All day Monday and Tuesday, people were sitting around in the morning and evening fruitlessly pushing the send button on their emails. But tonight, it is heaven, as wifi has returned and we are once again connected to the world.

The real purpose of the trip has now started and I am on the team that will be med checking the secondary school. The senior campus is about 20 kilometres and about 45 minutes from the main campus at Moshono. The senior campus at Usa River is physically larger and also has about 900 students compared to the 700 odd at Moshone. On Monday our team crowded in to the Toyota Liteace, along with all the med testing equipment we would need. The initial part of the trip is along a very dusty road with more bumps and potholes than you could imagine. But that has not stopped the authorities from thoughtfully constructing traffic calming speed humps sometimes every 50 metres. Seems strange when I think our top speed was about 10kmh. The track is also populated with small shops (Mary’s Shoppe, Evita’s shop, etc) a child care centre (Mumy’s Best Child Care Centre) with a tiny dusty playground),tiny little bars, banana farms, some quite gracious gated homes set amidst droopy dusty humpies. Along the road we see some well-dressed office workers walking the couple of kilometres to the main road, smartly attired school children, youth who look a little aimless, motor bikes brushing the banana trees as they sqeeze past our little bus. It is surprising that everyone is not covered head to toe with a thick layer of dust, but oddly, everyone seems quite dust free.

Finally we reach the main road. A passenger in the back asks Justin, our driver, if he can turn the aircon up a bit. Justin stops to check on what is needed. Unfortunately he stops in the middle of the road over the two lanes bearing trucks, busses, dala dalas, bikes, all intent on wiping us out. The beautiful thing about the traffic here, is that chaotic and homicidal as it is, no one seems to get upset, as vehicles just flow around any obstacle, perhaps with a polite toot of the horn to say, “Hi, did you know you are in the middle of the road?”

The team has placed me in the front seat alongside the driver, I suspect because they think I most expendable.

About every second vehicle is a dala – essentially a mini bus to carry people around the city and environs. Invariably they are Toyota Hiaces and I can only assume they must be indestructible, given the roads and the speed. They are adorned with a name that the driver associates with strongly: Barcelona Forever, Barack Obama Special, Jesus is King, salvation Is Yours. They will be crowded to the hilt, with people often hanging out the sliding door which remains open. Still, they have a good reputation for the safe delivery of their cargo.

Finally we arrive at Smith Campus. Apparently a family of wealthy Americans visited St Jude’s about 10 years ago, and were so captivated by the vision and the need, that they donated some $12 million to develop the secondary school. It is a marvellous testimony to their commitment to education for people in poverty. The facilities are very good, though you never quite escape the fact that the setting is in a very poor community. The staff and teachers are very hospitable, and anxious to have a conversation in English. It is interesting to see the lens through which they interpret the world. In our building was a large display board highlighting the teaching of world politics. Headed the world’s most brutal dictators, there were pictures of the worst tyrants of the twentieth century – Pol Pot, Obote, Hitler, Stalin etc, and, to my surprise, Margaret Thatcher. I agree she may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but she most likely fell well short of the horrors of the others. I think there is still a deep underlying resentment of the colonial era.

The children are delightful, but then so far we have just Forms one and two. Typically they are tall and lean and move so beautifully. Yesterday a group of boys was just hanging around waiting for their turn to see the doctor when they improvised a dance. It was so liquid and smooth and rhythmic, and their limbs seem multi-jointed. It was marvellous to chat with them, about what they wanted to achieve, and what they enjoyed most about their education. Science and maths seems to be preferred disciplines and I assured them that Tanzania and the world needs more scientists.

My job was to measure height and weight and then marshall the kids for their visit to the eye doctor and the GP. I can see that by the time we get to see the Forms 3-6 I will need a stepladder to see the height rule.

Back to base and our job is to enter the data, relax and head off to the local watering hole. An enterprising local has opened a bar at the gates of the school, and staff support it enthusiastically. The local beers are pretty strong and the stubby is 500 mls, so a beer is enough. There are so many fascinating stories from the people around the bar. Tonight we met Mitch and Carly. Mitch is a youth worker with Father Chris’s mission Youth Off the Streets, a Sydney based activity, which is starting some projects in different parts of the world. Mitch is a sparky from Sydney but seems to have spent most of his life in third world countries in Asia and Africa helping folk build a better life.

It feels so good to be here, being part of such a wonderful group of people. Our contribution is quite small, but still helpful, I think. Jenny is in her element. Her teacher skills come into play.

Gosh, I have waffled on – forgive me – put it down to wifi deprivation.

Cheers