FranznTanz!: December 2012

Happy and I negotiating the price of 'the juice made of secrets ingredients!!'

Our14 Mentoring Families have combined to create 7 Business families and, as part of the Learning By Doing process, are competing with each other and have been actively working their businesses to try and make as much money as possible.Eventually they will liquidate and settle their books and we will know which Business Family has won.

During the semester the Business Families have been meeting every Tuesday and Thursday 4-5pm and, led by The Foundacion Paraguaya;

L-R Dris, Melissa, Isaac.Some of the FP team

supported by the SEGA staff who were trained on how to lead a Business Family during an FP run workshop at the beginning of the semester; and have been learning the whole Business process....

Pili....."YES I CAN DO IT!!!"

FP and SEGA staff together with the Business Families....taking the first steps to understanding how a business is formed and the steps in essential planning before a business is materialised.

They have learned about the structure and responsibilities of members in a business then elected their own President, Treasurer and Marketing Manager; decided on their product or service; wrote their own business plans; have been producing their products, marketing and selling etc...FP, a team of energetic people both from Paraguay and Tanzania, secured a grant by Master Card to work with 3 selected schools in Tanzania for 5-10 years to implement and integrate businesses into the schools.

Eme and Isaac in action

Nuru leading a warm-up activity....Melissa and Dris sharing the fun.

SEGA also won recognition and is now the model business school for this project together with The Professional College at Njombe where I recently spent 2 weeks. It has been an amazing, realistic experience and a huge learning curve for everyone! SEGA hopes to be financially self sustaining by 2017 and already have the chicken business happening and developing skills in the Hospitality industry! Form 3, are learning the kuku business and have been actively involved in each production stage since we got the day old chicks back in April this year. We are now busily selling eggs from the 1000 layers and have had broilers (chickens to sell for meat) which Form 3 (and me!!) killed, gutted and dressed...nearly 1000 chickens and sold them over 4 weeks!!

The Business Families are working on domestic businesses in this program so that the girls can learn these skills and be prepared when they leave SEGA. Many of them will go back to their families/environments and begin their own family businesses! Very exciting!

I went to school several times early this month to share the freshly produced chapatti (burrito...type flat bread commonly eaten in Tz) made by Mentoring families #1 and #2....or Business Family A: many times I would go early to support them as they are making mandazi (deep fried donut type bread also VERY common and popular here) and a sambusa (samosa with potato, green pepper and onion filling) ...kachori na pilli pilli sauce (tasty battered potato similar to what Aussies call potato cakes..with hot chillie sauce). One Business family won the tender to produce fresh bread rolls for the whole school for morning tea during the weekend....SO nice when I visited on weekends. These items are produced early morning or closer to dinner in the evening.

Shopping once a week to buy the necessary resources for the businesses. One representative from each business family would shop.

Martha doing a quality check

"mmmmm....shiling ngapi? How much? hapana...pungumza na bei?? no....lower price??" Good bargaining girls!

Martha and I....Sokoni sisters!! I had just had a very interesting lesson on shopping at the market..... I actually thought I was good at bargaining until I was with these experts!

...and so after shopping the girls can continue preparing their goods. Happy and Mwanamisi making the very popular fresh fruit juice. SEGA staff are going to miss this nutritius treat at chai and lunch after 29 November when businesses end....I am sure that it will have to return through popular demand!!

Market research was done during the planning phase: Subira and Prisca are testing the market to ensure the staff knew their product and would be interested in buying the bread!

The outcome of the market research was very positive!

Driving a hard bargain....our girls certainly know how to shop and get the best buy for their money!

Some families are selling freshly made juice...avocado/mango/passion/fresh ginger and maybe banana and ubuyu from the baobab tree we think???... nobody was ever told the exact ingredients....good business strategy girls!...Staff could buy this at morning tea time. YUM!!! Others have been making wrist bands and other jewellery; tie dyed t-shirts; baskets; scrap material floor mats (another one of Lucy's family's products) woven mats like the bookmarks I made when I was first here in Tz..... etc etc.... many skills were being learned and shared between the students. The families are vertically organised. The youngest students mixing knowledge and skills with the older students! It has been so rewarding and has contributed to building trust and friendships between them all!

