Boy Teacher

Teaching in Tanzania

by Emma Gass, 1 August 2007

Somewhere between the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, there is a small rural manyatta, like many others you will find in rural Tanzania. These traditionally circular, family villages made from sticks, held together by cow dung, are the home of much of Tanzania's future.

It was at this particular manyatta that our East Africa travel experts, Nomveliso and Stella, witnessed a very special class during a cultural tour.

School begins

Sitting in the dust, sun streaking through the gaps in the sticks that pass as schoolroom walls in this part of the world, are children of various ages.

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Each child is sitting in rapt attention and obediently repeating sounds, letters and numbers[/b] in a sing-song voice, as they are pointed out by the boy teacher (only a few years older than themselves) at the head of the class.

The young teacher is one of the lucky ones, as he has been given the gift of a proper education at a boarding school in Arusha. Every term this young boy sets off to the city to learn and then, every holiday he returns to his rural home where he imparts his sponsored learning to the other young children who have been left in the village.

With many children and very few teachers in this area, it's not as uncommon as you would expect to have classrooms headed by children. Older children are often called upon to look after the younger ones; therefore one child getting a proper education can benefit a whole community.

It's a good idea to take the cultural tours that are often offered on scheduled safaris and stays, you can learn so much about another's culture by seeing the way they live and interact. You can also chance upon these wonderful individuals who share their luck and create the good news stories that every community needs.

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