Month: February 2025

Sorry for the delay in posting. There have been technical problems. The lack of bandwith is preventing pictures from this posting. I’ll add a post later with them.

There are four target research groups for this project: 1) confirmation students (as we engaged last Saturday); 2) Form 2 secondary students (about an 8^th-grade equivalent); 3) women’s groups; and 4) lay pastor candidates in their training program (theological education by extension, TEE).

This last fieldwork visit was focused on Form 2 students at the MaaSae Girls Lutheran Secondary School (MGLSS) in Monduli. This is a boarding school for secondary education that is owned by the North Central Diocese, and started by the late American Lutheran missionary, Rev. David Simonson. My late husband and I were volunteer teachers here for 3 academic years (2002–2004) through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). So, this is a wonderful place with great memories that I have returned to many times over the last 20 years, bringing church groups, university groups, and for my own ongoing research.

The Head of School, Tuli Saleiya, welcomed me to do research here, and there is an administrative overhead gift that is given to the school. This is following the philosophy of my supervisor, Prof. Knut Holter, that works to avoid “palm oil” scholarship, where scholars come to places to “extract” research to develop their own professional status but don’t give back to the community. This project is giving back, as it is designed to be a blessing with enough research activity for the European Commission to justify awarding funds to the project.

My trusted driver, Godi, took research assistant Joseph and me to Monduli in the early morning. I thought you might like to see an interesting sight from along the journey!

Form 2 is about an 8^th grade equivalent in secondary school. I chose this level because when I was here, I taught the Form 2 Bible Knowledge course that focused on the Pentateuch. Genesis creation texts are important for understanding God’s commission to humans to care for God’s good creation (Genesis 2:15). Form 2 also includes an environmental science topic in the biology course. It is a bit unfortunate that the curriculum for Bible Knowledge has changed with Genesis appearing in the Form 1 curriculum, while the environmental content remains in Form 2 biology. In retrospect, I would choose Form 3, as all the content would be review, and the English competence would be stronger. Most of these students come from rural areas and have only had 15 months of English language learning. Yet, it is a lovely age group of eager learners.

This Saturday was about 6 hours of 3 lessons, breaks (including soda and a muffin), as well as the pre-lesson and post-lesson surveys. Next Saturday, there is a HUGE 30^th anniversary celebration of MGLSS (where I will be), and so all the students—except Form 2 during the workshop—are cleaning and working to prepare for the anniversary celebration with an estimated 30 guests from the USA!

The workshop started with securing all the consent forms which had been provided last December before they went home for break in order to get a parent’s/guardian’s permission. Giving an animal sticker to all who had provided the consent forms meant that students could come row-by-row and pick up their correlating survey.

The lessons were written by Lais Josph, a Maasai teacher of biology and geography. With a bachelor’s degree in science education with these specialties, he teaches advanced (A) level as well as fills in on the ordinary (O) level. In his lesson plans, I was impressed at how he was able to take the three primary content foci (biblical creation care, Maasai traditional environmental knowledge, and climate science) and integrate them in very thoughtful summaries.

Lais also taught the lessons. He is a very good teacher that brings the content to the students in meaningful illustrations while engaging them with feedback lessons both as individual and as a large group. Again, he was able to make the lessons go beyond what even I was thinking. One example is that each of the 53 students who were participating in the pre- and post-lesson surveys were given an animal sticker to confirm that they had submitted a consent form. Each student had a different animal sticker, which was more than being able to identify individuals in an anonymous way, he also used them to illustrate biodiversity. Perfect!

After the lessons and surveys, I met with Pastor Nangole up the Monduli Mountains. He gave me a beautiful Maasai dress to wear next Saturday for the 30^th Anniversary at MGLSS.

On the way down the mountain, the rains made the road impassable, even for a tractor (though with worn tires), so with Pastor Nangole driving in 4-wheel drive, we went back up an around the high road to descend on a different path. The view from the apex of the road was amazing. (Sorry, picture posted later.)

The site visit this week has had to be rescheduled due to our teacher’s appointment by Tumaini University Makumira to represent the theology faculty in Dodoma for the Tanzanian Commission of Universities, as there is a major rollout of new nation-wide curriculum requirements. This gives me time to catch up and prepare for the following week.

Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!

I’m joined by the survey presenter, Joseph, and teacher, Pastor Megiroo.