One thursday evening I went to the sokoni (market) with the 7 nominated shoppers, one from each Business. They all had shopping lists and the predicted cash from their sales to purchase the necessary items to continue working their businesses. They proved to be very discerning and diligent shoppers, getting the best quality for a competitive price…and managed to get extras thrown it when the duka owner learned of the purpose for their shopping safari! Good work girls!

The only challenging moment was when a mtoto mdogo (small child) burst into tears and cried and cried at the sight of me!!!!..... Everyone gathered around and tutted “pole sana… so sorry” and were very friendly… but the little one just couldn’t understand what this white skinned; long haired; very strange looking; walking, talking thing was !!!!! Oh dear…. I still like the description that we are exotic…. Not monstrous.

This has been a pilot project for all involved so as it has progressed we have been monitoring and evaluating the positives and negatives of each phase so that next year the girls can move forward and establish their own ongoing small businesses from the ones they have been involved in or new ones. One possibility might be to get an internal sewing cooperative started so that initially 5 girls will learn the skill from a skilled tailor and when they have established their skills, will teach another 5 girls. When any mending/sewing production etc is required at SEGA these girls will be given the business. We are hoping that it will broaden their visions and help them understand the whole business process...wins/losses/the whole picture!! There are many possibilities in which the girls will be integral in designing and pursuing.

The following pictures give you a visual of the activities generated through the business clubs:

Enjoying breakfast whilst preparing boiled eggs and omelettes

cooking 'bites'

Learning how to weave baskets. A local skilled fundi, craftsperson, visited and shared her skills then the girls perfected their own skills as the weeks passed by.

Lots of concentration.... I was so impressed with the quality of this basket, I bought it and donated it to the raffle at the MIS Fayre. Good work Lucy.

Madam Anastazia, sharing her knowledge and skills with her Business Family.

Happy team work!!

Hongera...."I DID IT!!" This was the beginning of learning a skill which eventually helped her produce a beautifully crafted rug

High finances...ensuring correct money changes hands so the Treasurer can correctly record the Business dealings.

Everyone was involved in teaching and guiding the girls. Mama mpishi Loyce (Loyce our cook) overseeing and ensuring the girls are following suggestions.


One Business Family secured the business of supplying lunch for the team of hard working fundis. SEGA has started the water harvesting project. The first phase is to put in place the huge water storage tanks so whilst this is happening our girls were being paid to provide their lunch. Good work girls for identifying an available market and securing the tender.

The fundis hard at work digging by hand the pit for one of the water storage tanks which will be fed by water run off from every building as well as from its own ability to capture the water from the heavy rains which are yet to come. The short rains have been very late in coming this season so our environment is very, very dry. This has, however, meant the fundis have been able to make fast progress on construction!

Josephine working her sales charm for their business on my 2 VSO friends, Margaret and Barbara, who recently enjoyed some time visiting us at SEGA.

Celina frying karunga ..(ground nuts / peanuts)....in sweet batter

A typical scene during this semester!

When Form 2's finished their National exams, they planned 2 days and sought a market for our fresh eggs in and around the central township of Morogoro. It was hard work but, like last year's venture of selling t-shirts in town (previuos blog), the girls learned many valuable lessons, especially during their first day of selling! They became very smart in their approach during the second selling trip.This was a perfect example of:

'learning by doing'

Thanks to the Fundacion team, Melissa, Ema and Isaac, and to all the SEGA staff for giving our girls this insight and practical opportunity to experience real life business!

Businesses were liquidated 29 November and both students and staff presented very honest reflections about their Business journeys. One team will be given an award for being the best Business team. They will be taken to the CDRB Bank for a visit then out to lunch by the Fundacion Paraguayans. The winning team will be announced next week.
As we did last year, we participated in the Morogoro International School annual Fayre, Friday 30 November. Thanks MIS for your generosity. Here we shared with the Morogoro community a glimpse of the SEGA story so far


L-R: Rhema, Angel, Me, Naomi, the treasurer, Nuru wearing one of our beautifully tie dyed T-Shirts which were on sale. The girls were selling woven baskets, jewellery, fabric mats, T-Shirts, AND of course our prize winning, nutritious, freshly laid eggs!! The girls mingled with the crowd and shared the SEGA story, encouraging patrons to support our school and to buy our produce especially encouraging them to place regular orders for the eggs. The activities at SEGA were also presented visually in photos, brochures and handouts.