Uhuru School- Grand Opening!

We officially opened the doors of Uhuru Primary School (Day Tuition Program) on January 3rd! Not all has gone as expected but that was expected!

We started with just 4 students on the first day, two of them being my own children: Nailah and Nasmah. Within a few days, word got out and we had several parents taking registration forms home with them. As of today, January 28, 2011, we have 9 students at the school.




K-Grade One Classroom

  Because we are operating on a small budget with just a few students, we decided to run only one class: a Kindergarden/Grade 1 split (taught by myself-Michelle). There was little interest from parents with students in Grades 2-4 primarily because they did not want to switch schools. So, although Martha is currently not teaching with us, she is still an ongoing support for the school!

Sir Godfrey teaching Kiswahili

True to my testiment about local public schools, one of our students was actually in a grade three level at a local primary school. Within weeks, I realized that her mathematics and science were at a grade one level while her reading was at a beginning grade two level. This particular student did not know how to count backwards from 20, did not know how to count by 5s nor knew how to finish shape patterns! 

But after one month, we are getting into the swing of things. We have developed some great routines like the morning calendar, our 'Bonjour' song and assigning a special helper each day! We are making due with little resources- we received a shipment of used books donated by the International School of Tanganika in Dar es Salaam which we cherish! We have developed a small 'reading corner' and do both group reading and individual reading. This is particularly important because, in Tanzania, youth are not exposed to books and as a result, don't have a love for reading like we do in Western culture. 




Reading Time!





Interactive learning is challenging with few resources but we are making due. We did some experiments last week in our first unit: Weather. We used a fan to push a small boat on water, observed properties of air as we filled a ballon and even created our own mini windmills using leaves and sticks from coconut trees. We have also created some amazing arts projects using materials donated by Martha's family.

The students are learning English at a phenomenal rate! It amazes me and confirms my opinion that English  is best taught by fully emersing the students (something I learned personally from my years of French Emersion). Students are learning french through songs and play and literacy in Kiswahili.



Swimming at the beach

 We have started weekly swimming lessons on Friday mornings. When we get the nod from the Manager, we walk down to a local hotel to teach lessons in their pools. We have been very fortunate in that Millenium Hotel has given us a discount on the lessons to make it more affordable for our program. The students love the lessons-not only because they love to swim but because it is a treat to be able to swim in such a nice pool! On the days that we cannot go to Millenium, we go to the beach. There we take the students one by one into the deep water to practice their strokes...definatley a life skill they need to know here!

On Wednesdays, we do sports and arts and crafts. The students spend the morning playing organized soccer and the rest of the day doing arts/crafts and learning games. When the weather does not permit outdoor soccer, we spend time dancing and drumming inside the main hall. As we move into the rainy season, we are going to have to get creative about how to fill our Friday (swim) mornings and our Wednesday (soccer) days.



Sir Godfrey with the class

 I have an amazing assistant: Godfrey. Godfrey is actually a graduate of Form IV and a student/receipient of sponsorship from the Uhuru Youth Center. After completing Form IV, he had few options for work and was unable to go on to the pre-University years. As a way to give Godfrey a chance to develop teaching skills and gain experience, we decided to hire him as a teaching assistant. So far, he has been a huge asset to the school. He teaches Kiswahili, soccer and swimming as well as assisting me in preparing for lessons, feeding the children and play supervision. Godfrey has amazing patience and is great with the kids. We are truly lucky to have him!

I have posted some pics of the students along with my classroom. I hope to post more updates for friends, supporters and parents within the upcoming months...

Feel free to email me or write posts if you have questions about the curriculum, the program or anything else!

Bye bye for now!


Students show off our 'Uhuru' T-Shirts



Uhuru Primary School (Day Tuition Program)

History

Streets of Bagamoyo

The Program was created in response to the obvious lack of quality, affordable educational opportunities in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Most students attend government schools where their daily timetables are constantly shifting at the whim of teachers and headmasters. Most of their days are spent doing chores at school such as gardening and cleaning. Teachers are undereducated and underpaid and often do not attend classes themselves. 

Private schools in the area are only slightly better. Teachers use corporal punishment as a way to deal with all issues, large and small, and reinforce rote memorization, as opposed to real learning, as a way to rank high on federal examinations. There is no real arts or creative learning programs within the school and Management does not create high expectations for teachers which results in a dysfunctional learning atmosphere. 

Who are We?

The idea behind Uhuru Primary School was the brainchild of Michelle and Alladin Fuko who, 5 years ago, established the Uhuru Youth Center as a way to provide educational opportunities and skill building to street youth. Wanting to expand their support in the community, they envisioned the creation of a school that would provide the kind of education that is so greatly lacking in Bagamoyo.

Without funding or support, they decided to use their existing facilities at Uhuru Youth Center to run primary level classes. Friend and fellow Canadian ex-pat, Martha Richardson, committed her support by agreeing to teach one class while Michelle Fuko would teach the other.

Uhuru Youth Center

What is our focus?

The focus of the program is to create independent, global minded thinkers in our students. Unlike most schooling programs in Bagamoyo, we encourage creativity and critical thinking as well as incorporating hands on learning and problem solving.

The School operates strictly in English medium.

The proposed schedule will include as mandatory subjects:

• English Language Studies  
• French Language Studies (2^nd language)
• Reading and Writing
• Mathematics
• Sciences
• Kiswahili Language Studies (2^nd language)
• Civics/ History
• Social Studies/Geography
• Health/Lifeskills
• Arts and Crafts     
• We will also have scheduled and organized sporting activities such as weekly swimming lessons, dancing, drumming and drama.

Classroom- Grades 1/2 (nearly there)

Main Hall- serves as the classroom for Grades 3/4

How things will run:

For the first year, we will run two split classes: Standard Levels 1 and 2, Standard Levels 3 and 4. Class sizes will be kept small, maximum of sixteen students per class room. 

 
Proposed Fees are as follows (all grades):

School fees, Uji, Hot Lunch: 35,000 TSH per month payable every three months;
(350,000 per year as there are 2 months of holidays) 

Registration fee: 35,000 TSH one time (includes school supply kit)

Sports fee: 5,000 TSH per month (includes swimming lessons once/month or more)
T-Shirt (for sports and field trips): 10,000 TSH one time 

Note: $1 USD = 1500 TSH 

School Times:      8am-3:30pm

Teachers:
 
Michelle Fuko: (Canadian Born, Residing in Tanzania): Teacher for Grades/Standard 1 and 2/ HeadMaster/Executive Director

Martha Richardson: (Canadian Born, Residing in Tanzania): Teacher for Grades/Standard 3 and 4

The outbuilding under construction- outbuilding has toilet and shower facilities, kitchen and stores

What are our Hopes for the Future?

Our vision is to create a seperate school in/around the town of Bagamoyo. We hope to acquire at least 15 acres of land and adequate funding to build a fully functional primary and nursery school. 

 How You Can Help?

We are looking for supporters/advocates who are interested in becoming involved in our project of building a seperate school. We need financial backing as well as volunteers, members for the Board of Trustees, local and overseas advisors etc... If you are interested and want to be a part of this project, please contact us by emailing Michelle. We are looking for help from all over the world!

The Future of Africa lies in the hands of these children