Hope English Medium Nursery - Ngaramtoni

Bec Bellinger & Lisa Lane - Oct to Nov 2008

Lisa and I have been living with the Kinisi family in Ngaramtoni for almost 5 weeks. The family is lovely and they have all made us feel very welcome and ‘at home’. We are certainly not looking forward to saying goodbye later this week!

We have both been working at Hope Nursery, which is made up of around 40 children (new ones seem to appear on a weekly basis), 2 teachers, 1 Director and 2 local volunteers. The children are aged between 2 and 8, and since our arrival have been divided into 3 classes (primarily based on age). Hope is an English school, which means all classes are to be taught in English. This is quite a challenge because the childrens’ ability to speak/understand English varies greatly. The school has few supplies or resources and this has made it also quite challenging. Before we came to Tanzania we did some fundraising, which had meant that we can help hope with some of these things. Since arriving we have managed to buy a blackboard (originally there was one being shared), a number of books, paper, crayons etc. and later this week we are expecting the arrival of new desks and chairs for the 3 classrooms. Up until now the children have sat on benches and they move to the floor and use the bench as a desk. The school is planning on getting electricity in January, so we have left some money with Mondo to purchaser a TV and DVD player and we will send some educational English programmes over.

The children at Hope are absolutely adorable and it has made our day seeing their eyes light up with excitement when we teach them a new book, song or game.

Despite the various frustrations we’ve had along the way, it has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Our only disappointment is having only 5 weeks with all these amazing people. We wish all the current and future Mondo volunteers all the best with their projects and we look forward to hearing all the success stories!

AWIB & DINKWA - Arusha

Robert Edwards Sep - Dec 2008

What hit me on arrival in Arusha in Sep. were the colours and vibrancy amidst the obvious struggle for daily existence by so many locals. I soon learnt to deal with the hassle on the streets and to enjoy instead the chats you can have with any and everybody, whilst walking, waiting, eating or riding the dalla-dalla around town.

The dalla-dalla is the minibus that runs around town to the villages, but also for the longer journeys out of town. Fares start at 15p. The conductor jingles his change in front of your face as a sign to pay your fare. No words are exchanged. To get off, you bang the inside bodywork and the conductor repeats this for the driver. No words exchanged either. Seating capacity is about 18, but there are flop down seats which block the gangway and room for another 8 or so standing inside the sliding side door. The aim is to keep the d-d brimful, so if you’re standing expect to duck your head and have it nestling in a fat lady’s arm-pit. As the d-d hits the speed bumps or lurches over yet another pot-hole on the dirt road, you get the full whiff and a banged shin. So getting a seat is bliss.

Don’t think about Health and Safety because, as I said, the gangways are blocked by bodies or buckets of tomatoes etc. The conductor hangs out of the window of the sliding door shouting out the final destination, so hoping to find more passengers en route to be scooped up and crushed in. The driver takes pleasure in carving up every other road user, from donkeys to barrow boys, certainly pedestrians and cyclists.

I work as a micro-business advisor on two business projects in and around Arusha and the dusty villages; on one project I have been given a 406 page tome to plough through so that I become knowledgeable about Early Childhood Development prior to conducting field research about it. My other challenging task has been teaching English to adults, my goal being to stop my students using their deeply ingrained –i endings, as in “I’m justi coming”.

Walking the streets I have felt safe, even though in my village as the only Mzungu (white person) 1,000 eyes follow me, the children calling out “Good Morning, Mzungu”, even late afternoons. I once had qualms as I was surrounded by a group of Maasai men in full tribal regalia wanting me to sniff snuff with them. I was able to decline and, wondering what they wear beneath their loincloths, got the complete answer later from a blast of wind in the street. Mzungu are not allowed to roam outside after the dusk curfew at 6.30pm and I do find this cramps my style.

My homestay is comfortable enough, though taking a bucket shower during one of the many sudden power cuts, knowing that I am sharing with a giant cockroach, is testing.
At first I missed my music stand, but soon learned to prefer the laurel bush to support my music book and practise my harmonica outside, with the mountain view to boot.

When I return home for Christmas, I won’t miss the dust, the interminable waiting and the ubiquitous stench of human sweat. But I will miss, and treasure, those colours, the local friendliness and the much simpler way of living in Tanzania.

Timbolo Primary & Hope Kimondo - Ngaramtoni

Sylvia & John Barns - July-August 2008

Made it!

It’s been a week of finishing off and of farewells. Rather late in the day, Sylvia realised that her pupils had learned quite a bit of English from her lessons at Timbolo Primary and that they had enjoyed them too. (There were tears from both teacher and pupils when she left.) Her main hope is that they have actually learned something more important than English from her – something about how teaching can be about enabling learning, that authority can reside in something less tangible and harmful than a stick and that all individuals have value. (Sounds rather pretentious – but where would we be without some idealism?)

The party the school had organised to say goodbye was a very African affair. The Head arranged to meet us to take us to the venue in Ngaramtoni. Despite the fact that he was 30 minutes late at the rendezvous, we three were at the party a good hour before anyone else! Then they all turned up in their finery and looked stunning. Timbolo village dignitaries came too. There were lots of speeches, mostly in Swahili. Five minutes into the Head’s second spot, we thought we looked at least as interested as those who could understand. Sylvia was complemented – ‘although she is old (!), she is always there before school starts.’ Well, that certainly makes getting up everyday at 5:45 worthwhile! They presented her with a Masai blanket – John wants to know, if she’s now Masai, can he have a second wife? Despite our best efforts, it was all rather serious, but we were touched by their wanting to mark the occasion in such a special way.

John’s work concluded (inevitably for an ex Exxon man) with a presentation to the Trustees. He discussed some of his exciting new ideas about the possible future directions of Hope Kimondo Trust – more of that when we return. We then had a ‘part’ to celebrate his leaving. (aside about language – the Tanzanians always pronounce one syllable words ending in ‘t’ with an added ‘ee’ sound – besty, texty books, boaty – but ironically call a do, a ‘part’). The Community Volunteers and Trustees showed warmth and appreciation for John’s hard work and encouragement, which had enabled them to grow in confidence and skill. We were presented with two more Masai blankets and traditional jewellery. You can never have too many Masai blankets, we say.

We want to record our thanks to all those at home who have made this adventure possible for us – those who’ve done practical things to keep our ‘normal life’ back in Blighty ticking over in our absence, caring for house and garden, living in the house, sorting mail, dealing with official business and preventing emergencies. Thanks too to those who have shouldered some of our responsibilities – special mention to Tim who had something of a baptism of fire as Acting Chair of Governors. And we couldn’t have come without Mondo Challenge and a sabbatical for Sylvia from St Mary’s Surgery and Compass.

Finally we want to say how important it has been to us to write and send these newsletters. It has somehow helped us to manage this incredible experience simply to put some of it into words and to feel that someone was interested in how things are for us. A counsellor shouldn’t be at all surprised by this, but to experience the benefits of recounting in this different way has led to a different appreciation of ‘bearing witness’. Thank you. Thank you too for your words of encouragement and support which meant a lot to us.

Big questions loom - about how best to support the developing world, what to make of our experience, what were the gains for Tanzania? There is no doubt whatsoever that there have been gains for us - this has been one of the most significant experiences of our lives. Sometimes at home, life seems to just rush past, but here we feel we have ‘lived’ every moment. Both Timbolo and Hope Trust (our placements) asked us not to forget them when we get home. We were able to say from our hearts that we believed we would always remember our time with them.

