Looking back on Kilimanjaro, Looking to Friendships and new experiences

Kilimanjaro View Machame in 2007

Kilimanjaro View Machame in 2014

Kilimanjaro view Machame in 2012

Kilimanjaro is losing its ice cap fast.  Looks can deceive as when you look at the mountain in April or May and the top is covered with snow, (see above shot in 2012) but when you look at the top two pictures from the same location 7 years apart, same time of year, you can see what has happened over the course of time.  I can only imagine that our friends Nic and Sylvie Emmanuel, who have watched the loss of the ice cap for the past 60+ years are stunned by the change. Nic has kept pictures each year of the mountain from this view, and while the vegetation in their yard has grown, the mountain and the glaciers are definitely in trouble.  Obviously, there does not seem to be an answer, the snows of Kilimanjaro will be reduced to just what falls in April and May and possibly November.

Our last 10 days or so have been filled with busy-ness.  John has been preparing for symposia, our visitors have presented conferences, we have caught up with many of our friends and colleagues and are looking forward to the next week.

I have enjoyed short play times with Jonathon who has now decided that walking would be a preference to crawling, though he is proficient in crawling and can fly across the floor.  He tolerates

"Bibi" who has a camera in one hand most of the time.

Jonathan stands on his own

We received very cute pictures from our daughter that showed Corinne playing with a mobile that we brought from Madagascar last year just this time.  So here is Corinne at 5 months and Jonathan at 9 months.

Jonathan at 9 months (two teeth and one more coming)

Corinne and her mobile

I was so excited to read an article in the paper about the work that my Duke Engage Student completed last year with TAWREF (Tanzanian Women's Research Foundation).  She had worked with very poor orphaned families who were selected by the Vine Trust to have a 3 room home built for them.  With the support of the North Carolina Diocese of the Episcopal Church, she was able to survey these families about potential income generating activities, most critical needs, provide a one day training for them in business skills, and offer small loans for them to start a business.  As it turned out, Princess Anne came to visit Kilimanjaro, and spent quite a bit of time with TAWREF.  She is a big supporter of the Vine Trust, and was interested in seeing some of the houses.  Some of the families that were supported also by the Episcopal Church were among those that were chosen and one Grandmother specifically mentioned the North Carolina Episcopal Church in her gratitude.  So, in a small way this grant really went a long way!

I was so happy to see my Dada Agnes again.  She looks terrific and has started a Women's Collective Group. This group will be having small businesses and learning business skills as well as working together to give one another courage to face  the day with the poverty, challenges and roadblocks that they have faced over time.  I learned that she had taken on considerable of the responsibility of raising her sister's son--providing school fees, etc., at a time when money was very very tight for her.  But, she should be proud, not only that her business is making money, but that she was able to work through the papers required for getting reduced fees to secondary school for this young man, but to pay for his first year to a very good school.  Go Agnes

Agnes and me 2012

And finally, for those who know or knew Melkizedik, he is preparing to start his last year at the Institute of Social Work in Dar.  Some amazing donors have supported him through three years and continued to make it possible for him to finish.  Melki just wishes to say a big ASANTENI SANA!

Melki, Ema and Sister Bona!

It's Gin and Tonic time!

Week One Moshi--Two fabulous experiences in one week!

I start with the end of the blog.  Here is a tribute to my Great Neice Lisa and my step-daughter Julia who "laboured" long and hard to bring beautiful babies into the world within the last 5 months.  These posters were at a health dispensary in Machame where we may have Duke students working in the summer.  Basically it is asking people to be quite (I suppose so that the mothers can scream or somethig) but giving times when there is likely to be an expectant mom or two inside.  So Hongera sana to Julia and Lisa for bringing into the world their beautiful babies.  And thanks to their husbands Charles and Matt for being the team players, coaches and hands!

This week started with a "hash".  The location was Shimbwe which is at the top of one of the mountains on the side of Kilimanjaro (sort of one of the base camps)  Our dear friend Simon Mtuy had selected it because he had brought a group of his "runners around the mountain" who plant trees and meet local people to this site.  They thought it was beautiful and we did, too.

This was the 300th hash, and most of the credit has to go to Greg Emmanuel who has nagged and pleaded with people to take their chore of being the hare seriously and sign up!  Running on this hash was pretty difficult as it was very much up and down, and the down was narrow and treacherous.  Because some children had thoroughly brushed some of the flour away in the beginning of the run, we were stopped from getting very far until we decided just to press ahead.  We eventually did pick up the flour and what happened from there was great.  Shimbwe is hard to get to by car...4 wheel drive only and even then 4 wheel low!  But the vistas are spectacular and there was no exception last Sunday. 

