Zanzibits NGO

Zanzibits club and Alriyamibits donor pay a visit

2012-01-21T08:25:00.003+03:00

Zanzibits Club is an initiative existing in Zanzibar. It is devoted to assisting Zanzibits alumni and other technically schooled youths to get the opportunities to find either permanent jobs or internships from both governmental, commercial and touristic sectors. The club is run by Zanzibits staff and alumni.

This week the sponsor of both Zanzibits Club and Al-riyamibits, Sylvie Sprangers, from Marthe van Rijswijck Foundation in Holland, visited us. During her visit, she had plenty of time to ask different types of questions concerning to the Club’s prosperities. The questions were on how we will carry out our plan, what we’ve already done also what the challenges we should face and how we have organized to get rid of those. The staff answered to those questions with full of confidence and to proved how the mission and vision can be achieved.

After getting the answers Sylvie was content with the development made by both local staffs and their director Guy Mullens. Her journey went on to the Al-riyamibits, one of the Zanzibits branch established to support the Al-riyamibits’s students in learning computer basic programs. It was a lesson’s time, was so great to be there since she witnessed everything. She was extremely interested to see the class is continuing.

After examining she has found that her helps are valued and spent effectively.

Welcome again Sylvie!

New 2012 students course one lot 1

2012-01-18T11:06:00.001+03:00

4th Zanzibits Media lab Graduation

2011-12-29T14:04:00.001+03:00

welcoming 2012 students

2011-12-22T17:00:00.001+03:00

Graduation Preparation - Ironing T-shirt

2011-12-16T17:11:00.002+03:00

HTML Class

2011-12-14T09:35:00.003+03:00

The 2011 Zanzibits students are so lucky! Two weeks agoa Zanzibits alumni, Abdulrahman Majid (who is now managing the ZanzibitsClub)volunteered to give them a basic HTML (hyper text markup language) and CSS (cascading style sheet)course.

Both of these technologies are used in designing the web-pages(websites),and the students learned a lot in two weeks. Even though it was hard to understandthe lesson in the beginning, later onthe students felt more comfortable and did a lot of exploring.

The course started with introduction to html along with css. The next two days they were given an assignment to make correction for their dream company’s websites.

Their final projects(DREAM COMPANIES) show that they had successfully mastered the lessons, since all of the students came up with extraordinary ideas and designs.We look forward to posting these on the blog soon!The lesson ended up on the 9th. All students were satisfied and appreciated the help of Bob Man (Abdulrahman).

They thanked him and suggested that even other alumni should come to volunteer for other subjects.Well students, in a few weeks you will be alumni, so we hoop you will volunteer a lot

Media lab Graduation poster 2011

2011-12-08T11:18:00.003+03:00

Zanzibits and the intire fraternity would like to invite you to our auspicious graduation that is going to take place on the 21st December 2011 at BAITUL YAMIN at Bwawani road.

YOU ALL WELCOME

Interview new intake 2011- 2012

2011-12-06T19:03:00.005+03:00

Prospective new Zanzibits studentsfor 2012, who registered themselves two months ago, came for an interview on the 5th of December 2011.

The Zanzibits team handled the interview in a good and orderly fashion, as expected. Some of the interviewees seemed to be very scaredbecause most of themhad never donethis in their lives, and all were impressed by the setting in which they came.

The interviews were conducted for a full week, from the 5th to the 9th. Hopefully next year we will have great students like current year, or more than that. As per the evaluation, 40 students have beenchosen for next year, and most of them havethe good qualifications, but the team will re-evaluate, so as to make sure we have the best suited 34 students for the upcoming year.

After finishing both processes, (registration and interview), the potential students are now looking forward to geta phone calls from Zanzibits, to tell them they succeed or not. They will be given the calls early next week.

Volunteer Teacher

2011-12-02T04:21:00.005+03:00

Zanzibits students have gotten the chance to experience new graphic software (adobe illustrator and in design), which we had previously not had in our curriculum.

The volunteer teacher Mr. Hashim, who is now doing an internship at TTCL(Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited) in Zanzibar for one month, was kind enough to offer his teaching skills.

After being a student at Data Star Training College for one year in Dar es Salaam taking the BIT(business information technology) course, he was very interested in Zanzibits. Thus, he decide to share his knowledge in graphic software with us.

The class started with a PowerPoint presentation where mr. Hashim took the chance to show the students the different tools and techniques of the program.

The students were so eager to learn about these new packages, because companies are always looking for Indesign and Illustrator professionals.

The class lasted two weeks: one program per week,during the afternoon hours. In the morning they continued with the normally scheduled lessons.

The class went well as we expected, and the teacher was very proud of the students because they were good in practice and understood the lesson well.

We are very thankful for your time and knowledge, Mr Hashim.

Karibu tena!

Photograpy lesson in Progress

2011-11-29T17:42:00.009+03:00

As a part of the media lab, the students got the chance to go a little deeper in photography. After the basic knowledge that they have received in course one, it was time to get technical.
This lesson was conducted by Jaku and Aboud, two of our trainee zanzibits trainers.

The class started with the introduction of different samples of photography like fashion,perspective, portrait and how to include elements likeshadows,perspective,textures,flares and so much more.

The students found themselves very eager to know much more, and were happy with the lesson. After a week of photography class, the studentsfound that they have learned a lot more than only the basics of photography.

The different approaches and styles, how to take good photos, while considering elements like focus, angles, centered framing, etc., and the different settings of the camera, were all discussed.

Not only was the lesson conducted in the classroom, but the students got the chance to practice outside as well. Students were spotted on many different streets of Zanzibar, taking pictures of theirneighborhoods, old buildings, people and funny situations.

They also got the chance to know how to retouch the photos by using new Photoshop tools. To add different effects, for example, like changing the photos from color to black and white.

Everybody enjoyed the lesson, especially the students. They will put into practice what they have learned when they are going to take photos for their final project, their dream company.

Good going guys

Photograpy lesson, first day introduction

Teacher shows the students types of photographies.

The last lesson about photography, next day students go for practicing

Official Opening Pajebits and Zanzibits Club

2011-11-28T16:57:00.015+03:00

At the Paje school, after the renovation of the classroom, everybody was so curious to see the opening of Pajebits, a computer classroom initiated by Zanzibits NGO, at Paje, a village on the east coast of Zanzibar.
The classroom consists of 6 good and modern computers supplied by Zanzibits. Zanzibits will also supply the teachers and the curriculum.

The official opening was done by the director of Zanzibits, Mr. Guy Mullens as he was the one who was finding the funds for the project. Most of the Paje children will be benefiting on getting the basic computer knowledge (introduction to computer operation, some of Microsoft office package, basic photo editing using adobe Photoshop and life skills) for free.

All the guests of honor spoke about the importance of the opening of that class: this is a great opportunity for the children of Paje.

Before the official opening there was a small speech from both Zanzibits and the principal of the Paje School about the importance of having computer knowledge in this science and technology era. The students also had many questions and all showed their faith and interest in learning about computers.

The same week on Wednesday, Zanzibits had the official opening of Zanzibits Club, a new and innovative employment service in Zanzibar, linking talented creative minds to employers, work opportunities and assignments. Zanzibits Club was set up to strengthen fruitful projects in Zanzibar. The initiative prepares youth for jobs in the more or less creative industries of Tanzania and Zanzibar.

As the trained students still face the challenge to take the next step and get actual jobs., Zanzibits Club offers a service that operates as a “matchmaker” for these youth and potential clients and companies, such as creative companies, festivals, publishers, tv stations but also companies in the commercial and touristic sector.

The official opening was done by Training Coordinator and orginzer of the project Mr Mbarak Ali together with the Zanzibits Director and it was attended by most of the alumni and current students. Zanzibits staff explained to them the importance and functions of Zanzibits Club.

zanzibits volunteer in film adventure

2011-11-21T19:15:00.001+03:00

Branding -media lab assignment

2011-11-04T10:30:00.005+03:00

During the entire month of October the Zanzibits staff and students are on holiday. It’s a great opportunity for everyone to rest and to travel to different places.

This past October some of them got a chance to visit the mainland, the island of Pemba (famous for its cloves), and Nungwi Village, a famous tourist destination, and the beautiful, amazing island of Mnemba, with dhow making and fishing activities. The island is naturally surrounded by the sea, but has a freshwater spring.

Students also had plenty of time to research different companies, looking for branding materials and contemplating their final project of creating dream companies.

On the first day back to class, the students' lesson starts with the presentation of branding assignments. The students do research on different companies, and then choose three products from those companies. Once they have chosen, they do more in-depth research on those specific products, highlighting color separation, design and layout, and other concepts.

The trainer gives a short introduction to the presentation, along with the lesson. Then the students present their branding research along with the names of their dream companies and slogans.

After the students’ presentations, the trainer makes some constructive suggestions and shows them how to conceptualize a brand for a company according to the design elements and principles. Additionally, the students start sketching the design for their dream company, using tools such as logos, posters, business cards and website development.

The lesson will enable the students to experience different aspects of the work environment, such as meeting with new people and promoting themselves, and helps them to become familiar with different companies located in Zanzibar, as the aim is to find jobs after graduating, develop their analytical skills, and come up with their own ideas.

It also helps them choose a design for their final project, a "dream company" with their own branding.

Excursion to the Zanzibar International Airport

2011-10-23T19:51:00.003+03:00

The students had an excursion to the Zanzibar Airport. This excursion was the part of zanzibits curriculum, where students learn different things, also outside of school. They use the lessons they had and put them into practice, like designing, preparing a presentation of what they have seen during the tour. But the students don't only go for the assignment. They also go to understand things that they didn't know before.

The trip was nice and interesting. When they arrive at the airport, they were welcomed by the staff of the airport who deal with the education of visitors. On the day of the excursion the students got the chance to visit different places like:

- Tanzania civil Aviation (TCAA)
- Firefighting and rescue services (RFFs)
- Meteorological
- Tropical Air
- Zan Air

In the sectors named above, the students got enough knowledge to understand how different activities are run. They also got a chance to ask questions to the staff, because, of course, much information given was of a technical nature. Nevertheless, the students saw real life examples of how an airport is working, like when a plane is arriving and departing. Also the fire department demonstrated how they rescue the people or properties once an accident has occurred.

At the end of the day students were happy with the tour and now, back at school, they are going to design posters and flyers for the Zanzibar airport.

Good Luck students, and we hope that your work will be on display soon.

Funny - Friday football Match

2011-10-19T11:12:00.001+03:00

All students made it to Media Lab 2011

2011-10-17T13:41:00.006+03:00

For the past 8 months, the Zanzibits students were working to achieve course one, two and three.
Now they have successfully made it to the media lab level. The media lab course started on the 19th of September. Salama and the team introduced the students to what they are going to do and reminded them the rules and regulations, as they are required to remember these. And respect these rules ?

