P.S. This is the REAL Last Post

All of these videos were filmed and edited by our very own Kelsi Gunderson. The first video was used to help raise money for the Osiligi Orphanage. The second video is for an orphanage called Your Sisters. It is being used to help raise awareness and to help generate funds for the orphanage. The last video is our team end of summer video and it is the best team HELP International has ever seen :) Enjoy!

The VERY Last Blog Post

One of my favorite parts of Tanzania was meeting the people, seeing how they lived, and being able to learn from them. They have such a different culture than we do but there was so much to be learned. Their pace of life is so great. It is slower than ours, but they take the time to say hello to each other and talk to each other and care about each other and I think that is something that we can learn a lot from. - Caroline Campbell

My time in Africa was not what I expected…but then again, I wasn't sure what to expect anyway. Originally, my plan was to do clinics teaching HIV awareness and prevention; however, after our initial search for partners and teaching opportunities, I decided that I'd adapt and focus on a project that I could delve into 100%. [So we started with the chicken coop.] My time in Tanzania was great. I learned how to work and network with local partners and organizations. More importantly, I learned to appreciate a new culture, people, and community challenges. I was amazed at how much I had to learn about communication, patience, diligence, and friendship. -Gregg Lines

  

My favorite thing about living in Tanzania this summer was seeing all the children. Every day, wherever we went, children called out to us saying things like “Mzungu! How are you?” “Hello! Good morning!” or even “Mambo! Shikamo!” The parents trust us with their children, and the children are not often shy. Goodbye children! Kwa heri Tanzania! - Bailey Howard

Coming to Tanzania has been life changing. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is to be happier with what I have and to be more willing to give. I saw people all the time that didn’t have much. Some people didn’t have food, some people didn’t have parents or a home, some people didn’t have money… but they were truly happy and grateful for what they did have. And whenever somebody was in need they were more than willing to give up whatever they had to make sure they were okay. We are so lucky to have parents and a family to live with, parents who have jobs and incomes, job opportunities for us, a solid education system, a good house to live in, clothes to wear, a car to drive, food to eat, money to spend… We are SO blessed! And coming to Tanzania has helped me re-evaluate my life and see that. - Emilee Eddings

Goodbye Tanzania: The place that has shown and given me so much love and care. I have never felt so welcome or loved in a place before. I’m so thankful to my friends and family for making my dream a reality. Asante sana, squash banana. - Kelsi Gunderson

Tanzania has been such an incredible experience for me! I will never forget the view from the ledge about 40 feet in the air behind the waterfall in the foothills of Mt. Meru. It was all so green, with banana trees growing along the sides of the cliffs, and the water shooting over my head. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I can never forget the children flocking to us wherever we go, or how beautiful Tarangire was in the evening of the first day of our safari. All the colors of the arid vegetation bisected by the sandy Tarargire merged with herds of elephants and wildebeests. It was one of the moments of my life where I felt like everything was perfect, and I was entirely at peace. - Aaron Coffey

Tanzania will forever have a special place in my heart. It is hard to describe in words how I feel. I love this place; its friendly people, loving children and beautiful nature. I will always be grateful for the love and friendship the people of Tanzania have shown me. Kwa heri Tanzania! Asante sana! Nakupenda! - Ellen Spångberg

The thing I’m going to miss most about Tanzania is the loving children! I will miss them constantly calling to and approaching our group. Kwa heri Arusha! - Melinda Martin

One of my favorite memories instilled in me from the people of Tanzania is the humble manner in which they served us. Some people would pour water over my hands so that I could wash them. Some would welcome me into their homes as family, prepare a meal for me, and clean up after me. Some would travel long distances by foot and work hard to see to my satisfaction and enjoyment. Some would work for me so that I wouldn’t get dirty or tired. Everyone smiled at me and greeted me as a hailed guest to their country, I felt as if I was being served by Jesus Christ Himself many times. Thank you for allowing me to live among you and observe a happy people. - Nathan Johnson

There are many things I love and will miss about Tanzania. I love the adventures I have had, and how easy it is to have them; I love the freedom a person has while living here; I love the children’s smiles, laughs, and excited greetings; I love how everyone is seen as valuable regardless of what they look like or if they have a degree; I love the beautiful surroundings in the Arusha area; I love the simple lives that everyone lives; and I love the people and will miss them greatly. - Shaylor Anderson

This is not a goodbye but a see you soon Tanzania! I came here to help people in need, but I was helped way more than I helped. The kids taught me some valuable lessons that I will take with me for the rest of my life. I love the people here and I love the culture. Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives these past few months. I love you all! See you all again! – Alysha Myrick

Turn Around... This is Namanga

This summer, we spent a couple weeks building a kitchen for a little school in a little town on the Tanzania/ Kenyan border. This school, Green Eden, was started by Emmanuel Hando, and was completed in 2011 with HELP’s Team. Green Eden has about 60 children, and every day at school they eat one meal. However, they had one problem. They didn’t have a kitchen to cook the food in, only one measly tarp nailed to some trees in a square, without a roof. So, as a team this year, under the direction of our fearless leader Ellen, trecked the two and a half hour bumpy bus ride through police cars and passport checks to reach Namanga to help. And we built a kitchen.

