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Tony and Sue's Vaughan's 2023 Trip to Iringa and Dodoma in Tanzania

 

 

Sue and I departed Gatwick on EK16 at 15.25, 5th October, arriving in Dubai at 00.40 (all local times) and, following a nearly 9 hours sleepless night time layover, arrived in Dar es Salaam at 13.55 the next day. Gatwick is more convenient for us but maybe we should use Heathrow and reduce the amount of layover time in future. Anyway, our driver for this visit, Fadhili, who had driven us so expertly and safely back in 2019, was there to meet us. Sue and Fadhili had texted each other occasionally throughout the Covid pandemic and it was good to see him again. We had booked into the Serena Hotel which we knew would be very comfortable with excellent food – Sue insisting on a bit of luxury before 10 days of more rigorous living and travelling. Fadhili dropped us off, saying he would pick us up at 6.30 the next morning!

 

We had an African buffet for supper and retired to get a good night’s sleep. On previous visits, we had completed the journey from Dar to Iringa, approximately 500 miles, in one long day, but the road had become steadily more and more congested and hazardous – particularly the escarpment, where the road climbs steeply, about 1,000metres in altitude from the coastal lowlands up to the Central African Plateau. We now believed this to be excessive for the driver and opted to overnight in Mikumi, just short of the escarpment, so that we would be fresh to start this most grueling part of the journey. We had booked into Camp Bastian, a lovely site with remotely located cottages.

 

After checking in, early afternoon, we decided to spend a few hours exploring Mikumi Game Park which we had enjoyed in a previous visit. In addition to being an excellent driver, Fadhili was skilled at spotting game. Our vehicle was a 4WD Toyota Landcruiser, ideal for use in rough terrain as well as on roads. We had a brilliant afternoon, spotting elephant, hippo, buffalo, various antelope, a recently fed and dozing pride of lions, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, baboons, and warthog. Camp Bastion serves very good and ample food and makes space available at your table for your driver to join you.

 

The two lane, single carriageway road between Dar and Iringa contains frequent villages/small towns, protected by 40 km/h speed limits, rigorously enforced by numerous white uniformed traffic police with speed guns. Fines are issued for any infringement and if not paid, will land you in jail. Most villages are very busy, also functioning as informal truck stops and attract a huge number of people selling produce and repairing vehicles etc. The countryside along the road comprises light woodland, open grassy plains, sisal plantations, small farms etc. Huge fines are levied for hitting an animal (US$15,000 for an elephant). The main hazard comes from the long-distance busses, which travel as fast as possible and overtake dangerously. Nowadays, a common sight is the three-wheeler bajaji (as Indian tuktuk). We saw one, just in front of us in Dar es Salaam just get clipped by a jeep and roll over, spilling the driver and two large ladies onto the road.

 

The escarpment was, as expected, a long procession of trucks, busses and cars moving very slowly up steep, twisting roads with frequent dangerous overtaking. We arrived in Iringa mid-afternoon, checked into the Neema Guest House (basic, comfortable, cheap) and spent the remainder of the day re-exploring the town and then dining at Sai Villa – good Indian food, owned by a lady who understands which meals are gluten free. The rest of the week proceeded as follows:

 

Day 1 - Meeting with Bishop Jospeh at the Diocesan Office. 

 

We discussed happenings in our respective countries over the past couple of years and then the plan for the week ahead. Joseph had reserved the whole week for our visit.

 

All the repairs have now been completed on the girl’s dormitory where there had been a fire the previous January, fortunately without any injury to any students. This included provision of ceilings throughout the building.  Previously, the building did not have a ceiling which led to the rapid spread of the fire.  The police and education authority had carried out extensive investigations but no culprit was identified. 

 

After lunch at Neema with the Bishop and Fadhili we all drove out to St Michael’s School. A fairly rough gravel road leading south from the main highway and then a sealed road through Kilolo town. Kilolo is at an altitude of 1,900m, a relatively poor area based on agriculture. The school has a new headmaster, Mr Francis Malugu who was previously headmaster at Mvumi School. His primary degree is in Mechanical Engineering and he then took a Diploma in Education. He is now very involved in teaching maths, 18 periods a week at the school. Francis comes across well as a confident leader and should greatly improve the standard of maths. Previously there was only one maths teacher. The previous headmaster, Mr Gideon Malifimbo stepped down after all the pressure he was under following the fire.  He remained at the school to complete his contract up to the end of 2023.

 

The government look at the school results by subject and they approach teachers who perform well and offer them positions in the government schools.  The main attraction for the staff in working in government schools is that there is no pressure upon them to achieve good results and the pay is the same in all schools in Tanzania, either government or private.

 

Francis’ main concern was the lack of security for the girls in the dormitories. The fence is broken in many places. Discussions were held concerning the replacement of the boundary fence with a steel bar fence. On walking around the school premises, we saw the work being undertaken to repair the bible school where the 2nd fire took place and which was shown on the video. The boys’ dormitories looked rundown with a lot of damage to the doors which had been done by the students. Some glass needs replacing and new beds are required.  The administration block needs painting to smarten the school when prospective parents visit.

 

The Government has instigated a new curriculum and therefore all the text books are out of date. New books have been provided free of charge to all government schools.  The number of text books is limited and teachers are photocopying pages for the students. The average cost of a text book is 15,000Tsh (£5). We discussed the purchase of new text books and considered that initially it should be on the basis of 1 book between 4 students. We agreed that new books should be provided on this basis.