We wonder what ‘re-entry’ will be like? It will be wonderful to see you all again – (and to walk on grass and paths not covered in inches of fine dust, to have water literally on tap and easy communications). We’ll return with both of us leaner and one of us fitter – the other was always pretty fit anyway. Walking 25 miles a week with 2,200 ‘feat’ of climb simply to get to and from work, has probably helped. However, hair looks like straw, feels like straw, probably is straw. Skin – well, who knows? E45 and L’Oreal Re-Perfect ‘for very mature skin’ (see comment above) – just not up to the daunting task. And someone should warn the Immodium production line of the imminent slump in sales. Please remind us – it’s the Caribbean cruise next year!

Talking about communications – this is our last newsletter. We’re heading out on Safari and then for some sun, sea and the other thing(s) in Zanzibar and will revert to our usual few postcards sent at the last minute.

Our love and best wishes to you all. Kwaherini. Twende – let’s go!

Hai District Hospital - Small Business Grants

Emma Parfitt Sep - Nov 08

My bubble has burst

I think the thing that did it was the episode of footballers wife's extras that I caught the other night. It was so surreal and such a naff show I don't understand why it was aired but I watched it all the same. It satisfied my appetite for UK TV (and reminded me how rubbish it can be too). The experience grounded me and I am feeling a lot less of an outsider. I am noticing more and more similarities between where I am and where I am coming from. This week Mama Mtey and I started our home visits, altogether we have seen 13 potential grant recipients. We are still to visit at least another 5. The experience was emotional and physically draining, we walked for miles and miles and miles. Often people weren't in as it was market day but we caught up with them eventually. I was shattered by the end of the day and with no sympathy from Mama Mtey. I was informed that now I am living in Africa I have to walk like an African women and so I did. The emotional element was within the stories that the people were telling us. How they came to be ill, who's children they had taken over the care of, how many loved ones they had lost, domestic violence, no ones situation was simple or acceptable. The assessment process for me has become a cross between applying business thinking and social work, separating the two is impossible. Although it has made me realise that a persons needs are the same regardless of which country I am in and whilst back home I never expect to ask someone their health status in relation to a business grant the emotional impact that the money will make is immense. The two factors are intertwined and as important as each other.

When I was researching where to go one my trip and what to do I kept referring back to my previous volunteering experience at the Dreadnought centre. While I was their I had a clear understanding of what was acceptable and unacceptable in relation to each of the children that I spent time with. I understand how a child fits into our social structure and how they should be treated. My main concern with volunteering abroad was that the cultural gap was too wide and that what I believed to be right would be irrational thinking to the people that I would be working with. I have come to realise that this is relevant, poverty is poverty I recognise it when I see it and no one should live within it.

I would never expected an episode of footballers wife's extras to have such an impact and I'm sure it never will again! Unfortunately the episode was a one off and instead my TV viewing has moved on to a Spanish show dubbed into English. The plot is so complicated and ridiculous that I don't have a clue what is going on. I do that there is a long lost son, a magical medallion, a rich girl with a job in a burger bar to prove her independence and there was a plane crash! I'll let you know how it all ends.

Hope Kimondo & Timbolo Primary - Ngaramtoni

John & Sylvia Barns July - August 2008

We had a lovely weekend in Marangu but as predicted, internet access was worse than useless. We struggled at the internet café here in Ngaramtoni during the week but weren’t able to make contact. The result is a double dose of newsletter this week.

However being cut off and out of busy Arusha did mean a peaceful weekend for us. Friday was a bank holiday so we were able to manage the hazardous public transport and still get to the hotel for a late lunch. It was warm and sunny so we made good use of the gardens. From our room we had a stunning view of Kilimanjaro and amazingly the sky was clear enough for us to see the snow on top both early in the morning and in the evening. We understand the top is rarely visible so we were very lucky.

The hotel was somewhat in a time warp (makes the Isle of Wight look positively at the cutting edge) but was friendly and comfortable. We were somewhat overwhelmed by the many international groups of young people noisily celebrating and triumphant after their climb. It really is a feat – on the last day of the ascent you set off soon after midnight in order to be able to make it to the top and back down to the highest camp before dark. The whole thing takes at least a week and is not cheap either. We resisted the temptation to change all our plans and to join in (a temptation more easily resisted by one of us than the other) but did go on a wonderfully informative walk with a local guide though his village and the plantations. We heard lots about the making of banana beer but unfortunately(?) weren’t offered a tasting. We did however buy some freshly picked coffee beans which were roasted especially for us. We have a small stash of emergency supplies (bananas, Snickers bars, tomatoes) in one of our suitcases all of which now have a hint of coffee about them but the aroma is fantastic. The guide took us to a dramatic waterfall where we shared a packed lunch. It was a very steep climb down into the gorge and an even steeper climb back up!

Back in Ngaramtoni Sylvia at last feels that her teaching might be getting somewhere. It’s still hard to persuade pupils that language is flexible – they are used to being given the one correct answer on the board and to copying it down without processing it. Offering choices and being determined that they learn something has taken them out of their comfort zone. However they seemed to love making postcards for display – displays of pupils’ work being unheard of. Next challenge is to string them up – postcards, not pupils – persistent dust means fixing anything to the walls is impossible.

John continues to visit grant recipients and to be given chai (very milky, very sweet tea) as an honoured guest. An early must-have for all Masai households appears to be a thermos flask from which the chai is dispensed at the end of a business review. The small businesses themselves are enjoying varying degrees of success and it’s sometimes hard to know how to help and disappointing that there are so few options available.

While on the subject of tea, John is reminded that his physics teacher, when explaining the effect of pressure on boiling points, claimed it was impossible to make a good cup of tea on top of Mount Everest as the water boils at less than 100C. (Note from Sylvia – don’t anyone dare suggest that John should test this out for himself!) At 5000 feet as we are, the tea seems fine but we notice (well John does) that automatic kettles don’t switch off, presumably because the steam temperature is too low but maybe the frequent power cuts don’t help. Perhaps teachers do know something after all!

We’re moving towards our final week of volunteering. Food remains a dominant concern. Mama Rose’ cuisine has taken on an international flavour following the visit of an American anthropologist who taught her how to make pizza. We now have ‘Italian night’ one a week – last week thick crust pizza with a little tomato sauce and cheese topping with spaghetti – plain, no sauce! This week we had the same pizza but with mashed potatoes! I do believe, however, she makes the best yoghurt in the world, we get a few spoonfuls at breakfast made from the milk from the cow in the stall next to the ‘shower’ -10 metres from udder to mouth! Not many food miles there!

We know we will make it to the end now. We’re aware we have a tremendous lot of processing of the experience to do – that will take some time. For now we are touched that the school have arranged a farewell party for Wednesday and John’s team another one for Friday. Immediate problem is how best to dispose of assets we don’t expect to need on safari. Anyone want to bid for a plastic bucket with lid? More about that (possibly) when we get home!

Donations for Education in Ngaramtoni

We are always grateful to received donations through the Foundation and there are so many small improvements which make a massive difference to the quality of education. We recently received a donation from a previous volunteer, Tore Kristensen, to be used in Ngaramtoni schools.

We decided to spend the money at Timbolo Primary where our volunteer Andre Le Gouais had identified a massive shortage of English textbooks for Standard 3 and Standard 4. For Standard 3 there were only 5 textbooks to be shared between a whole class. With Tore’s money we were able to buy enough books for pupils to share 1 between 2 in both classes, something that has already started making a big difference.

The other issue at Timbolo, that our previous volunteer Anne Davis told us about was the state of the blackboards. Some of them were so poor that it was hard for teachers to write on them and the children couldn’t read what was there. Tore’s money has paid for 5 blackboards to be repainted which will hopefully make life easier for both pupils and teachers.

Ngaramtoni Football Tournament

May 30th 2008

During 2007, one of our supporters, Clive Berrington, did a fantastic job and raised more than £1000 to enable us to organise a football tournament in Ngaramtoni. Sport is a great way to help children develop team-working skills, as well as promoting creativity and physical fitness. Needless to say, the boys in Ngaramtoni are football obsessed and didn’t need much encouragement to get training for the event!

