Tanzania Email Travelogue 2011
Below are emails written by Ruth and Anne during their 2011 trip to Tanzania. Emails will be updated as they become available. Later in the year a slideshow will be produced combining these emails with photos of the trip. NEWEST EMAILS APPEAR AT THE BOTTOM! last post Feb 2, 2011
See the previous year's slidesshows on the Book Box Travels page
January 9, 2011
ANNE writes:
Dear Family and Friends,
Where ever we go we are greeted with “karibu tena” (welcome again). Tanzanians and Canadians share a similar level of politeness. It is wonderful to be back! On arrival at midnight we were immediately enveloped in Dar es Salaam’s oppressive humidity. Our driver speeding at 100 km. and running all the red lights took advantage of the sleeping city, deserted streets and got us to our hotel in record time! Ruth and I toasted our arrival with a cold tall Kilimanjaro beer.
From our window at sunrise a fleet of freighters were hugging the horizon, small sailboats (dhows) with half moon shaped sails passed by and fishermen with large nets were seeking their daily catch. We met Sauda Sebastian, a bright lovely young women we are sponsoring at the University of Dar es Salaam. Sauda was Igoda Library’s first teacher librarian but when she received a scholarship to university she rightly jumped at the opportunity. She accompanied us on our quest to visit several book publishing companies. We managed two. Our slow progress was to due to either hole-in-the-wall places or remote circuitous locations. Our seasoned perseverance paid off as we made valuable connections and purchased much needed books.
Although I am fascinated by the coastal Swhahili heritage, palm fringed coastline and intriguing chaos of Dar es Salaam it was a relief to fly to Mufindi where the climate is Canadian friendly. As we were entering Mufindi airspace the weather drastically changed – a deluge of pounding rain shook the small plane making our landing on Ngwazi’s grassy field questionable. Mufindi’s patchwork quilt scenery had disappeared from sight. Thankfully our Thunder Bay Canadian pilot found a hole in the clouds. Geoff Fox, the NGO’s originator, was waiting for us and didn’t seem to be disconcerted by our heavy luggage bearing gifts and supplies and boxes of books.
This year we are staying at the volunteer accommodation - Protea Point with its stunning view and nearness to the Children’s Village (orphanage) and Igoda village. Upendo, Protea’s cook, gave us a warm Mufindi welcome. It’s not surprising her name means 'love' in Kiswahili. I think her delightful 2 year old wondered who these strange wazees (old people) were! He has warmed to our foreign ways and now initiates dances and songs with us. There is a resident dog and cat which hopefully means the rats have found a more friendly environment to reside.
Our first night there was a timid knock on our door. To our delight we discovered 40 children from the orphanage (across the road and a long down a pathway) had come to say “karibu tena” (welcome again) to Mama Annie and Mama Rootie. A heartwarming delightful surprise! The oldest orphans, some carrying babies on their backs, were leading the younger ones – much like a scene from the Pied Piper! Our living room crammed with shy smiling faces! Ruth and I quickly retrieved the beautiful wooden building toys made and donated by her friend Eric Jalu. These colourful toys quickly transformed the atmosphere as children became totally engrossed in creating structures, each unique and beautiful. For these two teachers the scene was pure magic. There is a Kiswahili saying, “Zawadi ni tunda la moyo” (A gift is a fruit from the heart). Eric Jalu’s generous gift provided a delightful experience for the children and us.
Our donors and interested family and friends would be so impressed with the progress the Foxes NGO has accomplished. With the guiding light provided by Geoff and Vicky Fox and Geoff and Jenny Knight and their team of Tanzanians significant changes are occurring to improve the quality of people’s lives. Yesterday we visited a struggling family. We were welcomed to their crumbling thatched mud home by a mother with TB who is HIV positive, a malnourished toddler and a bibi (grandmother) who is looking after this female lead household. On the mud floor we sat on low wooden stools across from a smoking fire. In the corner guinea pigs huddled. One was tonight’s dinner. Through Jenny’s home visits she discovered the condition of this family and obtained the necessary medicine to help the mother and food to improve the family’s nutrition. Just before leaving the grandmother ran out to their shamba (small garden) and picked a container of small peaches for us – an overwhelming act of generosity. Much of daily Mufindi life is shaped by the challenge to make ends meet. Giving her gift of peaches gave this bibi as much joy as it did for us to receive it.
Thinking of you,
Anne
January 16, 2011, Full life and near death continue!
RUTH writes:
Hello All,
Early on our fourth morning, with Hussain at the wheel of the taxi we are off to the domestic airport for our flight to Mufindi, Tanzania! Fox Air Links promised they could transport us and ALL our luggage in a Cessna 208 Caravan. Thank goodness as now we have several boxes of books to add to our load. Our pilot is a Canadian from Thunder Bay, eh? Once air borne we are told we will land in the Selou to pick up German Safari travellers. Down we go--they have only backpacks--of course. Airborne again we fly into grey-black clouds. Rains pound the metal outside.The rains are "Noah" quality. Anne and Ruth quake, possibly one of us prays, we both become nauseous! The air sickness bag is a small blue envelope!!! I try to read instruments that Don has taught me. It is time for "Suck it up Buttercup"! A few rays of sun appear in a yellow glow, thankfully we dive through it to land on the soaking green grass of the Unilever tea plantation airstrip. We are at Ngwawazi and Geoff Fox, British expat, head of our NGO has driven on to the strip to meet us.
