Safe Schools at Manyara

This summer, Mac Dressman interned with Mwangaza. He shares one of his many experiences.

I arrived in Mto wa Mbu to meet the Mwangaza team around 1:00 pm, in the middle of the school day. Mto wa Mbu means “Mosquito River” in Swahili, but I never saw the river or mosquitos. Instead, the gorgeous mountain ranges in the distance and the Maasai shepherds – in traditional red Shuka robes and thick sandals made from car tires – herding goats and sheep along the side of the road made me feel that I had come to a very special place.

As Alan, Mwangaza’s indispensable driver, turned onto the dirt road leading to Manyara Secondary School, I was unsure what I was about to experience. We were here to observe the Safe Schools Program that the Mwangaza team was introducing to the teachers and administrators. I slipped into a seat along the side wall of the classroom where Program Coordinator Salome Lally was presenting to around 25 teachers.

Immediately, I was impressed by the rapt attention that the teachers were paying to Salome, even though it was late in the afternoon and a bit warm inside the concrete classroom. The creative presentation style and interactive activities interspersed in the seminar kept me engaged, despite the fact I could only understand what my new friend Naanyu translated to me from Swahili.

I continued to shadow the Mwangaza program coordinators John, Salome, and Richard for the rest of the week and into the next. Getting to know the staff after work and chatting with the Manyara teachers during lunch was a delight, and I decided to interview eight teachers about their experiences going through the Safe Schools program. The more people I met, the more impressed I was with the real change Mwangaza was inspiring at the school.

Many of the students had challenges that the teachers simply had not been equipped to address: a lack of basic necessities, trauma, and physical disabilities that impeded their ability to walk or write.

Mwangaza’s presentations gave the teachers actionable ideas and methods to help students, like effective counseling strategies and administrative policies to create a safe learning environment.

Every teacher I met was enthusiastic about Mwangaza’s programs and eager to put their new skills to work to better support their students. I walked away from my visit with a deep respect for the Mwangaza program team and a heartfelt optimism for Manyara Secondary School.