Week 12 - Where has the time gone?

May 7 – May 13

The weeks are flying by. We are very busy at TAFCOM and I am feeling a time crunch because there is so much I want to do. I guess the “Do-er” part of my personality will never settle down. Also more than half my time here is over. I do not want to leave and am seriously considering a return trip in 2014. There are other parts of Africa and the world I want to visit but nothing could capture my heart the way Tanzania has.

Besides missing my kids, friends and blueberries, I am totally content. I can't imagine how different I might be feeling if I only had access to snail mail! The internet is amazing and I am so very grateful for the connection with friends. Interestingly I have found that I am actually gaining new and stronger friendships thru the comments and emails I receive from people I had less contact with when I was at home - an unexpected but pleasant perk.

I was initially concerned that I would miss the closeness of friendships and although I do, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that I can be very close and open here. I relish these new relationships because it makes me feel so much more a part of the culture. There are definitely times I forget I am white. However, it is always the children yelling "Muzungu" that bring me back to reality.

I am definitely learning patience. Mostly my impatience and frustration relates to the internet. As much as I love and appreciate it, I have trouble when it does not work or repeatedly kicks me off. When I first arrived I put a sign on my mirror, Mimi ni mvumilivu. It translates to I am patient. One learns quickly that things happen when they get done. Inconvenience is many times the norm. And if others don’t get upset or bothered, why should I? A great example of this occurred over the weekend.

I left work Friday (May 4^th) with a long To Do list for the weekend. I was able to complete many items on my list before Monday despite having no electricity all day Sunday (May 6^th). Finally at about 5:00pm I asked Deborah if she thought our house was out of electricity or was there an outage in Soweto. We noted that the meter showed 0. It was then she realized that she had bought the electric voucher on Saturday and forgot to power the electric box. I was so glad because I had some projects I needed to finish for TAFCOM. I also had to laugh because it made me feel better about my memory lapses! I started working on the computer and before an hour had passed Soweto had a power outage and we lost electricity until about 8:30 that night. It was quite difficult trying to squelch my frustration at this point. I was worried that I would not have things ready for Nie. As it worked out, Nie and I looked over only a few things on Monday and planned Tuesday as our day in the office. So I ended up having plenty of time. Lesson learned!

Amanda left Monday for Canada. I will surely miss her. I love having other volunteers at the house. It is always enjoyable meeting new people, sharing stories and making memories. Both David and Amanda were so easy to get along with. Maybe it just comes with being a volunteer. I also very much appreciate that I never felt an age difference with either of them.

Kids Drawing

So Monday and Thursday were spent at the Children’s Center. I had found some songs (in English) for the children to learn for the Malaria Group event in June. They are also drawing pictures to which we will attach their photograph. We are hopeful that some of the US group will want to help sponsor a child or activity and I have created a form indicating various options. I helped the teacher with the songs we chose and it was pretty chaotic, crammed into a very small classroom, trying to teach over 40 kids. Plus, I cannot carry a tune in a bucket; fortunately, children are very forgiving. We decided to divide the children into groups and this seems to be working much better. I also held my first English lesson with the tailoring women. I started with very basic greetings and fortunately had Teddy with me to translate. It is much harder than one might think to teach English. I so wish I had gone through TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) training. It is definitely going to be a top priority when I return to the states.

3rd Floor Women's Bathroom 

Tuesday and Friday I worked in the office with Nie and Jonas. I will not bore you with the details (but will provide an interesting picture). Suffice it to say that much was accomplished and although this will be another busy weekend we will be very well organized and ahead of schedule for both the Micro Loan Workshop and the Malaria Group event. I truly enjoy the feeling of accomplishment.

Nie and I have planned one day a week for home visits and this week we visited 3 women who are potential participants for the micro loan program. Some of the beneficiaries of the loans are starting a business for the first time and some are expanding an existing business. These 3 women will be expanding; all were very enthusiastic and grateful for the opportunity. I can’t say enough about the sincerity and gratitude of the people I have met, no matter what their circumstance.

Market

Two of the women we visited sell second hand clothing. Unless one goes to a tailoring shop or buys from a street vendor, there are really no clothing stores as we know them. Everyone else goes to Memorial Market (the market near my house) which is huge and is widely known as the Second Hand Clothing Market. It is a unique and lively experience, full of colors and noise. Clothes and underwear are hanging from the individual huts. Each hut has a raised area where piles of clothes are mixed together. Shoes are handled the same way except that only one shoe of the pair is in the pile for customers. When you find a shoe you like, the vendor then must sift through his pile to find the shoe’s mate. Overall, the clothes and shoes are in decent shape and you can find some very nice items. You can barter which is fun and everyone does it even though by US standards things are incredibly cheap. If I were to go by myself the price would be higher (because I am muzungo and by their standards we all are rich) so I always go with Deborah and she gets the best price. The street vendors and those who live outside of Moshi will make regular trips to the market to purchase items that they then resell at a higher price on the street or from their homes.