Fast forward to today, January 16th !! We have lived several lifetimes since landing and negotiating the greasy red dirt roads to Mufindi and Highland Fox Farm. It has rained thunderous rains part of each day. We are installed in the newly opened volunteer quarters at Protea Point. Anne and I are in one room while Dr. Leena Pasenen, a missionary doctor from Finland shares the other. Leena, a pediatrician has lived in Tanzania for 28 years and she is fluent in Kiswahili. We were thrilled when she joined our NGO on a part time basis.
Approaching Igoda school we are delighted to see that it is uji time. Children pour out of the school and run the length of a football field to the outdoor kitchen where they all (545 of them) line up in their blue and green tattered uniforms to receive "Meal in a Mug" an enriched maize based porridge known as uji. The ladies from the village arrive at 5:30 AM to begin preparation.This program has meant that now children eat twice a day instead of just once. The teachers told us that the children are more alert and attendance is much better too. A higher ranking on country wide exams, so important here, has been achieved this year as well.
Usually 4 and 5 year old children attend "Chicka Cheya", kindergarten. Up to 80 children sit in straight rows on low benches staring straight ahead.
Large group instruction involves chanting answers in unison and sitting very still. The teacher has no paper, pencils, crayons or paints for the little ones to use. Anne and I arrived at the door on Thursday with tinker toys, puzzles, paints and a selection of appropriate children's books. Much of this had been sent in containers from the UK and one from Canada. We also brought wooden construction toys from Eric and Gabrielle of Jalu toys. And we borrowed the wooden African animals from "our" library that we brought previously.
We were so fortunate to have Akida, a young man from the village fluent in English, Swahili and Kihehe. accompany us. Akida has perfected his English in Jenny's English night class sponsored by the NGO. The little people were divided up into groups to sit on mats. At first it was as if they were frozen, frightened by the old white faces (Wazungu) amongst them. Thank goodness for Akida's encouragement.
Most had never touched a toy. Certainly not one had ever held a paint brush. It was a magical time for Anne and me. We watched delighted as gradually little black hands reached for the materials. Concentration and smiles appeared as they began to tentatively build with the tinker toys or hold a wooden giraffe and use it to pretend. Painting was a source of wonder. There is no electricity or running water, so precious water for painting had to be collected. Buckets have to be thrown down into the cement water catchment containers deep in the ground. Bigger children hauled the buckets up hand over hand together. Yet watching those little faces as paint brushes were rubbed carefully over the colour tablets and then applied to the paper in changing shades brought surprised chatter from the new artists and pure pleasure to us. Story books were held upside down at first and puzzles were puzzling but intriguing!! Kornelia, their teacher was quick to adapt and do some innovating of her own. She asked us to return the next day. We did and are.......
Next we were off to the NGO supported library (maktaba).The villagers made the sun dried bricks. It was the first library for about 45,000 people. Yusto, our third and "just right" librarian was welcoming the Standard two class. Yusto is the only teacher not to use a whacking stick to maintain order! Although with classes in excess of as many as 90 students who knows what one might do.
Learning English is so important and so hard. High school attendance is dependant on passing difficult exacting English exams. Holding ones own library book is still a treasured experience. The maktaba is the favourite room in the school. The children are from unbelievably poor homes. They arrive in torn and tattered uniforms, crumbling shoes and still with chiggers in bleeding toes. 40% have lost one parent and many are HIV positive and suffering from malnutrition. Being transported by picture books speaks to the resilience of children and the human spirit !!
Next email:
A village experience to be shared........if the generator keeps chugging......suffice to say poverty is NOT ennobling. How we can ever complain in Canada I don't know.
Love to all our caring friends,
Ruth
January 16, 2011, A weekend like no other!
ANNE writes:
Dear Family and Friends,
It's Sunday night and I'm feeling a bit shell shocked as it has been a weekend like no other! On Saturday morning as the mist was lifting from the patchwork of green hills Ruth and I were on our way to Luhunga village to meet Sila, a master basket weaver, and her students. Persistent snorting sounds from a distressed penned pig accompanied our walk down a long narrow pathway leading to a compound surrounded by banana trees and a field of newly planted maize. Curious young children and women sitting on low stools weaving baskets greeted us - "Kumwhenye" (a greeting in Kehehe, the local tribal language). Twilu, Jenny's red headed delightful 1 year old, joined the fun in her chiffon pink dress and crawled everywhere in the red muddy soil. Colourful kanga material is interwoven with local reeds and grasses into beautiful shapes creating baskets we couldn't resist. Most of these women have lost their husbands to AIDS and this income generating project becomes their main means of support for their families.
Onto the faraway village of Ikaning'ombe with Jenny, the NGO's capable manager, her child Twilu and Twilu's daytime caregiver, Florian, who is a wonderful young man. Florian has invited us to his home and wants us to meet his mother. We arrived at this village with its expansive vistas, a forest with broccoli shaped trees and lush shambas (farms) and were immediately surrounded by a large group of smiling children who followed us single file down a steep path leading to Florian's home.