Lay pastor Raphael (left) is a natural leader and a great person to work with and make things happen. (I am among some mamas that are part of another project with which I’ve been connected.)

Upon arrival at the Lutheran church in the mountain village area, we were greeted by singing and a procession of handshakes by the elders followed by all other adults. Then, the children came by single file with their heads bowed before each of us. We gave them a Maasai blessing, touching each head. This is one of the many time during the day when I’m deeply moved.

There were 51 children present in grades 5, 6, and 7 who are in confirmation programs from all the surrounding neighboring villages. This is the Lutheran church’s typical way to have Christian education for middle school-aged students, after which the participants can be confirmed in their faith, also called an affirmation of baptism. In Tanzania, confirmation happens typically in grade 6, as grade 7 is the national exam year and takes priority without other distractions. (Next year, in the new Tanzanian curriculum there will not be a grade 7, so confirmation will be done in grade 5, and I’ve asked church leaders about issues regarding cognitive development for faith formation for even younger children.) Then, after their national exams, many students go to a boarding school for secondary education as there are no local secondary schools.

Here’s how the day went after our greetings and entering into the church.

First, our wonderful host, lay pastor Raphael, did a roll call of all the confirmation students, and we confirmed that we have consent forms signed by a parent or guardian according to the research ethics protocols. Then he introduces everyone and gives an overview of the day.

Roll call

Then, Joseph gives an introduction to the survey—what it is—and also the process—how it will be done. This takes even more time than the doubling of minutes I originally planned after talking with Laura and learning of the challenges of doing surveys in a Maasai context. My sense is that Joseph is very eager to please and is explaining each aspect thoroughly, very thoroughly.

We pass out the one-page (front and back) survey form with 20 questions and a standard school notebook for the students to support the paper as they mark their survey responses. After the survey introduction, we also pass out a pen. The survey has one sticker of a distinctive animal (different from the other animals) stuck to the upper right corner of the survey form. In addition, there is one sticker too keep for themselves—still with its backing—which is paper clipped onto the first survey. This is the animal icon to help me anonymously track responses (hopefully development of knowledge and interest) of individual research participants.

The sticker to keep

To help them remember their animal, I equipped Joseph with a script that included having them make the noise of the animal all together (or the imagined sound if they didn’t know the animal). This is another way to reinforce remembering their animal. We repeated making this noise several times during the sessions that day, which stimulated some good laughter!

Rev. Megiroo taught three lessons that he was the lead in writing with some collaborative conversations with the other 2 writers and my “conversation partner” lessons, after all, I’ve been doing a deep dive into this content and reading Tanzanian government environmental policy documents that most pastors and teachers don’t read. There was a break with chai between lesson 1 (biblical creation care) and 2 (Maasai traditional environmental knowledge).

Rev. Megiroo teaching the lessons

After lesson 3 (climate science for a pastoralist context), it was supposed to be lunch, but the cooks needed more water, which had to be fetched from somewhere. We had a break of singing and Maasai dancing instead. It ended up being a nice transition after lesson 3, because after the lesson, we had a late lunch, and most of the adults (73 adult participants beyond the confirmation students!) left, leaving the confirmation students to take the post-lesson survey. This is where we hope to see in the survey responses development of understanding, responsibility, and hope.

I spread out all the surveys on two tables and had them come to picked up the survey form with their animal (and they compared with the one sticker of their own to keep aiding their memory).

Amazingly, it worked! In less than 5 minutes, all 50 students had their corresponding survey with their animal sticker! With the possibility of tracking between pre- and post-lessons data, I can anonymously track individual responses over 3 surveys (a follow-up longitudinal study in 3 months) without using some forgettable randomly assigned number.

Joseph reads the post-lesson survey questions.

I will be back in 3 months for not only the longitudinal survey, but also to have a choir competition, which is prevalent in Maasai areas. (See one of the best video recordings here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym2U_FwyGbk) My Maasai friend and colleague here at TUMA recently defended his PhD dissertation on the missional use of music in Maasai contexts that included choir competitions. (I helped him with the home stretch of his dissertation preparation.) He will be the judge of the competing small groups who will develop a song with 3 verses, each verse focusing on the main point of each of the 3 lessons—and sung in Maa using a traditional Maasai tune.

