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Tanzania Email Travelogue 2009
The slideshow of this travelogue is now available for viewing in the photo album section. These emails will be taken down shortly as most of their content (with pictures!) is in the slideshow.
Please view it here: Tanzania 09 Part 1
and here: Tanzania 09 Part 2
(newest messages at the bottom of the page!) Some extra emails from Anne have been filled in and new ones added! (marked in RED)
January 13, 2009
Hello everyone!
This is my first time to try a group email. I truly hope it works as Africa often delivers surprises! Last night the power surges here were frightening. The walls had a peculiar odor and then 3 bulbs burst in our room. One guest had a small wall fire, the lodge washing machine jumped across the room and is defunct, the lodge blender blew up and of course the internet was gone. Next we lost our water. Anne was furious, she changed out of her nightie and marched up to complain. Then next thing I knew our room was filled with Africans trying to remedy the problem. Behind the mosquito netting I scrunched up in the bed and let them go to it!
We are in the small town of Arusha, situated between Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro. This is where the war crime trials for Rwanda are being held. Everyone is delighted that Barak Obama has been elected in the U.S.A. There are t shirts, table clothes, posters all celebrating his success. People are filled with hope that he understands Africa. Anne and me too, although Anne is his very best fan.
Since we have been here we have placed a $9,000 book order in the "infamous" Kase book store. All business students should view this immensely profitable African owned company. The merchandise is crammed into the tiny space that has changed little over our 3 years coming here. The owner/manager works in a closet. The whole place is dark, dusty and crammed with books in piles clear to the ceiling. People maintain courtesy while climbing over one another trying to negotiate the small premises. There are wooden carvings from Kenya, tiny little aisles, two crooked stands filled with dusty postcards and merchandise spilling off shelves. Books are in Kiswahili and English. The textbook supplies are excellent. AND...........they are the only book store we have found that accepts VISA. Mandatory for the Charity! We have grown so fond of the personel. The owner and his wife are Mzees (very old) The store fills up with nuns, evangelicals, white safari travellers, children purchasing one precious school book, teachers intent on stretching every penny and us! They receive huge orders which they package up and an armed uniformed guard stands watch as the boxes move onto the broken sidewalk outside.
Some of our order will go by bus to Iringa, an African town near our project at Mufindi. Some we will pick up tomorrow to take to an old German East African town to a preschool that has 91 children in one room. Most of those children are HIV/Aids orphans who cannot go on to grade one because they don't have school fees. It will be fun to do our delivery there because the books will be received like gold.
It is stunningly beautiful here right now. There are many vivid exotic tropical flowers and it is about 28 degrees. People are very poor but so industrious. Our heads swivel back and forth as we try to take it all in. Ladies with huge loads on their heads and a cell phone in their hand, ragged entrepreneurs working at repairing discarded shoes, men running with two wheeled carts laden beyond belief, dukas (tiny shops) promising the world and ladies working treadle machines on the sidewalk. Everywhere there are plant shops growing along the road ways. Today our taxi driver stopped to fill one tire with air as we had been travelling on a nearly impassable dirt (eroded rock) road. We pulled up waiting our turn at the air hose. A huge bang exploded and people came flying out of the repair area. One man quite badly hurt. Apparently no one could face the loss of an old worn tire so it was being filled with air one more time. Poverty is just a given and life is a vibrant struggle. Anne and I love being here. You feel so immediate and our efforts are embraced.
Thursday we leave for Tanga on the ocean near the Kenyan border.It is an old slave town. More recently they had huge sisal plantations but then the world learned how to make synthetic rope. We are going at the invitation of an Islamic gentleman to observe bee keeping as a sustainable income for people. In exchange we will provide books for the school. It is a 6 hour drive and we will be staying in an African hostel. A new experience for Anne and me!
Thank you all for your support, energy and interest in our efforts. We LOVE hearing from home. Please send those emails. They are so sustaining when we are just a tiny bit frustrated at times because we can't make Africa do quite what WE might want.
Love,
Ruth
January 18, 2009
Jambo Canada !
Sometimes the expression "Suck it up Buttercup" applies here in Africa ! I can hear my Dad saying "Lorimer girls have stamina-no complaints" so I'm not complaining just sharing ! Showers- not a deep topic, right ? But I have to tell you showers in Canada are boring. How many adventures do we have in our showers? In Arusha, in the fanciest lodge that we stay in, the shower is a small room with two windows, with painted green walls. It is an elongated triangle with one right angle and one obtuse angle.(two ?) In the right angle there is a small seat and up above a long shelf for one piece of soap. The soap looks like a pale green peppermint paddy or a slightly larger toonie. Only one for the week we were there because Anne said we had to save the other one for where there is no soap at all. She can't see very well without her glasses so she didn't notice or didn't mind the long trail of ants crawling in an abstract pattern up the walls. There were hundreds of them each carefully following the others. Investigation revealed a small hole, like a mouse hole, under the seat. They travelled in their artistic style up to the window on the obtuse part. Each morning there was a pile of fresh dirt and bodies on the floor. It tends to make one wash faster and maybe use more of the soap than one planned to. It is very difficult to balance the temperature from the huge old fashioned shower head. When it was burning I tended to flick water towards the ants to scald them and when it was freezing I hurried up ! The last day of frantic washing and the precious soap simply disappeared..........an orifice maybe !!!
