Stepping Back In Time

WEEK 4 March 12-March 18

I have now been here almost one month. I realize that my past trips were far more about observation and awareness. One definitely needs an extended period of time to feel any true sense of accomplishment. Everything I do feels so small in comparison to the needs. This week I stepped more deeply into the world of the Tanzanians. I often asked myself, What if we REALLY cared?

I have never had any second thoughts about being here and the longer I am here I know this is not my last trip. During my past two trips it was easy for me to hover in a space that felt very intolerant of how the rest of the world lives…. with its wants and waste and expectations. But being human it does not take long to revert back to some of those ways. Long, hot showers were my biggest indulgence. (Mainly because I knew I would not have them here.) My frame of mind this time is more based on my personal choices and growth, not what the rest of the world chooses to do. Certainly, I hope to educate and possibly some will look at their life differently as a result of my sharing. Fortunately I am a very positive person so it is with really no effort that I choose to try and brighten someone’s day even if it is as small as causing a few of the locals to laugh at my rough attempts at Swahili or allowing a child to touch my hair or skin.

I don’t like to pigeonhole people but don’t know how else to describe different parts of my experience. Words are so inadequate at times. I find the people here to be unselfish in a very gentle and generous way. It is very obvious in how I am taken care of by Ibrah and his family as well as observing how much everyone living here responds to the needs of the other family members. The culture has a very strong extended family focus. I don’t understand much Swahili but I have yet to hear anyone complain and saying, “no” when asked to do something is not even a consideration. The neighbor kids will stop what they are doing when Deborah needs to send one of them to the market or Rahim needs to be cared for so she can cook a meal.

So this week was an appreciation of how simple life can be along with a mindfulness of the poverty and hardship of life for so many living here.

Monday – I had arranged with Nie to have today off in order to go to the clinic with Deborah for Rahim’s (corrected spelling!) one year checkup. St. Joseph’s is a Catholic hospital here in Soweto staffed mostly with nuns. It is about a 10 minute walk from the house. There are no appointments and the clinic’s waiting area consists of a few benches placed outside along the building walls. When we entered the room, there were several areas cordoned off by curtains. One said Vaccine and several women were waiting there with their children. There was a scale as you first walked in near a desk. It was a contraption with a pulley and hook that reminded me of a “Johnny Jump Up”. (Who is old enough to remember those??) Deborah brought a sling and put Rahim in it and then hung him on the hook. The nurse entered the weight (10 kilos – about 21 pounds) in a booklet that Deborah keeps and we were done. According to a 2010 Family Health International report, the mortality rate for children under age 5 is 104 per 1,000 live births. Just think what a WIC clinic could do here.

Rahim Being Weighed

St. Joseph Hospital

As we walked thru the hospital to leave I couldn’t help but feel I had stepped back in time.  The walkway was outdoors as all the first floor doors to clinics and patient rooms opened to the outside. The doors to the patients’ rooms were open and I could see at least 3 beds in the rooms. Most of the beds were filled. It was very institutional looking. There was, however, a nice courtyard area. I can’t imagine the hygiene standards are very high or if they exist at all.

In the afternoon we took Rahim and went to a small salon close by as Deborah was going to have her hair weaved. When we arrived there were several people waiting. It was a very small one room shop. The hairdresser was doing a weave. She was sitting in a plastic chair (think: outside stackable) and the woman whose hair she was weaving was sitting on a couch cushion on the floor with her head in the hairdresser’s lap. It was an interesting process to watch as she methodically added hair extensions and braided them into her hair. When she was finished she repeatedly lit a match and went over the woman’s head to burn off any loose hair. I did not hold back my surprise and was reassured this was how it was done.

Typical Hair Salon/Barber

The hairdresser left the shop, returning 10 minutes later with a bucket of water. The next woman was getting her hair washed and styled. There was a plastic portable sink for hair washing. The woman stood over the sink and her hair was washed using a small jug to get the water from the bucket. She was then seated in another plastic chair which had a tie around the back legs. I think she was getting a conditioning treatment. During this process the legs of the chair gave way and she landed on the floor. Everyone seemed to take it in stride and they just stacked the other plastic chair on top and carried on…  

When it was Deborah’s turn I took Rahim and we played outside. (He likes door handles and locks.) We did a lot of walking up and down several roads. These are side roads that rarely see anything but foot traffic. He liked going in the little shops and exploring the dirt and rocks in the road. He also liked the chickens which are everywhere. We also walked past a dead rat; fortunately Rahim did not see it.

