Once upon a time, way back in the 1960s and 70s, Tanzania’s first president Julius Nyerere - a teacher (mwalimu) by profession, so also known as Mwalimu Nyerere - implemented a number of innovative reforms in some pilot villages using his educational theories.
Fast forward to 1990, when Lene Buchert came to Tanzania to do doctoral research on the role of education in the development of Tanzania. Lene returned to one of these pilot villages (Kwamsisi) as one of her case studies. She was accompanied by Herb Kells who wrote of the visit:
“The children treated me as an honored guest. They fetched their kangas (brightly patterned fabric pieces) and instruments – sticks and bells and a small drum. They danced for me, mostly in a line headed by a boy who moved slowly. A lovely girl who was playing the drum announced that the boy was not a good leader. She gave him the drum and leaped to lead the dance line. As she came toward the door, smiling broadly I took a picture which still stands today as one of the finest I have ever taken. It became the cover photo on Lene’s highly regarded book on Tanzanian education and a constant part of my dreams and fond memories. I often wonder if that wonderful young woman is alive and still leading today. In my dreams I sometimes search for her.”
Fast forward to 2010, when my friend Herb hears that I’m about to go to Tanzania and excitedly shares the tales of his time in Tanzania, including this episode captured by the picture gracing the cover of the book. He mentioned that it would be great if I could find this young woman and find out what’s happened in the mean time.
[Slight interruption at this point to let you know that I absolutely love challenges, and especially when they come in the form of a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt. So this potential assignment sounds like the coolest thing ever for me to do, my personal version of searching out the grown-up version of the iconic National Geographic Afghan woman.]
Fast-forward again to the end of my time at Tanzania. I’ve thought about embarking on the adventure for quite some time, but only have 3 weekends left. So on Saturday I head down to the central public library to try to find a copy of the book to record a few more pertinent details (I only had a photocopy of the cover, not the book itself with me). At the library I found the card for the book in the card catalog (amazing, those things still exist!). Unfortunately, the book was located in a part of the library only open during regular work days, and there’s no way I can swing that and need to get something planned out so I can try to do something by the following weekend. I grab a phone directory and scribble down the PO Boxes for the secondary school for girls, the teacher’s training college, and district commissioner’s office in Korogwe, the closest town to the village. By Thursday I heard from one person who was willing to help, so I decided to go for it that weekend.
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