Breaking Ground

Currently at Stella Maris, we are building the final classroom of our school!  The other six classrooms have been built incrementally over the last five years. Five years ago when the school opened, there was only one cohort of children, at that time in P1.  Each year since then, we have added a grade.  As such, in our fifth year, we now have five grades, with the oldest children in the building being those who started off in P1 and are now our P5 pupils. 

It has been very exciting, and educational, to watch the construction of this classroom.  Construction in Tanzania is slightly different than current construction practices at home: from using old-school stakes and string to outline the shape of the classroom to the layer of rocks of all shapes and sizes serving as the foundation to the men physically leveling the wet concrete instead of user a roller to the supporting beams of wood instead of steel. 

Layer of rocks of all shapes and sizes before concrete was poured.

Floor of the new classroom, post concrete pouring, rolling and setting. 

Walls going up! 

Extra bricks, and an indoor chair, used as 'ladders'. 

Men standing on bricks and wood to complete higher portion of wall.
Check out the style of our overseer: pants tucked in the socks! :)

Wall complete!

Now onto the roof! Note wooden support beams.

In short, Tanzania utilizes many of the techniques of construction utilized by America pre–Industrial Era.  And, as a few school volunteers have pointed out, the safety standards are not exactly up to par (in comparison to America, of course): no helmets; instead of steel-toed boots, men are wearing flip flops; ladders are non-existent, and instead, bricks that will eventually be the top of the classroom walls are piled into ‘steps’ to allow workers to continue their work up high.  The experience of watching the construction of this building reminds me that there are many ways to complete the same task. 

The project began about two weeks ago now.  One Monday, I came to school to see men digging up the ground behind the teachers’ work room, which is the end of the horseshoe-shaped building - on the left side of the school.  Mind you, all of the rest of the classrooms are in ascending order, beginning in the middle portion of the horseshoe and continuing to the right side of the horseshoe, with the P6 classroom serving as the end of the horseshoe on the opposite side, the right side of the school.  I asked Mama Shayo what the construction was all about, at which time she informed me that we were building our final classroom.

Now, with my American, logistically-oriented mind and my background in education, I was wondering why the final classroom was being built at the end of the side of the building where there are not any other classrooms - especially since it will host the leaders of the school once it is occupied with students.  Of course my OCD and my Masters in Education does not make me an expert in architecture, so I was hesitant to voice my concern about the layout of the next portion of our school.  But, I also did not want to miss the chance to make an adjustment before it was too late.  I reached out to Stan, the director of the foundation that built the hotel and school as soon as I got home that afternoon.  In Stan’s usual fashion, he replied that same day, and invited me to reach out to Father Kitali and the architect of the building.  With Stan’s encouragement to inquire about the layout, I decided I would walk over to the church the next day after school and speak with Father Kitali.

The next morning, I arrived at school to find the workers already there and back to digging.  I couldn’t believe my luck.  The one time I actually wanted something to operate on Tanzanian time, the workers were as punctual as possible and not skipping a beat with completing the task at hand.  By the end of the day, the outline of the classroom was completely dug, and I figured I had missed my chance to suggest altering the location of the classroom. Concrete had not been poured yet nor had any bricks been placed anywhere, but at the rate the men were working, those more permanent next steps would occur very shortly.

As luck would have it, Father Kitali stopped over at the hotel later that night around dinner time, as he regularly does.  Teddy, Inno and I were on our way to town, but I told myself that I should detain our departure for just a few moments and speak with Father.  I figured if he gave any sort of indication that I was too late with my suggestion, I would let it go.  Likewise, I figured I might as well give it one shot.

So, I explained my thinking to Father.  Like always, he was received my suggestion willingly.  He said he would reach out to Mr. Mosha, the architect of the building, so that the three of us could sit down and talk.  I agreed, worrying though, that unless all this was done at the speed of light, it would still be too late.

What do you know.  The next morning when I arrived at school, Mama Shayo informed me that the workers were instructed to stop working for the day, moreover until Fr. Kitali, Mr. Mosha and I discussed the building.  AND, she informed me that I was to be at the hotel at 5:00 that evening because the three of us would meet at that time to discuss moving forward with construction.  I was shocked. That was an immensely quick turn around time for directions to be given and a meeting to be arrived as far as Tanzanian standards go.  Immensely quick.

That evening, right at 5pm, Mr. Mosha and I began our conversation.  We spoke for about an hour, during which time I learned so much more of the background about the beginning days of the project and the multiple versions of the school building that had been discussed over the last several years.  Mr. Mosha was very attentive to my suggestion and explanation of why I though P7 would be better suited on the other side.  We also talked 'big picture' about the remaining parts of the school that need to be built, dining hall, kitchen, administrative offices and computer lab.  Essentially, we had pretty different perspectives on the best placement of these rooms.  Considering that I learned later in our conversation that it is very uncommon for women to give input in architectural matters, I felt oh so appreciative that Mr. Mosha was so receptive to me.  

About an hour into our meeting, Father Kitali arrived.  We spent a good portion of the next hour recapping the first hour’s conversation, with Father adding his reflections in as we brought him up to speed.  Finally, we made our way out to the actual school building, talking there and finalized our next steps.  By the end, about three hours after Mr. Mosha and I began our meeting, we all agreed that although it was unfortunate that the perimeter of the classroom had already been dug, it was in the best option to move P7 over to the other side of the building.

I felt a great sense of accomplishment.  I was happy that I spoke up, and relieved that in doing so that I did not offend anyone.  I was honored that my suggestions were heard and taken so seriously in an arena where it is a rarity for women to share their opinion.  I was thrilled with how swiftly this whole matter was handled and that the workers would not do any more work in vain. It also made me realize that my being here is beneficial, as opposed to it simply being an experience that is bringing such joy and happiness to MY life - for the construction of the classroom on the less-than-ideal side of the building would have continued on without a second thought had I not interjected.

It's always lovely to see things come together so nicely as they did in this circumstance. :)