Amose/Happiness Update & TAFCOM Newspaper Article

So...here is a perfect example of the communication difficulties we experienced in Tanzania. It looks like we were calling Happiness and Amose by the wrong names! I've been writing about the very sick man we met in Moshi and calling him Happiness. But apparently HIS name is Amose and his WIFE is Happiness (we had their names reversed). Sorry about that!

The good news is that Amose (the man) finally made it to the hospital and had his surgery. As of three days ago, he was still in the hospital recovering and the folks at TAFCOM were checking in on him often.

While we were in Tanzania, my volunteer partner Erin was busy writing an article for her local newspaper. Looks like it was published over the weekend! Go to http://www.thespec.com/article/570702 to read it.

And more good news...just as I was leaving, Erin decided to throw a fundraiser for TAFCOM during her final two weeks in Moshi. It sounds like the event went well and she was able to raise 1 million TSH (approximately $755 USD) for TAFCOM!!! That will be so incredibly helpful to TAFCOM and the families they support. Go Erin!!!

Safari - Day 3 - Tarangire

The third and final day of our safari was in Tarangire National Park, which is best known for the many herds of elephants who roam around the 1100 square miles of the park. I think I posted about one encounter with an angry elephant just after I returned from safari...that was in Tarangire! I'm sure we saw at least 50 elephants that day. They are imposing, almost majestic creatures - to give you an idea about their size, here is a picture of one walking in front of a Land Rover, a vehicle which comfortably fits 9 people!

Tarangire is also known for the massive baobab trees that dress the landscape, some of which are THOUSANDS of years old. The baobab is an enormous tree - there is nothing to compare it to in North America (except maybe a house!). It is seriously the biggest tree I've ever seen, like nothing I could have imagined. Using a herd of gigantic elephants as a point of reference, here is a photo of several elephants next to one of these trees! Because of their size, the tops of baobab trees act as a natural "rainwater collection system" and they store lots of water in their massive trunks. Unfortunately, elephants have figured this out and use their tusks to rip into the trees and eat the moist bark, especially when they don't have a good water source. You can see the damage to this baobab behind the elephants.

I don't think I've mentioned yet how fortunate we were with the weather during our weekend safari. Tanzania is REALLY HOT AND HUMID, plus we were there during the rainy season, but we had the most beautiful weather on safari! The temperature was almost cool, the sky was a perfect blue, the sun didn't seem too hot, the humidity was low, and we got zero rain. The weather could not have been any better - we were wildly lucky. Here is a picture of the bridge over one of the rivers inside Tarangire, and you can see how great the weather was that day.

The rest of these pictures are also from our day inside Tarangire: giraffes, gazelles, a deer-like animal whose name I can't remember, warthogs, baboons, and more elephants. Enjoy! [Click on any image to see it full-size.]

Safari - Day 2 - Ngorongoro Crater

On our second safari day we woke up very early to make the 2+ hour drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area and, more specifically, Ngorongoro Crater. The crater was formerly a volcano (~3 million years ago) that exploded and collapsed on itself, leaving a huge basin in the earth that works as a natural enclosure for the local wildlife. The drive to the park was picturesque - exactly how you probably imagine a drive through Africa! We saw a giraffe just wandering along the side of the road, Maasai huts and villages dotting the plains, women carrying water on their heads in buckets, men tending the goats or cattle, etc.

To get into Ngorongoro Crater you have to drive all the way up to the top of the crater edge and then all the way down the other side and into the crater itself. The park office is about 3/4 of the way up to the top of the crater, and on the morning we arrived there was a marathon getting started. The air was filled with energy! It was exhilarating to be there and none of us minded waiting for the runners to begin.

At the "top" of the crater wall, the road has a scenic overlook where we stopped to take in the view below. It was BREATHTAKING - here are a couple of photos from that spot, looking down into the crater. You can see that we were almost eye-level with the clouds! The altitude made the crater just look like some big field with a lake in it...let me tell you, looks can be deceiving!!! According to Wikipedia, the crater hosts almost every individual species of wildlife in East Africa, with an estimated 25,000 animals inside the crater. We spent the entire day down in the crater and saw thousands of animals! All day long I was wishing I had a better camera - I promise that my pictures don't do this any justice! To give you a better idea of what we saw from the crater ridge, here is a link to a Google image search on Ngorongoro Crater.

