A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

As the child of a banker, it is in my blood to be economically wise.  Thank you, mama, for teaching me this immensely valuable skill.

Secondary schools in Tanzania are very expensive.  Scratch that.  Good, private secondary schools – the type that our children will be able to attend because of their fluency in English– are very expensive. This type of secondary school education costs around Tsh 1.2 million, the equivalent of $1,250, compared to the current Stella Maris school fees of Tsh 70,000, less than $50. Since the Stella Maris schools fees are difficult for many of our families to pay, the massive increase in secondary school fees will be nearly impossible for many of our families to pay. One day a couple of weeks ago, this realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

The Stella Maris project was created to provide children of the Mailisita area with a strong primary school education so that they were prepared for the level of work of secondary school.  Our school is taught in English so that children are ready for secondary school, since all secondary schools are taught in English.  And our kids are doing a phenomenal of a job of learning English, as well as working hard in their other subjects.  However, all of that work will be for naught if financial reasons prevent them from attending to secondary school.

As you can see, we have a major problem on our hands.  So, I began to think.  I realized that we have thirty months to come up with a strategic plan to solve this current problem, as that is how much time is left before our current P5 students graduate from our school. 

I came up with a solution that is two fold.  One part of my vision was/is to create a Stella Maris scholarship fund solely for the purpose of supporting the families of graduating P7 pupils by supplementing schools fee costs. I figured I could (1) tap into every financial resource that I have at my disposal, and ask my family and friends to do the same and (2) recruit generous individuals to sponsor graduating P7 Stella Maris specific children whose families will simply not be able to afford the school fees.  The second part of my vision was/is to get the families of our students on board with the notion of beginning to save for secondary school NOW. Not in six months at the beginning of P6. Right now.

Now, I knew that such a task would require several steps and a lot of work.  Luckily for me, one of the members of the Mailisita Foundation, Dave, happened to be visiting Tanzania for two weeks right at the time that I was firming up this vision in my mind.  One day, I casually mentioned these grand plans of mine to him and then as it turns out, that very same night, he, Father Kitali and I had an impromptu multi-hour meeting discussing this very topic. 

The three of us discussed how we needed to support our families in saving for secondary school if we really wanted to fulfill the mission of our school. I shared with Father Kitali and Dave the aspects of supporting our families that I felt would be most important:

       1)  Getting our families invested in the notion of saving. I was worried that families would not see the value of doing so nor be able to do spare any of their monthly income.  Father Kitali assured me that neither would be a problem.

       2)  Equipping our families with the knowledge of how much one year, let alone the six years, of secondary school would cost so that they could really understand the urgency in beginning to save now. 

       3)  Providing families with a savings plan/timetable so that they could see how it would be possible to save enough money and what they needed to do.   

       4)  Showing our families that they will be supported throughout the lengthy process of preparing for secondary school, especially since this would be new for many of our families. 

We all agreed that each of these pieces was important and that the best first step would be to call a meeting with P5 parents.  Father Kitali and I set a date and divided up the tasks that needed to be accomplished beforehand.  Father Kitali would talk to the banks in the town to see which bank would be most helpful in setting up savings accounts and would offer the best deal for our families.  I would reach out to all of the families to ensure their attendance and I also would create the strategic savings plan that we would share with families at the meeting.

Yesterday morning we held the meeting.  Of the 27 students in P5, 26 families were represented! That in and of itself was so awesome to see. We sent a letter home ten days ago. The letter simply said all P5 parents/families needed to attend a meeting at 10am on Saturday the 28th. It didn't say what the meeting was about; it simply said parents need to be there.  How AWESOME that when we communicate with families that we need them to attend a meeting, they do!  

Father Kitali opened up the meeting, after a prayer, of course, by asking families what they were already doing to prepare for their child’s secondary school education.  Almost all families had not yet begun to prepare. Many parents realized through that question that the time to begin to prepare was now, even with secondary school being over two years away.  We told families how much secondary school costs and we gave them a chart illustrating how much they will need to save each month between now and the end of P7.  Bank representatives discussed the logistics of opening up a savings account in their child’s name.  We also convinced the bank, prior to the meeting, to come back to our school in a couple of weeks.  We recognized the need to make this entire process as simple as possible for families. So, instead of having to go all the way into town to open up an account, our second meeting will allow families to come to the school to open up the account.  We also scheduled this meeting for a couple weeks from now so that families have time to save the money needed as a down payment on the account. 

It was such an honor to sit in the meeting, at the front of the room, alongside Father Kitali and Mama Shayo, mind you, and see the first step of what will be a long path of preparation completed.  It continues to be such a humbling experience to have my suggestions be warmly received by Father Kitali and Mama Shayo.  It was awesome to have a good turn out and to see, via body language and attentiveness in the meeting, families care so much about their child’s education.  Everyone in the room was so very serious, and was hanging on to every word that was said.  Saving for secondary school is going to be a financial burden for every P5 family, but it was obvious that the family members in attendance yesterday are committed to making it happen.  They want better lives for their children and are willing to sacrifice so much for that to be possible.  They were so appreciative that we, the school leaders, were thinking about saving now when there is still enough time to plan accordingly.  It was so refreshing to see people really, truly appreciate the work you are doing for the future of their children.  After the meeting, I was invited to all of my students’ homes as a sign of their appreciation.

Although yesterday was just the initial meeting, I feel so relieved.  Knowledge is power, and now our families know what they are up against and have a solid plan to reach the goal of saving enough money.  The next thirty months are so crucial, and will be full of more meetings, reminders, support sessions, and conversations.  It is an exciting time in the history of Stella Maris English Medium Primary School, and it is also a time of important and urgent work on the side of both families and staff. 

Yesterday’s meeting was the first step on the families’ side of secondary school preparation.  Now, I need to sink my feet into the other side: raising money for a secondary school scholarship fund.  Inevitably some families will not be able to save the needed amount of money per month for the next thirty months.  And my optimistic self just cannot come to grips with the fact that any of our hard-working, fluent English speaking students will be denied the opportunity to go to secondary school because of money. 

Thankfully this optimist is also a relentless pursuer of a goal once it is set.   There’s no time like the present. So, let me roll up my sleeves and dig in!