Letters from Africa

January, 2009

It's good to write to you again! We have so much to share. Right now, we're finishing up our "summer vacation." Yes, you read it right-it's summer in Tanzania, and the girls have been home since the end of November. We had the hottest spring. Boiling hot was more like it!!! It was so hot, it made even breathing difficult. As one of our students said the other day, "It's always hot in Tanzania but never this hot! We can hardly concentrate, especially in class." But she was quick to add, "Don't take me wrong-we're thrilled to be getting an education. So many of our friends and neighbors, especially girls, can't go to school. In fact, most of the girls in Tanzania don't go to school at all, and just a few go on to high school."

Our girls are like teenagers anywhere. Sometimes they complain about getting up and going to class, or they don't study, or some days they don't take their classes seriously. But there is one way to get them back "on track"-just mention how much their parents have sacrificed to send them here. Their parents could have kept them home to watch younger brothers and sisters, or have them working long hours in the fields. That is a fact for many Tanzanian girls. But their parents sent them to us. And we are grateful.

As we start our new school year, we will have two "forms" as the class levels are called. Last year's 120 students will be the second year form, and 110 girls will be in the first year. The new dormitories have been built! We're so excited! The dorm cubicles have been built for four students in two bunk beds, but we're going to have to fit three bunk beds with six girls per room. There will also be six rooms for faculty (in Tanzania, schools provide living quarters for their teachers). We need quite a few new teachers as the school grows.

We're deeply grateful to a member of Parliament, Honorable Nirod Mkono, who has helped us from day one with the school, and who undertook the huge project of building the dorms. We would not have been able to take in new students without these dorms. We now have our four classrooms that served as dorms last year back as actual classrooms! Honorable Mkono is also determined to do something about our water difficulties. He wants to have a well dug down the hill from the school and have water pumped up the hill to our buildings. However, every time the electricity goes out, so will the pump! Before the girls left on vacation, we had so little water we were praying we wouldn't have to shut the school down before the school year ended. Between practically no rain and frequent power outages, the girls are used to carrying a flashlight and rationing what little water is available. In fact, it is not unusual to see ten girls clustered around a small pitcher of water, trying to get just a little so they can brush their teeth. Or to simply turn their flashlights on when the power goes off, and begin to pray aloud or sing religious songs for it to come back on again. But we manage, with the grace of God!

More good news-a beautiful thing-we guess we are making a religious impact on the girls. So many of them pray in the chapel in the morning, before school, after lunch and in the evening. Actually, our Muslim and Seventh Day Adventists girls are very pious and spend the most time in chapel. It's the non-Catholics, too, who say they want to be Sisters. One girl wants to be the Pope!

Fifteen girls prepared for baptism in the Catholic Church, and some of the already baptized girls are asking to be prepared for First Holy Communion and/or Confirmation. We did have our first Confirmation on October 12th; and seven girls received Communion. Sister Beata, Sister Ewa and I are praying that some of our girls who were baptized Catholic in infancy will learn from the zeal and enthusiasm of these new converts!

God blessed us with good teachers last year as well as a wonderful group of first year students, so our reputation seems to have spread to more distant parts of the country. As we look forward to beginning the second year of the Chief Wanzagi Secondary School, we thank God especially; our religious family, The Sisters for the Resurrection; and our family; friends; and benefactors; for your prayerful and material support! May God be praised for all and in all! It is rewarding to hear that people appreciate the sense of justice with which our school is run. Hopefully, together with the Resurrection priests in our parish, we are participating in some small way in the renewal of society that was a main part of the vision and mission of the Founders and Foundresses of our Resurrection Congregations!

Please keep your prayers coming, and know that you are in our prayers.
Have a very blessed 2009!
Sister Stephanie CR