We learned lots of useful skills in Namanga, but unfortunately we will never be able to start our own building business. :) We are terrible. About the only thing we excelled at was hauling the seemingly hundreds of sand buckets. (Just so you feel our pain, one five gallon bucket must be hauled 1/8 of a mile to a dry stream bed, where you shovel sand into your bucket, pick it back up, crawl your way out of the ravine of a dry sand bed, walk the other 1/8 of a mile back to the site, dump it, and start over again.) The rest of the brick laying, and roof building was left up to the builder, seeing as we were completely lost.

Over all, we loved Namanga. It is a quaint little village that welcomed us with open arms and smiles every day. We fell in love with the scenery (which was near the area that, incidentally, inspired Disney’s The Lion King) and the people. There was even one lady, whom we dubbed the Samosa Lady, who sold us the BEST samosas in the whole world for only 200 TSH a piece. She loved us, and told us that “every day you come, I be here.” :)

A funny part about Namanga is that, somehow, Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclispe of the Heart” became our theme song. We even rewrote the chorus to express how much sand we actually had to haul.

We call it, Turn Around. And this is the chorus. Feel free to sing along with the melody. ;)

“And we need more sand right now!

And we need more sand than ever!

And if you hold the bucket too tight,

you’ll forget to look at the ground.

And we’ll trip on the vines on the way,

and we’ll probably want to cry.

Together we can take it to the end of the line!

The sand is like a mountain way up high in the sky!!!

The sand is getting used, and we’ll always in the sun!

But we’re here in Namanga and we’re still having fun!

(We need a shower tonight! We really need a shower tonight... a really hot shower tonight!)

Once upon a time I was stuck in Namanga, with people that I don’t even like. *

There’s nothing we can do, but get some more sand today.”

*That sentence was a funny quote from a volunteer, like I said, we really do like the people. :)

Public Transportation

Where, oh where to start with this one. Daladala…It is a 15-passenger-van, turned into a bus. It has four sometimes five rows of seating. It has enough seats for 16 people, but here in Tanzania you don’t always need a seat! The record (we’ve seen) in these “busses” are 26 people at one time. The conductor usually has a hard time closing the door during these times, and he is left half hanging out the window. Obviously, this is the mode of transportation here, and we use daladalas every day to get to project sites, which works out for us (sorta) because they are super cheap and reliable (mostly.) There is no set time of arrival or departure, and I feel like a hitch hiker trying to flag one down to pick me up. They follow a general route, but they stop and go depending on the people getting on and off. They have this cool little nonverbal system. If you want to get off somewhere near-by, just knock on the metal twice or if you are us you can just yell the simple Swahili words that you know like “stop” or “here”. (Shu sha happa!) Most foreigners however, do not take daladalas. Unless they are really cool (like us), and they forget they are foreigners (like us). We consider ourselves cool enough to ride daladalas. When we get on the bus, the people stare and try to talk to us. Interestingly enough, there was one instance when a daladala had stalled (only like 14 times in a two minute period). A group of about 10 guys came from nowhere to push the van to a start. Volunteer Emilee Eddings was sitting by the window in the back when these men converged on the daladala, and one of the guys stuck his head in the window and said “Mambo” (basically hello). Which scared her half to death. Needless to say, she shut the window after that.

Now, the really fun part/ slightly sketchy part is the piki piki’s. Piki pikis are motorcycles that men in Africa drive around, and they will take you anywhere you want if you pay them. Some are scarier than others, but some have become our friends! There was one guy that knew Caroline really well, and he was really nice and careful. However, when you are not riding them, they get really annoying. We swear they play this game called “see how close you can get to the pedestrians on the road without hitting them” or even “let’s see how much dust we can kick up” and “let’s see how much wind we can push into their hair to make it stick in their lip gloss” (okay, that last one only applies to me.) Still, piki pikis are fun! And much better than daladalas.

You are what you eat...

