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A marvelous program for young people
who have just completed their studies
and graduated from Ruaha Secondary
School is called "Youth development
Project." The results of their
examinations don't come out for
five months, so these youth receive
training, then spend that five
months out in remote villages in
Tanzania as a period of Youth Service.
They are trained as tutors of all
the Ruhi books, 1-6 for the villagers,
as Children's Class teachers for
the village children, and this
year a "Virtues" component
was included in their preparation.
It was my privilege to engage the
youth in the Virtues Project module
of their training. It was such
fun!
There were twenty-seven young people,
aged from 16 - 24 years. They were
well organized, alert and punctual,
from 8:00am - 6:00pm for four days.
They really connected well with
the personal development strategies
of "Honor the Spirit" and "Spiritual
Companioning." There was such
a vibrant energy in the room. And
the singing took my breath away.
One young man called Alum had a
voice that resembled a bass fiddle,
deep, powerful and resonant. He
would start a song deep within
his chest, a tribal song, about
the love of God. accompanied by
the home made drums, and others
would join in with harmonies, and
then some would move to the centre
of the room and dance. Their dance
is different to "disco" type
dancing in that it is totally unselfconscious.
It is a natural part of the song
and drumming.
Ruaha Secondary School is under
the direction of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha'is of Tanzania,
and the Office of Social and Economic
Development at the World Centre.
My host was a lively Irishman called
Finbar Loftus. His teenage children
also attended the course. He is
married to a Persian lady, Soheila.
Finbar used to work at the World
Centre and knows Ken Gretton (from
Devonport) really well. Finbar
and Soheila run an International
School in Iringa. Iringa is cool,
up in the mountains, very pretty
with rivers and hills and valleys
lush vegetation, fairly prosperous-looking.
I stayed in amazing luxury at Finbar's
place. He rents this stone mansion
from the Tanzanian Ambassador to
the United Nations. Huge rooms,
bathrooms with real baths, showers,
hot water, reception rooms, huge
dining room, tiled floors, finished
ceilings and doors that close,
huge kitchen with all mod cons.
cable TV, Maids for everything,
plus guard, and gardener. I had
forgotten what this life was like.
What a contrast to life in the
villages. I enjoyed it while I
was there!
Christmas Day was spent travelling
the nine-hour bus journey back
to Dar. For Christmas dinner I
ate two samosas offered to me by
my Indian fellow passenger. Then
Boxing Day was spent in an important
Strategy Meeting, and typing it
up, before catching the train up
to Mwanza, back to life with the
really poor.
For the first time I had to get
help with doing the laundry. Many
visitors had been staying with
me during the big workshop held
at the Baha'i Centre just before
Christmas. All the sheets and towels
needed washing. No one has a washing
machine, not even wealthy people.
Everyone has a house girl or several.
The house girl washes everything
by hand in a big bowl out in the
yard.
Everyone is amazed that I don't
have a "house girl".
They can't believe that I do my
own clothes washing and house cleaning
and cooking. This is "unheard
of" for any white person.
People exclaim to each other that
in Australia, the people do their
own housework and also go to jobs
to work! "How can they do
that?"
In the Mwanza Workshop I had one
of the most exhilarating experiences
of my life! A young man called
James was my host. The conditions
were very very simple. African
style. He gave me his tiny room
to sleep in on a mattress on the
floor, while he slept on a mat
in another tiny room. These rooms
were part of the rented premises
of Counselor Ruth's Nursery School.
So that was our venue for the workshop.
It is the amazing response of these
beautiful Africans to the content
of the Workshop when they recognize
the virtues in themselves and each
other that makes it so wonderful.
They have suffered so much over
the generations, and still suffer.
They experience real poverty.
After a couple of days into the
workshop, James announced that
he had composed a song. I said "Sing
it for me."
I expected a simple little ditty.
THE MOST AMAZING VOICE came out
of this young man's throat and
what an enchanting tune, with extraordinary
rhythms and cross rhythms! It is
impossible to describe, because
it was a NEW creation of music.
It has come from the next world,
I'm sure!
