Teachers at Tumaini

Teacher Patrick is leaving on Monday to go to college. I am really sad. He lives here too and keeps me company. He is a sweet, skinny, short boy of 23, who is very religious. He is an amazing genuine person and all the kids love him. He teaches Physics and Chemistry.

Teacher Phoibe will be going to college around the same time I will be leaving. She is 22 and it is really nice to have someone my own age to talk with about her life in Tanzania, boys, her friends, all that gossipy stuff. She is always willing and wants to take me around and show me places and exciting things and has introduced me to all of her friends. She teaches Geography.

Teacher Kamili is a quiet man in his late 20s early 30s. He is not married and can’t get married until he starts getting paid more. He is really devoted to the Ark Project, the kids and teaching. All the kids call him Baba (dad) and really respect him. He teaches Math, Kiswahili, History and Civics. He does it all and also is very involved in discipline at school and making sure that everything runs smoothly here.

Teacher Lornah is a new addition to staff and she is amazing. She is a mid-40s Kenyan woman with three kids who she raised all by herself because her husband was paralyzed in a work accident. She is bringing a lot of order to this school. She helped us draft our school rules, enforce punishments and bring a new level of discipline to the students. She also has gotten a completely English campus. The students only speak to us in English, they must bring all their problems to us in English. It is amazing how well it is working and how much better the kids English is already getting. It’s really exciting.