 So I guess that makes us African! :)

A big part of every culture is the food. In America we can get a taste of the different kinds of food. There is Tai, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Indian, and Korean foods. But there isn’t a place in the US that will prepare you for the types of food you will find here in Tanzania. Tanzanian food is simple, but delicious. There is usually a base food item like rice or ugali. It is served with some sort of meat sauce and veggies on the side. The meat is often beef, goat, or chicken. The veggies are usually cooked carrots, onions, and tomatoes, but our cook Pendo loves to prepare veggies uncooked with mayo. This is surprisingly delicious, although it is not the most appealing to look at. Because fruits and veggies are fresh and locally grown they often taste better than the ones in the United States.

Some favorite dishes from the group include chipsi mayai. This is a plate of fries, also known as chips by our friends on the other side of the pond, cooked in about 3 eggs. It is super delicious and we often eat it with chili sauce and tomato sauce. Another favorite is wali roasti. This is the rice and beef combo. It is really good, but beware the meat here is cooked with bones and all. Chipati is another staple here. It is what I personally call the tortilla of Tanzania. It is a cross between a tortilla, a pancake, and pita bread. It is about the size and look of the American pancake, but the texture and taste is similar to a tortilla and pita bread. It is often eaten with pilau (a spiced rice and meat concoction) or some sort of beans. Our cook Pendo also makes us some sort of pasta meal at least once a week. She also sometimes makes us American food like mashed potatoes and cheese burgers. She is so amazing like that!

 If we aren’t feeling up to the African foods, there are plenty of European type places around that serve things like Panini, pizza, hamburgers, and real French fries (as opposed to the fake ones our close cousins call chips).  All in all there are plenty of choices to eat for even the pickiest of eaters. 

Weekend Trips!!! Whoo hooo!

Would you like to know what we do on the weekends? Well, I will tell you. After working all week we do like to take some time to relax and party it up in good ol’ Tanzania! J And there are lots of fun things to do and see here, so I will give you just a taste of the few really cool things we have done this summer over the weekends.

Aside from the movies we see, and the safari’s we’ve been on, there are other cool things we’ve done, including a bigger trip to Zanzibar.

We have also gone to see some really cool places like the Shanga Shop, the Snake Park, and the Masai Market. The Shanga Shop is a shop where they take recyclable materials and re-work them into amazing things. They take glass bottles and make beads, tables, chandeliers, and other glass things, they take other materials and make scarves, necklaces, clothes and blankets, and do you want to know the coolest part? Most of the employees there are deaf, mute, or have some other handicap that prevents them from finding a good job in Tanzania. The Shanga Shop provides a way for them to support themselves and their families. The Snake Park is a zoo of sorts specifically for things like snakes, crocodiles, and turtles, as well as some camels that you can ride (which is really weird, and really scary, but really fun!) and some monkeys that like to play with your arm hair if you have a lot of it. The Masai Market is where we do most of our souvenir shopping. The primary tribe where we live is the Masai, and they make all sorts of cool things to sell at this Market, including some baggy African pants that we love, bracelets, machetes, spears, shoes, paintings, and everything you could really want to take home from Africa.

There are also a bunch of different churches here, since most of the Tanzanian people are religious in some way. The LDS church is really cool, and they even make an effort to do some classes in English so that we can understand them. We also went to a Lutheran church with a partner, were blessed (very interestingly) by another partner’s priestess mother, and went to a very lavish first communion for another partner’s nephew. All in all, Tanzania is a beautiful mosaic of different churches and different beliefs living together in harmony.

We hiked deep into a ravine to see a freezing cold waterfall, and then of course had to hike back out. It was very steep, (and personally, I thought I was going to die before I reached the top again) but the waterfall was totally worth it! Our feet were also the cleanest they had been in months from walking in the stream to get to the waterfall. The good news is, no one lost any toes from this freezing cold water. J

The other things we choose to do on the weekends, aside from finding new and exciting (and sometimes sketchy) places to eat, are pretty normal things. We like to have bonfires in our front yard and make our makeshift s’mores with shortbread cookies, galaxy chocolate bars, and strange textured marshmallows. We like to go to Njiro, the mzungu place where we eat dinner and use the free wifi. And we like to get our hair braided like Africans by our friend Elias.

All in all, as exciting as our weekdays are, the weekends are super fun too. The weekends are when we get to let our tourist side show, let loose, and pretend to not have a care in the world. Then reality comes back, Monday comes around, and we turn right back into the responsible hardworking adults that are trying to do their part to help the world.

Bringing Home the Bacon!

Whenever I hear the word pig, I immediately think BACON! Well this blog post has nothing to do with bacon other than the fact that I wished I had it right now.

Anyways, we have been working with a group called Albino Peacemakers. This group works to make the lives of albinos better. Albinos have many health problems, they are often discriminated against.We asked them if there is anything we could do for them. The director named Martha said that they have a pig pen, but it doesn't have a roof. The pigs are being used to generate money for the group. So we wrote the proposal, bought the materials, and helped put the roof on.  

