Shimmy Shimmy Ya

Happy Friday the 13th, one and all!  I, for one, am extremely glad it's furahi-day as the last couple weeks have been real doozies!!  Mama needs to catch up on her beauty sleep....  And by "mama," I mean me!!

The title of this post not only refers to a late '90s Wu Tang track (RIP to the ODB), but also one of my students from 2013, Shamimu, whom I lovingly nicknamed "Shim-Sham," (although there are many other acceptable derivations of this moniker, as you will see below).  Those of you who know me, know that I am ALL ABOUT a nickname, so this is a point of partiality on my part, not poking fun.

Shamimu was part of our first-year cohort and one of the children we identified as unlikely to thrive in the inclusive classroom.  In addition to being far behind her peers academically, Shimmy-Shammers was behaviorally troubled and living with her elderly grandparents who were unable to care for her properly.  Intellectually impaired, she was left vulnerable to the social dangers facing kids with disability, and it became a real shida.  I was heartbroken, quite frankly, working with her that first year (http://toanafasi.blogspot.com/2013/08/row-row-row-your-boat.html).

However, what does Toa Nafasi do in the face of such a dilemma?  We fix it!!  Vumi and I talked at length to Sham's grandparents and after some cajoling, we got the go-ahead to enroll her at Gabriella.  She started boarding and schooling there in February 2014, and has been thriving in that environment ever since (http://toanafasi.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-triumphant-return-part-15.html).

For starters, she's safe from the threats that no 8-year-old should ever have to know about let alone experience.  Without that distraction, the employees at Gabriella have been able to capture her attention and hone in on what her natural learning style is and how best to accommodate it.  Through updates from Brenda and periodic visits to the center, I have been pleasantly surprised to watch her grow from a troubled little girl to a fairly well-adjusted lil' lady!  In fact, this Fall, Shamimu will join classes at a regular public school (like Msaranga Primary) nearby to the center while continuing to board there!!

All of the kids that I work with are special, of course, but the case of Shamimu is a particularly affecting one for me.  There are many implications at play here: my first taste of the really dark side of this work, the uncovering of some deeply disturbing stuff; recovering from that discovery and working with Vumi to find a solution that would be beneficial to Shamimu but would also satisfy her grandparents who were really stuck on the stigma of her disability; and, her amazing growth once removed from Msaranga and given the extra attention she needs.

Shimmy-Shams has really flourished under the care of the Gabriella staff in a way that even I could never have imagined.  From not knowing "A" from "1" and her eyes from her ears, this kid is on fire, reciting the English alphabet for anyone who will listen and even reading and writing in short sentences in Kiswahili.  I am so pleased with her progress and hope that she can come back to us soon at Msaranga once we're sure she'll be safe from any predatory types in the village.

Of course, Shim-Sham is also a lasting link between me and Vumi, and when I think of her, I think of the difficult work that Vumi and I did back in 2013 and 2014.

I think of my hopeless tears ("We're too late!") and being ready to give up upon finding out what had happened to her, and Vumi soldiering forward, determined to find a way out.

I think of confronting the grandparents, especially the Babu, and how hard Vumi and I had to work to convince him that Gabriella was the best option for the child.

I think of visiting her at Gabriella with Vumi and how excited she was to see us each time ("Mwalimu Sarah!  Mwalimu Vumi!  Mwalimu, mwalimu, mwalimu!!"), especially if we came with candy.

I think of this past year's World Autism Day parade through downtown Moshi, marching proudly towards the stadium with the Gabriella group.  Once there, we called Vumi on my cell phone since she couldn't be there in person, and I could hear the warmth in her voice as she told Shams and the others how proud she was of them.

Ahhhh, Vumi!  You are still here.  You are everywhere.

Here's Shamimu at Gabriella dancing to the ngoma (drums).  I actually remember this day well; it was not too long after we first enrolled her.  Vumi and I had commented on her kitambi (belly) as she had clearly put on weight since boarding at Gabriella.  I like my kids happy and well-fed!

 

 

 

This is my beloved Vooms at a seminar at the center for teachers working with kids with disabilities.  She liked to put up a fuss about having her photo taken.

