TRANSFER TO MIDDLE SCHOOL IRINGA

 

Standing L/R Joseph Karuli, Francis Kitime, sitting L/R Mrs Karuli and her daughter, my mother holding my sister Evelina, me, my sister Blandina

So in 1956 Francis bought the 1948 model Land Rover but didn’t stay long with the second hand car, in 1957 he bought another  car, a black Standard Vanguard Saloon, in 1958  he sold this car to Father Titus Fumba, a Catholic priest from Ifunda  Parish,  and went on to buy  a car which he really loved, a Vauxhall Cresta Saloon.

Vauxhall Cresta

But several important things were happening to Francis and his wife Christina,  in August 1955 the family got their first child, a son whom they named John, that is me, soon  followed by sister Blandina Victoria.

In October 1957 Francis Kitime, my father was transferred to Iringa Middle School. He drove from Njombe to Iringa in his Standard Vanguard, with his family, and also there were his wife’s younger brothers Uncle Thadei and Uncle  Clemence.

Standard Vanguard saloon

The family  arrived in Iringa safely, the family  stayed at Chief Adam Sapi’s house just opposite the Mlandege burial grounds. This tiled roof house, now has a maize milling machine installed where the sitting room used to be.
The  headmaster who was running the school before my father was Frank David Mshamu, he was the father of the famous politician Mama Anna Abdallah. Students who were under his care remember Mr. Mshamu as a very tall gentleman, he very smart and was almost always in a full suit, one of his students actually remembers that one of his suits was green in colour. To top that Mr. Mshamu was very strict. My father took over the school from this memorable man.

Iringa Middle School was initially a boys school, it had classes  5 to 8. The school was built on a site that used to be owned by Shia Ismailis who were using it as a club famously known as Gymkhana Club.

The new school buildings were built of burnt bricks, there was also a big  kitchen,  a big sports ground, and on one corner there was  the Gymkhana club office and a big hall besides the office. The office initially became the Headmasters and teachers offices and the hall was used for entertainment and vocational training classes, mostly carpentry. There was a tennis court outside the hall.  The whole school compound was sorrounded by Minyaa trees ( Euphorbial Tirical) and Miti ulaya (Eucalyptus).

 I remember some of our neighbours, there was  Joseph Lupembe and his wife Leah, who later rose to very high position in the Tanzania national  women’s organisation, UWT (Umoja wa Wanawake Tanzania).  The other family who were very close to us, was  Joseph Karuli and his family, we were so close we even took family photos together. Francis and Karuli had known each other also in Njombe.

It was from starting this time that I have memories of my childhood, I have no memories of Njombe, although when I went there for the first in my adult hood I thought some places were familiar..