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