Osupuko proposal

Scholarship Fund • Osupuko Lutheran Parish

Arusha, Tanzania / 07 May 2009

** 08 September 2009 Update: First Lutheran Church in Geneseo, Illinois, has established a scholarship fund for Osupuko! Option B.2. below was being implemented in October 2009. **

A. Introduction

Education is a both a problem and a solution in Tanzania. Families are told that education is the solution to poverty, but neither the state nor most individual families have shown the ability to send its children through secondary school. Many families and students put forth all their effort and are still unable to get through secondary school. It is for that reason that we propose the Scholarship Fund for Osupuko Lutheran Parish.

A.1 About education in Tanzania

Universal primary school runs from Standard 1 through Standard 7, or 1st grade to 7th grade in American terms. Primary school is essentially free for Tanzanians, who pay only for school supplies and uniforms. The primary school student-to-teacher ratio is 58.3 to 1 (2004, World Bank). Primary school completion rate was 56.5 percent in 2004 (World Bank), and the number is likely to have improved since then.

Secondary school runs from Form 1 (freshmen) to Form 6. Secondary school is again divided into O-level (Form 1 through Form 4) and A-level (Form 5 and 6). In A-level, students specialize in three or four subjects, grouped as Arts subjects or Science subjects called a combination. If they go on to university, the courses available to them will be determined by their A-level combination.

Most secondary students attend boarding school. Secondary schools, both private and government, typically charge school fees of between $600 and $1000 per student per year. This includes tuition and room & board, but excludes other expenses such as uniforms, hospital visits, books and notebooks, mattresses and bedsheets, etc. In 2000, only 5.9 percent of secondary-age students in Tanzania were actually enrolled (World Bank), but this number is likely to have improved since then.

Most Tanzanian families do not have financial means to send their children to secondary school. For those who succeed in getting the funds, they often go to the cheapest available schools and get low-quality education. A current teachers shortage means that some classes are taught by under-qualified teachers or are not taught at all.

Primary schools are taught in the national language, Swahili. English is taught as a foreign language. Students typically finish primary school with a very limited English vocabulary, knowing how to greet and perhaps how to count. Secondary schools, however, are supposed to be taught in English, with exams given in English. Lack of English comprehension makes secondary school very difficult for most students. Those who attend English-medium primary schools have a tremendous advantage in secondary school over those who do not, but those private primary schools are well beyond the financial means of most Tanzanian families.

A.2 About education in Osupuko

There are several challenges to education in Osupuko. It is a rural area, so the schools are few. The terrain is rugged and is crossed by several parallel rivers, making access to some schools difficult. Families that can’t afford to send their children to boarding school are sometimes able to send their children to day school, where they return home in the evenings. But long commutes take time away from studying, and children often have heavy burdens of house work or farm work at home.

The overwhelming majority of Osupuko’s residents are Maasai. Among some old-fashioned Maasai is the belief that educating a girl is a waste of resources because she will become her husband’s property when she gets married, and that educating a girl reduces her value to potential suitors. Some fathers even prevent boys from starting secondary school because it equates to lost labor on the farm or taking care of livestock. These attitudes affect children in Osupuko and prevent some from being educated.

There are three Lutheran secondary schools near Osupuko – Ilboru, Ekenywa, and Enaboishu. There are also some government schools, such as Ilkiding’a and Enyoito.

Many students who are unable to start or continue with their secondary schooling come to the church to ask for help. The church currently has no fund for assisting these students or families. Many are orphaned by AIDS, which severely affects Osupuko as much as most places in East Africa. Others feel the effects of poverty on large families as family planning is not widely practiced. Alcoholism affects some families, as men sometimes divert precious resources to buying locally-made beer or wine instead of productive activities. Some are children of landless single mothers, and others come from polygamous families (Maasai men who are not Christian often take several wives who all live in the same compound).

B. Proposal

The establishment of a scholarship fund will help alleviate the problems of education in Osupuko. Below are two options, one more thorough and complete than the other but requiring more funds. We feel that Option One will have a much stronger impact on the children and will allow the neediest to be reached.

B.1 Option One: Medium-scale scholarship program

A fund of $6,000 per year for 6 years will be established to help 10 students get secondary education. The students will be selected by a scholarship committee at the parish level to begin Form 1 together. The committee will draft requirements of scholarship candidates, giving preference to vulnerable populations such as orphans, children of single-parent homes, and children living in destitute poverty.

Five full scholarships, covering all of their tuition and room & board, will be given. Five more half scholarships will be given. The candidates will be given an entrance exam to their secondary school and the scholarship recipients will be chosen from among those who pass.

Even those who receive full scholarships will be responsible for some expenses. This will encourage a sacrifice on the part of the families so that they can feel like partners in their children’s education.

