Tanzania - Wiki Moja na Wiki Mbili

Mambo everyone! I’m so sorry that it has taken me so long to tell you that I’m in Africa, I’m in one piece, and I’m trying to take in as much as I can as quickly as possible… it’s been an overwhelming week and a half but I’m very excited to finally be here! Pole sana (very sorry) that I haven’t been able to post sooner… we’ve been busy working out the initial details of our transition into Tanzania, dealing with project issues, and unfortunately do not have functioning internet at the apartment yet. I’ve been itching to share stories with everyone from home, though… hopefully once we get into more of a routine I will be able to communicate more regularly!

Alison and I (and our baggage!) made it to Mwanza on the evening of Wednesday, August 8th after a complicated ride overseas… i.e. Heathrow’s “One Bag Rule” that requires you to ‘consolidate’ your two pieces of hand luggage into one (not a possibility for someone who has packed for a 5 month trip, especially when that someone is a chronic over-packer like me), accidentally taking the train to Paddington Station instead of Heathrow’s Terminal 4 when we realized we’d have to check our extra baggage, being delayed ‘indefinitely’ at the Kilimanjaro airport and not being able to get a hold of the girls to let them know, etc. Hamna shida (no worries), we’re here and that’s all that matters!

In Heathrow - not impressed about the one bag rule.

On Wednesday night (after our first cold shower and settling in to the apartment), the girls took us for dinner at Tilapia Hotel (right on the shore of Lake Victoria with amazing views of the hills of Mwanza) and introduced us to some of their friends from the area who they socialize with at nights and on weekends. We thought it would be a good idea to get a square meal in and stay up as late as we could to try and get over our jet lag. Afterwards, we came home and passed out… 5 hours of sleep over 3 days (back to back red-eye flights) makes for two very tired girls!

We woke up early on Thursday morning and took a taxi with Jackie and Kim to NIMR (the medical research facility where the probiotic cultures are made for the yogurt kitchen) to drop off the new supply of GR-1 probiotic cultures and CO2 packs that we brought over with us from Canada to restock the lab. We met some of the staff and discussed the need for a new freezer to store the cultures in, since the microbiology lab works with serum and blood samples and we need to ensure that we minimize the risk of contaminating our bacteria. We have requested a quote for a new freezer and will present the request to the project’s Canadian counterparts as soon as we can. I spent some time preparing an accountability form that will require signatures from both the individual who is picking up the cultures to bring to the kitchen and from a member of NIMR to attempt to provide more structure for this component of the project.

From NIMR, we came back to the apartment and left almost immediately with Jackie to the daladala (crowded hop-on/hop-off van-bus) station to get a ride to Mahina, a community on the outskirts of Mwanza where a lot of HIV+/PWLAs (people living with AIDS) who receive yogurt from the community kitchen. Jackie wanted to drop off some pictures that she had printed for community members, as well as some female condoms I brought from home for one woman (she had requested them from Jackie - most likely for contraceptive purposes as we suspect she is already HIV+). The last time the summer interns were at Mahina, they had been invited to see some local homes and businesses but couldn’t because of bad timing… this time we suggested it to the group again but they couldn’t facilitate it because they were working on settling up financial details of the group microcredit (loans) program they had set up. This is a great example of active self-empowerment which is a wonderful thing to see in a community that faces a lot of challenges (poverty, disease, and the incredible stigma associated with HIV/AIDS). We walked through the area on our own and talked project before heading to Mabatini, the community where the yogurt community kitchen is located.

At Mabatini, we stopped by the kitchen very briefly for a quick meet-and-greet with the yogurt mamas who were on shift that day. We had a chance to sample our first bit of Fiti (this is what the mamas have chosen to name the yogurt)… plain yogurt, very light – delicious!

The mamas making yogurt at the community kitchen!

In the afternoon, we headed out with Missy and Kim to the bank and to purchase our cell phones. Yes, I’ve finally caught up with technology and am the proud owner of a blue Nokia! We stopped by an internet café for 30 min which provided a good opportunity to send emails home to assure everyone that we’re doing well here in Tanzania. We headed home and left again via taxi to Tunza Lodge where a Californian missionary named Jenny teaches yoga on the beach twice a week. Picture perfect moment of the week: practicing yoga (from the Far East!) on the beach with several mzungus (foreigners) from all over the world, looking out on a setting sun and two Maasai men in traditional dress walking out on a dock into the lake.

