News from Arusha [2019-09-10]
It’s already our third week here in Arusha! The first week was a whirlwind, with visits to four schools and installation of two new computer labs. It was really a joy to be joined by Reneal Board Member Steve Guerzon and his wife Pam Metcalf. Just like last year when Board members Sharon Fingold and Katherine Yen (and spouses Antonio Martinez and Marcus Lee) visited Tanzania, the new perspectives are invaluable. Thank you Steve and Pam! And of course we are thrilled to be back together with Reneal Team Tanzania!
The trip started with a very long flight from California to Arusha. Thanks to a LOT of help, 19 boxes of computer equipment arrived safely. Thanks to the California crew of Rick Blank, Katherine Yen, Marcus Lee, and the ever-helpful Martin for loading and transportation support! And on the Tanzania end, David Nyangaka spent countless hours ensuring that we would clear customs smoothly. Thanks David and the folks that met us with vehicles at the airport and then helped haul about a thousand pounds of equipment up the flights of stairs to our rooms at Lutheran Centre. What a relief to get everything here!
Our first Monday in Arusha, the Reneal Team visited Mukulat Secondary School (one of the first Reneal projects in Arusha District) and Matim Primary School. Our work at Matim is in support of “A is for Africa”, a small but mighty NGO based in Maryland. They equipped Matim with a computer lab, and Reneal added a server that is packed with educational content. We were thrilled to be able to meet up with AIFA’s Rick Smith while there, and we took the opportunity Monday evening to meet up with Rick along with our partners from Arusha District, Habari Node, and Arusha Node Marie.
Tuesday and Wednesday Reneal’s team traveled to Mwandet Secondary School. One major goal was to meet with the 12 Reneal scholarship students. It was a very enjoyable time, and we wish them GOOD LUCK on the upcoming National Examination. It was exciting and inspiring to hear their hopes and dreams for the future. Neal and I plan to return to Mwandet on October 3rd for the graduation ceremony.
The other major event at Mwandet was installation of our very first MacBook computer lab, thanks to a generous donation of MacBooks from VMware. This lab, for exclusive use by the upper level high school students (Forms 5 and 6), is intended to be a pilot for the new MacBook approach that we’ll employ at additional schools in 2020. During this trip, we will be installing another pilot lab for the Form 5 and 6 students at Mlangarini Secondary School.
We ended our first week with the team traveling to Bangata Secondary School for installation of a new computer lab there. Thanks to the professionals from Habari Node, Arusha Node Marie, and Reneal, Bangata now has a very professional computer lab for the students and teachers at Bangata! We are so grateful for the 2014 collaboration agreement between Arusha District, Habari Node, Arusha Node Marie, and Reneal that has resulted in us reaching so many students with computer technology!
This week started with teacher orientation at Bangata, led by Reneal Computer Technician Robert Nyangaka. We enjoyed the enthusiasm and interest of the teachers and Headmistress Prisca Mbele. And today we joined with our partners again to install a new computer lab at Einoti Secondary School. More on that in the next blog post.
We still have many schools to visit and three more new computer lab installations. With only 5-1/2 weeks to go, it seems like a lot. We certainly couldn’t do it without our team and partners here. And a special thanks to Reneal School Liaison David Nyangaka who always seems to be five places at once solving challenges for Reneal!
[Photos: meeting with the Reneal Scholars, installation at Bangata Secondary School]