Photo By Master Sgt. Dawn Price | A group of students from the Mapajoni primary school perform a traditional Ngoma Dance...... read more read more
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TANGA, Tanzania— In the midst of the red mud huts of the remote Mapojoni Village in Tanga District stands seven white pristine classrooms of the Mapojoni primary school, a gift from the American people to the people of Tanga District. More than 600 students, parents and villagers gathered under the shade of a teak tree in front of the school May 14, 2009 to celebrate the opening of their newly renovated school.
The school was renovated through a successful partnership between the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, based in Djibouti Africa, U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Civil Affairs team four, the Tanzania People's Defense Force and the people of Tanzania.
The Mapojoni Primary School was dedicated with a festive ceremony of speeches conveying heartfelt gratitude and appreciation along with three memorial tree planting and ribbon cutting by U.S. and Tanzanian officials. The students expressed their gratitude with poems, songs and Ngoma dances presented throughout the ceremony. Attending the ceremony was Tanzanian officials Mayor Kassim Kisauji, Ibrahim Msengi, district commissioner, Cornel Mapunda, village chairman, Jumanne Sagini, minister of education and U.S. officials, U.S. Embassy Charge'd Affaires Larry Andre, U.S.N. Capt William Hood, CJTF-HOA, director of religious affairs as well as members of the U.S military, U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Civil Affairs team four.
"The American people and the Tanzanian people share an important value," said U.S. Embassy Charge'd Affaires Mr. Larry Andre. "We both believe that educating our children is the key to the future."
"Our new President, Barack Obama, firmly believes that we must invest in our schools and our communities," he added. "Our financial contributions reflect our dedication to improving the lives of Tanzanians and our genuine concern for the education and future of Tanzania. This project is the result of the strong partnership between our two nations."
During his speech, Andre congratulated the teachers, administrators, and community leaders for working together to bring the project to fruition. As partners in this project, they are dedicated to maintaining quality education for their students to positively impact future generations of Mapajoni and the surrounding villages for years to come.
"Before the renovation, the school was very dirty, rough, with rusty [corrugated steel] roofs and unfinished buildings," said Enedy Mnzava, Tanzanian Education Officer for Environment and Agriculture for primary schools. "My duty is to teach the students and teachers how to clean the school and plant and care for the trees and gardens, so the school will stay in good condition."
"Now the school is beautiful and attendance is high," she said. "The new school brings prestige to the students and the village. It will motivate the children to attend school because now every morning when they wake up, they will know they have a nice, safe and enjoyable place to go to school."
The school needed extensive renovation for its seven classrooms and three teacher houses. The U.S. military hired Hamcon Construction, a local company, to renovate the school. Hamad Shankandi, owner Hamcon Construction worked in conjunction with Peter Mpangallah, assistant engineer for the project and completed the $128,000 renovation funded by CJTF-HOA in less than three months. The construction company removed all the defective material from the interior and exterior of the buildings, replaced roofs, repaired walls, installed strong floors, windows and chalkboards, and completed the unfinished buildings. New gutters, verandas and thruway passages were added to the school to improve the school's functionality and to make it a more comfortable environment for the students. Teak wood doors were installed and the buildings were painted making this school the nicest in the district.
"We worked very well together, said Shankandi. "The consultation was good and we made a mutual agreement to complete the work. The work was inspected on time and the U.S. paid as promised. We have a very good partnership."
"Giving the school strong buildings was a nice thing for the American's to do for the village," he added. "The village has a high poverty level. They have only traditional crops [crops to feed their families]; no cash crops [crops to sell]. And now they have the number one school in the district."
The assistance from the American people will help more than 600 children who come from five separate villages to attend school here. All of these refurbishments combined with the dedication to quality education will help provide a better future for the people of Tanzania. With the help of U.S. AFRICOM and CJTF-HOA the U.S. Army Civil Affairs teams, the people of Tanzania can strengthen their health and education for a brighter future for their children.
"If we can take people out of survival mode [seeking food and shelter] and improve their situation in life by building schools, medical clinics, wells, and bridges, then they can start thinking about improving their lives and communities," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Larry Vandenberg, 414th Civil Affairs Team Sergeant. "When a man is not thirsty he will be in a better position to make sound decisions when the violent extremists come and offer him water."
As the partnership between the two nations continues to grow, they both shared the same sentiment of thanks and hope for the future.
"This project serves as a shining example of the partnerships that are possible when the people of our two great nations work shoulder to shoulder for the greater good," said U.S. Embassy Charge'd Affaires Andre. "On behalf of the American people, Hongera [congratulations] for a job well done!"
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 05.20.2009 04:14 |
| Story ID: | 33837 |
| Location: | TANGA, TZ |
| Web Views: | 469 |
| Downloads: | 399 |
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