This project was one of the quickest ones yet. It took us a day to buy all the wood, tin sheets and nails. It took us another half a day to assemble the roof. As volunteers we were able to hammer, saw, and carry the material to the builder. An electric saw was donated to us from Home Depot in Toole, Utah. We were able to use this saw to help speed up the work of the roof building. Emmanuel, the builder, loved it so much he went to work to beautify the entire pig pen by sawing off extra pieces of wood. He had the biggest grin the entire time. It was a lot of fun to help build the roof for the pigs and we were able to make the builders day. 

Aaron and Kelsi’s Center for Kids Who Can’t Talk Good and Want to Learn to do Other Stuff Good too

 When I first arrived in Arusha with the second wave in mid June, I was offered the responsibility of teaching a group of students how to use the computer.  I thought it was just an errand, rather than a full fledged project.  It has been a memorable adventure though.  I teach immediately after English class is done at a small school house a little way down the dirt road from the Madhukani daladala stop.  It is one of the more picturesque parts of Arusha, with ample greenery, banana and coffee farms, steep hillsides, and on clear days, breathtaking views of Mount Meru's craggy peaks. 

I remember I was more or less winging it the first day.  We did not have access to the internet, so after a rather lengthy time showing them around Microsoft Word, I was at a loss of what else to teach them.  I showed them how to use the calculator function and MS Paint.  I made sure to have a better idea of what to teach them by the next class.  I continued to teach them word processing skills, as well as simple skills such as how to start up, restart, and shut down the computer and how to save and open a file.  Our primary focus however has been word processing and typing.  In those early days, my biggest challenge was finding a partner to come with me to the class, as we are bound by a strict "buddy system" policy.  Everybody already had their own projects that needed work, and I felt the vibe that going with me to teach computers was somewhat of a chore.  It is understandable though.  I teach the students the basic concepts, and they more or less help each other figure it out in Swahili.  It is really effective, but it leaves my partner with very little to do.  As the students became more and more proficient in word processing, my mind was racing for a way to get them connected to the internet so I could teach them how to use Email. 

With the end of the second wave, Lex and Mary, who were in charge of teaching English, went home.  I volunteered to take over English classes in their place.  Coinciding with Lex and Mary's departure was Kelsi's arrival, the final addition to our help team.  Kelsi agreed to join me in teaching both English and computers on a regular basis with these kids, which means I no longer have to scramble to find somebody to reluctantly agree to go with me each day.  Having one consistent partner allows us to bounce ideas off of each other, and merging the English class with the computer class allows for continuity between the students' assignments.  We often assign them to practice typing concepts that we taught them in English class.  One interesting way in which we were able to blend the computer class with the English class was our use of pen pals.  After we introduced the kids to the internet, I recruited a number of my friends in the English speaking world who were interested in being pen pals for these kids.  This way, they could practice conversing with people in English while practicing their typing skills.  On top of that, it is sustainable!  They can continue to practice English even after we leave! 

The kids seem to really enjoy it, but they appear to be dis-enthralled with how long the process takes.  We usually only have one internet stick, and the internet is notoriously slow at the school, so it is a very long process.  If nothing else, I hope these kids will frequent internet cafes after we leave to visit with their friends in America.  It would be an experience that not many Tanzanian youths get to take advantage of.  The difficulty is making this project sustainable and able to perpetuate after we go back to the Sates.  Ultimately it will be up to the students to go to an internet cafe to practice typing and communicating with their American pen pals.  I already can tell that many of the students don't have the drive or interest to do this, but it is a principle across the world that success comes to those who are most ambitious and hardworking.  We are giving these students a great opportunity.  From here on out it will be entirely up to them whether they will take advantage of it. 

"Tis a Woman"

Right now we’re working with a group called Your Sisters. Your Sisters is a non-profit organization that empowers women of all ages here in Tanzania. They have an orphanage and a school for the younger girls, they give training and work opportunities through craft and design to adult women, and they also have a volunteering program where you come here and make a difference in country. It’s a really inspiring organization that gives women a bigger opportunity to have education, work, and family.

Our goal with them was to help them touch and impact more lives by helping them become more well known. We went to the location weekly and gathered pictures and videos of the girls at the orphanage to put into a video and share it in the social media world. We wanted to show why they are unique and why they matter. We put all of the footage we got into one video and will upload it to YouTube! We will make a separate blog post with the link to this video when it is complete.

In the Jungle.....oooooooooooWEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

When opportunity arises to see lions, elephants, and giraffe’s who wouldn’t want to go? A safari is something that occupies a line on nearly everyone’s bucket list, and here in Tanzania we got to experience what it is truly like. Our group this year went on two different safaris. The first safari was at the Serengeti, Ngorogoro, and Lake Mnyara. Five coolest moments there:

1. One of the lions that we saw in the Serengeti was tearing apart and eating a dead warthog!

2. Later that night, in our campground, one of the volunteers went to the bathroom and a warthog was right there and it scared him!

