This afternoon we have been given a little extra time to pack and get ready to go camping this weekend at a Maasai boma, so hopefully I will be able to upload some long awaited pictures. Check here or facebook later on today . . .
Today we concentrated on learning about the different aspects of AIDS and HIV, how it affects the people of Tanzania, and what it being done to help solve this issue. Our first stop was an aids nursing home/orphanage that they expanded to add on a day care and classrooms. At the nursing home they were currently housing about 20-30 patients. At the school/daycare we were able to go into a classroom and help teach small groups of students how to read and write the numbers 1-5 and the capital letters A,B, and C. This was a lot of fun especially since the children were so happy to have visitors. There were about 30 students at four different grade levels with one teacher!!!! I can't imagine teaching a classroom with four groups of students learning four different things, but the funding is not available to hire an extra teacher. All of the students have tested HIV positive and are reciveing free medication from the government. Most of the student are orphaned or being raised by other family members. Along with housing HIV patients who are in need of medical care, providing education/daycare for students, they are also reaching out to the community to educate others about the virus.
After lunch we stopped by WAMATA an HIV and AIDs organization that is all across Tanzania and Steven, our teacher is on the Board of the Arusha division as the secretary. At WAMATA they are working to empower people to get tested, providing medications, giving out small interest free loans, teaching vocational classes like taloring and drumming. I really like this organization because it is run by the community to support the community. Three women who are living with AIDs and HIV came to talk to us and share their stories. One of the women was shunded from her family and when people from WAMATA told them they were going to get her medications to help her get better they told them not to waste their time and money on her because she is going to die soon anyways. . . . she is still thriving today because of the help she recieved and her family has changed their view points about AIDS and HIV. Two of the women took out loans and have since repaid them and were able to take out a second loan. The loans that are giving out are a huge help because many people are not able to get a foot in the door and struggle to find a direction. For instance one women took a loan of 50,000 shillings so less than $50 with that money she was able to buy some chickens. After repaying that loan she was able to take out a second loan of 100,000 shillings with that she bought a bull. With out the loans it would have been a lot harder for her to get started and make a good living for herself and her family. It took a lot of courage for them to come and talk to us, it was very eye
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
29 July 2008
This blog is going to be short and sweet. We just got back from an overnight safari and I am exhausted, but there are some people I would like to tell you about.
Here at TCDC we have many wonderful drivers who not only get us safely from one place to another (which is challenging enough with traffic around here), but they also serve as body guards, give us information about EVERYTHING (the city, politics, animals, people) and answer any questions that we might have. They have truly been a blessing to all of us here. Tonight I am asking you all to say a prayer for Peter, two weeks ago his seventeen year old daughter died at boarding school due to complications of malaria. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Asante Sana!
(Thank you very much)
Here at TCDC we have many wonderful drivers who not only get us safely from one place to another (which is challenging enough with traffic around here), but they also serve as body guards, give us information about EVERYTHING (the city, politics, animals, people) and answer any questions that we might have. They have truly been a blessing to all of us here. Tonight I am asking you all to say a prayer for Peter, two weeks ago his seventeen year old daughter died at boarding school due to complications of malaria. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Asante Sana!
