Kids in Tanzania Tell Their Story
"Six summers ago, I was hiking the paths of Kambi ya Simba, Tanzania with students from the village secondary school. Armed with digital cameras and tape recorders, we'd set out to capture daily life in this remote East African village of agro-pastoralists, far from running water and electricity but filled with stories. My twenty-something son, Carl, had set up a small micro-finance project there and had introduced me to the village's special grace.
We were newcomers to our task. The students had never held a camera or tape recorder, let alone a book with stories or photographs like the one I hoped we might produce. Their knowledge of the world came from words on dusty chalkboards at school and battery-operated radios at home. Of what interest, the students asked me, could this spare life be to readers far away?
I knew little about their world. Quickly, my student collaborators showed me a new universe, from how to turn maize into the dense, fried bread called chapati to how to identify the constellations in a night sky that is as white (with stars) as black. Most of all, they taught me about resilience, warmth, and generosity in the face of unforgiving poverty."
The resulting book, In Our Village: Kambi ya Simba Through the Eyes of Its Youth (Next Generation Press, 2006),sold close to 10,000 copies. Proceeds support graduates of the village’s secondary school as they pursue what’s called “advanced secondary” education (another two years of high school), often far from home." -- Barbara Cervone, Ed.D., What Kids Can Do President
Read about these amazing kids and book below.
