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.
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