Igelegele Primary School

We made a visit today to Igelegele (ee-geh lay geh lay) primary school here in Mwanza. The school has about 1,000 kids and 14 teachers and about 10 classrooms. It is a typical primary school from what could be any rural community in this region: dusty floors, no windows or doors, no running water or electricity...but 1,000 enormously energetic, smiling kids!

But it is hard not to get emotional. You hear stories about how some of the kids complain of being sick when in reality they are actually hungry. You find one classroom filled to overflowing in which one teacher teaches over 100 kids. You see enthusiastic kids with huge potential but lacking the one-on-one attention by the teacher. You see kids sitting on dusty floors, broken desks, and in classrooms which only have partial walling.

I had plenty of smiling kids from which to chose today's blip but this young man intrigued me. His expression is not inquisitive, not happy nor sad, not happy or sad...it is something I cannot quite explain. And yet I liked it. I was standing outside the classroom. Because there was only a partial wall separating me from the pupils inside, I was able to be just at the same level as this kid who was originally putting his head on his desk and then turned to find me snapping away.

But what is his future? Thousands upon thousands of kids have come from such humble beginnings but the disparity between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' seems to widen every year and it just seems so unfair.

And so we try the best we can to even the economic gaps and allow kids like this young man to have a chance. All we can do is try. But the task is enormous, the solutions are unclear but the need is increasing...