October 30, 2014

Today was a day that I will remember for a long time. We began by coming to our Step Up Nursery School for our final day of teaching. We taught them, at the teacher's request about fruits and connected it to what we taught them about colors last week. We also reviewed the months of the year song we taught them yesterday. They are smart and could remember it and loved the hand gestures too.  We made up a song to the theme of "I Love the Mountains" that went for fruits. "I love the apples, I love bananas, I love oranges, I love papaya, I love pineapple, and watermelon....fruits are delicious, fruits are delicious. Fruits, fruits. fruits are delicious FRUITS." The really like the song and it is actually very catchy- ask Yvette, she couldn't stop humming it ;) It was fun to see which kids love to sing, which love to color, how smart they are to remember what the things are we are teaching them and even in another language can recall what they are called and the songs. Love these kids! Luckily this little girl that Sam and I nicknamed Sticky Fingers, was too preoccupied to be rubbing her sticky fingers all over me today ....hahaha, but seriously!  George was great today and Maggie was a little down which was the first day she has been anything but all smiles, she perked up later though. It is interesting, after talking to Hussein who runs the school that many of the kids are beaten at home, have rough home life. There was one boy I didn't see at all the week before but was here all week. When he showed up I thought he was new, all Hussein was that he had a rough home life. He looked beaten up honestly when he came to school. But he seemed to have a really good week and really was trying to learn the song today and was so cute about doing his coloring. 

We had a chance to really visit with all the teachers after class today and gave them all the materials we had made that they can use again. I also wrote out all the lesson plans we had done and gave them to Hussein so that they could repeat some of the things we had taught them. We left all our visual aides. Once again we got so many compliments from the other young teachers, and Hussein that we were "professional". I don't know totally what they all meant by it since we were definitely fake it till we make it, but maybe it means we made it...at least we kept up the front and used all our best songs and stuff we had-- which I don't think could have filled more than a couple weeks.... :) But it was nice that they really appreciated us and I feel that all 3 of us had a positive influence on the kids and the teachers. 

After school we had time for "Reflections" and feedback that was conducted by our leaders Sarah and Mama Fatuma. We shared some of our suggestions that maybe they could incorporate into their program for those that are there for 6-12 weeks. Rather than just more teaching in the afternoons maybe they could for those that are interested have an adopt a grandparent program. Yvette and I were talking and how great would it be if some of those elderly people we visited yesterday had a friend, a regular visitor. Many of them live alone or support a small grandchild and they might like some interaction or support. Our feedback about the program and our experience was basically that they were doing a great job and we loved our placement at Step Up and we loved the cultural experiences, especially the visit to the orphanage, Batik class, waterfall hikes, and elderly visits. 

When we were done we ate and then headed out to visit some of the children that we were going to support. Originally I was thinking Sam and I would just take 1 child each. Then mentioned it to Yvette to see if she was interested in supporting one child so that they could continue with their education. She said yes. We spoke with the two women who were organizing this program and had gone to the homes of these kids, the ones that need it the most. As we were ready to head out they explained more about where we were going and that there were 10 kids there and we could meet them and chose the ones we wanted to sponsor and if we knew anyone else that would want to sponsor these kids ...they really need the support so they can continue school. You could feel the love these women had for these kids, those they didn't even really know but saw what their life was like and wanted to help. There was a moment of pause when they were so grateful and then Yvette said, actually I would like to sponsor four more- one for each of my girls. At that moment, what I would call the spirit, just filled the room, the woman just collapsed over and began to cry. It was so moving that she cared so much about these kids and her desire to help them was so genuine. I then spoke up and said I will take the rest, each one of my children will then have a child to sponsor and my husband. Done, we had taken on the whole group. Both women were stunned. They shook their heads with tears in their eyes and said this is a miracle from God. We can't believe this that all these children will be taken care of. I couldn't help but cry, the gratitude, the love, the feeling that this is how God works...he blesses those kids, he blesses those that are trying to do his work, he blesses those that can help support these kids. It was just one of the most tender moments. Each one of us, including Sam were touched. We said ok, lets meet the kids!

