I am sitting in the sweltering heat at the Teule Hospital compter room. I do not have my glasses - which I seem to need more and more these days - so my spelling/grammer may be lacking here.
We have been a busy houshold these days - welcoming, feeding a group of 10 Anglicans from the UK congregation that supports the hospital, who have come to visit. They are lovely engaging folks. We have been without power since before their arrival - a transformer, apparently, so who know how long it will be till we get it back. Just like life in the Highlands! At least we have running water and a kerosine stove.
I have been helping Rose with her teaching - an hour walk up to the school, 5 or 6 classes between 9 and noon. The kids really enjoy it, and swarm us around the computers. It is very hot and sticky.
I have also been writing up a grant proposal for a community economic development project - the production of materials from coconut trees - for the OVC program. I have fallen back on the trusty Program Outcome Model as a framework. It has been intersting and enjoyable to work with the OVC program manager.
We have only a week and a half left - the time is going so fast. Both Rose and I are finding our time here to be peaceful and meaningful, and are already talking about when we'll come back. We are both well in every way.
Thanks to everyone for your love and support. It is wonderful to get news from you.
Love Sal
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
This week's pics
Hope you can see this. It is one of the many surreal moments since we've arrived. While waiting with graham for his bus, two young Masai appeared and one joined a snooker game.
That’s why God made Wazungu! - Rose
Religion is both very present and a non-issue at the same time. We are surrounded by Christians doing good work who go to church and say God Bless You (Sister Gwynneth) and the sounds of imans calling the faithful to prayer at the Mosque five times a day yet Muslims and Christians attend school together and the Muslim shopkeeper greets us with Salaam Allechim and teaches us to respond Allechim Salaam and no one asks or seems to care what our belief system is.
It turns out being a Mzungu (singular of Wazungu) has a purpose. Everything we do is worth stopping and watching. Children come running yelling “Wazungu” or “Habari Wazungu” at us, repeatedly, even if we answer, repeatedly. Toddlers cry when we wave at them and head for their mothers. Stand up comics would envy the reactions we get when we attempt to expand our Swahili.
Thursday night we went to a Tanzanian bar/restaurant for Graham’s last night here. Mzungu moja (one European/white person) would be a draw but Wazungu saba (seven white folks) was a special added attraction. The owner was gracious and welcoming and we were successful in ordering beer (beer?) and food (chakula). We had a lovely evening and amused the owner and the other patrons no end as we danced our way out the door. That when I realized the real purpose of Wazungu – to bring laughter to the people of Tanzania!
It turns out being a Mzungu (singular of Wazungu) has a purpose. Everything we do is worth stopping and watching. Children come running yelling “Wazungu” or “Habari Wazungu” at us, repeatedly, even if we answer, repeatedly. Toddlers cry when we wave at them and head for their mothers. Stand up comics would envy the reactions we get when we attempt to expand our Swahili.
Thursday night we went to a Tanzanian bar/restaurant for Graham’s last night here. Mzungu moja (one European/white person) would be a draw but Wazungu saba (seven white folks) was a special added attraction. The owner was gracious and welcoming and we were successful in ordering beer (beer?) and food (chakula). We had a lovely evening and amused the owner and the other patrons no end as we danced our way out the door. That when I realized the real purpose of Wazungu – to bring laughter to the people of Tanzania!
Musings of a social worker - Rose
Our food and beverage habits have adjusted to the climate. Keeping enough water filtered for us all is a daily chore. We have two water filter units that we fill and empty all day long, collecting the water in water bottles and storing them in the fridge. We keep pop and beer cold and replenishing both requires a lot of trips to the market as you have to provide an empty that matches what you buy or pay an exorbitant deposit fee. Bottles have clearly been reused way more than they would be in Canada. In addition to the standards: cola, orange and sprite; there are a few interesting alternatives. My personal favourite is Sparletta, a citrus lemon-lime type soda. My favourite name is a ginger beer called Tangawizi. The bottling plant is not too far away on the road to Tanga.
Snacks are crisps (very hard and often stale potato chips), roasted peanuts or cashews sold by street vendors, oranges pealed and sold by street vendors, and sugar cane which Simon tried this week for the first time and says it was good. Chocolate bars are available and a luxury but getting them home without having them melt is the challenge.
We have ready access to a standard variety of vegetables and have had a number of delicious meals but food preparation and planning takes up a lot of time as, for the most part, everything has to be bought and prepared on the day of the meal. Refrigeration is limited and untrustworthy so there is no room for a large quantity of leftovers and what we do keep needs to be eaten soon. The fridge is only bar sized and in general, we keep it fairly full of liquids, yogurt, cheese and a few condiments.
The biggest industries appear to be the bottling plant, the Tanga cement factory, Tanga fresh dairy – where our milk and yogurt comes from, and the sisal industries – the lake we visited near Magoroto was in a Royal Palm plantation and the nearest village was built around a sisal manufacturing facility. There are several sisal factories around. Tanga used to be a major producer of sisal rope and although the demand has dropped, it appears to be on the rise again.
Costs vary and there are clearly two price scales: one for Tanzanians and one for Wazungu (white people). Food is cheap even at Wazungu prices – 10 cents for 3-4 tomatoes, 5 cents for a lemon. Fabric is also quite inexpensive but prices for electronics and many other non-food items are often comparable to Canadian prices and in some cases more than we would have to pay. Ink cartridges for Sister Gwynneth’s printer cost about twice what I would have paid in Canada. But the most glaring difference is in wages. Julietie and Hatibu earn the Canadian equivalent of 80 dollars a month. A program administrator at the hospital earns about 350 dollars a month. It’s difficult to know how much this amount of wage difference makes in people’s lives as there is so much about the lives of the people that we are not privy to. Almost all of our information is filtered through other Wazungu.