Most of the time, the Media Lab students will study by themselves, through research by internet more and more. In short, they will put whey they have been learning from course one to course three, into practice. Of course, they will be given help from the team when needed. This system teaches students how to work alone because soon, after finishing Zanzibits, most of them wil get a job opportunity which will make them independent.

The goal of the media lab, over the next four months, is to start a project, which we call "Dream Company". This will be their final project, and this will be what they will be graded on. They will be coming with their own ideas of opening company and they make a website, business card, poster, logo and a short film for it.

In the previous years, before the media lab course, some students are dropped from the Zanzibits academy, according to their insurbodination, lack of study time or non respect of the rules. But this year we are proud to say that all 2011 students will continue with the course (media lab) because of their respect and good performance in class.

Students were happy with the result and came up with the surprise to show their happiness. It was a large cake, whereby all staff and students had the change to have a piece, and it was a celebration day. They end up chanting in choir "WE ARE HAPY TO BE A MEDIA LAB STUDENTS IN 2011".

Congratulations, and the best!!

Zanzibits registration for 2012

2011-10-17T13:33:00.002+03:00

The registration of the new 2012 students is now closed, and it took us two weeks to complete. The registration started at 10:00am and lasted to 4:30 pm, from Monday to Friday. Tt was held in English to make sure that all the interviewees understand at last a basis of English, because our computers are in English, as well as many of our classes.

The announcements to potential new students were posted in schools and other places around Stone Town, to make sure that all the youths were getting the needed information. In total, we had 108 applicants, this year. Surprisingly, this year, most of the candidates were male, but we have the idea that there the girls that did apply are going to be very smart students, because besides the fact they they were very motivates, most of them were able to answer all the questions in English.

For all the registered candidates starts now a waiting time, as they have been told to wait for the one on one interview, which is going to be in the second week of December.

Good Luck guys.

Mini graduation Course three 2011

2011-09-21T02:15:00.010+03:00

After eight months of lessons, Zanzibits students completed Course Three -- web design and film making -- and are now anticipating the final course, which is media lab.

Completion of Course Three was marked by a mini-graduation, to which parents were invited to see the exciting and almost unbelievable results of the teachers’ efforts and the children’s hard work to reach their goals.

The mini-graduation took place in school at 40:00 pm and started with the introduction of the Zanzibits staff. Then the students in turn introduced themselves to the audience and presented examples of the brilliant work accomplished over the eight-month Zanzibits course.

During a break in the program, the students got the chance to present a small surprise of the film they had made during the course. It was amazing work that students made for a short time that they have been learning.

After the presentation, the guest of honour - the project coordinator of American corner English club, Mr. Mbarouk Kheir – spoke about what he had just seen during the presentation. He was very impressed with the amazing work by the students.

Mr. Mbarouk took the time to thank the parents for attending the graduation; he encouraged the students to learn more every day so that they can build on their knowledge and become even better at their work. Also he advice students after finishing their course in Zanzibits to go and join his club so that they can learn English language and improve their knowledge

When Mr. Mbarouk had finished his speech, he took the opportunity to award the course completion certificates to the graduates and gave honours to those who did especially well on their exam. Finally, the parents offered their advice to the students and trainers to take advantage of these opportunities, that it would help them in the future.

The graduation was very well-organized and everyone was pleased with the whole program. The students eagerly wait to know if they will continue with the media lab course. Hopefully no one will drop out in this year, which would be great news for Zanzibits.

At the time of this writing, school was closed for one week break so that teachers can get a good time of planning new timetable for media lab which is starting next week.

The Film Launch

2011-09-06T10:10:00.001+03:00

After lots of long hard work with film, Zanzibits students finished
their final film project on the 25th of August 2011. The projects and
the films are very impressive compared with those of previous years.
Although it was their first time to work with film all the students
did a great job. Good going, guys!

During the holy month of Ramadan, Zanzibits students and teachers got
an opportunity to have "futari": a meal Muslims have after not eating
or drinking from dawn to sunset. The event was held on the 26th of
August 2011 and some alumni, current students, and friend were
invited.

It was not only the day of iftar, but also the launch day for
Zanzibits film and this event took place after eating the food. The
film was officially launched on that evening, it started at 08:30pm
and finished 09:30pm, there were about 70 people watching the movie
that night.

They all enjoyed it and were very impressed by what they had seen.
The films are coming soon on YouTube. Please watch them and give us
your comments in order for us to do even better next year.

Film Class in Progress(Final Projects)

2011-08-27T15:05:00.004+03:00

Film class is in progress, and now the students are making their own films in order to put into practice what they have learned under the supervision of their teachers.

The students had lessons in storytelling, screenwriting, and drawing storyboards, as well as how to use the camera and more. All of this prepared them well for the current stage, the final project.
The teachers divided the students into three groups. Each group was assigned to come up with a story and script, and then to film the project with the help of their teachers.

These are the students' film titles:
• "Unforgettable Sadness" (group one)
• "Stepmother" (group two)
• "Suggestion Box" (group three)

During the film shoot some of the students experienced challenges, especially with acting -- we all know that it takes experience to be a good actor -- but the teachers were there to help make things easier.

After finishing this step, the students started editing their movies. The deadline for submitting this assignment was 12th August 2011. Their next assignment is about Ramadan in Zanzibar

Good going guys!!!!

Litle by little can fill the mesure

2011-08-24T16:06:00.001+03:00

New assignment for zanzibits Alumni

2011-08-15T05:58:00.002+03:00

Two Zanzibits alumni have once again received the opportunity to work
abroad. This time, they have been asked to go to the Rhotia Valley, to
the Marera Primary school and work on the XO LAPTOP PROJECT.

Rhotia Valley Children's Home (RVCH) is a Non Government Organization
(NGO) in Karatu , that deals with the orphan children of Rhotia
village, to give them care, food and a good education in order for
them to sustain themselves in the future.

The project was established so to help change the future of students
by upgrading the analogue education system to a digital system by
giving the students computers (XO Laptops) with eBooks of all Primary
school books, including the pictures.
Now, they can use these laptops in the classroom, practice for exam
and learn other subjects.

Zanzibits alumni are helping to implement the multiple choice
questions and all the pictures from the analogue primary school books.
This assignment took them one month to complete before they send it to
Reinier Heeres, a Dutch software developer, who designed an
interactive quiz, which students will use in their lessons in the
classroom.

And now the OPLC project need more Zanzibits alumni for and internship
to go on site and teach the Marera Primary school teachers how they
can use these XO laptops, and also to find a way how they can improve
software.

Good going guys.

New zanzibits Projects - Zanzibits Club and Pajebits

2011-08-10T08:31:00.004+03:00

Zanzibits is organizing a new project_Opening a computer school in Paje village(Pajebits) and zanzibits club, the club where by all zanzibits Alumni will be organized together,

Mbarak is the project coordinator he is the one who go different places to find the equipment for these two project.

One2one is our business partner that we always buy their products with the good price

Mbarak Project coordinator try to bargain in oder to get a good price

Making the calculation with the cashier

They are doing different calculation to make sure that they get the same answer

Project coordinator confirm with over all coordinator about the price

Payment process

Looking for a nice white board for the new class in Pajebits

The computer arrived at forodhani, the transportation was free from the shop to the place.

Computers were taken to school after arrive at forodhani

Looking for nice office table and chair for the new office(zanzibits club)

This is the perfect one

Opening the new computers for more confirmation if they are really good

Full computers with the complete tools ready for going Paje and for zanzibits Club!

Good job Mbarak!!!

Zanzibits with paperless

2011-08-07T21:42:00.002+03:00

Technology is growing, and we can't stay behind! At Zanzibits, we have been thinking for many years to minimizing printings and the use of paper, and now it's time for an answer.

We normally print different materials such as hands outs, signing in and out forms and more, but now we have come with a solution to cut costs and save the environment as well: Google Docs, a free web based office suite and data storage service, offered by Google.

It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real time with other users. Google docs combines the features of Word, spread sheets, drawings and forms. Storage of files up to 1GB each in size was introduced in 2010, so we have all the space we need!

With Firefox and chrome browsers you can now upload folders from computer to the cloud and drag files from your desktop into the documents list. If you have uploaded Microsoft Office files to Google docs, you can now open them from within Microsoft Office using Google cloud connect. This is a great function for us.

We have a dream that Google Docs will be used much than an office applications in the future. What most important is permanent availability of internet connection. Everything uploaded to Google doc is stored in a Google server.

This is best way of backing up of an important documents however only 1G is available for free but we hope Google will increase the capacity for people to upload more than 1G size of the documents.

So, the next time you come to the office, we hope you'll see less paper floating around!!

Mbarak -Graduate at Zanzicode

2011-08-07T21:32:00.003+03:00

Mbarak, as you know, is a Zanzibits training coordinator. He three years of training experience at Zanzibits, but as there is a statement which says "education never ends", so he decided to do some extra classes! In 2011, Mbarak joined a 6 month basic course at Zanzicode.

The six months were not enough to cover the whole curriculum, but the students learned all there was to learn about HTML, CSS, JAVA SCRIP and little bit of PHP and jquery.

Finally the students did their exam of HTML and PHP for some students. Mbarak ended as the second best of his class! Below is a snapshoot image of Mbarak's scores in the final online exam at w3school.com.
About Zanzicode

Zanzicode provides free education in the field of Web Development to a small number of talented and motivated students of poor background in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Zanzicode is a project of the Austria based NGO ICT4D.at, in cooperation with Zanzibits.

It is an NGO which helps build the personal careers for the graduates as well as to start a local web development community. The work so far has proven that there is both talent and demand for professional web work in Zanzibar.

This is true especially now, as the digital gap between Africa and the rest of the world is closed a bit further by East-Africa's recent connection to the Seacom broadband internet cable.

Graduates of the Zanzicode class are meant to act as multiplicities in this emerging market, and will help to strengthen the flow of information and enable the interaction between Zanzibar and the rest of the world through the web.

The 6 month Basic Course is meant to pick up students which already gained basic knowledge of web technologies (HTML and CSS). With these prerequisites, we teach them basic mechanisms and programming concepts of the World Wide Web.

We stick to open standards and Open Source Software: Linux, Apache, PHP, MySQL. After the course, students are able to realize web applications on their own and are well prepared to get a job in the small but growing locally.

Good going, Mbarak!!

Football match

2011-07-28T13:44:00.002+03:00

Last week, Zanzibits played a friendly football match against the team from Drug-free Zanzibar (the Sobers). The game was held in Mnazimmoja at the Maisara pitch. All the Zanzibits players were teachers, students, and alumni.

Both teams arrived early, which enabled the game to start right on time. At 9:30 am, the referee blew the starting whistle.

The Sobers’ strikers drove quickly to attack our goal, but thanks to the strong defence of the Zanzibits team, led by stopper Jaku, the Sobers’ attacks were thwarted by Abdul Rauf, the goal keeper.

Our side had a tough time at first, because of the Sobers’ strong training, but the Zanzibits team gave their best to try to defeat them. As the game went on, team members showed skills they had never revealed before.