3.We saw a rock at Ngorogoro that looked like pride rock from the Lion King! And, what do you know, a lion was on top! It was incredible!

4. At dinner, there was a jumping spider and one of the volunteers was poking at it with a napkin and it kept jumping up and biting it! There was also a rat crawling into the food area and tons of flying insects everywhere. So not only were we introduced to the African wildlife, we got a bug/rodent show as well.

5. At Lake Mnyara, we saw around 50 monkeys! They were attacking each other, picking bugs off of each other, and one even crawled on our safari car!!

The second safari was at a place surprisingly close to Arusha at  a park called Tarangire. We were greeted at the entrance by a huge Baobob tree, and were on our way to see those animals in their natural habitat. We started off the day with some wildebeests, and then ended up in the middle of an elephant herd. We were surrounded by about thirty elephants, male and female, adults and younger. At that point our guide, Help partner Michael Medoth, was even a little nervous that one of them would get angry at something we did and charge. We took our time by taking loads of pictures, and when it was safe to continue we did so safari style. When the day came to a close we went back to the parking lot where volunteer Emilee Eddings attracted some nearby monkeys with her brightly-colored tennis shoes. We went into the nearest town, ate some delicious Chipsi Mayai, and then went to bed at a lodge in our proximity.

The next day we arose before the sun did and set out on our second day of safari. It was a completely different day, and we were itching to see some cats. About an hour or two in, our wish was granted. There we were, thirty feet away from a lion and his lioness. They laid in the grass for most of the time, just being lazy cats. If we made sudden motions or if a safari car drove too close the lion would growl an angry sound warning us to be aware of his “King of the Jungle” status. Those growls definitely made for fun pictures as well. We drove around looking for other cats and had no luck. However, after we saw elephants and impalas running away we went to where they were coming from and saw a group of 6 lionesses out on the hunt. That was definitely a cool sight.

A definite benefit of coming to help in Africa is the opportunity to go on a safari like this, and I recommend it to everyone who hasn’t had the chance to do so yet. You never know what you might see.

The Gift of Light

Being from the United States I have been blessed to have light as my constant helper in life. If it is a cloudy day and dark outside, I just flip a switch and I have light to read, work, study, or eat a meal.  If it is 10:30 at night and the moon is barely showing a sliver of light I touch a lamp with my finger and… Wazaam!!!!! Let there be light! In case of a power outage, although this is rare, have no fear batteries are near.  During these short terms of darkness, Americans have easy access to flash lights, cell lights, and all sorts of gadgets that light up. If all else fails there are generators to back everything up.  Although this system gives us constant light whenever we wish, it is an expensive and complex system. 

On the contrary the people of Tanzania live in another world that is simple and hard.  Much of the Tanzania population is outside of the reach of the existing power network.  And even if they live within the range of the existing power lines, most cannot afford to pay for a monthly power bill.  Most would think “so they are not blessed with light bulbs and power what’s the big deal”.  The problem is many live in houses and huts that in order to keep the home warm during cold days and nights only have one small window to light the house.  So without many options people live in darkness.  I understood that in order for an idea to really help the people of Tanzania, you must make sure that the average citizen and easily learned can afford the idea.  As I thought of the problem of people living in the dark, I realized that the people needed a cheap way to give light to their house.  I soon realized the sun provides us with plenty of light during the day, but it is blocked from entering the homes of the people.  The answer soon came as harnessing the suns light by letting it into dark homes.  I know it seems obvious but none of the people who need it the most practice this solution.  The answer is installing skylights.  A house can drastically be lit up with the simple installation of a 3x2 foot clear fiber-plastic piece of corrugated roofing for the cheap price of 5,000 shillings or the equivalent of $3 US dollars.  Although this is just a start, the concept still needs to spread. Those in poverty can choose to better their lives and live more in the light.  Our hope is that everyone can enjoy the gift of light.  

A Short Excerpt on Showers

Although we already briefly mentioned the cold, sometimes water-pressure-less showers, we didn’t feel like we put as much of an emphasis on this topic as it deserves. And trust us, it deserves it. :)

Now, it’s not like we are complaining or anything…. But our showers are very, very cold. We have a bathtub with a hose attached, and when the water pressure is good, you can take a very quick shower. When the water pressure ceases to exist, the so called “shower” is a long and painful journey of clenched teeth and muscles (unless you are Lex and you just say things like “Crap! Crap! This is cold!” the whole time you shower).  We all quickly learned and unanimously agreed that showering every day, or even every other, is simply not reasonable. Thus, we all made a promise not to judge each other.

