Saturday, September 10, 2005
This past week I taught two classes that felt useful and rewarding. But I finished the week with a class that just wasn’t interested, to the point where I walked out before I even began teaching. It was the last period of the day which is always a challenge, and even more so now, when everything is still rather unsettled. By now about half the student body has returned.
***
About two months ago I worked with Christopher Malengo, a student who left school last year because he couldn’t pay school fees to continue. Christopher was considerably older than his classmates – he got a late start in school because both his parents died and his grandmother wasn’t much interested in his education. But he is mature, intelligent, and has a pleasing personality. I got him to write a resume of sorts and coached him on how to conduct a job search and handle a job interview.
At the Rotary Club meeting last Tuesday I got Anand to agree to talk with him, to maybe – or maybe not - offer him training in sales. I had to track Christopher down to the Primary School where he is keeping busy as a volunteer teacher to tell him about his interview. Today, as I was waiting for a daladala he saw me and came over, all excited, to tell me about his interview which he felt went well. He doesn’t have a job offer yet, but the prospects look good.
***
Back in April I had visited my friend Gunje Morrison, who had been promoted to Headmaster ‘way out in the boondocks near the border with Burundi and Rwanda. It is a very poor area, but I’d been surprised by the extensive eucalyptus forests out there. When I got back to Mwanza, I did a brief internet survey on eucalyptus, then wrote to Gunje to see if there would be interest in possibly exploiting the forests to harvest eucalyptus oil. He just called me to say that he had given the letter to a friend who misplaced it until a few days ago, but yes there was lots of interest.
Now, over a year ago I’d written to Dr. Gerry Hertel, a Forest Ecologist & Entomologist, after his work in Kenya was written up in our African newspaper, just because his home base is West Chester University practically next door to my Sister in Downingtown PA. So I renewed that contact and requested his advice. He replied right away, putting me in touch with several eucalyptus experts in Tanzania and Kenya. What a break! It even turns out that one of the experts is based in Morogoro where, incredibly, I will be next week to assist the Peace Corps in planning the pre-service training for the next batch of Peace Corps volunteers.
Until we know more, this venture has to be considered a long shot. There are some 500 species of eucalyptus and only a few of them are commercially useful for oil. But since eucalyptus is not native to East Africa, maybe whoever introduced the trees knew what they were doing. Hopefully we can either kill the idea or confirm its promise quickly. Considering my schedule, I can’t do much more than identify some initial steps and maybe make some connections to help people get started.
Somehow, all kinds of things seem to be popping, just as I am getting involved in the process of getting out of here.
***
About two months ago I worked with Christopher Malengo, a student who left school last year because he couldn’t pay school fees to continue. Christopher was considerably older than his classmates – he got a late start in school because both his parents died and his grandmother wasn’t much interested in his education. But he is mature, intelligent, and has a pleasing personality. I got him to write a resume of sorts and coached him on how to conduct a job search and handle a job interview.
At the Rotary Club meeting last Tuesday I got Anand to agree to talk with him, to maybe – or maybe not - offer him training in sales. I had to track Christopher down to the Primary School where he is keeping busy as a volunteer teacher to tell him about his interview. Today, as I was waiting for a daladala he saw me and came over, all excited, to tell me about his interview which he felt went well. He doesn’t have a job offer yet, but the prospects look good.
***
Back in April I had visited my friend Gunje Morrison, who had been promoted to Headmaster ‘way out in the boondocks near the border with Burundi and Rwanda. It is a very poor area, but I’d been surprised by the extensive eucalyptus forests out there. When I got back to Mwanza, I did a brief internet survey on eucalyptus, then wrote to Gunje to see if there would be interest in possibly exploiting the forests to harvest eucalyptus oil. He just called me to say that he had given the letter to a friend who misplaced it until a few days ago, but yes there was lots of interest.
Now, over a year ago I’d written to Dr. Gerry Hertel, a Forest Ecologist & Entomologist, after his work in Kenya was written up in our African newspaper, just because his home base is West Chester University practically next door to my Sister in Downingtown PA. So I renewed that contact and requested his advice. He replied right away, putting me in touch with several eucalyptus experts in Tanzania and Kenya. What a break! It even turns out that one of the experts is based in Morogoro where, incredibly, I will be next week to assist the Peace Corps in planning the pre-service training for the next batch of Peace Corps volunteers.
Until we know more, this venture has to be considered a long shot. There are some 500 species of eucalyptus and only a few of them are commercially useful for oil. But since eucalyptus is not native to East Africa, maybe whoever introduced the trees knew what they were doing. Hopefully we can either kill the idea or confirm its promise quickly. Considering my schedule, I can’t do much more than identify some initial steps and maybe make some connections to help people get started.
Somehow, all kinds of things seem to be popping, just as I am getting involved in the process of getting out of here.
