Piki-piki: Now we're having fun!

Dear Friends and Family,

A safari to Ketumbeine and now riding the piki-piki (off-rode motorcycle), this has been a trip of many firsts, even though both of these firsts are several years later than originally planned. It is Africa, so must figure things will happen on Africa time, after all. And we had to wait for me to reach my full height, as the height of this bike stretched the limits of my feet reaching the ground.

As you can see, the chosen road was not the most challenging -- didn't want Mama or the Mwangaza folks to worry any more than they already were. However, if you look behind me on the middle picture, there is a turn to the right just where the person is in the distance. Since that turn leads to an open area near the local church a quarter mile away, seemed like a good place to go before turning around. Was a much more interesting piece of road, with ruts a foot plus deep and rocks a foot plus out of the ground -- that's why it's called an off-road bike! Got more interesting as I approached the exit of the local elementary school just as the students were running out to head home so had to maneuver around a Maasai babu (grandfather) leaning on his staff while waiting for a child. Moved back into my lane (notice how well the road is marked, and how wide it is -- subtract 10 feet, then imagine a median in the form of a deep rut) b/c I was meeting a bike with several milk carton cases strapped on the back. You guessed it — IT WAS GREAT!!

Then back to work, marking the assessments from our first follow-up school visit -- but that's another story.

Peace and Love,

Mike and Sharon (who watched long enough to take the photos)

First follow-up visit: Kimandolu Secondary School

Dear Family and Friends,

Will let pictures do most of the speaking with this journaling, but will share that the day went extremely well, with Kimondolu's well-prepared reality and our expectations well adjusted, resulting in Happiness as a very positive integer.

Loading up the Mwangaza Land Rover and on our way, soon on-site and presenting the Sheltered Instruction texts to the school for use by the seminar participants and any other interested teachers. Recent history shows teachers have moved frequently from school to school, so this establishes that the books stay with the schools Mwangaza is supporting in the Intervention Program. We did let them know we expected to see fingerprints of the seminar teachers on many pages.

On the right, Michael Moshi is speaking of the one day workshop he and two other seminar participants organized for the rest of the staff so that all the school's personnel would have some understanding of the new methodology. Was reinforcing to hear him speak of using some of the strategies and much of the vocabulary from his week at Mwangaza.

Art & Linda Milton, and some others, will undoubtedly remember Mr. Monoya (below, middle photo) from his '96 visit. We are impressed with his staff, having shared with some in previous years' Mwangaza seminars. Their readiness factor today was a strong indication he, and the staff, are in sync with the Intervention process.

Salome and Mary Jo were soon off to administer the assessment — No pictures of that exercise today, but will relate more later — while the rest of us went to the computer lab.

They have made an effort to set up and maintain donated computers, resembling those at Mwangaza, but 'tis challenging to address today's information and options with the last decades' technology. You can see the modem plugged into a flash drive extension in the first photo below, then the impatient waiting for the limited memory available to process and install the software. Incredibly, it takes only 256 mb of available memory, but this computer had little more than that.

While waiting, we plugged in the flash drive which had been loaded with content (Powerpoints) and showed that these could be downloaded to each of the computers, thereby being available to teachers and their classes with no need of the internet for watching. Since had gathered several of the Powerpoints between seminar weeks, these teachers and computer lab coordinator were seeing the option and the pictures for the first time.

Once the modem had established internet connection, John demonstrated how to connect long enough to find what you were seeking to read, then disconnect to spend the time reading, making notes, etc. before re-connecting to do more searching or sending. In this manner of efficiency, the purchased memory can serve for some time.

After handing over the modem to the computer coordinator, our team prepared to leave. Nice timing to be stepping outside just as a distinguished gentleman arrived. A former teacher, he has been Kimodolu's "school manager" (board member who regularly speaks with the principal, teachers, students, and staff) for a number of years. Here he is telling the rest of us about Salome's tenure with his school, when she was both a respected and respectful teacher.

Back at Mwangaza, we debriefed while marking the assessments. It is obvious the teachers and students need support.

Peace and Love,

Mike and Sharon

Prepping for the first follow-up visit

Dear Family and Friends,

You have probably noticed that the journals have decreased in number and size in the last 4 weeks, as our Mwangaza team and staff:

1. hosted the first seminar week for the teachers of the 5 Pilot schools,

2. spent the next week wrapping up, assessing and adjusting to make adaptations for the second,

3. another week facilitating the second seminar with teachers from 8 other secondary schools,

and 4. spending the time since wrapping up and prepping for the visits to the Pilot schools, plus a Friday trip to Makumira to lead Carol Stubbs class (left picture)as she and Megan were heading back from the US. Copy machine got a work-out, as did those of us writing comments and reviews of 60 plus lesson plans and compiling copies for teachers to share their plans -- both a first for our times at Mwangaza.

