Back in Canada!

I realize this is a little late in coming...but I'm back in Canada! I arrived on June 2nd, had two days of debriefing in Stouffville, then made my way home on the 5th. The re-adjustment has gone smoothly so far -no major reverse culture shock- certain things just stand out more! A few days after I arrived, after getting over the jet-lag, I started an organic chemistry course via distance studies (sounds like fun, I know!) Organic chemistry was the only pre-requisite course I needed to get into a nursing program at McGill, so I'm doing it over the summer! I got an email on my last day in Tanzania letting me know that I had been accepted into the direct-entry to a master's of nursing program in Montreal! It looks like I'll have to wait at least three years before being able to head back to Tanzania...but I'm excited at the prospect of returning as a nurse!

baby Cliff :)

I got to spend last week with my brother and his wife (Wade and Erryn) and their new son, Cliff! The cutest little newphew!! I found out that they were expecting while I was away, and was very excited to get the news on May 14, 2008 while in the village that Cliff had entered the world!

Thank you for sharing in some of my African adventures -I'll be sure to let you know if/when I return!

Sukumas, seminar, babies and a limbo competition. . .

This essentially sums up these past three weeks here in Tanzania! I returned to Iringa last Friday after a fun-filled two weeks in the village! Here are some highlights. . .

Sukuma Village
Last Wednesday Jen, Esau and I made our way to a neighboring Sukuma village, 3 km south of Usolonga. Our purpose for the visit was twofold; a) we were curious to see how the Sukuma tribe lived and to gain a better understanding of the health and nutrition issues they may have and b) we had to pick up a chicken that the ‘head mama’ (a former patient) had promised us! This mama (I have no idea how to say, let alone spell her name!) had walked two hours to the clinic the week before with labor pains only to be sent home again and told to come back when she was further along in the delivery process. She ended up delivering her baby at home but had to walk to the clinic soon after the birth because of a retained placenta! (i.e. when the placenta fails to come out after the baby –a serious condition where the mother can bleed to death) Thankfully there was a Diocese vehicle that had just arrived from town, and it was able to transport her to Iringa! She took the bus back the next day, and we happened to meet her at the junction (a fork in the road where the bus drops you off -12 km from the village!) where we were picking up our guests who had come for the weekend. We gave her a lift home and arranged to come and visit her the following week, her reply; “Karibuni sana, nitawapa kuku” (You’re very welcome (to come), I will give you a chicken”!)
Our visit didn’t last too long, it involved asking questions, eating maize, and chasing chickens! We were unsucessful in catching the chicken, but are planning on picking it up on the next trip!

HIV/AIDS Seminar

Our first HIV/AIDS Seminar was scheduled on Saturday, April 5^th early in the morning…but no one showed up! The two main reasons being that the chairman forgot to do the announcement, and everyone was heading to their shamba to farm! After meeting with the health reps and nurse, we decided to hold it the next day, after church! Sunday is the only day that people will stay home from the shamba and rest; in hindsight we should have planned to do it on Sunday from the beginning! 30 people, including the presenters came; not an overly large crowd, but a decent turn out for our first one! Interestingly enough, more men were present –a fairly rare phenomenon here when it comes to health-related seminars! Questions were asked and there seemed to be a geniune interest in learning more! It is a relatively ‘new’ topic of discussion in the village –everyone has heard about HIV/AIDS, but not too many know a lot about it. When doing home visits, or just chatting with local villagers, I am often asked where they can get the medicine that will cure the virus –you can imagine their shock when I inform them that there is presently no cure! (only medicine to help prolong your life!) The seriousness of the issue is starting to be comprehended in the village –we’re praying that people will start taking action to stop the spread! Iringa region is currently #1 in all of Tanzania with the highest percentage of people who are HIV positive. The last time I checked, the stats indicated that 20% of people in the Iringa region are HIV positive. The number is much higher when you take a cross section of the population; 60% of those in the 16-30 age bracket are infected! 60%!! We’re planning on holding another seminar on April 27^th, and are expecting a larger turnout.