(Thank you very much)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
27 July 2008
Today we went to church with our teacher and good friend Steven. The church was called African Mission Evangelist Lutheran. About five years ago this church broke of from another church because of corruption. So they are in the process of building a new church. They have been working on it for 5 years and have a ways to go, but my favorite part is that it is being built by the people. Every Sunday they have an offering just for the building and the money they collect goes into buying more supplies for the church on Monday. Like today they collected 386,000 shillings and tomorrow they are going to buy more cement to finish the walls. Even though we could understand very little of the service it was still nice to have the feeling of being in a church and we were warmly welcomed. After church they had an auction of different items that we brought like fabric and t-shirts along with donated items from the community (even two live chickens :) Then we broke up into small groups to have lunch at the homes of different community members. My new family has a mother, father, one son, and two girls. The father is currently studying at the University of Dr es Salaam so was not around during our stay. The son Laurent will also be studying economics at the University this fall. Since, Laurent's father is not at home he has taken the car battery out of the car, hooked a converter to it so he is able to make his TV work. He said that his father would not be upset because he was using it to watch the "news" . . . and sports along with Spanish soap operas that were translated into English. Our lunch at their house was wonderful, rice, stew, mashed potatoes, spinach, oranges, cucumbers, avocados, tomatoes, tea, sodas, water . . . I am still full from all the food. After lunch we went to visit another family member who offered us coffee and biscuits. Culturally if you are asked if they can prepare you something you must say yes even if you are full. So I had some coffee and crackers. I wish I could post some photos because as we were leaving the sun came out and the kids were out playing soccer and the parents we laying around talking, cows were grazing on the green grass, with the mountains in the background. It was so beautiful, everyday I fall more and more in love with this place and the people!!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
26 July 2008
The blogs are starting to get harder and harder to write because there is a lot more thinking and processing of information that goes along with them. For instance, we have visited about three/four different schools and they are all different and every teacher has a different views about what type of education children should be receiving. It also doesn't help that the government has set strict regulations about the education from what classes need to be taken to the size of each classroom. There are specific regulations about the size of the classroom, they need to be a specific length and with with windows and doors positioned a certain area. We have visited private schools funded by organizations from the United States, public schools, schools in the city, and a school out in a small Maasai village. There are some big gaps in the educational system that could be hurting some of the cultures more than helping. For instance, we had a tour guide named Ben who went to primary and secondary school and now has an education and very good English. After graduation he went back to his village where the most important things is finding food, and knowing what plant does what. Every single school and every culture is so different that the educational needs of each individual is unique. The government has created guidelines in order to help the country as a whole, but not always beneficial for each culture or individual. This is what my final research paper is going to be about, the current struggles of the Tanzania educational systems and over the next few months it will start to be narrowed down.
Friday, July 25, 2008
25 July 2008
Mambo??
Yesterday we went to the coffee farm of Hamidu and his wife. On Hamidu's farm he had many different crops all growing together. Many farmers do this so that if one crop is slow one year they still have a different one to bring in income. We were able to help pick coffee beans, then take the shell off, dry them, and roast them, and finally my favorite . . . we got to drink fresh coffee right from the farm!!! It is by far the best coffee that I have ever had, it was not as bitter as the coffees found in the U.S. The family is not able to harvest all the beans themselves so they let people help out on their farm for money. They let other people "help" rather than "work" on farms because when you use the term "work" it is putting one person above the other and here everyone is the same. When people help on the farm they have to fill about a 3 gallon bucket full of beans and they get 500 shillings for it, which is less than 50 cents. It is said that some of the only people who are able to send their children to school are coffee farmers. School in Tanzania is free, but the parents have to supply the uniform, pencils, pens, and workbook. Which is very hard for some families.
Today we went to Maroroni village. It has a population of about 4,000 people. We were lucky enough to be able to help Martha and Reuben on their farm. They have 20 acres with beans, maize, sunflowers, cows, chickens, goats, geese, and dogs. We get made fun of for keeping dogs and cats as pets and letting them live in our houses because dogs are used to keeps other animals where they belong and cats are good for killing mice that could eat their plants. I have come to learn that everything whether it be work, school, or business in Tanzania the people always come first. When we arrived we were welcomed into the house to be blessed and have a prayer. Then we sat outside where we had tea and conversations about life on a farm in Maroroni. After all the talking was done we went into the field and got to work. Cutting down sunflower heads and collecting. We did this side by side with Reuben and Martha's family and later. It was a little frustrating because you want to have a conversation with people around you, but you are not able to because they do not understand English and I don't understand Swahili. Hopefully soon I will learn a little bit more and be able to hold a conversation.
After working on the field we walked about a mile to the center of town (town was about 5 buildings) we got to tour the primary and secondary schools and talk with some of the teachers. In the primary school they have over 600 students enrolled and only 11 teachers!!! I can't even imagine what it would be like to teach a class that size. The classrooms are basically four walls benches and a chalkboard. There were a few classes that were not being used, I thought it was because they didn't have enough teachers, but it was because they did not have enough desks to have another classroom. The attendance at the primary school on a daily basis is 93% and their are more males than females, which is typical in most schools.
