My VSO colleague, Wilhelmina, has been conducting workshops in our wards for teachers and school committee members to enhance the skills of the committee members and to improve working relationships between teachers and the committees.

One of the activities has been particularly interesting.  A mixed group of teachers and committee members, around 5 – 6 in number, is given 3 large sheets of paper, a handful of plastic drinking straws, scissors, masking tape and a stapler and is told to “build a school”.  

I have attended four of these workshops this week and watched about 15 groups in action.  No group yet has asked “What are the specifications?” or “What should it look like?”.  All groups have based their building on the classroom structure they are sitting in.  No group yet has counted the materials or made a plan before starting building – they have launched straight in to taping straws together and folding the paper into a rectangle.  Most groups have constructed something, most have ‘finished’ a building and two groups only have asked for more materials.  The resultant buildings have been instructive as to building methods in Tanzania!

While we were busy in the classroom with the teachers at Katoma ‘B’ PS there was a soccer match happening outside – Katoma v Karwoshe which went 4-2 in Katoma’s favour.  Several hundred primary and secondary school children were present either watching the game or ‘hanging out’ with no teacher supervision!