Books Are Like GoldSaturday, January 30, 1999
Grace and Peace from Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe is in the middle of its rainy summer weather. As a result, everything is green and lush. Smiles and friendly greetings are almost universal, even though a very serious devaluation of their money has made life very difficult for most. Mutare is especially beautiful because it is nestled among and surrounded by the green-covered slopes of the Eastern Highlands. At about 3500 feet, its summer is hot but not tropical. Many tropical plants and flowers add to the beauty of the setting. We are settling in quite well, getting to feel more comfortable in a very different culture and environment. Most people speak some English, but Shona is used for almost all interchanges between Shona speakers, so we can be left out of the conversation on occasion. Downtown Mutare is constantly crowded and busy with shoppers, school children in uniforms, people selling bananas and other produce, women carrying bags of mealie meal and various other containers on their heads and babies on their backs. Most of us walk in the very wide streets that surround the downtown area because there are more walkers than vehicles. Ann has been enjoying her work at Hartzell Primary School. Many of the books mailed last November have arrived and need to be processed. The children peek in at her while she’s working with the books in the teachers’ tearoom and smile and wave. Teachers have been friendly and interested in talking about the differences between education in the U.S. and in Zimbabwe. A number of the teachers have pitched in during their "spare" time to help get the books ready. One of her most enjoyable activities has been reading stories to the children in the classrooms. The smiles of delight on their faces have been a joy to see.
Classes are large in the school with 40-50 children being common. They sit on benches around tables and do much of their work by copying exercises that teachers have put on the board. Teaching materials are limited to rather old and tattered texts and workbooks. The teachers are most interested in improving the children’s English and reading skills so the books in the new library will be much used and appreciated. The headmaster appears to be a visionary man. He seems to be very thoughtful about providing the best education for his charges with the resources at his disposal. He has set aside an empty room that will be used for the library. It is now having the roof fixed and in the process of being termite-proofed. It will then be painted and shelves and tables built. Work is going slowly, but it is a good start. Morris has met his class two times so far. He will meet with them 3 times a week and it looks like he will have something over forty students. They have already had 3 years at a teachers’ training college and 5 years of secondary school teaching experience and are now back in the second year of a 2-year degree program, so they should be more mature and experienced than the typical college student. They return to their classrooms at the end of the year and a large percentage will be teaching history in schools scattered across Zimbabwe. As you can see, we are happy, enjoying ourselves and trying to deal with any frustrations in a positive way. We have already met many very interesting and wonderful people. Right now staying in our hotel is a group of people from all over Africa who are attending a seminar at Africa University on emergency disaster response sponsored by UMCOR and other groups. Those of you who gave books or money for books have already produced significant results. The books that have arrived have inspired the staff at Hartzell Primary School to stretch their vision about what is possible for their students. The children are excited about the books they see and the stories Ann has read. All this has been accomplished even before the library is ready. There is a long way to go before the promise is fully realized, but it has been a good beginning — thanks to you. Ann and Morris Taber
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