It was a long day at the farm working and touring, but our day was not over. We had some free time from 4:45 - 6:40 and were previously informed that there was a orphanage called "Cradle of Love" right down the road from where we were staying that needs lots of help especially during feeding time. All you have to do is show up. We walked in and the first thing someone said was find a baby bring them inside for dinner. At Cradle of love they have a maximum capacity of 40 children and are currently at 35. The ages range from newborn to three years and there are only 4-5 full time workers and currently 4 volunteers. I can't even imagine! At the center I used to work at for infants the ratio was three children to one teacher and there were times when that was hectic and here they are taking care of many more babies around the clock. All of the children have been abandoned by their parents either at the hospital, sometimes along side the road, even found under a bush, and some the mothers die at birth from HIV and AIDS complications. This week a 4 month old baby was brought in weighting 6 pounds!!!! All of the children look much younger than they actually are because they have been malnourished. I was playing with one child who not able to walk and I didn't even think twice about it because he was so young . . . he was two years old.
It has been a long and enjoyable day and I'm so thankful for all of the wonderful experiences.
Love, Wendy
Yesterday we went to the coffee farm of Hamidu and his wife. On Hamidu's farm he had many different crops all growing together. Many farmers do this so that if one crop is slow one year they still have a different one to bring in income. We were able to help pick coffee beans, then take the shell off, dry them, and roast them, and finally my favorite . . . we got to drink fresh coffee right from the farm!!! It is by far the best coffee that I have ever had, it was not as bitter as the coffees found in the U.S. The family is not able to harvest all the beans themselves so they let people help out on their farm for money. They let other people "help" rather than "work" on farms because when you use the term "work" it is putting one person above the other and here everyone is the same. When people help on the farm they have to fill about a 3 gallon bucket full of beans and they get 500 shillings for it, which is less than 50 cents. It is said that some of the only people who are able to send their children to school are coffee farmers. School in Tanzania is free, but the parents have to supply the uniform, pencils, pens, and workbook. Which is very hard for some families.
Today we went to Maroroni village. It has a population of about 4,000 people. We were lucky enough to be able to help Martha and Reuben on their farm. They have 20 acres with beans, maize, sunflowers, cows, chickens, goats, geese, and dogs. We get made fun of for keeping dogs and cats as pets and letting them live in our houses because dogs are used to keeps other animals where they belong and cats are good for killing mice that could eat their plants. I have come to learn that everything whether it be work, school, or business in Tanzania the people always come first. When we arrived we were welcomed into the house to be blessed and have a prayer. Then we sat outside where we had tea and conversations about life on a farm in Maroroni. After all the talking was done we went into the field and got to work. Cutting down sunflower heads and collecting. We did this side by side with Reuben and Martha's family and later. It was a little frustrating because you want to have a conversation with people around you, but you are not able to because they do not understand English and I don't understand Swahili. Hopefully soon I will learn a little bit more and be able to hold a conversation.
After working on the field we walked about a mile to the center of town (town was about 5 buildings) we got to tour the primary and secondary schools and talk with some of the teachers. In the primary school they have over 600 students enrolled and only 11 teachers!!! I can't even imagine what it would be like to teach a class that size. The classrooms are basically four walls benches and a chalkboard. There were a few classes that were not being used, I thought it was because they didn't have enough teachers, but it was because they did not have enough desks to have another classroom. The attendance at the primary school on a daily basis is 93% and their are more males than females, which is typical in most schools.
It was a long day at the farm working and touring, but our day was not over. We had some free time from 4:45 - 6:40 and were previously informed that there was a orphanage called "Cradle of Love" right down the road from where we were staying that needs lots of help especially during feeding time. All you have to do is show up. We walked in and the first thing someone said was find a baby bring them inside for dinner. At Cradle of love they have a maximum capacity of 40 children and are currently at 35. The ages range from newborn to three years and there are only 4-5 full time workers and currently 4 volunteers. I can't even imagine! At the center I used to work at for infants the ratio was three children to one teacher and there were times when that was hectic and here they are taking care of many more babies around the clock. All of the children have been abandoned by their parents either at the hospital, sometimes along side the road, even found under a bush, and some the mothers die at birth from HIV and AIDS complications. This week a 4 month old baby was brought in weighting 6 pounds!!!! All of the children look much younger than they actually are because they have been malnourished. I was playing with one child who not able to walk and I didn't even think twice about it because he was so young . . . he was two years old.
It has been a long and enjoyable day and I'm so thankful for all of the wonderful experiences.
