Part Two: Exploring SEGA’s Impact Beyond the Classroom
At SEGA, fluency in English is essential for academic success, yet most students arrive speaking local tribal languages and Kiswahili, Tanzania’s national language. Transitioning to secondary school, where all subjects are taught in English, presents a significant challenge. The English Fluency Program (EFP) bridges this gap; volunteers are role models and storytellers. By fostering confidence, motivation, and a love for learning, volunteers help SEGA students thrive academically and personally, transforming their futures.
Lea and Jim Watson, 2024 EFP volunteers, continue their inspiring story in this second part of their blog. Here, they share deeper insights into SEGA’s transformative impact through cultural exchanges, community outreach, and unforgettable moments like the safari and the heartfelt “Sharemony” celebration. Their experiences illustrate the profound rewards of volunteering and the joy of connecting across cultures.
Inspired to join the journey? Contact Myranda at myranda@nurturingmindsinafrica.org to learn more about volunteering for the English Fluency Program in 2025.
A Tour of SEGA, Home Visit, and Modern Girl Program
Two Form Three girls took us on a tour on our first day at the SEGA Girls’ School. Beatrice and Vanessa beamed with pride as they showed us their school. Red stucco buildings housed classrooms and dorms. We saw mango and avocado orchards, a chicken farm, and their soccer pitch. The Big Banda was the central meeting place, a huge open-air pavilion where the girls eat meals. The SEGA campus is a thirty-acre oasis. We learned that some of the Security Guards were Massai Warriors.
Before we started teaching, SEGA staff took us on a bus tour around Morogoro to make home visits and see their outreach program called “Modern Girl.”
The family I visited had a daughter and a granddaughter graduating in the 2024 SEGA Class; their youngest daughter and the daughter of their oldest child. The mom and dad beamed with pride for the achievements of their girls and all SEGA had offered them. A translator interpreted their Swahili into English. Their spirit of gratitude for SEGA overwhelmed me. I felt teary as they shared their deep appreciation for SEGA. First, the grandchildren circled the group with a jug of water and a pan, asking us to wash our hands. Next, they served ginger tea, cooked bananas, rice, and beans. We learned that the father is a carpenter who builds furniture. They were curious about where we all were from, too. After a while, the father invited us to walk around the neighborhood. He clearly loved where he lived. We waved to the neighbors. I heard him describe who we were, and I was so proud of our visit. Some of us spied a small fabric store. I purchased a Tanzanian Khanga from a girl named Happiness. Every Khanga has a slogan imprinted in Swahili along the edge. Mine translated to; “God blesses those who do good deeds.”
We drove to another Morogoro neighborhood. The bus bumped, jiggled, and swayed over the rutted dirt road. Motorbikes zoomed around in every which way. Out the window, we marveled at the women so smartly dressed in bright African dresses, walking with impeccable posture as they carried bananas, baskets, or even plastic tubs on their heads. In an open space, we met a SEGA graduate who is one of the mentors of Modern Girl. This is another way SEGA is making a difference for girls in Tanzania. Under a spreading tamarind tree, we met about fifty girls who participated in this program, offering health education and life skills lessons twice a week. The girls attend SEGA but will benefit from the support and guidance of the mentors. Before long, we were laughing and playing “duck-duck-goose” and singing the Hokey Pokey with the lighthearted young ladies. What a joy-filled afternoon.
The Home Visits, Modern Girl program, and meeting our student tour guides at SEGA impressed us with the absolute need for an organization like SEGA. Without SEGA, hundreds of girls in Tanzania would be at a loss for education and developing confidence as strong young women.
Graduation
We arrived on time to attend the SEGA graduation. In a serpentine rhythm and line, the Form-Four class slowly danced into the Big Banda in their long green skirts and white blouses as the rest of the school cheered. The day-long ceremony celebrated individual achievement, school spirit, and the vibrant culture of Tanzania. A fashion show of clothes they designed and made entertained us. They sang songs, danced, and performed skits. What a grand show we enjoyed.
These girls finish the term with exams and then graduate to a two-year school before attending university. 97% of SEGA students go on to continuing education after SEGA, with 70% going on to university compared to just 3% nationally.
SEGA took care of us
SEGA took good care of us in the Visitors House. The cooks, Loveness and Hija, prepared three meals a day, offering delicious Tanzanian food. Can you imagine not having to cook for two weeks?
The EFP organizers, Madam Tina and Madam Diana, and the EFP Leader, Mr. Clarke, kept the twenty volunteers in line. Ranging in age from thirty to eighty, the dynamics of this group proved to be powerful. With the common purpose of helping the girls improve their English speaking skills, our cooperation and connection deepened. Encouraging confidence in the girls allowed us to develop our strengths and expand our creativity.
Madam Elly, Madam Laina, Mr. Abdallah, Madam Rhona, and Madam Elizabeth found time in their busy schedules to visit us in our group as we taught. They, like us, loved seeing the six smiling faces around the table listening to our lessons. Madam Isabella helped everyone but seemed to be my guardian angel, always checking to ensure I was okay.
Teaching at SEGA
We met the six eager students daily under a green tent awning outside the Big Banda. Every day, I wiped the tables with a cloth. The red dust covered everything and permeated our sandals and feet. The value of small group instruction became evident in how the girls spoke easily with each other and with us. Mr. Jim and I read books and reviewed vocabulary, language, lessons, and songs. We made storyboards for each book to encourage the girls to use English.
Each EFP group chose a name: The Rainbow Rhinos, the Confidence Girls, Surprise, SEGA Stars, The Winners, the Shining Stars, and the girls in our group chose to be the Butterfly Group.