More Babies

Four more babies were born at the clinic in the span of one week! Three of the births happened in the middle of the night! I had fun in assisting in each one, and I must say, my knees are growing less weak with each one as I’m getting my (gloved) hands dirty. I won’t go into any details of the actual births(for those with weak knees) but will say that three healthy girls and one healthy boy have made their presence known in Usolonga!

Limbo Competition

Andrew and Miriam both turned the big 3-0 this year! We celebrated Andrew’s birthday at the end of March and Miriam’s yesterday! There was a rumor going around (the EI house) that Andrew was the “limbo king”. . . now that he’s 30, we felt he should reclaim the title! After a delicious dinner together, we and our guests (Edd, Paul and Kat) took part in a limbo competition! Edd and Andrew were the two finalists. . .and I believe there is a new limbo king in Iringa. . .Congratulations Edd!

An unsettling reality

The idea to create a ‘girl’s group’ came to us during the first month of living in the village. In addition to the regular health classes to be taught at the primary school, we felt that the older girls needed to be taught separately, on topics pertaining to women’s health. After many conversations with the head nurse and pastor’s wife about the current ‘situation’ in Usolonga, it became clear that we should focus the class on HIV/AIDS prevention and self-awareness. The ‘situation’ is both sad and unsettling. Here are just a few of the unpleasant realities girls are faced with each day.

One of the most distressing things we learned while preparing for this girl’s class was when we were discussing the age range we should target. Given that there are only two of us, with our limited Swahili, we felt that a class of 25-30 girls from standard six and seven would be manageable (the idea was to target those who were ‘mature’ i.e. child bearing age). We thought that the 12-15 age range was appropriate; we’d hopefully ‘catch’ them before they became sexually active. You can imagine the shock we had when, upon sharing this with the nurse, we were informed that if we wished to reach them before they became sexually active, we’d have to start in standard 3 and 4! A high percentage of girls start (not always by choice) to be sexually active at the age of 10! These are small children! It’s not as though ten-year olds are ‘overly mature’ in the village –rather it’s quite the opposite! The average ten-year old here wouldn’t pass for being any older than seven in a developed country. Of course we had to ask: why?

Another harsh reality; this is what happens. When a girl reaches a certain age and is deemed ‘old enough’ (by her mother) to provide for herself (basic necessities like soap, oil, shoes, clothes, etc) she is financially ‘cut off’ from her family to buy such things, (even though she still lives and eats at home!) Some mother’s think that at the age of ten, they are old enough. Apparently this also happens to the boys, although, in a culture where men are treated like kings and are in charge of all the money, they usually have the means to buy these things for themselves. As a result, if a girl sleeps with a boy, he will usually give her a bit of money so that she can take care of herself! Of course we asked “why can’t the girls work and get money”? We were told that it was ‘complicated’. No doubt it is. The men control everything. It is not unusual for the mother to be left at home, alone to take care of the children, while the husband is out either a)working in the shamba b)drinking with his friends c)visiting his other wife and children or sadly, d) sleeping around. On one of her recent home visits, Jen asked the mother how things were with her husband (i.e. was he providing for his family). The response was a shrug of the shoulders; things weren’t great, but what else did she expect. She hadn’t seen her husband in two weeks; he was supposed to have brought her some money so she could buy cooking oil and a few vegetables. All they had to eat in the house was half a sack of ugali flour. She has tried to grow a small garden beside her house, but nothing is able to grow due to the near drought weather we’ve been having. The issue is large and complex, I’m not even going to pretend that I understand the half of it!

