A Look Back At 2017

It’s been quite the year for us. One of the biggest changes we experienced this past year is our new look.

Starting the year off as JBFC, we are now known as Mainsprings, with an entirely new look and feel to our organization. However, as always, we are still true to our namesake and mission of alleviating extreme rural poverty in Tanzania-one child, one community at a time.

But, the new look is not all that happened at Mainsprings this year. We are here to serve our children and communities, and so many exciting developments happened these past twelve months. As we close out this year, it’s hard to remember everything that has happened in Tanzania, but we would like to highlight a few accomplishments that YOU helped us achieve:

* We continued to have 100% pass rate on our 7th grade national exam

* We graduated our third class from secondary school

* We harvested of 36 TONS of fresh produce and built a wonderful new greenhouse on our flagship campus

* Our farm saw the births of and raised hundreds of chickens, pigs, sheep, and bunnies

* Our school continued to educate and feed 400 students daily

* Our clinic provided healthcare to more than 1,000 community members

* We established a permaculture program on our second campus

* We employed more than 80 East Africans

* We hosted 107 volunteers on our flagship campus

 * We continued to provide a loving home to more than 55 vulnerable girls

* And we supported 12 girls in higher education

As we look back, we are in awe at what is happening. This movement is truly changing the lives of thousands of individuals in Tanzania because of YOUR support.

We look forward to doing even more in 2018 and hope you have a very Happy New Year! We will see you next year…

7th Grade Graduation 2017

On Friday, October 13th, 2017, Mainsprings and the Joseph and Mary Schools celebrated the graduation of our 7th class of primary school students. This year, 16 girls and 14 boys sat for their national exams and graduated from the 7th Grade at the Joseph and Mary Primary School. This class included four residential girls- Zai, Salome, Vene, and Rachel- from Bibi Mimi's Girls Home.

The ceremony, which was planned by our Dean of Students, Mr. Samo, and the Joseph and Mary School Committee, took place in the school dining hall from 10:00AM until 1:00PM. The event was attended by various government officials and community leaders, including our village chairperson, Ward Education Officer, District Social Welfare Officer, and the District Sports Officer, among others.

As with any good Tanzanian ceremony, the event featured nearly two full hours of entertainment. Students from preschool through 6th grade performed various skits, poems, and songs to wish the graduates well. Bibi Mimi's residential girls Neema, Happy, Leticia, and Zai performed an incredible rendition of Alicia Keys' "Girl On Fire." Zai, sitting at the graduates' table, made a dramatic stage-left entrance while singing, taking the whole dining hall by surprise.

The grand finale of entertainment was a first-ever fashion show put on by Joseph and Mary Secondary School students. The fashion show featured students wearing different types of dress depicting various aspects of Tanzanian culture. The last two students, wearing a suit and a wedding dress and having a mock wedding ceremony, received roaring applause from the other students, parents, invited guests, Mainsprings staff, and the Guest of Honor. Following the fashion show, the Guest of Honor, Magu District Director, Lutengano Mwalwiba, requested an encore performance of "Girl On Fire" with the students in their fashion show outfits.

After the entertainment, various members of our school's leadership team spoke about the history of the school, challenges facing our community, and giving advice to the soon-to-be secondary students. The Honorable Mr. Mwalwiba spoke directly to the students, advising them to listen to their parents and role models, value the education they are receiving at Joseph and Mary, to work hard, and avoid bad groups of friends. Mr. Mwalwiba also praised the holistic approach and services that Mainsprings is doing and promised to lend his full support to our efforts. Lastly, Mr. Mwalwiba spoke to the importance of educating girls in our community and giving girls equal support to boys.

Following the speeches, members of Mainsprings leadership team, government officials and community leaders handed out "superlative" awards to various graduates for achievements in academics, leadership, sports, activism, etc. The highlight of the day, of course, was the giving of the diplomas. Mainsprings Administrative Director Melinda Wulf, Campus Director-Kahunda Mr. Lyimo, and C.O.O. Seth Diemond, joined Magu's District Director Mr. Mwalwiba to hand out the diplomas certifying the graduates' achievements. Congratulations to all of them!

What would a graduation be without food? Following the ceremony, nearly 700 students, staff, and visitors enjoyed a meal of rice, beans, pilau, meat, vegetables, and soda before heading to Papa's Cafe and Bungalows for pictures! It was a great day for all!

Guest Blogger, Seth Diemond, is Mainsprings' COO in Tanzania. 

Graduation Day

Anyone who has ever planned an outdoor celebration of any sort shares one fear- rain. And, that’s exactly how our graduation day started. Rain, rain, and more rain. In fact, it was the biggest storm we had seen in months and it didn’t look like it was going to quit anytime soon. But, that didn’t stop our students, staff, and volunteers from making this year’s 7th grade graduation, the fourth since Joseph & Mary Schools opened in 2010, one of the most memorable ones to date.



