Ephraim Tutu ’24 recounts a busy day learning about Mainsprings sustainable efforts, teaching kids how to make paper airplanes, and making new friendships.
We woke up at 7:30am to a beautiful Tanzanian morning. The group got ready and walked over to Papas, a local restaurant on the campus. We ate delightful pancakes as we sat on the lake view terrace. After breakfast, we had an agricultural seminar. During this seminar we learned about the three ethics of permanent agriculture: people care, earth care, and fair share. We learned how Mainsprings uses a process called perma-culture in order to provide resources to the campus. This agricultural method uses no-fertilizer and emphasizes practices that are ecofriendly.
Next, we split into three groups: farming, cooking, and childcare. I was a part of the childcare group. We were tasked to create a lesson plan for a class of about 35 students. I had my students draw out their dreams and aspirations. Next, I showed them how to make paper airplanes with their drawings. Then we had fun throwing our paper airplanes around the class. Flying these planes symbolized their dreams and aspirations taking flight and soaring. We ended the period with some fun games like (Simon) Ephraim says, a color game, and a shape game. Spending time with the students was truly amazing. I enjoyed seeing the smiles on their face as they played with their paper airplanes. Next, we went to lunch with the whole school. At lunch I met a few of the older kids. The kids mistook me for a famous soccer player by the name of Christopher Ukonku. I told them that sadly I was not him, and that I am a poor soccer player. Next, we attended an International Women’s Day school assembly. We saw a panel of women doctors who taught us that women can do anything they put their minds to. We also learned about breast cancer and cervical cancer. Lingering after the presentation, I met more students and became friends with a few of them.
Later in the day we had a basketball match against their girls’ team. Sadly, we lost by three points in the end, but I scored a solid 14 points for my team. The final score was 29-26. After the game, the girls led the whole group in prayer and song. At Papas for dinner, we had white rice and delicious fish. After dinner, I went to the edge of the lake to take a picture of a burnt orange moon rising beyond the lake’s horizon line. I can’t wait to see what adventures we will have tomorrow.
