Edmund Rice High School

Friday, February 8, 2019


Today John had agreed to visit a secondary school at which one of our Tanzanian friends teaches. I only found out at the last minute that John had also agreed to give a one-hour lecture on African history with an open ended question session following. He chose the topic of the great Savannah empires from about 600 to 1600.  Gosh, that would knock my socks off if I were a high school student!

Anyway, John left at 9:30 to take a dalla-dalla clear to Shoppers, where there was a school car waiting to take him to Edmund Rice Secondary School, way beyond the African Heritage Cultural Center.  This is an excellent private school run by the Christian Brothers. Upon his arrival, he had the mandatory introduction to the headmaster and then was taken to the faculty “lounge” for tea.  He was also given an extensive tour of the facilities and grounds by one of the students, a girl who is an AIDS orphan. Not only are the grounds and buildings in wonderful condition, but also there is a large, thriving agricultural area with big greenhouses and irrigated vegetable beds as well as a cow barn and a pig shed. Being a farm boy himself, John was able to judge the animals as extremely healthy and well-cared for.

Mr. Panga at the front gate of Edmund Rice.

The administration building, which looks better than most government offices.

A view of the campus in the typical square formation of classrroom buildings around a green center space.

John's girl guide, who is an AIDS orphan.

The greenhouses and some garden plots. The vegetables are sold to help support the school.

Another garden plot. All are irrigated.

Nice Holstein cows.

2-month-old piglets.

The school is extremely proud that it is “abuse free,” which in this case means that the teachers do not beat their students. Corporal punishment is routine in most African schools, and far too often there are accounts of horrific beatings. Also campus art indicates that the school aims to instill a strong sense of social justice in its students.

Beatings are forbidden.

Notice the wide range of their heroes.

At 11:00, John gave his lecture and was very pleased that some of the students already knew a bit about his topic. The lecture lasted for an hour, and then there were questions for another 15 minutes. John had told me he’d be home about 1:30 at the latest, and he wasn’t. Instead, he had lunch with the teachers, and met with some students his friend Panga thought he should meet. One was a top student who has HIV, and now because of the newer drugs is able to manage it and continue her education.

The school kitchen with the fires blazing under the big cookers. It must be hotter than hell in there.

Firewood for the kitchen. No wonder Africa is becoming deforested.

The teachers' lounge looks pretty nice.

Finally, at 3:00, I called John just to check on where was and when he thought he’d return. He was still “in conference.” Not too much later, John called from Shoppers, where he had been dropped off and from where he would take another dalla-dalla back to Kundayo. He finally returned some time after 4:00 p.m. It was a much longer day than either of us had expected it to be, but John had really enjoyed it all, which was most important.

In contrast, my day was routine with lots of laundry and cooking. In the evening, the temperature dropped from the mid-80s to the mid-60s, and life got even better.