Edmund Rice Sinon School, Tanzania
The initiative for a secondary school came from the village leaders as early as 1984. In March 1988 the school began in some existing rooms of the primary school. The school is owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Arusha. The funding of the building largely came from the Congregation of Christian Brothers. At present the managers of the school are from Australia and New Zealand. In 2004 the school had an enrolment of over 700 students.
The school is located five kilometers from Arusha town centre, in north-eastern Tanzania. The Sinon Secondary School has over 40 staff but each year they rely on two volunteers whose first language is English, to conduct a Special Transition/English Program for new students into the school. This program runs for 9 weeks and it is conducted 4 times, so by the end of the year all two hundred new students have done it. The needs for this program stem from the system where all primary education is conducted in Kiswahili and Secondary education is in English. There is a real need to get the students into a program that can help them make this huge step.
Kathy Brick
Kathy Brick is an experienced Primary School teacher from Melbourne.
Kathy has previously has volunteered twice with Palms, in Samoa (87-88) and South Africa (93-94), and independently on Bathurst Island. She brings a broad range of skills to her work, including curriculum development, administration, caring for students and mentoring teachers.
Palms Australia and ERSSS are confident that Kathy will make a positive difference to the students of Arusha, assisting to build confidence in the English language and developing thinking and learning skills.
Palms Australia needs your help to cover the costs of placing Kathy as a volunteer for two years. To make a contribution, please use the donate button on the right of the page.
Once more into the fray
December 9, 2011
Volunteering can be both a challenging and immensely rewarding experience. Few returnees would claim to remain unchanged by the experience. Some, such as Des Hansen, from Foster in Victoria, and Monica Morrison from Mollymook, NSW, value the experience so much that they return for another placement. Each is well aware of the sorts of challenges they will face, though the specifics are different each time, but each can see that they again can be part of meaningful change by plunging in again.
Monica Morrison has previously volunteered with the Catholic Teachers College (CTC) in Baucau in Timor-Leste. While there she worked with trainee teachers and lecturers at the college, sharing her expertise in education and psychology and sharing in the expertise of her East Timorese colleagues in what works, or does not work, in East Timor. Monica’s presence, guidance and enthusiasm was greatly appreciated by those with whom she worked.
Now Monica is readying herself for departure to work with Edmund Rice Sinon School (ERSS) in Arusha, Tanzania. Like CTC Baucau, Edmund Rice has a long history with Palms Australia and Monica will be the latest in a series of volunteers who have contributed to improved education for the children of Tanzania. Interestingly, Monica will be joining two more “repeat” Palms volunteers in Arusha, Kathy Brick, also at ERSS and Jenny Ferris, at Food Water Shelter.
Des will be joining three other Palms volunteers in Kiunga, John Gartner, Paul Tan and Esther Sim, who are working on improving the programs of the Diocese of Daru-Kiunga, which include Emmaus Farm. Again, this is a long-term partner of Palms Australia, with numerous volunteers over the years responding to challenges in youth work, education and sustainable agriculture. Des will be a welcome addition to an ongoing partnership which is making a real, positive difference in people’s lives.
Des and Monica are not unique in returning to the field – there are over 100 volunteers who have done more than one placement with Palms Australia – but each time someone returns to volunteer again, we are excited to receive them. Those who have volunteered before often have a headstart because while there may still be culture jolts, we know they have the tools to work through them. Provided they don’t expect each experience to be the same, they can be more effective in their work exchanging skills. Repeat volunteers are more likely to be motivated out of a sense of solidarity and enjoyment of other cultures, which appear to be more indicative than other motivations of effective cross-cultural engagement. Furthermore, the willingness of volunteers to return to Palms serves as an endorsement that, at least, we as an organisation are getting something right. Such feedback from our volunteers complements the positive feedback we receive from our partner agencies and encourages us that we are successful in achieving our three-point mission.
As always, we must remind our readers that our work relies on your support. While, Monica’s placement is largely funded (though not entirely) by AusAID and ERSS, we must cover the entire cost of Des’ placement from our own networks. The Diocese of Daru-Kiunga has agreed to provide accommodation and a modest living allowance to Des, but we still need assistance covering costs such as flights, insurance and support. By covering these small amounts, in 2012 we will provide a full year’s worth of expert labour to ERSS and Emmaus Farm. You can donate directly to support our work in Tanzania or PNG by selecting Monica or Des from the drop-down list on our donation page.
The things you learn in Tanzania…
September 27, 2011
Did I say that I went there to teach them something? Well perhaps it was not clear at times who was teaching who, but I can say that the 7 aspirants and 4 novices I taught were delightful students who were keen to learn.
Click here to read the full article
A brief update after Semester 1
June 29, 2011
I have plans for improving the programme for second semester, partly by identifying needs early on and targeting these needs as, not surprisingly, there are a range of abilities, and as with all classes, the challenge is to help all students experience success and feel engaged.
Click here to read the full article
More articles
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Or call us on (02) 9518 9551 to make a donation by phone. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR WORK!Tanzania
Population: 40,213,160
Area: 945,087 sq. km.
Median Age: 17.8
Literacy: 69.4 %
Languages: Kiswahili, Kiunguja, English, Arabic, many local languages
Tanzania was formed when newly independent Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged in 1964. It is home to Africa’s tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro, largest lake, Lake Victoria (which it shares with Uganda and Kenya), and deepest lake, Lake Taganyika. It also hosts the famous Serengeti National Park. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. [...]