Our volunteer Jane Griffiths who was teaching at Kimnyak Primary got the ball rolling (quite literally!) at the beginning of the year. Then Andre Le Gouais arrived at Timbolo Primary in March and things really started moving. Andre and Samwel (one of the teachers at Timbolo) organised a match schedule, wrote out all the rules and league system, and invited Emaoi Primary, Kimnyak Primary, Sambasha Primary as well as Timbolo Primary to take part.

All of the schools were really excited and training started in earnest as well as some pre-tournament friendlies. In the mean time Andre and Samwel were hard at work searching out brand new kits for the teams and negotiating the best prices possible. As well as kits for each school, Clive’s money funded footballs for each school, a fantastic trophy, official referees and linesman from the Ngaramtoni Football Association and lunch and refreshments for all the players. And of course no football match would be complete without the half-time oranges!

Thankfully, tournament day, Friday 30th May, was overcast and not the scorcher we were dreading! The teams looked fantastic in their new strips and I think we all had a lump in our throats as they lined up and sang the national anthem. The first part of the competition was a league system, with everyone playing each other. All 4 teams were closely matched and competition was fierce. There were some flashes of brilliance from individuals and some spectacular goals. These were accompanied by the obligatory pitch invasion. There were well over 1000 spectators, including the local village chairman who completely failed to be impartial, shouting loudly for Sambasha and criticising all their mistakes!

After a great few hours of football we were left with a final of Sambasha versus Kimnyak. We broke for a tasty lunch and then were back for the climax. By the end of the first half the teams were poised at nil – nil. David Kinisi then suggested putting the trophy on display (like for the World Cup) to give the boys that extra bit of encouragement. Well, it nearly caused a riot! There were hundreds of spectators crowding round it, I don’t think they had seen anything like it before. As the second half progressed we saw a few tired players, but we also saw 2 fantastic goals from Sambasha, as they finished deserved winners. They enjoyed their well-deserved lap of honour with the trophy with most of the teachers and spectators trailing behind. It was a really super day all round. We now have plans for a netball tournament later in the year and the boys have already started training for the next football tournament in September – any volunteers who want to help organise it are most welcome in Ngaramtoni!

Kighare Secondary - Usangi

John Reed April - May 2008

I’ve been in Tanzania for a month now and it is interesting reading my first blog to see how my opinions have changed. In many ways things are the same, friendly welcoming people, beautiful scenery, and wonderful hosts.
I can now beat Ali at drafts, which is apparently a major achievement. I didn’t tell him that I am a pretty good chess player but it took me ages to master the strange Tanzanian rules and a 10 by 10 board. Usangi still is a safe and secure place. One day I felt someone was following up the hill but it came to nothing.
Teaching the local ladies English was a lot of fun. They were great students and have excellent English accents. They just don’t seem to understand that 2 o’clock means 2 not 2.30 or 3.00! Songs go down well particularly 10 green bottles. Mr Ismaeli has introduced me to a lady of 110 years (her 3rd son was 75). I have gone on some lovely local walks and been greeted with endless good cheer. I know enough Kiswahili to explain that I am a teacher. This seems to satisfy local gossip needs.
My teaching is now finished as the examinations have started. Form 1 have been attentive and fun. All 70 plus of them work so hard. Taking a photo is hard but I have tried. Many of them have high ambitions which are great and many have the ability to succeed. My two forms 3 have been good with one or two off days. Teachers in the UK please note that these are not the same as off days in an English comp. It just means they weren’t all as committed as usual. Often the problem is that the start of the lesson so messy with the students coming in late from doing jobs. Their English is not as good as I thought and many of them have not good maths skills. The topic was functions (!!) so it was a challenge. Nevertheless many did well and responded to having their books regularly marked (with stickers) and also to me dashing round trying to help them.
The big cloud has been corporal punishment. It has now exceeded my wildest expectations and sometimes I have gone back to the volunteer house in shock. It seems uncontrolled, indiscriminate and violent. As the term has finished there has been a little bit of an ‘end of term’ feeling that characterises all schools, exacerbated by a shortage of and absence of staff. The reaction of some of the staff was not worthy of any teacher.
Apart from that I was concerned by the situation of the girls. The head is the only female teacher. During my time she has been absent about half of the days. There is no one for the girls to go and see apart from male teachers. Also that sense of restraint and good sense normally provided by female teachers is noticeably absent.
So I left after my teaching was over. Staying to supervise exams seemed fruitless. During all this time my support from Mondo Challenge has been endless, helpful and sensible.
This experience has been extraordinary, seeing a country from a perspective so far removed from that of a tourist. The people here live life little above a poverty level and work very hard. Age is not a limiting factor and grannies work from dawn to dusk doing hard physical labour. They are kind and generous and have high expectations for their children and of the education system. One can easily over romanticise the culture in such a beautiful setting but there are pluses over European life, almost no litter, non existent consumerism, a great feeling of community, wonderful hospitality and endless cheerfulness and laughter. The price is high, however in long days of work, lack of reading materials and limited ability to travel. It’s at least one hour to a metalled road. There is continued shortage of cash and an education system constrained by numbers, lack of teachers, and lack of good teachers.
The birth rate is very high. 7 or 8 children are normal in a family. I would guess the mountains may not sustain the increased population. The fragile infrastructure will struggle to keep up.I said goodbye to Mr Ismaeli and his wonderful family with regret and sadness. I beat Ali one last time at drafts before I left.

Longido Internet Centre

At the end of April we had a visit from our corporate volunters from Buro Four. Their company has invested a large amount of money into creating a fantastic Community Internet and Computer Centre, in partnesrship with Mondo and LOOCIP in Longido.

The centre is powered totally by solar panels and provides internet access for anyone in the community. LOOCIP have employed Godlove Masambaji (who some of you may remember from Usangi) as the centre manager, and together with Mr Engeresa from LOOCIP they have been working hard on bringing this resource to as many members of the community as possible. Computer skills training has started this week as well as sessions to learn how to use the internet.

B4 generously provided laptops and gave some computer training as well as setting up a network and giving some initial training. The idea is that the centre will be an educational resource for students, teachers, health workers, local NGOs and the community as a whole.

One of the highlights of the opening was a demonstration of Google Earth, starting with looking at houses in Longido itself and then gradually zooming out to see Tanzania, East Africa and the World.

As well as the internet centre the B4 volunteers worked on a rainwater harvesting pilot, installing tanks at homes in the village so help people during the dry season (which really lasts a long time in Longido).

There was lots of local interest and some local fundi are now being trained to build the tanks.

Overall, it has been an amazing few weeks in Longido - I'm sure some of our ex-Longido volunteers would be amazed to see it!! And of course karibuni sana!

