July 5, 2010
A Bookshop Opens in Kwala
Over the past six months, NTC’s Village Reading Corner, Early Children’s Literacy, and classroom cultural exchange reading initiatives have spread the love of reading throughout Kwala – mothers reading with their children, large groups of children swarming around the scholarship girls as they read aloud in the village center, and books becoming students’ prized possessions. Knowing that literacy is the linchpin of opportunities for these children, seeing this happen has been immensely gratifying. So, NTC is especially proud to announce that local shop owner Josephina Gunda is selling affordably-priced books to children and adults throughout the community at Kwala’s first bookshop! Josephine purchases books from NTC’s partner publishing company, Mkuki Na Nyota, at an NTC-subsidized rate and sells them at her new bookshop.
The Kwala bookshop marks NTC’s first self-sustaining and community-led program – an incredible achievement! However, NTC’s work to ensure that all children in Kwala have access to wonderful and affordable Tanzanian children’s books is just beginning. Our ultimate goal is for this generation of Kwala’s children to be the first to be 100% grade-appropriate literate. Please see the “NTC Involvement” section at the end of this newsletter to find out how you can help make this happen.
NTC’s 2nd Annual Group Trip to Kwala Departs in Late July
Four students from Newton South and several community members will visit Kwala in the beginning of August. Besides a safari to Mikumi National Park, the group will help kick-off the water harvesting project at Kwala Secondary School, work with students in the new Smallbean solar powered computer lab, and decorate classrooms and the new girls’ dormitory in what we are calling “Extreme Makeover – Kwala Edition.” The anticipation is high as the group learns Swahili, obtains visas, etc. etc. etc. – it should be a terrific trip!
New Project Directors in Kwala
NTC is proud to introduce our new Project Directors in Kwala for the 2010/2011 school year! Alex Rosenberg is a Cornell University graduate interested in English and early children’s education. Alex spent three months in a small community in Uganda and helped fund and create the community primary school’s first library. Emma Cohan is a Bryn Mawr graduate with a degree in psychology and a concentration in education. Emma is also a Newton resident and graduated from Newton North High School in 2003.
The new Project Directors will train with Lisa Walker, NTC’s current Project Director, for two weeks beginning on July 14, meet the NTC group in Kwala in August, and then take over for Lisa in Kwala through June, 2011 (or longer!). Welcome aboard, Alex and Emma!
Other NTC Volunteers to Visit Kwala
The Kwala Community will also host several other NTC volunteers this summer:
Alan Rosenbaum – A first year medical student at the University of Pittsburgh, Alan will volunteer for five weeks at Kwala’s medical clinic. He is the first NTC volunteer to establish a connection with the clinic and has opened the doors to an on-going relationship. Alan has identified several major health needs in community and is already working with the Kwala community and NTC to establish sex-education in the community to help prevent unwanted pregnancy, HIV and other STD’s. To share Alan’s personal experience, click here: Letter from Alan: “A Glimpse of Heathcare in Kwala”
Teagan Lukacs – Teagan is a senior at Boston University and the president of NTC Club there. A pre-med student, Teagan is initiating NTC’s science curriculum project by working with Kwala Secondary School’s biology teacher Mussa Msangi to integrate creative science experiments into the science curriculum. Thanks to generous donations from Emmanuel College and the University of Rochester, Teagan will bring ten microscopes to donate to the Kwala school community and use them to lead biology students in conducting basic experiments using locally-available materials.
Brendan Duggan – Brendan, age 13, runs NTC Club at Oak Hill Middle School in Newton and will visit Kwala for several days in July. Brendan will spend the majority of his time in Kwala at Mahundi Primary School, and will present soccer jerseys for the school soccer team as a gift from NTC Club at Oak Hill.