It is customary that when you visit someone you bring a gift. For home visits Nie recommends money as you can’t know what a person’s immediate need is. (I usually give around $3 USD which for many is the equivalent of a day’s work.) For example, when I had suggested we take a bag of rice, Nie explained that if they don’t have any oil or charcoal to cook with, the rice is useless. As much as I prefer giving an item, I totally understand that I am giving more by providing funds because the family will know best what they need; certainly it is not my place to imply that I know better. Also, we know that the funds will be used wisely because their needs are about daily survival.

My thinking is probably somewhat warped from my social work experience where I observed too many unwise budgeting choices and assistance was rarely given to the client but to the landlord, utility company, etc.  I so appreciate Nie’s guidance. Our idea of what a country, society, group or family needs might bring more harm than good if we don’t consider the consequences of even our most well-intended actions.

  

Mwana

Mwana, who sells second hand clothing from her home, lost her husband to AIDS and is herself HIV positive. Fortunately, her two daughters are negative. Her oldest daughter is 19 and lives with a relative in Arusha where she is learning typing. Her other daughter is finishing primary school and her mother hopes that with additional income she can afford her secondary school fees. In the case of this family, I gave a small amount of money but I was also able to give her a large box of donated clothes that Deborah and I had put together.

Kanda

Kanda also sells 2^nd hand clothing but focuses on men’s suits, pants and shirts. Her husband is ill with AIDS and unable to work. In 2004 the entire family was found to be HIV positive. Kanda has 4 children and 10 grandchildren. Two of her daughters and their children live with her. The other two daughters are married. Recently her brother-in-law and his wife moved in. The brother-in-law is ill and they are all caring for him as well as Kanda’s husband. There are a total of 11 people in the home. It just doesn’t seem to matter about a family’s living condition. If another family member needs help there is no question that they will be cared for.

Mara

Cockroach outside our door

Mara sells a local brew. Not sure what is in it and would be curious to try it. She sells it to the local bars. She has 2 children and was very proud to tell us that her son was 5^th in his class. Her daughter is interested in hotel management. Mara would love to see her children finish school and be successful. While visiting her I noticed quite a few cockroaches; several tried to befriend me and I found it quite difficult to be discreet while flicking them off my leg. (The picture is a cockroach from home and MUCH larger than the ones at Mara's)

It is very difficult to capture the reality of the homes in a photo. This is unfortunate because as dreadful and substandard as these homes are on the outside they are even more dismal on the inside. The buildings where families rent usually are one or two rooms per family. They are very dimly lit generally with one window which measures approximately 12 x 18 inches. None of the windows have screens. The floors and walls are cement. Some of the walls are only about 7 foot tall and then open space. There are no ceilings, only rafters. Most rooms are furnished with one double bed and a foam mattress which is usually no thicker than 4 inches (that is the thickness of the one I sleep on). There may be a couch or chairs and a small table (like a coffee table size) that typically is covered with clothes or dishes.

I have visited families of 5 people living in one room with only one bed. Mwana and Mara rent one room. Kanda and her family of 11 live in 2 rooms. I did not see the 2^nd room but can’t imagine it is big enough for more than 2 beds.

Saturday – It rained most of the day and I did lots of TAFCOM work. Sometimes I feed Rahim and share my water with him. He has a cold and cough and now my throat is feeling funny - oops. I stayed in all day and did not go to the gym. Saturday is when I can do a long workout so I was sad to miss but didn’t feel up to it.  I finally got some pictures to share. It is really a nice facility and has everything I need. Music is always playing, mostly Bongo Flava which is Tanzanian Hip-Hop with a little R&B mixed in. It's fun to workout to because the beat is often a motivating pace for running. Here is a sample. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1AbydZaV1M&feature=related  The gym even has a sauna. It is amazing to me that anyone would need such a thing with the temperatures here. Although, on second thought, it might get rid of this cold.

Boniface (arms crossed) My trainer!

Workout Equipment

Sauna

Sunday – I worked some more until I felt like cabin fever setting in. Deborah and I went to the pharmacy. She got some cough medicine for Rahim and I bought Vitamin C. The Vitamin C comes in small 100mg pills. You buy as many as you want; they count them out and put them in a small plastic bag for you. We then walked to the store but had to stop for roasted corn first.

On the way back to the house a pikipiki (motorcycle) hit a pedestrian about 50 yards in front of us. My first instinct was to run over and help but I really had nothing to offer. My heart was racing and I just wanted to know that the man was ok. People come out of nowhere to gather around. It seemed like several minutes passed before the man was able to get up. He was helped up and put on the back of the pikipiki that hit him and the driver took him to the hospital. I was not close enough to tell but it did not appear that anyone was angry or showing any negative emotions about the incident. It is the norm here that whenever there is an accident the driver takes the victim to the hospital if possible. No police; no ambulance. (I think I have seen one ambulance in the time I have been here.)

We stopped at the internet café to get a movie. I am horrible at remembering movies (my kids will confirm this) so recognized very few. We ended up getting Finding Nemo. I have a feeling that licensing is unheard of here because the internet guy told us to come back in a half hour and he would have it burned to a DVD for us. This was fine by me because we now own Finding Nemo for less than a dollar.