UPDATED: 16 Jan 2008 GMT
Speeches 2008
Africa Education Initiative (AEI) Biology Book Handover Ceremony
Location: Zanzibar
January 7, 2008
Remarks by Ambassador Mark Green (draft)
Asalam Alaykum!
Waheshimiwa Wageni Waalikwa (Hon invited guests)
The Honorable President of Zanzibar, Amani Abeid Karume
Honorable Chief Minister
Honorable Ministers
Regional Commissioners
Members of the House of Parliament
Education Officers on all levels
USAID Mission Director, Pam White
Chief, Af Bureau, Educ Division, USAID, Ms Sarah Moten
(Interim) President of South Carolina State University
Representatives from Non Governmental Organizations
Teachers and Students
Mabibi na Mabwana (Ladies and Gentlemen)
I can’t think of anything more exciting to celebrate than what we are doing today: giving books to young people. I am thrilled to be here with you.
First, let me speak in my official capacity.
A little over five years ago, President Bush announced his commitment to improve education in Africa by pledging $600 million USD to the Africa Education Initiative.
We owe him our thanks. But more importantly, we all owe thanks to the American people. These books are paid for with their hard earned money. And they give this money because they care, they believe in education, and most importantly, they believe in you!
President Bush’s initiative aims to bring education leaders from America and Zanzibar together to develop and produce math and science textbooks and materials for secondary schools.
Today we celebrate the completion of two such science textbooks: Biology Book I and Book II.
These books carefully fit within Zanzibar’s national curriculum, and they also address issues created by globalization.
They are written in basic English and are ‘reader friendly.’ They also address equity issues and health issues such as HIV/AIDS.
But what is truly special about these books is that they were specifically written for the children of Zanzibar. They reflect your culture and your
For example, characters in the books bear names like ‘Halima’ and ‘Hassan’ – familiar names in Zanzibar.
The American people hope these books will help you address a critical need. Until today teachers have struggled to provide materials for their students, due in part to a lack of standardized material and a severe shortage of textbooks.
But we know that more needs to be done. We will soon use another $2 million USD to support the development of a Mathematics textbook. This is in addition to the $7 million USD that the American people are giving to Tanzania to support basic education – over half of which will be used right here in Zanzibar.
Our goal is to ensure that every Zanzibari student has his or her own textbook to use. The President’s African Education Initiative in Tanzania will produce at least 600,000 textbooks and educational materials for Zanzibari students and teachers. 600,000!
We are here to celebrate today because of the hard work of some dedicated people. I want to warmly thank the Ministry of Education, my colleagues at USAID, and their partners at South Carolina State. You are making an important difference in the lives of young people, and in the future of Zanzibar.
I began today speaking in my official capacity as ambassador, but now I’d like to close by speaking from personal experience.
Some years ago, my wife, Sue and I were secondary school teachers at a Harambee school in western Kenya. In fact, Sue taught Science.
For some of our classes, we had only one textbook for every dozen students . . . and many of the books weren’t written for African students, but for Westerners.
It meant that I had to write out every lesson word for word on the chalkboard . . . because it was the only way my students could get the required information. No matter how hard I tried, it was nearly impossible to cover all the subject matter.
It left almost no time for discussion, no time for questions, no time to challenge my students and to make sure they truly understood our subject matter.
When students want to learn, we must do everything in our power to give them the tools they need. We must feed their hungry minds. That’s what teaching is all about, and that’s what these books are all about.
So, as a former teacher, and as representative of the American people, thank you again to everyone who helped make this day possible.
Asanteni sana. values.
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