Our first week in Zanzibar has been incredibly busy! Last Tuesday we returned to Ben Bella where we met with the Form V and form VI girls to discuss the scholarship with them, and if any areas could be improved. Many of the girls asked if we would be able to provide money for them to attend college. We had a hard time telling them that at this point in time the organization doesn’t have enough money to do so, especially because the girls’ desire to learn and do well was so apparent. Lulu, a form VI scholar, really touched me when she described to me why she wanted to go to college. She said she wanted to do the best she could in school so that she could get a good job and support herself without having to depend on anyone else. She said her mother depends on her right now to make money for the family and she doesn’t want to be in that position when she’s older.
After speaking with the form V and VI girls, we met with prospective S4Si scholars in form II who the teacher’s agreed demonstrated high need and high achievement. Their English was not as good as the older students so we struggled to explain the scholarship to them. With the help of one of their teachers (and some Swahili!), they were able to understand the situation and were incredibly excited and grateful. We worked with them to plan interview times and headed back to Zakiya’s, exhausted from a long day of work!
On Wednesday, we took the day to organize and plan for the rest of the week. Earlier in the week we had discovered that Africa House, a hotel on the island, has free wireless internet, so we headed in that direction to take advantage of this precious commodity, and to relax for a little bit before hitting the ground running on Thursday.
On Thursday, our local friend, Moody, helped us find Lumumba Secondary School which is named after the Congolese freedom fighter, Patrick Lumumba. Many of the schools in Zanzibar are named after freedom fighters, including Ben Bella, which we thought was pretty neat. The walk to Lumumba was very long and hot, but we saw a different side of Zanzibar than we had before, one with cows, chickens, and much more poverty than that which exists in Stonetown. It was incredibly eye opening, and in many ways, very sad.
We finally arrived at Lumumba and were greeted very warmly by the headmaster and Muhaymina, a teacher who has taken on the role of an advisor for the S4Si girls in the school. After speaking with the headmaster about schools costs, we met with our current S4Si girls to discuss the scholarship and then met with prospective form II girls. Muhaymina was so helpful in explaining the scholarship to the girls in form II and also in helping us organize interview times – she’s a great role model for the girls and an S4Si resource for which we are incredibly grateful!
On Friday, we continued on to the Zanzibar Commercial School where Delta Sigma Pi, the business fraternity at UNC-CH ,sponsors one new girl every year. At ZCS, we spoke with the headmaster about updating costs, and then met with the current and prospective S4Si scholars. The headmaster was very excited that the girls were being given this opportunity and urged us to sponsor more ZCS girls in the future. It was endearing to see how much he cares about the education of his students, and we had a hard time explaining that we usually only sponsor one girl from ZCS every year. We wish we could sponsor everyone!
This past weekend, we took a break to travel and see the island a little bit more. After seeing dolphins, monkeys and lots of local spices, we felt rested and ready to get back to work this week. Stay tuned!
Women perform 66 percent of the world’s work, and produce 50 percent of the food, yet earn only 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent of the property.