Tanzania – Wiki Kumi na Saba

Walking through Mabatini with some local boys.

I woke up early on Monday morning (the 26th) and finished all of my computer work (blog entry, English lesson and an amended visa application for Stephanie, WHE’s new student intern) much earlier than expected. I attempted to put some things into suitcases to get an idea of how much space I have available for my trip home and then went into the city without Alison, who decided to go get checked out at the clinic (and tested negative for malaria, thank goodness!). I did some administrative errands at a secretarial shop, went to the bank, and then spent a productive hour online at the internet café. I met Alison and Claire for a quick lunch before Alison and I were expected at NIMR for a meeting with Mr. Temu (the chairman of the microbiology department), Simon & George (the lab technicians) and one of the mamas. Our discussion was very productive – we established everyone’s role and commitment to the project and identified the gaps where communication has failed… hopefully this will allow the production of probiotic milk to run more smoothly in the future. After the meeting, we travelled up to Mabatini with Mama Elisabeth to meet with the mamas and teach English. We stayed late with them to trade stories and laughter over ugali and dagaa (very small fish that you eat whole… not my favourite Tanzanian dish). I am very proud of the progress that we have made as a group – our communication is strong and our ability to transcend the cultural barriers between us continues to amaze me. I never thought we’d be able to share this kind of a relationship with the mamas in the absence of a translator… it’s been a wonderful surprise.

On Tuesday morning (the 27th), I put the finishing touches on a working contact list for Stephanie to use when she arrives in Mwanza and updated the Tukwamuane balance sheet with new financial information from NIMR. We had a quick meeting with Maimuna before heading into town for the day. As we passed the Maasai Market, we spotted a guy looking dreadfully touristy – a backpack on both his front and his back, frantically thumbing through a Lonely Planet travel guide. We decided to stop and give him a hand – I escorted him across town to the dala-dala stand that would take him to a bigger bus station outside of Mwanza. I appreciate the unspoken kinship that exists between travellers who find themselves out of their element on the other side of the world! Alison was busy running errands in my absence, so I met up with her later at the internet café to get some work done.

We grabbed a quick lunch before meeting with Mr. Batenga, who has been promoted to the role of Vice President of the Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce… hongera (congratulations!). Batenga was able to provide us with some information about the capacity for transportation/distribution of dairy products and some names for potential business partners that Danone may use if they decide to establish themselves in Mwanza. From Batenga’s office, we walked to City Council to meet with Mr. Luanda, the City Planner’s project manager. He advised us on our impending purchase of the new plots of land outside of the city – the good news is that we are allowed to raise a small number of cattle on the plot and that we should be able to work through the process by early 2008. We hurried up to Mr. Ngowi’s office (the TASAF coordinator) to tell him the good news. He advised us to postpone our TASAF application until the land purchase has been settled, which would result in the project being initiated in March 2008 if all goes well. After our meeting, we ran to our Swahili lessons before driving out to Nyegezi to Tini’s house to celebrate her birthday over a gourmet dinner (it’s always good when the birthday girl is also a talented chef!).

Me, Tini, Claire and Major at Tini's birthday party.

We spent Wednesday (the 28th) working at the apartment and (accidentally) started to listen to Christmas music – it’s a little bit hard to get in the holiday spirit with palm trees swaying in the breeze outside the window, but we’ll struggle through! Maimuna popped by with a potential translator’s contact info (in preparation for Stephanie’s arrival), which Alison used to book an interview for later in the week. We headed into the city to investigate flight information for Steph and send the details back home. After lunch, we walked to Mkuo Mkoa (the Regional Commissioner’s office) to meet with Mr. Kiamba to follow up on Tukwamuane’s application for NGO status… unfortunately, he informed us upon our arrival that he had retired from the position the week prior. He brought us down to meet with Mr. Ndassa, the Community Development Officer (who we were familiar with due to his involvement in the late Deputy Minister’s visit in August). Together, we reviewed the mamas’ constitution and went over the application requirements. From the city, we stopped at home briefly and walked to Mabatini wearing kangas – Paskwalina requested that I put one on as I never wear them… the concept of layering another piece of material over my capris in this heat isn’t that appealing to me! We shared some pictures from home with the mamas and taught an English lesson before walking to the International School to swim & have dinner with Claire and Lauren.

On Thursday (the 29th), I prepped Friday’s English test and went online to check for Steph’s flight info while Alison had 5 copies of the Tukwamuane constitution made & bound for the NGO application. I interviewed Gracie, the woman who Maimuna recommended we consider hiring as a part-time translator… I was very pleasantly surprised and hope that we can work out the contract details to everyone’s satisfaction. After the interview, Pendo came with us into town to get a new gas canister – they have changed the regulations in Mwanza, forcing us to shell out a lot of money to purchase a new ‘compatible’ container. Later, we walked into the city to the bank and the travel agency, where we officially booked Steph’s flight into Mwanza – she arrives on January 4th and we will be very proud to pass the torch on to her. We completed a typical Thursday with Swahili, yoga, and dinner at Tunza Lodge.