 

Greg Simon Nikoli Marco Joris set the hash and each had a job

About half of the hashers wondering where to go

We now had found the flour and the we were on our way

This way down was treacherous. 

As we walked down this pathway, my friend in front of me had his left foot just go through the dirt and he completely started going down.  He grabbed a root to hold on while getting his footing and pulling himself back.  It would have been a long roll down.  And water and rocks at the bottom.

Terrie Elsa and friend are glad to be back

Trish and Kirsten, the wazees plan to be around for the 600th

Greg Fons and John are happy!

Elsa and Nikoli enjoy the food (Nikoli has grown up!)

At the end of the hash, everyone arrived, not hurt, lost or too sore, the beer was cold, the food provided by Simon and his team was delicious and we all had a chance to catch up and renew old friendships, meet new people.

Greg, perhaps well lubricated, gave a 30 minute summation of 600 hundred hashes.  As the "videographer" I can tell you that his sheets of paper had scribbles sideways, upside down and all around, some with a box drawn around them, some with stars...but the yarns of our years together were pretty wonderful.  We were taken through people who have long gone, some hashes that were thought out well but wound up being much harder because of the rain that comes and washes away everything, including foot holds.  So, there were names that some people did not know, but that at least as Greg spoke them, there were a few who cheered.  We all were sad that Bob from Machame was not there as he has probably hared more hashes than anyone else.  "On On"

The next great experience was going with my friend and colleague Vera to Machame to visit a potential site for our Duke Students to work in the summer.  It was utterly magical.  We meet our Mama Mwasha, an amazing woman who clearly knows such a wealth of information that I am not sure I could retain half of it.  She has every sustainable project that can be thought of and ways to accomplish them.  She knows everyone in the community and has helped many of them.  And they in return help back.  I am so excited about this area and all the things that have been going on there.

Mama M's home

The home is beautiful, and a short walk down the hill leads to many of the sustainable projects.

One of the many trucks taking cow food up the hill.

Water irrigation ditches.

There is plenty of water in Machame and it all comes from springs.  (side of Kilimanjaro) But it needs to be harnessed in ditches so that it can sustain the farmers, the cow, goat, chicken and pork farmers and the regular people.  It is reasonably clean and not much preparation has to be done to wash with it and cook with it.

The road to the sustainable training area

Mama Mwasha with her water purifier. 

Just in back of this picture, you see a giant water cistern that is made with concrete and wire, very tough and can capture all the water a family would need.

VIP pit latrine

This pit latrine has an exhaust concrete pipe that comes out and is covered with netting.  The flies go in the bottom of the latrine and come up into the pipe.  They then get caught at the top and go down and back up the pipe (because there is light at the top) until they die, so the nickname is the "funeral for flies".

The local healer

This is a picture of a wonderful mama who is also the local healer.  She is probably 80.  She in money is very poor, but in spirit her wealth surrounds us.  She came back from the field with her cow's food, very heavy carrying on her head.  She has demonstrated how to save water and how to build a good pit latrine to other villagers who receive the materials for free, and all find ways to get the job done.

taking the beans to smash and mix a potion

I had been very worried about my banana mama and her leg ulcers for some years.  I asked this wonderful lady about them and she quickly got different things explained exactly how you make the mixture, how long it needs to stay on, and how you will know when the legs need more or are better.  Mama Mwasha's sister translated for us.

Here she is mixing the treatment

I was glad to purchase medicine for one leg, and cannot wait until I see my Banana Mama to explain how it should be applied.  I hope it works.  This lady was so impressive.  She has never worn shoes and can run faster than any of us at her home that day.  Has many projects and hires herself out for day labor to purchase the things that she needs.  She also put her own two children through school!

butcher selecting best cuts of beef (fresh from the morning) for Vera

We also went to the dairy cooperative for women.  This cooperative also has a bank for the women that is like a credit union.  They do not have to pay the high fees at other banks for either loans or deposits, and the money stays safe from any problem members of the family who might want to take it for alcohol or drugs.  These women were terrific, and all the profits go to support school fees for the poorest members of the cooperative.

I bought one of those rounds, cannot wait to eat it.