Markus (pictured below in the yellow-patterned shirt), our assistant campus manager, was the first to arrive at campus for the big day. He was working by 6:30AM after only leaving at 9PM the night before. He had volunteered to be the decorating committee- and boy did he go above and beyond. Long pieces of cloth were draped from the ceilings, hundreds of balloons transformed our spacious school dining hall, and local kangas (brightly colored African cloth) covered the tables where special guests and graduates sat. It should also be mentioned that Markus was so dedicated to making the dining hall look amazing for our graduates, that he donated almost $100 of his own money to the cause- a MAJOR gift.

Mama Maggie, our girls’ home manager, was in charge of the food for the special celebration. And, despite the rain, she had her entire staff were ready to roll by 7AM. Charcoal and firewood lit, these ladies (and Paulo) worked in the pouring rain, not caring as to whether or not they were getting soaked in the process. They served almost every Tanzanian delicacy they could think of- rice, pilau (spiced rice), beans, beef, chicken, fruit salad, and of course, SODA.

And, then, only an hour late (amazing by Tanzanian standards on a normal day), we started the ceremony. The graduates walked into the hall- well, actually, they danced in unison as they processed in front of their classmates, teachers, parents and friends. They took their seats, and the ceremony was on its way.


After an opening prayer, it was time see some special skits prepared for the graduates by their younger classmates. There were some poems- both Swahili and English- encouraging the graduates to always value the education they have received and warning them about stopping their education now. There were some plays, with lots of laughs, warning the graduates to always stay focused in their life or they can lose their way (much of Swahili wisdom is passed down through plays and stories). And, there were some songs and dances- just for a little fun to keep the party going!

Some boring speeches were given (by me), and the certificates where passed out as the graduates walked across the stage. There were 9 graduates in total- 7 of whom where either scholarship students or JBFC girls. While it is our smallest graduating class to date, we are incredibly confident in their academic ability and so happy to continue our tradition of success at Joseph and Mary Schools. One in five Tanzanian children who enroll in primary school don’t make it to graduation (World Bank, 2012) like our Joseph & Mary kids did.


However, as a parent, I was most proud of our JBFC girls for sweeping up some pretty amazing awards! All four of the JBFC girls in the 7th grade picked up an award, and they included:

Leticia (pictured second from right)- Academic Award

Jackie (pictured far left)- Leadership Award

Teddy (pictured second from left)- Cleanliness Award

Happy (pictured on right)- Singer/Musical Award




A closing prayer ended the official ceremony, but the party didn’t stop there. There was about an hour of picture taking, laughing, and congratulations, then food, and then (of course), an all school dance party that lasted for another 4 hours!

All in all, it was a great day, ending with some beautiful weather and some very happy kids!








Blogger Chris Gates is JBFC's Founder & CEO. He started Joseph & Mary Schools in 2010. This is their fourth 7th grade graduation.

JBFC Difference: School Clubs

 

I recently wrote about the excitement of opening a new school year at JBFC and Joseph and Mary Schools and the promise for the future that comes with that. This excitement is shared across Tanzania, if not the world. However, there is something that we do at JBFC and Joseph and
Mary Schools that sets us apart from education in the rest of Tanzania- school clubs.

In my five years of working with schools, NGO's, and students in Tanzania, I have very rarely come across school clubs that actually meet- extra-curricular activities that are an integral part of our
development into well-rounded, well-educated, capable, leaders in America. These activities are even more important in Tanzania where a strict curriculum and a lack of access to resources, information, and tools stunt interest and make it hard for students to gain the knowledge and skills that are often found outside of an official curriculum.

This year, Chris, Melinda, and I will be partnering with our Tanzanian teachers to pass on their knowledge, interests, and skills to students outside of the traditional classroom setting.

This year's clubs will include:

1st Grade English Competition

-Our pre-school through 3rd grade students will be participating in English games and competitions every Friday to improve their basic understanding of the English language.

-Chris and one of our science teachers, Mr. Cornelly, will be leading a poly-culture club to pass along to our students the skills that our poly-culture experts have taught us. They will be learning techniques in sustainable agriculture, methods to be self-reliant as they become young adults, and the joy that comes with working on a farm to provide your own food.

Budding Young Journalists

 

 

-Melinda will be co-leading a journalism club that will eventually produce a school newspaper and a year book and in the process improve our students' writing skills.

Neema R during Debate Club

-Mr. Freddrick and I will be co-leading a debate and current events club that will pass along our passion and knowledge of world events to our students and train them in speaking in front of groups, sharing ideas, and the importance of valuing different perspectives and viewpoints.

Debate Club trying not to laugh during tongue twisters



Jonas laughing during Drama Club




 

-A reading club led by our librarian, Mr. Simon, will involve students in reading groups and book clubs to improve their reading and comprehension skills. The ability to read in English and to appreciate the value of books is an integral part of educating the next generation of Tanzanian leaders.


