|
|
Ten years after its foundation
by Pietro Mantovani
Last October I visited the Stigmatine Mission of Tanzania together with the
group of volunteers from Caorle (Venice).
The good volunteers of Caorle, led by their expert engineer Giovanni Padovese
and by the courageous entrepreneur Paolo Catto, planned to go there to build
the roof with seven trusses and corrugated iron, of the new large church of
Kisanga, the main centre of the mission.
I went there as a matter of conscience, because of a promise I made to my dearest
companion Fr Caesar Orler. More than ten years ago Fr Caesar came to Italy to
take part in the Provincial Chapter of the Italian Province of the Sacred Heart.
On that occasion he was taken up completely by the idea of founding a school.
A secondary school with agricultural specialisation.
He explained to me that there was need of everything: machines to make roads
and level the hills, lay technicians to erect the building, furniture for class
rooms and laboratories, but above all there was need of experts in the scholastic
fields.
"You, Piero, who know Latin and Greek, come and give us a serious hand
in this agricultural school for the growth of this young African state!"
- he told me. At that time I was busy to assist my brother Gianni, affected
by extremely severe muscular dystrophy. But I promised him: "When I shall
be free, I'll come to you, to Africa!" And here I am, for a quick visit.
Even before the death of my brother Gianni, Fr Caesar died. So I came, not only
for curiosity sake, but also to admire the genius of this most dear confrere.
The
Stigmatine work in Msolwa is truly a large school structure, worthy to compete
with, as far as I know, our schools of "The Stimmate" in Verona and
Udine's "Bertoni". It stretches along the North side, exposed to the
morning sun, of the village of Msolwa that lies below (800 sl.). The main road
of the Jovi valley, passes at the foot of the hill, that is now called "Fr
Caesar's hill". The valley is oriented to North-South.
Msolwa lays six kilometres North of Kisanga, the original residence of the Stigmatine
Mission, and at 40 km from Mikumi (400 sl) which is the South outlet onto the
tarred road. The road that reaches Msolwa is still gravel road and it is the
only one that crosses the Jovi valley. When completed, it will connect Mikumi
in the South with Kilosa in the North.
The school complex is spread on a fenced area of more than five hectares. The
various two story buildings are distributed over three vast terraces on the
hill. Fr Caesar was the one who planned and realised this work with his powerful
Caterpillar Gimac, offered by Mr Tovazzi from Volano (Trento). On the first
uppermost terrace, with a wide view of the valley, you can see the house of
the Stigmatine community, the house of the Capuchin Tertiary sisters, the girls'
boarding house and on the opposite side the house that hosts the various groups
of volunteers.
On the second terrace you see the carpentry and the machine shop. This is the
kingdom of Mr Elio Pozza the jack-of-all-trades of the mission. Then you see
the large dining room of all the 400 students, with kitchen and oven that bakes
the daily bread. Next you see the first school building with six school rooms
and the special halls for the first and second year.
On the third terrace, a bit below, there is the second school building with
another six class rooms for the students of the third and fourth year with the
library and the reading room, the laboratories of physics and chemistry. Next
you have the rooms of the Director, the Manager and the Secretary. In the centre
there is a vast hall that is used both as general assembly, theatre and chapel
for all the college students. Next to this you see the two building of the boys'
boarding house.
Outside the terraces, especially on the western side of the hill and above the
hut village, you see the brickwork houses of the school teachers.
Among the buildings there are sport fields, gardens, vegetable patches, roads,
stairs and steps that keep connection between all these dwellings.
This building complex hosts 382 students (244 males and 139 females), who frequent
our school, together with 23 teachers, the community of the Capuchin sisters,
the Stigmatine community made of three confreres and six postulants.
1. Elementary school for seven years
It is a compulsory school by government law. Because of this the state takes
all care to build schools in all villages and to train teachers. Each class
has up to fifty pupils. Elementary schools lead the pupils to be able "to
read and write and numerate". The elementary schools are compulsory both
for boys and girls: a fundamental principle of equality for all the more than
two hundred tribes of Tanzania.
Before elementary schools there are no other forms of schooling, but Fr Giuliano
Melotto has taken care that in all villages there should be crèches for
small children. These extremely simple brick buildings are also used as churches
on Sunday.
At present the crèches are 16, spread all over the central part of the
valley. They are the joy and toil of Bro Lino Bokaba. The crèches are
led by a lady teacher, assisted by a second lady who prepares the meagre meal
at midday. The children go home after meal. The crèches constitute the
first form of social human aggregation for the children. They sing and dance
all the time!
2) Craft and trade school.
The pupils that conclude well the elementary school but do not intend to continue with studies, frequent, for few years, some formation courses to learn quickly an art or craft: builder, mechanic, driver, shoemaker, tailor, electrician... In all the Jovi valley there is no professional centre for this. Our young builders who are under the instruction of the master-builder Filo, frequent the school at Kilosa, a provincial settlement in the region of Morogoro, at a distance of more than 100 km.
