I am here in Tanzania now, at the Boko One Stop Secondary School in the town of Boko near Dar Es Salaam. I have been here since Tuesday, June 10 and thought I would give an update of my trip. An unfortunate event has recently befallen me. While staying at a well-recognized hotel with grounds security, I became the victim of an organized robbery on the first night that I was here in Africa! In the hour and a half that I was in the dinning area eating dinner and watching a movie, my electronics, including my camera, cell phone, and most unfortunately, my voice recorder along with my money, which was about $1,300, $700 of which were travelers checks, were stolen from my locked room. We suspect that the two men who stayed in the room across from me were the culprits. They checked in the same night, after me, said they would stay for two nights, but never returned during the night after leaving to “find some dinner.” By the time I was able to report stolen travelers checks, I found out that they already cashed $400 of it. This suggests they have allies in the banking system since they obviously don’t have the identification to prove that they are me. So here I am now, with no camera, no voice recorder, and significantly poorer. The worst part of it is the voice recorder since all my interviews are on there. Luckily I have Peru interviews saved on a portable drive, but all the interviews from Romania are lost.
On the upside, I am enjoying my time with the students here. Since this is my third country, I can really start to see the comparisons in the education systems and the recurring themes that to me are the main reasons why the education systems are failing to turn out a literate society and failing to rid the mass poverty. The children here, in Romania, and in Peru, are incredibly driven children who have been raised in unfortunate situations of poverty, and here, an environment of death (from AIDS). With insufficient encouragement at home, the majority of them go to school only to face the same lack of encouragement from their teachers. However, it’s too hasty to assume that the teachers are to blame because their original pedagogy training breeds a continuation of the traditional methods of teaching, which neglect the students. But there is hope, and there is gradual change towards a better future.
The meaningful interactions I have with the kids I’ve encountered on this trip thus far make me wonderfully grateful for this opportunity! No matter where, children are still children and simply want someone to talk to and someone to laugh with. I like to think that at the same time that they are impacting my life, I offer something in return, whether it is a small glimpse into a world outside of their own or a friend they can remember for life.
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