March Goodness

WEEK OF, MARCH 7

It has been a busy past few weeks working with the volunteers as they complete their time here. Sheila, the seamstress from Ireland, has been teaching some new sewing techniques to the tailoring women and they are making dresses and pants. Nele, from Germany, is spending her time with the preschool children, teaching and helping the teachers with grading and other activities. Elizabeth is helping with the creation of several databases and, most importantly, has ramped up our Facebook page and scheduled weekly posts through May. (Please Like TAFCOM on Facebook if you haven’t done so already.) She is also setting up a Linked In page and teaching me and Nie how to use it. Jasmine and Selam (from Sweden) have moved to a different project and are now at the juvenile detention center. Their professors felt it was a more suitable social work placement.

I have gone to town for lunch a few times with the volunteers and it is nice to have some time just to chat. One day coming home on the daladala our van was going down a  narrow and potholed dirt road when we were stopped because there was a large travel bus in the road with another daladala behind it. A large crowd of people were gathered around the 2 vehicles. I had no idea what was going on. We were all told that our daladala was going no further so I would walk the rest of the way home (not far and fortunately I knew where I was). Of course I was the only white person trying to weave my way through the crowd of people. When I passed the travel bus I noticed several men were unloading a coffin from the daladala. This place never ceases to amaze me.

25 women attended the Sanitary Pad workshop and each got 4 reusable pads. The women had lots of questions and I was impressed that the facilitator gave note paper to everyone to write any questions they might be uncomfortable asking. Talking with the women afterwards they expressed how informative the workshop was. A number of them stopped by the tailoring room to see how the pads were made. I have written up a brief business plan for marketing and expansion of this project so we can generate some income for TAFCOM.

Note: I appreciated all the catchy names. Some were quite amusing. It looks like we are going to use: The Red Tent Project.

The Red Tent, a novel by Anita Diamant, is a first-person narrative that tells the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph. She is a minor character in the Bible, but the author has broadened her story. The book’s title refers to the tent in which women of Jacob’s tribe must, according to ancient law, take refuge while menstruating or giving birth, and in which they find mutual support and encouragement from their mothers, sisters, and aunts. (Wikipedia)

More wonderful news for the tailoring women. Nie has a good friend, Salma, who is studying Community Development.  As part of her curriculum she is to design and implement a project that can have a long term positive impact. She approached Nie at the end of last year about teaching the tailoring students how to use a knitting machine.

All students must wear a uniform which includes a sweater. If the tailoring women can make sweaters, TAFCOM has another income-generating project. As much as I love the Red Tent Project, the selling of sweaters can bring in a much higher income. Salma recently contacted Nie about getting started. She needs to first meet with 20-30 area women who will complete a survey and then we can discuss a plan. Part of Salma’s project requires that she fundraise to purchase the machines. We will set a date to meet later in March. I love how things just keep moving forward!!

SAT, MARCH 12

Visiting folks in Soweto was on my agenda for the day. Unfortunately Ibrah and Debra were not around. I am still trying to arrange a weekend visit with them. I was missing Mussa and Joseph so also texted them. We met up at Mussa’s shop. Before Joseph arrived, Mussa told me that his wife had a baby girl. She was not due until April and had some bleeding issues which required blood transfusions. Joseph was on the mountain when his wife went into the hospital so Mussa got word to him to come home. He had to cover a lot of trail and then catch a ride back to Moshi. Mussa and his wife have been caring for Joseph’s family and taking food to his wife at the hospital until he could make it home.

Joseph stopped by after his visit at the hospital. For some reason the hospital does not allow pictures of the newborns but Joseph took one anyway. The baby looked very healthy and he reported that mama is also much improved. She will probably be in the hospital 2-3 more days. Joseph was returning later to the hospital with dinner.

We had a great visit and Joseph was hysterical talking about having to buy more leopards now that he has 2 daughters and how he is practicing all the things he will say to his “girls”.  They have not named the baby yet because they all have a different favorite name and can’t decide.

Sophie, Joseph’s oldest daughter, stopped by with 2 classmates. They were coming from a school debate. Sophie is in her first year of secondary school (HS freshman) and was one of only a few secondary students selected to be on the debate team. They competed among other schools. Her team’s topic was Which is better: African Culture or Western Culture? They argued in favor of African Culture and won their debate.

When I stayed in Soweto in 2012 I joined a fitness center and have remained friends with Boneface, one of the instructors. Mussa shared that he came to the shop asking about me after seeing the post on Facebook about my Kili climb. I stopped by the fitness center but he wasn’t working. I left word that I would come again. I feel bad that I have such little time left and still have not seen several of my favorite people.

SUN, MARCH 13

I accompanied the family to an area tree farm. The land where Minnesota Academy is located has very little landscaping. Initially we wanted both shade and fruit trees. The fruit trees eventually would be used for the children’s food and possibly for sale. Unfortunately we were advised that until there is a barrier of trees or fencing, the cows and goats would eat the fruit trees. We bought a mix of bushes and shade trees and will start planting on Monday.

In the afternoon, Nie and I visited an orphanage. In 2009 I met a woman, Pamela, who was raising 3 of her neighbor children. Both parents had died of AIDS and there were no relatives to care for the children who are all HIV+. Pamela took them in and raised them like her own. Unfortunately, Pamela is elderly and in poor health.  A few years ago she had a serious conversation with Nie and decided it would be best for the children if they were in an orphanage. She was adamant that the children not be separated. After much research on Nie’s part, Kili Kids Orphanage agreed to take them. Nie visits and is in phone contact with the children on a regular basis. The oldest boy is now 16 and the 2 younger girls are 12 and 10.  Rajabu, the oldest boy, was not at the orphanage when we arrived. We met up with him as we were leaving. The kids were very happy to see Nie and we brought treats for all the children. 26 children ranging in age from 2 ½ to 16 live at Kili Kids. They attend an area school.

I find orphanages to be quite depressing. There is a global movement to work more closely with, and provide assistance to, family members so that children can be part of a family home. I have heard of one organization in the area that is working with this concept. It is difficult when families are struggling economically to add another mouth to feed. But if there could be some kind of assistance or stipend I feel a family could provide so much more of what children need. Orphanages are short-staffed, typically donor dependent, and just lacking in so many things. It is a tough subject but one that I am glad is being addressed. Another topic of concern is short term volunteering at orphanages. There is a lot of evidence that this is more damaging than helpful and I agree. These children deserve so much more.

(If interested in more info a friend of mine attended a conference put on by World Without Orphans - http://www.worldwithoutorphans.org/. )

MONDAY, MARCH 14

Nele and I went to Minnesota Academy Monday to help plant the trees and bushes. While we were waiting for Jonas to come with the trees we had planned the Healthy Smiles project for the students. This is their testing week for the end of term examinations and they welcomed the break.

Planting the trees turned out to be more difficult than expected. The ground was very hard and there weren’t enough tools. It was also in the 90’s with no clouds. The ground was actually hot to touch.

We got a few holes dug for the larger trees and decided it would be best to come in the evening.

This evening we were much more productive and worked part of the time in the dark until about 8:30. We will hold off planting any more trees until the rains start as it will be easier to keep them watered and in the shade. It was fun planting with a solar light and phone flashlight. The night watchman made many trips back and forth carrying the water bucket from the well so we could water all the bushes. The night sky was amazing and the weather was perfect for camping under the stars. No one else thought that was a good idea!