Yoga on the beach at Tunza Lodge.

Friday the 10th was busy as well – the day started at the Tukwamuane yogurt kitchen where Jackie had to finish up video interviews with the mamas. Alison and I entertained ourselves (or were entertained!) by interacting with the crowds of schoolchildren who stopped in front of the kitchen to observe the goings-on. We came back to the apartment for a quick lunch courtesy of Jackie and headed out again to NIMR so she could videotape an interview with Joseph Mwanga (a senior research scientist who has been involved with the project since its inception). A 15-minute visit ended up taking closer to 2 hours as we had to figure out a filming location and get Jackie’s power adapter sent from the apartment, etc. etc… Joseph was very accommodating, however, which really showed us how things can work on “Mwanza time”. Later in the afternoon, we went to the kitchen for our first experience with the mamas’ English lessons. They are such quick and eager learners and have really absorbed a lot from the girls this summer! I have new-found respect for everyone who works teaching ESL (especially to my friends who are headed to Asia for long work stints!)… English is such a challenging language to teach and to learn.

Spending time with the local kids outside the yogurt kitchen.

On Saturday, we left with the girls’ friend Major to Kijereshi camp just outside of the Serengeti National Park. It’s about a 2-hour drive from Mwanza, and you can camp there for $15 without paying the fee to enter the park. We met our friends Henk, Janine, and Laureen who had set up tents and gotten a fire started before we arrived. In the morning, we set out on a game drive (as an aside: the roads are generally terrible in and around Mwanza, cars don’t last very long here due to constant ‘offroading’ conditions) – we managed to see zebras, baboons, ostriches, and Thompson’s gazelles… very exciting to experience this side of Africa so early on in our trip! On our way home on Sunday, I started feeling very ill and was up all night with a fever and a funny stomach. I thought it best to hold off on being tested at the clinic in case this was just my body’s way of adjusting to Africa.

Chasing ostrich in the Serengeti!

Unfortunately, I woke up on Monday morning not feeling any better and by Tuesday I headed to the clinic with Jackie to be tested. Lucky me – I have amoebiasis, which can be contracted from the water here. Jackie was diagnosed with malaria (only one “ring” on the test). This has taught me early on that sickness is just part of the experience here… as long as you’re able to access medical care in a timely fashion, it’s manageable. The summer interns have accumulated a long list of maladies between them – multiple cases of malaria, worms, amoebas, typhoid etc. Not something to be taken lightly, of course, but it certainly is encouraging to know that you’re not alone. I promise that I’m taking all the precautions I can, though… we’re being careful!

Although the early part of this week was ‘iffy’ because of my illness, I was able to focus my efforts on working through some of the project accounting from the apartment (bank statements, Mamas’ receipts, reports from Canada) to consolidate the numbers. We hope to revamp the way that money is handled here and to ensure that the Mamas are included fully in all financial decisions so that they can take ownership of the project.

The Mabatini Community where the yogurt kitchen is located.

By Thursday (the 16th) I was ready to head into town again. We ran a couple quick project-related errands in the morning, and after lunch the girls took us through the market for the first time. It was really incredible to see all the merchants with their produce and I’m looking forward to figuring out some bartering skills so I can really capitalize on having it so close by. I sometimes feel like I’m going through sensory overload here with all the new experiences… it’s amazing. We attempted to get into several internet cafés but had no luck. Jackie and Missy brought us to Forever Angels orphanage in the afternoon where they have been volunteering once a week. The orphanage is run by a British woman named Amy who worked for several years in Tanzania before deciding to start an orphanage with funds raised from home. There are about 20 babies/toddlers there right now but there are plans for growth, in which case the numbers will likely double in the future. It was great to spend time (even though our visit was very brief) with the kids and I know that both Alison and I are looking forward to including the orphanage in our weekly schedule. Last night, we headed to Tunza for yoga on the beach which was very relaxing and gave all us sickies an opportunity to stretch out our tired bodies.

The five of us at Tunza Lodge (Missy, Alison, me, Jackie, Kim).

This has been such an overwhelming transition and I’m looking forward to feeling more settled over the next few weeks. Thank you everyone for all your supportive emails and calls – it’s been wonderful to hear from home! Hopefully we’ll be able to get a better handle on this internet situation soon so that my updates will start to be a bit more regular… for now, I’ll leave you hata wiki ijayo (until next week)!