Jim: “We volunteered to run an afternoon activity session before we left for SEGA. We thought using games would be fun and a great language-learning time for the students. We didn’t realize how hot and tired we would become after teaching our group in the morning from 9:00 to 1:30. With a short break for lunch, we were back at the Game Session in the heat of the library. After a few days of meeting in the library where the SEGA games were housed, we discovered an outdoor table with benches nearby that was in the shade. We were much more comfortable outdoors with a breeze. The girls had little experience playing games like GO FISH, MEMORY, or BINGO. We taught each group how to play and use language embedded in the games. Using question forms, such as “Do you have…?” or “Am I a ….” Proved challenging but fun for the girls. Paired Wild Animal Cards, Crazy Eights, Jenga, Head Bandz, Spot It, and Sorry encouraged turn-taking and modeling language. We used these strategies for years, teaching communication skills to students who were deaf/hard of hearing. Our specialty was teaching children how to listen and use spoken language. The girls loved games and became quite competitive. The girls had endless energy, but we felt exhausted by the end of the afternoon. However, we whole-heartedly enjoyed the playful interaction with all seven groups.”
Field Trips and Afternoon Fun
Choma Falls
After the EFP field trip to Choma Waterfalls in the Uluguru Mountains, we wrote stories about it and illustrated what we saw: the vervet monkeys, the steep trail, the huge waterfall, and the drumming band we met. Not one girl complained about the pouring rain or fog.
Mikumi National Park
On the weekend, three buses drove two hours to the Mikumi National Park. After leaving the crowded city of Morogoro Town, the open landscape emerged, showing a vast countryside. Many banana and mango trees, grasses, and bushes grew on the red earth. No leaves on the trees told us it was the end of the dry season. The sun baked the ground to make the dirt hard-packed. We passed women tending large gardens full of Swiss chard, potatoes, and lettuce. We saw men making charcoal and chipping away at rocks to make gravel.
As he looked out the window, Jim said, “It’s hard to imagine that we will drive along and see wild animals. It just doesn’t look possible.”
We kept driving past many fruit stands and basket displays. Near the park, we saw the first animals, baboons, and monkeys, by the roadside.
Lea said: “Look, a vulture over those termite mounds and… what? A herd of impala under those trees… and Oooh, a giraffe! Look, right by the edge of the highway. She’s munching leaves off a tree. She’s so camouflaged but right out our window. Wow. All this, and we haven’t even entered the park.”
Beyond the gate, we entered a magical world of real-life wild animals. Can you believe we saw lions, zebras, giraffes, elephants, even a leopard up close, baobab trees, iconic Acacia trees, and way too many animals to mention in this blog. I think we saw every kind possible.
Did you know that Tanzania chose the Masai giraffe as the national animal? Why? Because Masai giraffes are calm and graceful. Their long necks represent the ability to be visionary. I learned that giraffes serve as a reminder for them to view life from all angles. Tanzanians want to be calm and live with grace. What a great national symbol.
Khangas
One afternoon, the girls planned a fashion show/dance for us. They brought their Tanzanian Khangas to the Big Banda. Each group dressed their teachers in colorful clothes. I heard squeals of delight and felt the careful arrangement of the fabric as they wrapped me up. They loved my long grey hair, tucking it under the headpiece gently. Mr. Jim said, “Their enthusiasm was incredible.” When all twenty teachers were dressed, they directed us to walk the runway in our Tanzanian attire. This was so much fun. After that, they taught us Tanzanian dancing, which was even more fun.
“Sharemony” and Conclusion
After the first week, we realized we had to plan a performance for the last day.
Our “Sharemony” program developed and changed as the girls helped us write two songs and re-create an Eric Carle story. The children’s book author Eric Carle was from Massachusetts, where we live.
One song our group of girls sang:
“Razzle dazzle, we change and grow. We fly high; that’s good, we know.
Razzle Dazzle, we flutter and swoop. We are proud to be the Butterfly Group.”
After going on the Safari Game Drive at Mikumi National Park, the girls wrote a song to the tune of Frere Jaques describing each animal, where they saw it, and what sound the animal makes. They drew pictures of their favorite animal and held them up as they sang the verses in the “Sharemony.”
Our Butterfly Group read pages from their version, The Very Hungry African Caterpillar. The caterpillar ate mangoes, papayas, watermelon, and other African fruits, then changed into “a beautiful butterfly, strong and confident like us.” The girls chanted.
After that, our girls surprised us with a song they had written independently.
“We’ve been together. Our time is over. Bye Bye, our teachers Bye Bye.
Thank you for teaching us. Now it’s time to say goodbye. Bye Bye, our teachers Bye Bye.
We love you so much. We will miss you. Bye Bye, our teachers. Bye Bye.”
They sang with strong voices, beautiful harmony, and so much feeling. Everyone became emotional, demonstrating how deeply the students appreciate the English Fluency Program.
The “Sharemony” brought the seven EFP groups together to celebrate our accomplishments at SEGA. Our EFP team and the SEGA staff bonded in a deep feeling of helping girls grow in confidence and communicate more confidently in English. What a privilege it was to volunteer at SEGA. Jim and I added about forty friends to our lives in two weeks—friends who share a common bond of helping others succeed no matter where they live. As a group of educators, we understand commitment of this kind holds our world together. We appreciate all we learned from our teaching experience. We are grateful that SEGA awakened us to the wonders of Africa.
Interested in becoming a student scholarship supporter? Supporting a scholarship for a student at the SEGA Girls' School can help get a girl out of poverty, reduce teen pregnancy and early marriage, and foster a cross-cultural exchange. You will support a student throughout her education, and both of you will learn about life in a different part of the world. Become a Student Scholarship Supporter here.