 "Photo: Courtesy of Richard Jenson")
Richard Jenson's safari vacation to East Africa six years ago was certainly memorable, but not only because of the exotic wildlife. The associate professor of mathematics at Boston College returned home from his family trip yearning to return to Africa and improve the devastating conditions there by improving the educational system.
His initial efforts, including trips that brought computers from Lexington High School in Lexington, Mass., to two East African schools and taught students math over their winter vacation, were eventually recognized by Growth Through Learning (GTL), a Massachusetts nonprofit organization that looks to sponsor secondary schooling for East African girls. Jenson now sits on GTL's executive board as vice president and has made annual summer trips to East Africa representing the organization since 2003.
"The students never had a teacher who memorized their names before. They were in shock," said Jenson, speaking of the 30 to 40 13- and 14-year-old students to whom he taught math one summer before partnering with GTL. He made it his business to take photos of each student and write down their names with the help of a Swahili translator. Later that night, he practiced matching the names to the faces so that he would be able to recognize students in class the next day.
"Teachers in Tanzania don't have a calling the way teachers here do," said Jenson. He explained that teaching is just like any other job, and that many teachers are unqualified, which results in a chaotic classroom. Jenson experienced this chaos when teaching math to students in their early teens, noting the wide variety of student ability in the classroom. Promotion to the next grade is nearly automatic, regardless of whether the student meets even the lowest passing standards, said Jenson. As a result, Jenson taught some students who were very bright, and others who were technically in the sixth grade but knew very little.
Students start school in Tanzania later than in America, about age 7 or 8, and they progress much slower. Jenson was teaching teenagers mathematical concepts such as the area of a square and the use of the order of operations to evaluate a mathematical expression, curricula that would be introduced in American classrooms in elementary school today. In addition, the government only sponsors schooling up to eighth grade. Any education after that must be paid for by the family, said Jenson.
This is where GTL comes in. "Growth Through Learning seeks to provide and enhance educational opportunities by offering scholarship aid to deserving East African girls and young women," reads the opening statement on GTL's Web site. "A typical young woman in Tanzania stays at home until her father sells her to her husband's family for a couple of cows," said Jenson. Because the girl will eventually leave her family and join her husband, it often does not make sense for poor families to send their daughters to secondary school if they will not benefit from their daughter's education. Rather, they will educate the son, who will be a source of income for them in the future.
Since its inception in 1998, GTL has provided more than 900 scholarships for the secondary and post-secondary education of East African girls living in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. A donation of $600 will allow one girl to attend secondary school for one year, covering all fees, uniforms, food, and supplies. Secondary schools in East Africa are primarily boarding schools, because transportation is so poor and the population so spread out. Girls attending these schools are afforded the luxury of electricity, allowing them to study at night. Jenson's trips to Africa typically involve visiting schools sponsored by GTL, interviewing the girls, taking photos and video clips of them to bring back to America, and visiting with headmistresses and any other school administrators.
"The girls themselves are the standout experiences," said Jenson. Though many of them are reluctant to speak with Jenson even with the help of a Swahili translator because they have been taught it is not their place, some do open up. Rittah Anita Nagadya, a student at St. Kizito's Secondary School for Girls in Uganda, was one of those vocal students.
"Rittah wanted to be a veterinarian. But she also enjoyed singing in the school's choir, so she is hoping to incorporate this talent into her work with animals. She imagines that with her voice, she'd be able to comfort her charges," said Jenson in a press release.
Though he has been approached by members of the University community, Jenson is hesitant to bring BC students with him on these trips. He feels the environment is just too dangerous.
"In Uganda, people carry around AK-47s like cell phones, just to show off," he said. Students in general also tend to want to go out at night and be social, which would be difficult and unsafe, considering the risks. "I would feel duty-bound to be handcuffed to them 24-7," he said.
So what can people within the BC community do to help efforts like that of GTL? Jenson advises people to send money to organizations that can distribute it appropriately. Otherwise, it is difficult to track where the money is really going. Shipping to Africa is unfortunately very expensive, but any East African would love that old bicycle sitting in your garage.
When asked if he was going to return to Africa this summer, Jenson was somewhat unsure. "I think it's important for other people at GTL to go and get an idea of how different it is," he said. Upon return, Jenson tells stories of 12-hour power cuts and children dying of malaria and is met with disbelief. He notes that Americans can't seem to picture a life without the so-called necessities that Africans regularly do without.
"During Hurricane Katrina, the veneer of civilization was lost and people were forced to live in a different style," said Jensen. "Africans live in that style every day."
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