Standard 7 Graduation

Last Thursday in Karanse was a very special day - the third graduation of our class
7. This marks the end of their primary education and the beginning of their secondary (our high school) education. This is a very big deal in a village that, before our school, had graduated something like 7 students EVER! This, our third class, makes about 80 from our school alone! These students took a national exam in August or September (I forget which), the results of which help determine where they will go to secondary school. There are far too many students for the available schools, and especially teachers, so there is a weeding out process with this exam. Our students took an entrance exam just recently at a secondary school in Moshi, a large town about an hour away, that we have heard good things about. It would be a boarding school, which is very customary here in TZ. Some of these students are the first in their families to graduate from primary school, so there were some very proud families there! Mostly, I wanted to put up pictures of this event. Some of them aren't very clear, but I wanted to give you the flavor of this whole thing.

Supposedly to start at 8:30, really began about 12, lasted almost three hours, followed by lunch! The other classes presented a traditional dance (those are the pictures with painted faces!)and songs; there were lots of speeches, a drama, several dignitaries introduced (including me, but I don't have a picture of that!) - a very full day!