His mom invited us into her spotless thatched mud home. The interior is dark and smoky from the open kitchen fire. The only source of light comes from the low narrow doorway. In the corner are light blue eggs in a nest laid by their resident hen. Small benches are placed around the interior. We chatted in our inadequate Kiswahili and thankfully Florian and Jenny could translate. We moved outside and sat on a large blue tarp shelling dried red beans with the children and women. With a long curved panga (machete) Florian and his mother cut down a bunch of green cooking bananas (plantains). We reentered the hut where Florian's mom had prepared a lunch of ugali (a tasteless white glutinous mass) accompanied with stewed pumpkin leaves and red beans. With one hand we were told to make a small ugali ball and with our thumb make an indentation into the ugali to scoop up the pumpkin leaves and beans. Much to our surprise (and Ruth's relief) it was delicious! I even asked for seconds!
Today the sound of a scurrying rat running upstairs and across the floor above our bedroom woke us up before sunrise. Who would be first to get up to discover any traces of this intruder? Not me! With a group of peace corp workers and Geoff and Jenny we attended the "mnada" (market) in Mdabulo where people come from surrounding villages to visit and shop. The road was lined with vendors displayed goods - colourful cloth (kangas) draped on bamboo poles, Obama toques hanging from large umbrellas, mountains of plastic shoes and secondhand clothing from afar, dishes and containers from China, slabs of pork pieces with heads and feet on wooden boards and barrels of "pombe" (local home brew). It was vibrant and fun.
After lunch I took a visiting Swedish missionary dentist to the Children's Village (orphanage) a block away from the volunteers' house at Protea Point. Jenny was there to admit 1 1/2 year old twin boys. Twins throughout Tanzania have the same names and are referred to as "kulwa doto". "Kulwa" is the first born and "doto" is the second. Two weeks ago the twins' mother and sibling died on the same day which left the father with five children to raise on his own. Overwhelmed and unable to manage he sought help from the orphanage. When we arrived one twin was sitting on his "bibi's" (grandmother's) lap and the other on his father's lap. Both children had distended stomachs and were eating a bowl of rice and beans. It was heartbreaking to see the sadness in the father's and grandmother's eyes. I couldn't imagine being in their place. If the father can get back on his feet, his beautiful twin boys will return to live with him. The Children's Village is a place of hope and many children thrive here. Hopefully this will be the case with Kulwa and Doto.
It's been a memorable weekend with its highs and lows. I'm kind of glad it's over.
With love,
Anne
January 22, 2011, Curtain Call Approching
ANNE writes:
Greetings from Mufindi,
The stage is set and we have a cast of 20 budding actors ready to make their debut performance in front of 545 classmates, their teachers, their bibis (grandmothers) and babus (grandfathers). The Ukimbi (Community Hall) will be filled to capacity! Good friends from home and new friends from Mufindi have played a big part in this production. The idea germinated last year when my dear friend, Liz Priestman, discovered the enchanting African version of The Princess and the Pea by Rachel Isadora. Liz and I then created a "big book" depicting a Mufindi adaptation of the timeless Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. For the past year groups of Igoda school children have been huddled on the library floor reading from this big book. Meanwhile at home my previous teaching partner, Carol Brown, generously offered to make a "story sack" containing costumes to accompany the story. She skillfully used my bundles of Kenyan and Tanzanian material collected over the years. I managed to cram the sack, the size of Santa's sack, into my luggage. Thank goodness for sympathetic airport handlers!
After telling and reading the story to Akida, Frida and Given, talented 20 year olds, the reins were handed over to them. Akida and Frida have become the directors and we have now lost COMPLETE artistic control - which is as it should be! Only once and awhile is Canadian interjection heard. They began by rewriting the story in Kiswahili and Kehehe (the tribal language) with many cultural elaborations. For example, in the original play the Prince travels around Africa looking for a Real Princess. In their innovative interpretation, the Prince tells his parents before leaving on his epic journey that he's lonely and needs a wife - a wife to keep his bed warm at night. Oh dear! Big sighs and concerned looks from our corner of the planning room!! We diplomatically tried to explain this play was for children. After lots of laughter we assumed they had altered it but who knows as our Kiswahili is weak. On the first day of rehearsal 20 very shy students entered the cavernous hall and noiselessly made their way to the front of the stage. After introducing them to the story the directors asked them what parts they would like to play. Not one hand shot up. Akida then asked them to put their heads in their laps and when he tapped them they could call out the part they would like. Their whispered replies could barely be heard amongst the embarrassed giggling. Yes, we finally had a cast and it was time to begin.
For Ruth and I the transformation over the past two weeks has been miraculous as we've watched children take their first tentative steps on stage. It was much like witnessing caterpillars slowly emerging from their cocoons and taking delightful flight. They have ALL found their wings and their voices as their improvised dialogue can be heard from the back of the long hall. Magic occurred when they first tried on their costumes. The play has grown as daily Mufindi adaptations are incorporated - a formal proposal to the princess and a FULL church wedding conducted by Yusto, a lay preacher and Igoda's inspirational teacher librarian. Loud hallelujahs, drumming, cheers, songs and joyful dancing punctuate the wedding celebrations of the Prince and Princess. The only nod to tradition is when the cast end in unison, "And they lived happily ever after!"
The rehearsals have been a delightful ending to our school days. Children here never get an opportunity to creatively and exuberantly express themselves as they are in such a stifling structured environment within the classroom setting. Curtain call is Wednesday after "meal in a mug". Twenty stars have been born! Perhaps this will become an annual event!