From the top of the crater it was another 45 minutes of driving, down winding dirt roads, to get to the crater floor. Almost immediately we came across dozens of zebras, just hanging around eating breakfast. We were allowed to get out of the vehicle to stretch our legs and the zebras were close enough to touch! This was our first up-close encounter of the day, and I think all seven of us took far too many pictures of zebras. But it was so exciting! :-) We didn't realize that this was only the beginning of many, many zebra sightings. I would guess that they are the most populous animal in the crater, or maybe a close second place.

There are traditional Maasai living in Ngorongoro, who speak just enough English to barter with the tourists. They were rather aggressive this day, shoving each other out of the way and pushing trinkets in my face. I only had to pay 1,000 TSH for this photo (~US$0.75) but got suckered in to buying a couple of necklaces, too. Thankfully we only had to deal with them near the entrance to the crater and they left us alone the rest of the day. Maasai are semi-nomadic livestock herders who continue to maintain their traditional lifestyle (as much as possible), although many Tanzanians don't think that the Maasai will be able to continue living this way for much longer. They are already heavily influenced by and dependent on the tourist industry, which is likely the death knell for their traditional lifestyle.

Throughout the day we saw many, many more animal species. Again, I wish I had had a better camera! The animals look much further away in these pictures than they really were. As I mentioned in my last post, I have waaaaaaaayyyyyy more pictures of our safari than are posted here. I hope these give you a taste of what I experienced! (By the way, if you click on any of these photos they should open up to actual size.)

Here's a quick description for each of the remaining photos:

1) LIONESS # 1 - this was the first lion we came upon, and she was sunning herself on the side of the road. She had her babies tucked away in a nearby ditch where we could hear their little meows! Our group was silent and practically holding our collective breath during the ~5 minutes we were parked next to this beautiful creature.

2) BABY ZEBRA with wildebeest in the background. This little guy was really cute!

3) GAZELLE

4) WATER BUFFALO

5) HYENA

6) BLACK RHINOCEROUS - another exciting moment! There are only ~30 black rhinos in the area, so it is very rare to see them - we were really lucky!!!

7) WILDEBEEST

8) WATER BUFFALO SKULL

9) NGOITOKITOK SPRING - one of the most picturesque areas of the crater. We stopped here to have lunch and it was serene and peaceful, except when the bird flew into Shari's lunchbox and startled her. Her lunch flew everywhere!

10) LIONESS # 2 - she was EVEN CLOSER to our truck! If you enlarge the picture you can see the flies on her snout. She was beautiful.

11) ELEPHANT - on our last pit stop before leaving the crater, we came across an elephant grazing nearby the bathrooms. She looks so far away in the picture, but she was so close! (Shari is in the foreground.)

12) VERVET MONKEY, just after jumping INTO our truck and stealing some cookies!!!

13) VERVET MONKEY ON BUFFALO SKULL, enjoying his stolen cookies

Safari - Day 1 - Lake Manyara

I had promised more pictures of our 3-day safari and I will try to recap only the highlights. I took an excessive number of photos and will not subject anyone to viewing all 300+ pictures! The first day of safari was in Lake Manyara National Park - this was a sign at the entrance that (I thought) had a beautiful statement. The first half of the park drive was through a beautiful forest. Although it was the middle of the day, the light was filtered through layers and layers of foliage so some of the photos came out a little dark.

Almost immediately after we drove onto the park road, we encountered a troop of baboons. There were dozens of them in the road, in the bushes, in the trees next to the truck. Several jumped up onto the vehicle to check us out. Here is a curious young male who just about gave Shari a heart attack! We thought he was going to climb into the truck with us!

We were fortunate to see many, many elephants during our safari. They travel in groups (herds) and most of the herds we saw on our safari had babies in the mix. This is the matriarch of the first herd we met in the forest of Lake Manyara.

We drove out of the forested area of Lake Manyara Park into a breathtaking lake basin that stretched for miles. We saw giraffes, impalas, wildebeests, water buffalo and hippos!

