Hampton, Nida and I have begun the interview process! It’s pretty scary – we’re interviewing about 50 girls and can only select 8 for the scholarship. I knew this selection would be the most difficult part of the trip for me, although it’s also exciting; we’ve finally begun the process of the main reason for our coming to Zanzibar.
It’s going to be tough. Already, I see that we have so many capable and intelligent girls from whom to choose. It’s interesting: some applications are fantastic, while other girls have very strong speaking skills, and we always have to keep in mind the language barrier, as English is no one’s first language. It’s been heartbreaking hearing from girls that right now, their parents can’t afford to pay for their textbooks, most of which cost about 1000 Tanzanian shillings (TSH), which amounts to less than 70 cents each. Despite my extensive complaints about our $100 or more textbooks at UNC, I still manage to buy all of the ones I need, knowing that I would have no chance of success without them. As a result, I cook instead of going out to dinner; it’s not a choice for me to either have textbooks or eat, like some of these students.
We also met with our three mentors and (almost) all of our scholars all together! It was incredible to see these girls immediately open up to their mentors, and it was good for us, as they felt more comfortable voicing their concerns in Swahili than English. Hampton, Nida and I beamed; I think for all of us, this meeting was definitely a realization that S4Si made the right choice in hiring our mentors. We in the United States will have much more regular communication with our girls, resulting in a better use of our money and resources, and our girls will have an added support system, something that many of them have said they appreciate and need.
I can’t believe a month has already gone by since I have been in Zanzibar, and I have less than a month left! So much to do, so much to see before I leave! I have met some unbelievable people since I’ve been here, and I’m going to have a lot of trouble saying goodbye. They’re already talking about how much they’ll miss us!
We’ll blog once we’ve selected our new scholars, and I’m so excited to get to know even more girls in our interviews during the rest of this week!
-Alison
S4Si has invested more than $70,000 in education since July 2005.