At the break both Zanzibits and Sobers made a few personnel changes, taking off some players and bringing on others.
The substitutions worked well, and both teams remained scoreless.
Corner kicks were used as a tie-breaker, but, finally, the strong defence of both teams resulted in no score on either side.

All the participants were satisfied with the outcome, thanks to fair refereeing and excellent play on both sides, and everyone went home happy.

Good game guys!

Film Class Begins

2011-07-27T23:30:00.002+03:00

Film class started 4 July 2011. Two former Zanzibits students from the
class of 2011, Aboud N. Khamis and Jaku A. Vuai, were now teacher
trainees in charge of the film class. Well prepared by their Dutch
film teacher last year, the trainees said,

"We are really thankful for their enormous help, and now we are able
to teach our young brothers and sisters about film."

The class began with a Power Point introduction of film concepts and
an overview of the course curriculum, to let the students know what
they will be learning in film class from beginning to end.

The students were excited to start the class because many of them are
very interested in film.
After the introduction to film, the students
were asked questions about what they had just learned. Their answers
were perfect because they had followed the lesson well.

During the afternoon students were given an assignment to come up with
a short story to tell on film. They all did a great job, as the
teachers expected.

By the end of the day the students had become familiar with the
lessons of the first class and were looking forward to the next one.

Neighborhood project Course three

2011-05-19T16:06:00.010+03:00

The course three of Zanzibits has already started and as the name of the course is web designing and film making, the students started learning the basics. The course is intensive visual design training, technical skills for designing and building websites plus making films.

Students learn the elements of layout and site design, navigation, structuring information, usability, html, Dream weaver, Photoshop and movie maker programs. This course is for motivated and talented students who have completed course 1 and 2.

The course lays the foundation for taking part in the Web-Lab and working for clients. We normally work on three projects in this course.

The neighborhood project is the first web project, then the zanzikids project, a film and cultural project and the final web project where by the students divided into groups have to come up with one topic of Zanzibar culture and then manifesting the web according to the topic.

In the neighborhood project the student work individually, they come up with one topic each, according to their home surroundings and start designing the web from scratch to functional.

Good going guys!!!

Students excursion fire department

2011-05-09T10:39:00.001+03:00

Microsoft office class

2011-04-27T15:56:00.003+03:00

As zanzibits has always been lucky to get volunteers from different sides of the world, and this time we got a lady from South Korea (Raina) who was very interested to volunteer for teaching the Microsoft Office package classes.

We normally introduce very basic knowledge of Microsoft office 2003 in course one. But the fourth year of zanzibits course is lucky to be introduced these matters a little bit deeper: we used the 2007 versionm thanks to Raina’s input.

Most of Tanzanian offices still use the 2003 version, but as the technology is developping, this new knowledge will be more useful and a better source to find jobs for our students.

The two weeks of teaching have become a big success for the students, who covered Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and little bit of database designing, using Access. Our intension is not to go deeper in this kind of knowledge, but some of the student are not interested to work in the film and web industries after finishing the courses, so we have decided to start a sub class focusing on the programming of databases and the likes, using MS Access.

This knowledge will help them to be employed by different companies as managers, book keepers, secretaries, presentations creators etc.

One among the major activities of the zanzibits courses is cultural exchange, where the students get a chance to understand a little bit of the South Korean culture. Actually it was a very wonderful lesson for both students and teacher because Raina also got the chance to understand many things about Zanzibar culture.

Thank you madam Raina, we will always remember you for your kindness.

football match

2011-04-05T18:11:00.002+03:00

Last Friday, Zanzibits played a friendly football match in Paris (Jaku’s neighborhood). The game was held in Mkele at the Urafiki sports club. Our opponents were delayed, so the game got off to a very late start, but everyone involved had a great time nonetheless. All Zanzibits teachers, students and alumni played.

At 10:30 am, the referee blew the starting whistle. The Zanzibits strikers drove quickly to attack their goal but due to the strong defense of the Paris team, led by stopper Iddi, they did not score.
The Zanzibits side had a tough time at first, and 28 minutes into the first half Paris posted 2 goals, scored by Mrisho, after he received a lovely pass from attacking middle-fielder Moudrich. Zanzibits was discouraged and Paris led 2-nil until half time.

At break time both Zanzibits and Paris made a few personnel changes, taking off some players and bringing on others. The changes worked well for the Paris team and helped them score seven more goals.

Zanzibits came back with one goal after the opponent’s winger dribbled the ball from the right of the field and penetrated the Paris defense, making the scoreboard read 9-1. At the final whistle, Paris 9 against Zanzibits 1. All the participants were satisfied with the outcome, because the refereeing had been fair, and everyone was happy - especially the victorious Paris team :)

Good game, guys!

Course two in the Roll

2011-03-26T12:36:00.002+03:00

After finishing course one we selected qualified students from the first lot, who will now get the chance to enter course two. This time, it’s all about creativity and thinking outside the box, so that the students can grow in their creative minds.

The goal of course two is to have the students become good graphical designers. Besides design, they also get the chance to learn about Excel and Powerpoint, taught by a volunteer teacher from South Korea! She gave a short course of one and half weeks, which finished with presentations of the different Powerpoint presentations. The winner received a prize!

In the course they learned shapes, colours and personality, interactivity and multimedia. We expect them to finish course two next week and then on to course three, which will take three month. Topics like web design and film will be handled during that time.

Good luck, students and team!

Zanzibits’ Greatest Week

2011-03-21T12:22:00.004+03:00

March 8th was an exciting day for Zanzibits. Alexander( chairman of stitching Zanzibits in the Netherlands) was visiting from Holland. He has been helping Zanzibits in numerous ways.

He helped us share our ideas and possibly in finding funding in Holland.
But because Zanzibits is now run by local youth, our discussions were more about our mission for 2011, which is to find local funds in Tanzania and East Africa in general.

On March 9th Hanke from HKU (the School of Art in Holland) and Mr. Juma Bakri the managing director of TASUBA (Taasisi ya Sanaa na Utamaduni Bagamoyo) arrived from Bagamoyo. TSUBA is a semi autonomous government institute that provides training, research and consultancy service in arts and culture.

The Zanzibits team, Alexander, Hanke and Mr. Juma met to discuss different activities concerning both Zanzibits and TASUBA. Although the meeting was brief it was just enough time to discuss some important agendas.

First, there was an introduction between Zanzibits and TASUBA to see if we can work together.

There was also discussion on how we are going to develop the Zanzibits career from certificate level to diploma level. Since TASUBA is currently at the diploma level, Mr. Juma was extremely helpful in explaining which steps we should follow to reach our goal.

Additionally, we discussed what to do as a team for Kazi Kichizi, a new and innovative service in Tanzania which links talented, creative minds to potential employers and work opportunities. Assignments could include everything from film to web design, fine arts, theater, animation and music.

And lastly, all of our visitors were welcomed to meet current students' and alumni works and were duly impressed with our program. All in all it was a very successful visit!

Students Excursion

2011-03-04T12:53:00.001+03:00

Zanzibits Visitors from Abroad

2011-03-03T12:28:00.002+03:00

We at Zanzibits recently had some visitors from abroad. Some of them had known nothing of Zanzibits before learning about it from our director, Mr. Guy Mullens, also known as "Mussa," who led the team of visitors.

Salama welcomed the visitors and introduced them to our staff. She gave them a brief history of Zanzibits and filled them in on our recent achievements. Then she took them on a tour of the premises and showed them the Zanzibits classroom, where they could see the different projects made by our students, such as posters, flyers, business cards, logos, and more.

The visitors took the time to ask some of the students about their work.
Our guests were excited and pleased to see such inspired ideas and amazing student projects.

Zanzibits Workshop: The establishment of The UN-Habitat Youth Fund

2011-02-22T15:55:00.002+03:00

It was a great weekend for Zanzibits! We were invited to a workshop to discuss the establishment of the UN-Habitat youth fund in Zanzibar

This fund promotes the poverty reduction aims of Millennium Development Goals and the Habitat Agenda for better, more sustainable and equitable towns and cities throughout the developing world.

The fund provides a grant of up to $25,000 USD to lead projects by piloting innovative approaches to employment, good governance, shelter and secure tenure.
The meeting was presented by Professor Ana Tibaijuka, from the United Republic of Tanzania and also the founder of this fund for Tanzania, and the Minister of Environment and Progressive Development of Norway.

They insisted on utilizing the fund properly by equipping young people with creative and valuable skills like project management and team work, thus boosting their ability to acquire jobs and participate actively in society.

For an organization to be qualified for this grant, the following criteria must be considered:
• The organization must be led by young people aged 15-32.
• It must be registered and have registration number.
• It must have a bank account.
• There must be a yearly report on how the money is used.
• The organization must work on innovative and sustainable projects that impact the lives of young people.

This is a great opportunity for Zanzibits!! In 2011, our mission should be finding the local funds for our organization. And even if the fund is not exactly from Zanzibar and is only presented by the government of Zanzibar, it’s a start!

Course One Lot Two

2011-02-14T13:15:00.002+03:00

After the mini graduation for the course one students, the second lot, who also follow the first course, started. The session began with the introduction of the trainers. After that, the students introduced themselves and we reviewed the Zanzibits rules and regulations, including the respectful treatment of each other.

Once the students had been issued workbooks, folders, rulers, and pens, Rashid (Trainer) started on the first lesson. Before the lesson, however, there was a warm up game we call The Name Game. This games gives the students and the staff the chance to get to know each other, as it was their first day at school.

The lesson was about the introduction of computer and how a computer network works. The trainer asked the students to describe what they understood about computers.

After a discussion, the trainer provided a short history of the computer and an overview of its different parts, as well as tips on using the mouse and typing on the keyboard. Many students have never used a computer before, so the course was fun and interactive.

The students got a chance to see what a computer looks like on the inside and learned about each component and its particular function.

The lesson finished when the trainer handed out homework: sketch a computer and its components. Secondly, the students were given the assignment to write their background information.
The lot two students are going to finish at the end of February. After that, the trainers are going to evaluate them and chosen sixteen students who are going to continue with the rest of the Zanzibits course.

Good luck to all of you.

Training of Trainers (TOT) in Nairobi

2011-02-11T10:20:00.002+03:00

Zanzibits recruited one of its trainers to attend Training of Trainers (TOT) lessons in Nairobi at Nairobits Trust (Digital Design School) for two weeks. That trainer was Khamis.
The course ran from January 17-28, 2011. Khamis spent almost two weeks being trained by the Nairobits trainers on the different ways to apply ICT digital multimedia.

The aim of the course was to increase the participants' familiarity with training, administration, program planning, reporting, and technical issues. Upon finishing the course, the next step for Khamis was to go to the Musoma center in Tanzania, where he is now. In Musoma he is serving as the main trainer, running the program. Class just started on February 8.