At the hippo pond (pictured here) we were allowed to get out of the truck to stretch our legs and look around. Our guide explained that each of the "lumps" you see in that pond is actually a hippopotamus! There were approximately 30 hippos in the pond; occasionally one would shift or stand up for a few moments. We learned that hippos have very thin, sensitive skin that can't handle the African heat, so they stay in water during daylight hours and only come out in the evenings to eat. Our guide said that it is extremely rare to see a hippo out of the water during they day, and if you do happen to see one you might be in big trouble - hippos are considered the most dangerous animal in Africa! They are VERY territorial, aggressive, and fast - they will charge anything they perceive as intruding on their river territory.
We stood at the hippo pond for a long time, trying to get some good pictures and just soaking in the amazing sights surrounding us. Eventually our guide made us get back into the truck to head out of the park. As he turned the truck around and started to drive away from the hippo pond, what do you think we saw? A HIPPO OUT OF THE WATER! I guess this guy got hungry early and needed a snack. We were so fortunate to see this rare sight! [Side note: if you ever go on safari, go ahead and spend the bucks to get a really good camera! There were so many times I wished I had a telephoto lens, this instance being one of them.]

The drive back to the park entrance was full of giraffes (and more elephants) - it is really something to see a giraffe just hanging out on the side of the road eating some leaves, or to have to stop your vehicle to let giraffes, elephants, zebras or warthogs pass in front of you. The entire safari experience is beautiful and surreal!!

Adjusting again

The trip home was long and my flight from London ran so late that I missed my connection in Houston. What a tease to be so close to home! Thankfully they got me on the next flight and I arrived only a couple of hours later than originally expected (and my luggage only a couple of hours after that). I was so happy to arrive back in the States that I took this goofy picture.

So, I made it home safely and (think) I'm adjusted to Austin time again. It is both strange and lovely to be back in the States. Here is a picture of Buddy enjoying a gift from Africa, a Maasai spear. Seeing Buddy and my puppy dogs again was wonderful, doing laundry with a washing machine and dryer was a real treat, and I actually managed to drive on the correct side of the road with no problems! [I was concerned about that - Tanzanians drive on the left side of the road and it took me a good three weeks to get used to it. Just as I really felt comfortable it was time to come back here! I had a nightmare before leaving where I was driving down Capital of Texas Highway on the wrong side of the road.]

Re-adjusting to my "normal" life has been fun, and I have to tell you that I am delighted by the simplest little things now. Take the sink, for instance. I have really enjoyed being able to turn on the sink faucet and 1) KNOW that the water will come out every time, 2) be able to USE the water that comes out, say, for rinsing my toothbrush or even drinking, and 3) have HOT water whenever I want it! My first shower back home was perhaps the best bathing experience I've ever had!! Small little miracles of modern technology that I always took for granted, until I lived in Africa.

Erin (the other volunteer at TAFCOM) had created a funny list of things she learned in Africa, and one night at dinner we helped her flesh it out a bit. My personal favorite was: You know you're in Africa when your daily skin care regiment consists of DEET and hand sanitizer. I am happy to report that I have not used a drop of DEET or hand sanitizer in three whole days now! :-)

On Monday we ate at my favorite restaurant in Austin, Mother's Cafe, where I had a huge plate of steamed vegetables and sage mashed potatoes (I had plenty of veggies in Tanzania, they were just doused in oil or butter or sauce). YUMMY!! I also drank freely from the glass of water that was full of ICE CUBES! I haven't had ice cubes in over a month! I told you, I'm delighted by the smallest, simplest things!

I spent all of today learning more about forming a non-profit corporation and getting myself organized and back into "work mode." I know that I promised more pictures and stories once I got home, and that will be a focus over the next few days. So stay tuned!

Landed in Austin!!!!!

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Oh the JOY!!!

I'm sitting in London-Heathrow Airport at an internet cafe, trying to hold down my utter excitement at the speed of this internet connection. I forgot just how lovely advanced technology could be!!!!!! It's the little things in life that tickle me. =)

Well, I'm almost halfway home and had a good 9 hours of flying from Nairobi to 1) try to sleep and 2) think about my time in Tanzania. I can't say that I did very well with either of those options. I tried my best to sleep, as it was an overnight flight, but you know how comfortable it is in economy class. Even melatonin and an eye mask didn't help very much. I hope that means I will sleep well tonight (in my own bed!!). For now I'm downing the MOST DELICIOUS cafe mocha to try and keep my eyes open for the next 10 hour leg of flying. If I can make myself stay awake until this evening in Austin then I won't have terrible jet lag tomorrow.

With regards to task number 2, I know that the full impact of my experiences in Tanzania has not "hit me" yet. At the moment (besides feeling tired), I feel sad that I had to leave and have a strong desire to return some day soon. I feel almost protective of my memories, wanting to replay events and relive the experiences in my mind before talking about them with anyone else. I am pleased with myself for keeping a fairly detailed journal over the last four weeks (separate from this blog) and know that it will be one of my greatest personal treasures. I am as prepared as I can be for the coming reverse-culture-shock (but I have to tell you again how excited I am about this fast internet connection, my cafe mocha, and people who wear DEODORANT!!).