Hope Trust - Ngaramtoni

Rachel Doyle April - July 2008

So many thoughts are going around in my head at the moment. It all seems a bit surreal sat here in my room listening to Ali Faka Toure on my laptop (Mali music) and typing away at my journal at 8am after breakfast and before I leave for the office. I left Arusha yesterday afternoon and took a taxi with Leonard the local man in the Mondo challenge office. We took a taxi to Ngaramtoni – a half hour ride through green fields of corn and bananas. As we drove through the village I was surprised at how busy it was with many shops and a couple of bars and cafes and lots of local activity. The village is mainly Maasai and although many of them now don’t wear the traditional red cloths there are still plenty dotted around. I met the family that I will be staying with for the next 3 months who consist of Mr David, Mama Baraka, Julius (approx 7) and Venance (approx 5). The family are Maasai but a modern Maasai family. Mr David owns the ‘New Sahara’ café in town and Mama Baraka works at the hospital as an anaesthetist. They are very welcoming and a lovely family. Mama Baraka showed me around the house, a brick built building which consists of 4 bedrooms – mine, the childrens, the housegirl and theirs, a lounge complete with sofas and a tv. The cooking is done outside in the courtyard and the toilet is also outside along with a shower cubicle. I have not sussed out the washing routine as yet – I get a bucket of hot water in the evening which is my ‘shower’ but the logistics of juggling my clothes and toiletries and trying not to get everything wet has yet to be mastered. The housegirl does all the domestic duties including the shopping, cooking, washing etc and looks after the children. My room consists of a bed, shelves a table and chair and cupboard and electricity which is a bonus. I have a surge protector that I bought yesterday as apparently the fluctuating electrics can damage your equipment. It is flickering all the time and I am making sure that I save my work regularly! Andre who is volunteering at a local primary school is staying about 5 minutes away so he came over yesterday to show me around the village and we had a sprite in the local BMW bar. I am glad that he is here as my only contact with the outside world! He has been here for about a month and will be here for another 2. I’m not quite sure how I feel about the whole thing at the moment. There is nothing that I won’t be able to handle but suddenly 3 months seems like a very long time. I am going into the Hope Trust office today where I will be working so I’m sure once I actually find out what I will be doing on a daily basis then I will feel more settled. Myself and Andre have been asked to teach English to an adult class that some of the previous volunteers have been teaching. So we have tentatively agreed with the understanding that we are not teachers but will give it a go. Apparently they are very keen students and will be grateful for anything that we can offer. I am hoping to be able to take photos around the village but at the moment I am not confident to get my camera out. The locals don’t like it and there would be a big scene and requests for money. Maybe when I am walking with Mr David or visiting with my work I will be able to take photos. However hard this may feel at the moment – I know that it is a real privilege to be living in the community with these people. This is a side of Africa that a tourist would never see and even a back packer would probably never come across. Because of this the locals pretty much ignore us – whereas in Arusha we are approached all the time by people wanting to sell us souvenirs or even just to talk. The children in town and sometimes the Maasai shout out Mzungu (whiteman). I asked Leonard what would be the appropriate response to this?? It is not meant as an offensive call but more of a hello. He couldn’t tell me so I decided that I would reply either ‘Hu Jambo’ hello or Maasai whichever seems fitting at the time. They all seem pretty good natured and like a joke. The weather is really strange. It rains a lot at night – torrential rain all of last night which woke me up in the night. Then in the morning it is either very cloudy or rainy then as the day goes on it gets nicer and the sun comes out in the afternoon and it gets quite hot for a few hours. Anything that I do outside of the house has to be done during daylight – it is not safe for us Mzungus to walk around at night.

Mr David took me down to introduce me to ‘Hope Trust’ who I will be working with for my time here. It consists of an office with files and a computer with printer. Daniphord is the only full-time employee and I will be working with him mostly. He is a lovely Tanzanian man 32 years old, who speaks very good English. We got on very well today and I think we will enjoy working together over the next few months. Hope Trust has 4 board members 2 of which are Mr David and Mama Baraka. Then there are 6 community volunteers who are paid a small amount. I hadn’t really been given a clear idea of what exactly I would be doing so I was interested to find out all about the organisation and exactly what was going on at the moment. It seems that Hope Trust do some training of Women’s groups educating them about HIV and health matters and the other side is to give small business grants to people suffering with HIV. Then they receive visits from the Community Volunteers who record their weekly profit/loss etc and offer advice on how they can improve the business. The gap that I can see is that although the CV’s have a huge thick folder of information on HIV training they have nothing apart from one sheet of paper on business skills, ideas or advice. So I think I have found what my first job will be. Just to give you an insight into a day at the office Africa style here are some of the problems that I encountered today. The office has a budget of 22,000 Tanzanian shillings per month to buy stationary/sundries etc (about £11).One black printer cartridge is 35,000 Tsh.One hour on the internet at a café is 1,600 Tsh.They are not backing up their work on the computer and the CD drive is not working so I have backed everything up on a ‘Make your Mark’ memory stick (sorry for those of you that have no idea what MYM is!!) that I bought with me which has solved the problem temporarily. They have internet at the office but it is a dial up connection, pay as you go. So this is only used very sparingly due to cost. So today Daniphord wanted to update the virus protection but to download via dial up is very expensive and takes along time so we decide to go to the internet café and put it on a stick and bring it back to the office. So it is half an hours (beautiful) walk to the internet café and we are busy downloading when half an hour later the power goes off and we loose everything…………..welcome to Africa. Nothing can be done in a hurry so I am not even going to try!
I pondered for a while on my 24/7 wireless super fast internet connection that costs the same as a few beers for a month. I am dealing with a time rich but cash poor society whereas I am from a world that is totally opposite.

There are so many things to report back it’s hard to know what to talk about first. I’m sure as time goes on I won’t find so many things to tell you about but at the moment everything is an experience! Last night I sat and chatted to Mr David over a glass or 2 of red wine. Most of the discussions here end up being about comparisons between here and the UK. Last night Mr David wanted to know about why people get divorced in the UK. They have divorce here but it is not very common and I think you will realise why later………… Mr David only has one wife but it is common in Maasai culture for the men to have more than one and up to five. So the pattern of things seems to be that you marry the first wife and have some children. Then when the wife gets tired as she is working in the field all day and looking after young children he takes the opportunity to ask her if its ok if he gets a new wife as she is too tired for sex. Hence wife number 2 appears and the pattern continues. So who needs divorce? It rained all night really heavily and kept me awake. Earplugs are essential here but even so sometimes not enough. There is constant noise here in the house, either from the TV or radio, the children, dogs, rain etc. I am getting to know the routine of things in the house. Its hard not being in control of things that I take for granted at home. For example: Making a cup of tea – Amena the house girl puts a flask on the table when tea is up, having a shower – one of the boys knocks on my door and announces ‘Rachel ready water’. The hardest thing for me (and I knew it would be) is having very little control over what I eat and no control over when. The food is nice, mostly vegetables, rice, beans, lentils or chapatti. But I am finding myself only eating to stop the hunger and not for pleasure like I do at home. I am looking forward to getting to Arusha at the weekend where I will be eating a lot of chicken! My brain is being challenged in ways I didn’t expect. Dan speaks English very well and I managed to convince him today that he is fluent – although he thinks he has to be perfect to be described as fluent. He asks me such questions as….What is the difference between certain and definite?Explain the difference between indigenous, native and origin – and what is the opposite of indigenous? By the way if anyone knows this one please help as my pathetic reply was ‘not indigenous’. What is the definition of hindsight? (We had a lot of fun with this one and it was my fault for using the word in the first place!) - well as they say hindsight is a wonderful thing. We had this chat while walking about an hour to a school where the CV’s were teaching HIV awareness to the school children. When I entered the classroom I felt pure fear and was glad that I wasn’t out here as a teacher. I don’t know what it is about a class full (I counted 55) of teenagers that has such an effect on me. Me and Andre have been roped in to take over the previous volunteers adult English class. So we went along tonight to see who was interested in coming and what level they were at. We explained that we are not teachers but will do our best. We tried to engage the class and get them to tell us what they had been learning and what things they wanted to learn etc. To say it was like pulling teeth was an understatement and we were a bit lost at this point. When asked what they would like to learn – 3 of the class said ‘football’ – clearly that was not going to happen! Then Andre asked if they had any questions, thanks for that Andre. Immediately hands went up and I was asked………Are you married? How old are you? What level of education have you achieved? Probably my 3 least favourite questions in the world. So not so shy after all then. They will be getting some very difficult homework as a reward for that…...I am already plotting my revenge.