It dawned on me that I was in the
presence of natural genius, musical
genius. WOW! It gave me the same
thrill and sense of wonder that
I had when I first gazed on Michaelangelo's
statue of David in Florence, Italy.
Makes you gasp in wonder at the
beauty. James has had no formal
training as we do have, but of
course has been singing in the
village all his life and learning
in the tribal way. He hears it
all in his head, the way Manning
does.
I wished Manning were there. He
would be able to notate it and
identify the musical modes, keys,
rhythms, and harmonies. He would
love the music.
The next morning a number of the
participants arrived early. So
James started to teach them the
song in four-part harmony, in Kiswahili.
They responded instantly. Music
rippled through James' body as
he demonstrated the musical parts
in a range of four octaves, …really
high soprano, tenor, alto and bass,
with this resonance deep in the
chest.
The men and girls slipped instantly
into "choir" mode of
behavior with intense concentration.
Then they added some dance steps
and choreographed movements, as
they sang. As the other arrived,
they just joined in.
The room took on a luminous quality,
something magical was happening.
I sat on a little chair, to one
side, simply enthralled, and filled
with wonder.
What a contrast to the grotty ugliness
of the room. To the chipped, dirty
walls, unfinished dirty ceiling,
glassless windows striped with
rusty bars. It made me think…"this
dust heap of the world…"
Anyway. When I was in Tabora soon
after, I discovered some more beautiful
voices in the teenage children
of Agnes and Farid Jahanpour. An
idea is forming in my mind. It
would be great to have a performing
group like "Artworks" here
in Tanzania. With a message to
inspire themselves and the audience
to the realization of who each
one really is, …a spiritual
being having the human experience.
I have already found the performers.
And the composer.
The Tabora workshop involved the
whole staff of a new Secondary
School, just commencing, owned
by Auxiliary Board Member, Farid
Jahanpour. It was a marvelous week.
Farid and wife and family hosted
me with kind hospitality The 16
participants, teachers, all learned
the new ideas with great enthusiasm.
A whole week we learned together.
It is a real learning exchange.
I am learning so much about what
the Tanzanians really think and
believe, deep down. It is a rich
experience.
One afternoon they took me to Dr
Livingstone's house from which
Dr David Livingstone set out on
his explorations. in 19th century.
It was about 5 km away in Tabora.
It is a museum now. It was a centre
owned by Arab slave traders. Dr
Livingstone discouraged the Arabs
from trading in slaves. The irons
and chains are on display. Also
the letters of the good doctor
in his own handwriting. The Arabs
also planted the mango trees, now
so gigantic, around the dwelling.
The train journey back to Dar was
long, hot, slow, with frequent
unexplained stops in the middle
of nowhere, very boring two long,
long days and nights. I had been
away for a month working or travelling
non-stop. I took my first day off
in six weeks, yesterday, and went
to the hairdresser to get my hair
done. It looks nice. I had a perm.
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Report on workshops
conducted December, 2003 - January
2004
Moral Education
Task Force of the Baha'is of
Tanzania
| Dates |
Event |
Place |
Participants |
Comments |
| Two days, 1-2 December,
8:30am-4:00pm |
Virtues Workshop for teachers |
Kigamboni Secondary School,
Dar-Es-Salaam |
Sandra and Hashim with
22 teachers attending. 15
teachersattended 80%or more
of the workshop. They received
Certificates. |
Kigamboni SS was a Naval
establishment. The headmaster
had said that 1-2 Dec were "student-free
days" and that teachers
would be all attending. However,
hundreds of students were
engaged in exams during that
period of the workshop and
several teachers were supervising
them. All the evaluation
comments stated that this
seminar should engage ALL
staff members to be effective.
