Tumaini la Maisha

Hope for Life

 from Tumaini la Maisha website

Tumaini la Maisha-this is the name of the organization I am interning with.  The organization partners with a the national hospital here in Dar es Salaam to provide support, classes, and housing for children cancer parents and their parent.  Emma and I work there every Tuesday and Thursday morning.  We help in the classroom where the kids can hang out when they are not getting treatment.  There are three teachers on staff there that help provide the kids with activities and tutoring.  These children have traveled from all over Tanzania to get treatment in Dar.  Tumaini la Maisha is the first ever organization in Tanzania to support the families of children with cancer, and these kids need lots of support.  Many of them are missing an eye, some a leg, then there are those with giant tumors on their faces and those stick thin.  Because there are so many other diseases in Tanzania like malaria and TB, cancer often gets undiagnosed until the situation becomes severe. 

the children's hospital at muhimbili national hospital 

 

 

Once they receive treatment, the children may have been out of school for weeks or months.  We get to help them stimulate their brains and practice skills.  In class each day we work with the kids on math, writing, and other fun activities.  The children need a lot of one-on-one help because they are different ages and levels.  It is exciting for me when they actually succeed and understand what I am trying to explain.  Today we actually worked on some little sewing projects, which they all seemed to really enjoy and they were able to be creative. 
Then every Wednesday and Thursday, the children have a play therapist come in.  Leone, the therapist from Ireland, does fun games with the kids but also talks with them about their emotional experience.  They children talk about how scared they were when they first went to the hospital, how much a bone marrow test hurts, and how they really just want to go home.  There are so many complex emotions these children must deal with, that they probably each need their own private therapist.  The play therapist has a way of presenting many of these things in a fun way that the children can relate to. 
The most beautiful thing about these children though is their ability to laugh...that is what really gives me Hope for Life.

The children need lots of help and resources, to find out more information or donate check out their website at tumainilamaisha.org

Milima ya Usambara

Irente Farm

On Friday we woke up with the sun, and boarded the "Califonia Dreamer", an old riquety bus filled with too many people, to travel nine hours to Lushoto.  The bus ride was long and hot, but once we arrived in Lushoto, we all argreed it was worth the journey.  Lushoto is up in the beautiful Usambara Mountains in Northeastern Tanzania.  Once we arrived, a guide from the tourism office found us at the bus station and gave us directions to Irente Biodiversity Reserve and Farm.  We hiked for about an hour up to Irente.  The mountain air felt so cool and crisp, compared to warm city we live in.  

Upon arriving at the farm we were greeted by Annette, a cute gray-haired Swedish women, who lives there, and Flora, our Tanzanian hostess.  She showed us to our cute little guest house, where we would be staying for the next two days.  We got settled as the sun set and the temperatures, for  first time in since I've been here, dropped enough to put long sleeves on.  Flora brought us our farm fresh dinner of rice and a roast with delicious veggies.  Then we chatted and drank tea in our comfy little living room.

After a breakfast of fresh jam, rye bread, and cheeses, we met our guides.  They showed us the way through the farms and villages that lay throughout the mountains. Each child we passed, our who saw us yelled out, "Mambo!" and often would chase after us excitedly.  We walked through one village, and found two Chameleons crossing the road.  Our guides picked them up, and let each of us hold them.  They were such unique little creatures, with two little toes, horns, and a spiral tail.  They reminded me of a dinosaur!

We past an old German house, from the colonial era, as well as sugar cane, maize, and banana fields.  Many of the crops were brought here by the colonizers to act as cash crops, to help finance the colonial structure. We crossed a creek, and then entered a rainforest.  The whole area use to be forest before the colonizers decided to cut it down for agriculture.  Now this rainforest is being preserved to protect all of the different kinds of animals and plants that live there.  We hiked up and up, to a lookout tower where we could see Lushoto and all of the surrounding area. 

Our guides made us lunch at the top, that was from the farm.  We ate delicious guacamole, cheese, bread, jam, hard-boiled eggs, and bananas.  Satisfied with a great lunch, we continued back down the other side through the rainforest.  We emerged back at the little village, and then took a path down to Lushoto. 

In Lushoto we bought veggies and pasta at the market and some local sweet red wine to make for dinner.  On the walk back to the farm, a group of kids each gave me a little flower they picked off a nearby bush.  I walked proudly with my little bouquet.  Then we stopped to try the local sugar cane beer, which was quite tart.  They made it all right there though, with a press, and vats for fermentation. 













Back at our guest house, a delicious spaghetti was made and greatly enjoyed with awesome conversation. (:

Nyumbani ya Bibi

A Cooking Excursion

 Saturday morning we loaded up the Dalla Dalla to go to a Bibi's (Grandmother) house.  Bibi is a local woman with a big bustling family.  We arrived and were seated on the patio area of their home.  They served mandazi, coffee, and peanut brittle.

 Then we learned how to make coconut rice, and actually carved out the coconut using a tool that you can actually sit on.

They showed us how to make a meat sauce using the tools in the photo above.  Then we watched as they stirred pilau in this giant pan. 

   We also learned how to make chapati using flour, water, and oil.  Chapati is like a thin fried pancake, that is super tasty.Here is Bibi teaching us how to make it.  Then each of us got a turn frying it up.

 

The kids watched and entertained us through the whole experience.  These are the two Stanford girls.  Note her t-shirt.

At the end this was the final product! Tamu sana!