I learned it was all training for the African hostel shower. There the single coiled bulb hung from a vividly water stained roof. The tub came from Noah's ark. It had large gouges in the enamel that were many rust shades. Tanga was 35 degrees and sweat-film humid. So it was okay that the water was only cold and without a shower curtain it sprayed the room and and sank into the torn linoleum. One towel for our stay. 62 and a model of stamina !
We took the 7 hour drive in a Land Rover from Arusha to Tanga. Our favourite driver, PJ, drove so well. The buses play chicken racing down the narrow tarmac to reach fresh passengers before their rivals. It was fascinating to observe life flashing by. "Sleeping policemen" (large speed bumps in the road) are an attempt to slow the traffic in the villages. Along the route uniformed armed police stop vehicles and check everything and then, in our case, took the driver behind the vehicle to demand 5,000 shillings-5 dollars for sodas as it was a hot day "joto sana". That is a LOT of money here. The officer also wanted Anne's camera but she told him she had a huge husband who would be very angry.
Only 5 minutes left ! I am going to send this epistle before it disappears but I will continue when I pay more shillings. Please excuse the "verboseness" but there may not be internet in Mufindi where we fly to tomorrow.---------There is no spell check either. pole sana, sorry!
Love to you all,
Ruth
January 18, 2009
Hello again,
We were going to Tanga to meet Mohamed, whom we had already met through friends in Vancouver. Mohamed is a Tanzanian muslim and he runs an NGO in Tanga. He is an arresting looking gentleman, very tall with a white fez, a shiny bald head, not slim and speaks compulsively as he is so consumed by his Charity and the desire help Tanzanians. He attended university in London. He has built a delightful school with a lovely courtyard. He is helping women through micro finance to open an Arabic restaurant. He has started a butterfly facility and earns the income for the Charity from bee keeping. We wanted to investigate the bee keeping for our area in Mufindi. Anne and I brought books for the school from our purchases in Arusha.
The bees are actually African killer bees. That is a bit daunting but apparently they make the best honey. The hives are constructed in one room of the school. It is actually a wooden hive that is modelled on a Canadian plastic one that extracts the honey by centrifugal force. Mohamed's reps. will come to Mufindi to teach the people there. He guarantees income for three years. Mohamed got so caught in his enthusiasm that he forgot it was Friday, prayer day. Then he had to return us to the hostel and rush to the mosque. About 85% of the coastal people are of mixed Arabic descent. The women are often dressed in the black bouie-bouie (chador) and the men wear white dresses to the ground. Another hostel resident went to meet with Mohamed in shorts he told her he would wait while she chose something more comfortable for her discussion with him. We are trying to be aware of local customs and not offend.
I don't think I have ever been SO hot in my life time. The beds in the hostel are narrow with very firm foam mattresses. They have been used for a long time and have body grooves in them that remind me of ski tracks. Once in and your position is irrevocable. Anne and I looked like two elderly sleeping beauties with our arms crossed in the coffin position under mosquito netting that fitted tightly to the mattress. The ancient air conditioner was defunct. We used the wonderful little reading flashlights Terry got us to try and get lost in our books. Sleep---nope!
When we get to Mufindi we have to find out if the tea plantations use chemicals. If so the honey will be contaminated. Still it is an interesting exploration as sustainable income would mean so much.
When it was time to leave Mohamed took us to airport that was a very good thing. Our Muzungu (pale homely foreigner) luggage was way too heavy. After a heated discussion our largest bags had to go by bus. We boarded a 12 seat Caravan. Every seat was filled. We had only one pilot and the windshield was cracked and pitted. We went to the Island of Pemba and Zanzibar on the way to Dar es Salaam. Each time passengers got off new ones crammed on. The Indian ocean is beautiful and we loved getting an ariel view.
Love you guys,
Ruth
January 28, 2009 11:41:35 AM PST (CA) NEW
Dear Family and Friends,
A long absence from the computer and the usual technological challenges. We left Dar behind and flew to the verdant hills of Mufindi.
Landing on the grassy runway at Mgwazi we're met by Geoff Fox. During the 40 min. drive to his Highland Farm he entertains us with his impressive stockpile of stories ranging from successful NGO projects to a real life adventure involving his pilot Souki, a diminutive vivacious Argentinean who recently was unable to get her landing gear down and after many attempts and only minutes of fuel remaining followed the advice of an engineer who encouraged her to use ANY liquid available to pour into the necessary place. Fortunately she didn't have to resort to her own bodily fluids as a few mouthfuls of liquid were left in her water bottle. People were lined up on the edge of the runway applauding her successful landing!
While Ruth is recuperating from a nasty cold, I am taken to Mdabulo by Geoff Knight who is the capable new Canadian recruit helping with the Foxes humanitarian projects. This area, situated on a high plateau overlooking the Mufindi hills, was once a thriving mission established by Italian monks. During an Africanization church policy the monks returned home. We drive by the imposing church they built, meet Father Duma (a Tanzanian priest) and stop at the kindergarten where we meet Christine, a 19 year old Austrian Gap student surrounded by 90 boisterous children. Her teaching resources include 3 books and 3 drums! I'm hoping we can quickly locate materials for her. Next is Mdabulo Hospital where 700 HIV patients are receiving their ARVs twice a month. A busy place - lots of people stoically waiting. Piles of bricks and lines in the red dirt mark the future sites for the planned CTC (Care Treatment and Counseling Centre) and surgery unit. Lack of funds halts work on these projects. Money will be found somewhere as the need is great!