Love, Wendy
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
24 July 2008
I woke up this morning at 5 am to rain! Rain is a very good thing and common in this area, but since it has been very chilly the past few days. We have been wearing pants long sleeve shirts and jackets!! This morning was perfect weather for hot chocolate and coffee mmmm . . . . it was perfect till I took a sip and ended up with a dead bee in my mouth. I guess that's what happens sometimes when you are in Tanzania :)
The place we are currently staying at is called TCDC Training of development cooperation center. It is in a compound so there are a bunch of little units with two separate rooms. Here they train people from all over the world to get them ready to spend time in Tanzania for what ever reason they are here for. The classes we are taking have to deal a lot with the language and the culture. They have a dining hall where we get all of our meals and they have clean water all the time for us. A computer facility with free Internet. :) I'm staying in one with Stacey and we have our own bathroom with a shower!! We are so lucky that there is even hot water!!
I have been talking a lot with other students from our program and we all have kinda agreed that we thought we would have been more impacted by some of the things that we have seen. There are so many things to take in these next few weeks and it will take a long time to process everything that we have done and seen. So for right now I will keep on writing down my experiences so I don't forget and slowly start to process everything that we are seeing and hearing.
Well I am headed off to a lecture, then later go to a coffee farm to harvest some coffee beans and then lunch at a local resturant.
Have a great Day!!
Love,
Wendy
The place we are currently staying at is called TCDC Training of development cooperation center. It is in a compound so there are a bunch of little units with two separate rooms. Here they train people from all over the world to get them ready to spend time in Tanzania for what ever reason they are here for. The classes we are taking have to deal a lot with the language and the culture. They have a dining hall where we get all of our meals and they have clean water all the time for us. A computer facility with free Internet. :) I'm staying in one with Stacey and we have our own bathroom with a shower!! We are so lucky that there is even hot water!!
I have been talking a lot with other students from our program and we all have kinda agreed that we thought we would have been more impacted by some of the things that we have seen. There are so many things to take in these next few weeks and it will take a long time to process everything that we have done and seen. So for right now I will keep on writing down my experiences so I don't forget and slowly start to process everything that we are seeing and hearing.
Well I am headed off to a lecture, then later go to a coffee farm to harvest some coffee beans and then lunch at a local resturant.
Have a great Day!!
Love,
Wendy
23 July 2008
Today was our first full day in Arusha, Tanzania. After about only an hour and a half of sleep the day got started at 6:15 am. On our way to breakfast we saw our first monkey playing in the trees. We had an orientation class this morning about the TCDC Training center for development cooperation, and then Facts about Tanzania. Which was really interesting, especially when they started to talk about the poverty in Tanzania. According to our teacher Tanzania is not poor, they are actually very rich in resources including lots of minerals, coffee, gold, maize, and tourism. The issue is it is all being privatized and there is a ton of corruption from the government so the common people of Tanzania are not getting any sort of income from it. All the income goes to the investors outside of the country. Another thing that I found really interesting was that the government has set up a food bank where during harvest season the government buys food from the farmers and stores it incase a dry spell comes and there is a drought. Then the government sells the food back to the people at a low price.
After our history lesson we had our morning chai (tea break) and then headed down to lake Duluti where we sat outside and had our first Swahili lesson. After a picnic lunch by the lake we then headed to the heart of Arusha to put our new language skills to use. We first went to the currency exchange place where we got 1130 Tanzanian Shillings to the US dollar. We took a brief tour of the city and then went to the first market where they sold all sorts of fresh meat, produce, and dried fish. This was our first interaction of standing out in a crowd. The people are really friendly and want to sell you their products, so they will say "Karibu" (welcome) and"Sister sister look at this!!"and some will even try to get you to marry them. Our teacher told us to say yes for 10,o00 cattle. (This was a joke Mom and I promise I will be coming home and not some cows) Since, were warned about this before hand we were given some polite saying to say no thank you such as "Hapana Asante" and another longer one that I'm still learning. At first I was really hesitant to say anything at the first market, but by the time we got to the second market where they had arts and crafts I started to be more confident and was able to say "Jambo" and "Karibu" back to the vendors and even tell them "Hapana Asante" and they actually listened!! I even got enough confidence where I made my first purchase, which is a handmade bag and I even bartered to get a better deal!!!! We stopped by one last market to pick up our Kangas (fabric that you wrap around your waist to make a skirt) and our teacher Steven was with us and told us not to buy one for more than 5000 shillings (a little less than 5 us dollars) and I was able to barter again gaining with more confidence this time.
