Tanzania - The Traveller Returns

I'm finally home after 30 hours in transit!

Our last day was very sad as we had to leave our children and say goodbye to everyone. I made them a display of alphabet letters which they love, as well as a world map (Britain had been missed off the hand-drawn one they already had!)

We spent our evening shucking corn in the dark with the family across the street which was great fun and a real chance to get involved in the community. We managed to get through a massive pile, singing the Tanzanian songs we've learnt while we worked.

Then we hung out and chatted, it was a relaxing last evening which was just as well as I had to get up at 3.30!


So now I'm back, reflecting on my experience. I've learned such a lot - mainly the amazing sense of community in Tanzania. Everyone gives to each other even if they have nothing themselves. I miss that in London - although I really appreciate everything else that I've taken for granted back home.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone - hope you've enjoyed the blog!

Kwa Heri xx

Tanzania - Final Week

Hamjambo,

This may be my last blog from here as internet is so bad and we're so busy.

We've had a packed last week. Five of us hiked to a waterfall in the foothills of Kilimanjaro at the weekend and it was fantastic. The rainforest scenery was breathtaking and it really felt like we got off the beaten track.

We also visited a tiny coffee farm, picked coffee beans and helped our teenage guide to make it into coffee - all done by hand. The farm was literally a hut where he lives with all his extended family. The amount of work to manually farm coffee is incredible - I'll certainly appreciate my next cup!

Yesterday we visited the UN Rwanda War Crimes tribunal in Arusha (about an hour away). It was very interesting although we didn't get to go into court due to witness protection. I was amazed that this tribunal has been going on for ten years and they have still only convicted a few of those responsible for the massacres. It's a lengthy and dangerous process - a witness was killed only last week. They are doing a good job in difficult circumstances and hopefully justice will be done eventually...

We've also been visiting orphanages. I was quite impressed with the one I saw - the nuns work hard and they have pretty good facilities. The children are very undemanding but seem pretty content.

We visited the local hospital on Tuesday. It was a very eye-opening experience. Patients are often three to a bed and anaesthesia is minimal. Burns are a particularly common complaint, as is malaria, and we also saw a woman with leprosy. Facilities are basic to say the least and the smells were very different from hospitals in the West! Operations are often just done under local anaesthetic in the ward with all the other patients watching. We saw the HIV clinic which was the most modern part of the hospital. Almost all the patients are women as most men are still in denial - women are blamed for the infection simply because men refuse to get tested.

So now we are making the most of our last placement days. I've become really attached to my kids and I'll be sad to leave them. I'll also miss the beautiful scenery and the friendly community. On the other hand, I'm glad to be escaping the dust, horrendous roads and malaria! My friend Sheri has gone down with it (despite paying for the expensive tablets like me). Apparently we are not invincible after all which is a little worrying as I'm covered in bites.

Anyway, I'll post some pics when I get home on Sunday. Thanks for reading - it makes my epic trips into town for slow internet worthwhile!

Tutaonana xxxx

Tanzania - A day at the Amani Nursery

Hamjambo,

We are now settled into life in Karanga and I thought I'd write and tell you about an average day.

It's hard to give exact timings as everything runs on Tanzanian Flex Time (TFT). My teacher doesn't even have a watch, he just guesses how the day should work and it changes every day.





Everything starts and finishes earlier so we go to work at 7.30. The kids arrive in dribs and drabs although there are always enough to come out and bombard me when I arrive! We get them into the classroom at roughly 8am and they begin the day by singing songs and praying. The songs are in English and most words are incorrect - they have no idea what they're singing. They also say a very jumbled English version of the Lord's Prayer which makes no sense at all.





Then we chant numbers, letters and words for what seems like forever. After that he just tells me to teach so I improvise. They LOVE the books I brought and we also play games like Bingo. Then they sit patiently for 15 mins while we painstakingly write them lists of sums or words to copy in their very tatty exercise books. Then I help them - it's pretty much like teaching back home.

After sitting on their chairs for 2 hours, they are finally allowed out to play and we have lots of fun although they are violent and fight a lot with no sanctions - occasionally he'll smack their leg with a stick.

Then we return to class for Uji (porridge) which is made in a plastic bucket. I am a big fan of porridge but this is not my favourite! They have no breakfast though so they appreciate it.

They are sent home any time between 11.30 and 12.30 and just wander off down the road on their own - even the little 3 year olds.

