Mr. Mbunda

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Chow,

On behalf of our school board, district education official, teachers, other staff members, students and their parents, I would like to give you my deepest thanks for your contribution to Hagati Secondary School.

Your donation has gone to help many projects here at our school. We were able to install electrical wiring in one of our classrooms and we can support desktop computers that were donated to our school earlier this year.  We purchased wood to build furniture  for these computers and shelves for our library.  Also, we were able to pay for school and examination fees for three students, Terisa Kinwinda, Asteria Landubilla, and Crispin Ladubilla.   Terisa is motherless and her father suffers from mental illness.  Asteria and Crispin who are motherless and fatherless, also received support for their basic needs.

Your generosity will benefit many here in our community.  Fro this we express our deepest gratitude. You will forever be warmly welcome her In the Hagati Valley any time that you choose to visit again.

Sincerely,

Mr. Mbunda
Principal Hagati Secondary School

Tetea

Dear Chow Family

On behalf of Tetea and all of the students who will benefit, I would like to thank you for your generous support of Hagati and St. Luise Secondary Schools.  Your contributions will help to improve the learning environment and quality of education in both of the schools.

Both Mr. Mbunda, the headmaster of Hagait Secondary, and Sister Janeth Hyera, the headmistress of St. Luise secondary have written letters thanking you for your generous donation to their respective schools.  Their letters are enclosed.

Thank you again for your past support of our library and all of our activities.

Tetea

November 26, 2011

Dear Joseph Chow Family,

Thank you for your August letter.  My condition is going well and I continue well with my studies, with full cooperation of my friends in our school through group discussion during the class time and we join together during the play time after class w=and we have nightly preparations  Most students are going to studies during that time and we have electricity at night in our school.  When I am home I use kerosene and candles, and the type  of food which is available are cassava flour and maize flour and I have a room with one bed made up with small pieces of trees and local threads.  my home ah no water storage tank but we use direct rain water and some times there is a tank int he village to store water, but there is a water shortage. We  have to fetch the water from a small channel of river which is not safe to human lips also when I am at home I meet and play with my friends who are studying at different schools which is far from our school and we discuss different issues concerning our studies.  We also work with other youths who did not get into schools, they finished their education at the O level.
During the holy day I turn back to home to see my grands who I  live with and just to assist which is required to them including fetching water and finding pieces of firewood for cooking.  I do not go far way from their home because they are my only relatives.  Therefore after holy day finish I turn back to school to continue with my studies.  I thank you for remember I and the assisatance providing to us I wish your all the best and God bless you.

Thanks, yours

Kassam S. Dadi.

It is difficult

Every morning I have to wake up and think - My Joseph is dead.  and then  I have to think, I will not get an email from him today, I will not get a text message from him; a friend will not pass along a funny story, he will not call me.

This was my first born child.  I held him in my arms minutes after he was born; I swore nothing bad would ever happen.  I had long silly conversations, because he was a baby, and I was a first time mother.  I was silly in my worries, and overwhelming in my fears.  I was afraid of everything, but spent hours trying to figure out how to make sure he was not afraid.  How to send him off into the world - strong and smart and gifted.

And now, it is another Christmas and there is nothing.

Christmas 2011

Silent Night; Holy night
All is calm; All is bright
Round yon Virgin
Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender & mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace.

November 27 2011 letter

Dear parents of Joseph Chow
Thank you very much for your August letter.  I was interested to hear about your family.  God wish you all the best.  I am doing well at school in studying and I hope I will continue doing better in my subject fields as I did in last examination since I did it well.
The only unpleasant to me news that my mother have died four months ago and left motherless.  She died from stomach cancer.
I n Tanzania I live in rural areas where my parents have lived up to date.  We live peacefully because there are not many misunderstandings among people.
I spend much of m time studying at school in order that I can liberate my other family members from life difficulties that facing them since I am the first to go to school up to the level I have reached.
I wake up early in the morning ant both home and school daily where I help my guardians in daily activities and studying.
At home I live in one room together with  my younger brothers where as at school we live collectively in the dormitories  In our school we get fresh water while at home we get water from  the natural wells and we using  them in domestic activities.
At our school I eat stiff porridge (ugali) every day with beans and other days I eat rice and meat at home I also eat ugali everyday with variety of vegetables on other days.  Ugali  is cooked by using the maize flour.
Our school has electrical service we us in studying during the night and other activities related to electricity.
Many Tanzanians rural areas lack electricity including my village, so at home I use a kerosene lamp to study at night  I d prefer most rice with beans (maharage).  I have many friends at school and home, and i love most to have other friends from other places.
Greet Daniel, kyle and Ray tell them I wish all the best in their daily life and God be with them.
Thank you alot and have a good luck.
Sincerely
Fadhili Juma