This program is organized by Duke faculty/staff and the Literacy Through Photography (LTP) program at Duke in collaboration with DukeEngage.
June 2 - July 28
Co-leading classroom-based photography and writing projects.
, Director, Literacy Through Photography at the Center for Documentary Studies; Instructor, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University
The Literacy Through Photography (LTP) Arusha DukeEngage program is part of an effort to build a locally sustainable Literacy Through Photography program within Arusha, Tanzania schools. LTP is a teaching tool that combines photography and writing and can be used within any area of the curricula to enhance critical thinking and creativity and improve visual, written and cultural literacy. As we work with teachers and children in Arusha we are learning how LTP can best operate within the context of Tanzanian schools—in light of resources, national curricula, and educational reform, such as the call for more participatory teaching methods.
Much of our work in Arusha is devoted to training teachers in LTP’s method of integrating photography and writing, and then collaborating with teachers as they carry out projects in their classrooms. We are also working with teachers to develop visual teaching aids and other curricula. An important part of our work is establishing and growing a Teacher Resource Center that lends participating teachers the supplies necessary for LTP projects such as cameras, printers, and other photographic and art supplies, books, how-to LTP guides and sample photographs.
Thus far, we have trained hundreds of teachers including primary and secondary level teachers, as well as professors from teachers’ colleges. LTP staff and DukeEngage students have co-led classroom LTP projects with over 3,000 Arusha students.
The LTP Arusha program culminates with a group exhibition and dialogue among DukeEngage students, Arusha teachers and schoolchildren and community members.
DukeEngage service work involves five areas:
• Training teachers in LTP’s methods
• Co-teaching classrooms-based LTP activities
• Building/maintaining the LTP Teacher Resource Center
• Developing LTP curricula
• Designing and running after-school projects
Prerequisites: We strongly recommend that students enroll in the course Literacy Through Photography (EDU 144S/DOCST 144S) as preparation for this program. Students will have on-site training in Kiswahili.
Reflection Sessions: Students will participate in one or two weekly reflection sessions. Students will lead some of these reflections, and the program leaders will lead other meetings. Students will also be asked to write several reflections that will be posted on the LTP blog.
Neighborhood: Students will live in Arusha, Tanzania, a city of approximately 500,000 people. Arusha hosts the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and is a common stopover city for foreigners en route to Mt. Kilimanjaro and the national parks in the northern region of Tanzania.
Safety concerns:
— Theft is a common problem in Arusha. Students should avoid carrying large amounts of cash. They should carry bags/purses that close tightly and that cannot be easily stripped from one’s shoulder or back. When traveling to Tanzania, students should not place any valuables in their checked bags.
— When walking around Arusha, students should stay on main roads that are well traveled. They should always travel in pairs and should never walk in town after sunset (after 6:45 pm). Traveling by taxi is a safe, inexpensive and convenient alternative to walking, and will be necessary at night.
Housing and Accommodations: For most of the program, students will be housed at Kundayo Apartments, a guesthouse with individual units that accommodate 2-3 students. Each unit has a bathroom. The guesthouse apartments also have small kitchenettes where students can boil water for safe consumption and refrigerate items purchased at grocery stores or nearby markets. Students may pay for a laundry service or hand-wash their clothes at the guesthouse. Students will also have a home-stay for one or two weeks. During this time, students will continue working together on their LTP projects during the day, and will be expected to spend each evening with their host family. Students will be provided with mosquito nets to use at the guesthouse and during the home-stays.
Meals: During the home-stay, students will eat breakfast and dinner with their host family. While at the guesthouse, students can use the kitchenettes to prepare simple meals. Food can be purchased from nearby grocery stores, corner shops and open markets. In addition to the restaurant at Kundayo Apartments, there are many good restaurants in town for lunch and dinner. When eating out, students should avoid raw vegetables. Water must always be boiled and/or treated before drinking. Boiled/treated water should also be used for cooking, washing vegetables and brushing one’s teeth.
Communication: Arusha has many internet cafes in small shops and hotels where students can check email. Some cafes have wireless available. The guesthouse also has one computer available for internet use. In general, the internet connection in Arusha is slow and power sources can be unreliable as well. Each student will be provided with a cell phone once they arrive in Tanzania. Students will need to purchase phone cards, which are readily available. Phones can be used for local and international calls and local text messaging. In some internet cafes, it’s also possible to make international calls from a land-line, and this is often less expensive. (Tanzania is 7 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.)