Next we meet Sister Cecelia,a stooped 86 year old woman who has raised 42 AIDS orphans on her own. Her deeply lined face hold many stories. She presently has 10 orphans in her small home and at the moment has no food. I ask Geoff to drive to the nearest duka (store) to purchase staples and treats for her and the orphans. This spirited wizened woman is a Tanzanian hero and should be recognized for providing hope and love to so many children. I was wishing the CBC could be there to capture what Sister Cecelia has managed to accomplish.
Speaking of hope, it was Inauguration Day, and we return to the farm to participate in the festivities from afar. An electrical storm interferes with the t.v. reception but after much fiddling with wires we're in time to toast President Obama with red wine and hear his inspirational speech. It's a perfect end to the day.
Much love,
Anne
January 28, 2009
Hello Everyone,
The computer internet took a direct hit from lightning here and it has been out for about two months. Geoff Fox's son Alexander, came from Dar es Salaam for five days to fix it. There has been about a week and a half where we knew nothing of the world. I had a few sick days and spent a little time in bed. Boo to that ! I missed Baraks presidential speech but Anne gave me a dancing rousing rendition. I hope someone has saved it !! East Africa was absoutely exstatic and filled with hope. The peace Corps kids woking in the area say it is nice to be American again. They look at us with sadness when Steven H. is mentioned!!
The three villages here are green and the maize and bananas are flourishing. The early rains have come. Around noon the heavens open and the deluge begins. In one two hour period 29 milimetres fell! Lightning flashes and the thunder made us think we were going to be blown right out of our Igoda Library and fly off down to the valley.
Little children come to school in bare feet with no breakfast and then sit in classroms shivering in tattered thin uniforms. Despite that when Mr. Sapula marched us around to say Habari zas abui (What is the news this morning? ) They all yelled out in unison "1-2-3 Good morning to you Mama Anna and Mama Rootie !" We had wet eyes and there was lots of Canadian snuffling going on. It has been a sobering return though, when we are at home it is easy to think that Our Aid is changing life for the better. It is...... but not at the pace we had envisioned. Extreme poverty is just bloody awful and it touches everything. Aids seems to be affecting every other mud dwelling in the villages. Little waifs stand outside in the morning as we drive to school. They wave wildly shouting AAAAAHHH to you, chickens dart across the greasy red dirt roads and Moms with babies tied in kangas on their backs smile shyly.
The library at Igoda School has been declared the best library for a primary school(elementary) in all of Tanzania. We were greatlly bouyed up with this rumor until we arrived. Sauda, the young lady we hired to become the teacher/librarian won a scholarship to university. Her marks averaged 95%. Tanzania offered her a 100% scholarship and of course off she went. The entire student body subsequently went on boycott because the country then reneged on its promises saying students had to pay 20% of their own fees. We met with Sauda in Dar es Salaam. We were able to pay her fees which were all of $200.00 a fortune here. Sauda has lost both her parents to Aids and she and her sister send money to her grandmother who is raising Sauda's two younger brothers!
A new librarian from the village was hired. She has only the equivalent of grade 10. Her English is minimal so she does not read any of the English books to the children. It is Anne's and my impression that the library had become a dusty shrine. Children used to peer in the windows several students deep just waiting to come in. Only one partial class of twenty was coming each day. Oh dear !!! We both felt GLUM. However a call from Don and he reminded me that last year no one knew what a shelf was. True! Anne and I have rolled up our sleeves. It is like being on practicum----three days of cleaning and planning.
Then Mr. Sapula, the headmaster came to ask if we would teach all the teachers English each day. He brought a musty thick 1982 English text book to guide us. This was a phenominal breakthrough representing huge trust in us and a willingness to become vulnerable before white foreign ways.
We have changed the course to English conversation and are coming to love our "students". We create a dialogue, act it out, make a pocket chart full of the sentences and had each one make a puppet of themselves. The puppets engage in conversation. It is absolutey delightful. The teachers had never before held scissor or a glue stick. We found an old box of tiny movable eyes and they glued a pair on each puppet. It is easier for a puppet to talk than a teacher who might be in charge of as many as 90 students in his/her class each day!!
Fodia,Joel, Joshua, Kilimu, Atilio, Ecupa.... all 11, come diligently in dowdy ill-fitting clothes and work their hearts out. Today Bernadette sent us a tiny note accompanied with five liitle chicken eggs thanking us for the class. Before I get too maudlin I must tell you about one student trying to print Hello continually forgot the O. Her puppet kept shouting out "Hell Anne--Hell Rootie" which got our attention!
Next Anne and I began planning again with Joseph Sapula's help. While one of us has half a class in the library the other one takes the rest of the class in their own classroom. We use the library stories in English. Today one class, Grade 7 equivalent did Billy Goats Gruff with me. I made goat masks, and some strange donar had sent an alien costume which became the troll ! Desks pushed together became the bridge and I hauled grass in from the field. Everyone knows what a goat is, and they loved the troll. A new English word everyone needs to get on in the first world. EH ? I have NOT taught them that!!