The village’s overall attitude towards this promiscuous behavior does not help the situation. Although if asked, some would say that it is wrong, most would just say that it’s the way things have always been. There’s no ‘taboo’ (as found in other villages) against pre-/inter- marital sex. Men can essentially have sex with whoever they want; women aren’t necessarily given a choice (the majority of them do not even realize that they should be). This has been one of the hardest realities to swallow. This past Sunday, a little girl (who had just turned ten, but I thought was seven) was brought to the clinic to be checked out. She had been rapped the previous day by two teenagers while her mother was out working in the shamba. Her father died last year, so at the age of ten she is left alone with her four year old sister while her mother is forced to work in the fields. Her screams were heard by a neighbor, who thankfully reacted right away and ran to the scene (we were told that this no doubt happens all the time, only no one pays any attention…) The little girl, named Ana, later told the nurse that this was the second time that it’s happened. The most frustrating thing is that they know who these boys are! NOTHING is being done!! The boys just offered to pay for any of the medical costs! (I have to admit that my first thought was to visit these boys and beat them up! I’m told that one of them is still in primary school –most likely one of my students…I didn’t ask his name, for fear that I actually might do it!) This is only a small example of the deep rooted, complex issue, and I realize that a few black eyes are not the best way to go about solving the problem (although there needs to be some sort of disciplinary action from the villagers!)

Needless to say, there are many issues that we’ve become aware of and are trying to address as we start this girl’s club. We realize that the task is huge, much bigger than we can tackle. However, having become aware, we can not just ignore the issue and stand on the side lines doing nothing. We’ve held four classes so far, and have had very positive feedback from the girls. A few details are different then what we had “planned for”, for example, there are currently 90 girls enrolled in the class (slightly more than the 25-30 we were expecting) and although we are doing HIV/AIDS prevention as well as covering other health topics, we have based the course loosely on the “why wait” curriculum that has been developed and is used in other African countries. The Biblically based curriculum deals with the root issues (i.e. promiscuous life style, low self worth, cultural norms, etc.) Despite the large group, we are trying our best to learn everyone’s name (name tags have come in handy!) and are getting to know a lot of them as they come by our house often to visit! Class normally begins with a twenty minute lesson, followed by a short English lesson (everyone wants to learn so that they can go to Secondary school; which is only taught in English!) Then we either sing (we’ve been teaching them some English songs and they’ve been teaching us some in Swahili) or go outside and play a wide game.

We are currently in the process of recruiting some local women (ones who would be good role models –we’re told that there are a few!) to come on board and help out. This way the class can keep going between the time gap from when we leave and the new interns arrive. The goal is to eventually have something that is locally run…but we are just in the beginning stages! Although it’s been an uphill battle, the effort is well worth it.

A long overdue update

Many exciting things have happened over the past two months, it’s crazy to think about how fast they went by! In my last entry I mentioned that the rainy had finally started in Usolonga. False alarm. It did look promising at the beginning of January, however after a few big rainfalls, it stopped. It’s rained a few times since, but nothing like what they’re used to getting. Thankfully it has been raining in surrounding areas, so the river is full enough to supply water to their shambas.