On Safari…………… My first proper weekend in Tanzania and I was determined not to waste it by sitting and using the internet all day! Some of the volunteers head into Arusha at the weekend to stay in a hotel and meet up to do stuff. We had a volunteers meeting on Friday night followed by dinner. It is nice when we all get to meet up and chat as it gets quite lonely during the week. Saturday was spent doing internet stuff, lunch and a bit of shopping for supplies that I can’t get in the village. On Saturday night I was ready for a bit of a night out so I dragged some of the others to the ‘Maasai camp’ which is a campsite bar, restaurant and disco that I went to in 1995 (thanks Owen for the reminder of the date). It had changed a bit and was a bit more sophisticated than it was back then. It was empty when we got there but by the time we had finished dinner it was heaving. We had a good dance and a few drinks. It was full of Prince William look-alikes – gap year students I think, maybe doing volunteer projects also. It was a really good night and I’m glad that we have found somewhere here with a bit of atmosphere as most places are quiet. But note to self on lessons learnt was don’t go to the Maasai camp the night before a walking safari…………………… The top man Anthony Lunch has been out here this week overseeing a corporate sponsored project that Mondo challenge have undertaken – setting up an internet learning centre in Longido which is a very remote village. So we all decide to go to Arusha National Park for the day. We did a 3 hour walking safari and a drive around the park. It was a really hot day and no rain for a change. It has rained everyday since I have been here, mostly at night and in the morning but sometimes all day and really heavily. It is getting cold in the evenings and will start to get colder – which is not good as they don’t have any heating. My hands are freezing as I’m typing here with my fleece on. Anyway hope you enjoy the safari photos.

Getting down to business. We went to visit two grant recipients today. The first was a couple – both living with HIV and have 3 children. The husband used to work as a stone mason but this work is too hard now he is sick and also was not a regular income. With the grant from Hope Trust him and his wife now sell vegetables everyday in the village. He told me that the grant has enabled him to have a regular income. The second one was a lady who lost her husband to Aids – she is living with HIV and has 2 children to support. With the help of Hope Trust and a grant of 75,000 shillings (about £40) she has set up a business cooking and selling chips and tea at lunchtime next to the school - she works out of her back yard. With the profits from this business she bought a chicken and a cockerel so she can breed chickens and have enough eggs to sell. I asked her what difference the business has made to her life and she said that before sometimes her and her children would go all day without food. Now they eat everyday. There was also pressure on her from her in-laws to remarry and go onto have more children. She does not want to do this – now she has a choice. She was in really good spirits when we spoke to her and she gave us a bowl of the best tasting chips I think I’ve ever had. Another of the recipients that I have met was a man in his late 60’s and also living with HIV. He is a retired policeman but because he is now sick he does not get his full pension (work that one out!). I asked him what difference the 70,000 shillings had made to him. Wait for this…………he said that now he can afford the bus fare into Arusha to pick up his free HIV medication. Before the grant he had to beg for the return fare (about 40p). He runs a business from his house, setting up a stall on market days selling sodas etc. I am getting out to as many of the grant recipients as possible so I can learn about what kind of businesses people are running here and what problems they may face in order to help me write the manual. As I am finding out more and more about these people and their situations the task is becoming more and more challenging. Not only are these people restricted by lack of money but also by their traditions and cultural dos and don’ts. In the UK in the area of business support that I was working in there was often a lot of discussion about ‘What the motivations are to start a business’ and there was always a number of different answers. The only reason here is to generate income in the only way they can as they don’t have any other option.

Tanzania Capital Boosting Association (TCBA) - Arusha

James Miller April-May 2008

I moved in to my new home on Thursday. It is about 30 minutes walk outside of Arusha in a place call Sinoni. There is tarmac half the way there and the rest is a mud track with some occasional rubble thrown into the bigger holes. Not dissimilar to something you would find at Brick Kiln Farm. I live with an extended family around a small court yard used for washing and cooking. There is mama and baba, and their too sons Boneface and Allen. Then there is Francis who is an orphan and has been with my family for some time. 2 other girls that don’t speak English but I gather are some kind if house maids. There are also three young children, but am not sure to whom they belong.
The home is very basic - no hot water, a squat toilet, all cooking on coals outside and a tin roof, but also very friendly indeed.

It has almost been a week with TCBA. They are a small micro-finance organisation run by a Mr Sauni. There are about 450 clients, who are small entrepreneurs from in or around Arusha. To qualify for a loan each individual must form a group of 5, to which the loan is provided. This reduces the risk of defaulters as the group is jointly responsible for repayments. Loans begin at 100,000 Tanzanian Shillings which is about £50, with at maximum of £250.
The types of business that we lend to varies but could be street food vendors, small tailors, charcoal collectors really any small scale enterprise.
There are 4 permanent members of staff: in addition to Mr Sauni, there is Julius the accountant, Emmanuel who vets the clients and Lightness who assists him. The offices are in the centre of Arusha, this is where clients will come on a Monday and Wednesday to make repayments.

They say that the simple things in life are the best. When I have a spare hour or two I tend to ask the guys at home what they want to do; the answer is always the same… “can we go for uji?”. So we walk half an hour into the town sit outside a shop on the side of the street and get half a pint of very hot porridge from and thermos flask. There we will sit for a while watching the world go by. If we are lucky we can wash the uji down with a plate of chips.

Apparently Arusha is the gateway for Tanzanian safari, so naturally I thought I should give it a go at the weekend. So along with the other volunteers, I took the short trip to the Arusha National Park, although it is one of the smallest parks it is supposed to be the one with the most varied terrain and includes the not insignificant mount Meru which at 4500 meters is bloody big - but somehow overlooked by Kilimanjaro. I thoroughly recommend the safari. We took a 4×4 on a game drive in the morning seeing buffalo, warthogs, zebra, buffoons among other things - then a walk with an armed ranger. We walked through forest and marshes finding more water buffalo and loads of giraffe which were only a few yards away, also 3 types of monkey all in the trees. When in the forest with the monkeys we heard what sounded like gun shots in the distance, it wasn’t though – the guide told us it was a bush-buck warning the monkeys of some danger. They then all went crazy, making a very loud grunting/barking sort of noise – this, in turn was a warning to other animals further away. I don’t know if we were the cause of the commotion, or if we should have been worried about some other imminent danger. I guide didn’t seem bothered so we continued our stroll. Unfortunately no lions and no elephants, for these I need to take a longer trip to one of the bigger parks which I hope to do soon.

As we all know, nothing happens fast in Africa. Well until today that is; I was a bit annoyed because my camera suddenly decided to stop taking pictures. Not really believing I would be able to get it fixed I went to a small photo studio, who asked me to leave it with them. Within 45minutes I had a text with a quote, and after agreeing in 2 hours I collected it in full working order with a new fuse in one of the circuit boards controlling the lenses. How about that for service?!

I had a bit of a shot in the arm earlier this week. I was beginning to get a bit frustrated with the management of the micro-finance I’m working with. There are a number of things that I am not keen on. Anyway, I got out of the office for a client visit – traveling about 30 minutes by bus from the office. There I met a lady who has had 5 loans from TCBA. Her business is very simple… twice a week she travels from Arusha to the border with Kenya to buy salt, she takes about a ton and a half, which she sells wholesale to shops in Arusha. It seems somehow the salt is cheaper in Kenya. She uses the capital from TCBA to buy the stock, of which over the years she has been able to increase the amount considerably. The effect is that she has been able to save enough to build a house and send her daughter to school. It was a perfect example of both the need for credit and the power of micro-finance — and by the way, she had never missed a repayment in 5 years!

Kighare Secondary - Usangi

John Reed - April-May 2008

I am a maths teacher, aged 61, recently retired from an independent school in the UK. I have had pretty varied experience of the English education system for teaching in inner city Manchester to being the Vice Principal of a very large sixth form college.

