Hayden, John and Anne - Tanzania

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3 year report -  December 2006

The challenge is to serve these villages where the majority of the population is living.

Literacy Although the government had a major literacy drive in the past very few adults are able to read or write. In 2006 with the help of the Bible Society and Karen Wilkinson a schools literacy advisor from Leicester we have set up around 100 classes. Each tutor has had one week training at Kibaya or Sunya and is equipped with work books, flip charts, blackboard and chalk and in some cases cassettes. Ruth Wittu is trained to continue in Karen's role and we are seeking a budget of around £600 a year to cover costs of a nominal allowance and travel plus a further £400 to enable us to continue supplying materials. This is not only a major means of helping the population as a whole but of evangelism as the Bible Society course is Bible based and the courses are held in the churches.

Infant schools Likewise during 2006 we radically extended our work among children between the age of 4-7 years. In kiswahili the schools are called Chekechea. This arose out of the famine conditions. We realised that the most vulnerable were children of this age who were no longer on their mother's milk. We could have just fed them but decided that this was an ideal opportunity to begin their education as less than half of the children in Kiteto are in school. A teacher from each school has been brought into KCC for two weeks of instruction. Di Pinder and Marian Williams have worked at this and in 2007 we have a VSO, Kenna Worthington from the London Institute of Education, who will be continuing this task. Parents are meant to pay the teachers but with the present famine this is not happening so the task is entirely voluntary. Teachers have been equipped with a syllabus, blackboard and chalk and with teaching skills. Through the help of an appeal in the Norfolk EDP and Rotary most schools have also been given a water purification container so that each child can have a cup of drinkable water, cups and cooking bowl. In places where there is no food we are also supplying maize. This work will need a budget in the years to come especially if Teacher training is to continue and basic equipment is to be available.

Primary health care As part of our famine crisis help the children in the Infants schools are being given a health check. All are being given vitamin tablets but the vast majority need a considerable course of treatment. The provision of medical supplies for the 4,000 children plus a considerable number of family members (if a child has a disease it is likely that the whole family also has it) is high. We need to employ a full time nurse to travel round the villages. At present we have twelve assistants that have received a one week course at Kibaya, mainly concentrating on eye diseases who are stationed throughout the county. They are equipped with a bicycle, water purification box, eye charts and various handbooks plus a smart blue uniform - a donation from Lancashire Primary health trust and still bearing the badge ! Funding for the nurse, upgrading of the 12 assistants and medical supplies will be a major means of assisting our rural population. When there is a harvest, which we hope will be the norm, patients are able to pay for medicines and the nurse can charge for consultations so this has a potential for self reliance.

AIDS/HIV In 2004/5 with the help of Elaine Macha (CMS Moshi and Leicester Diocese support) we were able to train up health workers for this crucial task of education and sadly in some cases care of those with HIV. Seminars were held in around 100 villages (it does always seem we refer to 100 but that is roughly the true number of viable settlements in our area and although the 2006 seminars showed that that number has increased to around 130 we have not yet been able to budget for that increase). They were very well attended and the instruction was first rate. This does need following up in 2007 or the momentum will be lost. If we can fund Elaine it would help to have a series of 6 deanery refresher courses. This will challenge those who are at present lying dormant to become active again!

Mini Libraries With the help of Feed the Minds 100 mini libraries - books plus holders were distributed in 2005 with the help of Barbara Hoyte and Linda Spencer from Hinckley, Leicestershire (They also carried out some preliminary training of infant teachers). These are now in good use among those attending for adult literacy or infant school.

All the above work is for the village as a whole and in places where there is a high Muslim population that proportion is reflected in the schools and health care. What is outlined below is targeted, by its nature, among the Christian population. However in many villages the majority of the population is now part of the Christian family.

Sunday School Likewise through the generous help of Leicester Diocese we have provided 100 packs of materials using the Anglican 4 year syllabus books of CTP, Good News Bibles and other resources like the Bible Picture series of APF . Teaching is still patchy and a lot of work needs to be done in recruiting and training teachers. However a good foundation is there.