Anne is doing creative things as well and the library is coming back to life. We see hundreds of pairs of smiling eyes once again !! Our hours, well we should be on strike but the teachers here, when fully qualified, make $100.00 a month and grow their own maize with the help of the students.
One more quick story. All the supples here on Fox Farm are kept in a "go-down". Ours is the foundation of a house that was never built. It has a roof with a few plastic panels for lighting. It has its own watchman (ascari) with a big panga knife. It also has several padlocks on the way in. Anne and I were trying to get in with all the different keys and I was standing there on a bunch of siafu, (Army Ants) on the move. I did not realize my serious faux pax for a few moments. Once into the go-down the ants began their ascent biting at every fold in my jeans. I began yelling. I mean YELLING ! Anne tried to fend off the horrified watchman while I ripped down my underpants in a highly motivated removal clutch, grab, St. Vitus dance effort. You will all be glad to know I was successful. Anne, the heartless woman, was convulsed !!
We live for your emails! Please feel free to send them on as I can't add new names that some of you have been asking about. NOTHING is simple here.
Thank God for friends and family,
Love, Ruth
February 1, 2009 11:30:53 AM PST (CA) NEW
Subject: Back to School
Greetings from stormy Mufindi,
Ruth and I return to a heartwarming welcome at Igoda School. Big smiles and sparkling eyes, greetings and expressions of recognition as children call out "Annie, Rootie". As we enter the classrooms children shout,"1,2,3" and in unison they exuberantly chant,"Goooood morn-ing madam." As they remain standing we reply in a mixture of Kiswahili and English and then ask them to please sit down. Loudly and together they reply,"We - are - sitting - down." Lots of tearful moments as we go from classroom to classroom bursting with 65 children or more.
Heroic teachers working for $100 a month in overflowing classrooms with no supplies (white chalk and wacking sticks I don't believe qualify as supplies) and few if any books. Igoda's headteacher, Joseph Sapula, has wonderful leadership qualities and is dedicated to improving the learning environment for children. He works on weekends to prepare Grade 7 students for their national exams. In addition we see him in his shamba hoeing and planting in his spare time. With a dated and deadly English grammar book in hand, he enters the library and asks Ruth and I to help Igoda's teachers with their understanding of English. With some their English is very minimal (much like our Kiswahili) and yet they are all required to teach 40 min. of English a day.
We readily accept Joseph's request and are deeply touched by the trust he has placed in us. As we leaf through this boring English grammar book with its parts of speech and tenses etc. we quickly decide this would not only put us to sleep but goodness knows what their reaction would be. Instead we believe the most effective route in a short period of time is to teach conversational English. Since we're seldom at a loss for words this seems perfect!
We write simple dialogues which we dramatize in front of these eager and trusting teachers. Their expressions range from amused to perplexed but we soldier on. They're vulnerable but at the same time courageous as they say, "Please help us. Our English needs to get better." We have them make stick puppets of themselves to use with partners to practice the dialogue. Using glue sticks and art supplies is a new experience for all and it's truly amazing to see people delve in, pull together and help each other. Oh my goodness!
The teachers express their concern about different English accents and expressions. I tell them not to worry as we we're teaching them "Canadian English" which is as neutral as it gets. I explain that compared to other English, Australian or American accents Canadian English is in the middle. It's the most comfortable place to be!! I have to confess that "eh" much to Ruth's consternation slips into my part of the lesson!
Daily we encounter a strong thirst for knowledge amongst teachers and students. Both of us are teaching full time either in the classrooms or in the teaching library. I use "big books" and puppets created by my dear friend Liz Priestman and I. The main ingredients require lots of drama, exaggerated action and a roomful of laughter. It's quite a workout but so much fun and very rewarding especially when the children can be coaxed into taking parts. A new experience for them and an exhausting experience for this retired (?) teacher.
We think of this as our Tanzanian practicum - late nights making materials before the generator goes off. Cut, colour and paste - I thought those years were over.
Sending lots of love your way,
Mama Annie
February 1, 2009 12:02:21 PM PST (CA) NEW
Subject: Stark realities
My dear family and friends,
Ruth and I are told that 40% of the children of Igoda school have lost one or both parents. The towns of Iringa and Mbeya and the area in between have the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the country. The Mufindi area where Igoda is located is not far from this deadly path.
Dr. Lena, a Finnish pediatrician, who has doctored for 27 years in Tanzania will be working for the Foxes charity 10 days a month. She was recently voted as one of the 64 most caring doctors in the world as she's devoted her life to improving the health of Tanzanian children. Lena proudly shows us pictures of the 4 children she has adopted here one of which was found in a latrine.
We look forward to our sundowners and dinners with her as she shares her insights and experiences. To acquaint herself with the needs in this area she visits many houses in Igoda village and notices indentations on dirt floors indicating where people sleep, smokey houses with no chimneys and malnourished HIV women and children struggling to grow their own food. Mufindi is 6000 ft. above sea level and during their winter sleeping on the frozen ground is an inconceivable hardship especially for the young and elderly. Perhaps surplus army cots could be rounded up and sent here. Something - anything to get people off the ground.