 

Day 2 - We returned to St Michael’s School with Julius who is the Pastor for Neema Craft

 

The 40 sponsored students were brought together for us to meet them. We were able to speak words of encouragement and discussed with them the DTCF scheme, for sponsoring the 2-year A level course, for the three best performing Year 4 students. We also encouraged them to tell us what they liked and didn’t like about the school and what improvements were needed. This started slowly but gathered momentum and produced a useful list that we subsequently discussed with the headmaster and Bishop.

 

The electricity supply is still very erratic and they have days without electricity. They requested the possibility of a generator.  The solar panels do not work as they require new batteries. The girls stated that although the newly refurbished toilet block at the dormitory was now very good, the toilets in the classroom area need up grading. The boys also said that the toilet blocks at their dormitories were in need of repair.  The classrooms also have some missing glass in their windows.  Concern was also raised concerning the lack of any transport to take sick pupils to the clinic. While appreciating all these comments, we did register our disappointment over the damage that had been caused in the boy’s dormitory area.

 

Following this, all our sponsored students sang and danced for us. The singing was in the local Hehe language spoken in the Iringa area. It was a wonderful performance. All sponsored students were then individually photographed and a group photograph was taken of all the sponsored students with Noel our liaison teacher.

 

 

DTCF sponsored students at St Michael’s Secondary School with Noel

 

 

Back to Neema Craft and out to dinner with Bishop Joseph and Lillian, who is an excellent cook and produced ample portions. Another nice touch was that Fadhili was invited to join us all.

 

Day 3 - A quiet day when we went to visit Gangilonga Rock on the outskirts of Iringa

 

In the late 1800’s Chief Mkwawa of the Hehe tribe who was battling the German colonial war machine, used to observe the movements of the German troops from the rock.  From on top of the rock an amazing view of Iringa was obtained. We were accompanied by Neema (Bishop Joseph’s eldest daughter who is currently studying medicine) and the leader of the Mother’s Union.

 

Gangilonga Rock, Iringa with guide, Tony and Fadhili

 

Day 4 – 250km drive to Mvumi Secondary School accompanied by Bishop Joseph.

 

 

 

Met by the Headmaster, Mr Lucas Mwanagoni, who had been in post for just over a year.  A truly inspirational headmaster who was determined to raise standards at the school.  He had instigated extra classes before the morning lessons and also evening classes.  He said that the government had recruited a lot of new science teachers from his school.  He has now recruited new teachers with at least 3 years’ experience. When students have completed their A levels, they then look for university funding.  The government is keen to support science subjects and also gives priority to female students who previously were not supported. Very few scholarships are given and students have to take out loans which will need to be repaid after graduation. They have 437 students from grade 1 – 6 (including 2 A-level years)

 

Lucas gave us the results of the DTCF students who passed their A level exams in June 2023. 6 students in all. 2 achieved grade II and 4 grade III.

 

We then met with the 3 students currently undertaking their A levels and who will be taking their exams in May 2024.

 

Sue and Tony with students

 

 

Day 5 –

 

We met with Sarah, the Diocesan Accountant and she agreed that she would send a copy of the bank statement to confirm receipt of monies from DTCF. She also gave us a copy of the bank statement for that account for 2023. We then travelled out with Bishop Joseph to St Michael’s School to attend the graduation ceremony of the Form IV students.  We were seated on the top table with the Headmaster and the Bishop and the guest of honour, a business man from the bank in Kilolo.  The parents of the students were present and the event was held in the dining hall. The graduating students were all very smartly dressed in black and white.  They performed sketches and dances and singing.

 

As we were leaving a young woman approached Bishop Joseph in our vehicle.  She was called Happy Benedict and had been a student in 2012 – 2016. She was then funded by DTCF to attend KIdugala Secondary school for her A levels.  She was the daughter of a Masai who had wanted to sell her into marriage, but she was keen to have an education, so she approached the bishop who gave her a place at St Michael’s. She was one of our DTCF sponsored students and thanked us profusely for the opportunity DTCF had given her.  She graduated and went onto to achieve a diploma in education and was just about to commence her first teaching position.

 

From Kilolo we travelled to the Iringa School for the Deaf where we met one of the teachers. They have 120 students and employ 20 teachers, 2 of whom are themselves deaf.  Ancillary staff (7) are paid for by the diocese, although they are in arrears. The teachers are paid by the government. The £1000-00 sent by DTCF went towards the payment of the ancillary staff. We saw the conditions of the girl’s dormitory which were very poor.  The girls have to carry water a long way to flush toilets as the pump in the grounds of the dormitory is broken. Bishop Joseph will obtain an estimate for repairing the pump.

 

 

Students at Iringa School for the Deaf

 

 

Back at the Diocesan offices we had a final meeting with Bishop Joseph.

 

Discussions were held concerning the fencing of the girl’s dormitory and Bishop Jospeh is going to obtain a quote to make a fence with steel bars with barbed wire on the top.  It was agreed this work could be done in phases.

Following on from the students’ questions:

• Toilet facilities - Bishop Joseph to look for a local company in Kilolo to carry out some remedial plumbing works.
• The computers installed in 2012 need upgrading
• Books – 9 books for a student.  Mvumi operates at 1 book for 4 students in each subject, which works well.  Important for the school to finance the purchase of these books
• Transportation - Ken Phillis had given his pickup to the Diocese and it just requires new tyres
• Broken windows should be replaced and the headmaster should get the watchmen/fundi to do this work

 

Return journey – basically the outward journey in reverse, stopping for the night at Mikumi and then overnighting in Dar es Salaam at the Serena Hotel prior to the long flight home.

 

A wonderful visit, great to meet up with the students and staff at St Michael’s and to spend so much time with Bishop Joseph, whose time is so precious with all the numerous churches, diocese, school and pastoral pressures that he is under.

 

Tony Vaughan

 

Trustee, David Tilley Children’s Foundation