Retired Director,
Anne
January 22, 2011, Given access to daily life in the village!
RUTH writes:
Hi to all you kind supportive friends!
It is just so lovely and absurdly encouraging to hear from you all !!
So much to tell so little time.......communication governed by a generator AND....it won't even power a hairdryer.
Florian, a young man of 18 who works part time for the NGO (Non Governmental Agency, Susan) invited Jenny Peck, Anne and me to visit his home in the nearby village of IKANINGOMBE (NO COWS) We took Twylu (Tweeloo) with us. Jenny Peck and Geoff Knight are the on the scene NGO managers. Our NGO stole them from Peace Corps. Jenny is American and Geoff is Canadian.
They met at the university of Kansas. They are married and have one little 18 month old girl Twylu and another one on the way. When they return to the USA to give birth they have promised to visit Victoria in June----a fundraiser at the farm is in the works. Don't plan any holidays !!......fat wallets will be appreciated. Asante sana-thank-you!
So off we went Jenny, Florian, Twylu in her car seat, Ruth and Anne. Jenny is 5' 12", as she describes herself. She has a big red headed baby and she was dressed in pink chiffon! Our first stop was the basket weaving ladies. Cila, our Tanzanian hostess is HIV positive and when she got tested against her husbands wishes he threw her out. Cila has at least 4 children. She was desperate and approached Jenny for some help in an "outreach project". She wanted to make baskets in order to be self supporting. Basket weaving skills have been neglected due to the desperate need to work in the shambas to grow food. Planting, weeding, preparing the maize flour that sustains everyone, collecting water etc. ect. leaves little time for local arts. No electricity means African darkness by 7:00 P.M. unless you possess a smokey kerosene lamp. Nevertheless Cila began. Jenny says the first attempts achieved "pity purchases" from white vistors. Cila persevered. Now she is the leader of a group of HIV positive women that earn their livelihood this way. The baskets are sophisticated objects d'art now with intricate patterns and beautiful shapes. We sat in her tiny mud home that she proudly paid for and was carefully papered in local newspapers. Then the baskets were brought out one by one. Other ladies sat outside on the ground with grasses beside them working on the latest design. Girls in muddy rags, from 4 to 9 wielded enormous axe-like instruments weeding the maze in the nearby shambas. A wee babe was being nursed efficiently and then swaddled on her back as the mom continued intricate movements with her fingers. We were expected to bargain but just couldn't .......Anne and I came away with many gorgeous purchases.
Twylu crawled happily in the dirt an object of interest to all. Her bright red hair is irresistible. Pink chiffon assumed mud tones! A happy penned up pig snorted happily at the whole spectacle. Various chickens swerved and crowed through the lot of us. It is hard to believe it is 2011.
"On the road again" we continued travelling the narrow red roads to Florian's village. His village is lower down and we can see the giant green broccoli-like forest before us. The lushness is filled with banana trees laden with bright green plantain and tiny peach laden trees. All the children crunch away on the hard apricot sized fruit beaming with delight. As we disembark a group of about 12 rag clad children follow down the path to Florian's home. We are given many Karibus - welcome welcomes. The purpose of our visit is to discuss helping Florian's twin brother and sister to attend secondary school. School fees are high and there are the living situations to be discussed. All twins in Tanzania whether male or female are given the same names! The first born twin, usually the largest is KULWA. The second born is named DOTO. (I think Charlie and Jorja James might be interested in this information.) These twins are 14. The boy can live in a dormitory but girls are not allowed in the school dorm. For cost the family was considering putting Doto in a rented one room mud hut . She would be expected to study and prepare her own food and live alone. Florians' mother lost her husband to Aids and has 6 children. Jenny discussed how vulnerable Doto would be alone. It was decided the NGO could help and a "girl only" dormitory with meals provided would be found.
Then it turned out this desperately poor family insisted we stay for lunch. I was nervous. Sitting in the windowless dark mud house, observed with interest by family members including an elderly Bibi I tried not to rub my eyes. The open fire was in the next room and smoke filled the room. I sat politely on the bare bench and tried not to think about chiggers ensconced in the walls. Anne is much better at this. Outside family members peeled beans. Ugali, pumpkin leaves and beans were being served. Our hands (cutlery) were washed. A pitcher of warm water was poured over our hands and a basin caught the drips. Ugali is a glutinous white substance made by boiling maize flour and water. A portion is cut off and put in a little bowl with pumpkin leaves and spiced brown beans. You take a piece of ugali roll it in your fingers to make a small ball, press a hole in the middle and then scoop up cooked pumpkin leaves and spiced beans. Stunningly delicious considering ugali is sort of tasteless. People so poor happily shared so kindly and proudly! Twylu looked thoroughly African, pink chiffon black and she delightedly stuffed ugali in !!!
Only 13 minutes in generator time left an I want to recommend a wonderful novel, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba. While reading recall that Canada under the Stephen Harper minority government cancelled all Canadian aid to Malawi.
More later, love to all.
Ruth
January 23, 2011, Castrating the resident puka!
