Posted on

Dusty Road to Kabanga

When you’re doing anything in Tanzania as mzungu, you’re bound to get some attention – some wanted, some unwanted. Mostly – the attention I get is wanted, even (most of the time) when it comes to the repeated requests for saidiya (help) … most of the time, I must repeat. Sometimes, it’s annoying and exhausting at best.

In this one case, I didn’t need to be asked. The babu or grandfather for one of my young friends, Saidi Sadiki, is named Saidi Mkete. He’s such a cool old man – and I say that based on my observations of his behavior and others’ reactions to his words. I barely understand him but I adore him as if he were my own grandfather and again, I barely know him. I think this is because there is something vulnerable and wise about him.

The vulnerability comes from his near blindness. His eyes have been bothering him a lot recently and he is progressively losing his sight. As the sight goes, it leaves him in great pain. I thought he was fully blind when I first met him because he’s always sitting with his head in his hands – or his eyes resting on his knuckles. He’s never without a cloth to wipe his eyes.

Continue reading “Dusty Road to Kabanga”

Posted on

Give a Girl a Smile, Watch Her Glow

The other day was a day of serendipitous moments. Serendipity is really only interesting to the ones experiencing it, really – although I quite get a kick out of sharing and hearing about others’ experiences. So, in case you’re like me – here are two that happened the other day.

I had planned to go to GOSESO to talk with the class about proper treatment of the baboon orphans that live there. Those little guys are my buds and I heard that the students are teasing them, making them fight each other and scaring them a little bit. So, I thought I would show them how nice the baboons can be and what some proper people-animal behavior might look like – especially on a campus that is supposed to be promoting wildlife conservation.

But, alas – we were deterred from our plan mid-route. We got the message via text right as our dala dala was passing Mwandiga Secondary School. I had planned to visit the school at some point before going, so no time like the present! We dropped down from the dala dala. Continue reading “Give a Girl a Smile, Watch Her Glow”

Posted on

Finger Lickin’ Good

I love eating with my hands. I love sitting down to a meal of whole fish, beans, spinach and rice with freshly washed hands because I know what comes next. I get to squish some rice around in my palm, making a nice tight little ball that I use to collect spinach before stabbing some fish that I just peeled off the bone and then wading through the beans. Then I take the whole messy stack, scooped onto my middle, ring and pinky fingertips and with a little help from behind, my thumb pushes the whole delicious helping into my mouth. I look around and enjoy seeing a room full of adults eating with their hands. Naughty naughty … or normal. Continue reading “Finger Lickin’ Good”

Posted on

Rafiki Zangu – My Friends

Although my work now is primarily in the village of Mgaraganza, I still have some important lasting relationships with the first village I lived in during the summer of 2008 – Kiganza. It’s been wild to stay in touch with people from so far away – see their faces light up when I return year after year, watch their families grow and shrink with births and deaths, share in their children’s delight over going to school and just sit in the comfortable silence of their small, humble homes with no need to say too much. Continue reading “Rafiki Zangu – My Friends”

Posted on

Dokumenti – Some Humorous Finds

There are lots of writings here – on t-shirts, dala dalas, walls, signs and in various other random spots – that just make you chuckle a bit. I saw a dala dala (minibus public transport) drive by with the following on the back window:

Don’t tease me, if you can’t please me

There was a cute little girl standing in the market in her black skirt and a pink t-shirt that said: Tough guys wear pink. That was funny in the moment and became even funnier when we saw a piki piki (motorcycle taxi) driver wearing a pink woman’s jacket and then another young man walking with a pink woman’s purse a few days later. Tough guys use pink purses. Continue reading “Dokumenti – Some Humorous Finds”

Posted on

Salt Lake City’s McGillis School Greets Mgaraganza Primary

A few days ago, I wandered through Mgaraganza village with Lucas and a couple of friends. Those of you who know her will laugh to hear that Rebecca (Becky) Burton is here in Kiganza, TZ living at GOSESO as I did three years ago! She worked with the Salt Lake Film Center and we collaborated on a Burundi film project a while back. I gave my business card to Shujie, another girl staying at GOSESO and when Becky saw it, she was in disbelief – just as I was when I got her subsequent email saying she was here.

