Kuangalia, Kujifunza, Kupanda

To watch, to learn, to grow...we're doing it every day! Scott and Sue Augustine had the opportunity to see what's growing at Peace House Academy when they visited this week. The absolutely gorgeous greenery was thanks to incredible amounts of rain. One of the puddles on the road coming in was over the bottom of our Landcruiser's doors! Mucking boots were a necessity, but the views (of Meru, when the clouds cleared) and the rest of the buildings was well worth the mess!


Nope, not some ancient ruins...just the student dorms on the rise. Each dorm room will house 8 students, with rooms for a warden/matron (the term here for the dorm monitor). There are small courtyards and lounges as well for students to do some studying or hanging out. Actually, I think it will be interesting to watch how students here "hang out" and whether it looks like the way students hang out back in Minnesota.




All of Peace House Academy is great, of course, but the dining hall may just be the nicest building on campus (now, I'm saying that without the actual classrooms being done) but it really is beautiful. In fact, a number of people have commented on the size of our "chapel" not realizing it's the dining hall. The interesting roofline was a change to allow more floor space (somehow, it's a construction thing I don't really understand) but I do understand how great it looks!

From the inside you can get a feel of how light and spacious it feels. On the upper left you can see a row of windows that let in light, not to mention the large windows and doors. The best part about the space is it is a dining hall, a performance center, a chapel, a meeting space, a dance hall...the possibilities are endless. So many buildings here are dark and low and bleak...this one just feels so good!




Back at the heart of the school, which are the actual classrooms...this is one of the science rooms. The small wall at the back will eventually separate the sto rage/lab prep area from the classroom. What I love the most about the classrooms (aside from the size) is again, the size of the windows and the amount of light that gets into each room. We've seen classrooms with just the tiniest windows that hardly let in any light or air. The science classrooms are double the size of the other rooms to allow for science tables and movement for labs, etc.



Lame joke time--here's one of PHA's biggest supporters...literally! Get it? He's a supporter but it looks like he's actually supporting the beam!

OK, there's a reason for the delete key, but for some reason I'm opting not to use it. Now, I'm not sure what to say...

Except that Scott looks a little happy, doesn't he? Kind of how we look whenever we visit the site. Kind of how you'll look when you finally realize you've actually arrived in TANZANIA!




Isaya is our gardening/landscaping genius...so hardworking, so committed, so knowledgeable. What a coincidence! So is Sue! The two of them really spent a lot of time time going over the 26,000 trees he's planted, the hundreds of fruit trees in the orchard, the nursery, and all the plans for the PHA site to make it healthy and beautiful. Isaya's been possibly just about the best thing about the PHA construction project!





Isaya's been so great about doing so
much without spending lots and lots of cash. Most of the plantings done so far have been cuttings or seedlings he's raised or had donated by local businesses. This little nursery, put together by Project 640, is filled with tons of small plantings of all sizes, waiting for their moment. He's also growing grass in another section (grass here grows by spreading, rather than from seed) so that it's ready to grow in an actual yard.



Arusha is pretty arid. Lots of succulents grow here. The rain patterns and soil type provide the perfectly worst combination for erosion. Much of growing success is dependent upon factors beyond human control. Be that as it may, when you have the ability to water things, they will GROW! This little acacia was 8 inches tall back in July. We are watering regularly to ensure that all the plantings have a good start before leaving them to thrive naturally. It's hard to believe--but encouraging, as the site is very hot and dry in January/February/March, so the faster the shade can arrive, the better!












This "little" tree was planted last February--yep, less than 1 year ago--when it was less than 12 inches tall. It's now close to 9 feet! Can you believe it?!



(Another great thing about Isaya is that, because of him, we don't have to worry about any of the landscaping stuff, which is good because we're both of us completely novices in the gardening world!)




As we were leaving I happened to catch a Maasai on the top of the hill. What a contrast between an ancient past and a vision of the future. The Maasai are a particularly vulnerable group; in many ways, their situation mirrors that of Native Americans in the 19th century. What does the future hold for these and other marginalized Tanzanians? It is our hope that PHA will provide the means for students to answer that question in new and innovative ways.