Michael, swinging in the afternoon sun at Forever Angels.

Mamas Paskwalina, Elisabeth and Joyce met us at the apartment on Friday morning (the 30th) where we reviewed the NGO application before heading into town together. We stopped at a number of hotels/restaurants to drop off our marketing package (which should be fully translated to Swahili in future) and have the mamas talk up their product a bit. We stopped at a photo place in town to get passport pictures taken for the NGO application, and then walked to the Dubai Bazaar near the sokoni to shop for a new refrigerator for the kitchen (a necessary purchase as we focus on growth and increasing production!). We headed back to the kitchen to pick up yogurt orders for Kivulini Kitchen and Forever Angels, grabbed lunch at a local place nearby our house, and drove out to the orphanage for the afternoon. We came home minutes before a massive storm blew through the area and perched on our balcony to watch the weather pummel Mlango Mmoja below.

A Land-Rover splashing through the floods in Mlango Mmoja.

We invited Pendo’s entire family (her, her mother, and 11 children when you count extended relatives) for dinner, so Alison and I got started on cooking early. We prepared a traditional meal (rice, bananas, and fish) and spent a very nice but chaotic evening at home with our visitors. Ruben arrived late and riled up the children, initiating singing, dancing, limbo and jumping contests. Needless to say, we were exhausted when they left (but didn’t have any dishes to do as Pendo insisted that her kids clean the dishes and the floors of our apartment after eating).

A tray of food for Pendo's kids to eat (with their hands, as is traditionally African) - bananas, rice and fish.

Ruben, leading (dangerous) jumping contests in our apartment.

I woke up on Saturday morning (December 1st – World AIDS Day) to a sweet surprise – Alison made me an “Advent” calendar counting down the days to my flight home… very thoughtful! We walked into town early to go check out Jenny’s soccer tournament at an old stadium in the city. There were six teams from local youth centres and orphanages, bleachers full of fans, and DJs pumping music that incited dance-offs all around the field. It was a great event… wonderful for the children to get an opportunity to show off their skills and to be celebrated by their community. We grabbed a quick lunch in the city before heading out to the CCM Kirumba Stadium, where there were massive festivities going on for World AIDS Day. There were thousands of people there watching rap performances and speeches, perusing the booths (Kivulini and our mamas had space there), and getting free tests for HIV. It was really powerful to see the city come together to advocate and raise awareness for such an important cause. From the stadium, we took the dala-dala to Tunza to relax on the beach. Later in the evening, we joined our friends at the Yun Long Chinese Restaurant on Rock Beach for dinner and went back to Major’s to watch a movie.

Coach Jenny and her girls team.

On Sunday (the 2nd), Alison and I walked to Mabatini to accompany Mama Paskwalina to church. We arrived at the church a bit late after waiting for her to meet us at the kitchen… although it was standing-room-only for latecomers, the crowd typically managed to find us chairs to sit on. I appreciate the gesture but it makes me feel awkward to always be singled out! I maximized the utility of my chair by having a child sit on my lap for the whole service. The mass was nice, as usual – I’m impressed by the American pastor’s Swahili and was proud of myself for being able to decipher large portions of the homily. I still find it funny to see the little “African” details of life here – for example, the wine is carried to the front of the church in a large Dasani bottle, and the hosts in a plastic bag. After mass, we had chai with the mamas at the kitchen, and then went to Tunza to chill out & read on the beach. I helped Alison to finish up the paint job on the entranceway to the lodge… doing our best to make a permanent mark on Mwanza! We came home to a quiet apartment as Ruben has gone to Dar es Salaam for the week to settle up his research & resident’s permit… we know from experience with immigration in Mwanza that this is not an easy task to accomplish!

Reading in the shade on the beach at Tunza.

I’m getting extremely excited to come home to my family and friends, especially because I’ll be arriving home during the holiday season (apparently to one of the coldest winters that Toronto has seen in the last 15 years… I’m definitely going to have a hard time adjusting!). Saying goodbye to this place won’t be easy, though… I’ve loved so many things about Africa and will be looking forward to returning in the future.

“If I know a song of Africa – I thought – of the giraffe, and the African new moon lying on her back, of the ploughs in the fields, and the sweaty faces of the coffee-pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Would the air over the plain quiver with a colour that I had had on, or the children invent a game in which my name was, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or would the eagles of Ngong look out for me?” -- Karen Blixen.