Right after lunch we piled into their car and drove out to the school that was about 20 minutes away. The kids that are in the most need have an individual teacher that helps look after them and give them after school support. All the kids came into the classroom right after class got out and we got to meet 8 of the 10 kids our two families will be supporting. They each stood up and spoke, introduced themselves and then told us what their favorite subject was and what they wanted to be when they grow up. Witness wanted to be President. She is beautiful and bright  and smart. The oldest girl wants to be a doctor and tried to speak to us in English. Their was a little older boy and he wanted to ask Sam questions. Prosper, the 12 year old was so shy and wore clothes that were so worn and kept his head down a lot of the time, told us he wanted to be a teacher. He loves Science. When our friend told them in Swahili that they were all going to be sponsored they all gasped. You could see a sense of relief in each one of them. The woman in charge said we were their 4th family- their family, their teachers, the heads of this initiative and now us. She told them we were going to visit some of their homes today. They each wanted us to come to their homes. The leader picked Sabrina, Witness, Fredrick, and Prosper. They were so excited. We then went out and took a picture of our new family outside their school. They ran to get their backpacks and met us back at the car, the four kids we were going to visit. 

First stop was Witness's home. Wow! She lives with her father, has no other siblings and her mother divorced her father because of his poverty and apparent drinking problem. They rent a single room in a very crude house, with other families renting other rooms and a communal kitchen that is just dirt with a fire and a pot. The only furniture we saw in the whole place was a bed made out of wood slats. She sleeps in the bed with her father since her "home" room is just 8 x8 foot space. She was so sweet and all smiles and hugged each one of us, including Sam. She reached out and gave him a big hug. It was so sweet. There was a neighbor woman at the house and she was really cute and that made us feel better. She seems to come by often and had a good nature. I guess her father is out trying to make a living and doesn't get back until late and is usually drunk. 

Next stop we drove to Prosper's home. Our car could only go so far and then we had to park by a stream and walk through fields and across streams until we reached his home. It was in the middle of what appeared to be a banana tree grove. He lives with his Aunt and Uncle, who have 9 children of their own. His parents both had died and has no other known siblings. The mother has her hands more than full with all the kids, and her husband, the Uncle is an abusive alcoholic. They live in a two room mud home and the father sleeps in one of the rooms, which looks like where they also keep grains etc and then the mother sleeps with her 9 kids and Prosper in the other room- which is covered in clothing hanging off a string, since there are no drawers and 11 people sleep in there. His cousin was sitting on the doorstep and looked really out of it. The big sister was there, she seemed nice and had a baby and is back living at their house- which makes her and her baby too. She said the mom was in the fields. She sent another child to go get her. She came back and was covered in dirt. She washed her hands in some water in a bucket and greeted us. She was very friendly and was so grateful that Prosper was going to be sponsored. We asked our host to interpret to the mother and Prosper that we believed he is a really good kid and a smart boy. That we need him to always go to school, do his studies and we know that he will be able to do great things and we want him to be happy. He was shy but smiled. He gave us each a hug and then said our goodbyes. It was really an unbelievable living situation and it must take him at least 45 mins to walk to school. 

The next child lived near Prosper, Fredrick. He walked us to our house and held my hand for a while. He lives with his grandmother. I think his father had died and mother abandoned him. He lives with his grandmother and don't think he has any other siblings but I think the grandmother takes care of other grandchildren too. He shares a bed with 3 others. He showed us his room. This time he didn't have a real bed, but a piece of wood balanced on rocks and some bedding and again a line with clothes hanging from it. HIs grandma said that each day after school he walks and cleans his clothes and then it is about time for bed. His grandmother seemed like a pretty good lady, but it overwhelmed. We are excited to be his sponsor. Again I was moved by Sam's compassion as he led the charge with giving him a hug and getting his picture taken with him. 

