PHS Update

I haven't had much to say on the PHS front lately, have I? Students went home for the end-of-year break on December 7th. We determined that all of the students were able to go home to their families. Our social worker and headmistress met with those that had concerns and visited the families and students over the break. We expect all of them to return on January 14 for the first day of the new school year. Students will be beginning Form 1, the first year of secondary school. This brings new subjects taught by the new teachers that have been hired.

Applications have been sent out and exams are being scheduled for the next round of student selection. Those of you who have been reading know that this is a hugely important yet very time-consuming process to determine that only the neediest students are admitted to PHS. This year we will be doing the selection while operating the school, which adds a new (and now ongoing) dimension to juggling all the things that need to be done! We expect to have the selection done in time to provide a much longer "pre-Form" preparation for this next group of 120 students.

Construction--continues. December is a time when just about everything slows down as people take their annual leaves. In addition to standard holidays, Tanzanian workers are allowed 28 consecutive days off. Many are not always able to take the full 28 days at one time, but many do and often the bulk of that time is taken in December.

We continue to look forward to visitors and volunteers that bring their talents and enthusiasm to the project. Dana, a PHF board member, and his wife are joining us for a few weeks in January. We have a group visiting from Luther College (go NORSE!) this week and 3 nurses at the end of the month doing health screening and hygeine instruction. We have an ESL teacher from New Mexico for 3 days also coming the end of January or early February who will be doing some teacher training on improving English skills in content areas.

Project 640 will be returning for another week of work in February. We hope to see our good friend Brad, a retired school administrator, this spring as well for more teacher training and some help with student selection.

This summer we'll host another week of teachers as well as a few guys from Duke University who will be working on extracurricular and sports activities with the students. Pastor Bob from Peace Lutheran Church and his family will also be visiting and working this summer.

We also have several "maybes" in the works. Whew!

Gina Goodgame, Max's wife, has joined the PHS team here in Tanzania. She will be taking over the volunteer coordination. She has had considerable experience working here in TZ with volunteers with Young Life and is a terrific addition to the project here. I'll be spending more time doing things on the teaching side, assisting with administrative tasks, and continuing with work on the library. I'll stay more involved with volunteers and groups that have a specific educational focus.

As always, KARIBUNI! We'd love to have you!