The students will be given tutoring in English to help them understand their subjects more thoroughly at a cost of $50 per month. They will also be required to attend a meeting once a month, where they will be taught by guest speakers a range of topics, including leadership, entrepreneurship, creative thinking, HIV/AIDS care and prevention, and conflict resolution, for example, each taught within a Christian scope. Each speaker will be paid $25 for his/her time.

If the students meet the set requirements, they will stay together until the end of Form 6. Because of the instruction they receive in class, and the supplementary education they receive monthly, they will be prepared with the life skills needed to make a difference in their villages and in their world.

B.2 Option Two: Small-scale supplementary education

Small grants will be made available to students who are already enrolled in secondary school. A fund of $2,500 will be established, and a scholarship committee at the parish level will be formed to choose who takes part in the program, with a goal of enrolling 15 to 20 students.

The program will focus on supplementary education to improve their performance. They will be given tutoring in English language. Once a month they will take part in the Choose Freedom curriculum, which teaches such topics as family health, positive thinking, HIV/AIDS care and prevention, and conflict resolution with a Biblical view. Guest speakers will be invited to talk about their areas of expertise and give the students exposure to a wider range of career opportunities.

Of the total amount of the fund, $700/year will be devoted to English tutoring, $400 for the Choose Freedom curriculum teacher and books, $250/year to payment for guest speakers, $400/year to feeding the students when they meet monthly. The remaining $750 will be given as grants to help the students and families with their critical needs, as determined by the scholarship committee.

B.3 Requirements for consideration

The students who will be considered for scholarships will be living within the geographic bounds of Osupuko Lutheran Parish. The scholarship committee will have the task of identifying bright and talented students with leadership potential and determination to do what it takes to get through school. Top consideration will be given to most vulnerable children, such as orphans, children of single parents, and undernourished children.

There will be no requirement that the children come from Lutheran backgrounds. Many of the residents of Osupuko area subscribe to traditional Maasai beliefs. Others have no religion, and there are some Muslims. Inviting them will provide an opportunity for evangelism to the students and their families.

Once given the scholarship, the students will be required to meet monthly to take part in the supplementary education. They will also be expected to meet minimum academic standards as determined by the school. Consistent failure to do so will result in the removal of that student, and the scholarship committee will go about finding a replacement.

C. Other issues

Matters of sustainability, oversight, and commitment will affect the effectiveness of the scholarship, as listed below.

C.1 Sustainability

Paying school fees in itself is not a sustainable venture, and its benefits to the church community are not immediately observable. It is instead a long-term investment in a community’s children. Some of the scholarship recipients will go on to university and move to larger cities where higher level employment opportunities are. Some will find employment locally and build their families in their ancestral villages. But all will be in a better position to address the deep social issues related to poverty that make life in Osupuko so difficult. They will be given the tools to make a difference in the lives of their families and communities, returning the investment in ways that cannot be quantified.

The commitment is 6 years. That’s the period of time required to move from Form 1 through Form 6.

C.2 Oversight & accountability

The Diocese in Arusha Region of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania has the ultimate oversight of the scholarship program. It will be directly overseen by the parish pastor of Osupuko Lutheran Parish. The parish education committee will make sure that the scholarship recipients are meeting the requirements of the scholarship and the school, and will have the power to remove any student who fails to meet those requirements.

Funds will be disbursed annually through the Diocese to the parish. The school fees will be paid directly by the parish. A detailed budget will be produced annually by the parish education committee and posted online.

The parish’s companionship committee will be responsible for sending via email semi-annual updates of the students’ progress. As the students learn English they will be encouraged to communicate directly with their benefactors from First Lutheran Church in Geneseo. A blog will be created for photos of the students and occasional updates on their progress.

C.3 Timetable

The academic year for secondary school is January through December. Sending funds through the currently used means from the Northern Illinois Synod to the Diocese in Arusha Region takes about 3 months. If funds are sent by October, the students will be selected and enrolled in school the following January, three months later.

C.4 Commitment

A boy from one of Osupuko’s 8 villages, Oloigero, knew his family couldn’t afford to send him to secondary school. So when he finished primary, he left home and joined what is known as Mgambo militia, where he received military training in a sort of boot camp for three months. Afterwards, he worked as a night watchman in order to earn money so that he could one day go to school. His commitment paid off, and now he is in secondary school and performing well.

Examples like his show the commitment and determination of students to get their secondary education, something taken for granted in developed countries. There is also a strong commitment from Rev. Paulo Metili, parish pastor of Osupuko, to use a combination of evangelism and education to lift his people out of poverty and help them do God’s work on Earth. Education is a long-term investment, and thus it requires a long-term commitment from all parties involved.

Parish leaders are confident that as the church helps educate its children, there will be a multiplier effect and doors of opportunity will open for others in need. Thus to the glory of God, they can assure their full commitment to the cause of education.