Nainokanoka Teachers’ House

Written by Eliza Hatch
On Saturday, January 19th, the village of Nainokanoka held a dedication ceremony for the 2-in-1 teachers’ house FoTZC built for Nainokanoka Primary School. The guest of honor at the ceremony was the Member of Parliament for the area.

The ceremony was incredible. We were all seated at a table facing the new house, and a few hundred Maasai were there for the ceremony. We were welcomed with a Maasai blessing and a speech by the Ward Councilor, who told us that the District Commissioner, the District Executive Director, and the District Education Officer would also be stopping by, as they had other business nearby. This was quite a bit more than we bargained for!

The ceremony included traditional songs and dances by Maasai women and school children, as well as a Maasai warriors dance. The politicians all spoke, and then the community gave us all gifts – bracelets, necklaces, and Maasai blankets. Judi Wineland and I presented a plaque to dedicate the houses, and then Mr. Telele, the Member of Parliament officially unlocked the door. Once inside, the Headmaster presented us with certificates from the school. Judi spoke to the school children about the importance of education in creating better lives for themselves. The ceremony ended with a final speech by the Ward Councilor, asking FoTZC to do more at the school. He told us that the school is ranked second in the entire district, which is quite impressive. The whole event lasted about three and a half hours. It was an amazing experience and both wonderful and strange to be honored in this way by a community. I’ve included a few photos from the ceremony here.

The images above are of a Maasai women’s song, the guests at the dedication, and a Maasai Warriors dance at the Nainokanoka Primary School dedication ceremony.

FoTZC Staff Visits Tanzania

On January 16th, Eliza, our Director of Development and Operations, left for two months in Tanzania. While she is there, she will be visiting FoTZC projects and meeting with local politicians, village leaders, parents, students, and headmasters. She will also begin working on the medical dispensary in Loliondo, by conducting a health needs assessment of the communities it will serve.

The dispensary will serve roughly 6,000 Maasai, and little is known about the local health problems. Eliza will conduct focus groups and interviews with the local population to identify not only the biggest health issues in the area, but also what the local population perceives the biggest health issues to be.

She will post stories and photos on the blog along the way, so stay tuned for more updates!

The Focus and Our New Film

We have two exciting things to report at FoTZC! First, The Focus, our annual newsletter, was delivered to mailboxes over the past few weeks. The format was a bit different this year, and we hope you enjoyed the additional information and photos! We were thrilled to be able to share more of what we’re doing through this longer piece.

Second, we are proud to announce that we have released a new film showcasing some of our recent projects. Please watch the film below and send us your comments – we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Support FoTZC this year by giving a gift in honor of a loved one! We will send them a card acknowledging your generous contribution in their honor as well as a gift acknowledgement letter to you for tax purposes. This is a wonderful gift for the holidays!

Farewell to Farish Jenkins

Much has been written about Farish Jenkins since he passed away on November 11th. He was a celebrated paleontologist, a highly-regarded Harvard professor, a loving husband and father, and a great supporter of FoTZC, but most importantly, Farish was one of the kindest men I’ve ever known.

I wish I could have been present in the stories that have been written recently about Farish – drawing bones and muscles on his suit to illustrate how they worked, and walking around his classroom on a peg leg to demonstrate how the body absorbs shocks – but every interaction I had with Farish was special and memorable. It was always such a pleasure to discuss Tanzania with him; he was so passionate about the country, its wildlife, and its people. This kindness and passion was present in every interaction Farish had; as it has been said, he was the epitome of the word “gentleman.”

Farish will be missed by many, and we are honored that the Jenkins family has chosen FoTZC as one of two organizations to have a Farish Jenkins, Jr. Fund. We send our deepest condolences to Farish’s wife and family. We feel truly blessed to have known him.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30pm Saturday, December 1, 2012 at the Memorial Church, One Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Farish A. Jenkins, Jr. Fund – to support the field work of students in evolutionary biology; c/o The Museum of Comparative Zoology 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; or Focus on Tanzanian Communities, c/o Thomson Safaris, 14 Mount Auburn Street, Watertown, MA 02472. Email info@fotzc.org or donate now.

Written by Eliza Hatch

Girls’ Dormitory – Soit Sambu Secondary School

You may have seen this photo before: this is a small section of the current girls’ dormitory at Soit Sambu Secondary School. Twelve girls sleep in the space pictured to the left. The dormitory is built to accommodate 48 girls, but 160 girls are currently living in it. This living arrangement is not just uncomfortable; disease spreads easily and quickly in these close quarters. Additionally, when girls are day students, they have to spend much of their time at home doing housework instead of studying, which negatively impacts their educations. The girls prefer to live at the school, and FoTZC is committed to building a second dormitory for them to do so more comfortably.

The new school year in Tanzania begins in January, and we would love to have the new dormitory open for the start of their school year. We are two-thirds of the way there, but to complete and furnish the building, we still need to raise $40,000 (see graphic below) and begin construction as soon as possible! Please help the girls at Soit Sambu Secondary School by donating today!


ABOUT

FOTZC is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) organization registered in Watertown, MA. FOTZC also accepts donation of securities. Please contact info@fotzc.org for guidance on making this type of donation.