We arrived at Dar es Salaam airport at 7.00am local time. The bags were delivered pretty quickly and straight out at customs. We were met by Gosbert Damazo who is the Regional Director of Education for Dodoma.
We packed up into a Toyota Land Cruiser and drove for 6 hours to reach the capital of Tanzania, Dodoma. The landscape between Dar and Dodoma changed quite dramatically from a lush, tropical region with rich landscape through to a much drier region, up on a plain.
Dodoma has been the capital of Tanzania since 1973 however, it has never really taken off as, although very central within the whole country, Dodoma is quite isolated and desolate.
‘Dodoma’ means ‘sinking’ or ‘sunk’. The explanation is that it was a metaphor for the fate of invaders unable to escape the spears and arrows of the brave Gogo defenders. However, tales are told of an elephant that came to drink in the Kikuyu River which got stuck and started to sink.
Our Hotel is called the ‘New Dodoma Hotel’ which was originally built by German settlers during the First World War. Since then it has been refurbished and the most popular hotel in the city.
Background information about the education system
• Preliminary Education: age 5 – 7
• Primary Education: age 7 – 14
• Secondary Education: age 14 – 18
• Advanced: age 18 – 19
• University students take out a loan to pay for the course and then pay back as soon as working
• School are supposed to be inspected twice a year but in reality it does not happen that way.