 

 

 

The classrooms at Gabriella are colorfully painted (unlike at typical public schools) making it a fun environment for learning.  The timetable is kept with a pictorial schedule so that all the kids at the center know what they will be studying and when.  Shimmy-Shams was so happy to be able to show off her newfound reading skillz when my aunt Danna and cousin Philip came to visit.

 

 

 

 

 

Outside, the center grounds are just as inviting.  The kids tend a vegetable garden, raise goats and rabbits, and PLAY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Older kids are shown how to make crafts which they can sell to make some pocket money.  They are taught basic math as well as reading and writing so they can sustain small businesses.  Younger kids like Shammers are told to kumbuka or "remember" some simple self-worth adages: everyone is unique, everyone has something to be proud of.

 

 

 

And, saving the best for last, this smile has made the journey - the highs and the lows - all of it .... all worth it.

 

 

'Course now I hear Vumi's voice telling me the journey ain't over and I should acha kucheza (stop playing around) and get back to work.  Okay, Vooms, whatever you say, Boss wangu!

The Dutty Professor

Well, it's official.  The United Republic of Tanzania has a new President, Mr. John Pombe Magufuli.

And in addition to a new bum in the highest seat of the land, there are many others across various levels of the political scenery.

From the Nairobi Star, in fact, it has been reported that down south in Morogoro region, legendary Tanzanian hip hop artist Joseph Haule aka Professor Jay is the new Mikumi constituency member of parliament.  Ch-ch-ch-check it out!!

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Joseph Haule, or Professor Jay as he is known in Bongo Flava circles, a 40-year-old rapper with five solo studio albums, has beat his fellow contestants in a hotly-contested election that happened on Sunday.  He was running on a Cha Dema party ticket.

"I am not just here to speak for musical artists but also the Mikumi people I will be representing.  After this, I look forward to getting a government appointment to represent my people better, probably a ministerial position or something.  That way, I will be the first East African rapper/minister," Jay told a Tanzanian reporter prior to his win.

He garnered 32,259 votes against 30,425 votes by his closest rival, Jonas Nkya of CCM.

"We won by a difference of 1,834 votes.  Thank you God and Mikumi constituents for believing in me," he posted on his social media pages to confirm his big win.

Jay started making music in 1994 as a member of the group Hard Blasters, before going solo in 200.  Some of his hit songs include Nikusaidiaje and Zali la Mentali.

Of All the Pumpkins in All the Patches

Hi everybody, I hope this blog post finds you all well, having survived the Halloween weekend.

As for me, the last few days have been super-spooky as I've been working round the clock on various Toa-releated items.

I spent the last week in Washington, DC, where I met with everyone from Sara at the Masalina Foundation to a rep for the new Tanzanian Ambassador to the former head of the World Bank in Dar es Salaam, and of course, the members of my U.S. Board of Directors.

Phew!  I neither got to trick nor treat as my train arrived at Penn Station around 10pm on All Hallows' Eve....  The parade was in full force downtown and negotiating the crowds with my suitcase was probably more horrifying than any of the ghouls and goblins I encountered along the way!!

At any rate, though it was an exhausting few days, we made lot of headway as we continue to raise awareness - and funds! - for the Project.

In keeping with the holiday theme, I've decided that my fundraising philosophy can be summed up with a quote from Charles Schulz's Charlie Brown:

"Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere.  He's gotta pick this one.  He's got to.  I don't see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one.  You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy.  Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see."

It is an especially important time for us to be pounding the pavement and knocking on doors as the planned expansion of our services is scheduled to occur in just two months, when I return to Moshi.

We will enter into three neighboring schools early next year: in addition to Msaranga Primary School, our home base, we will work in Kiboriloni Primary School, Mnazi Primary School, and Msandaka Primary School.

Permits have previously been obtained from the Moshi Municipal Council and we have visited the schools twice and met with the headmasters and mistresses so they both know about and agree to what we propose.

Basically, we will replicate the work we've done the past three years at Msaranga Primary in the three additional schools, assessing in 2016 a total of four Standard One classes in public primary schools in Kilimanjaro region.

Truth told, it will actually be double that since Standard One students are divided into morning and afternoon sessions so I'm guessing we'll go from testing approximately 170 kids to maybe 680!  (This is probably the most terrifying thing I've written in this Halloween-themed entry!!)

