In the afternoon, Alison and I decided it was time to satisfy our cravings for fresh produce and adventure, so we set off for a market that we pass on our way to the International Language Training Centre for our Kiswahili lessons. We bought sweet potatoes, a papaya, tomatoes, cucumbers, bananas and oranges for under $4.00 CDN… amazing! While we were out, we ran into McZedec from Kivulini who joined us for a walk. He educated us about the problem of street children in Mwanza. Though many shelters exist in the city, children often need a connection to get in, and many choose not to stay because they can make more money living on the street. He showed us the open field where many of them sleep at night, covered with cardboard boxes. There are many more boys on the street than girls – probably because many girls get swept into prostitution or don’t have the courage to leave dangerous domestic situations as quickly as boys do. It’s a huge problem, but it is encouraging to see that efforts are being made to improve the situation… for example, there is a youth group of teenage boys who Missy and Jackie worked with this summer who sell popcorn to raise money for school fees for themselves and other children. Every small step makes a difference!
A mud-brick home under construction in Bwiru.
On Monday morning (the 27th), we woke up and met with members of Kivulini to discuss the Deputy Minister’s visit. We were presented with invoices for the catering/tents/chairs/PA system that added up to quite a sum of money… one that Alison and I didn’t feel we could afford, living on limited project funds. We agreed that we would spend the day problem solving and coming up with alternative solutions for some of the pricier items. Kim was feeling quite ill and took off for the clinic (where she received a diagnosis of malaria and an amoeba… pole sana!) while Missy, Alison and I traveled up to Mabatini with Omari from Kivulini to scope out the grounds. We met with the headmistress of the school that is situated just beyond the kitchen and got her permission to set up tents and chairs in the schoolyard. From Mabatini, we drove into the city for a meeting at the City Council offices where we collaborated with the Mayor’s office, the Regional Coordinator’s office, members of Kivulini and Tukwamuane to finalize the schedule for the following day. During the meeting, the Mayor’s assistant confirmed that the Deputy Minister would be our sole responsibility for all of Tuesday… unfortunately we had only planned events to occupy her for the morning. From City Council, we went to Kivulini Kitchen (KK) (a restaurant that is run through Kivulini) to present our plans and problems to Maimuna, Kivulini’s Director.
When we met with Maimuna, it was agreed that we would host a lunch discussion at KK and then send the Deputy Minister to visit some other small community projects/NGOs in the late afternoon. When we returned home at 4.00pm, Alison and I met with Hellen and Jimmy from Kivulini to discuss further budget issues (i.e. no one had considered paying for the entertainment… etc.). We were adamant that we stick to our budget, which we had already stretched to accommodate necessities, so we worked together to cut down the guest list for lunch, cancelled one of the entertainment groups, and negotiated the use of the Kivulini PA system so we wouldn’t have to rent one. Hellen accompanied Alison and I to a local cook who agreed to provide lunch for us (chicken, cooking bananas and potatoes), then to Zagaluu’s (a shop across the street from the apartment) where we prepaid for crates of drinks that would be taken from the Pepsi delivery truck the next morning. After that, I walked over to the internet café where I downloaded the finished probiotic pamphlet that Jackie sent. I was so happy to come home at the end of an extremely chaotic day… I had a craving for my mom’s cooking so I made the girls a version of my favourite tomato sauce – delicious! I spent the evening preparing a formal proposal for the Deputy Minister and getting rested up for the next day.
Tuesday’s event (the 28th) was a great success. We met the Deputy Minister at the kitchen where she was given a tour, a sample of Fiti, and had a discussion with the mamas about their work. We walked as a group up to the schoolyard where it appeared that all of Mabatini had shown up to watch. The mood was very positive – lots of cheering (“vigele vigele” which sounds like a gurgly yell… made by quickly wiggling your tongue around in your mouth… very funny), singing, dancing and drumming. We heard speeches from the Mamas, Kim (on behalf of WHE), the Mayor of Mwanza, the Regional Coordinator, and the Deputy Minister herself. It was wonderful to see the community and local media participating in an event that celebrated the amazing work of our mamas… they deserved all the attention they got! From Mabatini, we came back to Kivulini to check on loose ends, and then drove to KK to start our lunch discussion. The meeting was challenging as a lot of it was in Kiswahili. I believe that it was very positive but am waiting on some details to be explained/translated for me by Joseph Mlinzi (the Mayor’s assistant) so I will wait to comment on specifics. We all said our goodbyes and somehow managed to make it to the school in time for our Kiswahili lessons. All in all, the day was a very positive step forward for the project!