Transportation: Many of our project sites are located near the center of Arusha, making it possible to travel on foot during daylight hours. We will also arrange for hired cars or taxis when traveling to schools that are located at a further distance and/or in an isolated area. In the past, students have chosen a few taxi drivers, whom they called regularly throughout the program. Weekend trips will be in hired buses or vans.
Service project examples:
Training teachers in LTP’s methods.
LTP workshops involve hands-on photography and writing activities. During teacher workshops DukeEngage students provide technical training related to basic digital photography, lead small group discussions with teachers and assist teachers as they complete photography and writing assignments.
Examples—
• Introductory LTP workshops for teachers at collaborating schools
• Advanced workshops for teachers involved with LTP since 2007
• Basic LTP workshops for teachers of students with special needs
• Extended (several day) workshops for professors at teachers colleges outside of Arusha
Co-leading LTP activities in classrooms.
Once Arusha teachers have been trained in LTP, they will decide how to use LTP in their classes—in what area of the curricula and with what age group. Students collaborate with teachers in designing and running classroom LTP projects. Some classrooms have 30 students; others have up to 100 children.
Examples—
• High school history project—photographic representations of colonialism and slavery
• High school language project—photographs interpreting Swahili proverbs
• 7th grade Science project—first aid and HIV awareness
• 6th grade English project—photographing and writing about nighttime dreams
• 4th grade geography project-—creating a photographic map of Southern Africa
• 3rd grade self-portrait photography project
Building a Teacher Resource Center (TRC).
A sustainable LTP Arusha program depends on local leadership and sufficient resources. The LTP Teacher Resource Center lends supplies to teachers who want to implement photography and writing projects in their classrooms.
Examples—
• Collecting donated supplies such as film, cameras, school/art supplies.
• Fundraising to support the Arusha TRC with cash donations for supplies, rent, printing of photographs and curricula.
• Assisting Pelle Shaibu—Arusha’s LTP coordinator who oversees the TRC
Developing curricula.
The LTP Arusha program works with leading teachers to understand how/where LTP fits into the national curricula and to adapt the American version of LTP as necessary. The program’s long-term goals include developing how-to resources that are specific to working within the context of Tanzania and creating visual teaching aids from the photographic work that Arusha students and teachers are producing.
Examples—
• Designing English and Swahili camera and printer manuals.
• Assembling children’s LTP work into bound and laminated booklets that can be used again in the classroom as visual aids.
• Archiving Arusha students’ and teachers’ work—organizing digital records, scanning finished projects which usually consist of collaged photographs and writings.
Designing and running after-school programs.
By creating after-school projects for children, DukeEngage students have the chance to bring their own interests and talents into fun, creative and educational collaborations with children and youth. These projects also allow DukeEngage students to get to know a smaller group of kids over a sustained period of time (whereas many classroom projects last one day or one week).
Examples—
• School newspaper club—designing a school newsletter featuring students’ photographs, essays and interviews with community members.
• Music classes
• Sports clubs
• Art classes involving drawing, video and/or dancing lessons.
Opportunities for Autonomy / Private Space: In this DukeEngage program, students and program leaders—including the Arusha based leader, Pelle Shaibu—work as a team. Instead of splitting up and working with several distinct organizations, we’ll work together and with local teachers to support and expand the emergent LTP Arusha program. This is a complex and still new endeavor, and DukeEngage leaders will seek students’ feedback on what’s working and not working. Group meetings will provide time to update each other (students will work in rotating pairs during many of the service activities) and to brainstorm and problem-solve.
The Kundayo Apartments guesthouse has several indoor and outdoor sitting areas where students may spread out to relax or read and write. However, students should be aware that their shared apartment units allow for very limited private space. During the homestays, students will be provided with their own room, but should expect to spend much of their evening time with their host family.
Students’ exact schedule will vary from week to week, but they can expect the LTP program activities and language training to take place during the work/school day (8:00am to 5:00/6:00pm). Students will often have a mid-day break during which they can eat lunch at a restaurant or check email at an internet café. This can be a chance for students to have some alone time.
In the town center students can pay to use a gym that is equipped with treadmills, bicycles, etc.
We will have one or two group dinners every week, but otherwise most evenings (except during the homestay) are unstructured. In the past, students have spent their evenings at restaurants, clubs and/or at the guesthouse hanging out and/or watching movies. For safety reasons, students should travel in pairs (or a group) and by taxi when going out at night.
Students will also have some free time on most weekends (again, less so during the home-stay). The first weekend will involve group orientation activities and there will be several weekend excursions to visit nearby national parks, communities, and organizations.
Miscellaneous: Students will be provided with a detailed LTP Arusha handbook that includes extensive information about our program as well as general readings related to Tanzanian history, education and development.