Since then we are proud to say that we have successfully broken some not-showering records (that our Mothers may or may not be ashamed of). The current record for number of days without a shower is 9 going on 10. And we w

on’t tell you who. We don’t judge remember? ;)

Utukufu Has Gone Kuku (with a New Perspective)

Kuku in Swahili means chicken.

From a daladala excursion, through the valley of death, down the cliff, across the river, up the mountain, through the maze of maize to the village of Mkonoo, home to the Utukufu Support Group. Utukufu means glory in Swahili. It is a group of HIV positive women that was organized a few years previous. They are of the traditional Maasai tribe and they meet together twice a week to share each other’s company and to create traditional Maasai beaded jewelry. The proceeds they earn from selling their jewelry helps pay for any medication they might need for their health issues. Because they live in a low income village and are located far away from town, they are unable to sell their products to a larger audience. So, unfortunately they only end up selling their products to the HELP volunteers that come to Tanzania every summer.

A plan was constructed to help them generate more income to provide for their needs – a chicken coop! We wanted to help them build a chicken coop and provide them with some chickens to get them started. Then they will hopefully be able to make a profit from selling the eggs and eventually  the chickens themselves once a large enough population is reached.

This month long project began with weeks of negotiating the prices of the materials and working with people that were about to receive more money than they probably ever would in their lifetime. And yet, they were still always trying to milk us for all we’ve got. Despite poor calculations, misunderstandings, the language barrier and choppy translations, we were able to acquire the necessary materials to begin building the chicken palace and courtyard.

Our team assembled. After breaking ground in concrete-like, dry dirt, digging fence post holes with machetes, going through two broken saws and two hammers, avoiding swollen fingers from hammering, and planking on an unfinished roof, we were able to accomplish the task at hand. It was a glorious sight. A coop fit for a kingdom of eager chickens.

                

The final step to completing this project was to furnish the chicken coop with the chickens themselves. We ordered twenty chickens and they were delivered to us in a plastic crate strapped to the back of a pikipiki (motorcycle). By U.S. standards this plastic crate looked like it should have transported maybe five chickens. Once unleashed from their cage, we found that three of the chickens had suffocated on the trip and one had a broken leg. Tanzanians can be very resourceful, but sometimes at a price.

               

The chickens were finally able to roam free in their new home. Even on the first day with the new arrivals, the Utukufu Group received an unexpected gift from the money-making birds. Two eggs had been born as a token of their acceptance into their new family. A new income-generating source was left in the hands of an HIV+ group of Maasai women to help them prolong their lives and improve the quality thereof.

Perspective from Gregg Lines, a first wave volunteer.

My time in Africa was not what I expected…but then again, I wasn't sure what to expect anyway. Originally, my plan was to do clinics teaching HIV awareness and prevention; however, after our initial search for partners and teaching opportunities, I decided that I'd adapt and focus on a project that I could delve into 100%. Goodluck (our in country partner) introduced us to the ladies of the Utukufu group to learn about their lifestyles, challenges, and culture. They taught us how to make Maasai bead jewelry and to dance à la Maasai. After meeting them, I really wanted to get involved, but I wasn't sure how. All of the women of this group are HIV positive, and so I felt like my background and research could be used to some degree. However, after spending more time with them and getting to know them, I realized that they were already well educated about HIV, medications, and safety. So, we looked at taking the group a step further…to being a support group and a collective effort to gain greater financial independence. These women lived and worked in a rural village that was about 45 min by dala dala (mini bus) and then another 45 minute hike (down a cliff and across a river)! Getting into town was not easy, and many had struggled to find work because of their HIV status. 

To begin, we helped the group leaders, Goodluck and Pastor Joseph learn basic bookkeeping and accountability. The group was only loosely organized when we arrived, but with some basic accounting and business lessons (offered by my good friend, Jeff) they better understood the importance of keeping records and showing their accountability. We helped organize the group to insure that each woman could sell bead products to help meet her health and family expenses. Additionally, the group decided to give 10% to a group fund. This group fund helps to pay for the women if they are sick and cannot work or if the group wants to invest in another project.

One project that the group wanted to work on was beginning a chicken coop. The women wanted to sell the eggs and chickens as another way to improve their financial independence and to provide for the group fund. Despite numerous efforts, we couldn't' get all of the needed materials within the timeframe we needed, so I left with this project unfinished (well, not yet started to be more accurate). I was glad to see the progress made on construction as other volunteers posted their photos to Facebook. 

E-I-E-I-O....

Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O, and on this farm he had.... tons of goats, chickens, cows, bugs, dogs, and giraffes?