Baptisms, Confirmations, Weddings Preparation for these is generally good. It does follow the more tradition by rote learning as it is usually conducted by pastors and evangelists who in the past were trained by DMK in that way. The Provincial Catechism and instruction for confirmees likewise reinforces be able to say the Creed and other formulae - understanding may not feature very strongly. There is a potential for a volunteer to upgrade these courses. Each Pastor is now registered with the government to conduct marriages and we hold the government registration forms.

Soma The four year course Rooted in Jesus was written at our request by Alison Morgan and helpers. It is now used throughout Kiteto in Swahili or Masai but has now spread to many other lands. We are highly indebted to Alison for the course and for the training of our teachers and providing the back up materials like certificates for each year to be given to the leaders and participants. Holy Trinity Leicester also support Michael Samuel who travels round each group roughly four times a year giving encouragement, instruction, supplies and making sure that the course has its deserved key role in every church Groups generally take time out during the main agricultural times in the half of Kiteto where arable farming is predominant (the livestock Masai areas do not need such a break) The vital time is in July when the harvest is in and the groups need to restart.

ETE - Continuous training of lay and ordained workers is vital for the church. The work is headed up by Revd Peter Mkengi with the generous support of Crosslinks. He has appointed assistants. Revd Richard Mhehwa tutors the Bible Diploma course. Nearly all the pastors are enrolled in this. They take 40 three hours examinations in Swahili covering every book of the Bible. By the end of the course their knowledge and practical application of the Bible will be very high. Two other Provincial courses Basic and Certificate are also run usually in Deanery groups. Some Deanery assistants have been appointed - Revd Daniel Mbelesero (Engusero); Michael Madeha (Matui) and Samuel Maduma (Kibaya) We will need assistants for Kijungu, Sunya and Dongo deaneries but at present we do not have degree level tutors from those areas. As with SOMA such groups tend to slow down during the main agricultural season of November - June but with unreliable rainfall they are fairly flexible and restart if there is no farming work. All our people depend on the crops they grow or animals they herd.

Churches The desire to build churches of all sorts of sizes and shapes is never ending. Around 50 are built each year some replace smaller buildings but many are in new areas of work. It needs to be taken into account that houses are very small and there are few buildings like schools so without a church building it is very difficult to gather in any number. It also needs to be borne in mind that the church is used throughout the week for Infants in the morning , literacy and other groups in the afternoon and for the youth: Choir which is a key feature of church life. Each church has a choir and most have two or three. They practise for many hours and often produce very good songs about the Bible passage of the week so learning at the same time. They have many traditional instruments like drums but the desire for an electric amplified guitar is very high. A lot are locally made but powering an amplifier on batteries and other equipment is very expensive.

Pastors houses Our aim, through generous support from Bury St Edmunds has been to provide a high standard house for each parish. The house specification includes good foundations - stone and concrete, walls made of kiln-burnt brick (i.e. not sun baked which wash away in the rains) a ring beam/lintel at door height (we are in an earthquake zone), treated wood roof members and corrugated steel roofing. The budget given is now begin overtaken by inflation but we have been able to build around 30 houses over the three years. Most require further work like plastering the walls and a concrete floor but the basic structure is there.

Water supply This is a massive problem throughout Kiteto. Water Aid and others have been and failed and the present World Bank funded work is having limited results. There are no rivers and only a handful of supplies from springs. Water harvesting through the building of dams, tanks for houses collecting rain water from the roof and less costly schemes are going to be vital. Each pastor now has a storage tank and water purification equipment but there is a long way to go. We have obtained two oxen/donkey carts to bring water to two villages that are over five miles from a water source as an experiment linked with the Bishop of Leicester's Lent appeal in 2007. We need to investigate other mans for carting water and water harvesting. At present most people are severely malnourished even in good years, not so much because their have not grown sufficient food but because they are selling maize each day to obtain water. If the water situation can be resolved then many other problems will disappear.

The key area of this report has been on village life because that is the key to church work. Sadly in many diocese the vast majority of resources is concentrated in the Bishop and his immediate staff. It ends up with someone able to travel around the country and even the world but a very weak church. It is easy to produce a few 'show villages' for visitors to admire. The big question is whether resources are given equally and fairly throughout a diocese.

Having said that we have put an equal sum into developing a diocese centre in Kibaya as it is essential to have a core base for seminars and resources.

KITETO CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

KCC provides this base. At present there are various campuses or departments based here.