My parents were able to come out and visit at the end of January for two weeks. I had a great time showing them around different parts of Tanzania, it was an amazing opportunity; an experience they’ll never forget! We visited Ruaha National Park with Jen and her parents, who were also visiting, from China. I’ll sum up the trip quickly; we saw a total of nine male lions; four of them were hunting a baby giraffe! It was an awesome trip. We spent a few days exploring Iringa then headed out to the village for two nights. Thank you to everyone who donated much needed supplies. The dispensary staff was overwhelmed by the amount of medical supplies they received from the Temiskaming Hospital, and the amount of clothing sewn by students at T.D.S.S and by other community members was incredible (we are still deciding how best to distribute them!) The primary and secondary school were very happy to receive soccer balls! Thank you aunt Eleanor and uncle Jerry! I know that there were many others who contributed –thank you so much for your generosity! It was like Christmas; only much more exciting! My parents got to go to church in the village, an unforgettable experience! The Anglican church in Usolonga is very active in the community and has a fairly large congregation (although you wouldn’t know it during shamba season!) They meet in a long mud hut, and sit on little mud benches. They are used to Jen and I attending weekly, so no fuss is made when we show up. They are not, however, used to other ‘wazungu’ (foreigners) so it’s always a big commotion when someone else visits -which may only happen a few times a year! When we first arrived we were invited to sit in the row that had two “back rests” (i.e. supporting branches that served as a back rest) however, we were soon booted out of those seats -as they belonged to the choir- and were made to sit right in the front, on the only chairs available. When I say, ‘sit in the front’, I don’t just mean ‘front row’, I mean, right at the front, facing the congregation sideways! At least this way, when people stared at them the whole time, they were facing the front, instead of looking back through the entire service! Even though they didn’t understand a word that was said, it was no doubt an unforgettable service! Mom had some baking lessons from two friends in the village –Mama Flora taught her how to make ‘mandazi’ (a Tanzanian doughnut) and Dianice taught her the art of chapatti making! I think dad would have loved to stay a bit longer, but we had already booked our bus tickets to Dar, so we had to head back after two nights. Our next adventure was Zanzibar. Actually getting to and from Zanzibar was more of an adventure. In short, I forgot my passport (which for some strange reason is needed to get into Zanzibar…even though it’s part of Tanzania! Very dumb on my part -seeing how I knew this, as I was just there over Christmas!) so we were a bit delayed in leaving Dar (thankfully friends were coming the next day and were able to bring it for me). It took four hours to try and get traveler’s cheques cashed (note: do NOT bring traveler’s cheques to Tanzania!). We didn’t succeed. The ferry to get across broke down (thankfully we weren’t on it!) so we ended up flying at the last minute. Zanzibar was amazing. Getting back was not. They sold too many ferry tickets; the boat was so crowed that the back end started sinking because there were too many people on the back deck! They had to send half of them to the front deck with the luggage! Mom and dad flew out later that night, and I took the bus back to Iringa the following day.

I’ve essentially been back in the village ever since they left! The work pace has practically doubled since before Christmas; we are now in the full swing of things! Jen and I both teach four different classes, twice a week. Home visits have started, Jen’s been visiting families who have malnourished children and I’ll be visiting family’s who have repeated cases of malaria and/or diarrhea. Our girls class is up and running, (more about that in a separate blog entry!) we’ve started teaching the mothers on clinic days, and are in the process of organizing HIV/AIDS seminars –after repeated requests from the local women themselves to learn about AIDS! Life in Tanzania is good, but as I mentioned earlier, is going by way to quickly!

