My VillageTanzania
By Joina M. Kangalo, Nguyami Primary School, Gairo, Tanzania
The Jifunze (accelerated learning) techniques have helped me not only in the project’s learning camps but also in my regular classroom programs, and my grade one children have learned to read quickly, unlike in previous years.
My name is Joina M. Kangalo, and I’m a teacher at Nguyami Primary School in Tanzania. I teach class one children, and I’m also involved in implementing the ‘My Village’ project in my community.
After the training on ‘My Village’ by Uwezo Tanzania, I went back to my village to assess children aged 6 -17 years in the households. This assessment helped us identify those who couldn’t read or do basic math, as well as children who weren’t enrolled in school at all.
In February 2023, I attended another four-day training on the project. This time the sessions focused on how to teach children using various techniques with games in reading and math. After returning to the village, I organized a village meeting with the help of the village elder to engage with parents about their children’s learning, based on the findings of the assessment conducted earlier.
The ‘My Village’ project has been a great success in my community. The Jifunze (accelerated learning) techniques have helped me not only in the project’s learning camps but also in my regular classroom programs, and my grade one children have learned to read quickly, unlike in previous years.
I remember that in our school, we had almost 40 children who couldn’t read at all. But after teaching, using Jifunze (accelerated learning) techniques, 32 children out of 40 could read. I believe that in the upcoming assessment, even fewer students will struggle with reading, or they will all have progressed.
I’m grateful that many children in our school can now read stories fluently and do basic math. This has made teaching in the classroom easier and improved overall academic performance my students.
Lastly, I express my gratitude to Uwezo Tanzania and the PAL Network for bringing the ‘My Village’ project to our village. This project has made teaching and learning easier and more effective for all of us.