My volunteer work is in Usangi, a quite remote town in the North Pare mountains. The location is beautiful by any standards, lush vegetation, banana trees, tall grass, many crops, incredible variety of flowers, wonderful views. The local people are about as welcoming as it is possible to be and the town is completely hassle free. I have been asked for money only once since I arrived.

I live in the volunteer house about 30 min walk from the school. It is simple but nice and run by the incredible kind Mr Ishmaeli. It is only £15 per month plus £1.50 a day for breakfast and dinner. Mama Fatuma is a great cook and evening meals are a highlight when you are on your own. There is a squat toilet (WC that you flush yourself) and a kettle for hot water. No problem to keep clothes and yourself clean but you have to keep doing small washes as the electric can go off for 12 odd hours.

So far I haven’t found being the only Mzungu (European) in town a problem. Mr Ishmaeli’s grandsons are always coming in to do their homework and have taken me up the mountain. Nice boys. Mr I’s son Saidi, always comes to see me about 7.30 pm after his very long days work. I have brought some books, pocket chess and a DVD player (sorry). I allow myself one hour a night! Sleeping has caused some difficulties as the mosque kicks in at 5 am for an hour. So I have moved to the other side of the house. There also appears to be parties on Friday and Saturday night till 3 am to which I wasn’t invited.

Red dust is everywhere damped down by the rains in April/May. Everywhere is up or down with big plusses on the mossie front as there are only small ones and appears to be no malaria. Its only 100m below the limit for them. I hate them.

The walk to school is outstanding, down the hill, past little shops, fields, staggering views, flowers and the local heavy drinkers area. Although my wine has run out I have never been tempted. I arrive at the school around 7.45, the children have been there for half an hour. The girls are sweeping and mopping the classrooms free of dust, boys clearing weeds and scrub and hoeing. It’s quite a site as the school is cut into the side of a hill. Hens and even the odd goat wander through the school. The kitchen is a small building in the middle, wood powered. There is no glass, no electricity and one standpipe.

No previous experience prepares you for the school although being a teacher has helped me in the classroom. There are a few books. Those that there were written by torturers for genii. The classes range from 55 to 70. Yes each class. Individual help is a challenge but the behaviour of the children helps. They are polite and helpful but love nothing more than a laugh. Most of the children are older than you think. There are 15 year olds in Form one. The marking is colossal and recording marks is not helped by the fact that the names on the register are different to the names they use on their books. I cannot tell you the problems this has caused me. Attendance is varied and new kids seem to appear every week. The children work hard and have more ability than one might think.

The schools use corporal punishment which I detest. There’s no getting away from this. You see things that can seriously upset you. Some staff use it more than others. On the whole the staff are very young, in some cases not much older than the oldest students. The staff talk to each other in Kiswahili which mean there isn’t much conversation with them.

One wonderful highlight is the singing. I had a low moment one Friday when the school finishes early. The girls and some of the boys congregated in one classroom and started to sing. You would have paid and travelled a distance to hear it. It lifted me.

If you picked up an exercise book, you would be impressed but much is copied and not understood. They will write down information on scientific instruments they have never seen. I was stunned by the maths on graphs until I realised many could not plot coordinates.

After only a couple of weeks in Usangi I have had enough for a bucketful of memories. Maybe the best was telling Idi and Ali (about 13) about the slave trade using a globe in the volunteer house. They had no idea why there are Africans in the USA, West Indies and UK. They were horrified by the conditions and sat open mouthed while I tried to explain.

I have now been asked to teach English to the local ladies group. I am a bit anxious but they are lovely. Oh yes, I met a scorpion in the bathroom last night. I am afraid it was him or me.

Returning to Africa

Vicky Harris - Timbolo Primary School - September-December 2007

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to go back to Africa. My parents were both English teachers who met in Kenya and got married in Nairobi Cathedral. I spent my first few years there and, even after returning to England, grew up surrounded by all things African. I loved the occasional evenings that my dad would get his boxes of slides down from the attic and we’d all sit round as a family and reminisce.
So when I finally got round to contacting Mondo Challenge in early 2007, I had just assumed that I would go back to Kenya. But when I looked at the countries where their projects were based, for some reason Tanzania was the one that appealed to me.

On arrival, I was introduced to Kate, the country manager, who told me that my placement would be at Timbolo Primary School, situated in the foothills of Mount Meru, and my family for the next three months would be the Kinisis. I would be sharing them with another volunteer, Lindsay, who was American and who had already been living there for two weeks. Their home was in a village called Ngaramtoni where Mr David, the father, ran the New Sahara Café. Mama Baraka worked at the local hospital and they had three boys: Baraka (17), Lowassa (15), and Julius (7). They also took care of Mama Baraka’s nephew, Venance (5). I realised the first day I met Mr David that his was no ordinary family. He had a cheeky grin, an infectious laugh and a mischievous sense of humour. He told me his motto was ‘Be free’. I loved him immediately.


With Mr David under a Maasai shuka.

My walk to school took about an hour. Most of it was uphill through thick dust and for the first two weeks I had painful blisters on the soles of my feet. It sounds like a nightmare but it was the highlight of my day. The scenery was stunning, the views across the plains were breathtaking and at every turn there were little groups of children just waiting to grab your hand and walk with you for as long as they could. Every single day I did that walk I noticed something different about the landscape.

Part of my walk to school.

My first few days at the school were challenging. I have been teaching English for almost seven years now and was used to a certain way of working. I soon realised that if I tried to apply my usual teaching methods to my classes of over 100 Tanzanian kids, I would get nowhere fast. You have to alter your expectations and focus on what you think is important for them. Songs were extremely popular and I used to love listening to the whole class launch into ‘If You’re Happy And You Know It’ with huge smiles on their faces and impromptu dance moves. They enjoyed coming up to write things on the board and anything visual (flashcards or pictures) was greeted with appreciative gasps and murmurs.
The other teachers were a joy to work with. They were all relatively young and not particularly experienced but they did the best they could with what was available and had a great rapport with the kids. Ten o’clock was ‘chai’ time when we would all sit around and chat over cups of hot, sweet tea. Within a couple of weeks everyone had nicknames and I felt like I’d been there for years. I remember sending a text message to one of my friends saying, “I can’t believe I’ve only got seven weeks left.”

In the staff room with some of the teachers on my birthday.


There was a student who stood out from day one. His name was Ndobiri Sambeke and he was in my Standard 3 class. It’s not easy getting noticed in a class of 120 but he had no such problem. He always had his hand up, was desperate to answer my questions and his huge grin lit up the classroom.
Meanwhile, my walk to school became more interesting as I got to know some of the villagers and some faces became more familiar. One day a girl came out of one of the Maasai huts and greeted me by name. I asked her what she was called and how she knew me, and she said that her name was Naramatisho and that her little brother was in one of my classes. She was kind and friendly and although her English wasn’t great and my Swahili was almost non-existent we liked each other immediately and I used to look forward to seeing her on my walk home.
Ndobiri continued to work hard and began to come and chat to me at break times and loved taking photos with my digital camera. One day we walked home together and he insisted on carrying my bag. We stopped outside the hut where Naramatisho lived and he took my hand to lead me in. I realised that she was his elder sister and this was his home. I was invited in and given a banana, which I ate slowly as everyone sat round and watched.

With Ndobiri at school.


Within a month Ngaramtoni felt like home. Lindsay and I had become great friends and we were enjoying our time with the family more and more every day. We would go to Arusha at the weekends just to have a hot shower and get together with the other volunteers but we were never as happy as when we were watching badly dubbed soap operas with the kids on our laps surrounded by our family.
Sometimes I would lie down on my bed in the afternoon just listening to the laughter coming from outside and a big smile would spread across my face.
Amina took care of the house and did most of the cooking and cleaning. We would sit outside in the evenings under a blanket of stars and watch her roll out the dough for chapattis or chop up the vegetables for her special salad that Lindsay and I loved so much. Everything was uncluttered and simple and it all made perfect sense.

