Mwereni Primary School
P.O. Box 10242 Moshi
Head teacher: Fidelis Urenge
Telephone: 027 2752635
0754 643986
Alumni References: Mathew Barron: Mbirish13@aol.com
Lisa McCroskey: Lisamarie252@aol.com
James Pangilinan: jjpop2005@hotmail.com
Linnea Solem: linnea.solem@deluxe.com
General Information about the Partner Organization
Mwereni Primary School is situated approximately 4 kilometers from the Home Base on the other side of Uru Road. Roman Catholic Missionaries founded the school in 1943. Mwereni Blind school is also situated within the same compound. The school teaches visually impaired pupils using braille. The non–visually impaired school enrolls pupils for primary level.
The primary level has seven grades; primary I to primary VII with total of 904 pupils (446 boys and 458 girls) among them 21 visually impaired pupils and 120 pupils who are orphans. Teaching is done in Kiswahili but English is among the 6 subjects normally offered. These include Math, science, Kiswahili, English, General Knowledge and Arts and Crafts.
The school has an acute shortage of teachers and supplies for arts and crafts. It has a total of 28 teachers (4 men and 24 women).
Volunteer Duties
Two Levels of responsibilities are available:
a) Classroom teaching: The Volunteer will work with the assigned teacher to support the teaching of certain topics(s) within the curriculum. Activities could range from providing direct teaching on a given topic, assisting in the design of student subject activities and managing group activities, providing exercises for class work and or home work and marking students work that are geared to promoting utilizing use of English language skills.
b) Specific student projects can be set up to promote cultural exchanges and explore differences between Tanzania and other nationalities through reading, writing discussions etc.
c) Teach basic computer skills to teachers and students
Supplies and equipments:
• Depending on your subject area, book resources would be very useful as reference material.
• Supplies of mathematical models, scientific models, maps and student centered activities.
• Readily designed group activities with facilitator instructions, ready for review and implementation.
• Team building activities, self esteem and empowerment games are greatly encouraged.
• Primary pupils’ sports gear.
• Magazines, brochures on your current or past experiences or any pieces of reliable material to help introduce your regular environment to your colleagues.
• Special costumes that explains your cultural background or institution affiliation, etc.
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2 comments:
I volunteered at Mwereni School for 6 weeks starting in late January. It was a wonderful and challenging experience! I was warmly welcomed by the headmaster, staff and children who were always most supportive and appreciative of my efforts.
I came to Mwereni as an experienced elementary school teacher, well-seasoned after teaching in the New York City school system for 28 years. I came prepared to teach English - with many books, craft supplies, and lesson ideas. I consulted the syllabus they gave me and designed my lessons with the Standard 3 class I taught to follow the format of the (quite good) textbook they were using, reinforcing, supplementing, and embellishing when I could. That went well.
What I did not come prepared to do was pioneer their new computer lab with Standards 5, 6, and 7! I am self-taught on the computer and explained to the headmaster that I was not a computer teacher. "You are now," I was told. The truth is that most of the children had never touched a computer and my introductory lessons were very basic.
I worked with Illuminata Kevishe, a very skilled teacher, and we used English mostly. The classes were huge and there were only 18 computers (vintage 1990s, donated, equipped with Microsoft 2000.) Illuminata and I worked out a system where we presented the basic lesson (theory, she called it) to the whole group - and the classes had as many as 70 children - kept about 30-36 children in the room for hands-on practice, rotated these so they all had computer time, and sent the rest outside to wait under the trees. (This is acceptable in Tanzania.) We taught basic keyboarding skills and used the Paint program to give the students much-needed practice in the eye-hand coordination involved in controlling the mouse and the cursor.
I had Microsoft Office and the Maevis Typing programs installed on all the computers, including those in the smaller room for the blind. While I was at Mwereni, individuals from their British partner school came and installed the Internet, so this primary school is far better equipped than most Tanzanian secondary schools, I am told.
After I left the headmaster hired a "computer teacher" to work with Illuminata, but I have since heard that this person was let go because of lack of funding. Several CCS volunteers started coming in the afternoon to work with Mwereni teachers eager to improve their computer skills. What Illuminata really needs are computer-savvy young CCS volunteers who would be willing to work with her in the classroom with the students, providing individual attention to these large groups. The children have a great capacity for learning, but need help. It is sad to see some of them still so uncomfortable with this technology when our Western world youngsters are so very adept.
Mwereni also has a residential program for blind students and I also worked during my lunch hours with Mr. Masam, a blind teacher of the blind. He is very skilled with his Braille monitor and the Super Nova program - he just needed a pair of eyes to help him over some introductory bumps. There are also opportunities at Mwereni for working with the blind students.
Mwereni Primary School is well on its way to becoming a model primary school for Tanzania and I think much of the credit for this goes to Damas Urenge, the headmaster, whose vision is far-reaching and whose public relations skills are terrific. I felt very privileged to be able to work with him and his teachers. If you have the opportunity to visit there, or better still, volunteer there you will find it a most rewarding experience!
“I taught English 6, each class had 70 kids, and our focus was on teaching grammar, direct speech and indirect speech. I also assisted other teachers in lesson plans, including religion class, and crafts with the blind school students. At recess, I spent my time with the kids on the school grounds, each day sharing information, maps, and pictures about America. I truly learned that the more you give in the program, the more you give back. While teaching with few materials can seem daunting, in reality, we take for granted the simple things we can teach and share. One day I taught how to write a letter, and basic letter formats...at the end of my placement, I got the best letters from some of my students!”
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