Three Weeks In Moshi

  As always, much has happened in just a week and a few days.  You know when you think that nothing much is happening and then look back; you discover that it is packed with just small details that make our experience here rich and a bit crazy!. (Chrissy dreamed that we were in Prohibition and had only one beer to share amongst the three of us--that would not be a rich experience!)

Kilimanjaro in October 2013 (without the June snow)

We are at the beginning of week 4 in Moshi.

Lots of my time has revolved around Chrissy’s drama project and the resurgence of the Moshi Youth CAB. So, I will begin there! 

The whole drama group + Chrissy

I reported on the last blog that the young drama workshop kids were evolving their own play about road safety that was to be performed for primary schools, and I reported on the first school.  Thankfully, the other schools were all in much better shape than the first, which was broken down and dusty. The school obviously housed extremely poor children with little teacher input, particularly at the drama.  The rest of the schools had teachers on hand, though each school had its own challenges.  One school, for instance, had children nicely lined up very orderly, and I was even worried that they wouldn’t want to watch the drama—but, they share a school yard with another much poorer school, and as soon as the teachers saw that our assigned school was going to participate in this drama, they let their children out and suddenly we moved from 300 students to 600.  

Pict shows < 1/3 of the children present-imagine turning camera

 It was sort of like one of the scary soccer games in which people are trampled.  Fortunately, the children were pretty small, so not too much horribleness could occur.  At the next three schools, the physical structures were better, and the dramas improved with each performance.  (The dying scenes were especially dramatic) 

Death from boda boda

 At our last school, we were inside, a touch that was appreciated as it poured rain for about 10 minutes. It was amazing to feel the spritz’s of rain (inside means that there was a roof and chicken wire around the sides and a concrete block floor). 

Boda boda driver....poor pedestrian who ran into the road

Nice to see the outdoors and feel the rain

With all the school performances, I particularly loved the way the drama group improvised to make motorcycles (very popular here now) bicycles, and buses.  Following the performances, we had final surveys and a focus group and a small celebration with certificates.  I was the lucky person to go to the “certificate store” to have the certificates made.  The store is tiny, and there is a great deal going on.  These are the months through December for weddings, “send-off”s, Confirmations, and baptisms.  The whole front desk was filled with rolls of different colored ribbons, and girls were matching swatches of fabric to the ribbons, calling on cell phones for the right width, and then looking at all sorts of templates for their invitations.  I looked like a pathetic old hag as I handed over my flash and asked for just 26 certificates and ok’d the first type of paper shown to me.  I had no idea how long it would take to get them printed, and just assumed that, like everything else in Moshi, it would get done even if I were racing to the meeting with them in hand.  As it turned out, despite the chaos surrounding me, suddenly within 30 minutes, my certificates were presented to me, I ran into two old friends and had time to say a few words of greetings, and off I went, clear that I had one more store with people who wouldn’t soon forget me.

The Moshi Youth CAB met for the first time since last Spring.  They are tackling tough problems such as the importance of HIV-research, disclosure, stigma, medication adherence, and “ways forward”.  It is exciting to see the number of young people who are attending, and even more who want to attend, and our leaders, John, Ema and Prisca are absolutely fabulous.  They will meet again this Saturday and then have two more meetings before the end of the year.  I thoroughly enjoy being with these kids. Not surprisingly everyone struggles with the issues of privacy and disclosure.  For young people the difficulties are compounded by raging hormones, and many parents or caretakers who are not understanding of the feelings of their young people.  It is our challenge to provide a safe space, and to be better carers for these young folks. Thank you Global Connections for Change for raising the money for these meetings.

Chrissy drove to town for some special hot peppers (pili pili) and the car died again right in the middle of the road.  Two of our wonderful African friends were the first to stop and stay with her until John could get there. (Thank you Greg and Terrie for once again saving our lives with your truck!!!!!) Greg’s and now our personal car “fundi” (fix it man) came out on Friday night to diagnose and tow the car.  So, clearly “our village” is big.  Greg, Terrie, Ahaz, Agnes, Deo…we couldn’t do without our amazing wonderful friends, and so grateful to them for helping out our daughter as the sun was setting. 

Fons and Sylvia's house

John, Chrissy and I set a hash at our friends Fons and Sylvia’s farm on Sunday.  It was spectacular.  They have a flower farm with absolutely beautiful flowers, vegetables and even a little coffee.  They specialize in seed farming.  We made every attempt to set a great hash, through one little village where everyone was very pleasant and I in my broken Swahili explained that we were like the Kilimanjaro Marathon and the flour was just showing the way…. But, though everyone agreed that this was good and ok, they brushed much of the flour away.  Chrissy had to run the whole hash again just to help keep anyone from being lost.  It was a successful hash in that the runners and walkers ended up coming in at the same time, but only because the runners were going in absolutely confusion looking for the new paths after the loss of flour.   

Is this the way we scouted?

Lovely water crossing

Huge banana trees on path

Chrissy checking map on her iphone

The X should be here!

second water crossing

X marks the search for more flour

 Fons had warned us not to set the hash through the village, I have to admit, but smug me thought that my new language prowess would keep the villagers happy and the flour in tact. These folks have reasons for suspicions.  They all have some beliefs in witchdoctors and in spells.  Just imagine what a white flour X might look like in front of our property.  And, they have all lost tribal land to the big farms.  Some don’t mind it because the farm provides them with good employment, but they definitely don’t want to lose more, and who knows if we wazungus were making new property lines.  Why should they believe us? No reason at all..

Beautiful Amyrillis

Bottle Brush Tree

Ngrogwe (like little tomatoes or eggplant) and workers

Queen Anne Lace field

Funny trees

Though the flour was brushed away, there seemed to be no harm done. No one lost, and lots of good beer and bites at the end of the hash.

Sylivia and Fons' horses

Maddy cannot resist a cigar

Horseback riding on the farm

No child can resist a horse (nor horses resist children)

Funny container house

We also had an amazing dinner with our friends who were born here in the Kilimanjaro region and had gone through the transition to Independence, and were very well versed in the history of this region.  If work did not interfere, we would have been up all night with them hearing their stories about tribal culture, independence, why Tanzania was ostracized after freedom, and how we can make the world a better place.  It was fabulous.  I’m not sure how many people have had the opportunity to develop such close friendships with persons outside their own culture, but it nearly beats a history lesson any day of the week.  As a history major lo those years ago, I loved every second of it. 

And then tonight, we had a lovely dinner with our Dutch friends (parents of 6 young ones).  We went to a restaurant that is well known for good cheap food, and it was, and though Muslim, they let us get beer and even brought it over themselves. It was wonderful to go out to dinner as “grown-ups”.

Chrissy and Gilead celebrate.  Thanks for so much help Gilead!

Now that Chrissy has presented the certificates--it is time to enter the data...ARGH.