Then off to Sabrina's. We drove to her house. She lives likely 1 hr 15 min walk from school. It was so far down the road we thought she didn't know where she was going. But we got there and her grandma who she lives with was worried. She had just sent one of the other kids to go look for her, since she usually gets home earlier, but we had her with us. We apologized and our host explained why we were there. The grandma was so grateful. She explained that the security guys from the government come and hassle her all the time to pay the fees,  but she can't afford too since she is older and taking care of 3 of her grandchildren alone. Our host then asked her where is her mother or father. She explained with great disappointment that this is the daughter of her sister. Her sister was a woman that had slept around with many men and had many children from several men. Her niece, Sabrina's mother, was just like her and had several children with different husbands and she would be raped if she lived with her mother and so she has kept Sabrina and a couple of Sabrina's siblings so that they would be safe. It made me realize that cycles are so often repeated and she has broke the cycle with Sabrina by taking her and providing her a safe home. Sabrina's homelife was the best of all the kids we visited and felt the safest. When we were leaving Sabrina's Bebe- grandmother she calls her, said to wait and ran with a machete into a field behind her house- no idea what was going to happen. She came back with a stake of sugar cane from her garden that was as tall as a flagpole and a ripe mango that she handed to Sam. She wanted to have a way to thank us. It was such a kind gesture and one of value to her. 

As we came home in the car it just felt like the most significant thing we had done on this trip. My heart was full and also ached and also felt so hopeful for these kids as individuals they now had an opportunity to make something of their lives if they chose to overcome their hard situations, they had one more layer of support. It seemed one of the big reasons we had come to Africa. That evening in my room alone I just gave thanks to our loving Heavenly Father that allowed us to meet these two amazing women that are finding these kids that  need support, for their desire to help others in the best way they know how with their education. For the process they have gone through to find the kids that are really in need and a way that isn't corrupted to give to them where the child will directly benefit. I felt overcome with the feeling that God hears these children and families prayers and these women's prayers and my prayers to know why I was here on this trip, to make this experience have greater value and life changing value. I realize that what happened today was all people opening their hearts, our hearts to God, to one another, exercising faith and that through Him he connects us all. We do all that we can do and then he makes up the difference in all things. We all felt blessed today. 

Reflections from our time in Tanzania with Cross Cultural Solutions 10-30-14

Here are some reflections from our time here. I realize when I am writing about the days I don't include a lot of things that are actually the most meaningful parts of my day since they just slide into the day. For example yesterday one of the teachers came into our little outdoor classroom and just wanted to visit. She loved what we were doing and asked if we would bring her some paper tomorrow. We asked her about herself. She explained in broken English that she was an orphan. Her mother died when she was 7 years old. Her mother was pregnant with twins and they too died. That her father had also died. That she had no grandparents either and no other siblings. We expressed our love and support of her and how proud of her we were that she had become a teacher. It made me reflect that we don't know all these people's stories around us. That so many of them are making good on a tough hand they have been delt. There are many schools around and a large one right near our home base that is a big school for Street Children- those that have been orphaned and live on the street. This community like I am sure many others are reaching out and taking care of their neighbors and offering support to those that need it.

Two of the women we have come to know well  that are local Tanzanians, I found out the other day as I sought them out to just say hello, have personally on their own initiative found a way to help dozens of children in this community to be able to go to school by supporting their families with school fees. They have gone to local schools and found out from them what students are wanting to come to school but can't afford the fees associated with it. Although many schools are public schools the government still requires kids to have a uniform, pay for meals that are served at school and pay for school supplies like papers, backpack, pencils and many can't afford it. They find out who these families are and then go do a home visit to assess the family situation and then have found people to sponsor these children. They donate directly to the school which then allows the children to attend. I was moved by local women reaching out of their own situation and supporting those less fortunate.

Yesterday as we did our "Community Exploration" and we went into random neighbor homes, just giving a welcome as we walk into the front of their homes. They would all kind of put themselves together and  them welcome us to sit down. Most of those we visited were elderly. They were still supporting themselves and working to make due. Their children had all moved out and away and were trying to support their own families. One 80 year old woman makes local beer which she sells and manages her goats and home by herself. She had 7 children, 1 had died. Another had 10 children, 5 are alive. Her husband had also passed. She looked tired and yet still elegant wrapped in her Kanga. Her home fell apart which was made out of mud bricks and her neighbors helped build her a solid home for her to live in. Another woman had something like palsy take over her after she had her last baby 40 years ago and it is an enormous effort for her to walk she is shaking so violently. When she is seated she is ok. Thankfully she has a husband who was adorable. He has lots of banana trees surrounding their own which he sells bananas and tends their animals. They seemed fairly well off, in that they had a proper stone house and a tidy courtyard and many banana trees. He did have the most rotten teeth I have ever seen and was actually stunned that they were still in his mouth considered they were so black and brown. But they were so gracious and you could tell she was happy to have company.  They had 7 children, 6 alive- which he said he had a small family.  There seemed to be a neighbor boy there that should be in school I assume but was in a tattered shirt and seems to help out the woman. He was so cute and so shy, I realize there isn't much hope for kids that don't get an education and most people seem to really value that, but not everyone can afford it.

