Getting Old is to Grow

Beniel Seka

The above statement was uttered by one retired female officer of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT) in 2012. Her name is Mrs Urassa aka Mama Meta. She mentioned those words when we met at Professor Isaria Kimambo’s residence in Makongo Juu, Kinondoni District. Both of us had gone to see Mrs Mary Kimambo, the professor’s wife who was sick and bed-ridden. She had been invalidated and could not walk.

I had arrived at the house a few minutes earlier and led to a room where Mrs Kimambo was bed-ridden. When Mrs Urassa joined us, I immediately recognised her. “I presume you are Mrs Urassa,” I said without waiting for introduction. She looked puzzled. She was wondering where she had seen me. I read her thoughts and continued, “I met you at the Ministry of Education in 1977.”

“Wow!” she exclaimed. “So many years ago! You have very good memory.”

“Yes. Thirty six years ago. But I remember you because you signed my clearance to enable me to join a masters degree programme at the University of Dar es Salaam in 1977. Every time I look at the clearance certificate in my file, I remember you. The Ministry was reluctant in giving such a release because it usually caused a shortage of teachers in the school. You helped me to obtain it in good time.”

“Aha” I remember it now. That was when I was in charge of the section dealing with higher education. I am glad you were successful. I retired a few years ago and started an NGO for the senile known as ‘Getting Old is to Grow (GOIG)’.”

I immediately recalled Goig in Mbezi Beach along Bagamoyo road or Mwai Kibaki road, to be more up-to date. Conductors of commuter buses always call out passengers disembarking at that bus stand. ”I know the place,” I assured her.

“You are welcome to join,” she expressed her wish to let learn more about the organization. “And who are you?” I can’t recall a specific thing about you,” she confessed.

“My name is Beniel Seka. After obtaining a Master of Science degree, I was employed by the Institute of Education at the main campus of the University of Dar es Salaam as a Curriculum Developer. Mrs Kimambo had been at the Institute much earlier and served as Curriculum Developer for Home Economics previously called Domestic Science.”

“He is the founder of Pi Day in Tanzania,” said Mrs Kimambo, who had been following our conversation closely. “He has written a book called ‘Siku ya Pai (Pi Day)’ published by Kapsel Educational Publications.”

“What is pi day?” inquired Mrs Urassa.

“Nothing very strange,” I said with confidence. “You will recall when you were in school you learned about pi. Your teachers must have told you that pi, represented by the Greek letter π is 22 over 7 or 3.14. The 3.14 version has been used to create a day to celebrate the mathematics constant and it has been named Pi Day.”

“I did not like my teacher because he wanted us to cram formulae which involved pi. He did not tell us where pi came from. He just forced us to remember the formula for calculating areas of circles and volumes of circular tins or tanks,” she complained.

“Don’t worry, it is quite simple. Pi means circumference of a circle divided by its diameter. You probably know that circumference is the distance around a circle and diameter is the length of the chord through the centre. You can do this practically to verify that pi is approximately equal to 3.14. You can use various circular objects to do this. At the end you can find an average to obtain your pi. I’m sure you will enjoy the activity because the value you will obtain will be yours.”

“I am enjoying it now. I wish I could go back to school. I would surprise my teacher,” she said with a sign of relief.

“You have learnt something new, haven’t you? Remember that you said getting old is to grow and therefore to learn new things as you grow,” I reminded her.

“Yes I proclaimed that. You said that 3.14 were used to set a day for pi. How was it done?” she inquired further.

“The figure 3 is used to represent the third calendar month, that is March and 14 represents the 14^th day. So March 14 is Pi Day and it is celebrated worldwide.”

She could not hold her happiness about what she heard. “What do you do on Pi Day?”

“We sing piday songs, conduct charity walk chanting mathematics slogans, watch mathematics exhibitions and listen to speeches given by mathematics educators. At 1:59 we sing the popular birthday song: ‘Happy Pi Day to you x2; happy Pi Day everybody; happy pi day to you.’ Pi calculated to 5 decimal places is 3.14159. The number 159 is used to mark the climax of the celebration and is called the pi hour,” I explained. “Pi Day celebration in 2013 will be held at Mnazi Mmoja.”

“I will be alert. I will also inform those who are not aware of this.  I have grown haven’t I? Keep it up and don’t hesitate to join us.”

 “I agree with you. Getting old is to grow,” I said in appreciation.

The 2013 Pi Day celebration took part as scheduled. It was preceded by pre-Pi Day activities conducted at Azania Secondary School. The guest of honour at the Pi Day was the Assistant Director of Education in the Prime Minister’s office for Regional Administration and Rural Government (TAMISEMI), Mr Maulid. Pupils and teachers marched from Azania Secondary School to Mnazi Mmoja, singing and chanting mathematical messages to the onlookers and the public in general. It was a successful celebration.

“I hope I will live longer to see more of these activities. I want to learn more,” she concluded as she said prepared to leave.

“By the way, I almost forgot,” I told her. “There is another occasion for pi. On 22^nd July is Pi approximation day. This day has been set for those who think twenty two over seven deserves recognition. Thus 22 is for the day and 7 is the seventh month of the calendar year.”

“I will be ready for it,” she said and left.

Very recently I met Mr Oseno of Tanzania Institute of Education. He always addresses me as a senior citizen to honour my retirement. “How are you senior citizen?” he greeted me.

“I am fine. Actually I am growing. Remember getting old is to grow,” I told him jokingly.

“Goig,” he said indicating that he was aware of the organization. “Join them in Mbezi Beach”, he suggested. “I know you have come to inform me about pi approximation day. I know this year it is on Monday 22^nd July. I am aware of it.”

“Well, I hope you will enjoy the day,” I told him.

End.

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