Week 2 - Making the Adjustment

Mt Kilimanjaro from Ibrah's

Feb 27 – Mar 4 - Monday was my first day walking to TAFCOM with my hand drawn map discreetly tucked in my hand. It is about a 35 minute walk to the TAFCOM office. As I am walking a man passes and says, “Are you Mama Lee Ann?” I answered yes and it is Mussa. He was Lee Ann’s guide when she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and also took Lee Ann and me on a day hike up part of the mountain when I was here in 2009. In addition, he has recently opened a small store selling mostly food items for hiking. He recognized me by my hair! It was wonderful to see him and he walked me to the main road. Kili was out in all its splendor. My morning could not have started out better.

Mt Kilimanjaro (Kili) is 19,341 feet at its highest peak and, for me, is without a doubt the most majestic mountain I have ever seen. It rises above the clouds and is many times hidden by the cloud cover. The people say, “Kili is sleeping.”

I have to share my favorite story about Mussa which embodies the spirit of generosity among the Tanzanian people.  Lee Ann had returned to Moshi in 2009 and I came to visit. We wanted  to do a Kili Day hike with  Mussa. He already had a 6 day hike scheduled (complete hike to the top and back) with a large group. These are very expensive and the tips are usually quite good. When he learned we wanted to do the day hike he gave his trip to another guide. This speaks volumes to me about the generosity and priorities of many of the people here.


At TAFCOM this week I spent 2 days in the office making spreadsheets for attendance for both the Children’s Center and Tailoring Center. They have been handwriting the roster each month. We also spent a lot of time talking about grant writing which will be my main focus.  I spent one day at home doing research but was limited by the electricity not working.

On Tuesday of this week I was picked up by Jonas, Nie and Nicole. We went to the town of Boma to see their preschool and assess the community services. Apparently, a couple from the US funded the school and salary for a local social worker to work in the community much like Nie and Jonas do in Pasua. Sadly, she has not followed through and will not return calls. The school was larger than TAFCOM’s and had desks and chairs for the children. When we got to the door to say hello to the children, one of the younger ones started crying and would not stop. He had never seen a Mzungu (name used for white person; it is not derogatory) and was scared. This has happened to me before and it is hard to imagine what the poor child was thinking.

We were in a Maasai village ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai_people ) and visited a man who had 2 wives and 20 children. He was considered to have money by their standards as he had many cattle. However, when one of his sons broke his leg several years ago the man refused to take him to the hospital. As a result the leg became infected and had to be amputated. The couple who are supporting the school are also paying for a prosthetic leg for the boy and because he is still growing he receives a new leg each year. He has adjusted and is doing well. We did not meet the boy as he was in school. The couple will be here in May to visit.

Nie and Teddy from TAFCOM office

I am so grateful to be working with Nie and Jonas. Their hearts are huge. They truly understand the needs of the people and put service above all else. Nie feels this is the best philosophy – to consider service above salary. She knows this is not always possible but is saddened by people who get involved for themselves and are not acting from the heart.

I also talked with Ibrah this week as he wants me to help market his organization. So we brainstormed some ideas for me to work on.

James from St. Timothy School dropped by one afternoon. David and I are going to type up 50 exams for his school. It has been a challenge because of the electricity and the grammar!

David from New Zealand

David spent the week with some Dutch volunteers building a chicken coop at the Children of Destiny orphanage and it was just in time because 200 baby chicks were being delivered. I went with him on Friday and we played with the kids and helped with homework. I helped with math which was fun because we learned numbers and math in the Swahili class I took at OSU Marion and I could actually communicate. (Thanks Mwalimu Zak!)

This would be me-lol!!

    

New Chicken Coop

It was a very busy week mostly hearing about all the issues and problems that need to be addressed. I am trying not to feel too overwhelmed but it is difficult. I put a paper on my mirror that says, Mimi ni mvulimivu, which means I am patient!

On Saturday we went to the YMCA to swim. It is a very large outdoor pool and felt absolutely amazing. Afterwards, Ibrah got pizzas for dinner and they were quite good.

Sunday David and I were supposed to go on a hike with a group of volunteers. Unfortunately it did not work out so we walked around Moshi. It was my first time walking thru town and it was fun to remember so many sites. We ended our trip to town with ice cream (pistachio) at Deli Chez which is a tourist restaurant and I think might be the only place that serves ice cream.

I am feeling very settled and comfortable. The pace here is very slow and that is definitely good for me. I love being surrounded by people who are deeply passionate about the betterment of their country and the people.