A group picture with the Deputy Minister (in red) outside the community kitchen.
Wednesday (the 29th) was a much slower day after a frantic start to the week. Missy, Alison and I took a cab up to Mabatini in the middle of a downpour so that she could say goodbye to the mamas. From there, we traveled into town to meet her friend Letitia for lunch (a fellow Canadian who has recently married a Tanzanian and is returning home shortly to write her RNs), and then to Forever Angels Orphanage in Bwiru to spend a refreshing afternoon with the kids. In the evening, we went to Tunza for Kim and Missy’s big bittersweet send-off.
Chasing Joseph in the toddler’s play-yard at Forever Angels.
On Thursday (the 30th), Kim flew out in the early morning for home. Down to three of us, we decided to make the most of Missy’s final day in Mwanza and ran errands around town so she could take everything in. We stopped by the market on the way back home for lunch and picked up all the ingredients for a wicked homemade guacamole which we enjoyed before Alison and I were due at our Swahili lessons. We finished off the day at yoga class which was very much appreciated by our worn-out bodies!
Friday morning (the 31st) was very emotional as we accompanied Missy to the airport and saw off the last of WHE’s fantastic summer interns. Alison and I took the daladala back to the apartment with Pendo and reflected on the month that has just passed… now we’re here on our own! Exciting and scary! We got home and met with Kivulini to settle up some bills, prepared the mamas’ afternoon English lesson, and spent an hour at the internet café sending project updates and documents home to Canada. We walked up to Mabatini to teach, discussed project needs that must be addressed early next week, and gave a ‘pregnancy bag’ to Mama Sheda (Letitia received funding to prepare these bags for women at the hospital where she volunteers… they’re full of items that would be very helpful to an expectant mother).
We came back to Kivulini and met Beatrice who invited us to join her for dinner at her home in Nyakato (just north of Mabatini). We set off together via daladala and walked through her community to her home. I can’t say enough positive things about Beatrice… she is so warm and is incredibly driven to help others. She is already preparing to write up a constitution for the project she hopes to launch within the next year that will provide support to people with disabilities. We helped her to cook on her front porch – Nile perch (fresh from her trip to Musoma), cooking bananas, rice, and white beans seasoned with tomatoes and onions. It was quite a funny transition from cooking on the floor to eating in the living room with her mother who was watching “Big Brother Africa” on their TV. Strange how these aspects of pop culture can permeate even the most poverty-stricken/remote communities. Beatrice’s mother, Ruth, is also a phenomenal woman. A few years ago, she was forced to sell every belonging she owned in order to pay the fees required for Beatrice to write her final exams in high school. Now, she has taken in her uncle’s daughter who has been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and has plans to take in two more nephews in 2008 so that they can attend school nearby. The strength of the people we meet here blows me away… it is such an inspiration.
Beatrice preparing Nile perch at her home in Nyakato.
Alison and I have spent a calm weekend in our newly quiet apartment. We cleaned and moved into our new rooms on Saturday before heading out for the night. This morning we woke up and went into town to attend the English service at the Nyakahoja Catholic Church, went grocery shopping and made ‘ugali pancakes’ from maize flour (we were trying to make chapatti but used the wrong flour… oops!). We hope that we will be able to get into more of a routine over the next few weeks now that we’re here on our own. We’re missing the girls already but look forward to enjoying our independence and continuing to accomplish our project goals.
I’m leaving you this week with a brilliant quote by Henry James that I came across in the book I’m currently enjoying ('Reading Lolita in Tehran' by Azar Nafisi):
“We work in the dark – we do what we can – we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task.”
A young girl silhouetted by the sunset at Tunza.
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