Lena returns from her house calls after a 9 hr. day with red eyes from smokey mud houses and flea bites from dogs - an occupational hazard. She says these homes are the poorest she's seen in this country. Always positive she is undaunted and determined to help. This warmly compassionate woman declares how the people she visits gives her strength. Our world needs more Dr. Lenas!
The contrast to daily life at home is startling and makes me think that Canada is a place of far too much while Tanzania is a place of far too little.
Much love to you all and lala salama,
Anne
February 1, 2009
Hi Everyone,
Saturday night Anne and I had the greatest treat. We were invited out for dinner to Jenny and Geoff Knight's home. They live right beside the orphans and now work full time for the NGO. They both came from Peace Corps and invite all their fellow former colleagues for dinner Sat. They told us we were the first "grown-ups" they had ever included! Does anyone know if Canada still has C.U.S.O. any more?
These young people all in their late twenties, earning $200.00 a month, work in the area. Here is my favourite story from the evening. One young guy, a big tall young man reached the end of trying to cope with the drop hole latrine. It was so awkward for such a big guy. He saved up all his money and got a little gift from home. Then went into Iringa the nearest good sized town and bought a western style porcelain toilet. He carried it on the public dala-dala and brought it home to his hut. Then he had to be away for 4 days but he had hired a Tanzanian gentleman who said it would be completely installed and working when he arrived home. Four days later he returned and went to use his new facility. The toilet was installed but it had been buried right up to the toilet seat and he had to sit on the seat with his long legs straight out in front of him on the ground!!
The 11 orphans live right next door and come nightly for reading, stories and songs. There is a new wee babe and she has had projectile vomiting since she was brought to the orphanage. She is about 2 weeks old and her Mom died of Aids during her birth. She is SO tiny and no one knew what to do. Fortunately our new pediatric doctor arrived from a nearby Finnish Lutheran mission. Lena, is 60 years old, single and has lived here for 27 years!! She is going to work here in Mufindi 10 days a month. She knew right away that the baby had a valve problem to do with digestion. They put her in a certain position on a pillow and the food is staying down. Lena will have the baby brought to her mission hospital for a possible operation.
Lena has walked the villages and been in the huts where some of the very poorest live. She spoke of flimsy mud huts with leaking thatch roofs with people sleeping on the ground. Both rats and fleas are there too despite a fire with smoke slowly seeping through the thatch. Insects are usually discouraged by this atmosphere. People are weak but she gives them hope and can put them on ARV's but she says they need more nutrition for the drugs to work properly. Peanuts and eggs are important for protein. Chickens here are allowed to have chicks so we are going to try to do something about egg supply.
As usual the generator turn off is looming so I shall tell you Anne and I worked all weekend on school stuff but we did sleep in in our damp unheated accomodations until 7:30 AM. We both live for the Tanganyka boiler outside to heat our water for a shower. A huge barrel of water on a stone barbeque-like construction with a log fire under it heats the water for us once a day. True luxury! We have had six days without rain and glorious temperatures.Today we are back to the downpours.
Some of you have been asking about forwarding our emails. You are most welcome to do so! (or send them the link to this site!)
Eek-------time!
Ruth
February 2, 2009
We just learned today that the very worst insult that you can call a Tanzanian woman or girl is........wait.....an egg!! It means that you are fragile and will break easily. Most women aspire to be strong and to persevere and of course that is what the women here do. As I mentioned before my Dad valued stamina in family members followed second by not complaining and finally not having to bubble (pee) too often while on the way to the Cariboo. He would have been so impressed by the women and children here. The men ? well............
I cannot get over the rapt attention children pay to stories and books with pictures. With no electricity there is no media and books are often concept shattering or bring a whole new world to your attention. Children attend class in tatters but no one seems to notice as all are similarly dressed. I wish I had thousands of "Crocs" (shoes) as many have no shoes and injured toes and feet abound. The uniform white blouse often just has one button covered by a shredded sweater. Zippers don't work and you are very fortunate if you have a pin.
It is Dr. Leena's last day tomorrow and we shall miss her dreadfully. There are books written about her in Finland. She has 4 foster children. One is now 22 and finishing university and she found him because someone had thrown him down a drop hole latrine and she heard him crying and rescued him !!!
Oops no verboseness here as the generator never fails to be the editor!!
Take care all. I must confess I am glad that it is Feb. And I am also proud that Anne and I are not eggs!!
Mama Rootie
February 2, 2009 11:59:21 AM PST (CA) NEW
Sat. Night Social!
Wonderful Family and Friends,
Geoff Knight or G.K. (who now manages Geoff Foxes' projects) and his new bride Jenny invites us to attend their regular Saturday night dinner at their home beside the orphanage. G.K. announces this will be a different Saturday night happening as it's the first time they've had "grown ups" to these gatherings. He's a wonderful softly spoken young man but we can't let his comment slip by. "G.K. do you mean golden oldies, old farts?" "No, no, no - you know what I mean." With a big sigh we say,"Yes, we get it!"