I can't call my mother right now because it's the middle of the night in the U.S., but HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to you Mom, and all you other moms out there.

Much love to you all, and see you soon!

The End and The Beginning

This is a picture of our volunteer group on safari in Lake Manyara Park. Jessica took the photo but I really dig it!

We got an update on Happiness' condition and he is doing worse. The poor man needs some sort of surgery on his bladder or kidneys (he currently has a catheter that has been replaced once due to the infection). Because of the language barrier it is hard to understand exactly what's wrong, but the doctor says that he will not get well without surgery. The surgery will cost a grand total of $50 USD (60,000 TSH), which is also about the cost of sending a child to school for a year here. Nie and Erin are going to take him to the hospital on Monday, but they will have to pay for his surgery in advance before he will be admitted. Nie has decided that she will pay for the surgery out of her own pocket, but I am trying to gather some money from the other volunteers to help her. Can you imagine a surgery in the U.S. costing only $50?!

I am sad that today is my last full day in Tanzania and my last day at TAFCOM. Tomorrow I get on a plane to return to the States and begin to figure out what to do next. What an amazing journey I have had!!!!

This morning I said my goodbyes to Nie and Jonas, who gave me a very sweet card and took me and Erin out for coffee. I also had to say farewell to Mama Lilian (she is MZUKA - awesome) because she is going to Dar es Salaam for the weekend. In Swahili there are several ways to say farewell - kwaheri, which means "goodbye," or baadaye, which means "see you again." I've been using baadaye a lot and hope that I will return here some day.

Much love to everyone and I'll see you soon!

Kangas...and finding my purpose

The women in East Africa are well known for their brightly colored clothes, particularly a garment called the kanga. It's an amazingly versatile piece of cloth that they use for everything from head wraps to shirts to dresses/skirts to grocery bags to baby carriers! I am fascinated with what I like to call the "Baby in a Pouch" use. Somehow mothers can tie their infant or toddler onto their back by using ONLY a kanga. It looks a bit like a baby in a brightly colored backpack, with just the little baby head and feet poking out. I've tried to spy on a few mothers while they secure their babies this way, but have not been successful in figuring out how they do this Baby in a Pouch trick. I might ask Mama Lilian to show me tonight, as today I purchased my very own kanga! It's pink and yellow and says "Natural Woman" in Swahili. =)

Last week I was feeling pretty homesick and had a couple of days where I just wanted to go home. The language barrier is definitely an issue, but there are plenty of other challenges here that make me feel as though I'm not getting anything done or being of any help. However, seeing the wonderful program at Amani yesterday gave me hope again and this morning I woke up with a great deal of clarity and a feeling of purpose. I know that I can help TAFCOM to develop and fund their Children's Center.

Before I left for Africa, my friend Jane jokingly predicted that I was going to return to the States with an adopted child. This was quite funny to me, because I have never had a desire to have children (and still don't! Don't worry, Buddy!). But in a way Jane was right - I have been deeply affected by the 35 TAFCOM kids and their families, and have a strong desire to help them in whatever way I can.

Certainly people like Happiness and Amose have also made a strong impression on me, but the harsh fact is that Happiness and Amose are dying of AIDS and there isn't anything I can do to save them. Yes, we might be able to make their transition a little easier and their deaths a little more comfortable, but in the very near future they will be gone. And then what will happen to their son? Where does that leave him but on the street, without an education, and destined to repeat the same cycle of poverty and, very likely, disease? What if he had the opportunity to go to school, had a bed to sleep on, and got to eat three meals each day? Surely that isn't a substitute for having loving parents, but if TAFCOM was able to provide those things for him then maybe, just maybe, he would have a shot at living a better life than his parents were able to live. And maybe, just maybe, there is something I can do to help.

Happiness & Amose

We went back to visit Happiness and Amose (pictured here) today - you might recall that Happiness is the very, very sick man we met a couple of weeks ago. This time we stopped at the market on our way to see them and picked up some food - for about $3 USD we purchased three oranges, two avocados, a bunch of bananas, two kilos of rice and a kilo of sugar. [Side note: during our last visit we also met their neighbor, Veronica, a feisty old timer who told us she is "the oldest woman in Africa" when we asked her age. Veronica was visiting with Amose and Happiness, so we were able to see all of them again today. She is a hoot!]