Packets pictured include: a. the binders of lesson plans and an addendum to the Mwangaza Resource Book, b. a Sheltered Instruction book for each participant, c. mini-books (one story fitting on a back-to-back page folded into booklet form) and the lesson plans which go with, d. the English proficiency assessment, f. a flash drive (in the baggie) containing seminar information, content area websites, and power points of topics in each of the subject areas,

and g. a Vodacom (phone/internet company) modem (in the white box) which contains a replaceable memory chip and plugs into a computer port. A new chip can be purchased when that memory is used. The modem contains the program to download the connection to internet and can be used in any number of machines, one at a time or connected to a few by a splitter. Pretty amazing option for schools which do not currently have normal internet connection options and will allow us to be in contact with these schools/teachers from Mwangaza and from DeKalb.

Tuesday, with materials prepared and packed into boxes, we sat to discuss and determine the on-site process, as would be visiting one school each day, Wed-Fri and Mon-Tues.

Welcome and Greeting Reception, reviewing the seminar objectives and purposes of this visit, presenting materials and setting the sequence of events, assessing the students and installing the modem -- quite an ambitious visit.

John and Salome are very patient with we Americans as we are checking our watches and writing explicit timetables, then help us prepare for reality by reminding us that it's very good to have a plan, but sometimes adjustments must be made according to the environment and the circumstances. They help our team have a positive result to the "Danish philosophy of life" equation: Reality - Expectations = Happiness.

Notice everyone was smiling on Tuesday !!

Peace & Love,

Mike and Sharon

Pangas: Taking your work home

Dear Family and Friends,

No, we have not dropped off the edge of the World, or even the edge of Africa, but should find some opportunities in these next 2 weeks to send a few pictures and stories of recent weeks. In fact, better do so, or will have to tell you in person, as we leave in 2 weeks, almost to the hour.

Does not seem possible, and have quite a list of Mambo ya kufanya (To Do List, or List of Stuff to do) remaining to be addressed. Actually feeling very good as have completed quite a number of these lists, and the completion of those has allowed us to make more and try to address them also.

Will be interesting to see if can mesh our Team's list with the challenges of administrators and teachers getting 2nd term started at the secondary schools we hope to visit. If all were to go perfectly, we would visit each of the 5 schools which were represented in our first seminar. Since then we have compiled a binder of follow-up and follow-through materials and can now also give them the Sheltered Instruction books for on-site resources -- had to keep those at Mwangaza for a bit to have available for the second seminar.

Mary Jo Huelle, a '96 alum of Mwangaza teacher partnerships, and a 10-time (I think) returner, landed at the beginning of the second seminar week and joined in with presenting, wrap-ups of this year's seminars and looking forwards to the months and years to come. She is also the Chair of the Friends of Mwangaza Board, the Stateside support system of Mwangaza and its programs.

Meanwhile, almost every day brings a new opportunity to view life as we don't often see it on the streets in Illinois. This young man found the T-corner of Ilboru Road, just in front of the Mwangaza campus, a good place for his business. Here he is practicing his livelihood by sharpening a panga (short sword, almost a "corn knife" for us Midwestern farmers) by:

1. parking his mode of transportation,

2. putting the back wheel up on a stand,

3. raising the whet stone wheel to engage the 2nd chain,

4. flipping up the normal seat so he can turn about and sit on the temporary seat,

5. begin pedaling to turn the bike wheel and whet stone wheel,

and 6. sharpen the panga.

Pretty cool! Others, who heard and saw his work, brought their items, and queued (British English for lined) up with what they needed sharpening.

Did you notice that this panga was a bit longer than Andrea's? And curved at the end? It is a version made for cutting grass while bending at the waist, grass the length of that in our yards, cut to the length of a fairway of a golf course, and taken to feed the cattle or goats. MOST grass is cut this way, including school yards and other large areas.

OK, must move along this evening and write a couple of Reviews and Comments on lesson plans from seminar participants. Then will be able to check off some mambo!

Peace and Love,

Mike and Sharon

Relaxing and reflecting

Dear Friends and Family,

Spending today enjoying the change of pace, changing some money and replenishing the pantry this morning, Sharon doing some laundry and mixing up the next batch of bread dough -- pizza tonight, perhaps!?

Will spend some time writing emails and sorting some pix and stories as the day/weekend passes, then get back up here to send them later tonight and tomorrow.

Was another good seminar week, we think. Good to have the second opportunity to share methodology, with some time between weeks one and two to assess and adapt. This week will focus on wrapping up and preparing for the visits to the pilot schools in the remaining weeks.

So for now, hope you have had the opportunity to sleep in a bit this Saturday morning (we did !!) and have some pleasant weather to greet you.

Peace & Love,

Mike & Sharon