The First PHS Field Trip

Field trips are the norm in the States. Here at the kids' school Cameron, Noah, and Ava go on some pretty amazing trips--Ngorongoro Crater, the Indian Ocean, a Maasai village. But Tanzanian students rarely get to go on a field trip. So a chance to climb on a bus to visit the Snake Park was a huge treat for our students at PHS. They did a great job and were very brave, considering how Tanzanians are deathly afraid of snakes! In addition to this trip, they also spent a day working in a nearby village to finish a road. It was very hard work, and we were very proud that all 120 student participated in their first service project on behalf of PHS. They had an opportunity to see first hand that their efforts can make a difference to others!

We are always so happy when we see them turned out so nicely in their uniforms! They were so proud to get them the day that President Kikwete visited and have done a great job of taking care of their things. They left for their end of year break on December 7th and will return mid-January to begin their first year of secondary school. They all made tremendous progress in the 12 weeks of pre-form preparation in terms of improving their English (some of them spoke almost no English when they arrived) and their overall sense of security and confidence in being able to attend school. Most of them have returned home to their families and were very excited to see them again. For many of them, leaving to come to school was the first time they had been away from home or out of their village, and there was a lot of homesickness the first weeks of school as students adjusted to being away from families. It has been an ongoing reminder that so many of our students do come from families that love them and want the best for them, but don't have the resources to provide for them. Some did come from homes where they were treated very poorly and worked as servants, but we learned that even though a child had very little in terms of basic necessities, they weren't thrown away. There was simply not enough--food, clothing, money, time--to go around. Their families won't recognize them after 12 weeks of good food and generous portions at that!

PHS has amibitious expectations for its students. We aim to be the best school in Tanzania. That's a good thing, I think. But as anyone can tell you, working with children is rarely a linear process. You can't do x and y and automatically get z. There are few guarantees and a tremendous amount of patience is required to see the final results. Sometimes you never see them--students come and leave and never return.

Teaching is a faith-based profession, even if you don't believe in God. You have to believe that what you are doing today makes a difference, that you are effecting a change that may not be realized for a long time, knowing that you may never understand your true impact. That's why we don't celebrate a grand ambition as much as we celebrate the ordinary, yet momentous, moments in these students' lives. Like every other student in the world, they are typical, yet extraordinary. They are beginning to define themselves, not by what they've lost, but by what they can achieve and accomplish. Who they will be in 4-6 years when they leave PHS is a work in progress. We are so priveleged to be witness to what they will do.