Shindano ya Mbuzi

A Day at the Races

 well...goat races that is

Bajaj-covered tricycle

After donning our fancy clothes and enjoying a light breakfast (; we headed to the races.  Our chariots were the new age bajaj that kindly dropped us off at the front gate.  We entered to find a new world filled with many types of people.  The entire spectacle was quite overwhelming.   There was food from Italy, Thailand, and more, and booths set up to advertise the various charities the race was supporting.    The goats came from all over Africa to race, and their respective owners were very excited.  We watched as they were carried onto the race track and set up.  Now goats are not natural racers, so behind the goats they drug a large piece of material and chased them around the tracks.  Once around....then twice....then the winner! Number seven - Baaaaaaaaaaaazokah won the race.  Oh it was all quite exciting.  Too bad I didn't bet on lil' guy.

After all that excitement we needed a break so we headed down to watch the sunset at coco beach and enjoy a coca-cola.

Ubalozi wa Marekani

A Day at the Embassy

After a long bus ride through crazy Tanzanian traffic, we arrived at the US Embassy.  I learned very quickly that pictures were not allowed after trying to take a photo of the sign on the outside.  (I did succeed in getting one before he told me though, ha).  We then handed our passports and went through a security check.  Leah, who works in the consular office, came to greet us.  She was a tall women with blonde hair, and spoke Swahili to all the security guards. 

Inside the grass was nicely cut, and everything was tranquil especially in comparison to the crazy traffic going on outside.  We walked past the USAID office and then into the State Department Office.  Inside there was air conditioning! Something I haven't felt since I got here.  Everything was perfectly clean and nicely framed.  We were definitely on US soil.  On the way to the conference room there was a small cafe that advertised American Pancakes. (wow I wish we could have stopped there).  On the wall of the conference room was a landscape painting of a golden field with a high mountain rising in the background.  Below it read, "Montana Prairie", which made me feel a bit homesick. The more times I leave Montana the more times I fall in love with it.

Four foreign service officers stood at the front of the room.  One was actually from the USAID office.  They explained to us how to become a foreign service officer, the difference between the Embassies role and USAID, and different fellowships available for students.  They also explained how when you are in the foreign service you move every two years, and you don't really get a large amount of choice in where you live, especially during your first few tours.  One person would head off to Belize in a year, another had just come from Russia, and another was headed to Vietnam.  Through that career you really become a world traveler.  There job is basically to report on different subjects to keep the State Department informed and meet with officials in the country to discuss the US stance on issues.  The work sounded very interesting, but the moving every two years would certainly be challenging. 

Several of the officers left about an hour later for meetings, so we were escorted out.  Left the quietness of the embassy behind to reemerge in beautiful crazy Africa.

Tulisafiri katika Bongoyo

Bongoyo

On Sunday we went went out to Bongoyo Island, this island that is about a twenty minute boat ride off the peninsula in Dar.  We took taxis and bajaj to get to Slipway. Slipway is a tourist center on the peninsula, with shops and restaurants mostly for rich foreigners.  We first took a small boat that ferried us out to a large boat that took us up to the island.  The end of the island is covered in white sand beaches and little tiki huts to relax under.  There was also a little bar and small restaurant that served seafood and chips.  We went swimming in the warm, salty Indian Ocean and hung out under the warm sun.

Then Mary, Greg, Kash and I went to explore the Shark's Lagoon.  On the way there we saw some eels and a starfish in a tide pool.  We walked through the jungle-like growth on the island until we came to the Lagoon.  The lagoon was only about 6 inches deep at first.  We saw crabs along the wall skittering along.  There was a giant rat eating one of them even!  As we waded out we found some sea anemone and  more starfish.  Then along the rock wall emerged a cave that we also explored.  Inside there were some strange pre-historic looking creatures.   Down past the cave, the waves were breaking beautifully and there were large ships on the horizon waiting to get in the harbor.

We walked back to the beach and headed back to shore.  On the way back a giant yacht went past our boat.  As they went past their wake pushed our boat sideways.  I screamed and clung to the highside of the boat.  I thought for a second our boat would tip over with all 50 or so people on board.  Luckily we didn't and steadied ourselves.  On the way back we stopped at the parked yacht, and our captains yelled at them for a bit.  No port authority here it seems to carry out the laws.
Afterward we enjoyed pizza at a restaurant on the Slipway and watched the sunset over the harbor.  The evening was quite beautiful.

Mwenge

Dalla Dalla!

There is a market near campus called Mwenge that we have been frequenting.  To get there we took the Dalla Dalla which is a small bus. (I know..."Dalla, Dalla bill y'all")  This is all of us crowding into the Dalla Dalla.  To ride the bus it costs 300 shillings that equals $0.19

 Mwenge

Mwenge is a bustling market with several different sections.  There is the craft market, and then some second hand clothes markets, people doing pedicures, selling food, and lots of other things.  At mwenge it is essential that you barter, especially if you are a mzungu (or a white person), because they assume all white people have lots of money.  I went to this one stand and found some giraffe salad tongs.  I started bartering with the lady.  I went about half the price she said they were.  "Dada" she went or "sister" and hit me on the bum a little bit.  She started laughing.  I eventually got her down a few thousand shillings.  Dada was a lively one!

Ninasema Kiswahili Kidogo

"I speak a little Swahili"

I practiced my Swahili quite a bit down at the market which was fun.  Someone asked me where I was from and what not, all in Swahili and said that my Swahili was pretty good.  Always a boost to the self-esteem.