Happiness has now been bedridden for two months, with the exception of two trips to the hospital. He is still unable to move, although he did speak briefly today which is improvement over the last time we visited. I felt helpless there, not knowing what to do other than give them the food we brought. Nie (our mentor) is at least able to have a conversation with them and offer her words of support and encouragement, but Erin and I don't know the language so it's hard to do anything more than stand there and feel awful for the situation in which they live.

Once again, I was taken aback by the condition of their "home." The walls were not even brick, more like a jumble of rocks and mud and sticks. The metal sheets for the roof had plenty of holes to let in the light and rain and mosquitoes. It is really appalling. Of all the families we've seen, this couple has affected both me and Erin the most. It is hard to see someone so close to death without the medical care or support that I honestly take for granted. And even though this man has AIDS, I think he will probably die of starvation before the virus kills him.

On a happier note...this afternoon a few of us went down the street to the Amani Center for Street Children, which is a brief walk from the home base. They are probably the most organized and successful program that we've visited here. They house and educate about 300 children of all ages (up to 18 years old) and the facility is large and beautiful by local standards. The two evening teachers were attempting to organize a soccer match among the kids, which mostly just looked like mass chaos, but it was great fun to watch. Erin even joined in the game for a bit in her skirt and bare feet! It is nice to see an organization that is able to do a lot of good in the community. I hope that one day TAFCOM will realize the dream of their Children's Center and that it will be as wonderful as Amani.

Considering the week ahead

This weekend was fantastic - Zanzibar is absolutely BREATHTAKING. White sand beaches, exquisite turquoise water, amazing architecture, and an eclectic mix of Arabic, African and Indian cultures and history. Stone Town was fascinating and I really enjoyed exploring the narrow streets and learning as much as I could about the former slave trade, the reigns of the various Sultans, and the arc of the spice industry. What an awesome place! I'll have to post some pictures later because the computer I'm using does not want to cooperate.

Today began my final week in Tanzania and I have such mixed feelings about that. On the one hand I really miss my dear partner and family and friends (and air conditioning!), but on the other hand I feel that there is so much to be done here and not enough time in one lifetime to make a dent in it, much less in four weeks. Our mentor at TAFCOM, Nie, reminds us to take it pole-pole (slowly); patience is absolutely a requirement in Africa.

Erin and I have had some good email exchanges with past TAFCOM volunteers and I feel like I have a clear mission when I get home - establish a US-based 501c3 organization to enable contributions from the States, as well as be a good ambassador for TAFCOM. Once the 501c3 is established, several avenues for fund raising will open up for us, including being able to accept donations through Facebook. Seeing as how I don't have a job, I should have plenty of time to work on getting the entity set up! :-)

Today we took the always fun daladala to Pasua to look at the site for the future TAFCOM Children's Center (you may recall that they currently rent a small room to house the kids). About two years ago Jonas and Nie sold their only car to purchase the plot of land for the Center. Jonas believed that if well-wishers or organizations could see they really meant business about building a Children's Center, then the funds to do so would follow. I guess that's a real life example of "putting your money where your mouth is!!" The money they got from selling the car purchased the land and enough building supplies to start a foundation for the future Center. The land and the foundation and a pile of bricks now sit patiently waiting for the money and the hands needed to build the Center.

As I worked in the office last week, I asked Jonas if he had a budget for building the Children's Center. He said he would bring something to me this week and I suspect that I'll see numbers by tomorrow. This morning he brought in the architectural drawings/plans for the center, which are simple but very nice - eventually the structure would be three stories and include classrooms, dormitories, a store front for their tailoring students, and plenty of office space. The layout is such that it can be built in phases, starting small in Phase I with a basic classroom and office space. Over time the other phases can be added when the budget allows. I am interested to see the proposed budget later this week! I think that having a "business plan" for the Center is an important step towards being able to raise the funds to build it.

The heavy rains and Nie's illness last week prevented us from visiting many families, so we hope that the next two days will allow us to do that. Erin and I are anxious to go back and visit Happiness and his wife Amose, and we plan to take food with us this time. We also want to see the kids again to tell them goodbye and give them their last round of pipi's (candies - and it's pronounced PEE-PEE).

Relaxing in beautiful Zanzibar.