It's certainly going to be a challenge, and probably a bit of mayhem as well, but it will keep us busy and test our  hypothesis about the ease of Toa Nafasi's replicability.

Of course, the loss of Vumi still lingers and I cannot believe that we are undertaking the expansion (of which she was so instrumental in designing) without her.  But Hyasinta and crew continue to work hard on the ground and Rhiannon and Gasto and I are covering the office duties, so I think we'll muddle through.

Speaking of Vooms, I found this photo of her from back in the day.

 

 
I had tried to explain the Halloween holiday to her and the chekechea class we were teaching when I first came to TZ to volunteer.  I'm not sure how much of the concept they actually understood, but Vumi loved hearing about all our crazy mzungu traditions and so I'm reminded of her more than ever this time of year.

So, happy Halloween, one and all, and many happy returns....

Julia from the Block

On this "sunny day," in addition to "sweepin' the clouds away," we can also celebrate the addition of Julia, an autistic character, on the long-running children's television program Sesame Street.

According to CNN (excerpted below) and other national news sources, the little lady is the newest member of the Sesame Street family which is already comprised of such famous Muppets as Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch as well as a group of ethnically diverse human actors like Maria, Susan, and Mr. Hooper.  The program is known for its educational content communicated through the puppets and actors, animation and short films, and humor and cultural references.

As author Malcolm Gladwell has stated, "Sesame Street was built around a single, breakthrough insight: that if you can hold the attention of children, you can educate them."  Gladwell also called the essence of the show the "artful blend of fluffy monsters and earnest adults."  Indeed.

Don't get it twisted however: despite Julia's burgeoning career, she's still, she's still Julia from the block!

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All cheers for Julia, the newest friend to join Elmo, Big Bird and the Sesame Street family in a new program designed to spread awareness about children with autism.

The bright-eyed and cheerful little girl plays an essential role in Sesame Street and Autism: See All in Amazing Children, an initiative launched Wednesday to promote awareness about autism. 

One in 68 U.S. children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  A 2014 report by the CDC estimates that 1 in 42 bpys has autism, 4.5 times as many as girls (1 in 189).

The Sesame Street and Autism: See All in Amazing Children program is available as an app and on desktop.  It includes daily routine cards and resources to help family, friends, and others who encounter children with autism.

Sesame Workshop partnered with 14 other organizations, including the Yale Child Study Center and Autism Speaks, on the initiative. 

In the digital storybook, Elmo plays with Julia on the playground and helps his friend Abby Cadabby understand that Julia plays differently than them.  Through his patience and understanding, he helps Abby understand Julia.

"Elmo's daddy told Elmo that Julia has autism," he says.  "So she does things a little differently.  Sometimes Elmo talks to Julia using fewer words and says the same thing a few times."

As the group goes on a quest for a snack, Julia places her hand over her ears when inside Hooper's store. 

"What's the matter?" asks Abby. 

"Julia has really good ears," explains Elmo.

"Sometimes she hears noises that Elmo doesn't notice.  Like the noise the blender makes.  She really doesn't like it!"

The website also tells the story of the character Benny and the real-life stories of Nasaiah and Thomas. 

Sesame Street is using #SeeAmazing to encourage people to share their stories, videos, and pictures on social media to keep the conversation and network of support ongoing.

Up, Up, and Away!

Some good news this week out of the Research and Development side of The Toa Nafasi Project.  We have recently learned that the first article about the Project written by Dr. Angela Stone-MacDonald will be published this December in the DADD Online Journal, a new yearly publication from the Division of Autism and Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children.

It is a comparative piece looking at the use of language and terminology from both her dissertation research conducted in Lushoto in 2009 and her work with Toa Nafasi in Moshi from 2012 to the present.

Angi considers that what the Project does for students in working with Tanzanian teaching staff as the lead and not explicitly conveying to the parents that their child might have a "disability" is the best move given the conservative nature of Tanzanian culture.

Her reasoning?  If we start talking about the children in terms of disability and we distinguish "disability" from "disease," are we setting them up for discrimination in a system where they are currently viewed as lazy as opposed to being somehow aberrant?

