INTERN REFLECTION BY: TIHUT GETABICHA

Tihut preparing paperwork at the Sasamani Office in Bagamoyo.

Karibu to my first blog! After spending 3 weeks in Tanzania, I have picked up a few Kiswahili words. I doubt I can have a fluent conversation, perhaps I can throw out two sentences? I haven’t gotten use to the language, but I have befriended the mosquitos in Bagamoyo! My favorite food in Tanzania is Pilau. I am most certainly taking the recipe to cook it someday. Pilau dates back to Indian origin; an import that has been adapted for East African kitchens. Pilau is a popular dish that is cooked throughout East African Countries.

​Working at the Sasamani Foundation has been a remarkable experience so far. I enjoy the flexibility of our job descriptions and the leeway we are given to focus on our area of interest. I am specifically interested in outreach programs to network and partner with other local and international NGO's in the area. These past few weeks I have been searching for partnership opportunities with the USAID mission in Tanzania. A few weeks ago, I was at a dinner hosted by the U.S. embassy and I ran into Aaron Miles, the Deputy Director of Education at USAID Tanzania. I have been exchanging emails with Mr. Miles on activities of the USAID that closely relate with what we do at Sasamani.

Sasamani Team at the Saba Saba exhibition, an annual international trade fair in Dar es Salaam.

Last week, our Sasamani team took a trip to Saba Saba exhibition. The exhibition is an annual international trade fair that takes place in Dar Es Salaam. The trip was planned to outreach to other various non-profits operating in Tanzania. At the fair, we networked with a government organization named SIDO-Small Industries Development Organization. The objective of SIDO is to develop small industry sector in Tanzania by providing start-ups loans and training on marketing strategies.

They offer mentoring and marketing workshops for tailors, which could be of great use for the ten local tailors we have in Sasamani’s employment initiative. I spoke to the SIDO staff manager for the Bagamoyo district, and we are scheduled to meet with the regional manager on Friday at our Sasamani Office in Bagamoyo to discuss corporate partnership between SIDO and Sasamani.

I have also been working on drafting a grant proposal for Vocational Skill Project for our 3 partnered schools. The Vocational Skill Project is a program that will be designed to provide preparatory vocational education to address school drop-outs, and unemployed youth living within villages of Bagamoyo district with a vocational training scheme. This project aims to provide the necessary training for students with zero experience to compete at an entry-level. I talked to Dr. Mori what the process would look like if we were to get the green light in order to launch the Vocational Skill Project.

Saba Saba International Trade Fair 2019

According to Dr. Mori, the program would have to go through the Ministry of Education and the Vocational Educational and Training Authority of Tanzania to be approved as an accredited program. I personally believe the idea is a great prospect for our long term goal to build a Bagamoyo Community Center. However, as of now, instead of launching a Vocational Skill Project we could certainly look into partnering with other local NGO’s working on vocational training and education.

Tihut teaching at the Kingani Secondary school.

Thus far, I have visited Kingani, Matinbwa and Kiromo Secondary Schools to give short workshops on Menstruation Hygiene Management for students. I also facilitated discussions and demonstrations on sanitation tips during the menstrual cycle. I have also spent my time teaching at Kingani and Kiromo Secondary schools. Little did I know I had a passion for teaching. I enjoyed leading classes at both schools. In Kingani, I teach Economic Integration and English.

​Teaching English can be a tad frustrating especially when it’s not your first language. But, I give myself 3-5 hours to go over the topics I cover in class because the last thing I want to do is confuse my students. The fact that English isn't my first language also has its perks because I learned it as a second language just like the students in Kingani. In Kiromo, I teach Civics focusing on regional integrations within Africa. I also have had the chance to help with shelving books in the Kingani library because I have some experience as a library shelver in a public library.

Kingani Secondary School classroom.

Outside of class, I spend time getting to know the students. I teach them a few unordinary things about Ethiopia like the fact that we have 13 months, not 12. Their facial reactions when they hear this is priceless! Most of them ask me to write their names in Amharic (which is the national language in Ethiopia). In the process of getting to know them, I would like to think I have established a rapport with the students. Next week, I will be interviewing Sasamani students to check-in with them about their academic, financial and health status.

Tihut posing with Sasamani students and the headmaster of Kingani Secondary School.

I can't believe my stay in Tanzania will come to an end in just a week. It's shocking! I have had an amazing experience in such a beautiful country. I continue to blame myself for not visiting Tanzania when it's only four hours away from Ethiopia. I'm trying to convince my parents to visit Zanzibar for their next anniversary! Look at me feeling like a blogger already when I have zero experience with blogging! Stay tuned for my next blog.