As we walk to school in the morning we pass many homes and many gardens and see people starting their day. The lifestyle appears based on self-sufficiency, a lot of hard work, and does not require or rely on electricity at all. People cook over charcoal or wood braziers in their homes. They grow food for their own consumption and if they have extra, they sell it. There is no vegetable processing and preserving that I have seen so crop failure or a drought would have serious consequences to a family’s ability to feed itself.
It is hard to say why some families have more than others but I suspect it is similar to Canada. The number of children to feed and the number of wage earners in the family would determine a family’s economic stability and illness, injury, or death of an income earner would have serious consequences. There are a number of half built homes around and when I asked Sister Gwynneth why they were empty, she said people receive a land grant and it is cheap to build the walls out of brick or concrete but they don’t have enough money for the roof and so the project is abandoned. I would like to know more and whether it is for want of the cost of a roof that some people stay poor.
Snacks are crisps (very hard and often stale potato chips), roasted peanuts or cashews sold by street vendors, oranges pealed and sold by street vendors, and sugar cane which Simon tried this week for the first time and says it was good. Chocolate bars are available and a luxury but getting them home without having them melt is the challenge.
We have ready access to a standard variety of vegetables and have had a number of delicious meals but food preparation and planning takes up a lot of time as, for the most part, everything has to be bought and prepared on the day of the meal. Refrigeration is limited and untrustworthy so there is no room for a large quantity of leftovers and what we do keep needs to be eaten soon. The fridge is only bar sized and in general, we keep it fairly full of liquids, yogurt, cheese and a few condiments.
The biggest industries appear to be the bottling plant, the Tanga cement factory, Tanga fresh dairy – where our milk and yogurt comes from, and the sisal industries – the lake we visited near Magoroto was in a Royal Palm plantation and the nearest village was built around a sisal manufacturing facility. There are several sisal factories around. Tanga used to be a major producer of sisal rope and although the demand has dropped, it appears to be on the rise again.
Costs vary and there are clearly two price scales: one for Tanzanians and one for Wazungu (white people). Food is cheap even at Wazungu prices – 10 cents for 3-4 tomatoes, 5 cents for a lemon. Fabric is also quite inexpensive but prices for electronics and many other non-food items are often comparable to Canadian prices and in some cases more than we would have to pay. Ink cartridges for Sister Gwynneth’s printer cost about twice what I would have paid in Canada. But the most glaring difference is in wages. Julietie and Hatibu earn the Canadian equivalent of 80 dollars a month. A program administrator at the hospital earns about 350 dollars a month. It’s difficult to know how much this amount of wage difference makes in people’s lives as there is so much about the lives of the people that we are not privy to. Almost all of our information is filtered through other Wazungu.
As we walk to school in the morning we pass many homes and many gardens and see people starting their day. The lifestyle appears based on self-sufficiency, a lot of hard work, and does not require or rely on electricity at all. People cook over charcoal or wood braziers in their homes. They grow food for their own consumption and if they have extra, they sell it. There is no vegetable processing and preserving that I have seen so crop failure or a drought would have serious consequences to a family’s ability to feed itself.
It is hard to say why some families have more than others but I suspect it is similar to Canada. The number of children to feed and the number of wage earners in the family would determine a family’s economic stability and illness, injury, or death of an income earner would have serious consequences. There are a number of half built homes around and when I asked Sister Gwynneth why they were empty, she said people receive a land grant and it is cheap to build the walls out of brick or concrete but they don’t have enough money for the roof and so the project is abandoned. I would like to know more and whether it is for want of the cost of a roof that some people stay poor.
Week 2 at Holy Family - Rose
Another school week and this week I introduced the mouse and touch pad using the Word program Paint for hands on practice. First morning went well and we were able to give about 80% of the 120 or so children we saw a few minutes each on a computer. Sister G brought her laptop to class for Wednesday and Thursday and with the three laptops and her desktop and no significant power outages, everyone was able to have a turn and sometimes two or more. Even with only a few minutes each per student, we could see improvement in most of them by the end of their second lesson. From the first lesson with the pencil icon scratching back and forth wildly over and outside of the page to using the rectangle and line and paint can to make the Tanzanian flag, houses and cars. They like pink ink.
Sights and sounds - Rose
We look out the back of the house over a beautiful valley dotted with small gardens including one in the backyard which has been cleaned up by a gardener over the past week. Corn, tomatoes, mchiche (a type of spinach or kale), and potatoes are planted in small plots all over and provide food for families or for sale. Coconut, papaya, mango, orange, lime, avocado and pineapple can be found in almost every yard. Water is carried in to the plots by hand from great distance. Plants are shaded by fallen broad leaves. There has been a lot of planting lately as the short rains are here (shoulder season to the rainy season) although we have been days without rain now after several hard rains.
In front of the house is the road between the Muheza open market and the Teule hospital. It is packed sand, rutted by rain and cambered quite severely to drain water into the ditches on each side. Based on the height of the cut on both sides, I would expect at least 2/3 metres of water in the ditches during the rains covering all but the very centre of the road.
We have cattle and pigs penned across the street and chickens are everywhere scratching in the ditches and yards. There is also the occasional cat and dog wandering by and a few Muscovy ducks.
Former residents of the house installed a stand pipe in the back yard for people to collect water and people start arriving in the pre-dawn hours to fill buckets or jerry cans for transport back to who knows where.