One day we drove past where William one of our student lives. He is the most friendly kid and really smart. He always gives us a wink and a thumbs up. The kids are such happy kids and want to just hold your hand and have personal contact like a high five or a hand hold- like most little kids. As we drove by his home as we were leaving school we gave him a wave, his mom grabbed him and dragged him into her house, but he reached out to wave again and a smile. We do spoil our kids with affection. Most kids are often left to their own devices here. I have seen almost every day one little boy with a tire each day sitting in the street on the road near our home base. Sometimes he is playing with this his tire. Some of the kids in the community we see them out late just in the streets. But that is also the culture here, they learn to become self reliant at an early age and that might be a good thing, since that is the reality of their lives.

The teachers at school think we are "professional" which just makes us laugh. We realize though that our bag of tricks and tools come from just being moms and also from our years of being at church. In our LDS Faith we each are given opportunities to serve and teach  more than I think any other church. We may not have the skills to teach and lead but we learn and we have faith and the resources and support to become fairly competent at it and learn to figure it out. I have to say that is one of the great things about our faith- it really gives us opportunities to grow and develop talents. I have been able to use many primary songs and turn them into songs that they can sing at school. We know how to keep kids entertained by both Yvette and I working in the Primary (little kid Sunday School) for years. Sam is used to being asked to pitch in because in church he is often called to share part of a lesson, lead the music, and be adaptable. He can be shy but learned that you have to pitch in and make things happen... I often call what we do "Fake it till you make it" :) It has been great to have such a positive influence on the teachers and kids and give them songs and games that they will continue to sing and play that will help them learn and with their English. It was so cute the other day we arrived at the school and they were all singing the days of the week song with the hand gestures we made up and the rainbow song too :) Yay!!

One last thing. One thing I wasn't thinking about when we came here was that we could be influenced and have influence on the other volunteers that were here. There was a large group when we arrived, many professionals  that were sent here as a work volunteer give back program in their company. They were great to meet and it was interesting to see them apply their different strengths to older teens and being in the medical supplies business, they were doing different things. One worked with teens in a Juvenile Detention center- he taught us about how he had made  break through with these boys talking about making a plan for your future. He bought a boom box and they would usually have some music in the background and how that really lightened the spirit in the classroom and would change their personalities even and their openness to engage. Another couple men were working with teen boys that it sounded like had some struggles from being orphaned to other challenges and they were trying to teach them about being safe and trying to figure out a plan at the school to teach them some skills since many will not move on in their education. Others were teaching health safety and explaining AIDS to kids and how they get it, how to be safe, and what our boundaries are.

There is one guy David here that is very much a loner. He hardly engaged at all, would eat by himself and be alone for most of the time. He was so soft spoken I couldn't really hardly hear him when he spoke. We have kind of made it a group goal- the 5 of us that came together if we can get David out of his comfort zone and join in a bit more. We don't know why he is here and what really brought him here except he found it on the internet but he seems to be working on some fears he has and trying to step out of his comfort zone. When he has sat alone a couple of us would sit with him. We began breaking the barrier a bit and would include him into our conversation a bit. Sam invited him to play frisbee yesterday. I joined and he was great at frisbee and got him more loosened up. Then last night we sat again with him and then we were bold and asked him if he wanted to join us in our nightly card game. He said yes! He was great and caught onto the games we were playing really fast and was smiling and having fun. We even had him play "Big Booty" with us! So fun. Great breakthrough day! We all felt good about breaking down the barriers. He did quietly walk away after our games last night. But we know it had to have been his most interactive day since has been here for the past 4 weeks. Look forward to talking to Sammi and Jenna in another month and see how he is doing and progressing and glad we could all be part of his breakout day.

Grateful for this opportunity. Grateful for the experiences and interactions we have been able to have.

