Hey ho! Rentabook adds up.

Yes, it all adds up. Every last dollar. It's the end of the month and time to decide what we'll sponsor at the School of St Jude this month.

I don't really mind what I sponsor, 'cos I see that the money is well-used. Good planning goes a long way towards ensuring that things go smoothly, but there are always hiccoughs and glitches that mean that plans need to be adapted.

Earlier this year, the School commissioned an internet upgrade that involved a satellite dish and more. After several months of service failure, they have gone back to their previous supplier -- a more limited service, but more reliable! We have to expect these things to happen and to be flexible.



This month, I'd like to remind you about my brainwave – the Rentabook Scheme. This is so simple, it is silly. All you do is stick one of my St Jude's bookplates into the front of your books, then lend them or give them away as usual. The bookplate encourages the borrower (or recipient) to make a small donation to the School of St Jude – they rent the book for a small fee. The fees are paid here on my blog via the ChipIn tool at the top of the page.

Give it a go. Download the bookplates here. Stick them in. Get those books circulating!

Classrooms – learning on the job

Over the years of building classrooms in Tanzania, a developing country, the building materials and the builders’ skills have improved. The paint lasts longer, the floors survive thousands more foot steps, the render on the walls can cope with posters and charts and the blackboards remain black!



At first, the School shipped donated desks and chairs from Australia, but now all furniture is made locally. This way the School can ensure the furniture is the right height for the students and they are creating huge job opportunities for people in the local village and, therefore, the ripple effect is enormous.



The School also believes that staff and students will enjoy coming to school and will want to work hard and with pride for their school and themselves if they have harmonious surroundings. For this reason the School has gone to a lot of trouble to plant trees and grow gardens and lawns around the classrooms. Of course, it’s not all aesthetic - the greenery keeps down the dust and holds off the heat … to a certain extent!

By sponsoring classrooms at the School of St Jude, you are helping to pay for the bricks, cement, steel, wood, paint, render, corrugated iron sheets, building tools and fundis (bricklayers, carpenters, steel workers, builders, painters, cleaners, etc) wages. There is a maximum of 10 sponsors for each classroom – there are many people involved in building a classroom!

So, you can see how valuable your contribution is to the development of the school. When you give to the School of St Jude, you are joining a global team of wonderful people who realise that the fight against poverty starts with education. You can stay in touch with the School by newsletters, the School website and this blog – and feel the immensity of your contribution to many lives.


Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Capacity-building in the education sector

IRIN reports that education experts have welcomed the Tanzanian government's pledge to hire more teachers in the 2007-2008 financial year to improve the quality of education in the country.

The government allocated 18 percent of this year's budget to education and announced plans to hire more teachers in June.

On 11 July, Education Minister Margaret Sitta told a parliamentary session in Dodoma, the country's political capital, that the government would employ 14,490 primary and secondary school teachers to raise standards. She also said

Permits will also be issued by the government for about 600 expatriate teachers for privately owned primary and secondary schools.

Since free primary education was introduced in 2002, the Government has focused on improving the quality basic education in the country.

Ministry of Education records show that enrolment in primary schools increased from 4,839,361 in 2001 to 7,969,884 in 2006. This raised the net enrolment ratio in primary schools from 65.5% in 2001 to 96.1% in 2006.

This means that nearly all the children of primary school age are now enrolled in primary schools.

Pressure on secondary schools

The increased enrolment in primary schools has put more pressure on secondary schools to absorb those completing primary education. Enrolment in form one, the first year of secondary education, increased from 99,744 in 2003 to 243,359 in 2006.

Suleiman Sumra, a retired professor of education and researcher with Hakielimu, an NGO dealing with educational issues, said that while it was important to expand schools and enrol more pupils, the question of teachers should also be tackled.

When you cannot have everything and trade-offs have to be made, priority should be given to teachers over buildings.

During a debate on the education ministry's budgetary estimates, legislators praised the government's efforts to build primary and secondary schools over the past 10 years. However, they expressed concern over the shortage of competent teachers and teaching aids, as well as inadequate laboratories and libraries, especially in rural areas.

One legislator, Ponsiano Nyami, gave an example of a secondary school in his constituency with only one teacher - the headmaster. This teacher was forced to use the school's head-prefect as deputy and to carry out administrative duties, such as looking after visitors.

Teachers enjoy working at St Jude's because class sizes are limited, they have excellent teaching resources and there is mentoring and staff training.

St Jude's senior staff and leader trainees

Supporters of the School of St Jude know that their donations are going where they are needed most – to one of the poorest countries that is struggling to give its children an education that can lift the whole country out of extreme poverty.


Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Earthquake or volcano?

IRIN reports on the recent series of tremors in northern Tanzania.

Ol Doinyo Lengai last erupted in 1966

They report –

Livestock herders living near Ol Doinyo Lengai in northern Tanzania have abandoned pastures on the slopes of the mountain after tremors believed to be the result of volcanic activity, a government official said.

Local authorities have embarked on a disaster awareness campaign that focuses on what people should do in the event of a major earthquake and advises them to evacuate if the volcano erupts.

Check out the IRIN news item for more details.

European trade barriers are falling!

Switzerland is leading the way in removing tariffs and quotas on trade with Tanzania. At the same time, they are helping to build trade capacity within the country by funding local trade development programs.