There is a steady stream of people up and down the road in front of the house at almost all hours: women carrying children on their backs, pedestrians, cyclists, cars driving too fast, some transporting patients to hospital and the odd Dalla Dalla (mini-bus) full to bursting with humans and cargo. The hospital has visiting hours at meal times and families bring food in for every meal.
Although we have seen a few donkeys here, the most common beasts of burden are people. Women frequently walk carrying things on their head: machetes, hoes, 10 gallon pails of water, bundles of wood. We have heard that neck fractures are not uncommon, not from compression but from loads shifting. Men carry enormous loads on bicycles and can often be seen pushing the bikes uphill with 5 jerry cans of water or enormous piles of fresh cut grass for penned cattle or huge bags of charcoal or furniture for sale.
Sometimes we hear keening and wailing when someone dies. We’ve heard many stories about people presenting at the hospital too late to receive more than palliative care and about people dying for want of diagnostic tests or treatment due to communication problems or lack of nursing staff.
Night sounds are extra special. In addition to the lowing of the cattle and the whining of what we think are locked up guard dogs, we have an insect or bird that sounds like the beep cars make when you leave the door open and a resident colony of fruit bats who chitter most of the night. The colony nests in the trees within a few houses of us and they chitter away at each other while roosting. They periodically fly into the air chittering more loudly in response to some unseen cue or threat. They sound a bit freaky in the night when you can’t sleep but fortunately the noise of the fan blocks a lot out.
Property crime is a huge issue we are told and the house has to be locked up tight every night and while we are away. We lock and padlock the sunporch door, double padlock with a chain a metal door between the sunroom and living area, padlock the front screen door and lock the inner door. We have a night guard who arrives at about 8pm and patrols outside all night. Cars are kept inside the gate at the hospital. It feels awkward to have to use so many locks but given the stories we have been told, we comply for the most part however we have stopped bringing the bicycles into the house from the secured sunporch at night even though Julietie and Hatibu, the night guard, say we should.
En route to school in the morning and on our other forays into town, we frequently encounter the students from the various state and private, primary and secondary schools in the area. They are identified by the colour of their uniforms. I don’t know what percentage of children go to school but the other group of children we see are those playing near their families’ stalls in the markets and the ones who come to the house to sort through our garbage for anything of value.
Temps are reaching 30 and climbing. So far, it hasn’t been that different from Ottawa in August but yesterday was 40 at one point on Leah and the boys’ cycle home from school. We have ceiling fans running virtually non-stop in the living room and bedrooms because of the heat but the locals haven’t turned on their fans yet as they say it isn’t hot enough. Many of the children wear wool sweaters to school so maybe this is cool for them.
In front of the house is the road between the Muheza open market and the Teule hospital. It is packed sand, rutted by rain and cambered quite severely to drain water into the ditches on each side. Based on the height of the cut on both sides, I would expect at least 2/3 metres of water in the ditches during the rains covering all but the very centre of the road.
We have cattle and pigs penned across the street and chickens are everywhere scratching in the ditches and yards. There is also the occasional cat and dog wandering by and a few Muscovy ducks.
Former residents of the house installed a stand pipe in the back yard for people to collect water and people start arriving in the pre-dawn hours to fill buckets or jerry cans for transport back to who knows where.
There is a steady stream of people up and down the road in front of the house at almost all hours: women carrying children on their backs, pedestrians, cyclists, cars driving too fast, some transporting patients to hospital and the odd Dalla Dalla (mini-bus) full to bursting with humans and cargo. The hospital has visiting hours at meal times and families bring food in for every meal.
Although we have seen a few donkeys here, the most common beasts of burden are people. Women frequently walk carrying things on their head: machetes, hoes, 10 gallon pails of water, bundles of wood. We have heard that neck fractures are not uncommon, not from compression but from loads shifting. Men carry enormous loads on bicycles and can often be seen pushing the bikes uphill with 5 jerry cans of water or enormous piles of fresh cut grass for penned cattle or huge bags of charcoal or furniture for sale.
Sometimes we hear keening and wailing when someone dies. We’ve heard many stories about people presenting at the hospital too late to receive more than palliative care and about people dying for want of diagnostic tests or treatment due to communication problems or lack of nursing staff.
Night sounds are extra special. In addition to the lowing of the cattle and the whining of what we think are locked up guard dogs, we have an insect or bird that sounds like the beep cars make when you leave the door open and a resident colony of fruit bats who chitter most of the night. The colony nests in the trees within a few houses of us and they chitter away at each other while roosting. They periodically fly into the air chittering more loudly in response to some unseen cue or threat. They sound a bit freaky in the night when you can’t sleep but fortunately the noise of the fan blocks a lot out.
Property crime is a huge issue we are told and the house has to be locked up tight every night and while we are away. We lock and padlock the sunporch door, double padlock with a chain a metal door between the sunroom and living area, padlock the front screen door and lock the inner door. We have a night guard who arrives at about 8pm and patrols outside all night. Cars are kept inside the gate at the hospital. It feels awkward to have to use so many locks but given the stories we have been told, we comply for the most part however we have stopped bringing the bicycles into the house from the secured sunporch at night even though Julietie and Hatibu, the night guard, say we should.
En route to school in the morning and on our other forays into town, we frequently encounter the students from the various state and private, primary and secondary schools in the area. They are identified by the colour of their uniforms. I don’t know what percentage of children go to school but the other group of children we see are those playing near their families’ stalls in the markets and the ones who come to the house to sort through our garbage for anything of value.