Overall, I was encouraged with the outcomes of the day. I’m sure there will be some surveys that will not be perfect, but my sense is that there will be enough responses that will indicate an adequate amount of helpful content. There are things to tweak for implementation in the next 7 fieldwork site visits, but the core procedures work well. I was impressed with how the students were attentive throughout the day. When the lay pastor asked them if they liked the lessons, there was a resounding “Yes!” (in Maa).

The students then each left the church with a gift of a school bag that I ordered to be made by a local seamstress with another notebook, pencil, eraser, and pencil sharpener.

The colorful school bags before adding school supplies.

Then, we gave each a soda (a special treat) and gathered for a picture.

We headed back to Arusha, and on the way, we saw elephants, a few sitings of giraffe, hyena (rare), a couple Grant’s gazelle, several dik dik (smallest antelope) pairs, guinea fowl, and many other beautiful birds. What a great way to end a great day!

Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!

After a better than usual night of sleep at the Mount Ketumbeine Motel before a big event that I’m managing, the morning was off to a great start! I chatted with some French people during breakfast with a Maasai NGO leader, Musa, who I have met before. The French people are working with water projects. Musa is the older brother of a former student of mine, and he is the research assistant for my US-AID researcher and Fulbright Scholar friend, Laura, who is a mentor for my survey methodology. It was nice to see Musa again, and what a coincidence to be at the same motel! Laura and I were both ELCA volunteer teachers in Monduli and caught the “Africa bug” that has kept us coming back again and again over 30 years.

The night before, we had a final preparation meeting face-to-face at our motel with our host, Lay Pastor Raphael, a natural leader with a winsome smile and facilitator of joy. He and his wife had a baby boy just 4 nights ago. I was able to congratulate him in person for what I believe is his 5^th child.

Raphael was concerned that Laurie’s car, a Rav 4, would not be the best vehicle to get up the mountain, which is at least an hour’s drive over rocky terrain. With recent rains, the road was rather bad. So, he recommended that we rent a car for the day—a 4 x 4 Land Cruiser with higher clearance. The owner, a friend of Raphael, gave us a good rate, Tsh 120,000, ($47) for the day’s use with a driver who knows the vehicle and mountain. Our driver, Godi, would come along to enjoy the day, complimented by my binoculars and East African bird book. This was Godi’s first time to a Maasai village.

My team was prompt and ready to go at our scheduled departure at 8:00 am. That would give us time to get to our village about an hour up the mountain (to 7,500 feet altitude) around the announced start time of 9:00 am, but knowing that the sessions would not start until at least 9:30 am. However, while people were gathering, we could confirm that the consent forms had been signed by a parent or guardian and get settled for our sessions.

Me with research assistant, Joseph, and the teacher for the day, Rev. Megiroo (also the primary collaborative writer of the lessons for this research group).

Oh, the best laid plans in Africa! At 8:00 am, there was no Land Cruiser. We were waiting for at least 10 minutes, when the motel staff brought chairs out to wait in the shade.

Waiting for our ride!

At 8:30 am, just as I was going to call Raphael, the Land Cruiser showed up. We loaded up our 4 crates of sodas onto the top rack and roped them in. We are off!

Just 1 minute from the driveway, the driver stopped to chat with a man on the side of the road. The message is that the Land Cruiser needed an oil change. I said, one more day won’t hurt the car, and we have 60 people waiting for us. Then, the driver explained that the Land Cruiser was low on oil. I said I would pay for the oil to put in the engine now and go. So, we drove to the petrol station, where the driver opened the hood and pulled out the dip stick. There was no oil on the dipstick! I guess it was good to get some oil, though they didn’t allow me to pay, as I was renting the vehicle for the day.

Next, we drive up the road into town and stop. The driver asks if there is electricity now. Yes, was the response. So, we back in to this side of the road repair shop and get air in the tires. Then we are off—but the opposite direction—back to the very same petrol station we were at just minutes before! We need petrol! When putting air in the tires, the pastor in the front seat saw the fuel gauge and asked if had enough petrol. Ok, despite another delay, it is important to have petrol for going up the mountain where there are no petrol stations.

An hour later, we are off and pick up Bethany, who will join us for the day. I first met Bethany in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 1992, before she moved with her new husband to Tanzania. Over the years, we’ve had several lovely connections. In 2015, Anya (my daughter) and I even hiked up Mount Ketumbeine (3,000 meters; 9,840 feet) with Bethany, her husband and daughter who is just a bit younger than my daughter.