In the first week at Nairobits, Khamis was welcomed by the new team and introduced to the staff and students, and familiarized with the structure of their program. This helped him to understand the program and its operation, and illustrate his duties and responsibilities at the 'bits.

Following is a list of the activities of Khamis's first week at Nairobits:
• Participated in the Nairobits Media Lab interviews as an observer, but also had the chance to interview the students
• Participated in the Course Two orientation as an observer at FHOK (Family Health Options Kenya)
• Participated in the Mukuru Media Lab interviews as an observer and also held interviews at Nairobits
• Participated in the Media Lab orientation as an observer at Mukuru kwa Reuben.
• Participated in the Course Two class starting at FHOK (Family Health Options Kenya).
• Participated in the Media lab class starting at Mukuru kwa Reuben
• Participated in the Media lab class starting at Nairobits
• Learned the Nairobits training methodology
• Became familiar with the student/lesson evaluation, lesson plan, exam setting, and marking, and viewed some records

Over the weekend, Wilson and Victor gave Khamis a tour of Nairobi and its environs, visiting various places and heading out of town to see some of the surrounding sights.

During the second week, Khamis experienced and became familiar with the following:
• Participated in the Course One interviews as an observer and also interviewed at Nairobits
• Learned about entrepreneurship, life skills, and employability (IYF)
• Participated in the start of Course One at one of the centers
• Explored marketing techniques at the Musoma center, for example, newsletters, attending exhibitions, conferences, blog, website, etc.
• Met different heads of departments, including library/store keeping
• Student selection process/criteria
• CBO (Community Based Organization) selection criteria
• Community channel The curriculum of ICT Multimedia
• Bookkeeping and account reporting

Additionally he visited three information centers around Nairobi -- FHOK, Mukuru, and Marurui Community Resource Centre. In these organizations (part of the 'bits family) he had the opportunity to meet with the students, interacting with them and asking questions.

After demonstrating a thorough understanding of the program and fulfilling his lessons successfully, Khamis signed a contract from Anne Ikiara (Nairobits' General Manager) for one year, committing to working at the Musoma center in Tanzania.

As was expected, the lessons were excellent, motivating, and memorable. We know that Khamis will apply what he learned at Nairobits in Musoma for a very successful project.

WISHING KHAMIS ALL THE BEST!

Alriyamibits class in the Progress

2011-02-09T09:43:00.002+03:00

Zanzibits’ partner class, Alriyamibits, is on the move. The students already had a good understanding of some computer applications, so they proceeded quickly to learning to use the Adobe Photoshop software.

Their motivation and interest were evident from the first day, when they received a short introduction to Photoshop and some key uses of its tools. Afterward the trainer explained the principles of good design.

Soon the class will begin working with images to create their own designs. The students are interested in using the design tools to create projects like billboards, posters, business cards, logos, and more.

The trainer was very impressed with the class – when asked about their aspirations, most of the students expressed a desire to learn a great deal more about computers.

Mini graduation course 1 lot 1 2011

2011-02-05T20:19:00.003+03:00

Zanzibits held a mini-graduation for the first batch of the students on January 28, 2011. After working for a month the students presented their projects to teachers and parents, demonstrating the basic lessons of the course – this included the programs Microsoft Word, Microsoft Power Point, and Adobe Photoshop, as well as use of the internet.

The mini-graduation began with an introduction of the staff to the parents, and followed with a short history of Zanzibits. These were organized by our coordinator, Miss Salama.

During the presentation each student was allotted five minutes to present his/her work. Most presented posters or business cards, although some students presented a formal letter or a Power Point document.

The guest of honor was Mr. Zahor, the assistant head teacher at Al-Riyami Academy. He gave an inspiring speech, encouraging the students to stick to their goals and congratulating the students on what they had accomplished in such a short time. He proposed that the team should accept more than sixteen students per year, and then finished by awarding the certificates to the students.

Parents also got the chance to ask some questions and offer suggestions to the team.

Graduation concluded with a lot of celebration, photo taking, and fun!

Zanzibar Bottlers Excursion

2011-02-03T16:24:00.003+03:00

This week, as a part of our lessons, Zanzibits took an excursion to a bottling company called Zanzibar Bottlers. After the trip students were asked to do a power point presentation illustrating what they had learned.

When we arrived at 10am we were greeted by company staff and were made to feel welcomed. The management coordinator, Mr. Ibrahim A Haji, treated us to a history lesson all about the company and the bottling industry both in Zanzibar and in East Africa.

Once known as Kiwanda Cha Soda, the bottling company that eventually changed their name to Zanzibar Bottlers was the first of its kind as well as the most famous in the area. It was established back in 1977.

Zanzibar Bottlers was chosen as the site for our first Zanzibits excursion so that students could learn how the bottling industry works and how it benefits the community at large. While at the company, we learned how soda is produced, how it is transformed from water to soda, and how the actual bottles are prepared for use. Additionally, we learned both good and bad effects of soda on the human body.

Both Zanzibits students and teachers enjoyed the experience very much, almost as much as we enjoyed all the free soda we could drink! We certainly learned a lot!

Lot One Students Exam

2011-01-31T10:03:00.003+03:00

At the end of the first month of class of 2011, sixteen students took an exam to evaluate how well they have understood the lessons so far. They took the exam in the morning and the results were given out not long afterward.

The students were eager to take the exam and did very well. They were pleased, not only to have performed well, but also because it gave them confidence to continue learning.
In the afternoon the students had the second part of their exam. Trainer Rashid burned a CD with the work the students have done in the first month of the Zanzibits course, which will be give to them as a backup.

Friday will be the day of the mini graduation. All students will arrive at 9:00 in the morning. The ceremony starts at 10 o'clock and Salama will open the graduation ceremony by welcoming the guest of honor, the students, the parents and the staff.
She will ask the students to come forward in alphabetical order and present their work.

After the presentations, the guest of honor will reward the students with their certificates.

A strong team in Bits family Job opportunity for zanzibits Trainer

2011-01-20T10:28:00.001+03:00

Exciting things are happening! The three bits – Zanzibits, Nairobits and Mamabits (and Musoma) have joined together as one – Mamabits, and after much discussion, have hired our very own Zanzibits trainer, Khamis seif Aliy to work at the new school in Musoma.
Khamis will travel to Nairobi for 2 weeks of TOT training, under the supervision of Wilson Masaka and Rukia Sebits, who were the first Zanzibits trainers. After training, he will go to Musoma to work at the new office.
Khamis will work for 6 months as the main trainer and coordinator at the new school.
We at Zanzibits are very proud that one of our own has been given this amazing responsibility to leave Zanzibar and to run a much larger program.
Congratulations to Khamis! Keep up the hard work. We know that you are going to make us proud!

warm up (about my self ) business card presentation course 1

2011-01-19T09:14:00.002+03:00

First day 2011 Lot One course 1 start

2011-01-06T11:12:00.004+03:00

After a short break the Zanzibits School officially reopened for the 2011 term, featuring a new group of Zanzibits students. It was good first day of school. The entire new class was present to welcome a new staff member to our team, Mr. Jaku, who was a student last year.
The session began with the introduction of the trainers and students then reviewed the Zanzibits rules and regulations, including the respectful treatment of one another.
Once the students had been issued workbooks, folders, rulers, and pens, the main trainer Mbarak started on the first lesson, which covered how computers work. The trainer asked the students to describe what they understood about computers. After a discussion, the trainer provided a short history of the computer and an overview of its different parts, as well as tips on using the mouse and typing on the keyboard.
The students got to see what a computer looks like on the inside and learned about each component and its particular function.
Later that afternoon Mbarak continued the session, defining the software and hardware elements of the computer. By the end of the lesson all the students understood various computer functions and were familiar with the components.

Photography class report

2010-12-22T11:12:00.001+03:00

The students have already a very good knowledge of computer use: programs and workflow so they went quite fast with all the introduction and use of the digital lab.

From the beginning students were very motivated. They showed a lot of interest in the art of photography, tried to take pictures according to the different kind of photography I explained to them in the very first course.

During the duration of the whole class (stretched on almost one month), some students did some very interesting work trying to explore the media with the means they had. Some took incredible pictures with the most basic camera, I was very impressed. They tried to challenge themselves in many ways, trying to integrate creativity and rigorous photographic concepts.

All in all it was a great success, and I am very proud of the results.

Wishing you all the best and hope to see you again next year!

Ania

3rd Zanzibits Medial lab Graduation 2010

2010-12-20T17:46:00.001+03:00

Zanzibits Media lab Graduation 2010

2010-12-16T12:08:00.003+03:00

INTERVIEWS FOR THE CLASS OF 2011

2010-12-10T11:53:00.000+03:00

The application period for 2011 Zanzibits students is now closed. We are happy to announce that at present there is almost parity between female and male applicants, even though a few candidates did not show up to their interviews.

As always, we do not expect our students to know anything about computers, but a minimal knowledge of English is required. We are looking for youth who are respectful, not too shy, and are highly motivated to study and learn. True to our mission, we are accepting applications only from youths from poor backgrounds who would otherwise not be able to continue with the goal of learning and mastering computer skills.

Interviews have already started for the class of 2011. So far the process is going well and we have filled sixteen of an expected thirty-two slots.

The process takes nearly two years: Students come in for a short initial interview; which is helpful for getting an idea of their proficiency in English, and register their names before taking an application. Most of the students who have applied are very qualified.

On December 12 those candidates who are accepted will be informed of their status and invited to come on Monday (the 13th) for a short introductory presentation about Zanzibits. And, it should also be added, they will be invited to attend the final graduation ceremony of the class of 2010.

Interview 2011 Students

2010-12-08T13:06:00.002+03:00

Visitors from Get real Training media production and Kazi kichizi

2010-12-08T10:04:00.002+03:00

Last week, we were fortunate to be visited by Irene Dundras of Get Real Training and Sophie from Kazi kichizi, both of which are in Dar-es Salaam.

After reading about our program on our blog, Irene wanted to come and meet our staff and see the work we are doing here at Zanzibits. She was very impressed. Get Real training provides media production courses and wants to collaborate with our film production students.

Kazi Kichizi is a new and innovative employment service in Tanzania that links talented creative minds with employers and work opportunities. Sophie came on behalf of the program to invite some of us to a big event designed to promote Kazi kichizi. The event will be on December 10, 2010 at Upanga in Frances Alliance ahall in Dar –es Salaam.

Zanzibits is excited to participate in the event. Our coordinator, Miss Salama is going to do a presentation. We hope that the event teaches people in Dar-es Salaam about our program and the work we are doing.

Everyone is invited! Hope to see you there.

Application Process for 2011 Students

2010-11-26T12:29:00.001+03:00

The application process for 2011 students is under way, and we are happy to announce that at present there are almost as many female applicants as male. We have also upgraded the criteria for selection and the application exam is a lot (a lot) more difficult than last year's.