Temps are reaching 30 and climbing. So far, it hasn’t been that different from Ottawa in August but yesterday was 40 at one point on Leah and the boys’ cycle home from school. We have ceiling fans running virtually non-stop in the living room and bedrooms because of the heat but the locals haven’t turned on their fans yet as they say it isn’t hot enough. Many of the children wear wool sweaters to school so maybe this is cool for them.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Some pictures of our new home
Wazungu Alert! Wherever we go, the locals appear to see what we are doing.
The valley behind Hillview House
Muheza from the hill behind our home - Magoroto. You can see the boys school where Rose is teaching in the upper left corner above the tree.
I'm a data entry clerk!
Sally here: We have had a good week in Muheza, with many adventures. I am now an official volunteer with the Orphan Vulnerable Children Program, doing – you guessed it – data inputting! I may also work on a grant proposal for them. The program is in the process of doing an inventory of orphaned and vulnerable children in all the small villages in the region, and providing school supplies/fees, food, and HIV/AIDS education to youth. They are funded through AIDS Relief, but the program seems to be taking place on a national scale. I have also become Rose’s teacher’s assistant, and am helping her to teach the TZ IT curriculum for children. It is a blast – the kids are so enthusiastic and curious, and very cute.
Leah and I have been having cycling adventures in our efforts to find a circular loop. We were out for 2 hours under the mid day sun on one of these trips because our path took us to the next village. We ended up taking the nasty main road for part of the return trip, but returned home safely. Today we found a shorter loop, all on the paths, that was lovely. Rose, Leah and I also had a walking adventure, again looking for a circular loop home. We were crossing the valley in front of the house but could not find a way over the creek. We were about to turn back, when a group of children who had been watching us called out to us and proceeded to take us to a narrow fallen tree, and held our hands while we crossed it. The valley in front of the house is very lush and full of small gardens growing lots of veg. There are also lots of mango and papaya trees. Avocadoes, coconut, bananas..........it is wonderful to eat all of these locally.
We had an unexpected day off on Tuesday (day commemorating the anniversary of the death of the much loved first TZ president). We were invited to join Ben and Sally on a trip to Magoroto, one of the nearby hills. We all crammed in a Toyota rover 4X4: Sally and Ben in the front, Rose, Sal, Leah and 4 month old Pippin in the back seat, Ambrose, Graham, Griffin, Simon, Zacha, Maxi (Ben and Sally’s 2 older boys) in the back. On our way to the car in the hospital parking lot, we saw what we think was a monitor lizard, almost a metre long, crossing the compound.
We drove 35 km up this extremely rough road full of switchbacks. We walked to a lovely manmade lake (town’s water supply) and walked around; then to a beautiful view point over the city and as far as Tanga and the Indian Ocean; finally to Magila where the first Anglican missionary in Tanzania was established and the Teule hospital was first located. We visited a beautiful old Anglican Church, convent, school, and graveyard. Drove back with a full moon rising.
Yesterday we zipped over to Tanga in a borrowed hospital vehicle. We bought supplies, and Rose and I finally got our own bike! Driving to Tanga takes about 30 minutes. It is pretty terrifying to drive here, but Ambrose does a great job. Saturday the hospital had a daylong event to celebrate ‘’international palliative care day’’. The day began with a procession with singing and dancing, which we partook in. In some ways, I think it was an HIV/AIDS march, with many people – mainly women – being out and proud. What followed was four or so hours of speeches, songs, dance, AIDS education theatre pieces. It was long, but quite spectacular.........so much to take in. Many funny and poignant moments. I sat up at the front with A&L and 2 UK docs as one of the celebrated guests....I think it was a case of mistaken identity...poor Rose and the boys were at the back. We finally had some lunch from a bottomless pot that served at least 100 people.
Books, my IPod and knitting are my main sources of opting out when the realities here are too overwhelming. It is so much to take in on so many different levels. The culture shock continues to be significant. Poverty, housing, access to power, clean water are all issues here. The provision of health is also a struggle. Sounds like people arrive to the hospital with really advanced disease. The health care providers here are amazing, especially the nurses, people doing great work in very difficult situations. Yet there are many things that link our lives: the similarities that run throughout humanity, I guess. I also see the impact of our privilege on other countries; the crap we export; the complexity of the issues and the shades of grey that exist.
Leah and I have been having cycling adventures in our efforts to find a circular loop. We were out for 2 hours under the mid day sun on one of these trips because our path took us to the next village. We ended up taking the nasty main road for part of the return trip, but returned home safely. Today we found a shorter loop, all on the paths, that was lovely. Rose, Leah and I also had a walking adventure, again looking for a circular loop home. We were crossing the valley in front of the house but could not find a way over the creek. We were about to turn back, when a group of children who had been watching us called out to us and proceeded to take us to a narrow fallen tree, and held our hands while we crossed it. The valley in front of the house is very lush and full of small gardens growing lots of veg. There are also lots of mango and papaya trees. Avocadoes, coconut, bananas..........it is wonderful to eat all of these locally.
We had an unexpected day off on Tuesday (day commemorating the anniversary of the death of the much loved first TZ president). We were invited to join Ben and Sally on a trip to Magoroto, one of the nearby hills. We all crammed in a Toyota rover 4X4: Sally and Ben in the front, Rose, Sal, Leah and 4 month old Pippin in the back seat, Ambrose, Graham, Griffin, Simon, Zacha, Maxi (Ben and Sally’s 2 older boys) in the back. On our way to the car in the hospital parking lot, we saw what we think was a monitor lizard, almost a metre long, crossing the compound.
