Student #4 and her mother live with her uncle. Her mother deals with severe mental health issues. The uncle has assisted with school fees but has his own children that need support
  • Student #5 and her three siblings live with an uncle. Her father is absent and her mother is dead. When she finished her secondary education she worked as a teacher but quit when she had the opportunity for nursing school
  • Student #6 is the oldest of nine children. Due to limited money only she and a younger sister were selected by her father to attend school. We particularly enjoyed talking with her. While she had only completed the Ordinary level of education, her English language skills were excellent. Based on my recollection, she was at a level that compared to only two other sponsored student, both of whom completed Advanced level at a government boarding school. She told us that she enjoyed studying and improving her English language skills.

As we have done in the past, we had another dinner with the sponsored students. This dinner was attended by 19 students and the current and former principal. As with the dinner in Moshi, featured in my last newsletter, we presented awards for “best” emails, raffled flash drives and allowed each student to select a gift item:

Dinner

Photo: Nolasca (principal) and Ellen (retired principal)
Photo: Nolasca (principal) and Ellen (retired principal)
Photo: Grab bag gifts for students
Photo: Grab bag gifts for students
Photo: Subilaga with her selection
Photo: Subilaga with her selection
Photo: Nanelwa winning a flash drive
Photo: Nanelwa winning a flash drive

We are very grateful to the Bobbie Hallig and her friends for providing a large selection of scarves. Bobbie brought these to Tanzania last year. The selection of an item from the grab bag table has been a highlight of our student dinners last year and this year.

I want to close this letter with my favorite picture of this trip. I enjoy walking at a fast pace. Yesterday I was walking on a rural road and I heard children’s voices from the side. I looked over and did not see anyone. Then I looked up:

Kids grow on trees!

Our next newsletter we come from Mbeya and this will tell you a bit about some of our “fun” activities in the Tukuyu area.

Any comments or questions? Please feel free to leave them in the comment section below!

Sincerely,

Tony and Linda van Werkhooven