Milk cans in the cooler after being boiled

But we were not yet done.  We headed off to the Health Center to see what students might do there!
(Don't forget the Labor ward!)

The grounds of the Kisiti Healh Dispensary

The star of the day is Vera on the left

The very nice AMO Dr. Josephina had been working here for the past 4 years even though she comes from far, from the Lake region.  Vera greeted her in Kimachame and she answered and they even spoke together a bit.  So Vera was very very happy with this doctor.  I just want to say that our project could not survive without Vera.  She is amazing!

So, sadly we had to leave the mountain and return home.  But, I found my wonderful flowers waiting, my plants that have grown like weeds, and the joy that surrounds A-5.  My little African grandchild Jonathon is growing, smiling, has two teeth, my African granddaughter Anjela is taller than I, speaks quite good English now, and when I said, "oh please go back to being small" she said, "Oh no, mama Trish, I want to reach for the stars, and I will.  And she will!"  So I will post my smelly wonderful plant, my strange candelabra tree (that was only about a foot tall when I bought it in 2007) my amazing palm and my sweet amaryllis (sweet adieu).

incredible palm

candelabra tree in its early formation. 5 feet taller than 2007

An old tree trunk that now looks like a dog

Red Hot Poker

beautiful interesting flower that curls up wires.

another amazing palm

Adieu Sweet Amaryllis, Amaryllis, Sweet Adieu

Needless to say, it is great to be back!

Squeaker 1997-2014

-->

My Kitty and me. 

When Squeaker came into my family’s life, I never would have predicted that she would become a most cherished companion, a kitty who accompanied me to the mountains for years, who climbed up in bed with me when John was out of town and watched movies with me, who listened to my unconscious talking out loud, who would look squinty eyed at me when she did not approve, and right to the last week strode into the bedroom at sunup to meow stridently for her food. 

Squeaks had a firm adage, “If you cannot love the one you want, love the one you’re with.”  When I left her to travel to Tanzania, she first found that Sarah B. was maybe better than “mother” and grew to love Sarah.  I think that she always looked for other house sitters to be like Sarah, and none were, except for Chrissy who Squeaks tried to lure away from Chrissy’s own kitty by demonstrating that even if she was old and tiny and not particularly playful, that she was much much more loving. 

Squeaker came to us at a time when our family needed her. She seemed quite adept at helping to settle an unsettled household and providing herself for love when the whole family was dealing with many difficult things.  She provided entertainment (WHERE IS THAT CAT!—only for us hear her meow in one of the dormer drawers where she had gotten trapped after walking into one of the dormer closets and wandered around the house the  dormer way). Katrina, think "Tick Tock Kitty"... She loved Christmas and for years wrapped herself in tinsel, drove me crazy as she batted only the breakable ornaments, and once leapt into the Christmas tree taking it down.  She loved to hide behind the Christmas tree and to drink the nasty Christmas tree water.  She always knew when we were leaving for Africa, in the beginning doing unspeakable things to our suitcases. She absolutely knew when we were leaving for the mountains or when we were coming back to Durham, and the difference between those trips and Africa.  Hiding was one of her favorite things to do and she could lodge herself in just about anywhere.  Even though it was clear that she liked to travel, liked to be at home, and liked to be in the mountains—particularly anywhere that I was, she continued the charade of finding new hiding places right up until this last 6 months.  At that point, she must have decided that the energy involved in finding a new hiding place would be too much, and she actually liked the travel well enough.

Squeaker had a number of firsts at the end of her life.  She killed her first mouse and laid it at my head only two years ago!  I thought it was Squeaks lying by my head.  Oh my. She determined that Chui, her much younger step-sister, who came to stay was her mortal enemy and they played war much I think to their delight on a daily basis.

Squeaker was fortunate to have a great veterinarian Jim Miller at North Churton Animal Hospital who did the right things by her, always had helpful suggestions and kept her going for probably years longer than she should have.  “She has small kidneys – you remember she has small kidneys?”  With his suggestions, I bought her water fountains for home and mountains, and lots of other things.  And the vet, Dr. Lindsey at Watauga Animal Hospital was kind and gentle and very sweet at the end. 

As much as John is not a cat lover, Squeaks was happy to rub around him and he to scratch her pretty head as she watched everything we did!

My sweet kitty rest in peace.  She came from a rescue site in the middle of the death of the rest of her cat family, but she went out peacefully with me reminding her of all of our wonderful adventures.