The community also said “kwaheri” (goodbye) to two very important NTC visitors this past month, Adrian Coyne and Michael Walker. Adrian spent four months in Kwala teaching English, facilitating projects with NTC Proejct Director Lisa Walker, and played a major role in the formation of the Kwala Book Shop project. Michael spent two months in Kwala teaching mathematics at Kwala Secondary School and also participated in NTC initiatives in Kwala. An enormous “asante sana” (thank you very much) goes out to Adrian and Michael, and we look forward to benefiting from their experience and involvement in the future!
NTC Summer Marketing and Evaluation Team
We want to welcome our Summer Marketing and Evaluation Interns to the NTC team! The group will meet weekly to improve NTC’s marketing and outreach efforts, including a redesign of our website. Keep your eyes open for big changes this fall! Special recognition goes to Lauren Lynch, Amanda Mantino, Alyza Devraj, and Vineeta Sharma for volunteering their time this summer!
NTC Wraps Up a Successful 2009 – 2010 School Year
NTC has completed another successful year of programming throughout the Newton Public Schools, kicked off by a return visit from Kwala Secondary School teacher Athuman Msangi to Mason-Rice Elementary School, Oak Hill Middle School, and Newton South High School last October.
Mason-Rice Elementary School - Third grade Mason-Rice classrooms participated in NTC’s Village Reading Corner classroom exchange project, reading the same Tanzanian children’s book as students from the Standard 5 classroom at Mahundi Primary School in Kwala and sharing their favorite illustrations from the book. The students also answered questions and drew pictures about daily life in Newton and Kwala.
Oak Hill Middle School - Students from NTC Club at Oak Hill raised awareness about NTC and Kwala throughout the school. Students ran two successful bake sales and hosted a tremendously entertaining school talent show that also featured video of performances from students in Kwala. Finally, several Oak Hill students made a collaborative Hip-Hop album with students from Kwala Secondary School. The album, which is available for purchase for five dollars with all proceeds going to NTC, features three songs written by Oak Hill students and three songs recorded at the Kwala Secondary School hip-hop show in February. To purchase a CD, please contact Brendan Duggan at BDuggan23@gmail.com!
Newton South High School – Students from NTC Club at Newton South facilitated a project with the school’s “The Lions Roar” newspaper that allowed Fatuma Mshangama, an NTC Girl’s Scholarship recipient, to write an article about her life in Tanzania. The article was featured on the front page of the newspaper’s March edition. NTC Club at Newton South will also send four visitors to Kwala this summer.
Ways YOU Can Get Involved with NTC this Summer
Village Reading Corner – Keep the Reading Momentum Going in Kwala! The Village Reading Corner project needs your help. In order to continue keep the price of books sold at Josephine’s book shop in Kwala affordable for parents and children, NTC is selling the same Tanzanian children’s books (English-language version, of course) in the United States for just five dollars – a price that also funds the same book to be purchased and sold for an affordable rate in Kwala. You can help by staffing a table of Tanzanian children’s books at school fairs, book fairs, or other events. Please contact us if you are interested in getting involved or have ideas for where we can sell the books.
Join an NTC Committee – NTC is forming two committees to target the areas most critical to NTC’s growth and stability. Each committee will meet approximately monthly. If you are interested in participating, please contact me.
Programming Committee – The NTC Programming Committee will define, organize and implement strategies to improve NTC’s diverse programs, including cultural exchange projects, the Village Reading Corner children’s literacy initiative, travel opportunities to Tanzania, and our on-going community and educational development programs.
Fundraising Committee – The NTC Fundraising Committee will analyze NTC’s fundraising strategy, determine which areas are most successful and which need improvement, and implement strategies that will expand NTC’s fundraising base. The committee will also coordinate fundraisers and identify other funding sources, including private and corporate foundations and fee-for-service revenue sources.
Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to NTC – Your support has made these programs – that improve educational opportunities for children in Tanzania and build rewarding relationships between students and citizens in the United States and Tanzania – possible. As a 501 (c) (3) organization, all donations to NTC are tax-deductible.