The bus drives round the very bumpy roads and picks us all up, then we return to the homebase for our cultural talks - human rights, AIDs, education, etc. Really fascinating - we have learnt a lot. We then have Swahili lessons so it's pretty busy!

We occasionally have time to go out and chat to people around the village, shop and visit the tiny local bar which is just in someone's back garden. We have been sampling the delights of Zed (spirit distilled from sugar cane). Surprisingly delicious but lethal! We've also discovered banana beer (not like the stuff from Belgium - it's worst thing I've ever tasted).

So we're pretty busy but all is good. More later.....

Kwa Heri xx

Tanzania - Safari

Hamjambo,

We have just returned from the most unexpectedly amazing safari! I say unexpectedly, because I didn't have high expectations for the trip, it was simply a way to pass the weekend. A budget camping safari arranged by a tiny local company. In fact, it turned out to be fantastic! Ten of us took two trucks across Tanzania to the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara (about 5 hours from our home). The drive itself was worth the trip - we left our corn plants and banana fields, travelled through flat, arid savannah and then found ourselves surrounded by lush mountains and rainforests. It was a fascinating taste of Africa - busy streets, colourful clothes, goats wandering, Maasai warriors on bikes, beautiful gardens and sadly, the ever present poverty.

We entered the Ngogorongo Crater, passing baboons along the way. We chose the budget option and I'm glad we did - our campsite was right on the rim of the crater, with fabulous views. We had a great night chatting under the stars, and trying to keep warm (it's the coldest place in Africa and was bitter). In the night we were visited by warthogs and a herd of zebra! The next day we took the steep track down into the crater and were rewarded with sightings of more zebra, wildebeast, hippos, hyenas, lions and elephants!

On Sunday we went to Lake Manyara where we saw elephants again. This time the herd totally surrounded our truck and simply carried on their leisurely business as if we weren't there - sucking up water, dusting themselves, eating, scratching. There was even a tiny 6 month old baby. I felt really privileged to be a part of it. We were also surrounded by giraffes which was pretty exciting. I had no idea that the animals would come so close.

We finished our weekend with a trip to a Maasai village which was quite disappointing as it felt like a tourist sideshow rather than a genuine insight into their culture. We felt exploitative and exploited in turn. However, we did get to see inside a Boma (house) which was the most cramped, dark and claustrophobic place I have ever been. Whole families like in this tiny cupboard like space, with all their goats! I would like to learn more about the fascinating Maasai culture, but sadly this was not the opportunity. The level of poverty was also difficult to see.

The poverty here is not always initially evident - until you realise that some people are surviving on around 80p a day, and that although the cost of living is cheaper, it is not that cheap! The people we have met and stories we have heard really bring home the huge difference between Western and African standards. Women are still often seen as the property of their husband or father, and girls still miss out on education. HIV/AIDs is also very prevalent and continues to carry a huge stigma. It seems that lack of education contributes to a whole range of problems. We have been lucky enough to listen to various speakers including a lawyer from a women's rights movement.


We are only just scraping the surface but I could go on forever! I won't because there's a queue for the internet but I'll be back when I can.

Missing you and hope you're all well.

Kwa heri xx

PS. Thanks for all the comments - it's nice to know that someone is reading my ramblings! xx

Tanzania - Teaching

Hamjambo!

We are now 3 days into our placements and are settling in well. The children are great, so happy and affectionate. They are very accepting of my poor Swahili (which is improving slowly). I am getting to know the teacher better, he is a kind and accepting man - although he was totally shocked that I live with my boyfriend! Apparently they are much more conservative over here.

He explained that the children pay 5000 shillings a month (the equivalent of less than 2 pounds 50p) but that many are too poor to pay. He lets them come anyway which is more generous than many schools I've heard about where children are simply sent home if the parents cannot contribute.

I have brought some supplies with me but I am not allowed to donate them to the school as it is the mission of CCS to empower the community rather than donate. I understand this as we often see the damage done by volunteers giving out presents that cannot be replaced.

I think I am lucky with my placement. Some volunteers are placed in schools with 70 children in a class. Corporal punishment is commonplace. One girl is at the district hospital and has witnessed some horrible things that I won't go into on here. However, everyone is rising to the challenge and we are all agreed that on our third day, we are settling in nicely.