School discipline uses public
humiliation, shaming, caning
in public. Teachers were
invited to the Facilitator's
Workshop to be held 15-20
Dec. |
| Five days, 6-12 December,
8:30-4:00pm |
Nursery School Training |
Baha'i Centre, Dar-Es-Salaam |
Sandra and 4 participants;
one from Arusha. |
The people who requested
the training, and who had
agreed to the dates, did
not close their Nursery Schools
in time to attend. However
the participants gained a
lot. We also visited "CORD" and
bought books. |
| Five Days, 15-20 December,
9:00am-4:00pm. |
Virtues Facilitator Training |
Baha'i Centre, Dar-Es-Salaam |
Sandra and 23 participants,
19 teachers. 20 people attended
90% or more, and thus gained
Facilitator's Certificates. |
Four teachers from Kigamboni
SS, three from Ruaha, three
from Family Planning Organization,
two disabled people from
their organization, and other
teachers from Nursery Schools.
Only 7 Baha'is in attendance.
All are enthusiastic to develop
the project further in their
organization. |
| Three days, 22-24 December,
8:00am-6:00pm |
Virtues Project Training |
Ruaha Secondary School,
Iringa |
Sandra and 27 participants.
Two were teachers, and the
other 25 were students, Form
Four graduates, preparing
for service in the villages
in the Youth Development
Project. |
Godfrey William, Toby
Epyeru, and Restituta Mwabela
are teachers at Ruaha, now
Facilitators and Finbar Loftus
hosted Sandra, and also attended.
He prepares the youth for
their service in the villages,
in conducting children's
classes, Ruhi courses and
devotional meetings. The
Facilitators plan to develop
the Virtues Project in Ruaha
in greater depth. |
| Four days, 29 December
- 1 January, 8:30am-4:00pm |
Virtues Project Training |
Mwanza, at Counselor Ruth's
Nursery School |
Sandra and 10 participants.
Five were teachers, one doctor,
3 students, one administrator. |
This group was very creative,
producing original songs
about the Virtues. Could
develop into a Performance
Teaching Group. Most of the
participants wish for more
training to become Facilitators.
The Cluster Committee met
and made tentative plans
for further training. |
| Seven days, 2-8 January,
8:00am-4:00pm |
Nursery School Training
(Part 2) and Virtues Refresher
course |
Bukoba "New Vision
Academy," Mugajwale
Village |
Sandra and 4 participants.
ABM Prosper Nduke and his
teachers. |
A continuation of the
training started in September.2003,
sharing knowledge, prepare
teaching aids and resources,
give demonstration lessons. |
| Five days, 13-17 January,
8:00am-3:00pm |
Virtues Project Training |
"New Era " Secondary
School, Tabora |
ABM Farid Jahanpour (Headmaster),
his wife, Agnes, and her
Nursery School teacher and
16 Secondary teachers, the
staff at New Era. |
The whole staff has committed
to becoming a Virtues Project
School. They prepared a School
Vision Statement, set the
boundaries for school rules
and made the posters; and
diligently practised using
the Virtues language. They
requested a Refresher Course
soon, and training in Cooperative
Learning. |
Further Developments, 28 January:
- The participants in Dar-Es-Salaam
formed "The East Africa
Virtues Connection" after
the first Virtues Workshop
held in July 2003 and have
been meeting regularly. They
are making plans to form a
Non Governmental Organization
and register with the Ministry
of Home Affairs in Tanzania.
They are planning their first
Parent Seminar in March Several
new Facilitators will each
conduct a portion of the Seminar,
in Kiswahili language. Sandra
will remain in the background,
ready with support.
- The Virtues Pick cards have
been translated into Kiswahili,
but not yet published commercially.
We are photocopying the copies
from the computer.
- A friend has started translating
the "Virtues Educator's
Guide" into Kiswahili.
- The Principal at Shabaan
Roberts Secondary School has
requested a one-day seminar
for the whole staff to be held
at the Baha'i Centre in Dar-Es-Salaam.
- Three of the newly trained
Facilitators have introduced
the Virtues Project into their
organizations; namely Family
Planning Organization, HAGEPA
(helping the Disabled to be
self-reliant) and the Organization
to Develop Children's Rights.
They request the support of
the Moral Education Task Force.
They are all aware that our
Task Force will assist with
teaching support, but does
not offer financial assistance.
- Friends in Canada donated
20 copies of the Virtues Educators'
Guide for the impoverished
teachers in Tanzania. This
generous gift was welcomed
with gratitude and delight
by the teachers at the workshops.
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