ANNE writes:
Hello Family and Friends,
A rare lull in our day on a rainy Saturday afternoon - an ideal time to reopen my hair salon and perform a yearly duty, dying Ruth's hair. This away-from-home ritual began 5 years ago when I initiated my hair dressing skills under the mid day sun. All of a sudden Ruth created a huge commotion jumping up and down, ripping off the black plastic cape to release herself from the infernal heat inside the cape. Across the riverbank a group of perplexed Masai herders were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. Today in the seclusion of her bedroom we had no worries or so we thought! I was admiring my completed handiwork when Ruth looked out the window and yelled, "Oh no - we have company!"
Wrapped in a towel she quickly retreated behind the closet hiding her sticky freshly dyed hair. Not to worry! I had this under control and answered the door. A friendly worker from the Fox farm greeted me like an old friend although I didn't recognize him. He began speaking rapidly in Kiswahili and in my halting Swahili I asked him to please slow down and inquired if he spoke any English. He assured me he did but continued with rapid fire Swahili. He kept repeating the word "paka". What did it mean? I could only find our English Swahili dictionary which was useless in this situation. From behind his back he produced a large set of silver pliers and then pointed to his private parts! I was speechless and just a little nervous.
Meanwhile Ruth is shivering and called from her hiding place that the time is up for washing the dye from her hair. She wasn't looking forward to a new head of jet black hair. But I could hear the urgency in this man's voice and he kept pointing emphatically to you know where! In desperation I phoned the NGO's manager, Geoff Knight. He laughed and said the man was sent to castrate our resident cat. Ah, I'll NEVER forget the meaning of "paka'!
But the saga didn't end there as this "stand in" vet wanted me to hold the cat down while he performed the deed. No way!! I kept saying, "I can't do that! I can't do that!" Another call to Geoff which resulted in 3 more joining this makeshift animal hospital. I couldn't fulfill their request for a razor which meant a kitchen knife and a sack had to do. While this distraction was occurring, Ruth made a break for it and dashed upstairs to wash the dye out of her hair in the kitchen sink.
I finally caught the poor cat and guiltily handed him over to his willing castrators. Behind the closed door I could hear shuffling and scratching accompanied by loud meowing. Finally the deed was done.
It was definitely time to retreat to my book, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba. His stunning narrative takes place in Malawi, a desperately poor country where magic ruled and science was a mystery. It compellingly demonstrates how one village person applying ingenuity and imagination can make a significant difference to his community. As the sage, Pliny the Elder said,"There's always something new out of Africa." Get the book as it's an inspirational read. I can hear sighing voices from my wonderful book club, "Oh no, Anne, not ANOTHER book about Africa!"
Thinking of you and sending much love,
Anne
January 23, 2011, Great Excitement!
RUTH writes:
Good Morning Everyone,
Thank-you all for your continued interest in our goings on here in Mufindi, Tanzania.
Many of you know the terrible sadness we felt last year with the death of twelve year old Felista from our Children's Village. Felista tried so desperately to stay alive alive! Both her parents had died from HIV/Aids. After caring for her Mother while she passed on Felista lived alone in her mud home for two weeks. She knew she was ill too.
Hope had been generated by a visit to her village by Dr. Leena Pasanen, the Finnish doctor who works part time for our NGO. Leena has worked as a missionary doctor at the Finnish Lutheran Hospital in Ilembula for over 30 years. Her Kiswahili is excellent and her calm consistent commitment inspires hope.
Felista decided to walk by herself to the Hospital. Alone she spent nights in the bush getting there. After arrival she went to the main entrance and sat there all day waiting to recognize Dr. Leena. Leena believes it was ordained that she herself left by the front door that day. Felista approached her. She was tested and found positive. After a time it was decided that she should come to live in "our Children's village" (it is no longer called an orphanage because some children just come for an extended stay as they are nursed back to robust health). Anyway Felista moved in with 53 other children. She was put on septrin, a sulpha antibiotic. She was seen at the Unilever hospital and the local government hospital. Both failed her. Leena's father became ill and passed away and she returned to Finland and stayed 3months with her 94 year old mother. Felista became weaker and weaker. Finally she no longer had the strength to attend school although when Anne was here last May she held her on her lap giving her a ride home. For several months when the outreach nurses came for clinic day they FORGOT her records. Felista became more and more fragile and slipped away. It was so desperately sad.
We all vowed her passing couldn't be in vain. A Mufindi clinic has been built so people are within walking distance could attend. We believe we will see 2,000 people a month. Dr. Maganga has been hired full time. It is wonderful to have a respected experienced Tanzanian doctor. He will work with Dr. Leena as well. BUT we were informed by medical people that all this would be useless without a CD4 machine. The going price for such a machine is $50,000. !! YOW! We screwed up our courage and emailed Stephen Lewis, our mentor and passionate advocate for people with HIV/Aids in sub-Saharan Africa. He had once offered to help with bureaucracy that we might encounter trying to do business here. His response was simply wonderful! Stephen Lewis contacted the Clinton Foundation and Becton Dickinson.
Why is a CD4 machine absolutely necessary? Well with my layman's understanding, here goes.......the CD4 machine administers an HIV test - it tests for antibodies. The CD4 count counts the variety of white blood cells that help to fight infection. The HIV virus infects CD4 cells and destroys them, that's why the immune system doesn't work well because it is missing this vital function of the CD4 cells. Progression of the disease is measured in stages 1-2-3-4. It tells when to start ARVs. Healthy people have a count of 800 or above. A clinical assessment is needed as well. How sick is the patient? Is weight loss, chronic diarrhea, persistent fevers or chronic cough present? Is there opportunistic infection present eg. thrush, TB?
