This article is from page 31 of the 2007-08-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 31 JPG
IT was a bright February morning when we left Ennistymon and set out on the road less travelled. It’s a little daunting to leave the certainty of the yearly cycle at school and the secu- rity of family and friends behind but the adventure of life drew us towards Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).
With the process of selection, train- ing and preparation completed we were posted here on Pemba Island, Tanzania where we have a one year contract teaching at a primary teach- er training college where there are about 280 students and 12 staff.
The holiday brochures recommend Zanzibar as the perfect destination for honeymooners with its long white beaches and coral reefs. Its neighbour Pemba, on the other hand, is very re- mote, poor and underdeveloped.
The island is 40 miles long and about 12 miles wide with one main road through the centre which is serviced by cheap local buses called KORE er Nebo
Unfortunately, the island is sur- rounded by mangrove swamps so the beaches are few and difficult to ac- cess. Weekends lying out in the sun
are not an option.
The greatest challenge we face here is that 99.5 per cent of the people are strict Muslims, with religion play- ing a central part in their lives and the daily routine revolves around the calls to prayer.
The people of Wete, the town where we work, have really opened
their hearts to us although they found it difficult to accept a woman riding a bicycle.
There is only one other ‘msungu’ living in the area so everyone knows us and small children cry at the sight of our white skin and ‘funny’ hair.
The most striking feature of life here is the sheer poverty of the peo-
ple, how they struggle to survive and how they value education as a means to a better life.
Over the last seven weeks the stu- dents have been on block teaching practice and this has given us an op- portunity to visit primary schools all over the island.
Polygamy is widely practiced here so there is a huge school going popu- lation with up to a hundred in some classes. The standard of teaching is poor, books are scarce and often there aren’t even desks.