3) The secondary school for six years.
After seven years of compulsory elementary school, those who can afford continue
their schooling for six years in the secondary or superior school. The specialisations
are different: commercial, industrial, agricultural, mathematic, cultural, technical,
linguistic…
Our Secondary school St Gaspar Bertoni of Msolwa has an agricultural specialisation.
For this choice the type of area eminently agricultural has played a determining
role, in view of the state approval. In times past, the area of the region of
Morogoro was retained most fertile.
All secondary schools of any specialisation are divided into two distinct cycles:
the first of four years and the second of two years. Between the two cycles
the pupils has to undergo a state exam, conducted by state commissioners. The
subjects taught in the first four year cycle do not differ much among the specialisations,
but only for the different structure that each has in the context. In our agricultural
school the subjects are: English, Kiswahili, civil history, geography, mathematics,
physics, chemistry, biology and agriculture.
Our students, as they come from far and are resident, can be well assisted and stimulated for their profit: I saw the reading hall of the library always well frequented. Once a month they have a week of general interrogation, both oral and written. Because of this the St Gaspar Bertoni school has come up among the first ones in the nation, because of the high marks of the pupils. The first four years cycle, as we have said, concludes with the state exam. The students receive a "certificate of attendance" with an evaluation on each single subject.
At present our secondary school terminates its teaching activity with this
state exam, because for some years in the past it appeared problematic to organise
a second two year cycle of agricultural teaching. After the fourth year, our
best students enter the state schools, which are almost free of charge. Many
pupils, however, conclude here their schooling formation.
The second cycle of the secondary school of any specialisation is very much
different from the first. We can say that the four years cycle corresponds to
our Italian "middle school". It is only the subsequent two year cycle
that diversifies the specialisation with specific subjects.
Therefore a student who has sustained positively the state exam of the fourth
year in secondary school, will choose three subjects that he/she likes, to which
two have to be added, namely mathematics and general culture, (it is called
"the combination"). They will subsequently choose a kind of school
that offers such "combination".
Until few years ago, our school was offering its own "combinations".
The specialisation in agriculture allowed only three subjects: physics, chemistry,
biology; English, civil history, geography; chemistry, biology, geography. To
these it was compulsory to add mathematics and general culture.
This required a higher qualification of the teachers and well equipped and specialised
laboratories. Unfortunately these three "combinations" were not so
much attractive for the students. Lately, in two sections of thirty pupils each,
there remained less than ten: they preferred other schools, especially state
schools. To be able to form at least one section it was necessary to call in
students from other schools, that were not so reliable because of a different
moral education. Therefore it was decided that a more serious and convenient
solution (considering also the economic aspect), not to offer any longer the
second cycle of the secondary agricultural school.
Thus, the two sections that were planned for the entire agricultural specialisation,
which occupied twelve class rooms, are at present transformed into three sections
for the first generic cycle, which occupy twelve classrooms. This is according
to the programme organised by Fr Daniele Giacomelli the director of the School.
There are not eleven classes of 35 pupils each, both male and female.
With this re-structuring, the school looks like our Gemona school in the best past times. It is able to bring the pupils, through strict and balanced selection, to the second cycle for professional specialisation and the to university. There is one agriculture faculty in Morogoro, in the university of Sokoine.
The Capuchin Tertiary Sisters are keeping the leadership of the teaching staff
and of discipline, This is a congregation founded in 1885 by Fr Louis Amigo
Ferrer, a capuchin. The institute numbers 1400 and is spread all over the world.
Our five sister come from Columbia and were called to Msolwa by Fr Caesar. They
keep the presidency, the secretariat and the discipline in the colleges. They
are helped in the kitchen by lay local persons. Four supervisors for the boys
and two supervisors of the girls cooperate with the sisters. General Director
and administrator of the school is the Stigmatine Fr Daniele Giacomelli.
After only ten years since its foundation this work is truly great and impressive.
Hoping
that it does not sound inopportune, I should like to give a suggestion, as a
conclusion. Perhaps what is lacking in the scholastic structure of Msolwa are
the strictly professional structures, of art and craft. You can find them in
other parts of Tanzania. They are frequented after the seven years of elementary
school and are longer courses that can continue for some years.
If Fr Peter Marchesini would be still alive, I think he would not think twice.
He would open laboratories for mechanic and engineering professions. He would
open a Centre for professional training for mechanics, carpenters and master-builders,
and even (suggested by Fr Caesar) for agriculturists.
Thus, we would meet in a certain way also the strictly professional purpose
of the St Gaspar Bertoni School of Msolwa.
The problem will only be to furnish technicians who are able to teach these
subjects.