We drove 35 km up this extremely rough road full of switchbacks. We walked to a lovely manmade lake (town’s water supply) and walked around; then to a beautiful view point over the city and as far as Tanga and the Indian Ocean; finally to Magila where the first Anglican missionary in Tanzania was established and the Teule hospital was first located. We visited a beautiful old Anglican Church, convent, school, and graveyard. Drove back with a full moon rising.
Yesterday we zipped over to Tanga in a borrowed hospital vehicle. We bought supplies, and Rose and I finally got our own bike! Driving to Tanga takes about 30 minutes. It is pretty terrifying to drive here, but Ambrose does a great job. Saturday the hospital had a daylong event to celebrate ‘’international palliative care day’’. The day began with a procession with singing and dancing, which we partook in. In some ways, I think it was an HIV/AIDS march, with many people – mainly women – being out and proud. What followed was four or so hours of speeches, songs, dance, AIDS education theatre pieces. It was long, but quite spectacular.........so much to take in. Many funny and poignant moments. I sat up at the front with A&L and 2 UK docs as one of the celebrated guests....I think it was a case of mistaken identity...poor Rose and the boys were at the back. We finally had some lunch from a bottomless pot that served at least 100 people.
Books, my IPod and knitting are my main sources of opting out when the realities here are too overwhelming. It is so much to take in on so many different levels. The culture shock continues to be significant. Poverty, housing, access to power, clean water are all issues here. The provision of health is also a struggle. Sounds like people arrive to the hospital with really advanced disease. The health care providers here are amazing, especially the nurses, people doing great work in very difficult situations. Yet there are many things that link our lives: the similarities that run throughout humanity, I guess. I also see the impact of our privilege on other countries; the crap we export; the complexity of the issues and the shades of grey that exist.
I'm a teacher!
Rose here. On Monday am I arrived at Holy Family Primary School, a Catholic School run by the Rosmini order of nuns, an order I had never heard of before but their mission is education. Sister Mary Gwynneth Dyer is the principal and founder of the school and has built it from the ground up over the last 6 years or so.
Primary School education has only been mandatory in Tanzania since 2001. The school currently has room for Standards 3-6 but the Standard 6 (Griffin’s) class is over 40 students and needs to be split but there is not enough classroom space or teachers.
Sister Gwynneth is a woman with a vision (Ottawa readers – think Joan Gullen in a wimple!). She started with a pre-school then the primary school and is currently breaking ground for a new building to house enough classrooms to accommodate another Standard 6 and the addition of Standard 7 next term.
The school has about 400 students in total and includes a mix of Christian and Muslim students. The socio-economic status of the students ranges from children of “peasants” (saw this on one child’s birth certificate) to the child of an MLA. About 40 are orphans living with extended family. School fees are about the equivalent of 110-120 Canadian dollars per term which includes a uniform and lunch every school day (the only meal many of them receive in the day). Many families cannot pay the fees and are subsidized by the Rosminians.
Many people asked about sending money before I went and if you would like to donate to the school’s building fund or fees for children to attend school, email me with the amount you would like to donate at roseandsal@gmail.com and I’ll make a cash donation to Sister Gwynneth and collect from you when I return.
So Monday am I started my new career as a primary school IT teacher. I taught each class in Standards 3-6 two half hour lessons each for a total of 14 lessons. By the end of the last class Thursday noon, I was exhausted but I loved it. English is their second language but their English is way better than my Kiswahili.
On Monday I learned not to reference typewriters and calculators when introducing computer concepts as most of the children have never heard of either. Most have no power at home let alone any technology. Although many have built concrete houses with metal roofs, some still live in wattle and daub huts with thatched roofs.
My first lesson was the history of and theory relating to the basics of computing. My language became simpler with each class until I was telling them that a CPU was like your brain and a keyboard is how you talk to the computer and tell it things you want it to remember for you and a monitor screen is how the computer talks to you and gives you answers to your questions. In the second class, I introduced the keyboard and had them each type their name using upper and lower case letters and the space bar and the backspace key.
Figuring out what terminology to use and what to teach was one part of my learning curve. The other was classroom management and after a couple of chaotic classes, my instructions have become clearer and order is being restored! Even the chaos was fun though as it occurred with the youngest grade who all wanted desperately to get as close to the computers as possible and touch them for as long as possible. Not knowing the children well, I didn’t recognize them when they took extra turns typing their name but I did note a lot of Agapes in one class and sure enough when I saved the names, Agape and a couple of other children had typed their names four times each instead of once!
Frida, on the other hand, is barely a metre tall and wears a red sweater in 30 degree heat. She positions herself beside the computer for the entire exercise and her little hand darts in whenever someone makes a mistake or can’t find a letter while whispering instructions in Kiswahili to the child trying to type their name.
Any thoughts I had at home about teaching computers being a bit trivial given what I had imagined about the African context have dissipated. The children are sponges for knowledge and their enthusiasm for learning about this technology is boundless. When I asked my last class what they wanted to do on the computer, the first suggestion was write an English poem (this from the “girl’s side” of the room). There was no buzz in the class at this suggestion compared to the response when games were suggested! So, next week’s lessons will introduce the mouse and touch pads using games for practice. However, I can’t explain the rules of minesweeper, hearts, chess, or solitaire in Kiswahili so we will have to use Inkball and Purble Pairs! I’ll introduce text entry including poems next week.