Here in Tanzania, there are a ton of different animals. You have the traditional farm animals, and then you have the exotic ones. Every day you step out the door, you are guaranteed to see a myriad of stray dogs, about a billion chickens, and even a bunch of cows, goats, or sheep being herded down the road. But we have seen a couple of really cool things here too! When you discount the Safari (since the very point of a Safari is to see exotic animals), we have still seen a couple awesome different animals. We found a couple chameleons on a hike, were visited by a hedgehog at our house one night, witnessed a monkey running across the road, spotted a giraffe out the bus window, and lived among an array of lizards.

 

The annoying animals that we live with include some neighborhood roosters that are obviously blind, because they simply cannot tell when the sun is rising. They cock-a-doodle-doo all day and all night long, completely without regard to their sleeping neighbors, and are seemingly in competition to see who can roost the loudest and longest. A sound which volunteer Kelsi Gunderson dubbed “scream roosting.”

Fortunately, it is winter here. So the bugs aren’t all that bad..... okay, sure, we go to bed with the occasional mosquito bite, and sure Bailey just killed an enormous spider in the girl’s bathroom last night. And, okay fine, one girl did get malaria, but the bugs really aren’t that bad! (Or are they?) At least we don’t see them often. We are just pretty sure they party in our house at night, after everyone is asleep.

We Are Farmers (bum ba dumb bum bum bum bum!)

So, Africa isn’t all teaching, playing, and seeing movies (I know, you’re probably shocked). We do have a few projects that are definitely more physical, and sometimes we are nothing more than free man-power. This project is definitely one of those.

When Michael (director of Osiligi Orphanage) asked us if we would help him with his garden. He uses the garden to support the children by both growing food for the children to eat, and creating a surplus that he could sell for other staples he can’t grow like rice and flour. So, we quickly drew up our “gardening” project proposal and went to work.

After two entire days (almost 10 am to 4 pm) of plowing and hoeing, rowing, planting seeds and irrigating two large fields all by hand, we were beat. Finally, a volunteer stated that we are NOT gardening. Gardening is a huge misconception. We are farming. :)

In reality though, even though the farming was very difficult at times, it gave us all a huge appreciation for the food we eat. We have a ton of respect for people all over the world that dedicate their lives to growing the food that we all eat every day. The sore backs and arms, the blisters on our hands, the extra five pounds of mud caked on our shoes, and even the monotony of the job itself is not something to be taken lightly when you learn, first hand, all that goes into growing food.

 

So, next time you lift your fork up to your mouth, try to think about what went into growing it. Or think about how much longer it would take someone in, say Africa, to grow that food without machines or any other pay besides the end result of what they eat and sell. Just try to remember the sacrifices made every day just to live. Just try to remember to be appreciative.

And Sometimes We’re Mzungus

Mzungu (m- zoon- goo) noun. Definition: white person.

Yep. As we walk down the street, right and left we hear “Mzungu! Mzungu! Mzungu! Mambo!” And honestly? We find it quite hilarious. J In fact, we loved it… until we started feeling like true Africans (sometimes forgetting the glow-in-the-dark translucence which is our skin). And until tourist season hit and the REAL mzungus came out. Now we are embarrassed to be seen in what we call “mzungu areas” or even two places we have dubbed “mzungu paradise” where the prices are higher, and the white people congregate like herds of wild animals.

African 3D Glasses

But we have a secret… sometimes…. Sometimes we like to be mzungus. J

We have an addiction to movies. There is a movie theatre in a place called Njiro that is about 45 minutes from our house. (Which is nothing in Africa. It literally takes us 15 minutes just to walk to the dala dala stops closest to our house). So far, we have not missed out on any big hit movies that have come out. We flew through Man of Steel in 3D, laughed through Monster’s University (in 3D), and laughed even harder through Despicable Me 2 (again, in 3D. I know, we are spoiled.) Not to mention, we have some movies at home. So far we have made it through Lincoln, Despicable Me, The Lord of the Rings 1 and 2 (extended versions), The Emperor’s New Groove, Kung Foo Panda, and of course THE LION KING!

So, even though we like to pretend we are true Africans, sometimes our mzungu side shows. And man, oh man, do we love our shows.

(Random Fact: Did you know that most of the names in The Lion King are real Swahili words? Here is a link to a super fun page that tells you all about the meaning of the names Simba, Nala, Rafiki, and many others. P.S. Simba literally means lion in Swahili.)