We do not expect our students to know anything about computers, but a minimal knowledge of English is required. We are looking for youth who are not too shy and are highly motivated to study and learn. True to our mission, we are accepting applications only from youths from poor backgrounds who would otherwise not be able to continue with the goal of learning and mastering computer skills.

Already some of the prospective students for the 2011 school year have started to come in for their initial interviews. Some of the kids who have applied to Zanzibits heard about its existence from their friends who are students in the class of 2010.

The process goes as follows: Students come in for a short interview; this is helpful to get an idea of their English proficiency, and they register their name before taking an application. Most of the students who have applied are very qualified candidates.

The process has been a great success, and now the applicants are awaiting our call for the last interview evaluation.

Student works Media lab

2010-11-18T13:38:00.001+03:00

The New Zanzibar

2010-11-11T15:48:00.001+03:00

After a long campaign, the people of Tanzania were anxious and excited for the election results.

This election was significant in that there was great potential for big changes, especially in Zanzibar, and all of the candidates were in tight races.
In mainland Tanzania, Honorable Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete was elected to a second term.

On November 4, the Chairperson of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission announced that Dr. Ali Moh'd Shein, of the CCM (the ruling party) won by a narrow margin. He received 51% of the votes and defeated opposition candidate Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad who received 49% of the votes. Other candidates received less that 1% of the votes.
Everyone was satisfied by the peaceful elections, and supporters of the CCM celebrated in their own unique ways.

The swearing in day for Dr. Ali Moh'd Shein was a big celebration! He took his oath in Amaan National Stadium and was surrounded by members of both the ruling party, as well as the opposition. The promise of a new collaboration government, where power and authority are shared by both parties, has excited the people of Zanzibar.
Multiparty democracy was established in 1992 and the CCM has been in power since then. Now, the parties have agreed to come together and collaborate and create a government system where they work together in the Zanzibar State House from this day forward.

ALL THE BEST TO THE NEW ZANZIBAR!

Photography With ANIA

2010-11-08T12:16:00.002+03:00

Ania Gruca was born in France in 1977. She moved to New York City in 1999 to apprentice with drummer and percussionist Leon Parker as well as pursue her own goals as a musician. Since that time she has graduated from the University of Paris (Sorbonne Nouvelle and Nanterre) with a degree in languages applied to business and law.
Ania discovered photography in her late twenties and immediately knew she had found her profession and passion.

In Zanzibar she has worked on different projects, mainly in the documentary area, which is her particular area of interest. She visited Zanzibits in 2009 after hearing a lot about the program, and early in 2010 she sent an e-mail to express her interest in volunteering at Zanzibits to offer photography lessons. Mr. Guy Mullens, the director of Zanzibits, made all the arrangements and she is currently teaching photography.

After just one week in her class in Zanzibits students have learned a lot about the basics of photography – the different approaches and styles, how to take good photos while you consider elements like focus, angles, centered framing, etc., and the different settings of the camera.

Students have practiced documentary photography on the different streets of Zanzibar and at political meetings – this has been "learning by doing" for Ania and the students, because they are photographing current issues happening in Zanzibar.

Ania is also teaching photo editing using the Photoshop tool. It offers different effects, for example, changing the photos from color to black and white, which is what Ania herself favors.

The photography lessons have been very interesting and a great development for Zanzibits. Everybody is enjoying the course and Ania is enjoying teaching as well.
Thank you Ania!

Tanzania Election

2010-10-29T15:31:00.002+03:00

On October 31, Tanzanian people will go to the polls and place their votes. With national elections just around the corner, the candidates and their supporters are busy campaigning and explaining their platforms to the voters.

It is an exciting time for our country, as we are embracing democracy. There are more political parties, like the AFP and TADEA. The media has been advertising the importance of voting and educating people about how to cast their votes. Candidates also have had equal access to the media in their campaigns, and every candidate has had the opportunity to publicly introduce themselves and their ideas to the people. Perhaps the best news is that, unlike in elections past, there has been no political violence and people have been campaigning in peace.

In past election years, there was political violence in Zanzibar as people prepared for the elections, but not this time. All of the campaigning has been peaceful and secure.
These are good signs for our country, because it shows that our people are embracing democracy and becoming involved in the political process.

Campaigning officially ends on October 30. On October 31, the Tanzanian people will choose their new leader. We all hope that it is someone who is fairly elected and who will bring development to our country. Above all, we all hope that our elections are as peaceful as the campaigns have been.
God bless Tanzania and its islands.

The dream Company and Branding Presentation

2010-10-28T10:53:00.002+03:00

On the first day of school the students' lesson starts with branding assignments. The students do research on different companies and then choose three products from those companies. Once they have chosen their products they do additional research on the specific products highlighting color separation, design and layout.

The trainer gives a short introduction of the presentation along with the lesson. Then all the students present their branding research along with the name of their dream company.

After the student presentations, the trainer makes some corrections and shows them how to come up with an idea of making a brand for a company according the design rules. Additionally, the students start the design sketching of their dream company using tools like logo design, website development, flayers, posters and business cards.

This lesson helps the students to develop their thinking skills and come up with their own ideas. It also helps them choose a design for the last project, a "Dream Company" with their own branding.

The Dream Company Project

2010-10-22T14:12:00.002+03:00

Just because school is officially closed until October 25 doesn't mean that the Zanzibits students are on vacation!

The Alriyami students are taking national exams, so we were supposed to close school for a one month, and the Zanzibits students are working on the final project of course four (the media lab), the Dream Company when they are at home.

It's an exciting project, as the students are working more independently to come up with ideas for their own "Dream Company." They are doing their own research and developing their own creative ideas from analogue to digital.

When school officially reopens, the students will present their research and establish three brands and then will begin sketching and digitally designing their ideas.

The students are excited for October 27, because that's the day that Ania, a teacher from France, arrives and she will begin a 16 day lesson in Photograph. The students are looking forward to learning and becoming skilled in this program, and will apply their newfound knowledge to their Dream Company project and use it to create websites, logos, posters and business cards to promote and market their brand.

The Dream Company project will be presented on December 16 at the media lab graduation, which will be held at the Baytul Yamin Hall on Malindi St, next door to the Bwawani Hotel.

Wilson’s Arrival

2010-10-05T21:35:00.003+03:00

Wilson is a web developer and trainer with Nairobits. In previous visits to Zanzibits, he has given lessons to both students and trainers. This time he focused just on the trainers, offering advice on administration, HR issues, managing staff and students, problem solving, bookkeeping, finances, and back-end management.

In other words, making sure all the elements are in place so the 2011 year can start with flair: deciding on the selection procedure for the 2011 group, working on internal communication, conducting the Media Lab course, assigning each staff member a specific task list, and other administrative affairs.

Wilson also spared some time from administrative training to teach the trainers some technical stuff.

Now it will be up to the Zanzibits team to accomplish its mission and fulfill its vision. We are going to miss you, Wilson, but won't forget you. You will always stay in our hearts, and we will be able to spread the knowledge that you have shared with us.

TOT Training at the Sirajatul Khairia Charitable School in Bwejuu

2010-10-01T20:09:00.003+03:00

The Zanzibits team got a chance to participate in Teaching of Trainers (TOT), giving computer lessons at Al Madrasa-tul Sirajatul-Khairia in Bwejuu, Zanzibar.
The Sirajatul Khairia school is a charitable organization that provides orphan children with hope, love, and attention. The children attend class during school hours and are taught through the generous help of volunteers.

The school currently offers instruction from pre-school to class four, with nine volunteer teachers, who all required teacher training. After the TOT they will be able to operate and maintain the school's computer system, which was provided by an organization in Oman.

Zanzibits Center for Film and Multimedia donated the week-long teacher training (TOT), which consisted of an introduction to the computer and the basic use of programs such as Microsoft Office and Photoshop, as well as use of the internet and photography. Zanzibits also offered to make the school a website, which will be online soon.

Everyone at the Sirajatul-Khairia school was very kind and welcoming and full of hospitality.

By the end of the class, all the volunteer teachers were familiar with the computer and were doing well with the course material. They were pleased with the class and hope that they will be able to teach their students according to the lessons they learned from the Zanzibits team.

Visitors from Muscat

2010-09-17T10:39:00.006+03:00

We at Zanzibits had some very special guests last week. Chris and Dale, an Australian couple who live in Muscat came to see our NGO. They have been supporters of our partners, the charitable school located at Bwejuu Zanzibar they were excited to visit us and to learn about the work we are doing here after they visited our website and blog.

Salama welcomed them and introduced them to our staff. She gave them a history of Zanzibits and filled them in on our recent achievements. After that, she took them on a tour of the premises and showed them the Zanzibits classroom, the Alriyamibits classroom and our meeting room.

We were very excited when they stayed and watched the movie that we made with Zanzikids and the HKU school in Holland. They thought it was great!
Our guests were excited and impressed with our work and that made us feel great!

They promised to come back and visit next time they are in Zanzibar and we can't wait to see them!

Mini Graduation Course Three Zanzibits

2010-09-13T15:48:00.002+03:00

After eight months of lessons, Zanzibits students completed Course Three -- web design and film making -- and are now anticipating the final course, which is media lab.

Completion of Course Three was marked by a mini-graduation, to which parents were invited to see the exciting and almost unbelievable results of the teachers’ efforts and the children’s hard work to reach their goals.
The mini-graduation took place in school at 10:00 am and started with the introduction of the Zanzibits staff. Then the students in turn introduced themselves to the audience and presented examples of the brilliant work accomplished over the eight-month Zanzibits course.

During a break in the program, the students got the chance to present a small surprise by reading a poem. The inspirational poem aimed to motivate the students to learn more and also to encourage co-operation among teachers, students, and parents, so that Zanzibits students will be able to attain their goals of becoming good web developers and designers both inside and outside of Zanzibar.

After the presentation, the guest of honor -- the founder/director of the Zanzibits NGO, Mr. Guy Mullens – spoke about what he had just seen during the presentation. He was very impressed with the amazing work by the students. Mr. Mullens took the time to thank the parents for attending the graduation, and he tried to speak in Swahili so they could understand. He also encouraged the students to learn more every day so that they can build on their knowledge and become even better at their work.
When Mr. Mullens had finished his speech, he took the opportunity to award the course completion certificates to the graduates and gave honors to those who did especially well on their exam. Finally, the parents offered their advice to the students and trainers to take advantage of these opportunities, that it would help them in the future.

The graduation was very well-organized and everyone was pleased with the whole program. Now the students eagerly await to know if they will continue with the media lab course. Hopefully no one will drop out in this year, which would be great news for Zanzibits.

At the time of this writing, school was closed for the Eid festival. It will reopen the 20th of September for the new course.

Oficial Opening Of Alriamibits Class

2010-09-07T14:54:00.002+03:00

Zanzibits’s new partnership class, Alriymbits is on it’s way! We have bought nine new computers and installed Windows software for learning.

Everyone wanted to see the class start as soon as possible and everyone is excited that the dream is becoming a reality.

