St. Peter Claver High School, Dodoma, Tanzania

LIFE AT SPCHS

Things are happening on the agricultural front!

We started out with an incredible rainy season -- a few storms each week. And now our grass is high and ready for slashing. We'll dry it and store it for later in the year to feed our cows. Yes, we'll soon have seven cows thanks to the generosity of friends and family in Toledo, Ohio -- and a place for them to stay thanks to benefactors of the Midwest Jesuits of Chicago-Detroit Province.
Unfortunately those good rains that spurred on such growth have disappeared. We desperately need them, so say a prayer that more rain comes our way.
Our students have settled in. As I write this on Sunday afternoon, they are just finishing "preps" (study period) and will be making their way to the playgrounds.

We've gotten off to a good start. Over 190 Form One students arrived last Saturday. It poured cats and dogs all morning, and we were worried about what sort of mess we'd have to contend with. I told folks in my bad Kiswahili: Mvua ni baraka, lakini leo mvua siyo baraka -- rain is a blessing, but today it isn't!
There was mud, but that didn't get in the way of parents filled with pride and joy as they enrolled their children in the school.

As you can see, this site has not been maintained. We hope to do better in the coming academic year, for which we are presently preparing!

We had a site visit today with the contractor, architect, and sub-contractors. As we wlaked around, it occurred to me just how hard folks were working.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugj3nibGf5s

www.youtube.com

That is one of my favourite Kiswahili words. I just like the sound of it. What does it mean in English? Corrugated iron sheeting. Mabati is the most common roofing used here. Ours arrived on Saturday from Dar-es-Salaam. I'd expected -- and thought we'd agreed on -- maroon, but the color is more brown than maroon. It will look good, nonetheless. As soon as it starts going up, I'll take some snaps and post.

http://crosshairsofprovidence.blogspot.com/2010/04/just-tell-us-what-you-need.html

Here's a pictorial report on our progress.