"LEARNING BY DOING"

Since 1994, the Masimbwe Technical Secondary School [MTSS] has been working in the south west of Tanzania. By that time the first four-year lasting training scheme (form I to IV) started with a first final exam for 14 students in autumn 1997. It was performed by the state.

Of course, it was an aim for the school to achieve a final level of the students, which ought to be as high as possible. This aim of the MTSS was achieved if you compare it with other Secondary Schools in Tanzania.

Besides the theoretical subjects, a wide choice of practical courses is offered. These are certainly for the students as important as the theoretical ones, because only a minority of the students will be able to afford an advanced study later. New practical skills, however, make it possible for the students to earn their livings.

The MTSS is - thanks to its active headmaster Mr. Eliud G. Sanga - supported by people and organizations from many countries all over the world. This support is practised both in form of donations or financial contributions and in offers as teachers for a limited period of time. These periods have reached so far from several weeks to several years. Short-term training schemes were usually performed as projects. The following statistics of seven years, 1997 - 2003, deals with these projects.


Persons who were engaged in these projects at the MTSS:

• the couple Gertrud and Udo Kühn from 64711 Erbach-Bullau
• Fritz Runge from 65203 Wiesbaden-Biebrich
• the couple Antje and Helmut Klein from 89350 Mindelaltheim/Dürrlauingen
• Dieter Geiger (grandson of Gertrud and Udo Kühn) from 86391 Stadtbergen

All theses people live in Germany. The engaged people paid the entire expenses for the journey and most of the expenses for the stay themselves. This refers to a great part of the corresponding costs of the projects as well.


People from Germany who supported projects and logistics:

• the couple Adelheid and Ludwig Gernhardt from 86938 Schondorf. They started the AFRICA ASSISTANCE SCHONDORF and they are responsible for the container transports.
• Mr. Klaus Adolf Göbel from 64711 Erbach, who did many of the translations into English
• the friends of the Kühn family in Darmstadt
• the friends of the Runge familiy in Wiesbaden
• the friends from Garmisch-Partenkirchen [GAP] who started the ASSISTANCE FOR CRAFTSMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

People from other European countries who supported projects:

• Wlodzimierz Strzyzewski from Warschau in Poland
• Gretel Hobbs from Great Britain

Tanzania

People who supported our projects and worked for them at the MTSS:

• Eliud G. Sanga, headmaster
• Angelina F. Mtwewe
• Synaluka J. Slyav'alla, second master
• Lutengano H. Mwalubandu, academic master (no longer at the MTSS)
• Godfrey Kilatu, technical teacher (no longer at the MTSS)
• Lucy Mwagowa, sewing teacher (no longer at the MTSS)
• Digna Haule, student (no longer at the MTSS)
• Anges Mlelwa, student (no longer at the MTSS)
• Steven Kihunje, school craftsman

People who supported our projects and worked for them at Makambako and Njombe:

• Peter Wella, at the Bishop's residence RC DIOCESE
• Alphonse Kivenule, TANZANIA PARENTS ASSOCIATION [TAPA]

People who supported our projects and worked for them at Dar-Es-Salaam:

• Maria Saprapasen
• Basil Saprapasen, Chairman of LUDEWA DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION [LUDEFO]
• John Ngailo, Prof., LUDEFO

People who supported our projects and worked for them at Dar-Es-Salaam, MTSS, Mkiu and Njombe:

• Lutengano H. Mwalubandu from Dodoma

To all these supporters of our projects we say thank you very much!



The following is a chronological order of the several projects and along with it recommendations for the further work with them.