Salama, Zanzibits’s main trainer, started off the first session by thanking the Zanzibits and Alriyamibits founders and teachers and then she named the students who had been specially selected to participate in the new class. She also explained the rules and regulations of Alriyamibits to everyone.

After she spoke, she gave the teachers, principal and other staff members an opportunity to say something about the project. Everyone who spoke said how much they appreciated the hard work of Zanzibits in getting this project started. Everyone was very excited.

After the introductions, the classroom was finally opened! Everyone took a tour and finally got to see the classroom and workstations for the first time.

Class started the next day with an introduction to computers and Microsoft Word and Excel, Photoshop, presentation skills and the internet.

Congratulations everyone!

Oman's Observer Newspaper,

2010-08-27T17:28:00.003+03:00

'Little' help for Zanzibar school

Omantel Charity Campaign

Five-hundred Omani rials was a lot of money but it was not enough to cover the total cost of packing and shipping so many computers.
Coincidentally, at that time, Oman Air was about to begin flights to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, again. The little, with few options other than hope, approached the airline to ask for assistance in flying the computers to Dar-es-Salaam where they could then be ferried across the channel from Tanzania to Zanzibar.

Oman Air was initially receptive, as the airline was keen to grow its corporate social responsibility programmers. However, to get the approval to ship 1,028kg of computers for charity was understandably not a decision Oman Air could make over-night. There were a few months of nail biting, e-mails, waiting, and phones calls and then -Oman Air issued the final "go ahead." Oman Air, true to their word,: showed they are an airline with a heart,' symbolizing the caring nature of the people of Oman.

The project came to a successful con-' elision this month when all the computers arrived in Bwejuu village internet. Bwejuu villagers, teachers, administrators and even a Member of Parliament joined the Little's in a celebration of thanks to all who had come to their aid. Today, computers have been installed and are being used in the schools by the children, who now have hope for a brighter future.

Thanks, in part to a Zanzibar-based NGO, 'Zanzibits', that provides training and technical support to schools, students will receive the necessary computer skills to run their own businesses, efficiently or find technical employment requiring computer proficiency. This is 'of particular importance to Zanzibar's 'who must increasingly compete for technical jobs, now often occupied by foreign workers.

While this chapter of the book has a Wonderful ending, the story is not over
Yet. The schools still have serious needs, Such as finding additional money to connect the schools to the Internet.
More urgently, however, many of Bwejuu primary school students have to study, sitting on the floor as there are not enough desks for each child. Roofs are often in disrepair and there are never enough pencils, pens or paper.

Books are a rare commodity and the Schools' administrators even nurture a dream that one day they will be able to offer science classes complete with modest, even basic, tools such as test-tubes, simple lab equipment and even microscopes.

.John and Sarah plan to continue their efforts and are currently forming an NGO. Although they are moving to the US this year, they will have a continuing close connection with Oman and Zanzibar with frequent return trips planned. Additionally, there are people based in Muscat who will' continue to be actively involved in this project.

John and Sarah are available on jlittle@uwsp.edu and Sarah's new blog, http://sarahbrownsdon.spaces.live.com// for anyone interested in extending a helping hand for a great cause.

Mbarak In E -content Development Course

2010-08-24T18:23:00.005+03:00

The purpose of the e-content Development Course was to learn to develop content in digital form for easy review and modification.

The goal was that after finishing the course everyone would understand the material and be able to share the lesson's from the week-long course.
E-content development follows the ADDIE model, which stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.

The course was facilitated by Susanna from Learnthings Africa on behalf of Microsoft, with the cooperation of the NGO RC Zanzibar, a project of the Aga Khan Foundation. By the end of the course, Susanna explained, students should be able to do the following:

• Explain the main steps in instructional design
• Design and develop interactivities
• Develop a learning programme

The main tool used in the developing process is LCDS software from Microsoft. The end product is HTML (hypertext markup language) that can be delivered either online (linked to a web site) or offline, as a separate document.

You might ask yourself, "Why e-content?" Here are some answers:
• Allows interactivity.
• Less expensive than print to duplicate.
• Easy to distribute on different platforms.
• Easy to make changes.
• Activities allow instant feedback.
• Instant feedback reinforces learning.

By the end of the course everyone had succeeded in developing one lesson. In the feedback session, which invited comments and input about the course, a famous proclamation was made: "We will use the knowledge to develop the content for our organizations."

Afterward, the course facilitator, Susanna from Learnthings Africa, and Mr. Phil from Microsoft had the chance to visit at Zanzibits and see some students' work. They were very impressed with all the activities and opportunities available at Zanzibits.

Zanzibits Alumni profile

2010-08-20T18:32:00.002+03:00

My name is Abeid Machano Khamis.I was born in 1985 at Jang'ombe Zanzibar. I am a zanzibits alumni of the 2009 year. I joined Zanzibits NGO in order to learn about film and multimedia. I was very interested in being a designer before I joined, but I didn't know anything about the field. Now I can do so much, though the knowledge that I have. When I completed my study at Zanzibits, my dream was to be employed as Graphics Designer but till now I couldn't succeed in finding a suitable job in this field, so I decided to become freelance designer. Since I've started, over five months ago, I have already done many works for my clients and they're quite proud of my work.

Take a look on my work

• 2010 Funguni Palace website (design and develop of website)
http://www.fungunipalace.com/

• 2010 Aliboni tours website (design and development of website)
http://www.alibonitranquilotours.com/

• 2010 Emrans Tours website (design and development of website)
http://www.emranstoursandtravels.com/

• 2010 Stonetown Youth Centre website (design and development of website)
http://www.stonetownyouthcentre.com/

• 2010 Forodhanitours website (design and development of website)
http://www.forodhanitours.com/

Starting this year, I joined Zanzicode to learn Web Programming such as JavaScript, PHP while I myself find a job, or continue as a free lancer. Thanks Zanzibits for the great opportunity you gave me and my fellow students.

Abeid

Volunteer Teacher of HTML

2010-08-11T16:41:00.003+03:00

This week we had an opportunity of getting a volunteer teacher from The State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) Mr.Ibrahim Abdul-rahman, he is ready to work as volunteer in Zanzibits by teaching the students Hyper Text Mark up Language (HTML) lesson for a one week,
The teacher start to introduce him self and the students also, this will make them to know each other while the course is continue.

The class started yesterday by asking the students some questions about HTML, to know if they had an idea about the topic, some of the students tried to answer the questions, after that he start to give them the introduction of HTML, and some example by using Notepad (Text Editor), to make them understand better what they have learned,

He continues to explain about the concept of HTML and key concept of HTML and shows the students some codes of html and its function.

The students are happy with the class and they hope that they will learn a lot from the teacher and will help them in the coming lesson.

Cultural Project Is On The Roll

2010-08-05T15:46:00.002+03:00

The Cultural Project is a current topic for Zanzibits at the moment. As usual, the students are working on this project in groups, and every group is tasked with coming up with a unique and interesting topic about the culture of Zanzibar.

They are now ready to finalize their template designs and are waiting to enter the second stage of the project, which is the development stage. The groups have already done their research to get all the relevant factual details.

This great effort has resulted in the students coming up with great looking and aspiring sites. We believe that after finishing the course they will become aspiring designers who follow all the key principles they have learned throughout the course

Goodbye Film Teachers

2010-07-28T19:02:00.002+03:00

After a month and a half of classes together, the students and trainers at Zanzibits were feeling sad that their time together was coming to a close.

They took time to reflect on their projects and to say goodbye to each other. But most importantly, they wanted to thank each other for the special time they spent together in Zanzibar.

Two students dressed in the cultural attire of Zanzibar (bui bui and kanzu), and on behalf of the whole class they prepared special speeches and poems as gifts to the trainers and to one another. These gifts were to say thanks for the hard work and cooperation they learned during their classes.

After those speeches, the HKU students also gave a speech to say thanks to the team and the other students for make them feel at home. They were also thankful for the team spirit of the class, which contributed to their success with their projects.

We hope that all of the students learned a lot from their experiences and that they will use their new skills to help fulfil their ambitions in the future.

In addition, students and staff had gifts from the film teachers because they felt that they learned a lot from the students and staff, especially about Zanzibar culture, which made them feel at home.

Currently, the students back on their normal class schedule and continue with their cultural project that was started a few days before the film class.

Welcome again HKU students, this is your home now!

The Visitors from University of Southern California Annenberg School (U.S.A)

2010-07-26T17:11:00.003+03:00

Zanzibits was recently visited by two guests from University of Southern California, Annenberg School. This is one of the most famous and respected schools in the U.S.A. Mr. Benjamin (Ben) Stokes, who is a researcher on the project "Mobile Voices" (http://vozmob.net), and his mom Christine Abbott Stokes who is a teacher at Walker School.

They knew nothing about Zanzibits before visiting. Mr. Ben said that he heard about it from his sister Mrs. Maddy who is an American teacher working at Alriyami Academy in Stone Town, Zanzibar. So they decided to visit us to see what Zanzibits does.

They saw the different student works like the neighborhood websites, posters, films that they made among other things. The trainer also explained to them about Zanzibits' new partnership class, Alriyamibits.

They were very impressed with the growth of the Zanzibits program. They said that from what they had seen, the students have been doing amazing work!

Ultimately, Mr. Ben and Mrs. Christine were able to interview some students and trainers and they plan to post the video from the interviews on their website, so million of viewers will see it online! We are very lucky because this is great for Zanzibits, it's another step towards being known around the world!

In the end, our guests were very grateful to have seen such inspirational ideas from their time with us at Zanzibits. And they've asked to remain in touch with us from now on.

Zanzikids Party

2010-07-16T19:17:00.005+03:00

The 2010 Zanzikids day and party were a great success, and it was much enjoyed by all present. It was held in the Ben Bella Hall on the 3rd of July. We started preparing in the morning, and all preparations went well. Bystanders, who did not know what was going on, were very curios to see what was going to happen.

The party started at 4:00pm, with MC Jaku and Asha on the mic, to welcome all the guests and kids. The party was even greater than last year's zanzikids day, partly due to the new venue and partly due to the experience we got from previous years.

We had three primary schools who had participated with the project this year, and for the party more children from other schools and the neighborhood were invited. The MC's divided them into two groups, the first one went inside the prepared screening room to watch the movie and the second group remained outside to see and participate in other activities.

We had different games like henna and face painting, mask making, drawing, Kapueira, a dancing competitions. Besides the traditional activities the four film teachers from Holland introduced some Dutch games like Zaklopen (walking with bags), Spijkerpoepen (bottles and nails competition), Koekhapen (eating cookies tied on a rope) and Eieren lopen (walking with eggs on a spoon and see who comes to the end of the field the first).

All games were lead by Zanzibits students and staff. After getting a winner from each game, we had a ceremony where all of them got a prize, and once the games were finished, we played the final game, where all winners competed in an egg-walking race. The winner was Ali from, from the Starnet Academy School.
Meanwhile, inside, all the kids got a chance to see the movies they had made previously, during the Zanzikids project. There was a big screen in room, and all the animations and kids' movies were screened inside. All of them very happy and impressed with the result of their labor, and some of them, who did not participate in the creation of the animation sequences, were very eager to do something like it, should they get another chance.

