By: Miriam johnson, Perimeter School Fourth grade teacher

Perimeter School fourth grade teacher Miriam Johnson is one of the mentors to our sister school in Karansi, Tanzania, and she had the opportunity to visit the school this fall. We are excited for her to share with us about her trip, our school’s relationship with the school in Tanzania, and how our students can serve those in that community.

How long has Perimeter School partnered with the school in Tanzania?

Perimeter School has been involved with the school in Tanzania since 2004. We have sent teacher teams to Tanzania yearly since that time. In 2020, all of our interactions had to be done over Zoom, which was very challenging. It was a joy to be back in-person this fall!

What does Perimeter School’s relationship with the school in Tanzania look like?

Our relationship has morphed into a mentorship as time has gone by. We have a highly intentional team of mentors working with specific teachers to enhance their curriculum, add activities, and flesh out what and how the teachers there are teaching.

What is the Perimeter School Missions Fund? How can our students support that fund?

For several years, Perimeter School, in an effort to help our children “learn to serve,” has had Dress Down Days where students can wear non-uniform clothing, donate $3 to the Missions Fund, and help support missions worldwide … specifically our sister school in Tanzania.

How has the Missions Fund helped the community in Tanzania in the past?

Through the Missions Fund, Perimeter School has been able to…

• Help purchase land for the school.

• Buy backpacks and fill them with school supplies for children in Tanzania who would never be able to afford such “luxuries.”

• Supply books for the school library and the village library where most families do not own books.

• And most recently, provide funds to build a new playground for the school.

What’s new at the school in Tanzania?

In years past, sponsorships were the only mechanism for tuition for students and salaries for teachers. This month, a second “stream” of students (who are able to afford to pay tuition) started at the school.

And next year, the school plans to expand to include 32 boarding students! Due to increasingly high exam grades and regional and national rankings, more and more families want to send their children to our school (even government officials!).

What was the goal of your trip this fall?

Now that the school has national attention in Tanzania, we felt it was important for the school to have a mission statement, vision statement, value statement, methodology model, and goals outlined for its teachers. Our mentor team, along with the team from Ubora, hosted a seminar to share these ideas and coach the teachers in Tanzania.

We covered learning styles, classroom décor, narration, teaching methodologies, STEM activities, group work, Biblical foundations, and the calling of being a teacher.

I pray that God’s favor would rest on the work that we did there (Psalm 90:17).

How will the Perimeter School Missions Fund serve those in Tanzania in the future?

We are excited for building to commence on the school playground (paid for through the Perimeter School Missions Fund). In addition, future donations will go toward maintaining the new school boarding houses and other needs of the school.

How can Perimeter School families be MORE involved with the school in Tanzania?

Check out sponsoring a child at the school. Your children can write and receive letters from a child, participate in Zoom calls with him or her, get updates, and hopefully, one day visit him or her in Tanzania. This is such a personal way for children to get to “know” about life in another country and be able to see God work in a different culture. Many of our families have done this, and it has inspired their children to go on mission trips. This is a blessing for our families as well as those they minister to.

 Be a part of what God is doing in Tanzania! Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 26, is our next Dress Down Day.