My trip to Moshi, Tanzania as a volunteer through Cross-Cultural Solutions is coming around quickly. It is an exciting time having just learned of my official placement; I will be teaching children and assisting teachers at Mwereni Primary School. Despite only have 28 teachers (4 men & 24 women), Mwereni Primary School founded in 1943 caters to a total of 904 pupils (446 boys & 458 girls). Among those 904 pupils, 21 are visually impaired and 120 are orphans. Due to the shortage of staff and resources, volunteers such as myself, are warmly welcomed and highly valued. My duties will consist of teaching a range of subjects, from Maths and English through to Sports and Arts & Crafts. I will also work closely with the teachers to develop lesson plans and form materials that can be used for years to come. Creativity is a must with lack of supplies and modern equipment. In preparation for my placement I have been developing methods of teaching the children subjects in Kiswahili as well as English. I look forward to the lessons I will teach the children and the lessons they will teach me.
Tanzania Albino Centre
Although there are Albinos all over the world, the difficulties faced by Albinos living in Africa are tremendous! The stigma surrounding Albinism in Africa results in not only segregation from the rest of the community, but Albinos living in Tanzania have also become victims of witch craft beliefs.
Albinos in Tanzania are being killed by members of their community, fuelled by the superstition that the body parts of an Albino will create prosperity when given to a Witch Doctor. The Tanzania Albino Centre in Arusha, in partnership with The Hands of Africa Foundation in the Netherlands, work tirelessly to provide ongoing support to the Albinos for all their education, health and day to day needs. It is their aim to improve quality of life for Tanzanian Albinos through creating awareness enabling the Albinos to live safely, becoming accepted members of society allowing them to seek an education and employment.
After learning of this tragedy and having already signed up to volunteer with Cross-Cultural Solutions in Tanzania, I reached out to The Tanzania Albino Centre as well as the Hands of Africa Foundation. In asking how I could be of assistance, both organisations expressed the need and lack of sun protection items for the Albinos under their care. Over the course of this year thanks to the support of my family, friends and members of the community I was able to collect hats and sunscreen which I will donate during my visit to The Tanzania Albino Centre in Arusha this November.
In addition to the donations of hats and sunscreen a t-shirt designed especially for creating awareness about this situation will be available for sale through Humanidee in the near future to assist the centre in raising much needed funds.
