The Slope of Kongwa Hill A Boy's Tale of Africa

The Slope of Kongwa Hill A Boy's Tale of Africa Synopsis

Kongwa, in central Tanzania, was the location in 1947, for the post-World War II, British government's, massive, agricultural 'Groundnut Scheme.' European workers were billeted in shacks while 'houses' were built for them. The 'houses' were likened to 'dog kennels.' Offices were built of creosoted wood. The region was populated by the Wagogo and a plethora of wild animals snakes and insects. The 'Scheme' became a disaster. The terrain was murder on the machines and there was a deadly absence of rain. By 1951 the government abandoned the project - and Kongwa. Meantime, Tanganyika lacked schools for the children of the colonial population. In 1947, a schoolroom was started in a tent. Demand expanded and grew. By the time the 'Scheme' was abandoned a Co-Ed school had been accredited as a secondary school, populated primarily with boarders. The school took over empty buildings. The bulk of the ‘dog kennels’ housed nine students each. The former offices became classrooms. The School was alone in Africa's bush; its encampment spread over two hundred and seventy acres, unfenced and unprotected. Children could wander off at will. Based on his memoirs, this story picks up in January 1952, when, age nine, Anthony Edwards finds himself bound for Kongwa. It is a fascinating account of a sensitive young boy and his journey to a bolder young man. The story recalls the toughness and discipline of boarding school life, aggravated by the primitive location and the dangers of Africa's wilderness. Fights and beatings contrast with animal and reptile confrontations, torrential storms and locust infestation; terrifying encounters with puff adders and black mambas; running away, hunting safaris for food and lioness encounters. Boy Scout camp-outs, and a forbidden coming of age romance, climax in a kaleidoscope of never-to-be-repeated experiences, recounted with passion and, at times, delightful humour.

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