Afterwards, it was the time for the Stone Town Kapueira Club to show off their acrobatic skills and lead up the kids dancing competition. At the end of the party, everyone was very happy and interested to see the exceptional ability of the kids.

In the evening, it was the time for the Zanzibits team (staffs and students) to see the movies made by the Zanzibits students. There were four of them, and they were called: My Mama, Hardness of Life, Desire and Street Children. Each of these movies presented the views of part of the life of our students.
All in all, it was a great and successful day. We had good feedback from the audience, and most of them commented that the party was nice and they were very impressed. They suggested that next year we should increase the amount of activities, as they loved the games so much, especially the Dutch ones and also to explore more kid's talents. The day after the party, there was a broadcast on the Television channel of Zanzibar (TVZ), whom we thank a lot for the time they took to cover the event. Thank you all, at TVZ.

Finally, we would like to thank all of you that have made this day possible. We would like to thank the HKU and the HKU-ers who have worked so hard to make this possible. Then we would like to specially thank Tessa and Remke of the Taartrovers for putting so much effort and passion into the Zanzikids project. Then we would like to thank all guests, sponsors, students, parents teachers and staff for their help.

See you next year for the 2011 version of Zanzikids!!!

Excursion Spice Farm and Nungwi Aquarium

2010-07-14T18:33:00.002+03:00

Zanzibits went on an excursion last week to the Zanzibar Spice Farm and Nungwi Aquarium. The students hoped to learn about different species of spices and explore the natural world.
At the Kizimbani Zanzibar Spice Farm, the students were given a tour by Mr. Ramadhan, who showed them the whole farm and taught them about spices. The students smelled, tested and asked lots of questions about spices.
At the Nungwi Aquarium, the students learned about the life of a sea tortoise. The students were thrilled when they were given the chance to feed and touch the tortoises.
The aquarium also is home to lots of historical sea life, like the bones of a whale who died in 1998, which the students appreciated.
It was a great excursion and everybody learned a lot!

Friday Fun and Football

2010-07-06T14:54:00.002+03:00

Last Friday, Zanzibits played a friendly football match versus Vikokotoni Secondary School. The game was held at Mnazi Mmoja pitch. Our opponents were delayed in arriving so the game got off to a very late start, but everyone involved had a great time nonetheless.
The Zanzibits film teachers played in this match – one of them, Rene, was goalkeeper. The spectators were very excited to see what was going to happen on the playing field.

At 10:30 am, the referee blew the starting whistle. The Vikokotoni strikers drove quickly to attack our goal but due to the strong defence of the Zanzibits team, led by stopper Hassan, Vikokotoni attacks ended with Rene.

Our side had a tough time at first, but 28 minutes into the first half Zanzibits posted 2 goals, scored by Jaku after he received a penetration pass from attacking middle-fielder Khamis. The opposition was discouraged and Zanzibits led 2-nil until half time.

At break time Zanzibits made a few personnel changes, taking off some players and bringing on others. The changes worked well for the Zanzibits team and helped us score two more goals.

Vikokotoni came back with two goals after the opponents' strikers dribbled the ball from the center of the field and penetrated the Zanzibits defence, making the scoreboard read 4-2.
At the final whistle, Zanzibits won 4-2. All the participants were satisfied with the outcome, because the refereeing had been fair, and everyone was happy -- especially the victorious Zanzibits team.

Zanzikids Party Invitation

2010-06-29T17:34:00.009+03:00

Visitors from Butterfly work

2010-06-24T12:54:00.001+03:00

Last week Zanzibits had some visitors! Hanja, the consultant of Mamabits in Nairobi and the project coordinator for Butterfly Works, and her husband came to Zanzibits to see all of our activities.

After arriving in Zanzibits they had a chance to see many of our locations. They visited our office, meeting room, class room and the new al-riyamibits class room. The al-riyambits classroom is small computer room for al-riyami academy students which is part of Zanzibits.

In addition to seeing our locations they also got a chance to see the students' works. They enjoyed seeing the websites, animation videos, and posters while asking different questions about the Zanzibits and Al-riyamibits projects.

Actually the whole experience was very impressive to them. And not only was it great for them to have seen in Zanzibits, but also for Zanzibits to be visited by these very important guests.

Welcome again Hanja, we hope Zanzibits made you feel at home!

Some articles about our production in Lusaka

2010-06-22T10:25:00.002+03:00

http://smart-grid.tmcnet.com/news/2010/06/07/4831336.htm

http://allafrica.com/stories/201006071411.html

http://www.mediaglobal.org/article/2010-06-03/social-networking-in-africa

Zanzibar Beach Boys - Produced by Zanzibits

2010-06-22T10:19:00.002+03:00

Slowly but surely the door opens

2010-06-17T12:36:00.005+03:00

The preparation of the classroom for Al-riyamibits is almost finished. Soon it will feature to eight to ten modern computers, to be supplied by Zanzibits and the marthe van Rijswijck Foundation. As part of Al-riyamibits, the students of Al-riyami Academy will acquire basic computing skills such as using the internet, e-mail, Microsoft Office programs, and Photoshop. The course, initiated by Zanzibits, will last the length of the school year.

Al-riyamibits classes, taught by the Zanzibits trainers, will be held from 9:00am to 1:00pm, Monday to Thursday. The training will be free of charge for the Al-riyami Academy students. Each class will have a structured lesson plan, so that all form two and three students can receive a good computer education. As soon as the classroom is finished, Zanzibits will begin preparing lesson plans.

The Film Exam

2010-06-11T18:12:00.004+03:00

At the end of the second week of film class the students took an exam to evaluate how well they had understood the lessons so far. They finished the exam in the afternoon and results were given not long afterward.

The students were eager to take the exam and did very well. They were pleased, not only to have performed well, but also because it gave them confidence to continue learning from the lessons and from each other.

The teachers were proud that all the students were doing so well, exceeding expectations.

Video result of Dutch Journalist interviewed Zanzibits

2010-06-07T10:32:00.017+03:00

Great news from the Lusaka eLearning Africa 2010 Conference

2010-06-03T11:23:00.004+03:00

At the end of last week our 'Zanzibar Beach Boys' film was presented at the e-learning conference 2010 in Lusaka, Zambia. The presentation went well, and all guests were very interested by what we had to show them. The Paje beach boys are famous because of it :) Adam Salked, the script writer of the digital diary, attended the conference. Here are some fragments from what he wrote us afterwards:
"It was a great conference with over 1700 people from all over Africa"

"The launch of the African Digital Diaries project went very well. We showed your film as well as other diaries from Gambia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya. There was a lot of interest in the project ad I could see from the audience that they really enjoyed the films".

"I showed Zanzibar Beach Boys for a second time as part of a presentation I did for another session on Football and Learning. Again it went down very well. I think the Paje boys are famous now!"

This is the first time that one of the Zanzibits productions has been showed overseas, and we are very enthusiastic with the result. We hope that next year we will be able to do more of these projects, especially with the eLearning conference coming to Dar es Salaam.

A big thank you to all of you who helped us out during this project, and for making it a big success.

Check out the eLearning website on:

- http://www.elearning-africa.com Our sessions are here
- /programme/programme_show_detail.php?myId=5
- http://www.elearning-africa.com/programme/programme_show_detail.php?myId=34

Film class is in Progress

2010-05-31T17:10:00.001+03:00

Zanzibar beach boys “Film produce by zanzibits.

2010-05-28T18:18:00.002+03:00

Our recent project has been exciting! The zanzibits team spent the last 2 weeks working on a film about the beach boys of Zanzibar. The film was produced by Salama, our office administrator and the entire zanzibits team. The film is going to be presented at the exhibition conference of e-learning in Africa at Lusaka Zambia on May 26, 2010.

The film is the story of some beach boys who are fans of British football clubs, but have a hard time getting information about their favourite clubs – they don't have access to international television or radio, they don't own their own computers and they can't afford the cost of cyber cafes. They put their heads together and decide to borrow a laptop from a tourist and browse the news.

The boys learn that the internet holds lots of valuable information - and are motivated by their love of football to learn even more about computers and improve their English!

The project was a lot of hard work, but when all was done, the film was great and everyone was very happy.

The film will be part of the blog and we hope that you'll agree!

Special thanks to everyone who helped make this project a success.

Stay tuned for my exciting news from zanzibits!

Film Class Starts

2010-05-28T14:19:00.002+03:00

Film class started with introductions and then a movie that Zanzibits had made in the past several weeks was shown to the students. Afterward Salama gave some background information on the film, which was about the life of Zanzibar beach boys and some Manchester, Liverpool, and Arsenal football fans looking for an Internet connection to see the football news from abroad.

The students enjoyed the film. After some discussion, a question was asked whether any obstacles had come up during the filming. Salama admitted that there had been some obstacles.

Afterward, the film teachers introduced the students to the basics of animation by demonstrating with drawing on paper.

They gave the students pieces of paper to draw different images, to see for themselves how an animated movie is created from a series of drawings.

The students made some funny drawings and tried to envision how the drawings could be turned into animation. After a lunch break the teachers joked about how the students could be better animators if they just drew faster.

By the end of the day all the students had become familiar with the lesson and were looking forward to the next one.

Welcome to the New Zanzibits Guys

2010-05-27T11:07:00.004+03:00

We have four students from the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU), Netherlands, who will be working as volunteer teachers on the “Zanzikids” project as an alliance between Taartrovers (Netherlands) and Zanzibits (Tanzania).

The Taartrovers students will collaborate with the young people at the Zanzibits Centre for Film and Media (fifteen to twenty-three years of age). They will teach the Zanzibits students audiovisual media production, animation, and some graphic design. Together, both groups will teach and support the workshops for the children participating in the Zanzikids project.

The Zanzikids project involves making animated versions of Swahili children’s songs and stories. The finished products will be presented as part of ZIFF (Zanzibar International Film Festival).

Hope everyone enjoys the lessons!

An Excursion to Zala Park & Kizimkazi historical sites

2010-05-25T11:23:00.003+03:00

Zanzibits went on a fascinating excursion last week. They visited the Zanzibar Land Animals Park (Zala Park) and the historical site at Kizimkazi (mosque and Mwana wa Miza Cave).
The aim of this excursion was to give the students, an insight into their heritage and the cultural diversity of various communities living in different parts of Zanzibar.

This visit will certainly inspire the students to implement their new cultural project. Culture is not only learning about the historical evidence of a civilization in museums, it is also learned by studying socially transmitted behaviour patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and the environment we live in.

The students visited Zala Park and its animal and reptile species like turtles, snakes, chameleons etc. Mr Ali, a very helpful guide at Zala Park enabled the students to learn much about animal behaviour; their habitat and their eating habits.
They asked a lot of questions about the animals and were also given explanations on how the Park was managed.