Torrential rain accompanies us on the deeply gouged rural road. The "grown ups" have arrived with a box full of cold Tuskers. I feel like shrieking, "Make way for the wrinklies!" A warm welcome from our hosts, Peace Corp workers and volunteers working in the area. G.K. and Jenny's resident menagerie - 2 dogs, 2 puppies, 1 cat and Melvin the baby vervet monkey greet us enthusiastically. Melvin takes an immediate liking to my leg and begins to climb up which results in me hopping around the room as discreetly as possible. For awhile he becomes bored with my antics and scurries over to Ruth. Melvin's is most adorable when he's asleep on the cat's tummy. But not so adorable when he's making his rounds and marking his territory!
A delightful evening full of stories and seeing G.K. and Jenny's pictures of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with a group of secondary students from Mdabulo, a neighbouring village. Imagine kids who had never been out of the Mufindi area suddenly swimming in the Indian Ocean in Dar and climbing Africa's highest peak! Ten students made it to the top of Kili - over 19,000 ft. Everyone had looks of wonder and joy on their beautiful faces. An unforgettable milestone in their lives and all made possible by these amazingly dedicated young people.
Dinner conversation included tales of joy but also the trials and tribulations of Peace Corp workers. These youthful American volunteers are expected to live and work in local situations on $200 a month. One particular Peace Corp worker is described as very large - a behemoth really! He can no longer cope with the small slit in the village choo (toilet) and with great difficulty purchases a regular North American toilet. Installation day finally arrives but he has to be away for the big event and leaves very specific instructions. After the weekend he returns to find his new toilet embedded in the ground and the seat flush with the ground. Oh dear, he's gone from a squatting position to sitting on the floor with his legs straight out! This will toughen him up for sure.
Christine, an Austrian volunteer working at the mission is told to move out of her accommodation which is beside Father Duma. People in the area may talk which means she is now sharing a room with several nuns. She's only 19 and has a big responsibility working with 90 kindergarten children.
Peter, a serious and kind hearted young man, is a science graduate from the States and teaches Physics at the local high school. He is helping us create a library for the school and has begun a reading club for the students. Many secondary students stay at school on weekends until 10 p.m. I helped him choose books for his first reading club and when he asked those who were interested in listening to stories he turned around to find the whole class of students following him.
Amazing dedicated young people who are working hard to make a difference. Gives us lots of hope, eh!!
Love to all,
Anne
February 6, 2009 11:52:01 AM PST NEW
Tanzanian Rain
Hi Everyone,
I LOVE hearing from you all. Thank-you so much. It adds normalcy to my life which at times I am sorely in need of.
Today at about 2:00 PM. the lightning, thunder and enormous raindrops attacked the Igoda Library. It was like being inside a drum with 100 beaters pounding on the corrugated iron. I was shouting at full volume and not one child could hear me. We all ended up just grinning at each other.
Monday is a landmark day. We begin "meal in a mug". Our outdoor kitchen has two functioning Tanzanian stove/ovens. We had a big
planning meeting and it was decided that we can afford to provide food 4 days a week instead of the planned two. Most children only eat one meal a day,Mama Ivan and Mama Fereda will walk to the school early in the morning as it will take about an hour and a half to get the huge water pots boiling. We hope we can find enough dry fire wood. We are going to Iringa to get the last of the nutritious ingredients. About 545 children will be fed. This is absolutely wonderful as we see many signs of malnutrition. Rust colored hair, thin hair, tiny thin boney children are all signs.We notice little ones drifting off to sleep while propped by the four or five others that they share a desk with. The children that are HIV positive need food so that the ARVs can be effective. Anne and I can never eat all the box lunch that the Lodge provides so we give some to the kids. They mob us and unfortunately we are not able to be like Jesus with the loaves and fishes!
We are absolutely thrilled that the food programme is starting. I plan to take lots of pictures so you can see. We need all your hope power to fend off the rain as it will all take place outside until our community building will is finished.
Oh oh generator deadline.........
Take care I will try to continue tomorrow.
Love to all,
Ruth
February 8, 2009 9:55:39 AM PST NEW
Annie's Ambulance
Hello Family and Friends,
Another "typical" Igoda day. We arrived at school feeling sure this would be the perfect day for Jenny to observe. Wrong - or partially! Joseph Sapula, Igoda's principal, entered the library and said, "Annie, please can you drive the chekechea (chay-ka-chaya, kindergarten) teacher to the dispensary? Cornelia is very sick." I arrived at her house located at the end of the school field where the whole staff had gathered. They carried her out and gently placed her on the backseat with two teachers on either side. I drove pole pole (pole-ay, slowly) up and down the steep and deeply rutted roads for several kilometers. We progressed at a snail's pace managing to manoeuvre between most of the ruts. A loud moan could be heard when I unavoidably hit a bump. Oh dear!
I stopped to pick up Alice, our library assistant, who was also on her way to the dispensary. A long silent line of people were waiting to see the daktari - an efficient but overworked medical officier. Cornelia was carried to a small brick building with only enough room for one bed. Fortunately a teacher had packed bedding for her as this is not provided.
After two hours of "wait and see" which included purchasing medicine for her, leaving money for food and water and visiting the primary school 50 meters away, I returned to Igoda with one of the accompanying teachers. The other teacher remained at Cornelia's bedside. We would return to the dispensary when called.