Ok, now we are finally going up the mountain! It was a very bumpy and at time precarious journey. Yet, we had a lovely view of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the other half-dozen other mountains in this area of the Great Rift Valley.

We arrived safely on a different road, as the other road was too dangerous. Not too long ago, a Land Cruiser slipped off the road and rolled down the cliff!

Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!

On the Friday morning before departure for the first fieldwork sessions on Saturday, I was a bit stressed. I had one last Maa revision to finalize on the survey’s consent form with research assistant Joseph’s Maa translation. Then, we walked out the Tumaini University Makumira campus taking a USB drive to one of the little printing shops that serve the students. The one I planned to use was closed. The next one was open, but the service person was in the midst of a large run. I had basically 2 hours to get the print outs of about 350 copies—most two sided—to stay on schedule. I leave Joseph with the task of staying around for the printing, while I go back to my house to finish preparations. Then, the power goes out. Joseph was charging his phone at my house (as he had no electricity the night before), so I couldn’t call him. He uses the phone of the print shop worker and asks if he should look for a print shop with a generator. Sounds like a good plan. The time passes. Without this survey printed, it makes no sense to go to do the fieldwork. Everything depends upon having the surveys. Typically, I would not wait for the last morning to print because of things like power outages, but I was getting translations revised by two native Maa speakers and working with the revisions due to feedback from Laura and Betsi.

Ok, I’m thinking about delays and alternative plans and communicating them to the driver and the 2 people we will pick up on the way. Then, I pray, singing a chorus, “Lord, I put my life in your hands.” Perhaps a bit overstated in this instance, but it is from a John Michel Talbot song that calms my soul. Just then, the power comes on. I’m in my house with Joseph’s phone charging, but I can’t call Joseph to see how things are progressing. “Lord, I put my life in your hands.” Then, Joseph shows up just at the time I had planned to eat lunch before our driver would arrive. With enough time to eat and for me to do the dishes, we were ready when the driver arrived.

Off we go for a 3-hour drive to rural Maasai land, and rather amazing for Africa, the hopeful time schedule is working very well—for now!

Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!

The plan was that my friend, Laurie (a retired Lutheran missionary), was going to go with me to Ketumbeine, a rural Maasai area that is a 3-hour drive from my rental house on Tumaini University Campus. The following day, my group would drive an hour up Mount Ketumbeine to our village, Olchoroonyokie, hosted by the local lay pastor. I have hotel reservations for my group and things seem to be in order.

Two days before departure, Laurie calls letting me know that she is sick and won’t be able to travel. However, we have a good friend, Godi, who is a trusted taxi driver that regularly drives Laurie’s Rav 4. She is generously going to let Godi drive her car, and Godi is game to take us and spend the overnight for the trip. Whew!

Previously, I had asked two colleague/friends who are social-science research specialists and who both teach research methods to review my survey in its original English (prior to the translation). I realized that I needed some expertise to review my semi-final survey (which each of the 3 collaborative writers previously had an opportunity to view and give feedback), as this survey is the only means of data collection. Again, working with vulnerable people groups—especially youth—it would be very difficult to have ethical clearance for recorded interviews, transcriptions into English (with language check), etc. So, anonymous surveys are my only data collection vehicle.

Thanks to Dr. Betsi Litte and Dr. Laura Wangsness Willemsen, my surveys were reviewed with very helpful constructive feedback. Laura, like me, was an ELCA Lutheran volunteer teacher in Diocese secondary schools Monduli; Laura in the late 1990s at Moringe Sokoine and me in the early 2000s at the MaaSae Girls Lutheran Secondary School. Like me, Laura has been returning for over 30 years to this place we love. Recently, Laura, an educational anthropologist, finished a Fullbright Scholarship dealing with the effects of climate change in pastoralist areas in Tanzania.

Laura helped me develop the survey methodology for this project, as she has prior experience. The reality is that surveys are difficult in a Maasai context. So, adapting typical Western context surveys, which I have done for other research and evaluations, is important. She recommended and provided resources to develop the “spoken survey” method.

While the surveys are taken in a formal “spoken survey” process to aid those who do not read well or are familiar with taking surveys (which we take for granted with all the online surveys we are asked to fill out). I’ve brought in a friend’s younger brother, Joseph, who has helped me with some tasks over many months. He is tri-lingual and from the general area of the first fieldwork site. Joseph will introduce and read the survey questions in Maa.