I have had the luxury of having Simon and Sally assist me this week and realized that for the classes where the children are on hands on, I can’t monitor all three computers at the same time (2 laptops we brought and a desktop of Sister G.’s – Windows 98 platform) so Sally will be helping me as much as her commitments allow.
The trip to school is a 50-60 minute walk along sandy roads and paths. It is not too hot if I start out at 7am. So far, I have been fortunate to get a drive back each day either from Sister G going to town or by A & L picking us up to go to Tanga, the nearest bigger town on the coast, to shop for groceries.
Due to a shortage of beds this week with Graham visiting, Sal and I have been staying at a local Hoteli about a 15 minute walk from Hillview House. The walk home at night gives us a chance to see the village after dark when it transforms in the cooler temperature and after market close. Restaurants and bars open up. Music, live and canned, blares from behind walls made of sewn together plastic bags. Food vendors cooking over charcoal sell food on the street. Last night we bought chicken skewers, chips (french fries) and deep fried plantain to take home to our hoteli. It was very tasty.
Today we experienced a bit of post-colonial atmosphere with an afternoon at the Mkonge Hotel, a leftover relic of the British colonial era. We lounged by the pool under palm trees, watched monkeys playing on the lawn and ate a delicious lunch before returning home at sunset. A lovely day.
Primary School education has only been mandatory in Tanzania since 2001. The school currently has room for Standards 3-6 but the Standard 6 (Griffin’s) class is over 40 students and needs to be split but there is not enough classroom space or teachers.
Sister Gwynneth is a woman with a vision (Ottawa readers – think Joan Gullen in a wimple!). She started with a pre-school then the primary school and is currently breaking ground for a new building to house enough classrooms to accommodate another Standard 6 and the addition of Standard 7 next term.
The school has about 400 students in total and includes a mix of Christian and Muslim students. The socio-economic status of the students ranges from children of “peasants” (saw this on one child’s birth certificate) to the child of an MLA. About 40 are orphans living with extended family. School fees are about the equivalent of 110-120 Canadian dollars per term which includes a uniform and lunch every school day (the only meal many of them receive in the day). Many families cannot pay the fees and are subsidized by the Rosminians.
Many people asked about sending money before I went and if you would like to donate to the school’s building fund or fees for children to attend school, email me with the amount you would like to donate at roseandsal@gmail.com and I’ll make a cash donation to Sister Gwynneth and collect from you when I return.
So Monday am I started my new career as a primary school IT teacher. I taught each class in Standards 3-6 two half hour lessons each for a total of 14 lessons. By the end of the last class Thursday noon, I was exhausted but I loved it. English is their second language but their English is way better than my Kiswahili.
On Monday I learned not to reference typewriters and calculators when introducing computer concepts as most of the children have never heard of either. Most have no power at home let alone any technology. Although many have built concrete houses with metal roofs, some still live in wattle and daub huts with thatched roofs.
My first lesson was the history of and theory relating to the basics of computing. My language became simpler with each class until I was telling them that a CPU was like your brain and a keyboard is how you talk to the computer and tell it things you want it to remember for you and a monitor screen is how the computer talks to you and gives you answers to your questions. In the second class, I introduced the keyboard and had them each type their name using upper and lower case letters and the space bar and the backspace key.
Figuring out what terminology to use and what to teach was one part of my learning curve. The other was classroom management and after a couple of chaotic classes, my instructions have become clearer and order is being restored! Even the chaos was fun though as it occurred with the youngest grade who all wanted desperately to get as close to the computers as possible and touch them for as long as possible. Not knowing the children well, I didn’t recognize them when they took extra turns typing their name but I did note a lot of Agapes in one class and sure enough when I saved the names, Agape and a couple of other children had typed their names four times each instead of once!
Frida, on the other hand, is barely a metre tall and wears a red sweater in 30 degree heat. She positions herself beside the computer for the entire exercise and her little hand darts in whenever someone makes a mistake or can’t find a letter while whispering instructions in Kiswahili to the child trying to type their name.
Any thoughts I had at home about teaching computers being a bit trivial given what I had imagined about the African context have dissipated. The children are sponges for knowledge and their enthusiasm for learning about this technology is boundless. When I asked my last class what they wanted to do on the computer, the first suggestion was write an English poem (this from the “girl’s side” of the room). There was no buzz in the class at this suggestion compared to the response when games were suggested! So, next week’s lessons will introduce the mouse and touch pads using games for practice. However, I can’t explain the rules of minesweeper, hearts, chess, or solitaire in Kiswahili so we will have to use Inkball and Purble Pairs! I’ll introduce text entry including poems next week.
I have had the luxury of having Simon and Sally assist me this week and realized that for the classes where the children are on hands on, I can’t monitor all three computers at the same time (2 laptops we brought and a desktop of Sister G.’s – Windows 98 platform) so Sally will be helping me as much as her commitments allow.
The trip to school is a 50-60 minute walk along sandy roads and paths. It is not too hot if I start out at 7am. So far, I have been fortunate to get a drive back each day either from Sister G going to town or by A & L picking us up to go to Tanga, the nearest bigger town on the coast, to shop for groceries.
Due to a shortage of beds this week with Graham visiting, Sal and I have been staying at a local Hoteli about a 15 minute walk from Hillview House. The walk home at night gives us a chance to see the village after dark when it transforms in the cooler temperature and after market close. Restaurants and bars open up. Music, live and canned, blares from behind walls made of sewn together plastic bags. Food vendors cooking over charcoal sell food on the street. Last night we bought chicken skewers, chips (french fries) and deep fried plantain to take home to our hoteli. It was very tasty.