Shamba Shamba

The rainy season has officially begun! This is both good and bad news. The bad news first; a) mosquitoes b) lots and lots of mud c) roads at times become impassible and d) a wide variety of insects, critters (including snakes) have decided to come out of ‘hiding’… However, on a more positive note, everything is green! Before the rain, you could count on one hand the number of green trees you saw on the drive out to the village, now all you see is green! Another bonus is the abundance of water that we are able to collect! We are very fortunate to have a water harvesting “system” –basically eavestroughing that collects the rainwater that comes off our the roof and deposits it into a very large tank that sits in our courtyard! We no longer have to ‘order’ our water (from the guy who goes to the river with jerry cans, fills them up with murky river water, then, transports them back using a donkey cart!) EI is currently working on a project to build large holding tanks for more water harvesting systems in the village. I can tell you first hand what a difference there is to having clear drinking water as opposed to the sickly yellowish brown water from the river! One of the best things about the rainy season (besides being able to shower in the rain!) is that people can now start working in their shambas! A shamba is what we would call a very large garden (ranging anywhere between 1-5 acres!) In Usolonga, the majority of people’s shambas are located near the river, about 5km from the centre of the village. The most popular thing to plant is rice, although some also grow maize and ground nuts. The rice that is harvested is sold and ‘ugali’ (thick porridge made from maize flour), which is cheaper, is bought instead. This is their only source of income, so getting enough rain is vital! Last year, a survey, conducted by previous interns during the dry season, showed that over 80% of households had absolutely no food in the house. None. Whatsoever. As soon as I read that, I immediately thought of all the times I’ve said, “there’s nothing to eat in this house!” when in reality the cupboards were filled with tons of different foods. I’ve since visited various houses (i.e. mud huts) and have witnessed for myself the effects that a bad harvest has on a family! The last house I visited had only a sack of ‘ugali flour’ in terms of food (which makes up their two to three meals a day)! This sack of flour, a woven grass mat and a kerosene lamp –that’s all! It was unreal.
Work in the shamba starts before the sun rises and ends whenever enough work has been done! This past Friday I had a small taste of just how much work goes into these shambas! At 5:45am, I set out with Esau (a family member of the head nurse) to their shamba. It took us just over an hour by foot, traipsing through mud, manure and lots of water! Esau chose to inform me that we didn’t need to worry about the crocodiles just as we were in the middle of crossing a small ravine –apparently the water levels weren’t high enough yet! As I stopped, somewhat in fear, he enlightened me further, explaining that when the water level gets to a certain point, they have to go the “long way around” for fear of being attacked by crocodiles! Last year he saw a man being attacked and killed by one! It really is a serious problem; six to eight people die annually from these attacks. I just didn’t think it was really necessary to inform me of this while still in the water! We arrived just after seven and set to work right away. Our task that day was to build mud ridges to contain water in the little rice fields. I watched for a bit while Esau started digging–then made the mistake of asking if I could ‘try’. He was a bit reluctant at first, saying that he didn’t think I’d be able to do it…at least not for long, as it was hard work. Well. That didn’t sit so well with me. I smiled, grabbed the hoe and went to work! After about five minutes my arms were killing me! Never mind-I had a point to prove! I didn’t want people to think that a mzungu girl couldn’t handle a bit of work, especially a ‘country’ girl who was raised in northern Ontario! This attitude kept me going for about an hour. Just as I was about to pass out, Esau suggested we rest for a bit. While I was hoeing, he had been putting dry grass on the little shelter, so we had a shaded area to rest. We started making our way back to the village around 9:30 –not exactly the longest workday, but definitely strenuous! By this time the sun was blazing hot, it was already over 30 degrees, and it felt like my arms were going to fall off! As we were leaving, others were just arriving –they were staying for the whole day! I don’t know how they do it. Some are lucky and have cattle pull equipment to dig up the soil, while the majority do it all by hand! Acres and acres of land, upturned, planted, harvested . . . all with one hoe!
Although it took the better part of the day to recuperate and re-energize, I am very glad that I was able to go and witness for myself what this shamba business was all about!

Christmas in Zanzibar

We left Iringa on Wednesday, December 19th and spent two and a half uneventful days in Dar es Salaam. The high-rise buildings and city smog didn't really appeal to us -we were excited to leave mainland and board the ferry to Zanzibar on Saturday morning! Two days were spent exploring Stone Town, Zanzibar's capitol - among the touristy things to do were the 'House of Wonders', one of the city's historical museums, the Anglican cathedral that was built on the former slave trading grounds, the local market and the never ending little shops that are set up within the narrow alleyways that make up Stone Town's streets.

On Christmas eve morning, we made our way to the dala dala station, found the one that would take us to Bwejuu and waited for it to fill up with passengers before taking off! And this is when we found out how small our world is. Approaching the dala dala were three girls, around our age, who I had never seen before, but Jen kept insisting that we had met them somewhere. Turns out one of them went to University with Jen and they had a few classes together! They were fellow CIDA interns working in Dar, making their way to the eastern side of the island.