These initiatives will help overcome two trade barriers –

• the restrictions of tariffs and quotas
• the barriers formed by food quality standards

This is part of the new wave of assistance and economic restructuring that will lift some African countries out of grinding poverty. This is the future that the kids at St Jude’s will inherit.

The Swiss government has removed all tariffs and quotas standing in the way of Tanzanian exports destined for Switzerland. The new regulations came into force in April 2007, and are expected to benefit a wide range of Tanzanian businesses trading in products such as flowers, cashew nuts and fish.

The capacity building programs include support to the cashew and coffee sectors at farmer level and assistance in boosting the processing sector for the crops, the aim being to increase the value of the exported products. Technical assistance is also being provided to the Tanzania Bureau of Standards to enhance its capacity for testing systems in line with internationally accepted standards, as it certifies potential export products.

A statement from the Swiss embassy in Tanzania noted:

The introduction of this zero duty initiative does not affect the requirement for Tanzanian exporters to satisfy Swiss product quality standards.

These measures show that Western countries now have a better understanding of the complexities of aid and economic development. Tariffs and quotas are not the only barriers to trade, so development aid is being given to build producer capacity and improve local governance so Tanzanian produce meets the requirements of European markets.

I hope to see a lot more initiatives like this over the coming months and years. We're seeing the will and the knowledge to make a difference at the individual level and at the systemic level.




Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Flamingos or washing soda?

Oh-oh! The flamingos are in trouble.



New Scientist reports that the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is concerned that Lake Natron in Tanzania is about to be ruined by plans to build a factory on its shore.

Lake Natron is a shallow, saline lake covered with a crust of salt, and is home to more than 500,000 lesser flamingos during the summer. That's 75% of the world’s breeding population. The lake has also been the lesser flamingo's only nesting site in East Africa for 45 years.

According to the RSPB, an Indian company called TATA Chemicals has set its sights on Lake Natron's unusual waters and is planning to build a factory on its shore to pump the salty water and produce sodium carbonate (washing soda). The factory will be powered by a new coal-driven power station, and the developers also want to introduce a hybrid shrimp to the lake to increase the water's salinity.

Hmmmm... this sounds altogether not-good, right down to the coal powered electricity generation. The flamingo isn't just another little brown bird, or one of those small frogs that Australian conservationists get all excited about. It is one of the most amazing creatures on the planet!!

How can we value flamingos versus washing soda?

Now, that's a hard one!

Here is a Google Earth image showing Arusha, Lake Natron AND the location of the recent earthquakes (Ol Doinyo Lengai region – that's the little yellow triangle symbol on the left of the image – you can click on the image for a bigger version). The yellow line is the border with Kenya. Arusha is at the bottom, near the little yellow triangle signifying Mt Meru.

How is that for cartographic efficiency!!



UPDATE NOVEMBER 2007: The Tanzanian Government refused permission for the factory. It's good to see they have an eye on the long term benefit of environmental protection.

Tuesday earthquake

NOTE: Updates at the end of this post.

The United States Geological Survey reports a series of earthquakes in the Arusha region.

The centre of the quakes is about 100km north west of Arusha. They have registered magnitudes of about 5 or 6. That's about equivalent to a 30 kiloton nuclear explosion, according to the British Geological Survey. As a comparison, the recent earthquake in Japan that killed 9, injured 900 and displaced 10,000 was magnitude 6.8.

I think I'll take a look on Google Earth and see what that part of the country is like. It may be part of a national park, or it may be farmland. I'd like to find out more about the impact of these earthquakes in northern Tanzania.

UPDATE: News reports note that the earthquake tremors have been felt in Nairobi, but there are no reports of personal injuries or property damage. The Global Disaster and Alert Coordination System has rated it an Orange Alert - i.e. 'medium'.

IRIN (18 July) has some more details here.

A look at Google Earth reveals that the earthquakes are in the Lake Natron region, around the volacno, Ol Doinyo Lengai, as seen on the left of the this picture (click to enlarge). Arusha is at the bottom, near Mt Meru, and the yellow line is the border with Kenya.


UPDATE: The Daily News reports (18 July):

A POWERFUL earthquake shook western Arusha city yesterday, causing buildings to sway and sending thousands of people fleeing into streets.

No damage or injuries were immediately reported from the tremor that measured 6.0 on the Richter scale. It occurred at around 5pm, just as people were going back home for the evening and night.

The Director General of the Tanzania Meteorological Agency, Dr Mohamed Mhita, confirmed the earthquake, the third in three days and after several years of inactivity in an area dotted by extinct and dormant volcanoes, including the Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak. “The quake follows movements on the Great Rift Valley,” he added. The Valley is a fault line cutting through the middle of Africa from south to the Mediterranean Sea.

The quake was also felt in Nairobi and some parts of Dar es Salaam, he said. It lasted about a minute. The quake was also reported by the United States Geological Survey.

“A strong earthquake occurred this evening,” said Arusha Regional Police Commander, Basilio Matei over the phone. “I felt it myself in the office,” he added. The acting spokesman of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Mr Danford Mpumilwa, said that staffs were evacuated from the court’s building located at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC). ICTR is trying the key perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda under a United Nations mandate.

Staff of the East African Community and private occupants of the building also scampered out as the powerful quake rattled the town, hub of the country’s northern tourist circuit. "This is the highest magnitude ever recorded in the region for very long," said Mr Walter Maeda, a hotelier, who was at the roof top of his hotel and saw tables “dancing”.