Felista's count when it was finally achieved was an achingly low score of 2! Too late for her recovery. Because of the amazingly quick help from Stephen Lewis and his friends at Becton Dickinson our price was lowered about $20,000. We have asked for more reagents at this low price as well. We have been thrilled to learn that we can order 1,000 reagents at the special price. Reagents are needed for every test. But several tests can be done at one time.
We are so thrilled to think that the benefits to the villages will be life altering and that that by keeping parents alive to love and care for their own children the growth in orphans will be halted. We fervently hope so. Anne and I were once told that "death has become a way of life here" and we have seen the growing ravages here in Mufindi.
Love to all,
Ruth
January 30, 2011, Princess and the Pea - with pictures!
RUTH writes:
Hi All,
Here are two pictures from our Academy Performance !
We were so pleased that 308 bibi's(grandmothers) and babus(grandfathers) came. The entire school came too. Our Community Hall (ukumbi) was crammed full. Children filled seats and then crowded down the aisles. The fire authorities in Canada would have freaked but here no one was leaving. We put the little Chicka Cheya kindergarteners along the front row at the feet of bibis and babus. I noticed frail hands reaching out to touch the heads and pat the shoulders of the little ones. There were lots of fond smiles at the children exposing missing teeth. They started arriving at 8:30 AM when they had been invited for 11:00AM ! We were still putting the stage props together and dressing children in their costumes. It was explained that they walk many kilometres up and down hills to get here. Most of the elderly people are illiterate and speak the local tribal language of Kihehe. Our play was in Swahili and English!!
There is still often a bride price extracted for parental matchmaking. The Princess and the Pea---and happily ever, after was a confusing concept! One very elderly Bibi asked the storyteller what was the aim of this story!! Yusto, our gifted librarian and local church elder of a congregation of 600 told us that marriage ceremony was very moral mentioning -- NO beating. Yet another tiny old lady with Kihehe tattoo marks on her face grabbed our hands and whispered "Asante, asante "(thank-you, thank-you). It turned out that Prince Jahari was her grandson. Jahari belongs to the Children Village (orphanage). He had been found with his brother living in the forest amongst the monkeys because both parents had died of Aids. Grandma was much too fragile to care for the boys.
After the performance the NGO served large plastic bowls of rice covered in spiced beans with chai tea. Here chai is served with lots of milk and sugar. We ran back and forth with trays from the outdoor kitchen. All three wood fired local stoves were blazing and huge suffrias boiled the rice.The Eucalyptus wood fuel had been chopped the day before. 308 were served. Wizened beaming faces showed much pleasure! Hands had been washed according to custom and the food was consumed with fingers. It was the first occasion that the babus and bibis had been invited together. Men sat on one side of the room and ladies on the other. Amongst themselves the most elderly were first served. The term mzee, elderly wise one was often heard. It was so rewarding for Anne and me with new impressions forming constantly. A truly memorable occasion! Imagine said one little girl," feeling a pea under twenty mattresses. How could anyone be so rich as to have 20 mattresses?"
Thinking of you all,
Ruth
January 30, 2011, Expect the Unexpected!
ANNE writes:
To my dear, dear family and friends,
This has been a FULL week with its usual and not so usual ups and downs. Tuesday was CTC (Care, Treatment and Counselling) Day for HIV/AIDS victims. Our ailing car, packed to capacity with orphans from the NGO's Children's Village, carefully made its way to the new CTC facility (built by the NGO). It is located at Mdabulo, a hilltop village developed by Italian missionaries many years ago. Dr. Mganga who has recently joined the NGO took Ruth and I on a tour of this large impressive building. A steady stream of mothers carrying babies, young children, men and women entered quietly, sitting on benches across from cardboard boxes stacked haphazardly with their files containing personal and vital information about their HIV status. Once their names had been called people moved to a long hallway lined with black chairs. With heads bent and clutching their files they were waiting to enter the consultation room before going to the dispensary to receive their ARVs (anti retroviral drugs). A 10 year old girl, the same size as the late Falista, was leaning against the wall, holding her file, patiently waiting. CTC was orderly, sombre and very, very sad. But this facility is indeed saving lives. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Don and Ruth, my husband Terry, Bob Olafson and Stephen Lewis a CD4 machine, which determines how suppressed the immune system is, will soon be here. This will have a significant impact.
For some reason we continue to be surprised by sudden unexpected changes in our daily plans. Tuesday afternoon a full dress rehearsal was planned in the large "ukumbi" as showtime was scheduled for the next day. Minutes before the rehearsal, Frida - our capable co-director, quietly knocked on the library door to inform us that a large community meeting was in progress in the hall making it inappropriate to traipse in with 20 excited young actors. Oh dear what to do? No dress rehearsal and an undecorated stage! Early the next morning we arrived with Dr. Patrick Ney (a Canadian doctor who had previously spent 2 years in Mufindi) and were greeted by 20 expectant actors. A buzz of activity as everyone mobilized - panga wielding actors trooping in with 12 foot banana leaves, frantically adding finishing touches to the Princess and the Pea banner (in English and Kiswahili) and hoisting the banner above centre stage. This last minute burst of activity was in front of early bird bibis (grandmothers) and babus (grandfathers).