-Other teachers will be leading clubs in arts and crafts, music, and drama.

Something so often taken for granted in America and often under-appreciated is helping us revolutionize and re-define education in Tanzania and in our effort to create well rounded, well-informed, global leaders.

Blogger Seth Diemond is JBFC's Campus Director.

JBFC's Teacher Training

Editor's Note: Last week, we told you some exciting news - our Form 2 students (US equivalent 9th grade), in their first year to sit for the Tanzanian national exams, passed with flying colors outscoring every other Form 2 student in our district. This week's blog from Administrative Director Melinda Wulf talks about the foundation JBFC lays to make that kind of student success possible. And it all starts with our teachers.

 Each year, we spend the two weeks before school starts hosting a teacher development. This is an opportunity that teachers at other schools in Tanzania don’t have. We use our own experience, and bring in experts and materials to help our teachers learn and grow as educators.


This year we are lucky enough to have an educator specializing in literacy with us, Tracy Todd.
Tracy’s background, along with materials provided to us by Sarah Lawrence College’s Childhood Development Institute, helped kick this year’s teacher development off on a strong note.

Day one included a discussion with the teachers about taking your classroom outside and learning from nature and the environment around us. I can’t think of a better atmosphere to implement a program like that.

Thinking back to my grade school experience, the most exotic animal we had exposure to was a third grader's pet porcupine that was brought in for show and tell. The only flowers we had on the playground were dandelions.



These kids have rows of banana trees to learn from, fences lined with passion fruit, and eggplants the size of your head. They get to witness the birth of baby pigs, pluck a chicken, and learn anatomy from a butchered cow.

On day two of teacher development, we had a discussion about values and setting good examples for the students. As we discussed a key value, cooperation, one of our secondary teachers Mr. Cornelly piped up with a suggestion.

We could show the students a bee hive and talk about how the bees work together as a group to create honey. It was a simple suggestion, but it was exciting to see the message from the day before stick with the teachers.

I talked to the teachers at Joseph and Mary about the school clubs we want to have this upcoming school year. Permaculture is a huge initiative at JBFC, not only does it help sustain us, but it teaches our kids skills they can use later in life to provide for their families. So, of course we want to have a permaculture club, no 80s pop band pun intended.

Again, Mr. Cornelly was very excited about the potential of teaching agriculture in the classroom, and then taking them outside to see it in nature. To allow the students to experience it firsthand, rather than read or be told about it is one of the great benefits of JBFC.


We are hopeful these teachings, plans and discussions will carry into the classrooms and ultimately provide an incredible educational experience for our students- one that would otherwise be unattainable in Tanzania!
















Blogger Melinda Wulf is JBFC's Administrative Director.

Back to School

January is a special month all across Tanzania- schools open for the year, students, some for the first time, dress in red, blue, green,  yellow, orange, or white uniforms with polished black shoes and head off to their first day. Textbooks are assigned, though paper-back, are covered by students in newspaper or paper-bags and doodled on just  as they are in the states. Parents, at least those who can afford it, send their children off to school with new clothes, new supplies, and a bit of pride (and maybe a tear!) just as mothers and fathers across America do.

On Monday we opened school for the year at JBFC's Joseph and Mary Schools. As JBFC administrators, Chris, Melinda, and I all got to spend a moment as proud parents as we sent the JBFC girls, gleaming in their uniforms and sporting new back-packs, off to their first day of school. This is a special moment for students and parents alike- my mother still (jokingly) sends me messages saying "I hope you get the teacher you wanted!" (she did this on Monday).






This year it hit hard. It is one of those moments that JBFC's impact on our girls is most noticeable. If
it wasn't for JBFC, these girls would never get to experience this day- the excitement of a new teacher, their own notebook, and the hope for the future that comes with education. I hope, and am confident, that the JBFC girls will remember this day in the future as something a bit special.




We ended last year on an exciting note. In Tanzania, 4th graders, 7th graders, and Form 2 students (9th grade), all take national standardized tests to determine if they are eligible to move on to the next grade.  Passing is not a guarantee- in fact, in most of Tanzania, the majority of students fail. At Joseph and Mary, 100% of our students (many of them JBFC residential girls) passed in 4th grade, 7th grade, and Form 2, an amazing feat. Proud we are.

 This year brings plenty of excitement of its own. Those amazing Form 2 students have now moved on and become our first ever form three class and are well on their way to graduating. Last year's 7th graders have now moved on to form one, becoming our newest batch of high-schoolers.

Eight adorable children have come to school for the very first time as pre-schoolers (pictured napping, all except for Esther). After two weeks of intensive professional development, our teachers (some new, some old), are more prepared and eager than ever to train the next generation of leaders.




 We are confident that come December, as we close another year at Joseph and Mary, we will have many more exciting announcements in our fight to provide and improve education in the places where education is needed the most.










Blogger Seth Diemond is JBFC's Campus Director.