I was just in time to teach a demonstration lesson for Jenny. Ruth had admirably done double duty while I was away. As Jenny and I entered the Grade 7 classroom a boy was at the front bent over while his teacher was standing above him, her arm held high and her hand firmly gripping a whacking stick. He had received one blow but our surprise appearance stopped further blows. His crime - giving a wrong answer! This form of discipline we're told is quite common in Tanzania. Progress in education and the changes it will bring will hopefully have a positive effect and banish all whacking sticks from classrooms!
Under my arm I carried a "big book" which my friend, Liz, and I had written about a "typical" day at Igoda School. The book included many photographs of children taken last year. Their reading was accompanied with lots of laughter and pointing of fingers as they located themselves and their friends in a variety of poses and activities. This same book was shared with the teachers during our afternoon English class. By 4:00 p.m. we were on the road again to the dispensary to pick up a slightly improved but very weak Cornelia. Arrangements have been made for her to see a specialist at a much larger clinic. She's a lovely caring woman who is greatly loved by her 89 kindergarten children and we truly hope she can be helped.
A full day with opportunities to experience contrasting facets of school and village life. Lots to think about.
Thinking of you. Much love,
Anne
February 8, 2009 10:31:47 AM PST (CA) NEW
Rat on a Platter!
Greetings Family & Friends,
It's time to break past the confines of village/farm life. We're going to Iringa town with Jenny and Geoff. Iringa is a 3 hr. drive away, the first half on teeth chattering, back shaking roads. Finally on the tarmac road we passed roadside vendors selling buckets of passion fruit, mangoes and vegetables, ochre coloured pots of every size and shape and bicycles and carts laden with barrels of pombe - local brew made from bamboo.
Just before the entrance to Irgina we climbed a long windy road lined with red Nandi flame trees. Iringa is situated on a plateau and commands a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. Rows of open fronted shops, piles of roadside merchandise, an enormous open- sided fruit, vegetable and spice market, bulging carts with sacks full of produce and overcrowded dala dalas (mini buses) weaving around throngs of people and cars. This is Iringa - vibrant, colourful and wonderfully chaotic!
We fanned out as we had a long "to do" list to complete. But at the top of our list was a visit to the stunning Neema craft centre where physically handicapped people are taught weaving, battiking, jewellery making. One of their most successful enterprises is making elephant dung paper and note books. Guess what some of you are getting as souvenirs!
We took Jenny and Geoff and their Peace Corp friends to lunch. They chose the place and what a place! We started with dessert first and then after an hour our cheese and tomato sandwiches arrived. We hadn't ordered this but that was okay. What wasn't okay was the grand finale to our meal - out came a partially dead rat on a plank with our waiter continuing to whack it with a stick. Oh my god, I wanted to bolt immediately!!
I'll gladly return to Iringa but can do without their fat furry black creatures! It was a delightful day especially having the opportunity to be with Jenny and Geoff who are filled with enthusiasm and love for this country.
Love to all,
Anne
February 9, 2009 11:57:59 AM PST NEW
A visit to Iringa and then Uji day at Igoda
Jambo, Habari za jioni?
I've been here too long trying to impress with asking you how yourevening is going. No one here is impressed - they keep asking why I am not getting along faster. Why indeed ?
Saturday, Anne and I went with Jenny and Geoff (ex Peace Corps now part of Fox NGO) to the city of Iringa. It is the 3rd largest city in Tanzania. It is mainly an African town-not many msungus (White visitors) to be seen.It takes about 3 hours to drive there. Two hours on the red greasy dirt roads that have almost "erosioned" out of existence. Rain crevasses mean endless jolting and bumping along however Anne and I had farm fever and we needed a little bit of action in a new scene.
This city is bursting with life and is more prosperous than our area. It has a wonderful, colourful market about four city blocks square. You can buy fresh vegetables, baskets, rice, millet, live chickens, guicos, batiks, brooms, solid shamba hoes that look like giant axes, and oh, the fruit and avacados! It even has Tanzanian "I hate you" cards that enable one to chastise whoever is currently an irritation
factor! We decided to treat the poverty stricken Peace Corps for lunch. Before that they took us to a factory/shop to buy crafts. The
whole enterprise is manned by handicapped people that make beautiful artifacts and crafts. Weaving is done on massive old looms, bead work, book making, jewelry, using paper mache beads and also beads made from melted soda bottles, batiking and tie dying too. We just wandered around in awe.
Then we went for lunch at another of their facilities. We didn't know that it was soon to close because they are opening a wonderful new place that feels like upscale tasteful Africa full of local art. Anyway off we went. The food, supposed to be pannis (such a treat) took ages and ages to come and then it was the other Peace Corps order. We ate it any way. Then one guy called out "I didn't see that". What he had seen was our cook coming past us out to the street holding a board in one hand which he was using to whack a rat in the other hand. We HAD already eaten!!
Today we began uji porridge day or "meal in a mug" for the 545 children at the school. Oh my, what an inauguration! Our kitchen is
not finshed and the rain blew in the windows the night before. The Mamas started walking to the school in the dark. They started the fire with kerosene as the wood, fast growing eucalyptus, was soaking wet. We are missing one oven yet to be installed. Huge water containers were hauled up from the valley. Enormous pots had to boil. Everything took way longer than planned. We filled all the little mugs 3/4 full and the children began to arrive. They lined up outside on the road and came down a little path to the kitchen. Their shining. black eyes were as round as saucers. There were many little dips of the knees and whispered asante sanas (thank-you very much). We watched in surprise as most dipped two fingers in and sucked the uji. That was too make it last longer. Another surprise was when the teachers asked for a mug. Apparently they are hungry too.