For future fieldwork with a rural Maasai women’s group, I’ve been talking with my friend and missionary colleague, Bethany, who works with the women’s cooperative. Yes, in the rural areas, most middle-aged and older women and older men do not speak or write Kiswahili or write Maa as they did not go to primary school. (Please note that this is not a reflection upon intelligence and wisdom. Their traditional knowledge is rich! If there is a zombie apocalypse, I hope I’m with my traditional Maasai friends, who will take care of me with their generous hospitality and teach me how to survive on the savannah!)

Bethany and I have developed an idea to respond to Likert scale questions that I will run past Laura. You may know this as questions that have a scale of responses instead of a yes or no answer, such as: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree. Watch for a description of how we will do this with our women’s group next month!

Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!

There are some research design issues that make some aspects a bit complicated. One is that the research group, the Maasai, are mostly bilingual between their home language, Maa, and the language they learned in primary school, Kiswahili, which is the lingua-franca and unifying language of Tanzania.

In the rural areas, Maa is the dominant language. I speak some basic Kiswahili (not nearly what I hope to know someday) and only polite words in Maa. So, I’m dependent upon translation helps. Fortunately, Google Translate has a Swahili translation function that is fairly good. I can start by preparing this and having someone check it. It saves time (and money from the budget). It also helps me practices my vocabulary, as I’m checking how the translation is rendered into Kiswahili and back translating into English before the Kiswahili speaker check.

With Maa, it is all translated by a native speaker, which I then ask another Maa speaker to check. The challenge is that the vocabulary has not needed to be developed previously in some important research terms for a consent form! Fortunately, for climate change vocabulary, early on I realized that I would need a tri-lingual list of key vocabulary that is used consistently in the lessons. The challenge is that my two climate science expert stakeholders basically had to create quite of bit of descriptive Maa language to reflect the concepts! As probably the most educated and experienced Maasai in climate science in the nation, I’m so fortunate to have them on my stakeholder group!

Above: The surveys in Maa. See below for beginning explanation of the animal stickers!

So, I have consent form information and consent forms in parallel Kiswahili and Maa. And I now how the surveys in both Kiswahili and Maa. The surveys are SO important, as these are the only method of collecting data due to working with vulnerable people groups: youth and women who have never had the opportunity to learn how to read or write.

Because of working with vulnerable people groups in this research, all surveys are anonymous. This helps to get through the ethics reviews who check the research protocols. I’ve had 3 ethics reviews (EU project proposal, Norway’s research authority as my research university is in Norway, and Tanzania’s research authority to be approved to do research in Tanzania).

The research includes a pre-, post-lesson, and follow-up survey to analyze development of cognitive (know) and affective (feel) aspects of the lessons. We are evaluating our lessons, not the students. So, the surveys are anonymous to emphasize this as well as have stronger ethical methods for working with vulnerable groups.

I’ve developed a method to be able to anonymously track individual research participant responses in a way that will have a chance of being remembered 3 months down the road. Instead of some randomly generated numbers—which few if any will remember in 3 months—I’m using unique animal stickers for the participants to remember, as seen on the picture. See below for how—IF—it worked!

More on the survey challenges to come!

Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!

After Christmas with Anya in Cupertino, CA with my in-laws, I returned to Tanzania on 1 January 2025. Most of the month was focused on preparing the final version of the lessons prior to teaching them for the fieldwork site visits in February and March (one is delayed to April, due to research ethics requirements of parental signatures for minors who are in a boarding school).

What was amazing to me was the Providential coordination of schedules for 3 teachers and 8 research sites! There are quite a few moving parts, and yet, it was amazing how the puzzle pieces fit together! Yes, Providential—and a huge relief!

Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!

The day after the stakeholder meeting, Knut and I took a shuttle bus to Kenya, where we were hosted by Prof. Esther Mombo (below right) at St. Paul’s University in Limuru, Kenya. It is a beautiful campus with majority ownership by Anglicans, but other Protestant denominations share in the ownership. Knut had visited the campus 25 years ago, and now returns to visit colleagues, including Prof. Mombo and Dr. Elizabeth Mburu, and long-term collaborator, Prof. Aloo Mojola (below left), who is a wealth of information on African Bible translation, including the Maasai Bible translation.

