Ministry

Shika na Mikono is the hands-on science group that I have been a part of since the majority of last year.  Our main purpose is mainly be a hub of science and math resources for other PCVs, in terms of science manuals, DIY projects, teaching aids, you name it!  It wasn’t until we solidified our contact with the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Tanzania(MoEVT) that our purpose really took a turn for the better.

As I said in my last post, Dorothy and I just barely missed each other at the YST Exhibition.  We were supposed to meet up there and discuss the Ministry-Shika relationship, but instead it was a series of phone conversations which have resulted in a re-revolutionized Shika na Mikono.  I say “re-revolutionized” because the founding fathers (Aron Walker) of Shika used to be very involved with the Ministry and Tanzanian teacher trainings [yay alliterations!], but the ties were wearing thin and for the past couple of Shika teams it was even rare to meet up with Dorothy to talk to her about such matters.  Luckily, when I (as well as Ryan Early) talked to her in Dar, we started the ball rolling and got involved in a whirlwind of teacher trainings.  The first one sprung up on us (the Shika Team) with very little warning, but we took it with no questions asked, well at least not initially.  This training would be the first of many, but we were incredibly enthusiastic to finally get to broaden our horizons and work with teacher trainings.

Dorothy and Salum (our awesome and baritone-voiced PC liaison with the Ministry) gave us the schedule and sent an official letter of request to Peace Corps to approve of our endeavors.  This training would be the in-service training for the Ministry’s National Facilitators (NFs).  Later, these NFs would go to their corresponding regions and have a regional training to the regional trainers and so on.  It would be a cascade-type method of spreading teaching skills and knowledge.  The five of us were happy to know that we would be back in Morogoro for the training, since we hadn’t been there since IST and it was a place that was both familiar and comforting.  The training site was a private secondary school near CCT, so we rented out one of the CCT houses for the weekend and got to work.  The training lasted a whole week, but we were allotted one full day for Shika, thanks to Dorothy and Salum, and that day was to be jam-packed!  Salum was there for the PST that Ben, Steve, and I did last August and he wanted to do the same and more, which meant two things – he wanted a booming introduction again and we had a lot of work to do.

After much thought, we decided to nix the explosions and save that for Peace Corps trainings only, but Ben would still do his same epic speech in front of the same epic video.  That would be enough to over-stimulate the Tanzanians hahaha.  We arrived in Morogoro a couple of days early to prepare, and that was barely enough time to get everything done.  We checked the inventory, wrote up what we needed to buy, went on a scavenger hunt for the necessary supplies, and prepared our timetable and supplies in the school’s labs until the wee hours of the night, or until we were (I was) forced out by hordes of mosquitoes [UGHHHHH!]

Our sessions would be as follows:
8am – 10:30am = Ben’s speech, introductions and intro to Shika na Mikono, Box of Fun with presentations, and Shika Express (quick/”express” science and math demonstrations that can be done in the classroom)
10:30am – 11:00am = chai break (always SO GOOD!)
11:00am – 1:30pm =  Science Competition (Egg Drop and Bridge Challenge,  simultaneously occurring), a quick session of NECTA Practical alternatives using locally available science materials (LASM), and surveys with wrap-up

Most of these things we had done before, but the tricky part was the turnover between each activity and the allotted time for each session.  We only had one main room to work out of and pretty much every person in the Shika Team was manning a table or station for their subject (Ben – chemistry, Steve – math, Ryan – biology, Willie – physics part 1, me – physics part 2), so just as we were finishing one thing, we had to clear things off tables to do another thing.  Overall, it went quite smoothly for how much we had to prepare for the 80 participants, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.  We all were SO exhausted that day, so after collecting the surveys and eating lunch, we put everything back in the lab and went back to the house to rest.  The next day, we headed back to the school, cleaned everything up, and said our goodbyes.  Salum was beaming and so happy for our hard work, he treated us to delicious kiti moto [“pork”] that evening!