Lindsay and Amina making chapattis, with Juli in the background.

The weeks flew by and before we knew it we had to start thinking about saying goodbye. The kids at school had end of term exams and Ndobiri came top in all his subjects, including English. I started to think about his future and what options he had. He was obviously a very bright little boy and had the potential to go far but had none of the advantages or opportunities that the kids back in England had. I decided to ask Kate if I could sponsor him. One of the teachers, Masue, took me to Ndobiri’s home to meet his father. His name was Sambeke and he was a farmer with no wife and seven children to feed. Ndobiri was his youngest. Masue explained in Swahili that I wanted to help with Ndobiri’s education and contribute towards things like school uniform, pencils and textbooks. Sambeke just looked at me and grinned. He grabbed my hands tightly and said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Then continued in Swahili. Masue laughed and I asked her to translate what he’d said. She told me that he had only ever dreamed that something like this would happen and that tonight, when he slept, he would feel fat and warm and contented as though he had a full stomach and not a care in the world.

My last day of school was awful. I knew I was going to miss the teachers terribly and saying goodbye to the kids was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. They couldn’t understand why I was crying and kept saying, “See you in January!” It didn’t occur to them that I wasn’t coming back. Ndobiri walked home with me carrying my bag and understood perfectly why I was so upset. He and his father came down to the village a few days later to say goodbye. I gave Sambeke some money to buy Ndobiri a new school uniform and promised that I would stay in touch. Mr David told me he would look out for them.

Saying goodbye to Ndobiri (with his dad and brother).

Lindsay and I threw a ‘Goodbye and Thank You’ party for our family. We bought a big chocolate cake, gave Baraka some money to buy Cokes and Fantas and blew up loads of balloons. I drew the face of a family member on each one and they all had their own catch phrases. Mr David’s said ‘Be free’. We presented them with a photo collage we’d made of all the great times we’d had and they surprised us with traditional kangas. Along the bottom the Swahili saying read, “Receive this gift and our hearts will be happy.” We ate, laughed and danced to our favourite Tanzanian tunes and it was exactly what we had wanted it to be – a night that none of us would forget.

Wearing our kangas with the family at our farewell party.


Saying goodbye the next morning was a lot more difficult than either of us had anticipated. Everyone was in floods of tears and I felt physically sick at the thought of having to drive away from them. Mr David came with us in the taxi to Arusha and all the way there Lindsay and I just sat on the back seat and sobbed.

Before you do something like volunteering for three months in a third world country, you sit and think about it. A lot. You try to run through every possible scenario and prepare yourself for every possible disappointment or disaster. You worry that you’re not going to be able to cope with what might be thrown at you, that you’ll be the first volunteer to give up on the first day, that you’re going to say or do something to offend the people who have so kindly welcomed you into their home. You don’t dare to hope that this might become the experience you’d always dreamed about, the one you’ve been waiting to have since you were ten years old. But that’s what it was: everything I’d hoped for and much, much more.

With my Standard 3 class.

Timbolo Primary & Hope Trust - Ngaramtoni

Anne & Martin Davis - January to April 2008

We have now really settled into a routine and life here seems to be completely 'normal' now.

Weekday routine - Mama gets up at 5.30 to start heating/carrying water for indoors. Large ex-cement containers, probably holds 5 gallons. I can just about lift one when it's half empty, Mama and the girls carry them full about 50 metres. (Mama is just a polite way of referrring to any older lady, I get it quite a lot myself. Baba is an older man.) Our alarm goes off at 6 and we get up straight away. Quick wash and breakfast. This is balck tea, fruit, sliced bread and Marmite which I brought with me and have since managed to find in Tz. All the fruit is wonderful, we usually have oranges, mangoes and bananas for breakfast. The oranges are actually green outside, with very tough membranes, so you don't peel and eat them like at home, you suck a quarter orange and try to extract as much juice as possible. A bit messy and noisy. Tea and coffee always come with boiling milk as none of it is pasteurised, so we are developing a taste for tea without milk. I set off for school at about 6.50 as I like to be able to admire the scenery and get my breath back before I start work at 8. Martin quite often does some computer work at home for a while and then walks about 500m to the Hope Trust / Osotwa office for more computer work, teaching, advice sessions etc. We pass dozens of people on the way to work and are never more than a few metres from houses, kiosks or farms, although they might not be very reminiscent of home. Almost everyone makes some sort of greeting, unfortunately in any one of about 4 languages. KiSwahili is either 'Hujambo' to which I have to reply 'Sijambo', or, if they are being particularly polite, it will be Shikamoo, to which I have to reply Marahaba. In essence Shikamoo means something like, ‘I know I am only a worthless speck of dust before your great age and wisdom, but please don’t ignore me.’ The reply is roughly ‘Yes, I agree that you are only a worthless speck of dust before my great age and wisdom, but I will deign to notice you.’ The local language is Maasai. The greeting here follow a clear pattern: a) Habari b) Mzuri a) Ta Kwenya b) Eeko a) Soobeye b) Ebba (sorry, written phonetically). I think it means, How are you, fine, where are you going, work, where have you come from, home. A lot of people like to practice their English, so there are a lot of ‘Good Mornings’ and the there are the minority of children who say ‘Give me my money’ or ‘give me my pen’ as a first greeting. As far as I can find out, no-one has ever given them money or pens when demanded, but they keep trying. Most of the children are very friendly and no-one takes a refusal badly. There are also some tribal greetings but I just smile a lot for those as my head will explode if I have to retain any more information.

Martin’s days vary, some are office based and others are walking round the area to visit prospective candidates for grants or people who have already had money and are trying to make a go of running some sort of small business. Many of the ideas are carbon copies of things that already go on and they are giving themselves unnecessary competition. There have been some good and successful ideas – one lady was given enough money to buy a treadle sewing machine and is now making a profit an employs two other people. Two other ladies travel to Dar Es Salaam (10 hours by bus) to buy clothes which are unobtainable here. They can then sell them at a profit and save enough to go back to buy more. It is difficult to think of ideas which are not already in place. Many of the people in the area are subsistence farmers and so have no cash to spend on anything, so selling is a precarious occupation.

I only have 3 or 4 English lessons per day but because of the ghastly ‘system’ there is often more marking than teaching. The children get quite freaked out if you say you don’t want their books in and they must be marked in red or it’s not proper marking. The exercise books are horrible, very thin paper, and the children often cover them in newspaper, so that makes it even grubbier to mark 200 books in one go. The other staff set an exercise on the board and then leg it back to the staffroom to catch up on previous marking. It is the only way they can cope with the system; they can have 8 lessons in one day, they rarely have any free lessons and have to leave school premises at 2, so there is no alternative. Depending on the day, I usually get home at about 1pm and then have a couple of hours to myself. Washing takes quite a while – Martin leaves things in soak before he goes out and I get them washed and hanging outside. We only do some of our own washing – the bulk we leave for the weekend and then we pay one of the daughters to do most of it for us. At 2000 Tsh (80p) we think it’s a bargain and she is pleased to be making some money. Cold water washing and wringing out is not much fun.

