Live From Kwala

Dear NTC Supporters,

arg 012My name is Lisa Walker and it is my pleasure to introduce myself as NTC’s new Project Director.  As a recent graduate of Boston University’s International Relations and African Studies program, I feel fortunate to have this opportunity to get directly involved with Tanzania’s education system – a subject that has been my interest for many years. My passion for working with children and young adults has been an evolving theme throughout my life. My commitment to African development has been more recent, and confirmed during my most recent trip to Tanzania in the Summer of 2008, during which I taught under the auspices of Cross Cultural Solutions. My experience provided me with the opportunity to challenge my teaching skills and expand my cultural and educational horizons. The experience also reinforced my belief that Tanzania, with a stable government and a functional economy, is on the brink of major change.  As such, I believe that a focus on educational development will provide the necessary tools for the next generation of Tanzanians, empowering students to take an active role within their families, communities, and country.I will be leaving Boston for Kwala on September 1st 2009. During my stay in Kwala, I have many goals that I hope to accomplish for NTC. These include:

  • Creating community based NTC Clubs in Kwala that will correspond and work with pre-established student based clubs within Newton schools.
  • Learning about the Tanzanian bilingual education system by working with students and teachers at Kwala Secondary School and Mahundi Primary School.
  • Creating a peer-mentoring initiative and English Club designed to enhance Kwala students’ English conversational skills
  • Working with Kwala staff to further NTC’s development goals for the Kwala School Community while also establishing local ownership of NTC within the Kwala community
  • Creating a holistic educational model to ensure the ongoing success of NTC’s Girls Scholarship Project

We live in a global world. To recognize this fact is to acknowledge our collaborative responsibility to each other and to generations to come. With this in mind, I plan to begin this weekly blog in September of 2009.  I look forward to receiving input from the larger NTC community, and hope that together we can have a positive impact on the community of Kwala, the community of Newton, and each other.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to continuing our conversation.

Best wishes,

Lisa Walker
In-field Project Director
LisaWalkerNTC@gmail.com