After the training, we all felt very good about it and the five of us parted ways back to our sites.  The Shika Team completed their mission and would be ready for when they had to save the day again…

In the mean time, I was back at site frantically preparing myself and my Form IV students for their NECTA practical – secretly collecting specimen and mixing chemicals, going over practice problems and test taking skills, doing sample practicals, the works.  I was back in my element as a mad scientist, but as the days of the NECTA exams arrived, the madness was overtaken by bittersweet soberness.  This would be the very last time I would be THE mad scientist (lab technician) for any official NECTA practical…  My plan is to be closing my service (COS-ing) by mid-September, and the Form IV NECTAs are not until late October or November.  So to commemorate my last days of madness, I put my usual lab coat (Eric’s oversized white jacket) and goggles on, did a lab jig, tried to take some timed jumping pictures in the lab (but failing miserably),  and ended up with this picture.

I was going to miss being the lab tech, but I think I will be more thankful for not having to work tirelessly each night for an entire week getting things ship-shape for each exam practical.  Besides, I will be teaching the volunteer that replaces me ALL the ropes before I leave, so I’ll get to pass on the baton and all will be well in the woods of Mwatisi.  ;D

--- INTERMISSION ---

Remember when I said before about the Shika Team being back to save the day?  Well, sooner than we thought, Shika na Mikono had to ASSEMBLE!!!

Even before we could let the dust settle from the Morogoro training, let alone the NECTA practicals, Dorothy and Salum requested us to now help the National Facilitators with their Regional Trainings.  There would be one in each super-region of Mbeya (all southern highlands), Shinyanga (northwest Tanzania), Dodoma (central Tanzania, Dar, and Arusha), and Tanga (coastal Tanzania), making a total of four trainings.  All would be good in the neighborhood if not for one catch, all of them would be happening…AT.THE.SAME.TIME!

So now, not only do we have one full day of three sessions doing the same things at the Morogoro training, but only one of us Shika members would be at each training.  Ben was assigned to Shinyanga with Salum, Ryan Dodoma with Dorothy, Steve Tanga with Ramadan (also an amazing PC technical staff member and asset), and me Mbeya peke yangu [“alone”].  :(  [Willie was currently occupied with his visiting parents at the time, so I would not have a partner in crime on this; however, I was not going to be entirely alone because I would have the NFs from Morogoro to help me out!  Yay!]

I actually wasn’t too overwhelmed or intimidated by the task, daunting though it seemed, because I had done so many trainings previously and I was lucky to be put at such a great venue with a great team.  Quite a few of the facilitators from the Morogoro training were with me, and there was a laboratory to prepare in and plenty of tables, so I was able to set up practically every session the day before.  Also, this time around we had more time for sessions, so no cramming was involved.  As usual, I arrived a couple of days before to run around Mbeya buying all necessary supplies for the training, prepare all the Shika sessions, and brief the facilitators on how to present the different Shika Express activities.

The day started with an introduction using the space montage in the background while presenting the powerpoint (no speech this time), followed by Box of Fun and group presentations.  After chai, we went straight to Shika Express activities, where I was the main lead for math and physics while my NFs helped lead chemistry and biology.  Instead of doing the usual Shika Express where we have only the subject-specific teachers go to their subject’s activities, we spread it out and had teachers from every subject go around to each activity station as well.  Everything went so smoothly thanks to the NFs, and everyone enjoyed the demonstrations.  :]  Following lunch were the simultaneous science competitions of Egg Drop and Bridge Building.  I mainly manned the Bridge Building duka [“store”] where the teams had to come and buy materials to build their bridge, using only the set number of science tokens given at the start of the competition.  [Yay, incorporation of money management with science competitions!]  Once time was up, we tested all of the Egg Drop contraptions and bridges, which was the most engaging part of the day.  Everyone always gets really into it and anticipates the fall (either of the egg or the bridge)!  The final session was just a wrap up session of everything we talked about, how to take this back to their schools, a homework assignment to come up with an original teaching activity and write it up, and the surveys.

Overall, I had a wonderful time in Mbeya and realized how exhilarating it is, time and time again, to have the opportunity to conduct science conferences and do trainings for both Tanzanians and Peace Corps Volunteers alike.  Who knows, maybe this could be a look into what my career path will look like after Peace Corps?  :]