GEITA GOLD - Part 2

Back to Geita – Geita had a much different vibe.  Starting at the top with the Executive Director of the Region, Mr. Tatala (as best I can tell his role would be akin to a state governor in the US, I think?), there was strong leadership and support for sport, and girls in sport, throughout the Geita region.  They are already in the midst of establishing a central sports center at the Kalangalala Secondary School in Geita.  Of course what you and I envision of as a sports complex here in the States is NOTHING like what they mean.  However, by their standards this is most certainly a sport center and a great step.  Their complex has a soccer field (this was the first ‘field’ we saw with lines dug into the soil, it had permanent metal goal posts and it was relatively level compared to the others we had seen), a netball court, a ‘track’ (an imprecise set of lanes dug into the soil and marked with lime dust in an oval encircling the field), and a second netball court is in progress.  They also hope to build a fence around the school to enclose all the facilities to prevent locals from walking and biking across their complex as well as livestock from grazing on it.   In addition 2 future sport centers are already in the plans for the region. 

Underneath Mr.Tatala there were 3 other key figures that we met with; Mr. Mfungu (Cultural & Sport Officer of Geita), Ms. Mary Mpemba (Director of Sport), and Mr. Deus (Headmaster of Kalangalala Secondary School).  All three are already on board with the importance of sport and were eager to discuss strategies to enhance and develop what they have already started in Geita.  Their main issue (similar to Kigoma) and top priority is to secure more equipment – primarily soccer balls!  They also expressed a need for shorts for the girls to play in versus their school skirts which restrict them from moving freely and make them self conscious.  Additionally, the coaches need more direction, structure and follow up from a point person (which should be the Director of Sport) to keep them organized and all moving forward on the same page. 



Coaches of Geita



We worked with 50 coaches every afternoon that were VERY eager to learn, but they will need structure and leadership to keep this momentum going for the rest of the year and ultimately to make the program sustainable.  These coaches were so motivated to learn that about 30 of these coaches came out in the mornings to participate and observe when we were running sessions for the children too!  The goal is to grow their sports program to include more young players (under age 10) and add more girls, as 95% of the coaches we asked did NOT work with girls – which is simply not acceptable for a program that is trying to develop and teach life skills through soccer.  Girls must be encouraged to participate and given equal opportunity.  Through sport they gain self esteem and will learn that they are capable of achieving more than they realized was possible.



Donating pencils to the Kalangalala School from Dynasty Goalkeeping



At the Kalangalala Secondary School they did have one requirement of their students that was vastly different from the expectations that most schools put on our students here in the States.  Their students are responsible for taking care of the school grounds.  This means raking leaves, sweeping, planting flowers and shrubs, watering plants, pruning trees, and cutting the ‘grass’ from their soccer field.  This not only teaches them responsibility, but they learn the necessary skills to manage their own future household while developing a sense of appreciation and pride in what they are developing and maintaining.  And no they don’t have riding mowers or state of the art equipment!  The tools that I witnessed the students using to cut the grass might as well have been from the Stone Age.  They were using what looked like a long machete that curved at the end.  It was a long flat blade that was so dull it would have been just as effective to try to cut what little clumps of ‘grass’ they had by swinging a golf club.  While I may be a bit of a psycho gardener and will weed my entire lawn by hand, I felt awful for these young students as it seemed that it would be a never ending chore.  Coincidentally I saw this same rudimentary tool being used at a small regional airport to whack down their tall grass…again it seemed like such an activity in futility to me and I was wishing that these poor souls could at least have one of our old school, no engine, rotary push mowers.

I am thankful for these few days I have had in Geita for the gold in Geita is not just confined to the mines, it is in the hearts of the people in this community.  I left Kigoma unsure of my purpose and disheartened, but in a matter of a few days I have come full circle.  Between my time on the field with children who never wanted the sessions to end, (watch video of them here http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=playmovie&movie_id=64205&go=suskiewicz), to the girls who taught me to play netball while waiting for our ride, to the coaches, teachers, and parents who volunteer their time and stayed after sessions to ask questions and met with us between sessions to enrich themselves so they can give back to their community, to the former Tanzanian National Team striker, Mnenge Suluja, who works in the mine, but is also coaching and giving back to the sport he loves – because of all of this I left re-invigorated. 



Tracy & Mnenge Suluja



I am hopeful again that progress is being made for the girls in Tanzania.  The parents and leaders of Geita do value both their sons AND daughters attending not only secondary school, but university as well.  So while Kigoma is not only further down the road and off the beaten track (literally and figuratively), it doesn’t mean that there is no hope.  If it can be done in Geita, it can be done in Kigoma.  Change takes time and it will take a little longer to reach Kigoma.  Just look at how far we have come in our support of girls in sport in American since Title IX went into effect in 1972.  We have made massive strides in just 38 years and so too can Tanzania.

So as my volunteer work concludes I leave Tanzania inspired that there are good people here willing do to whatever it takes to create positive environments to develop and educate future generations.  They are keenly aware that education is a critical piece of the equation for Tanzania to progress slowly out of poverty and develop as a nation and are working hard towards that end.  The challenges are real and many, but if they can stay positive and do as much as I have already seen with so little, they will get there. 

 Tracy