I know many of the children and I can just imagine their enthusiasm as they learn their numbers and alphabet. The parents go along too and watch, so I'm sure they are learning as well -- what a perfect partnership this has been for us, a group of Canadians, and for the Maasai of Makuyuni.
Thinking it over, it really shouldn't be surprising that the children of Nashipay School would thrive. At Nashipay there is one teacher for about 35 children, in the public school there can be 60+ kids in a classroom. At Nashipay each child has a seat at a desk or table -- in the public school we saw as many as 5 children at a single desk, crowded onto a bench.
When we went shopping for textbooks and workbooks in May, we bought one workbook per child and one textbook for every two children that attend Nashipay Primary School. In the public school we visited, they had 3 or 4 tattered textbooks for the whole classroom of 60 or more children.
At Nashipay, the teacher is multilingual and one of her languages is Maa, the only language Maasai children of primary school age speak. Just think, they can actually understand what the teacher is saying! The Maasai children who attend the public school have their lessons in either English or Swahili, and they understand neither language when they start school. This was initially the primary motivator for building Nashipay School.
Now, the Maasai from other villages around Tanzania are pressing Clamian to build a boarding school. I have no idea how he's going to do that, but if anyone can do it, Clamian can! His will to help his people is strong and his heart is big! For now, we will start another class of kindergarteners in January. Fortunately, we were able to raise enough money to put a solar panel on the school, which means they can run another class in the afternoon and even into the evening if necessary.
Our partnership with the Maasai of Makuyuni has had amazing results in such a short period of time; it has truly exceeded my dreams and expectations! It is so gratifying to have the connection with this Maasai village, to partner with them and to be able to cheer them on -- even if I am cheering across 2 continents and an ocean!!