1997 Stay at the MTSS in September and October: Udo Kühn / delivery of a container

• The stress was put on a course of study in "Technical Drawing", whose aim it was to teach the basic skills of technical drawing, architecture and engineering. Having taken part in the course, the students should be able to read and draw technical drawings in case of need. To achieve this, a complete drawing room with all necessary drawing gadgets was installed.
• At the same time, a plan of the MTSS with the most important buildings was worked out. For this plan or school layout an up date should be made from time to time. It can be used for teaching purposes as well as for the presentation of the MTSS for public authorities.
• A further point of the programme was the technique of reproduction (blueprints, copying). It's a pity that the Gestetner-Duplikator has meanwhile broken down, and spare parts are not available in Europe. For the first time Linocut-Prints have been manufactured at the MTSS itself.
• Ringo, a simple game from Poland, was introduced at the MTSS. This game encourages the physical and mental flexibility. The rules are very simple, the required outfit is not much and the field you need for playing it is easy to be found at the MTSS. You can transport the complete kit easily, so that you can play it on other locations as well. Ringo is played in Europe - especially in Poland of course - and in many countries all over the world. So there is a chance of worldwide contacts. Besides the teacher Mr. Lutengano, the school craftsman Mr. Steven Kihunje was especially engaged as a trainer and referee.
• The depot for tools and material has grown considerably and it needs an effective administration, so that the tools can be used well. Tools should only be handed out against tokens. Such tokens have already been produced.
• In 1997, improvements for the dining hall were started carefully: From wooden packing materials primitive seats were made with the help of students. Of course, a dining hall is not the most important thing at the MTSS, but in respect to the great art talents of most of the students there should be an opportunity for a more frequent being together in a bigger audience.

1998 Delivery of a container

• About 50 people in Germany took part in a great collection of sewing materials etc. for the female students of the MTSS. A further delivery arrived in the year 2000. As soon as this material has been used up at the MTSS, new material can be ordered without any problems.
• A first overhead projector with transparencies and pens is ready for use at the MTSS and it was used successfully for the welding course two years later.
• For the drawing course, an NC-Scriber was delivered, a gadget for doing the inscriptions. It became soon clear, that for using such gadgets a qualified introduction is necessary. Udo Kühn did it in the year 2000.
• In 1998, the support was pointed at the blacksmith at Mkiu, a small place in the neighbourhood. This was possible thanks to the ASSISTANCE FOR CRAFTSMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES [GAP] who sponsored an extensive delivery of tools. Mr. Lutengano Mwalubandu - by then still teacher at the MTSS - worked as an intermediary agent between the people who paid for the tools and those who received them. It was by that support that the blacksmith was able to enlarge his shop and to move successfully from Mkiu to Njombe.

1999 Financial support

• Several young people from Germany travelled in the District of Ludewa and stayed there for some time. So we took the chance to ask them to hand out money for the training of teachers to some persons. So the headmaster had the chance of a further education. During his two-year absence the MTSS suffered from big problems. The image of the school suffered temporarily and the number of students sank strongly. A safe, which had been brought from Germany, was stolen and opened, though there were no treasures to be found in it.