October 29, 2014

Never have I sung so much in my life !!! ;) hahaha…but seriously!! We have come up with so many songs and then we sing them straight for 3.5 hours as we go through each group of 6 kids. I literally am a push away from falling on my face by the time we get back to home base and it is hot hot hot and we have been on our A game for hours. It is fun, but so exhausting!! Today we taught the kids a song about the months that I made up to the tune of the books of the Old Testament that we sing in Primary in our church. We go through the months and do hand gestures and then wrap up with “….these are the months of our calendar year.” We taught the kids this today. We reviewed the Days of The Week song and hand gestures and also the Rainbow song. We then worked on our song we are teaching them tomorrow. One of the teachers asked us to come up with a song to fruits. I didn’t know any songs with fruits but I ended up making up one to the I Love the Mountains tune. “I love apple, I love bananas, I love oranges, I love papaya, I love pineapple and watermelon, ….fruits are delicious, fruits are delicious, fruits, fruits, fruits are delicious,…fruits. Well Yvette couldn’t stop singing the song all afternoon. She made a great flyer for the kids to color in of the fruits in the song to help them learn the song. I took a video of her happily singing the song… literally for another 2 hours and then I showed it to her and told her I would post that video if she sang it one more time ;) hahaha. Well, that stopped that song :) We did the rest of the prep for our class tomorrow before we headed out on our community exploration. 

With Sarah, one of the leaders of CCS here we walked around the community dropped in on may elderly folks. Each one invited us in or to have a seat. Sarah translated for us in Swahili as we asked them questions. We even taught one of the old ladies our new fruit song! Each time as we were leaving after our visit we gave them a thank you gift of a big bag of sugar. It was actually really interesting activity and amazing how everyone does stop whatever they are doing to visit and be good hosts. I was really impressed that many of the elderly that we visited today live alone and support themselves solely at the ages of 80. one woman makes a living by brewing banana beer. Another elderly couple grow bananas for those that are making the brew. It was a fun outing. 

We had John take us into town after to get our juice boxes and lolly pops for our big close out final event at the park with all our kids.  We went to a small hole in the wall place that sold us juice boxes in bulk size. That was our last stop. Earlier we went shopping and I  bought my girls some cute casual flowy dresses handmade in Tanzania. We also made some copies of our flyer for the kids to color and for us to teach the song with. 

This evening we were all kind of delirious and just fired up for some reason. We played a couple hours of cards after dinner and played our 50th round of I Doubt It. Lots of laughs and we even got the really quite volunteer that is in his 50s out of his shell as we talked him into playing with us He was a  winner and it was nice to see his shell cracking. I am falling asleep as I type so I am off to med. Looking forward to a strong teaching day tomorrow and it being pretty chill since the kids love to color. 

October 28, 2014

Today was a great day. I woke up feeling much better. I was so relieved. I was hoping that I didn't have malaria yesterday since I was so drained and just didn't feel like myself but woke up feeling much better. Today we were going to the waterfall, coffee tour, Chaga caves, outdoor market and blacksmith.

We piled into the van: Jenna, Sammi, Yvette, myself, Sam and Sarah. John, our CCS driver headed toward the base of Kilimanjaro to the town of Maranga. As we passed through one of the towns there was a huge banana market going on. You have never seen so many bananas. For a mile before and a mile after there were people walking to the market with huge stalks of bananas balanced on their heads- mostly women and women of all ages. I was thinking if everyone is selling bananas who is buying them? John told us this region is known for bananas. There are other areas like Dar Salam where they don't grow bananas and people will come to this market and purchase them. They are all green and will last a week before they get yellow and need to be used. We also saw buckets of peeled bananas they were selling. I was wondering who would want to buy those. He said they were sold to make a local banana beer. I asked someone how much they were selling for. I said 10,000 shillings- which is about $6. There has to be about 80 bananas on most of the stalks. They said yes immediately- so that must mean they actually sell for much less than that, probably half. That is literally cents for each banana. Anyhow, it was just amazing to see all these people purchasing and selling their bananas and all these women carrying these bunches on their heads #awesome.