Meanwhile the slow and laboured procession of bibis and babus continued as they shuffled through the Ukimbi doors to make their way to the front. They have come from afar walking up and down the patchwork hills. Ruth and I took each person's hand and greeted them in Kehehe (key -hay hay) - "Kamwene, Kamwene" (Hello, how are you?). By 11:00 a.m. we looked out onto a sea of bibis clad in colourful kangas and babus in farm clothes with an assortment of toques and large floppy hats. 308 had managed to make the trip! By the time the Igoda students had assembled every chair and all spaces in the aisles were occupied. Well over 800 people were expectantly waiting. Our now seasoned actors didn't disappoint as they performed confidently and comically. Johari Chang'a, an 11 year old orphan, transformed into the perfect prince. A star was born! Laughter erupted as he tells the Ethiopian fake princess that he rejects her because she has jiggers in her toes. His improv responses are relished by the audience. Before coming to the orphanage and to school, Johari was living in the forest with his bibi and the resident monkeys in a makeshift shelter. To see his bibi with her grandson, Prince Johari, basking in the afterglow of the performance was a poignant moment. Delightful laughter greeted the diminutive Princess Dominca as she climbed the bed of 20 wildly colourful afghan "mattresses". After an hour the imaginary curtain fell when the lengthy Mufindi wedding ceremony came to an end with a final song, dance and drumbeat. At the end a bibi quizzically asked, "What was the aim of this play?" It seems in her day the choice of a son's wife was a decision left to his parents. Times change everywhere.
Ruth and I, Peace Corp workers and NGO workers served heaping plates of beans and rice from steaming sufrias to the patiently waiting bibis and babus. In a small room behind the stage the actors sitting in a circle were enjoying a cast party with a bottles of pop. Akida, the other co-direcctor, was asking them what they had learned from this experience. Finding the right person to marry and showing wisdom and maturity before marrying were the common threads running through their conversation. Who would have thought these events would result from The Princess and the Pea!
Thursday and Friday were teaching mornings for us. We both love being back in the classroom and I guess some would say we go to great lengths and distances to do this! On Thursday afternoon we visited the remote village of Ikaning'ombe. We were there to see the elementary school which was literally crumbling around their feet. There are 296 students and 5 teachers. Half of the school population are either orphans or classified as vulnerable children. Dirt floors, disintegrating concrete walls, leaking metal roofs, no shelves, few desks. The chickacheya (kindergarten) with small wooden benches without legs scattered on the dirt floor was a bleak place to begin a child's formal education. I wanted to wave a magic wand and shout, "We'll help!" We immediately went into fix it mode! With the help of a local fundi (carpenter) desks will be made and cement bought for the floor. Geoff wisely said it was important to get the village involved and they will be responsible for collecting sand to lay on the floor before the cement. With the villagers help we hope to assist this school one classroom at a time. The donations from home enabled us to increase the teachers' books from one curriculum book per subject to many.
On Friday it was the same story in Mwefu - minimal resources, inadequate buildings. Two classes are crammed into a crumbling brick room without windows. There is only a half wall at the end of the room which allows nature's forces to regularly interrupt their learning. We're often asked if we will be returning to Mufindi. With the help of our generous donors it seems we still might be a bit useful.
Love to all,
Anne
February 2, 2011, Almost Goodbye
RUTH writes:
Dear Interested Friends,
Our trip is rapidly reaching completion and I wanted to share a few more tidbits before we fly off to Dar es Salaam for our final day in the oven!
We made a revealing trip to the new CTC, care and treatment clinic. Dr. Maganga and Health Officer "Dr." Neanga were working full out.. Everyone is thrilled with the new clinic and it just awaits the CD4 machine. It is a blue and white building. Inside it is as if you walk into a "T". The top of the is the first waiting room. Benches are provided that resemble church pews. A lonely much used scale is in the middle of the room. Two lab technicians sit in one corner of the room and fish dogeared folders out of two huge dilapidated cardboard cartons. They call out names. Patients(if they are present) step up and collect their folder. If not present the folder is tossed back into the box on the floor. Once possessing the precious folder each patient steps on the scale. Weight is recorded. Then the patient moves on to the stem of the "T". New plastic chairs line this hall on both sides and across the bottom. People play musical chairs, progressing chair by chair all they way down the hall and then up the other side to the door of the examining physician. This is a vast improvement to huge unorganized mob scenes of the past. The all important folders no longer travel from far away Mafinga or not as in Felista's case.The clinic has just opened and a new filing system and shelves to store them are being built. Just the same hundreds of people from wee babes to ancient mzees arrive for treatment. They wait stoically all trying to survive with HIV/Aids. Our healthy hearts ache in this environment. It is so wonderful to know that with the help of Stephen Lewis and our Charity AND all of you the CD4 machine will soon be here !
Now to my own personal minor tribulation. I have been bitten by a red Nairobi fly. This wretched insect injects formic acid when it bites. You should NOT see me !! The acid causes blistering of the skin and I have a red bulls eye for one eye. Other red blistering is on my check and also a large painful patch on my neck. Ouch ! This does not enhance my appearance, already a bit sketchy because of the castrating of the cat experience !!