Anyway, got to go as we are exploring the local cuisine tonight! We are off on a safari at the weekend so more next week....

Kwa Heri xx

Tanzania - Arrival

Hamjambo!

I have arrived safely after 20 hours, 3 flights and 3 continents. The first 3 days have been a whirlwind and we've only just managed to get to the internet cafe. I'm struggling to type as most of my keys are too worn to see the letters!

I am in the village of Karanga in the Kilimanjaro region. You can supposedly see Kilimanjaro from our homebase but it has been cloudy since we arrived - it's winter here and colder than we imagined. The homebase is down the bumpiest road I have ever seen but when you eventually arrive, it's lovely. I'd compare it to a really nice hostel - we sleep in dorm rooms of four and eat all our meals together (delicious!)


Showers are often cold which would be fine except the weather is not hot! We wash most of our clothes in buckets in the gardens. We are surrounded by banana and coffee plants, so high that you can hardly see the huts and houses nearby. There are 32 volunteers, including a youth group. Most are from Canada, a couple of Americans, one Australian - and me! I like being the only Brit and they love my accent. The staff are all Tanzanian and welcomed us warmly. We are now a 'family' with Mama Lilian at our head.

We spent 2 days doing orientation activities - visiting the local town, Swahili lessons, lessons onTanzanian issues and cultural activities. Kim and I were sent out to buy sugar cane yesterday which was quite an experience. We found ourselves deep in the jungle and had to buy it from two old women working on a tiny farm. Our Swahili nearly failed us but we did manage to get our point across. One of the women took us even deeper through the undergrowth and chopped us down two pieces of sugar cane - each about 7 foot high. We then paid her and returned to the homebase, only to find out that we'd been totally ripped off (not our fault - having never bought sugar cane before!)

We started volunteering this morning. We are all posted in different places - schools, orphanages, hospitals and nurseries. I am at the Amani Nursery which is a tiny one roomed classroom near a church. There is just one teacher, a woman who makes uji (porridge) and me! There are 22 children ranging from 3 to about 7. Facilities are extremely basic - it is exactly as I pictured it, although they are lucky to have some tatty exercise books. Although it is called a nursery, it's more like a Victorian school. The children sit in rows and repeat numbers and letters in Swahili and English. They seem to understand some of it but there were few practical activities today - rather different to teaching in the UK. The teacher is a very gentle and kind man, his heart is definitely in the right place. He speaks some English and is very welcoming.

The children absolutely mobbed me when I arrived - they are very huggy and it's great to be able to hug back! (banned in England) I am slowly learning their names and have been having simple Swahili conversations with them. I'm hoping to put my teaching skills to good use and get them off their chairs by teaching them lots of songs and games. I'm under no illusion that I can make a massive difference. Education seems to be basic at most and I just have to do the best I can.

Anyway, there's so much to say, but enough for now. We are all shattered, although coping well with the culture shock, and I'm actually really enjoying the challenge of the language barrier.
More soon....

Kwa heri x

Tanzania - Preparations

I'm volunteering in Tanzania in August so I thought I would write a blog of my adventures. I'm heading for the Kilimanjaro region and I'll be working for Cross Cultural Solutions, teaching 3-6 year olds. Hopefully a life changing experience!

I'll be setting off on Friday night! It's come round so quickly. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of flight booking, visa applications and vain attempts to learn Swahili.

The amount of greetings for different members of the community is daunting enough, let alone actual conversation. Primary school children are taught in Swahili so that will test my behaviour management skills to the max (surely it can't be worse than my class this year?!) Anyway, I'm sure I'll pick up lots when I arrive.

I'm going to be teaching 3-6 year olds at the Amani Nursery which is just outside Moshi in the Kilimanjaro region. I've managed to 'borrow' a few resources from school - I'm sure they will be much loved by my new students!

Now I'm packing and trying to come to terms with the fact that this time next week I will be teaching in Tanzania! I'm bursting with excitement as this is something I've always wanted to do. I just hope that I manage to teach them as much as they're sure to teach me! I'm also a little nervous as I'm going on my own, but that's part of the adventure. I'm in touch with the other volunteers - a varied and interesting bunch.

I'll try to post when I finally get to an internet cafe, although the connection is notoriously slow so I may have to keep you waiting for photos. I doubt I'll manage regular blogs but I'll make sure that I update it when I get back.

Let the adventure begin!