Administration

Diocesan office We have kept this to one room although it would be possible to expand. The clear message is that we can run effectively without a large office and staff. It will be interesting to see if in the future more staff are employed and more room used. At present we are well known for our high efficiency and honesty. Zilipa Masinga and Ruth Wittu man the office.

Service office Here workers for MU Anna Challo), SOMA (Michael Samuel) , and other parish support workers have their computer and files.

Store leading from the office we have a store including a safe that is sited inside a container that is in turn sited within the brick building. The store contains key records and also such items as our book store, text books and other supplies.

Infant and Primary Schools

Infant school (English medium) This school for children 4-7 years follows the UK Keystage 1 syllabus. The pupils often have the privilege of being taught by visiting teachers from the UK. The standard and equipment is of a high level seeking to match International schools elsewhere in Tanzania.

Primary (English medium) Pupils can only enter this school if they are fluent in English or have been through two years education in the English Infant school. The aim is to teach a syllabus similar to UK Keystage 2.

In 2007 the first year course will be starting and pupils will continue through until Secondary level.

Infant School (Swahili) The school has classrooms for up to 150 students who follow the Tanzanian Chekechea Syllabus

Primary School (Swahili with extra English) and Secondary School (English)

These are two key developments we are working towards over the next decade.

VETA (VOCATIONAL TRAINING) COLLEGE

The college came about by the request of local people in 2003. It continues to serve the community under the Principal, Mary Sisanjo.

Pre-Secondary School Intensive English course

Each year teachers, usually with a TEFL qualification come from the UK to provide a course for those who, having been in a Swahili based Primary School, require a good knowledge of English before entering Secondary education. The course lasts 10 weeks commencing the beginning of October. The course has been run by UK teachers and this year Brenda Packman has led the course. We have teachers from UK ready for 2007

English course

The English course is suitable for a variety of levels of English.

For the student who needs;

- to take the degree in theology.

- to extend their secondary school education.

- to know English language for communication in business and at work.

We continue to have volunteers from the UK for this course which is part of the VETA college.

The IT Course

We have two computer courses that teach people how to use or to work with a computer. The first course is a comprehensive Touch Typing Course that enables people to learn how to use the whole keyboard and to type correctly and quickly. Mary Sisanjo teaches this course.

The second course is aimed at people who have already completed the Touch Typing Course, and teaches IT Skills through 400 interactive tutorials

The second course has been taught by UK volunteers and we are recruiting for 2007 onwards.

Carpentry and Joinery Course

The Carpentry and Joinery course is a comprehensive course and teaches Carpentry and Joinery to a high standard. The aim is to help students become professional carpenters, making everything from chairs, cupboards, roofing, finishing doors, to windows, in order to serve the local community's needs.

The course is taught by locally experienced and skilled carpenters who also teach the students the necessary business and economics skills to establish and maintain their own businesses.

This unit has been and still is a great help in our building work at KCC and also in the parishes. Peter Raphel is the tutor.

Needlework Course

Kiteto Christian College runs a Tailoring course that is available to all students. Currently the Kiteto area has shortage of Tailors, Sewers and Knitters; therefore the students on the course have good opportunities and prospects for a Tailoring career. The course, which lasts for up to two years, teaches the students a complete range of tailoring skills and how to set up and manage their own Tailoring business, with the aim that they can become self sufficient once qualified. The School has also set up its own Tailoring business, which is run by the students, and serves as a business role model. The school's business is also currently helping reduce the cost of the course for the students.

There are several other small businesses linked into KCC. Beatrice Chidego runs a bookshop and also takes books out to the villages when a vehicle is travelling.

Zilipa Masinga runs a Wedding service with bridal wear, photography and catering.

These are encouraged among the staff and students as the allowance given to all workers is not a living wage.

Theological College

Revd Peter Mkengi is Dean and Revd Samuel Maduma is tutor for the college. The majority of their students are taught through the ETE courses above but students on the Basic, Certificate and Diploma courses are brought in for extra tutorials or lectures when funds allow.

The resident students at KCC are undertaking the Bachelor of Ministry course from CLU, New York. Residence in essential as the course is conducted through Internet and E-mail. It is of a high standard and easily up to UK degree level. The syllabus is basically.