This morning a live chicken arrived as a squawking gift in our pantry. It had black glistening feathers. We have been eating mainly vegetarian meals at the volunteer house. The chicken was quickly dispatched by Upendo our cook and we are having it for Lunch!!! Anne and I can hardly wait. A partially hardened egg was recovered from the body. Life and death are immediate !
There will be no wine with lunch !
Love you all,
Ruth
February 3, 2011 Taking a Pause
ANNE writes:
Dear Family and Friends,
"It is time to take a pause," Yusto announced as he stood up to take a well deserved break from his varied duties as Igoda's gifted teacher librarian. As our trip to Tanzania unwinds it is time to "take a pause" and reflect on some of this year's experiences. I"ll start with Yusto who puts his heart, soul and creativity into teaching expectant classes of children entering the library. His expressive ways captures their attention and ours too. His simple greetings in English, their third language, transformed into delightful vignettes. Stories came alive as he translated with dramatic embellishments in English and Kiswahili. It's a pleasure to work with Yusto - a man who would love the opportunity to complete high school and attend teachers' college. I cherish and learn from his cultural insights. After a recent discussion about the behaviour of many men in the village, their lack of responsibility and commitment to their wives and families, Yusto sadly shook his head saying, "Women have heavy burdens in love." To have the villages of Mufindi populated with Yustos would have a lasting transformative effect!
Upendo, meaning love, lived up to her name as she lovingly prepared meals at Protea Point for hungry volunteers. Shortly after sunrise, I could hear her sharp panga whacking a branch, then the smell of woodsmoke from her cooking stove. We would be drawn upstairs to inviting aromas of home cooked buns and bread. Two days ago she called me into the pantry to see Mama Gideon's gift to us - a live chicken protesting its confinement. Returning to the kitchen a few minutes later I discovered the chicken's status had altered dramatically. It lay in a motionless heap in the kitchen sink while Upendo and Mama Gideon efficiently plucked and dissected. This was to be our last lunch of the year at Protea and they were determined to celebrate it with a rare table sighting - a piece of meat.
Frida and Akida, are 20 year old dedicated young people who work for the Foxes NGO improving the lives of orphans and vulnerable children. While we were there they both helped to rewrite The Princess and the Pea in Kiswahili and co directed it. During the day Frida works as a practical nurse at the Children's Village caring for orphans. She is putting her sister through secondary school and gives money to her mother who has a pombe (alcohol) problem. Frida put her own education on hold but this year retook her Form 4 exams in addition to working full time, growing vegetables in her shamba and caring for her family. When her exam results arrived it was heartbreaking as she learned she had failed and was utterly devastated. Of those students in Mufindi who were retaking this exam 117 received a D and 143 failed. She was sobbing and believed her dream of becoming a nurse had evaporated. Fortunately with donations from our charity we are going to support her at school full time. After obtaining a nursing degree, Frida wants to come back to Mufindi to work which will greatly benefit all those who come in contact with her.
Visiting Blantina is always uplifting and yesterday was a perfect conclusion to our stay in Mufindi. Blantina is 35 years old but looks more like 65. She suffers from ostio genesis imperfecto, a degenerative bone disease. Blantina is tiny and very fragile. Hugging delicately and with caution is essential. With the use of a walker she is able to get around and care for her two children. A year ago when we first met Blantina she was sitting on a small stool amid billows of smoke from a wood fire. Her home was made of mud with large gaping holes in the makouti (straw) roof. This made life very challenging during the rainy season. She didn't complain or ask for any help. Ruth's cousin was touched by Blantina's courage and sent $2,500 - enough for a new home. It was into this new home that Blantina and her children welcomed us. We helped to unwrap her new mattresses and placed them on her new wooden slatted beds. Her large intelligent eyes were beaming. Then in a soft voice she gave a prayer of thanks. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Blantina is looked up to in the village as a kind, caring and deeply religious woman.
When I'm "taking a pause" I most often think of the children. The small waifs standing by the dirt road greeting us on our way to school, children running along the road with handmade toys as simple as tire rims and sticks, children listening wide eyed and intently to a story, running children eager to receive their meal in a mug, long lines of children walking home - up and down the hills after long days at school and performing children who have found their voices on stage.
Most visitors to Tanzania come to see the incredible wildlife. But our trips are about people. I must admit something is missing if I don't catch a glimpse of animals from a car or plane window. Today was no exception. We left Mufindi in a 12 seater plane which landed 4 times before eventually reaching Dar. Safari clad passengers were being picked up and dropped off in various locations in Ruraha park and the Selous. From my window I saw herds of elephants, giraffes, zebras and clusters of wallowing hippos. Although the spectacle from my window should have distracted me, my protesting stomach finally rebelled after the fourth landing on a bumpy dirt runway. It didn't help after seeing a crippled 12 seater plane at the side of this runway. It had come to an abrupt stop after colliding with a wandering impala.
Ruth and I are returning with souvenirs of our journey. Not the kind we had hoped for. I am covered with flea bites and Ruth has a nasty, festering red bite called Nairobi eye. Regardless of the physical irritations we've picked up along the way, I will miss the intensity, the surprise, the sense that life is very real - hard, and at times quite lovely!
Goodnight and see you soon.
Much love,
Anne