Anyway, Shujie, Becky, Lucas and I were walking to see the building site for Amahoro Secondary School and we passed Mgaraganza Primary School. I remembered that I needed to set up a meeting with a standard 6 teacher to discuss visiting with letters I brought from Cassi Lanie’s second grade class at McGillis School in Salt Lake City, UT. I had visited Cassi’s class back in February when they were studying Africa. Hadley Rampton and I visited with slides about animals, homes, language, school and family in Tanzania plus some information about our upcoming summer project in Mgaraganza. After our chat with the students, they wrote letters for students in Mgaraganza. Continue reading “Salt Lake City’s McGillis School Greets Mgaraganza Primary”

Posted on

Nime Choka Sana! Lakini, sasa naweza kubeba mawe!

Which means: I’m so tired, but now I can carry stones (‘to the head’, as they say). If I had typed up this blog yesterday after working with the villagers in Mgaraganza at the school site, the title might have read ‘Eff That!’ And ‘That’ would have been a reference to the work that we did – which was ridiculously difficult and in my opinion just plain ridiculous. But let me back up a bit… Continue reading “Nime Choka Sana! Lakini, sasa naweza kubeba mawe!”

Posted on

Amahoro Secondary … Coming Soon!

My good buddy Carter Jensen has arrived in Kigoma! I thought it would be a long lonely road for me from this point on – after saying Kwaheri to my girls on July 5th, but now Carter – a good friend from SLC, UT – has arrived! On his first day in town, Carter had to endure a day heavy on the business for Project Wezesha. This was our tick list: open a post office box, open a joint bank account (Lucas and I), register Project Wezesha in Tanzania, meet with the architect for school plans, meet with the Kigoma Ministry of Education, meet with the land officer. Continue reading “Amahoro Secondary … Coming Soon!”

Posted on

Tulienda Kiganza – Visiting the Children

Today we made our way into Kiganza village to visit with my friends – young and old. It was an emotional day for several reasons. Lucas met us in town in the morning and after puttering around a little bit to get some money changed and buy some sunscreen, which we shockingly found in the duka la dawa (pharmacy), we hopped on the dala dala for my first ever ride into the village. In past years, Lucas and I would ride part of the way until the road basically became impassible by cars and the transport cars wouldn’t go further. From that point, we would walk 1.5 hours each way in the blazing sun (uphill both ways). After walking 3 hours a day, eating dust, burning flesh and starving – we would grub down on a full fish and some rice together and I would collapse in the bed. This year, we three spoiled princesses get a ride right up to the Kiganza market – footsteps from the homes of the students Project Wezesha supports and the families I’ve grown to love. From here, it is still a 30 minute walk to Mgaraganza village, but it’s through the shaded forest and across a stream, so who’s complaining! Continue reading “Tulienda Kiganza – Visiting the Children”

Posted on

Interview with Hadley and Laura

I asked Laura and Hadley some questions on the veranda of our hotel the night before they left. Emotions soared as they thought back on some of their experiences.

You’ve been in the city, the beach, the small town and the village. Which do you prefer and why?

L: I don’t like the big city at all. Zanzibar is good for tourism. I felt relaxed there and wanted to go to the beach. I liked the atmosphere. It’s touristy so if you’re looking for that, it’s good. If you’re looking for life experience and something deeper, then being here(in Kigoma) is the thing.

H: I would say that Dar was not my favorite place, but I’m glad that I experienced it because it let me see kind of the sad state of affairs of the reality of things here. That people would be coming from villages to Dar looking for a better life only to find more desperation is unfortunate. Zanzibar was a nice touristy respite, but it did feel touristy and didn’t feel as real. And now that we’re in the villages the landscape is incredibly beautiful and while the people are probably just as poor as they were in Dar, there is more warmth and there is more friendliness. It makes me sad that people would leave the villages where there is still warmth and love to go to a place like Dar where the desperation is that much more evident. Overall, I would say that I’m enjoying my experience in Kigoma and surrounding villages the most because it feels the most real to me and I am enjoying connecting with the people on a more personal basis. Continue reading “Interview with Hadley and Laura”