At Kizimkazi, the students visited the Mwana wa Miza Cave and learned about its history and how the Kizimkazi inhabitants have used this everlasting magical source of pure water for centuries.
Some students were able to enter the cave to see its inexhaustible waters and the representation of a lady called Miza who according to the ancient legend turned into stone.

Finally, they visited the village mosque and where the Imam (the spiritual head of the mosque) narrated its history and those who built this ancient monument.

Everyone was very impressed by this tour which was instructive and very enlightening.

Dutch journalists visiting Zanzibits

2010-05-20T17:47:00.003+03:00

We had the visit of Dutch journalists recently. They are working for a radio and television network based in Kenya. They took a short interview of the volunteer office administrators and asked for more information about Zanzibits.
They asked the students questions about what they had learned, their experiences and future plans.

They were particularly interested in the students' work because all of them are very interested in film and multimedia.

Then they went to ZG Company for an interview with ZanziBits alumni who are currently working there.

They were very impressed with their works and surprised to see that the main web and graphic designers were Zanzibits alumni.

Slowly but surely starting maintenance for Al Riyami Bits

2010-05-12T08:04:00.000+03:00

Neighborhood Project in Progress

2010-05-10T19:44:00.003+03:00

The students have made a design template of their neighborhood website. They designed their homepage using Photoshop. They will finish the other pages this week.

Then, the students will be using Dreamweaver to further develop their Websites. In a few weeks, the websites will be completed and be placed online!

Keep checking our blog to see our developments!

Here are some of the first designs..

Assistant trainers are on the move

2010-05-07T13:09:00.002+03:00

Assistant trainers have started leading classes themselves, with the main trainers always there to help.

Starting this week the students learned how to use Adobe Dreamweaver. After the students had finished their design of neighbourhood project, this lesson was to learn how to develop their websites and make them functional. Everyone was looking forward to this lesson.

Class began with an introduction and a question-and-answer session about the previous lesson. Next, the trainer showed a warm-up to the students.

Then the lesson started and the topic was Adobe Dreamweaver.The trainer asked if anyone knew what Adobe Dreamweaver could do. Some of the students offered responses, but nobody knew the exact answer, so the trainer explained that Dreamweaver is a program that allows you to design, develop, and maintain websites.

All the students were very interested and excited to see their final sites instead of just the design in Photoshop. The students also learned the history of Dreamweaver, how the program was developed, and was shown examples of how it can work. The trainer gave the students an assignment to work on in Dreamweaver, inserting images in rows and columns.

By the end of the lesson the students were becoming familiar with the software and were eager to move on with the next step.

The first project of course three started

2010-05-01T10:48:00.003+03:00

The neighborhood project is under way.

Every student has come up with their own unique ideas and has created different design templates for each project. The design templates explain what each project entails and how they are practiced in the students' respective neighborhoods.

These are the sixteen neighborhood projects they are working on:

Mkele Dress Maker
Constructor Group in Ziwatuwe
Mobile Phone in Magomeni
Jumbi Farming Sector
Environment of Darajabovu
Sports at Saateni
Mombasa Sign Writer
Kwahani Trade
Water Problem Sebleni
Youth Activities Mwembetanga
Fishing Bububu
Bububu Carpentry
Stone Town Tourism
Pastoralistm Amani
Car Transport Mwanyanya
Barber Shops Miembeni

We look forward to seeing where these projects will take our students. Stay tuned for updates…

An visual summary of the business case classes given by Jaak

2010-05-01T08:31:00.000+03:00

Enjoy, and Jaak, thank you so much for your great input, participation and motivation. We appreciate it very much, and we hope to see you again in Zanzibar.

Karibu tena, kaka.

-G

Business Workshop

2010-04-28T17:29:00.003+03:00

We had a nice business workshop last week, after one of zanzibits supporters from Holland, Jaak Aquarius, introduced a lesson on how to establish a profitable business, when the business idea workshop started.

The students divided into 4 groups and each group was facilitated by one trainer, every group was supposed to "think outside the box" to come up with four business ideas.
Then choose one that works best for the whole group and come up with a creative name and then to present the idea to the other groups.

Every group worked hard to make sure that they selected the best idea, everybody learned that for a person to establish a business he/she must understand Excels calculations, so that you can plan a budget and make a profit.

It was a big challenge and was difficult but,with help from Jaak, every group succeeded and came up with exact calculations.

Finally, the students presented their work and also improved their presentation skills because most of them were only reading from the screen instead of facing the audience.

It was a very interesting workshop and hopefully, everybody learned things that they could use for the rest of their lives.

Course three on a roll

2010-04-27T14:15:00.003+03:00

Our Web Design course begins during the second week of April.

This is the third stage of the Zanzibits courses. It deals with web designing and film making.

In this course students learned how to make their own website from scratch. And at the end of the course every student will be able to have two or more websites with different design templates.

In course three there are two projects of designing websites: a neighbourhood and a cultural project. For the first project, students make a website about their neighbourhood and its surroundings. And for the second project they choose one aspect of culture here in Zanzibar and make a website of it.

Another part of course three is film classes. In the film classes we have guest teachers from Holland who come to Zanzibits. These guest teachers will come to give lessons for two months on how to make a short film and animation movie. These projects will show on the big screen at the kids party during Ziff festival.

Course three will take three to four months.

Additionally, during the third week of April we will be given new lessons about business plans from one of our guest teachers. This will be a very interesting topic for our students. Stay with us for the next entry to see what happened during the session, we hope it will be of interest to you.

"All About Creativity" important topic in course two

2010-04-10T12:23:00.001+03:00

The first lesson in course two is about image craft. In this course students learn how to be creative and think outside the box.

The lesson begins with a brainstorming session about the illustration of the first shape. Students illustrate the drawing on the board by filling in different parts of the picture. Then they come up with other shapes from the first drawing without erasing any of it.

Students continue drawing by adding other shapes to the first drawing. Every student participates in making these new shapes, using all of their different ideas. When it was finished, these shapes formed a theme of a village called "village of wonder" because the shapes appear magical. For example, we see trees which have human faces with hateful expressions, and a house that is the shape of a human, with arms and legs.

Wilson has somthing to say!!

2010-04-02T10:15:00.002+03:00

In the two weeks that I worked with the ZB team (students, trainees and students) I have seen immense growth, talents and potential in the team, and if natured the way we are doing it the performance will hit the skies. What I liked most is the team spirit (I have been stating this several times) and the general organization culture cultivated within Zanzibits. These are virtues within Zanzibits just to mention a few;

• Respects for each other.
• Understanding.
• Assistance.
• Willingness to learn and grow.
• Ready to listen.
• Working as a team

It was an honor to be given another chance to work with Zanzibits of which on a personal side the experience acquired always makes me better and better, on the other hand realizing my other potentials in me and in my workmates. Though somebody said there isn't anyone who is perfect, and I agree with it. I’m yet to meet one person who is perfect, but all the challenges that we encounter make us stronger and even explore the champion in ourselves.

The students this time are amazing! I like their courage, charisma and passion. I noted that they have their own organized sessions early morning whereby they come up with debates and to make it more interesting it is in English. This is a great team spirit through learning by doing and I guess this year’s students have good English and good presentations skills, I stand to be corrected but these sentiments were also shared with the team.

Thanks for your great work, once again, Wilson, and we hope to see you again soon!

Ecursion to Television Zanzibar

2010-03-31T08:07:00.003+03:00

Zanzibits students went on an excursion to Television Zanzibar, one of the Media/TV Companies on the island. The aim of this trip was to make students relate what they have learned in school to the real-live situation at a Media/TV company. TVZ was chosen because it relates to the curriculum of course two at Zanzibits, where students learn about multimedia.

We were taken around by Mr. Buriani Mzee Ali, a senior employee of TVZ. He showed us the whole building and things like the control room, news room and a studio. He also showed us how the system is working and programs are broadcasted on television. Also students made some practice by reading the news and editing it.

Students got the chance to ask questions, such as when TVZ started, who was the founder, and how they fix problems, especially when the program is on Air.

Everyone agreed it was a great en interesting excursion and everyone was happy about it.

Welcome, Jaak!

2010-03-25T17:14:00.002+03:00

This last Monday we were so pleased to receive the newest member of our team, Mr. Jaak from Holland. He officially began the following day and his efforts will be focused on establishing and organizing the Al –riyamibits, he has already begun to get things started and is currently looking for a room to use. Mr. Jaak is also looking to assist the alumni network, help with local fund raising efforts, and will also be working with Wilson to get the new website up and running.

We are excited to welcome Mr. Jaak to our team and we know the month we will share together will be great.

Once again KARIBU ZANZIBAR AND FEEL AT HOME.

Not only about work...

2010-03-25T17:07:00.002+03:00

Fun Friday! Last week we were hosted by the Kamanda camp at the Daraja Bovu estate for a football rematch. This was a follow-up to our win of last year, when the match was played in our neighborhood in Maisara.

The much-awaited rematch kicked off on time, and everyone gave their best to see that we would win again. This year our team is stronger -- not to say that last year’s team wasn’t good -- but the Zanzibits team keeps on getting better year after year. This isn’t just in football but also in class work.

After ninety minutes of play Zanzibits were leading 3 – 1, thanks to fantastic goals from teacher Wilson (2 goals) and Ashraff (1 goal), which leaves the Zanzibits team unbeaten so far. Our second match will take place at the Maisara field this Friday against Al-riyami Academy.

We’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Mr. Jaak Aquarius from the Netherlands to the Zanzibits fun club.

Each Friday we arrange for a learning exchange, indoor or outdoors, through sports, debates, role plays, swimming, lessons in life skills, guest lecturers, etc. We try to keep all our alumni informed of these events, and they can get up-to-date information from our social network platform. Check it out at http://zanzibits-alumni.ning.com.

Zanzibits is more than a multimedia training institution -- there is more to learn, share, and experience, having fun together as a team!

Master trainer Wilson part of the team again, be it only for a short while!

2010-03-17T12:25:00.003+03:00

Wilson (Masaka) from Nairobi is part of the zanzibits team again. After a period of three months that he was away in Kenya (see our older blog posts about how sad were were when he left), he is back to support us. He will be with the team for two weeks, and his job is to give us more training, teach us the tricks and trades of being better trainers and of course bring us the in’s and out’s of how we can be even better office administrators and bookkepers.

We are very sure that in these two weeks we are going to learn a lot from his experience.

Next week on Monday we expect to get another guest teacher, who’s name is Mr. Jaak, from Holland. He is also coming to strengthen the team. Some of his tasks will be to help out with general office administration, establishing the new computer class for the Al Ryiami students (Al Riyami Bits) and also helping the trainers by giving them more training experience.

We are looking forward to meet him in real life, and not only via email and skype!

Finally, we would like to thank the director of this NGO for making a good plan in which we can build a great team and learn a lot.