I Believe in Miracles...

MONDAY, JANUARY 18

Elizabeth and I are still plugging away on categorizing the Resource books. This afternoon I am going to town for labels so each item has its own identity. I enjoy the trips to Moshi. It is an obvious change from the country to the city. Moshi is teeming with people walking everywhere and vendors selling everything you can imagine from food to luggage. Some vendors are polishing women’s nails, others offer scales so you can weigh yourself for a fee.

The driving is insane. Bicycles, cars, daladalas and motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic. Men pulling large carts of produce trying to maneuver the traffic. Horns are always honking, not out of rudeness but to advise that a vehicle is moving through. It is constant noise. Music is blaring from stores. Tanzania has a music style called Bongo Flava which is a cross between Hip-Hop and Rock. In addition, Justin Bieber, Celine Dion & Britney Spears are the American pop favorites - quite a diverse combination.

The challenge is to be aware of your surroundings so you do not run into anyone or any vehicle; do not trip over a rock or rut in the sidewalk or road, and know your directions, while warding off the occasional “artists” who attach themselves to you persistently trying to sell their work. Like the daladala, visiting Moshi is an experience I welcome with an upbeat anticipation.

My mission this afternoon was to go to Halotel and get new internet service. Ellie accompanied me as she also had errands. Waiting in line for extended periods of time is the norm. Ellie went to the market, bought her produce and returned to Halotel before I was finished. We accomplished all our tasks and then stopped at Abbas Bakery to buy treats for the family. Abbas Bakery is written about in Trip Advisor and they never disappoint. We chose a variety of goodies that will certainly satisfy everyone.

Jovin brought his English textbook home from school today and we had an English/Swahili lesson. It was probably much more helpful for me than Jovin. He is a very good student who reads and speaks English exceptionally well.

Among the items Lynn brought were some Choose Your Own Adventure books. I was ecstatic. When I worked at the library in my kids elementary school these were among my favorites. They are especially good for motivating non-readers. Fortunately Jovin likes to read and is eager to read these books.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19

Now that we have labels, Elizabeth and I made great progress on the books. We also took time to go over how best to use Facebook and Linked In. I am grateful for her knowledge on these topics because I realize there is much I do not know. More importantly for TAFCOM, increasing our involvement in social media allows us the capability to increase awareness and support for TAFCOM.

The internet has been working beautifully. Today, however, when I tried to get on the internet I was told that the driver was not working. I tried the other internet stick and it also failed. I learned early on from my son not to be afraid of computers so I was opening all sorts of things struggling to find anything that made sense. Jonas repairs computers with his brother so I decided to put all my confidence in him. Since he was gone most of today I also had to practice patience. That lifelong challenge was temporarily halted when Nie gave me her computer to use.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20

First thing this morning there was a friend of Nie & Jonas’ in the office who runs a retail clothing store in Arusha (one of the larger cities with a population over 700,000). The tailoring students were working on the sanitary pads and she was curious to know more. As Nie explained, she offered to display them in her store as she felt certain there would be a market for the pads. She would then give us feedback and we could talk further about a collaborative partnership with her store. If I had my daughter’s gymnastic talents I would have done backflips all over the place! This was incredible news and the wheels in my head started to spin with all the possibilities.

When Elizabeth arrived today she announced that two social work students arrived at Hostel Hof yesterday from Sweden and indicated that they were assigned to TAFCOM. As with Elizabeth, she knew in October she was volunteering with TAFCOM but Nie and Jonas were not notified until two days prior to her start date. It turns out that the Swedes are here on an internship which typically includes paperwork, placement expectations and assessments, plus communication with the University advisor. I thought Nie’s head might crack the table when she heard this news. A previous internship involving a different university was not a good experience. I put on my Positive Polly face and said we would just intend that the girls would be understanding, flexible and enthusiastic, bringing minimal paperwork! Plus we had such good news about the sanitary pads nothing was going to dampen our spirits!

I spent some time in the youngest pre-school class observing and taking notes. It is heartbreaking what they lack in supplies. I witnessed a lot of good work but so much more that could be done. The teachers are eager for help and have ample potential.

Jonas fixed my computer!!! I promised I would keep him supplied with avocado juice. It is his favorite drink.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21

Elizabeth arrived with the Swedish students, Jasmine is of Egyptian descent and Selam’s parents are from Ethiopia. They were both born and raised in Sweden and attend University there. Nie and I performed our tag team orientation. Both girls were very sympathetic to the situation of our not being aware of their arrival. A very good discussion took place and all agree that this will be a very good fit for everyone.

Meanwhile Elizabeth is entering the school registry into Excel and finishing a budget spreadsheet that was started by a previous volunteer. The current registry is a handwritten document and even though it will continue as such, Elizabeth will be able to provide Nie and Jonas with a tuition tracking system, and an easy glance at all items related to TAFCOM’s budget. I have shared with Elizabeth my appreciation for her interest in the behind-the-scenes organizing of an efficient and well-ordered bookkeeping and data collection system. This is her area of expertise and the timing of her arrival could not have been better.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22
This is Elizabeth’s day to work in town. Jasmine and Selam arrived in time for the Healthy Smiles program. Dental health has been the Science topic for the pre-schoolers this week. Healthy Smiles provides a large mouth and toothbrush for demonstration purposes and then each child is given a toothbrush and toothpaste to practice proper tooth brushing. 60 children participated, Jasmine and Selam demonstrated and I worked with one of the teachers to explain dental care.

Jasmine and Selam brought their school’s paperwork so we could review the expectations. Nie was quite relieved as it became apparent that there was a lot of flexibility and minimal paperwork. One issue that was a sore point from the last internship was the matter of a stipend which goes to the supervisory organization. This was never received and it is likely it went to the volunteer house. The girls are planning to email their advisor to clear up any misunderstanding and provide the proper contact info.

We had some time at the end of the day to observe in the classroom and sang Head & Shoulder, Knees & Toes with the kids.

I did not run this morning. I take a weekly malaria medicine on Thursday evening and it makes me a little dizzy the next day. I opted to run this afternoon around 4pm. It was in the high 80’s, hot, dry and sunny. When I got back I took a shower and proceeded to sweat profusely for about the next half hour. I drink plenty of water but had evidently overheated myself. I won’t be doing that again.

Lynn and her group came off the mountain today and we met up with them for dinner, again at Indo-Italiano. All successfully made it to the top. There were plenty of stories and lively discussion while we feasted on a variety of pizzas which would rival any in the US. They fly home tomorrow evening.

Overall, this was a week where everything fell into place with very positive results, our expectations were exceeded, and even some unexpected surprises came our way!