Today we experienced a bit of post-colonial atmosphere with an afternoon at the Mkonge Hotel, a leftover relic of the British colonial era. We lounged by the pool under palm trees, watched monkeys playing on the lawn and ate a delicious lunch before returning home at sunset. A lovely day.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Muheza Update: Hillview House, October 10, 2008
We’ve been here a week now and have fallen into a routine of sorts. Up at 6-6:30 and boil water for coffee (we buy the coffee from the market and roast it ourselves). Breakfast is by 7. How we boil water and what we eat depends on whether we have power. Boys cycle to school with Leah. The boys’ school is a 45 minute plus walk along road and trails or a 30 minute cycle which includes a fair bit of pushing bikes up hills. Once we get a bike, we’ll probably take turns accompanying the boys to school.
Ambrose and Leah go to the hospital. The housekeeper, Juliete, arrives at 8. Juliete makes lunch, washes the floor and does laundry by hand every day plus washing windows, sweeping the yard, cleaning shoes and many other chores she performs on a schedule known only to her. She also teaches us Kiswahili.
Hillview House is on the hospital grounds and only a few hundred yards from the main building. From dawn until the late evening, there are streams of people walking up and down this road to seek medical services or bring food to a family member. Ambrose and Leah come home for breaks and lunch as do Alex and Emily, 2 lovely UK doctors, also volunteering at Teule Hospital. Ilsa, a doctor from the Netherlands who also lives at the house usually comes home for lunch also.
Leah cycles to school with the boys and she and/or Ambrose cycle/walk to school to meet the boys and bring them home at 3. We joined them on Tuesday. It was a long hot walk, but beautiful. It is a lovely area with valleys and hills, and gorgeous tress and flowering shrubs. It is not usual for Mzungu to cycle and also not common for children to have bicycles so there is a fear the boys will be mugged for the bikes if they are not accompanied by adults on the trip.
Most of the Muheza we see is market – woodworkers, vegetables, grains, eggs, dairy, soda pop, clothes, shoes, sisal rope, fabric (kangas and katangas), fundi (repair places), general stores, hardware, phone cards.... Due to the small size of the fridge, the frequent power interruptions, and the heat causing food to spoil quickly, food is purchased close to the time it will be used so there is usually one trip to the market everyday if not several.
It is unusual for Wazungu (Europeans/White folks plural of Mzungu) to cycle so there are often comments as we cycle by. The bikes are a blog unto themselves. They are either poorly build or poorly assembled or not suited for this climate and terrain as parts fall off/shake loose on a regular basis. There have been many trips to the fundi. Fortunately the cost is rarely more than 50 cents a visit.
Most afternoons or evenings the boys and Rose and sometimes Ambrose play a game called Settlers of Catan which Sal and Rose gave Simon for his birthday. It is a great game and changes every time we play.
Every day we filter litres and litres of water for drinking. Apparently giardia is common.
Hillview is the biggest house on the hospital compound so it hosts the Wazungu dinners every Wednesday night. The intention of the weekly dinners was to provide a place where the medical students could check in to ensure they were managing the emotional impact of being here.
We have begun to do some volunteer work ourselves. A doctor from the UK named Sally (who has been providing ob/gyn for over 6 years) asked us to compile and price check the hospital’s next drug order. This involves checking prices on-line and inputting the information onto a spread sheet of drugs to be ordered. Given the unreliability of the internet connection, it has been a bit of a challenge, but we are almost done.
Rose has met with Sister Gwynneth at the local Catholic School (which includes Muslin students as well) and will be introducing the United Republic of Tanzania Information and Communication Technology Primary School Syllabus to Standards 3-6 starting next week for 2 half hour sessions a week per class. Griff and Sy are threatening to call in sick, take long bathroom breaks etc during their new IT teachers time slot as we will be starting with – “This is a computer.”
Sally will probably do some reading with students as well. She also hopes to meet with the program leader of a group providing services to orphaned and vulnerable children in the region, to see if there is anything she can do with this program.
We have also successfully done a few shops on our own at the market. Lots of smiling and pointing. We’re starting to get a few basics – greetings, “how much?”, numbers, but still draw a blank a lot too!
Yesterday was Leah’s Birthday. We helped make a nice b-day dinner, including butter tart slice TZ style, and a nice bottle of South African wine.
It’s just after 4pm. We’ve returned from the market with fixings for dinner. The boys are outside playing marbles. We will go to the hospital computer room and try and get access to the internet. (We didn't get access until the morning of the 11th)
Kwa heri (goodbye) for now
Ambrose and Leah go to the hospital. The housekeeper, Juliete, arrives at 8. Juliete makes lunch, washes the floor and does laundry by hand every day plus washing windows, sweeping the yard, cleaning shoes and many other chores she performs on a schedule known only to her. She also teaches us Kiswahili.
Hillview House is on the hospital grounds and only a few hundred yards from the main building. From dawn until the late evening, there are streams of people walking up and down this road to seek medical services or bring food to a family member. Ambrose and Leah come home for breaks and lunch as do Alex and Emily, 2 lovely UK doctors, also volunteering at Teule Hospital. Ilsa, a doctor from the Netherlands who also lives at the house usually comes home for lunch also.
Leah cycles to school with the boys and she and/or Ambrose cycle/walk to school to meet the boys and bring them home at 3. We joined them on Tuesday. It was a long hot walk, but beautiful. It is a lovely area with valleys and hills, and gorgeous tress and flowering shrubs. It is not usual for Mzungu to cycle and also not common for children to have bicycles so there is a fear the boys will be mugged for the bikes if they are not accompanied by adults on the trip.
