Hello, Tanzania RPCVs….An African Scholar Wants To Talk To You!
Mweshimiwa Mbogoni, Hujambo mwalimu mwenzangu. Mimi niko huku na tayari kuwasiliana nawe. Jina langu Matthew Lindroth (mwalimu matayo). Nilikuwa mjitoleaji…
A Tanzania national and professor of African history at William Paterson of New Jersey is doing research for purposes of publishing a book on the history of the Peace Corps Volunteers in Tanzania. This endeavor is both personal and scholarly. He was taught by a Peace Corps teacher in middle school at Chilonwa in Dodoma, Tanzania. He says that his Peace Corps teacher, Mr. Thomas Houlihan, made a great difference in his schooling experience and motivated him to do the best he could. Also, as the first American that he met Houlihan impressed him as an amiable representation of American friendliness.
That being said, his scholarly interest in the history of the Peace Corps Volunteers in Tanzania is due to the fact that their contribution to Tanzania’s development has eluded the attention of students of Tanzania history, with the exception of a few memoirs by returned PCVs. He would like to cover this lacunae in the historiography of Tanzania since independence and would appreciate any help that you are able to provide.
To facilitate this endeavor, Doctor Mbogoni writes, “I have a questionnaire that elicits data/information that will enable me to highlight the different roles that PCVs have played in Tanzania’s post-independence development. A completed questionnaire can be emailed to me at mbogonil@wpunj.edu or sent by ordinary mail to my address below.
Lawrence Mbogoni, PhD
Professor, Africana-World Studies Department
William Paterson University of New Jersey
Pompton Road
Wayne, NJ 07470
(Lawrence’s last book is entitled *Miscegenation, Identity and Status in Colonial Africa* by Routledge (United Kingdom).
I met Lawrence when I was a professor at William Paterson University. He was looking for contacts in Somalia as he worked on his research there. He is a serious scholar and I recommend responding to his query.
My husband and I were Peace Corps Response volunteers 2014-2015 and would love to help you with your research. Kweli sana!
Here is my husband’s email. I can also forward this information to our colleagues with whom we served. Jeanne
Mweshimiwa Mbogoni,
Hujambo mwalimu mwenzangu. Mimi niko huku na tayari kuwasiliana nawe.
Jina langu Matthew Lindroth (mwalimu matayo). Nilikuwa mjitoleaji wa “Jeshi la Amani” (KE: MaPeace Corps) Nilikuweko kule kwenu wakati wa miaka 1965 mpaka 1967. Mahali pa kufundisha palikuwa kule Missungwi na Busagara wilaya Mwanza.
Kama ukitaka tuwasiliane zaidi waweza kunikamata kwa anwani ya komupta: urahaea@gmail.com.
Hadi tena mbeleni — Mungu akipenda… mtiilifu, mwl. matayo
ByA: Kwa sababu wakati imekuwa mrefu kutoka siku za kusema lughe ya Kiswahili kwangu nimesahau maneno mengi. Tafadhali unisemehe.
> Ukiongea na mtu kwa lugha ajuayo ataelewa. Ukiongea naye kwa lugha yake, utaingia hata kwa moyoni mwake.
>
> “If you speak with a person in a language he knows, he will understand. If you speak with him in his language, you will enter even into his heart.”
>
> – Rolihlahla (Nelson) Mandela –
>