The first planned trip for this year is in May when Peter Larlham will be taking a group of his students to Kongwa to build a library and stock it with books that have been donated.

Click on the link below for Barbara's report.

Encouraged by President Obama during his Inaugural Address for Americans to reach out to the global community and, in particular, his pledge to “feed hungry minds” I initiated a project to install a small library in Mnyakongo School in the town of Kongwa in Tanzania in May 2010. What started as my impulse to send a parcel of books has turned into a concerted effort by faculty and students at SDSU to begin a library at this elementary school.

The San Diego State University 2010 Homecoming King, Rex Brown, and Homecoming Queen, Tess Banko, have adopted the project and raised funds to purchase a 20’ container to enable me to transport books and other school supplies to Tanzania. The container is presently on the high seas on its way to the school where, in May, a group of faculty and students from SDSU will unpack it; after which it will be left at the school to serve as a secure storeroom. The Homecoming King and Queen launched a campus wide drive to gather additional books and other school supplies.

I have secured the enthusiastic support of Dr. Augustine P. Mahiga Permanent Tanzanian Ambassador, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, to the United Nations. He has assured me he will assist entry of this donation into Tanzania. The project also enjoys the full support of Scholars Without Borders (founded at SDSU) and the SDSU Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi (one of only five chapters of excellence in the country).

The school, which currently serves over 800 elementary pupils (ages 7-12), is in a remote and economically depressed region of Tanzania; it has no electricity and limited educational facilities – so limited, in fact, that 400 pupils are taught in the morning, 400 in the afternoon. Currently the school has few books beyond essential texts supplied by the department of education. I have collected enough books needed for this project including dictionaries, children encyclopedias, picture storybooks, and other non-fiction. I will, in addition, be purchasing 1,000 Swahili textbooks and readers to complement the donated collection. The Headmistress Angelina Munduli is in full support of this initiative to install a library in the school. All the teachers were excited by the possibility during a visit I made to the school in 2008.

San Diego State University students traveling to Tanzania in the summer of 2010 have enrolled in an interdisciplinary General Studies course this Spring semester (2010); the land trip in Tanzania to install the library will serve as an international culminating experience. These students include 4 from the School of Theatre, Television, and Film where an “international experience” is required of Performance Emphasis students; other students include those from the University Honors Program (who are required to study abroad), Liberal Studies majors, and students of Scholars Without Borders. The group numbers 26 in all.

Ideas I have for the future include SDSU faculty and student travel to Mnyakongo School to maintain and refurbish the library, teach English, with further student service learning projects to assist the schools with reading and writing in English, and assist with teaching in a variety of disciplines by utilizing the skills of faculty and students.

This project is a philanthropic outreach to the international community that will enrich participating students with hands-on experience of African culture, education, and its economic needs. It will serve the increasing need of SDSU students to fulfill an “international requirement” as part of their undergraduate degrees, and it will enhance the profile of San Diego State University in the international community.

This project has forged new relationships between faculty from different disciplines on campus, and has brought together students with a variety of skills and backgrounds. So far this project has enjoyed the support of numerous faculty, staff and students at SDSU– including the Dean and Associate Dean of the Division of Undergraduate Studies, the Office of International Programs, the Honors Program, Scholars Without Borders, and Phi Kappa Phi. It will be a truly interdisciplinary project. Dr. Chris Frost, Associate Dean of the Division of Undergraduate Studies, has created a course that will prepare students for the project.

Future funding for this project will not be expensive. I will continue to conduct drives for books and supplies to send to the school. A plan is already underway for a similar project to Tanzania next year, with student support and integral to an academic program. I am eager that this initial project will foster a long-term relationship between Mnyakongo School and the students and faculty of SDSU.

A quick update on how the fundraising is going.

Many thanks to everyone who has transferred funds into the Mnyakongo School Project account at Barclays Bank over the past 10 months - some donations have been anonymous so I have been unable to send personal thanks. Please click here for details of the account.

We are just over half way there regarding the funds for the electricity supply to the school with almost £1500 currently in the account. The exchange rate of the British Pound against the USD is disappointing at the moment. I would dearly like to see the amount in the account double by the time I go with the group to Kongwa in May so that the contract could be set up to get the supply connected. I will have to step up my fundraising if I am to reach the target in time.

The school has requested some sports equipment and some toys for the kindergarten. My daughters have taken on these projects with one raising funds for team bibs, footballs, nets, tennis balls, skipping ropes etc. and the other collecting soft toys, educational games, puzzles and teaching aids.

My thanks to British Airways to whom I applied for “complimentary carriage” of the sports equipment and toys. They have granted me 90kg of excess baggage on my flight to Dar.

Thanks also to Cliff D’souza of Savannah Tours who is a great supporter of our projects and is transporting free of charge all the goods destined for the children of Kongwa.

I will keep you informed of progress

Barbara Laing

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For the 2008 visit the two 6 seater aircon vehicles and their drivers were quite satisfactory. The men spoke good English and didn't seem to mind 'deviations!' We found one watering hole in Kongwa, The Serengeti Bar and Restaurant. Handy because the Mission is dry. My idea is to spend some of the two full days sorting out any contracts for jobs for locals to do,(depending on the funds available!), before any money is handed over. This worked well in 2008. Angelina Monduli, the head teacher now speaks a little English, but her staff at Mnyakongo did not, so knowledge of any Swahili is advantagous!

The rates shown are better than Cliff quoted for 2009.