2000 Stay at the MTSS in September: Fritz Runge and Udo Kühn / Delivery of a container

• The stress was put on a course in AUTOGENOUS WELDING AND CUTTING. It all started three years ago. When I saw the heaps of scrap, which had been left by the predecessors. I had the idea to cut this scrap into peaces in order to gain valuable constructing material for the school and to gain space at the same time. This idea was connected with the manufacturing of a four-meter long workbench welded together of sectional steel, from the technical drawing to the finished model. For another workbench of the same type the material was delivered at the same time. The AFRICAN ASSISTANCE SCHONDORF sponsored most of the required gadgets and materials. Udo Kühn supplied a modern welder trolley with rubber tyres. The gas and oxygen bottles were bought in Tanzania. The MTSS prepared the buildings and the installation was performed with the help of the school craftsman, Mr. Steven Kihunje, who took part in the course as well. According to the headmaster, some of the participants of the course got a job as welder in Mlangali, a village in the neighbourhood. As the former technical teacher, Mr. Godfrey Kilatu is not any longer at the MTSS, a successor should be trained for the equipment.
• There is more material for the lino cutting and printing available by now. As the students are talented in arts, as I mentioned above, one should think about producing greeting cards for the world with the help of this techniques.
• We also spent some time and material on making the dining hall more beautiful. The large walls were cleared and painted from inside. So it was a suitable frame for the good-bye-party.
• Ringo was of course played, too. There was a great final tournament with many players.
• It was a wish of the headmaster to organise a computer course in the evening hours. The AFRICA ASSISTANCE SCHONDORF paid the costs for the petrol for the generator. Participants: Mr. Eliud G. Sanga and Mr. Lutengano Mwalubandu. It was a pity that of the PC's that were available at the MTSS almost none could be used, because they were too old or not complete. Udo Kühn left therefore his laptop there, bought in addition to that a printer for the MTSS at Dar-Es-Salaam on his way home to Germany. He also negotiated about buying a completely new PC with additional equipment.
• One PC, which had been delivered with the annual container this year, was used for the PC-short course at the MTSS and was then sent to a hospital at Lugarawa. There Udo Kühn and Lutengano Mwalubandu installed it. Sister Orester Mkulu got a short introduction, which was reinforced by Mr. Mwalubandu later.
• The support of the craftsmen at Mkiu could be expended to a blacksmith cooperative thanks to the financial help of the ASSISTANCE FOR CRAFTSMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES [GAP]. Again it was Mr. Lutengano Mwalubandu who spoke for the sponsors and the receivers and they agreed upon a written agreement, too.

2001 Financial support and delivery of a container

• Meanwhile the new PC-equipment form Dar-Es-Salaam has been delivered to the MTSS. At the same time, Mr. Lutengano Mwalubandu got a PC-training by Mr. Basil Saprapasen. The training was sponsored by Basil Saprapasen, the hardware, the ten-day stay and the fare to the training at Dar-Es-Salaam was paid by the Kühn family. From now on, the MTSS has got a PC-course in its program.
• The ASSISTANCE FOR CRAFTSMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES [GAP] has expended its support besides to the above mentioned blacksmith shop at Njombe and the cooperative at Mkiu to two carpenter shops in Mkiu.

2002 Delivery of a container

• Two more PCs, both in excellent condition, from Udo Kühn and Dieter Geiger arrived at the MTSS.

2003 Stay at the MTSS in September: Antje and Helmut Klein; Dieter Geiger / Air cargo delivery

• This time the edition of a school documentation as a common task was put into the centre of all activities. The participants succeeded in finishing it in a short time. It has got 26 pages, it is largely illustrated, it is well done. It is a very informative brochure for interested parents, teachers and students as well as for governmental and non-governmental authorities and organizations. The brochure was printed at the MTSS in a first edition of 50 copies with a ring binding. An additional edition is possible at any time, it can be changed and completed.
• The binding gadget can also be used for other projects, e.g. for the production of teaching materials for teachers and students.
• The computer room has been equipped with new hardware and has been new arranged. Now at the MTSS the following hardware is available: a digital camera with additional equipment, an additional scanner and a printer, a cd-writer together with cd-blanks, a paper cutter.
• Dieter Geiger offered a PC-course for students, which was attended very well.
• Antje and Helmut Klein checked the store and made a list of all the tools and materials there. It was surprising how much material the MTSS has got that has not been used yet.
• At the end of the stay, again a nice Ringo tournament with 30 students in 10 teams was organised, for the first time with school owned Ringo-shirts. Mr. Mwalubandu supported the Ringo tournament.
• The dining hall got six solar lamps permanently installed at its outside thus making the area a bit friendlier.
• The blacksmith at Njombe, the joiner and the blacksmith cooperative at Mkiu were visited and got each an accumulator thrilling set as a present from the Kühn family.

Finally it must be said, that any kind of material that is aimed on projects, has a greater chance to be used sensibly and for more purposes than material that only might be used. In future suitable tools and materials should be bought more and more in the country itself and they should be delivered directly to the MTSS, especially electronic gadgets so that a later disposal is possible without polluting the environment. Also in Tanzania the suppliers will be forced to take back the electronic scrap one day.

A trustful cooperation is the best thanks for all engaged people.




Udo Kühn, 64711 Erbach-Bullau, Germany, October 2003