It was an emotional day and physically tiring too BUT oh the satisfaction!!
Generator looms.
Ruth
February 9, 2009 11:48:06 AM PST (CA) NEW
Uji Day!
Hello dear family and friends,
This morning we arrived at the new unfinished Igoda kitchen situated beside the new unfinished community hall. Early morning images of steaming "surfurias" (saucepans), mounds of plastic mugs in primary colours, enormous tubs, large water filled drum barrels, thinly chopped wet "kuni" (firewood) slowly burning in two new "jikos" (stoves) and a quiet busy hum of activity. Mama Ivan and Mama Farida are preparing the morning "uji" or porridge (Kiswahili dictionary defines it as gruel) for 545 Igoda schoolchildren. This is the first day of "meal in a mug"! The plan is to serve it four days a week as Wed. is a half day.
Mama Ivan and Mama Farida, these two stalwart village woman have been involved with preparations since dawn - collecting and chopping firewood and hauling water. Mama Ivan peels the bark off thick eucalyptus branches and then begins heaving an axe. It isn't easy! Fetching water requires a long hike to the valley below. Soon a water catchment system will be built. On their heels are the diligent and super organizers Geoff and Jenny Knight. Rice, maize, and peanuts have been ground the night before. It takes 1 1/2 hrs. for the water to boil. Finally the ground ingredients are added and then a steady stream of sugar flows into the thickened mixture. The two watchful women stand over the gently boiling porridge constantly stirring with large wooden spoons. The ujii is ready and delicious! On the wet cement flour an assembly line is created - uji is poured into large plastic garbage cans and scooped into platters containing mugs.
Excited hungry children arrive and long lines materialize. Ruth and I hand out steaming mugs of ujii with a gentle warning -"joto sana" (very hot). We're met with quiet "asante sanas" (thank you's) as they join their friends to enjoy their first school snack. In the crowd of children intently bent over steaming cups we see many smiles, smacking of lips and dipping of fingers into the ujii to make it last longer. It's obvious they don't consider it gruel! They actually skip and run back to class. For most this will be their first "meal" of the day. The teachers are eager to have a mug of ujii too. Not surprising especially when they return to classes of 70 or more children.
Family, friends and school children at home (Frank Hobbs school) have pulled together with concerned volunteers and willing Tanzanians to make our "meal in a mug" program possible. Many thanks!! Instead of Igoda's children having to wait until the end of their day for their one meal, they can begin their school day with a hot nutritious mini meal.
Wow, what a day it's been!
Love ya,
Anne
February 14, 2009 12:00:05 PM PST (CA) NEW
The end of our trip is approaching !
Hello all,
I am sorry there have been no emails recently as I have been consumed by the information that both our little granddaughters have been so sick and in the hospital with high high fevers. They are both home now and are slowly on the mend. Whew!!!
Last year when we sent out container from Canada Jo Hadfield was able to procure 220 pairs of "Crocs"(plastic shoes) from Shoppers Drug Mart. It was the end of the season and they cost about a dollar a pair. When we arrived here this year there were about 6 pairs left in the "go-down". They had been saved for emergencies.
When half the Standard 3 class came to the library three days ago they tried to follow our standard procedure of washing their hands in the big blue buckets on either side of the door and wiping little hands on the flimsy towels that we wash out daily. The buckets of water are precious. Girls walk a long way down to the stream in the valley to get water. The bore hole for the pump has collapsed during the rains and can't be repaired for several months until the dry season. The children also slip out of their shoes before entering.This way of behaving is a way instigated by the children themselves completely on their own. It seems the library is experienced as a very priviledged stimulating bright space and they seem to want to honour it. Anyway, three days ago it was teeming down rain in the drum beating quality of the 'light rains" and I managed to get them to skip hand washing but the shoes were coming off no matter what! Little soaked beings dropped their dilapidated shoes and filed in.
Most of the shoes are cheap plastic sandals or half broken flip flops. But a few have ancient looking runners in various states of decay. Icupa, their teacher and I tried to bring those ones in as they would be completely soaked for days if they sat outside. I have also learned that most children who live in mud dwellings have ticks from the walls and jiggers under their toenails from wet mud floors. When I picked up the last pair of shoes I was shocked to realize that there were no soles. They were nonexistant!! This little boy had runner tops but no soles. We went on with the lesson but his name was noted. After our next supply visit to the go-down one beige pair of Crocs was found that looked about the right size. We brought him over all by himself three days later. The shoes were tried on. They fit perfectly ! He kept whispering Asante sana-thank-you very much. When he left the library he didn't go back to class. He ran home. We learned that his father is bringing him and a two year old brother up on his own as Mom had died of Aids when the two year old was born. To date Musa still has his shoes although we know new things are often sold in exchange for food.
Gotta go, Ruth
Anne Pearson
265 Caldecote Road
Victoria , BC V9E 2H3
Phone: 250-479-8671
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