At 4pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday we have our TEFL English classes. Jane (a young teacher from London) and I share the largest group which varies from 40 to 60. Martin has an advanced group of about 10. Considering none of us has ever done TEFL before, we seem to be attracting a good crowd. They would like two hours every day, but without any resources it’s a struggle to keep up. I have introduced Bingo to Tanzania and we use the dice that I brought with me. Most of the students had never seen dice before and had to check that they all had the same numbers on. Bingo went down well. I was especially glad as I had spent about four hours making 51 ‘cards’. Only 51 because I was fed up with it by then.
After English, we come home, wait for some hot water and then have our ‘shower’. This is a strip wash in our clothes washing bowl. We then relax for a bit while Mama prepares supper. This is usually cooked outside and then kept hot in very large Thermos flasks until everybody is home / ready to eat. We can’t wait beyond 7.30, but they often eat at 9.45 and then go straight to bed. The usual food is vegetable stew (they sometimes eat an extra dish of goat bones as well) with rice, pasta, Irish potatoes or chappatis followed by fresh fruit (usually mangoes, bananas, oranges and avocados, which are wonderful) and tea. It’s perfectly pleasant and healthy but we do look forward to a change at the weekends.

Last weekend we began by visiting one of Martin’s colleagues in Osotwa on Friday afternoon. This is a self-help, self administering local group which tries to promoste local developments and activities. It was Osotwa who asked us to run the adult English lessons, for which some people walk an hour. Ole Daniels is a fervent Maasai who is very keen that the old ways should not be lost, while, at the same time, trying to organise alternative ways of bringing money into the region. He has built what is known as a cultural boma (one of the wattle and daub one room houses which are the main form of accommodation in rural areas). He has built everything himself with help from his family and is now running it as a visitor centre, unfortunately rather a long way from the town. He has organised a group of local women to meet at the boma twice a week to make Maasai jewellery, cook Maasai food etc for any visitors, an opportunity for them to run their group as a collective. We spent the afternoon with them and wandered round the large smallholding, watching goats and chickens and the women demonstrating local skills and techniques. Ole speaks excellent English and spent a month living with friends in Finsbury park so it’s a bit of a contrast with here. The pictures are of the whole group with ole on the far right, and one of the women, Anna, very patiently trying to teach me to do the intricate beadwork on their collars etc. I’m not giving up the day job.

On Saturday we went to Lake Manyara and Tarangire National park to see some of the amazing wildlife and scenery in this area. Manyara is bordered by the Rift valley with vertical escarpments and dramatic scenery. We saw lions on both days, elephants, giraffes, zebra, hippos, wildebeest, water buffalo, impala, baboons, black velvet faced monkeys and wonderful birds. The three in the photos were particularly cooperative.

Kirongaya Secondary - Usangi

Mike Sayers January - February 2008

Everything's new

When you volunteer in a developing country for the first time you know things will be different, but not necessarily how they will be different. Here are a few differences that have made an impression on me.

First class travel

My experience of the buses starts with my journey with Leonard from Arusha to Usangi (the location of my teaching assignment). The moment we enter Arusha bus station, we have a couple of young men descending on us, wanting to help us find the right bus. Leonard responds to them, but strides on. Others join in and before long there are half a dozen milling around. I tuck in behind Leonard and fortunately am largely ignored. Leonard knows exactly where to find the bus and so needs no help. Before long we are on the bus, but it strikes me that this could be somewhat intimidating if you are on your own. I am also concerned that this will be very tame compared to Moshi bus station, described by my Bradt guide as 'a descent into hell ... one of the most hellish in Africa', because of all the hassling from men anxious to secure a commission by getting you to their bus. Fortunately, when I get to Moshi I find it has been cleaned up; it is well organised, with bus lanes labelled with their destinations and the hassling pretty low level.The bus leaves Arusha for its first stop, Moshi, at the advertised time (0900), which I am soon to discover is not what should be expected as the norm. The bus driver has his own technique, making liberal use of his horn and coaxing some quite impressive speeds out of a bus that must be 30-40 years old. I start to understand what the Rough Guide means when it describes the Arusha-Moshi highway as 'extremely perilous, and the antics of the average driver are enough to kick in visions of your life in flashback'. We get to Moshi safely, however, and then onto Mwanga where we get on a daladala for the final leg of the journey to Usangi. You are told that daladalas go when they are full. Well, the truth of this depends on what you understand by 'full'. In this, my first experience of a daladala, when it is full (ie all seats taken) it waits for more people ... and more. Finally, when you couldn't possibly pack in any more people, the daladala leaves ... and then stops after a few hundred yards to pick up some more people ... and then stops again to pick up some more. In the end a daladala with 12 seats carries 26 people, plus assorted plastic bags, handbags, boxes and a smallish suitcase or two. This I subsequently find is the norm for daladala travel. One my most recent trip I found myself sitting on a stool (no back) with the man behind's knees for my backrest, a young girl sitting on my lap, and, out of the window to my left, two legs dangling from a body sitting on the roof.The good thing about the daladalas is that by contrast the buses start to feel luxurious. The bus journeys I take from Usangi to Moshi in the weeks that follow I regard as a superior form of travel - positively first class!

En-suite facilities

My first taste of a volunteer's accommodation, at the Flamingo in Arusha, is basic. My second taste, at Usangi, is extremely basic. The difference is to be found in the bathroom, which, in Usangi, comprises a long-drop toilet and a bucket shower. The long-drop requires certain changes in technique which I need not go into. A bucket shower is also not quite as straight-forward as I first thought. On my first night I mix into the basin all the hot water from the kettle with a suitable amount of cold water, and soap myself with it. This leaves the water in the basin soapy, making it very difficult to rinse myself properly. On the second day I refine my technique, using only half the water from the kettle when soaping, emptying the mixture down the long-drop, and then using the remaining half for rinsing. This was an improvement, but I must remember to remove the soap from the basin before pouring the soapy water down the long drop. Fortunately I have another bar of soap.

Table manners

Lunch is provided at school. At lunch time two of the girl students arrive in the staff room to assist. Their first duty is to go round the table pouring water over each member of staff's hands for washing prior to eating. I watch carefully and manage to wash my hands using this method without embarrassing myself. On my first day the meal is ugali and some meat stew. I notice that only mine is served with a spoon. I enquire and am told that the other teachers eat with their right hand, not with cutlery. I suggest that I do the same and after a lesson from one of the teachers I proceed to eat without the spoon. I feel I am doing well, but my efforts produce much amusement. At the end of the meal the form is to walk over to the two students to get your hands washed again. Again I manage this, by observing the others and copying.

At the butcher's

One Saturday I decide to go to Moshi on my own. The landlord's son, Saidi, offers to escort me down to the bus stop. Just before we get there we see a few men with a cow. Saidi tells me to walk over with him to the group and get my camera out. It becomes apparent that they are about to slaughter the cow. I take pictures while they tie the cow's legs and get her into position. The next step is to slit the cow's throat. The blade is sharpened and the deed is done. To my surprise I stay around to the bitter end and capture the final act. Not how it is done in England, but certainly very swift and for all I know as humane as in the abatoir.

Off-putting?

These are some initial impressions of mine of how life is different here. What is the volunteer to make of them? I imagine different volunteers react differently. However, if you enjoy volunteering, then it is likely that such differences will appeal. They will be the experiences that make it all so interesting - the things that teach you about the new country and the things that provide the little challenges that are sent to test you and which give satisfaction when you learn to handle them. All this is, of course, before we talk about the challenges of life in the classroom. Here too there is much satisfaction to be had, but it is not to be easily gained I have found.Notwithstanding my focus above, volunteering is not only about challenges. With most of these differences accommodated, Bela and I have now turned our attention to incorporating life's little pleasures into our existence in the remote Pare Mountains. For a little while now a bottle of wine has been a mendatory item on the shopping list for Moshi. This weekend we have refined our dining experience. We start with an aperitif (some of the wine) drunk with Bela's supply of cashew nuts. Then comes Mr Ismaeli's wonderful food, washed down with some more wine. What is missing now is a cup of coffee to round off the meal; we will buy some. In our imaginations we are re-running the colonial life style. No doubt, it is nothing like things were in those days, and perhaps we shouldn't even be thinking of aspiring to anything colonial, but it all adds to the experience.