Week Two in Bagamoyo

It’s been another productive week here with Asante Sana for Education in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The JacksGap camera crew left on Sunday night and we quickly got back to business as usual. ASFE wants to sincerely thank JacksGap for all the work they have done, and we cannot wait to see their final product.

The JacksGap camera crew working at Mnindi Primary School

We spent the first part of the week working with teachers and students at the AMAP Preschool. Nathan Washburn and Grace Miller were able to completely reorganize the school’s supplies in between teaching English classes to preschool grades 1-3. The electricians also finished up their first installation of lighting in the school. Plans are being made to finalize the project and we hope to have it completed soon. With electricity installed, AMAP will be able to use two more interior classrooms and add a library.

Grace Miller spends some time with AMAP students after a class

Meanwhile, our Students Empowering Students program continues to hold regular English and reading sessions throughout the week. We will be able to hold even more sessions in the following months now that the national exams for our secondary students are finished.

A classic Bagamoyo sunrise over the beaches

We also were able to cram in a couple more Skype sessions with our American partners before their school year ended. We connected several young AMAP preschool students with elementary students from both Trinity Academy in Hartford, CT and Charter Oak Elementary School in West Hartford, CT.

AMAP students and AMAP director Saidi Skyping with Charter Oak Elementary School

We put our work aside Tuesday afternoon to help a community entrepreneur and ASFE board member named Didase. He was a huge contributing factor in the start of Asante Sana For Education and is now working on opening his own volunteer service right here in Bagamoyo. While helping him, we found ourselves at Sarah’s Day Care taking pictures. What was supposed to be a quick business tour ended up being an hour of games with all the kids.