IMUMA

My friend Lauren has been spending her time in Tanzania at IMUMA, an orphanage that houses and supports orphaned children and supports at risk children in the community.  For the last five weeks I have been going there in the afternoon to help teach English to the high school aged students there.  At this stage of their education everything is taught in English and their ability to understand and comprehend quickly is key to their success.  What has impressed me most about these kids and lot’s of other Tanzanians is their thirst (every opportunity to learn is taken whether it be through learning a new word from a mzungu or from reading through their textbook not once, not twice, but three times to fully grasp a concept) their drive (some students walk 14 miles roundtrip to go to school for the day in a place where the temperature frequently hits 90 degrees by 8am) and their willingness (our kids at IMUMA after spending all day at school still find the time and energy to work on their English skills outside the classroom) toward their education.  Never in my educational career have I ever been that dedicated to a single subject let alone to all the subjects on my plate.  I profoundly admire all the students in this country, for their dedication, for their tenacity, and for their joy in learning.  These teenagers are always an inspiring sight, not something I could say about myself at 14 or 15.