A Dinner with Students

Dear friends,

In my last letter I told you of our visit to the family home of one of the sponsored students. That evening we hosted the 16 sponsored students at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) for dinner at a local restaurant adjacent to the KCMC campus. Two of the KCMC tutors, Edith (our in country student coordinator) and her husband and Carla Funk (who is in Moshi for research for her PhD thesis) also joined us. So, we had quite a crowd.

For students, the highlight of the evening is “chicken and chips (french fries),” which is an appreciated change from their usual diet. Below is a photo of several students and Carla. 

Following dinner we had gave two awards to students for “best emails.” As a condition of sponsorship we require students to send us a monthly report on their activities. Judy Conway, a board member and retired nurse practitioner, then responds to each student. The exchange of emails can be quite interesting as students ask about practices in the USA and describe their own experiences in Tanzania. The “best email” awards consist of a card that expresses our appreciation and a 10,000 shilling note (approximately $7.00). This is intended to provide positive reinforcement to students. The award recipients were Lightness Munisi (3rd year student) and Rither Mehla (2nd year student). Below is photo of the award recipients:

Next, each student was asked to select a piece of paper with a number. Using these numbers, we first raffled off three flash drives (very useful for saving documents produced in the school computer center) and then held a grab bag event, in which each student selected an item from a table in numerical order. The items on the table consisted mostly of shawls and jewelry. I am always quite amazed at how quickly students are able to determine their choice! Below are a few photos:

Being a captive audience during dinner, Linda and I both spoke a few words to the sponsored students on behalf of all of you. One of the second year students, Rither, spoke as student representative and thanked their sponsors for the financial assistance and encouragement they receive.

Dinner with the students is always a fun event for us but more so, for the students.

Below is a photo of the entire wonderful student group at KCMC, Edith Macha, the tutors (Lilian Wilfred and Asnath Mpello), with Linda and myself (I want to let you know that I am not standing on a stool). 

For the balance of our stay in Moshi we interviewed and selected five current second-year students for sponsorship. We also reviewed files of first-year students and plan to interview a group of these students when we return to Moshi. We are now in Tukuyu, located in the Southern Highlands.

One final (repetitive) note: Linda and I personally pay for all travel and student entertainment expenses.

Greetings from Tukuyu, Tanzania!!

Tony and Linda