Syllabus

Over 2-3 years students will need to gain seventy 45 hours credits.

a). Biblical studies 40 examinations covering every book of the Bible, its contents and application. Set each Friday of term. (20 credits)

b). 3 courses on prayer and counseling (10 credits)

c). Seminars on special pastoral matters and practical projects e.g. Preaching course, organizing and leading parish study groups (10 credits)

d). Project. This is usually writing in Swahili an 80 page commentary on a book of the Bible ready for publication (15 credits)

e). Pastoral evaluation .project. A 25,000 word analysis of the student's pastoral work over the last 3 years. (15 credits)

Teaching Farm

We are in the process of seeking funds to build a teaching farm.

Farming is the main occupation of the area with 95% of the population dependant on it.

There are major problems as climate change has produced either years with little or no rain and others where it has washed away the roads and cultivated land.

Teaching the Masai good livestock management and the arable farmers crops that can withstand the conditions will be vital for the future.

A Masai, trained in livestock management, has been recruited to assist a German development worker.

Boarding

KCC campus has boarding facilities for 120 students and for 30 children of Infant (4-7 yrs.)

There is a modern refectory and kitchen and adequate space for recreation. Many students enjoy the community life joining one of the choirs or interest groups.

Students are housed in rooms with 4 beds in each. Each of the three dormitories has 10 rooms. The dormitories each have washing, laundering and toilet facilities. Infants sleep in a dormitory for girls and one for boys. A matron is on duty from 7pm-7am. During the day there are assistants (normally teachers in training) who supervise the children out of school hours. The children are fed three times a day and their clothes are laundered.

Conference centre

One of the major advantages of KCC is its use for Synods, Conferences and Training. On many weeks of the year there are various groups making use of the buildings. Sometimes there have been over 250 people needing meals from the Kitchens. We are very grateful to our cooks Pendo and Joanne for their hard work.

Cathedral

The KCC assembly hall, holding up to 2000 people makes an ideal Cathedral for the new diocese. It has very good acoustics and lively decorations including stained glass from the UK. Under a third of the building is a massive water storage tank enabling, in a normal season, for the college to store most of the water it needs. By it being in the centre of the compound it is a focal point for daily worship and can use the surrounding classes for meetings and Sunday School.

Health centre

In February 2006 Sister Sara Mbelwa moved to Kibaya from a top job at KCMC Moshi.

Since then she has been visiting round the villages, carrying out health checks on the 4,000 Infant children in the schools (see Primary Health Care above)

The main vision for the future is to provide a well equipped centre at KCC with a laboratory (the nearest place for tests is Dodoma - a day's bus ride away) and a small ward for inpatients. In November the Cathedral was converted into operating theatre and ward and 60 cataract operations took place.

Organisational

Deaneries

Kiteto has 5 deaneries at present but will soon become six - Kibaya, Kigungu, Sunya (new), Dongo, Engusero and Matui. The role of the rural dean is vital in this as they give cohesion to a group of around 30 churches. Regular meetings of Rural Deans with the Bishop is essential. 

Office The old idea of a large office with many workers is no longer necessary in the day of computers and Internet. Our office administrator can easily fulfil the task on half time and the accounts (which are considerable compared to many dioceses) in 10 hours a week. 

Transport

We have the one Landrover which could be handed over to the Bishop. However it is used extensively by our many volunteer staff who are responsible for so much of the work. Serious consideration my need to be given towards another vehicle if the work is to continue.

Motor bikes Revd Peter Mkengi (ETE), Revd Michael Samuel (SOMA) and Revd Daniel Kaka (Masai evangelism) have motor bikes that prove invaluable in their work.

Rural Deans of Kibaya, Sunya/Kijungu, Dongo and Engusero also have this essential transport.

Staff housing At KCC we have what is called the Bishop's House that is used by myself and the many volunteers. It could be used by the new Bishop although serious consideration needs to be given to this plan as it will make it difficult to house volunteers.

There are also 5 two bed roomed staff houses used at present by the VSO, Chris Lee, Degree students, Peter Mkengi and Sara Mbelwa and we have land on which we can build further houses.

The above is a brief attempt to give an outline report of what the people of Kiteto under God's strength have done over the past 3 years. I rejoice that I have been part of that wonderful move forward.

Bishop John Hayden

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