After two hours of bumpy roads and about fifty stops later, we were dropped off on the side of the road in Bwejuu. It was a great relief to be able to stretch our legs -we had crammed 32 people in that dala dala (wich could comfortably sit 15)! The top had been piled high with various supplies that were picked up along the way (tin roofing, three bed frames, about ten wooden chairs, three bicycles, sacks of grain, baskets of fruit, a few live animals, etc.) One of the remaining passengers pointed in the direction of our destination: Mustapha's Nest.

The adventures begin.

They had lost our booking. There was no room. Jackie, another guest reassured us that this had also happened to their group when they first arrived. . .and to every other guest staying at Mustapha's Nest. Hotel management and book keeping are not their forte.

After a few hours of waiting (we weren't exactly sure what we were waiting for) we were told that there was a one bed room available, never mind that it was one of the staff's bedroom! By this time we had fallen in love with the place, it's chilled out atmosphere and friendly guests, so we decided to stay! Our room was located high up in the trees. . .very rustic. (You'll have to check out the pictures I posted!)
We put our bags in the room, locked up, and hit the beach! Later that night when we returned the door wouldn't open. "Hamna shida" we were told (no worries), our 'carpenter' will fix it. The carpenter took a hammer and a crow bar and started pounding on the lock (now, I'm not an expert, but somehow that didn't seem like the first thing I'd try). His method sort of worked -the lock was no longer in the door (it had fallen out and was now inside the room) but the door was still locked shut. His next plan? Kick down the door. literally. This took a good ten minutes, he even let me have a few kicks (again, you'll have to check out the pictures!) finally the door opened, but now there was the problem of not having a functional door for our room! We were told not to worry, it'd be fixed after dinner. 10:30 rolled around and we still had no door. They tried convincing us that it would be ok to sleep in there with no door, it was a safe place -they had 'guard' dogs and a fenced in yard...I told them that I was usually up for an adventure but there was no way we were sleeping in a room with no door! We ended up sleeping in a large circular cabin (one that was being reserved for a party of four that hadn't showed up yet) The door was fixed the following morning -we slept in the tree house for the following two nights.
Christmas day was pretty laid back, went swimming (got stung by a jelly fish), read on the beach, and hung out with our new friends we had met. We enjoyed a very yummy Christmas buffet (not your typical turkey dinner -but just as good!) followed by traditional drumming and local dance. A very humorous evening!
After three days at Mustapha's Nest we moved up the beach to a new place called "Shells" and kept ourselves busy reading, relaxing and swimming. Watched the sunrise one morning, rented bikes and visited other beaches, read, relaxed. . .we had a very full schedule!
We left Zanzibar on the 30th, and made our way to Kipepeo, which is in southern Dar. It's a very nice beach, but unfortunately did not compare to Zanzibar! We met a girl who was just there for the day on the 31rst and ended up spending the whole day with her! She's working with a Christian organization in northern Tanzania and we were able to exchange stories and experiences! Truly a God send!
New Years Eve was very exciting. . .I went to bed at 8:30! (pm). We had planned to ring in the new year with the other guests but were both so tired (due to a lack of sleep the night before) that we didn't manage to stay up! We also had to get up at 6:30 the next morning to head back to Dar in order to catch the bus home. I figured we'd do the count down at 8:00am Jan. 1 (that way -given the time difference- we'd be ringing in the new year along with friends and family in Ontario!)
We arrived safely in Iringa on Jan. 1 in the late afternoon.
I had a wonderful holiday, with just the right amount of leisure and adventure! We had prayed for a safe trip -and as always, God went above and beyond in answering our prayers! It was exciting to see how everything fit together so smoothly and how numerous "coincidences" kept happening (always to our benefit!)
I didn't mean to write a novel, but I knew if I didn't force myself to write this today, it would probably never happen! We've had one day in Iringa and are heading back to the village tomorrow morning sometime before 6:00am! I hope you've had a refreshing holiday and are ready to start this new year on the right track!