Students who have gone through the Toa Nafasi protocol have overcome the labels of "lazy" and "stupid," but can they overcome a label of disabled in this culture?

We want all young children to start school from a position of strength and build on his/her capabilities.  The capability approach supports the holistic view of the child and the growth of that child's knowledge, skills, and innate talents.

Please check out Angi's latest output for the Project: graphs of the progress of the 2014 cohort at six months and after one year of services.  Methinks that despite the cultural issues attendant with addressing disability, the actual improvement the kids are making is extraordinary - I hope you agree!

 

 

Vive La France!

Good morning, merry Monday, and happy Columbus Day, people!

Why so chipper, you ask?  Well, because I am pleased to finally be able to announce in no uncertain terms the landing of our first grant here at The Toa Nafasi Project!!

Last year, I had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of a lovely young lady named Sara whose family runs a charitable foundation out of their native France called Masalina.  Turns out Sara and her family have spent considerable time in Tanzania, mostly Arusha, and had heard about Toa Nafasi through a mutual friend.

Their interest piqued, Sara represented the family at last year's "friend-raiser" in DC where she met me, Angi, and crew, and learned about the activities of the Project in detail.  She urged me to apply for funding and once Rhiannon joined us in April this year, we were finally able to bang it out.

Shortly thereafter, I was sent the following letter (translated from the French), but was wary of publicizing the award prior to having the money in the bank, as it were.  Well, the check has now cleared, so pop open the champagne and laissez les bon temps rouler!

The Toa Nafasi Project has officially diversified its sources of funding and, as grant begets grant, we are hopeful that this is the first of many!!

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Madam,

The board of the Masalina Foundation has ruled at its meeting of May 19, on the grant request presented by the Toa Nafasi organization for children with learning difficulties in the village of Msaranga in Kilimanjaro region.

I am glad to inform you that the members of the Board with the favorable opinion of the Founders, have decided to grant you support amounting to X Euros to help finance the Toa Nafasi program allowing the development of every Tanzanian child taking into account their strengths and weaknesses in conjunction with teachers and parents.

With my best wishes for the continuation of your actions, please Madam, accept the expression of my respectful homage.

Thank you, merci, and asante to Sara, her family, and everyone at Masalina!!

Right Said Ed

I'm still feeling a bit funky since returning to New York, so I've been remiss about writing an original piece for the blog in recent weeks.  I'll try to remedy that shortly, but until then, at least we have this political fodder over which to muse! 

With the election set to take place later this month, the headlines out of Tanzania continue to be dominated by news from the campaign trail.  From the Daily News, this article on presidential hopeful, Edward Lowassa, and his call for the overhaul of the entire Tanzanian education system piqued my interest.... and prompted a lil' chuckle.
 
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Union presidential candidate on the Coalition of Four Opposition Political Parties (UKAWA) ticket, Mr. Edward Lowassa, has promised to overhaul the entire education system to meet current challenges and changes.

Addressing a campaign rally at Mwembeyanga Grounds in Temeke District in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Mr. Lowassa said his government will review the curriculum of both primary and secondary education should he clinch the top post of the land.

"I will start my leadership with education as my top priority.  All I need is a big number of your votes to have the mandate to deliver what I have promised you," said the former prime minister.

Mr. Lowassa reiterated that education would be free from kindergarten to university level and that the funds to finance the promised free education would be drawn from the country's natural resource endowment, including gas.

"I am vying for the presidency because I hate poverty.  I want to lead Tanzanians to alleviate poverty.  The gap between the haves and have-nots has become huge," he noted.

Drumming support for Temeke CUF parliamentary candidate, Mr. Abdallah Mtolea, Mr. Lowassa said the aspirant would be able to deliver to expectations in development if the Tanzanian people would enable him to become their MP.

Earlier, Mr. Mtolea, whose party is among the four political parties forming UKAWA, pointed out the state of education in Temeke constituency was bad and he asked Mr. Lowassa to address the problem.

"We have a few schools, which do not accommodate the number of children in the constituency while many students are performing poorly in examinations," he said.

Mr. Mtolea promised to eliminate financial contributions to schools by parents should he be elected the area's MP, noting that since Temeke was among the good tax collectors, the district would be able to finance all education costs.