After we went to the blacksmith. We had a chance to pound on the metal against the anvil. I decided though the hardest job is the guy doing the bellows all day long. The bellows are made out of tires and they funnel into two pipes that push out onto the fire where they rest the iron in the fire and ashes every minute between pounding. They were making spears and machetes and other metal pieces. They were kind of in a artisan commune where there were others doing wood work- making beds and chairs. Sam bought a small machete to add to his weapons collection ;) I asked the man telling us about the iron work where did they get the metal. They said they go to junk yards and take old scrap metal from cars and melt it down and into spears, etc. I thought that was so clever. They are clearly picking up the torn tires too from the junk yard #recycleeverything. (BTW yesterday we were talking in hashtags all day- cracking ourselves up. Best hashtag of the other day was when I said I was over putting down my mosquito net and Sam said #seeyouontheotherside. Well, I decided I better keep putting down my mosquito net at night ;)

Before lunch we went to a coffee tour. In this area where many of the Chagga tribe live they grow coffee. They showed us what the beans look like when they are ready to be picked- they are red. They then have built this machine that essentially shucks the bean. They then wash them, dry them in the sun  and then they crush the beans which takes the husk off that inner bean. They then pour those into a basket and sift them by tossing them in the shallow basket and the husks fall out of the basket. From there they roasted them in a hot clay pot over the fire. Once they were so dark they looked nearly burned they pounded them again into almost a power, sifted them and then added them to water. Everyone said it was delicious. Yvette bought some for Donnie, the coffee connoisseur so we will see what he says :) In the same area they showed us the traditional Chagga homes. Come to find out that John our driver is  Chagga. He said he grew up in a home just like the one there. It has a rounded roof  made of straw and is much more spacious then the Maasai's hut. These huts and even the Maasai's had nothing modern in it or store bought except a bucket and a pot, as far as I could see. The children and women sleep on a raised stick bed covered in cow hide and then there is a fire and then the animals come into the hut as well.

This region before the time of Tanzania becoming a united country, there were many tribes and many tribal wars and invasions. As a way to keep safe these Chagga built a huge tunnel- like Hezekiah's tunnel in Israel. It is 5 km long and they would go down there to hide and there were long tunnels with breakout areas where people would sleep-  20-40 people - and then an area for their animals. The entry to the tunnel would be covered in banana leaves and would be disguised so those invading wouldn't know where they were. It wasn't very deep but about 15 feet underground and the tunnel went all the way to the river, so they would have fresh water for their animals and for themselves. It was pretty fascinating, a little claustrophobic and pretty darn ingenious. They said that up to 1000 people could be hidden in the tunnel and their animals!

Our final stop was the waterfall. The falls are on someone's private property and we had an elderly man take us down these steep dirt steps about a kilometer below street level. When we got down to the river it was so green and lush. It was dripping with ferns and veins and reminded me of Fern Valley this summer. It was so beautiful!!The waterfall was gushing and spectacular. Not sure where the water was coming from, almost presume some kind of ground water, since it hasn't rained in months. We climbed out onto the rocks and enjoyed the falls. Then our guide took us down to where people could swim. Sam was our swimmer. He jumped in and the water wasn't too cold. He enjoyed a swim. Sadly I lost my second pair of sunglasses in the pool. One of the other guides then immediately took off his shorts and dove in to try and find them- very chivalrous I might say. He swam around - although I am not sure if he really swam since he kept bobbing up like he was kind of freaking out .... but no luck. He did get a big tip for the great effort. Oh well, two pairs down lost to water. I have one pair to go. Thank heavens I packed 3 pairs! Yes, you can buy things everywhere but unless i want to be rocking some $15 huge DG knockoff sunglasses I am grateful that I have another backup pair;)

It was a great day. So nice to have an outing. We picked up some treats on the way home from our field trip and decided that I needed to be snacking throughout the days so that I can keep up my energy and not get as fatigued as I have been with the heat and 6 hours between meals. We also enjoyed a nice walkabout tonight and fun to explore our area before dinner.

Tonight we are getting caught up on blogs. We have internet again and although I never received my password update from apple, I am giving up on my email for another 3 weeks. If you need to reach me send an email to my xmission account and I can text you back- since xmission isn't letting me send either!! Hakuna Matata.... now worries. Heard this saying a thousand times since we have been here.

Tomorrow we teach the Months Song that we made up. I took the Bible song "Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers..." and made it into "January, February, March and April,...May, June, July August. September, October, November, December, ....these are the months of the calendar year!" Tomorrow we will teach it and play our board game with days of the weeks and months.  Hopefully will be a hit :)