My name is Tumaini Mtiki and I am 19 years old. A few months ago, I finished the last year of school, which is Form Six. I am now considered a Kisa Graduate, as I have completed two years of Kisa classes. I live at Majengo in Moshi where I am staying with my mother. For my Advanced Level education (last two years of secondary school), I studied at Kibosho Girls Secondary School in Moshi. I lived in a dormitory with 40 other girls. I took the combination of HKL, which means History, Kiswahili and Language Studies. There were 35 students in my class and my favorite class was Kiswahili.
The thing that I really like in my life is to help and support different people who face and suffer from various problems. During my break after Form Six, I have volunteered with AfricAid to get work experience. The office is in Majengo near my home. I have been asked to write a blog about life at a school in Tanzania. This will help me with my writing and computer skills.
Kisa Scholars at Kibosho Girls Secondary School are always eager to share what they’ve learned.
Kibosho Girls is a very large boarding school with students from Form One to Form Six. It is run by the Catholic church and the school Principal is a religious Sister. However, the students come from many different religions. The school has a big farm and the students are the ones who do the farm activities such as planting, weeding and harvesting. It normally takes three days of work, but if it is raining, it can take longer. The main crop is maize, which the students eat for lunch.
Classes are scheduled from Monday to Friday. The students normally wake up early at 5:00am. Everyone completes her personal cleanliness before breakfast, which is porridge. Before going to class, girls go to Assembly and enter the classroom at 8 am. There are three classes before lunch, which can be either ugali (stiff porridge) with beans or makande (beans and ground maize). In the evening, dinner is rice or sepa (maize and beans). On Sunday the girls are given bananas with meat if it is available. Kisa classes are conducted as soon as the usual classes are over.
Kisa Mentor Subira Manyama works with a Kisa Scholar at Kibosho.
On Saturday the students normally do personal cleaning as well as general cleaning around the school campus. Every student has a duty to do and mine was slashing grass. On Sunday everyone goes to prayers or mass to worship, followed by lunch and private study. On Mondays there is generally a weekly test, so girls prepare for that. The time of sleeping is normally 10pm and if anyone is still in the classroom, the watchman will tell them to leave. Everyone goes to bed, but girls who have not finished their study can go to the dining room until 12am, then go to bed. No one is allowed to be outside after that time. No roaming around is allowed.
My leisure time was spent reading story books and planting trees and watering them. There is a site on campus called “Roots and Shoots,” or “Greenland.” My friends and I also liked to do several exercises on the playground to make our bodies fit, physically and mentally.
The one bad thing about Kibosho is when it rains too much, it becomes flooded and our shoes were destroyed. However, in general, I enjoyed my time at Kibosho very much. It is a good environment with teachers who are cooperative and friendly to the students. There are a variety of people from different places and I like learning about different life circumstances and behaviors. This is how you really grow your mind. I have made lifelong friends. I feel I am now ready to go to university where I aspire to earn a degree in business.
A group of Year Two Kisa Scholars from Kibosho enjoy their day away from school at AfricAid’s Career Day in October, 2017.
Contributed by: Tumaini Mtiki, Kisa Alumna and Volunteer
