Tanzania - Wiki Nane

Urban wildlife on the streets of Mwanza.

On Monday morning (the 24^th), our primary objective was to find a functioning internet connection so that we could get some project work done online. We prepared our files at home, loaded our USB keys and set off for town. At the internet café an hour and a half later, I reminded myself how thankful I will be for high-speed connections when I return to Canada. We decided that we were satisfied with what we had accomplished and stocked up on groceries at U-Turn (unfortunately, something that has to be done a lot more frequently now that we’re living with a boy). We returned home, put the final touches on the day’s English lesson and walked up to Mabatini to teach at the kitchen. We discussed the mamas’ participation in the rapidly upcoming SIDO (Small Industries Development Organization) Trade Fair in Mwanza and surveyed the new price changes that they chose to implement. They opted for the price scheme that increased the price the least – I suppose that says something about their interaction with their community and the financial ability of members to purchase the yogurt. Perhaps by the end of our time here we will be able to demonstrate to the mamas that they have a unique commodity that they would be justified in charging more for; however, these changes need to implemented slowly so as not to damage community relationships. We came home from the kitchen, I had a long chat with Jon (WHE’s Canadian project coordinator), and spent the night at home.

Teaching English lessons at the community kitchen.

I spent early Tuesday morning (the 25^th) editing two reports for Jodie (a Canadian Kivulini employee), and Alison and I brainstormed ideas for a marketing package that we intend to put together in order to promote Tukwamuane to hotels and restaurants in the area. On our way into the city, we stopped by a tailor that was recommended to us for her fair prices (the equivalent of about $6.00 CDN to have a dress made) and skill. We then started our hunt for plastic cups of an appropriate size for the mamas to use for sales at the trade fair… we struck out several times before finding what we were looking for at the last store on our list. Along the way, we stopped by a couple travel agencies in town to get quotes for flights for the UWO faculty visit in October, and studied for our Swahili test over a light lunch. At lunch, we met an elderly American woman named Naomi who is living in Mwanza for 5 years working on a literacy project. Previously, she spent 33 years living in Surinam working on translating a Bible into a local dialect. She has invited us (and previously invited Claire) to her house to play board games… we may take her up on it once the rainy season starts! The rest of the afternoon included a brief stop by the internet café, our Swahili lesson, swimming laps at the International School pool, and dinner at Claire’s – fajitas! We have been enjoying our communal culinary adventures and have almost exhausted the list of things that we were determined to cook in Africa… so now we need to get more creative.

Our threesome - Alison, Claire and I.

On Wednesday morning (the 26^th), I finished editing Jodie’s reports and worked through some numbers for the cost/benefit report that I hope to send the first draft of home before the faculty flies out. After writing the day’s English lesson, Alison and I spent a long time preparing ‘lids’ for the trade fair containers – squares of tin foil… very professional. We ran some quick project errands in town (including lunch, as we were out of food at home) before going to the grocery store again to stock up… our apartment is quickly becoming a black hole for food and household supplies. We traveled up to the kitchen with bags full of trade fair supplies, taught our English lesson, stocked up on our personal supply of yogurt (we can’t get enough of it at the apartment… again, likely due to Ruben’s appetite). On our way home, we bought some plain fabric in Mabatini to use for a trade fair banner. I quickly went to the Mlango Mmoja internet café to download some files for the Tuelimishane Youth Group (aka the popcorn boys) and came home in time to cook dinner with Beatrice. We settled down for a very quiet night in without power. The availability of resources such as electricity and water often dictates the speed of work and household activities, and gives us no choice but to slow down. I don’t sense that my personality has slowed down since I’ve been here, but maybe there are changes happening that I haven’t been able to notice on my own.

We had a very exciting morning on Thursday (the 27^th). The mamas invited us to Mabatini for the ceremonial opening of a new secondary school… we met them at the kitchen and walked together to the festivities, where the mamas (and the mzungus) were given seats of honour with other community VIPs (mostly elders) next to the stage. The celebrations resembled the event that we organized for the Minister… lots of drumming, dancing, and singing from local entertainment troupes and the secondary students themselves. The performances and cheering reached a peak when the guest of honour arrived – none other than the Prime Minister of Tanzania, Edward Lowasa. There was lots of ‘vigele vigele’ and singing of “Baba, baba oh-yo, baba, baba oh-yo” before the speeches commenced. There was a long list of political figures who spoke – ministers of education from various levels of government, community leaders and the like. Finally it was time for the PM to speak… first, he took questions from members of the community who were seeking advice about personal problems. It took us a long time to figure out exactly what was going on, as this is not really a common practice for North American politicians. The crowd really started to get into the discussion – lots of shouting and booing directed at the Mayor of Mwanza. The whole event was very exciting, but both Alison and I wished that we could have followed along with the Swahili – we would have gotten a lot more out of the day! After the speeches, we were very happy to leave our seats in the sun to the shade of the school where the PM officially cut the ribbon.