Most of the Muheza we see is market – woodworkers, vegetables, grains, eggs, dairy, soda pop, clothes, shoes, sisal rope, fabric (kangas and katangas), fundi (repair places), general stores, hardware, phone cards.... Due to the small size of the fridge, the frequent power interruptions, and the heat causing food to spoil quickly, food is purchased close to the time it will be used so there is usually one trip to the market everyday if not several.
It is unusual for Wazungu (Europeans/White folks plural of Mzungu) to cycle so there are often comments as we cycle by. The bikes are a blog unto themselves. They are either poorly build or poorly assembled or not suited for this climate and terrain as parts fall off/shake loose on a regular basis. There have been many trips to the fundi. Fortunately the cost is rarely more than 50 cents a visit.
Most afternoons or evenings the boys and Rose and sometimes Ambrose play a game called Settlers of Catan which Sal and Rose gave Simon for his birthday. It is a great game and changes every time we play.
Every day we filter litres and litres of water for drinking. Apparently giardia is common.
Hillview is the biggest house on the hospital compound so it hosts the Wazungu dinners every Wednesday night. The intention of the weekly dinners was to provide a place where the medical students could check in to ensure they were managing the emotional impact of being here.
We have begun to do some volunteer work ourselves. A doctor from the UK named Sally (who has been providing ob/gyn for over 6 years) asked us to compile and price check the hospital’s next drug order. This involves checking prices on-line and inputting the information onto a spread sheet of drugs to be ordered. Given the unreliability of the internet connection, it has been a bit of a challenge, but we are almost done.
Rose has met with Sister Gwynneth at the local Catholic School (which includes Muslin students as well) and will be introducing the United Republic of Tanzania Information and Communication Technology Primary School Syllabus to Standards 3-6 starting next week for 2 half hour sessions a week per class. Griff and Sy are threatening to call in sick, take long bathroom breaks etc during their new IT teachers time slot as we will be starting with – “This is a computer.”
Sally will probably do some reading with students as well. She also hopes to meet with the program leader of a group providing services to orphaned and vulnerable children in the region, to see if there is anything she can do with this program.
We have also successfully done a few shops on our own at the market. Lots of smiling and pointing. We’re starting to get a few basics – greetings, “how much?”, numbers, but still draw a blank a lot too!
Yesterday was Leah’s Birthday. We helped make a nice b-day dinner, including butter tart slice TZ style, and a nice bottle of South African wine.
It’s just after 4pm. We’ve returned from the market with fixings for dinner. The boys are outside playing marbles. We will go to the hospital computer room and try and get access to the internet. (We didn't get access until the morning of the 11th)
Kwa heri (goodbye) for now
Monday, October 6, 2008
Muheza and Peponi
Written on the spot in sweltering heat at an Internet Cafe in Tanga before we lose the power again - hopefully! I had better try to let go of my need for proper punctuation and spelling.
We travelled up from Dar by bus - not a dalla dalla mini van which are death traps - to Muheza. it was an interesting trip through the shanty towns on the outskirts ofDar, small villages and fields. It was Eid, the first day of celebration after Ramadan, so there were lots of people travelling. still lots of call to prayer. We were met at Muheza by our dear friends Ambrose and Leah. It was not proper for us to hug in public, but we did briefly. Those 'wuzungus' (whites)!
They have a lovely house for visiting doctors working at the hospital. lots of people have stayed here over the years. a woman from Holland is doing research on malaria and infants has been here almost one year. we are slowly figuring out the daily activites and errands. Sally has been cycling with leah and griffin on the many paths around the village. not too many wuzungus cycle, and it makes tz smile. everyone greets us.
we had barely arrived at Muheza before we headed off to the ocean for a holiday! Not that we needed one but the doctors we went with did and it was a great weekend on the ocean, swimming, snorkelling and games.
Rose focussing on getting more reliable internet. current access is satellite at hospital which depends on power. hydro is not tht reliable so trying to get access via cell network which may work when local power is out. We shall see.
This week we hope to find out where we will be useful - had our first offer this morning, to organize the hospital's drug order and do some research on best prices. Hope to touch base with the school this week too and see what sister gwynneth has for us.
love to all at home and thanks for all your support.
We travelled up from Dar by bus - not a dalla dalla mini van which are death traps - to Muheza. it was an interesting trip through the shanty towns on the outskirts ofDar, small villages and fields. It was Eid, the first day of celebration after Ramadan, so there were lots of people travelling. still lots of call to prayer. We were met at Muheza by our dear friends Ambrose and Leah. It was not proper for us to hug in public, but we did briefly. Those 'wuzungus' (whites)!
They have a lovely house for visiting doctors working at the hospital. lots of people have stayed here over the years. a woman from Holland is doing research on malaria and infants has been here almost one year. we are slowly figuring out the daily activites and errands. Sally has been cycling with leah and griffin on the many paths around the village. not too many wuzungus cycle, and it makes tz smile. everyone greets us.
we had barely arrived at Muheza before we headed off to the ocean for a holiday! Not that we needed one but the doctors we went with did and it was a great weekend on the ocean, swimming, snorkelling and games.
Rose focussing on getting more reliable internet. current access is satellite at hospital which depends on power. hydro is not tht reliable so trying to get access via cell network which may work when local power is out. We shall see.
This week we hope to find out where we will be useful - had our first offer this morning, to organize the hospital's drug order and do some research on best prices. Hope to touch base with the school this week too and see what sister gwynneth has for us.
love to all at home and thanks for all your support.
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