Si mchezo

On spice farm tour with our friend, Sidu

Visiting a Mmeru village outside of Arusha with Zawadi

in enchanting Stonetown

A Zanzibar New Year!

and back in Manga...
This last shot is who and what I hope to focus on in my last 8 months at site - the young girls of my village and empowering them. Although somewhat flexible, my official last day of service is August 17, 2007 and I'm still hoping to extend for a 3rd year if approved (won't know details until May). These lovely ladies are some of my students in Form 1 from Secondary School taking a break in my living room, reading health magazines produced in country called "Si mchezo" (it's not a game) and Femina. They're quite progressive pieces of education for youth and wazee alike. I just submitted this picture to Femina's headquarters in Dar in hopes that the girls of Mahongole will be in print!

So, why empower girls? The following is a list of reasons why girls education must be given priority. I will be reading it next Monday, the first day of Secondary School:

*Girls are particularly affected when households have insufficient income to send all of their children to school
Kama familia inashindwa kuwasomesha wote nyumbani, wasichana wanatakiwa kuwasaidia nyumbani

*If there is a limited amount of money available to educate children, families will often choose to send their sons, rather than their daughters to school
Hasa familia nyingi, wanachugua kuwasomesha watoto wao wa kiume zaidi ya (au badala ya) watoto wa kike

*Girls are more likely to undertake unpaid domestic work in the household and to be expected to look after younger brothers and sisters
Wasichana wanatakiwa kufanya kazi nyumbani bila kulipwa na kusaidia kuwalewa watoto wadogo/wadogo wao

*There can also be particular concerns about sexual harassment which deter girls from attending school
Wasichana wanaweza kusumbuliwa kwa wanaume au wavulana shuleni; kwa hiyo, wengi wanaacha kwa ajili ya hii

*The fear of infection through abuse or exploitation in or on the way to school particularly affects girls and may reduce attendance
Wasichana wengi wanakata tama kusoma shuleni kwa sababu wanaogopa kuambukizwa magonjwa njiani wanapoenda na wanaporudi shuleni

*Girls are told they’re stupid and aren’t as smart as boys
Watu wengi wanawaambia wasichana kwamba hawana akili (kama wavulana)

*Many communities don’t support educating girls, seeing no benefit in doing so
Katika jamii nyingi, watu hawaelewi mali na faida ya kuwasomesha wasichana

*In more than 70 countries, girls are still less likely than boys to go to school
Nchi zaidi ya 70, wasichana wapo chini ya wavulana wanaosoma shuleni

*More than half of the world’s out-of-school children are girls and 8/10 live in South Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa
Zaidi ya nusu ya watoto mitaani duniani ni wasichana na asilimia 80 wanaishi kusini mwa Asia na nchi zilizo chini mwa Jangwa la Sahara

*In Africa, women with 7 or more years of schooling have between 2 and 3 fewer children than women with 3 or less years of education
Katika Afrika, wanawake waliosomo kwa miaka 7 au zaidi, wana watoto wachache zaidi (yaani, wanaelewa faida ya uzazi ya mpango) ya wanawake waliosomo kwa miaka mitatu au chini, au wale ambao hawajasoma kabisa

*Educated mothers are more likely to send their own children to school and their kids do better at school than children of unschooled parents
Wamama waliosoma wana hamu na uwezo zaidi kuwapelekia watoto wao shuleni na watato wao wanashinda zaidi shuleni kuliko watoto wa wazazi walioshindwa kusoma.

*For each additional year a girl spends in school, there is an 8% reduction in the death rate of children under 5
Kwa kila mwaka msichana moja anasoma shuleni, anapunguza kwa asilimia 8 kifo cha watoto wake chini ya miaka mitano

*In Africa, children of mothers who received 5 years of primary education are 40% more likely to live beyond age 5
Katika bara la Afrika, wamama waliosoma angalau mpaka darasa la 5, watoto wao wanaishi kwa asilimia 40 zaidi ya miaki mitano

*An educated woman is 50% more likely to have her children immunized against childhood diseases
Wamama waliosomeshwa wana asilimia 50 zaidi kuwapa kinga watoto wao dhidi ya magonjwa ya watoto

*Each year of education a girl receives beyond primary school, she will boost her eventual wages by 10-20%
Kwa kila mwaka msichana anasoma baada ya shule ya msingi, anaongeza mapato yake ya baadaye kwa asilimia 10 hadi 20.

*Keeping girls in school is one of the most effective HIV prevention strategies
Kama wasichana wanaendelea kusoma, wana asilimia ndogo zaidi ya kupata virusi vya UKIMWI (VVU), yaani wanajilinda

Sources: 60 Million Girls Missing Out on Education, 2005 Report by Save the Children; DFID Education Factsheet, September 2005; Keeping Our Promises: Delivering Education for All, HM Treasury and DFID 2006; Girls Education: Towards a Better Future for all, DFID 2005
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Rested, recharged and spoiled, I'm just leaving a wonderful vacation with my mom and brother. I'm grateful they decided to spend their Christmas and New Year's with me and the wonderful people of Tanzania. My favorite memories included sharing ugali with my brother (his first time) in a Mmeru family's home and then giving them a calender (a Chick-Fil-A calender no less) in thanks and having the bibi (grandmother) get teary-eyed as a result; observing the magic between a mama gazelle and her freshly born baby in the Ngorongoro Crater struggling to walk, wobbling weakly to find mama's milk; singing "Kipepeo" with the village kids on Lake Victoria and seeing my family mobbed by the unconditional love of village kids-it's ubiquitous; observing how cloves, coriander, nutmeg, black pepper, vanilla, curry and ylangylang grow in the raw on a real spice farm; and an unforgettable rooftop dinner in Zanzibar as the sun set, as mosques called to us from below, as dhows passed in the Stonetown harbor, and as a local baba (man) stood before us playing exotic tunes in his kanzu on his violin. Our trip was definitely one to remember.

Karibu to check out my mom and brother's photos:

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=44171168222729875/l=236615259/g=35406682/cobrandOid=1000001/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=16761168114532824/l=236567489/g=33018803/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
Any resolutions out there for the New Year? I'd love to hear about them. Ya'll don't forget about me-I'm still here and my post office box is still in service:) Please know how much I appreciate hearing from home.
I think I can...I think I can...
Peace,
Tait

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the Lord and enjoy safe pasture;
delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"
*Psalm 37:3-4

"You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it's clear to you, no doubt the universe in unfolding as it should..Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul..With all its sham and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world!..Strive to be happy"
*Desiderata