Kariba ahoy!
Tuesday morning found me sitting on the proverbial 'dock of the bay', waiting for a speedboat to emerge from the calm blue horizon of Lake Kariba - a massive man-made lake formed 50 years ago by damming the mighty Zambezi river. …
Ian Attfield, Education Adviser
In August 2012 I joined DFID Tanzania as the Education Advisor, based in Dar es Salaam. My role is to support DFID's education programme co-ordination and management, which includes both budget support and project finance. Tanzania has made impressive gains in enrolling more children in school, but in recent years the quality of learning and the resultant learning outcomes have been disappointing. Since joining DFID full time in 2007 I have worked in Northern Nigeria and Zimbabwe (seconded to the European Union Delegation), both assignments with a focus on education policy and programming.
Zimbabwe - on the road to recovery?
Having spent some time in Zimbabwe (since 2010) I have certainly become relaxed and really appreciate this beautiful country. I feel relatively safe, in comparison to many other cities. Arriving at Harare Airport, one is met with helpful staff and no hassle …
Booming Ethiopia
When his Boomtown Rats career was arguably past its zenith, Bob Geldof came to global prominence with Live Aid, demanding that the world focus and do something about the terrible mid-1980s famine in Ethiopia. At the time I was a …
Start them young!
Can you remember starting school? I have vague recollections of going to St. Margaret's CoE Infant School, Durham in the early 1970s with my elder brother, when free school milk was still provided in little glass 1/3 pint bottles. Leading …
Flipping the classroom - exploiting the digital world
Trapped in my office at dusk, yet another heavy rainstorm sweeps over Harare. I make a start on this post, until the electricity fails and the room is plunged into darkness. Travel is risky: last week, trying to get to …
Learning on Rhodes' Ranch
Sitting down for dinner in the Bulawayo Club (est. 1895) in southern Zimbabwe, one feels that one has been transported back to a gentlemen's club in fin de siècle Mayfair. One is immersed amongst Greek colonnades, oil portraits of colonial …
Education kicking out poverty
In a repeat of last year's 'Textbooks For All', I found myself once more at a huge logistics warehouse on the edge of Harare, in a marquee filled with dignitaries to launch the second phase of the Education Transition Fund …
Let Zimbabwe's children bloom
My first year in Zimbabwe has flown by and spring is once more in the air as the jacaranda trees lining Harare's streets burst into bloom once more, in a riot of regal purple. The beauty of the garden suburbs is …
Youths spread da word on HIV/AIDS
What did you do in your gap year? That’s a common question to ask in fresher’s week as students start college. I spent time backpacking around south east Asia around twenty years ago. But last week in the rural areas …
Southern winters and lunar eclipses
Contrary to popular belief, Africa can get really cold at night! I’m currently spending my first winter proper in the Southern Hemisphere, with dry sunny days and crisp nights under the Southern Cross - and temperatures plummeting to zero in …
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