Myself, the Prime Minister (white hair) and Alison taking pictures in the background!

After the ceremony, we stopped at the kitchen to talk with the mamas and walked back into town for our afternoon Swahili lesson. From class, we went to Tunza for yoga, dinner, and to borrow some supplies for the trade fair banner. We came home and stayed up late painting.

Banner painting in the living room!

On Friday (the 28^th), we met early in the morning with Kivulini staff and members of Tukwamuane to discuss project issues and ran project errands in town until the early afternoon. Later, we provided the mamas with their weekly English test. Alison and I were both feeling quite run down and were happy to spend a quiet afternoon out of the sun (I think I had a mild case of sunstroke after the PM ceremony in Mabatini!) working on our computers at home. We cooked dinner with Ruben, I had a great phone call with Dr. Smeltzer (a UWO professor who has provided me a lot of support over the last year), and then we met friends in town to enjoy some live music.

On Saturday morning (the 29^th), Alison and I dropped off our fabric at the tailor and had measurements done for the clothing that we’re having made. We met Claire outside our apartment and ventured into the Mlango Mmoja (which means one door – you enter and exit from the same point) used clothing market across the street from our house. We scrounged through the clothes for costume supplies for a birthday party we had been invited to attend at the teachers’ flats (a bunch of Brits who work at the International Secondary School in Isamilo) that evening. The party was “J” themed in honour of James’ birthday… all guests were instructed to come in ‘fancy dress’ (how British) as something that started with a “J”. We spent the afternoon crafting our costumes and met our friends at the party in the evening. The night featured Jack Johnson, a few James Deans, June Carter, I Dream of Jeannie, Jennifer Lopez, a handful of junkies, Jackie O, ‘the jungle’, a bag of jellybeans, Jehovah’s witnesses, a journalist, Julius Caesar, a jilted bride, and more.

Lauren the janitor, me as Jane of the jungle, Claire the jellyfish, and Alison as Lil Jon.

On Sunday morning (the 30^th), we walked to the kitchen and met Mama Paskwalina who had invited us to join her at church in Mabatini. The church was fairly crowded when we arrived and was packed by the time the service started. The ambiance was quite nice with a breeze blowing through the screened windows, through which you could watch goats grazing on the hills and watch the smoke from cooking fires at nearby homes. We had been told that the music at the service was amazing, so we were a bit disappointed initially when the percussion demo from an old-school electric keyboard filled the room. Luckily, once the service started, we realized that there were four pews full of choir members who played real percussion and harmonized beautifully. The service was all in Swahili, but I was able to follow along better than I had expected to. There were some confusing parts, such as the multiple collections where first the women went up to donate, then the men – at the end of mass, they tallied up the totals and we cheered for the ‘winners’ who gave the most. I went up to receive Communion and couldn’t understand why people were pushing to get out of the pews without any sense of order, until they ran out of hosts when I was 3 people away from the priest, with half of the church still in line behind me. As our friend Henk taught us – ‘A.W.A.’, Africa Wins Again… the original phrase used before ‘T.I.A.’ was popularized by Blood Diamond.

After mass, we had chai (tea) with the mamas before leaving for the Saba Saba fairgrounds with Mama Paskwalina to meet the other Tukwamuane mamas who were at the trade fair manning the yogurt booth. The trade fair was very impressive. The fair hosted artisans, food processors and other trades-people from the all over Tanzania and the Lake Region in particular. We couldn’t have been more proud of our mamas who were doing a great job promoting their product and were selling a lot of yogurt. This fair will be a great opportunity for them to generate additional income, network with other small businesses, and publicize the project. In the afternoon, we shopped for produce with Mamas Elisabeth and Cesilia, cooked lunch for all the mamas with Mama Joyce who is making extra money by selling food to the vendors for the duration of the fair. Alison and I walked to Tunza Lodge from the trade fair to meet Claire, and went back to her place to cook dinner (not only do we not have much food, but we ran out of gas in the apartment so cooking at home was not an option!). We spent the night organizing ourselves for the busy weeks ahead as we prepare for the faculty’s visit in mid-October.

I have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks volunteering to edit proposals and documents for Kivulini employees that outline the prevalence of domestic violence, adolescent trafficking for the purpose of prostitution and domestic work, female genital mutilation, and the interrelationships between these issues and HIV/AIDS. We are lucky to be working with a project that provides positive support in the form of food products to HIV+ patients in the community, but I have realized that I am mostly blind to the more gruesome damage that the virus can inflict. I’m sure that this is mostly due to the nature of the destruction and heavy veil of stigma that hides these crimes from public view. Being exposed to the statistics and case studies that Kivulini’s documents present has made me aware of how common these tragedies are in the area and has increased my desire to become involved in empowering the vulnerable members of this society to help them escape from the overwhelming grip of poverty, disease, discrimination, and abuse.

A rugged dhow sailboat on Lake Victoria.