It has been one very long day, but a wonderful first day too!! I am excited for what tomorrow's adventures might bring!!
Love you and Miss you all!!!
Wendy
After our history lesson we had our morning chai (tea break) and then headed down to lake Duluti where we sat outside and had our first Swahili lesson. After a picnic lunch by the lake we then headed to the heart of Arusha to put our new language skills to use. We first went to the currency exchange place where we got 1130 Tanzanian Shillings to the US dollar. We took a brief tour of the city and then went to the first market where they sold all sorts of fresh meat, produce, and dried fish. This was our first interaction of standing out in a crowd. The people are really friendly and want to sell you their products, so they will say "Karibu" (welcome) and"Sister sister look at this!!"and some will even try to get you to marry them. Our teacher told us to say yes for 10,o00 cattle. (This was a joke Mom and I promise I will be coming home and not some cows) Since, were warned about this before hand we were given some polite saying to say no thank you such as "Hapana Asante" and another longer one that I'm still learning. At first I was really hesitant to say anything at the first market, but by the time we got to the second market where they had arts and crafts I started to be more confident and was able to say "Jambo" and "Karibu" back to the vendors and even tell them "Hapana Asante" and they actually listened!! I even got enough confidence where I made my first purchase, which is a handmade bag and I even bartered to get a better deal!!!! We stopped by one last market to pick up our Kangas (fabric that you wrap around your waist to make a skirt) and our teacher Steven was with us and told us not to buy one for more than 5000 shillings (a little less than 5 us dollars) and I was able to barter again gaining with more confidence this time.
It has been one very long day, but a wonderful first day too!! I am excited for what tomorrow's adventures might bring!!
Love you and Miss you all!!!
Wendy
22 July 2008
(I wrote this on the plane and finally got Internet access to post it)
I left Minnesota in true Wendy fashion . . . I left my keys for my locked luggage at home on my bed. Luckily I noticed this before I was through security and my wonderful neighbors were able to bring them to me at the airport. After being flustered and that commotion I'm not hesitant to say that I had a "What am I doing???" moment as I was going through security, thinking about how easy It would be to just turn around, but my feet kept moving against my greatest fears and I made it on the plane. I would be lying id I said that I wasn't scared or nervous, but while I was sitting at the airport in Amsterdam I realized that I have no reason to be afraid. I have my parents, brother, sister, extended family, friends, and so many more people praying and thinking about me everyday. Not to mention my closest friends, people from church, neighbors, and my three guardian angels up in heaven. Between all of you, I know that I am going to have an amazing trip. I know there will be hard times where I just want to reach out and grab the phone, but I get to relay on myself and Jesus to help get me through, and not to mention the other 9 students who are sitting on the plane with me.
On a lighter note on the flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro they gave us HOT TOWELS on the plane! It is the little things that make me happy.
Thanks to everyone for all your prayers, they are helping by providing comfort. So please keep the prayers coming and I will keep the posts coming!
Tutanana!! (See you later)
I left Minnesota in true Wendy fashion . . . I left my keys for my locked luggage at home on my bed. Luckily I noticed this before I was through security and my wonderful neighbors were able to bring them to me at the airport. After being flustered and that commotion I'm not hesitant to say that I had a "What am I doing???" moment as I was going through security, thinking about how easy It would be to just turn around, but my feet kept moving against my greatest fears and I made it on the plane. I would be lying id I said that I wasn't scared or nervous, but while I was sitting at the airport in Amsterdam I realized that I have no reason to be afraid. I have my parents, brother, sister, extended family, friends, and so many more people praying and thinking about me everyday. Not to mention my closest friends, people from church, neighbors, and my three guardian angels up in heaven. Between all of you, I know that I am going to have an amazing trip. I know there will be hard times where I just want to reach out and grab the phone, but I get to relay on myself and Jesus to help get me through, and not to mention the other 9 students who are sitting on the plane with me.
On a lighter note on the flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro they gave us HOT TOWELS on the plane! It is the little things that make me happy.
Thanks to everyone for all your prayers, they are helping by providing comfort. So please keep the prayers coming and I will keep the posts coming!
Tutanana!! (See you later)
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