Answering More Questions!

Habari!

The last group of questions has been trickling in, so I wanted to answer them for you now. However, if you have any more questions -- you're going to have to save them until I get there!

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Here at Owasco Elementary, we have been catching up with your earlier posts. Students from Mrs. Brown's class were particularly interested in your climb on Mt. Kilamanjaro. We were wondering how you prevented yourself from getting too cold and tired, and how many miles you climbed. Another student asked if there are any zoos in Tanzania?

Great question! While I was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, it got increasingly colder the higher up we went. So, in our giant backpacks, we had big winter coats, knit hats, scarves, puffy gloves (like the ones you might use for skiing!), handwarmers, long johns, ski pants, and Under Armour shirts. We also layered our socks and wore big hiking boots to keep our feet warm! And for sleeping, we all got these sleeping bags that keep you warm even in below - zero temperatures. However, while we were wearing all of this clothing and climbing, a lot of the times your body would get nice and toasty...maybe even too toasty! It was definitely better to be hot than cold though! 

I'm only wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants at the moment (and a hat), but this is all of my gear! 

In order to not be tired....well, we only climbed about 6 hours a day (at the max) while we were going up the mountain. That meant we had a lot of time for resting and a good night's sleep! But we were also encouraged to stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water and taking a break if you needed one. From my experience, it is better to walk slowly and steady without any breaks than to go fast and need a lot of breaks.  

Finally, there are some zoos in Tanzania -- but most Tanzanians have never heard of them or know what they are! Zoos, and the ideas of keeping animals just to look at,  is very Western. Tanzanians would be more excited to go on a safari, where they could see local animals in the wild! Because they don't have zoos though, they are not very familiar with all of the different types of animals you can find around the world in different places. For example, my students were shocked that there are no giraffes and elephants in America, and kept asking, what are these bears you speak of?

I did find this snake park near Arusha, Tanzania though....

But even there, you could touch some of the animals!
(I really was not too happy about where it's head was looking!)

Casey Park wrote, We thought that students who could afford high school were able to go to high school. But after reading Bahati's story, we know that students must also pass the Standard 7 exam. Is that right?
 

This is a great question! I can't believe I haven't addressed this yet. 

Yes, in order to even be allowed to go to secondary school (high school), Tanzanian students take a national examination while they are in Standard 7, or their seventh year of schooling. This tests to see how much they've learned while in elementary school, and how likely they will be able to learn English -- because elementary school is taught entirely in Swahili and secondary school is taught entirely in English. 

As you've seen from the photos, elementary schools are not great places for students to learn a lot. Unfortunately, this means that around 50% of elementary school students do not pass, and are not allowed to attend secondary school. 

Moreover, only 10% of students pass secondary school. Talk about the odds being against you!

In New York State, 74% of students graduate from high school. 

Some of these students stay on the farm until they get married (which they will marry much younger than those who continue on in school), or may spend a few years doing odd jobs. Some girls move in with other families to be maids in order to gain a small income. Imagine being done with school at the age of 12, or even 15, with basically no opportunities for a better life? It's a really sad situation. 

Dakota from Mrs. Dann's 6th grade class wants to know: How old do people have to be to work in Tanzania?

While there may be a law in Tanzania that states how old someone must be in order to work, it is not followed at all. Children work around the house beginning at a very young age, and children who do not go to elementary school (some cannot even afford the uniform or cost of pens and books) or secondary school can be found selling items or food on the side of the road. The money they make goes towards the living expenses of the family. 

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Thanks for all of the questions guys!

Tutaonana karibu! (We will see one another soon!) 

[ too-tah-oh-na-na  karibu!]

Marisa