Tuesday – To TAFCOM to discuss the upcoming Malaria Project. A group from the US has raised $12,000 for the distribution of 3,000 mosquito nets to children ages 0-7 who live in 10 wards around Moshi. Area government leaders and volunteers are currently conducting surveys to identify the children in each ward. I will spend Weds and Thurs helping with the surveys in Pasua. The US group will be here in June for distribution of the nets.

Wednesday – I met Jonas and Bisura at the TAFCOM office and he drove us to Pasua. We met the Pasua Ward Chairmen and he accompanied us for the day. It was another day in the 90’s but I wear my hat, tons of sunscreen and have a backpack full of water. (I go thru about 3 liters per day.) I had a box lunch from Deborah but we did not stop to eat. We went door to door for over 4 hours and collected 200 names of eligible children. I caused several young children to cry again as they had never seen a white person. The moms were pretty amused.

I do feel very white here. I have seen very few internationals probably because most come in Jul-Aug. I am such a novelty to most and on quite a few occasions when we arrived at a house the moms would call the kids to come see a Muzungu! It does not bother me as I see this as an opportunity to practice my Swahili and give a positive image. It is extremely important to me that the people here have a good impression of foreigners and obviously for me, Americans. Overall, the Tanzanians like Americans, especially since Obama became president. They pride themselves on being a peaceful country and do not understand all the wars we are involved in. They do think we are all rich and children sometimes ask for money or chocolate. (I say No politely.)

Jonas had asked me to take pictures for TAFCOM so I was thrilled as I could really get a good overall impression of Pasua and the poverty and, most importantly, not offend anyone. The people are so pleasant and love it when I try my Swahili. They in turn will try English or give me a thumbs up sign and a huge smile. The day was really not difficult and I had absolutely nothing to complain about. By comparison, my hardships are minor and temporary. Plus, I was returning to a nice house, my favorite bucket shower, a great meal and a bed with a mattress. It is quite mind-numbing to be in this kind of poverty, house after house after house. I hope the pictures can tell the story better than I can.

Thursday - Day 2 in Pasua. Bisura and I were with a different leader. Today was 7 hours and we collected 350 children names. Sometimes we would arrive in an area and the families would come to us. The kids love to say “Good Morning” no matter what time of day it is. So while Bisura took names I would teach the kids “Good Afternoon”. I ate lunch at 5 when I arrived home and it could not have tasted better!! Not sure which was better – the food or the bucket shower!!

Something I had not seen before was how feet are washed. Because of the dust and dirt, our feet are absolutely filthy most of the time. Even after washing they may feel clean but they aren’t. So I watched this woman with a bucket and cup. She had her foot on a large rock and after pouring water on her foot proceeded to scrape her feet against the rock. Brilliant – why didn’t I think of that!

Friday - I went to the Children’s Center and tried to teach several small groups of the 5 & 6 year olds how to put a puzzle together. The puzzles they had were either too hard or missing pieces. There was only one that I could work with. I am going to make some out of cardboard. The second building is coming along nicely. They will build until they run out of funds then start up again later.

Ibrah took David and I to Glacier Bar after dinner. It is an outdoor bar with a band that plays Reggae music. I was without a doubt the only person over 35 years old. It started to rain which was great as we have not had rain in almost 2 weeks. Ibrah thinks that the music today is ruining the youth. He also does not drink. From what I observed, their music and dancing is tame compared to the states. AND they all love Justin Beiber!!

Saturday – Rahim’s Birthday!!! David and I walked to Moshi to get the cake and buy a book. Ibrah was coming later to run errands and drive us home as the cake never would have survived a 40 minute walk in the heat –plus it was chocolate and I can’t be held responsible for my actions when chocolate is nearby. Moshi now has a new supermarket called Nakumaat. It is a chain out of Kenya and very modern. The first time we went in it felt like culture shock because you would expect this type store in the states not Tanzania. It is pricey and caters to the internationals. Even though they don’t shop there, the local folks see it as progress; it does employ a large number of people. We bought a really cute hardcover book on First Colors and picked up a chocolate cake with chocolate icing from the Abbas bakery, which is the best in town and near TAFCOM which I like.

Rahim's 1st birthday

We had no electricity so the birthday party had a candle for the cake as well as for us to see. Rahim spit out his first bite and didn’t like the chocolate. He eats everything else so we were all a bit surprised!! More for us!!!!