Knut and I were invited to give a guest lecture. Out of the options we sent, Esther chose one which Knut and I collaborated on for a Society of Biblical Literature conference presentation in the African biblical hermeneutics section. To reveal our nerdy side, the title was, “Comparative Methodologies in African Biblical Hermeneutics: Analysis of Past Approaches as a Foundation for Engaging Epistemologies in Tri-Polar Comparisons.” We generated thoughtful questions from an attentive group of students.

Again, I’m so grateful that I discovered Knut on a google search, found his writings, and was able to contact him about pursuing a PhD with him. Speaking of his writings, I think the St. Paul’s University library had 6 of his books on the shelves!

Yes, so grateful to work with Knut! I’m following in his footsteps by taking pictures of theological libraries in Africa!

Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!

The amazing group of stakeholders regathered on a national holiday, which was chosen to not conflict with teaching and work schedules. Two came from Kenya, one came from the southern parts of Tanzania, spending a whole day on the bus to get to Arusha.

Last April, the stakeholders met to set the core values of the project and establish the learning outcomes for 3 lessons that I had set forth as preliminary ideas to guide the conversations (always easier to critique than start from scratch with a group of 10 people). The three lesson topics settled into: 1) biblical creation care; 2) Maasai traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) and how there were similarities with the “biblical creation” triangle with the Maasai tripolar worldview; and 3) appropriation of climate science for a pastoralist context. Each lesson ends with hope, addressing the rise of climate anxiety among many—especially youth—today.

Since the April stakeholder meeting, I recruited 4 collaborative writers who each specialize in one of the target groups (confirmation, middle-school students in church-owned schools, the theological training for the lay pastors, and Maasai women’s groups). Unfortunately, one writer was in a bad car accident and hospitalized. Thus, one writer modified lessons to fit the other adult group, which in the long run brings more cohesiveness to the lessons (which is actually a research design challenge). (See the pictures of 2 writers from the 2024.09.13 post.)

So, at this stakeholder meeting, the goal was to review the lessons that had been written. The lessons were posted online a week prior to the meeting, for any stakeholders who wanted to engage with them prior to the meeting.

At the meeting, the stakeholders—who are all Maasai—were divided into 4 groups, aligning with their specialty. For example, the climate science lessons were reviewed by climate science specialists. Dr. Neema Kitasho has a PhD in environmental science specializing in climate science in pastoralist contexts from the University of Geneva, and Julius Laiser has a master’s degree in geography and environmental management from the University of Dodoma and has been working with an NGO that serves over 35 client NGOs working with environmental projects to help them be more effective in their missions.

Each small group of stakeholders reviewed 4 lesson plans developed by each of the 3 writers (and a “conversation partner” lesson contributed by me). They evaluated them according to the core values and learning outcomes that they developed in April, as well as other pedagogical and practical issues. The stakeholders were very diligent in their evaluations, contributing feedback and comments for strengthening the lesson plans. (Yes, this meant that I collated all the notes and returned them to the authors.)

At the end of our time together, I facilitated a debriefing of the day. In this session, the stakeholders started asking: What is next for them to support this project? How can they continue to be engaged? How can this important first step continue on beyond my project? This was so encouraging to hear, as it was a fundamental affirmation of the value of the project and the eagerness to extend this rather small project beyond what I had started. This is when Knut and I knew our planted seed was germinating!

In a supervisory review session, Knut and I discussed the strong outcomes and continued to identify challenges that are inherent in an intercultural research project in Africa. Overall, we were encouraged with the fruitfulness of the session, especially the sense of value expressed by the stakeholders.

Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!

I have a wonderful supervisor! Knut Holter was my PhD supervisor, and he continues as this Marie Curie project supervisor. I couldn’t have asked for a better supervisor for either!

Knut came in September for the second Stakeholder Meeting as check in for the supervisor at this important landmark for the research project. He arrived a few days earlier, so that I could take him to most of the research sites for the later fieldwork and meet some hosts and all of the collaborative writers. It was encouraging not only for Knut to see the sense of ownership developing in the 3 writers (his words), but also for me to hear this being articulated to Knut in a way that was another interpretation of their understanding of the project.

Pictures above of Lais Joseph, with biology teaching expertise, writing for middle school students in Lutheran secondary schools in the North Central Diocese; and Rev. Ezekiel Megiroo, writing for confirmation students. Knut and I were encouraged to hear each writer’s enthusiasm for the project.