Lion King Meanings

 

Going to School in Tanzania

You know, you’d think that in taking a summer and going to Africa, you wouldn’t have to wake up early and go to school every morning. But if you think this, you may be wrong. Sometimes, even when you think you are on a break from school, you still end up going to school four days a week at 9:00 in the morning. That’s true dedication right there.  J

A group of volunteers in the first month visited the Utukufu Nursery School, operated by one of our partners Goodluck Williams, and noticed that the school looked a little dark and dreary, and dare we say drab? The colorful ABC signs, animal posters, or colored shapes that line the walls of schools across our country were absent in this school house. So, some of the volunteers took it upon themselves to buy, draw, and craft a myriad of different posters to help the children learn both English and Swahili. Along with the posters, they also taught some interactive songs like “the wheels on the bus” and even made some playdoh to teach the children shapes and colors. There was just one problem: there was only one teacher and about thirty-five children of the ages 3 to 9.

By the time the “second wavers” flew in, the teacher had expressed a desire to be able to teach the children more English. However, not knowing very much English herself, she was not sure how she could. So… dun duh duh duh duh duh duuuunnnnn! Enter Caroline, Alysha, Emilee and Bailey. They decided to get an early English program started at the school. By splitting the children into two separate age groups and creating rotations, the littlest children got to color and sing, and the older children were able to practice writing letters and words and expand their English vocabulary through the use of homemade flash cards.

Currently they are working on making a detailed lesson plan telling the teacher what they implemented with the children, and helping give her advice on how to continue teaching English as the younger kids grow up.

Honestly, not everything works out like you want it to sometimes. Sometimes the children were crazy and out of control. Sometimes they just walked out of the room, and when you followed them you learned that they were going behind the school house to pee. Sometimes they would hit each other. Sometimes they would cry (okay, not just sometimes… most of the time there was at least one child crying or near tears). But when you get to the end of the day and they all look at you and say “Thank you Teacher! See you tomorrow!” you can’t help but go back. So in the end, the teaching was a success, and the planning keeps going… and going… and going… and going.

Welcome to the Pee Club...

Living in the same house with 14 people can be stressful. So, we try to get to know everyone and not be cliquey. However, there is one elect group of people within our team. We call ourselves..... the Pee Club.

You see here in Tanzania it is too expensive to buy diapers. And when kids have to go...well they have to go. This is the case with one such boy that we call Little Robert. He is a child at Osiligi Orphanage. He is a cute one and a half year old baby. He loves to be held and you can't help but want to hold him. He loves to sing and smile and he even shakes his bum from time to time. He is also known as the founder of the Pee Club. When he gets sleepy, he lets himself go. Fortunately, if you happen to being holding him at the time, you are immediately initiated into this elite group. There are currently four members of the Pee Club: Mary McGuinn, Caroline Campbell, Bailey Howard and Alysha Myrick.

If you are interested in joining, comment below, and we can try to arrange your initiation.

Hope for Tanzania

As we said earlier, we have met some wonderful, inspiring people in our time here, and we would like to highlight some of these people in our blog posts. Today we will be starting with Michael Medoth, and his orphanage. 

Michael Medoth

Michael owns an orphanage called Osiligi Orphanage. "Osiligi" in Swahili means hope, which is exactly what he gives the children that live there. As a child, Michael was forced to live on his own. With almost no help at all, periods of hunger and cold, and practically no schooling. Michael raised himself the best he could. His dream was to someday have an orphanage so that no child would ever have to go through what he went through. Today, Michael's orphanage is doing well though he needs help building a new orphanage so he can take in more kids. The children all love him. When he comes to see them, they yell "Baba! Baba!" (in English, "Daddy! Daddy!"). He is a very important and crucial part of all their lives.

There are currently seven children living there, and they all have different background stories. Some were abandoned, like Robert and Kelvin. They are brothers who were found extremely malnourished living in a hole in the ground. Some, like Shadrake, lived with relatives because they had been kicked out by a new step father. Sadly, this is often the case here. Some of their parents couldn't afford them, and some had parents that died because of HIV or AIDS.  The first wave group had the opportunity to travel to some of the villages where some of the children were found. Volunteer Emilee Eddings said, "It was really humbling even being in the areas because of the types of houses that they live in. Dirt floors,magazine walls, a curtain for the door...It just makes me so grateful to have a good house and a good, whole family." 

The children with some of the neighbor kids

Michael has such a big heart, and a real desire to help kids in need. He is an amazing Christian man and believes that his children at the orphanage should believe in God as well, because God is the reason they all came together.You can tell the kids love each other and they are their own little family.

Michael has created a website for the orphanage. This is the link to website. If you are interested in learning more about these children please visit this site. 

http://www.osiligiorphanage.org/

The Blog Post of all Blog Posts..... (a letter from the bloggers.)

Dear Readers,

Would you like to hear a story? Once upon a time, some people decided to go to Africa. And do you know what? They love it!
The people are amazingly friendly, everyone is happy, the children are adorable, the food is great (the fresh fruit even better than great, might we say, fantastic!), the scenery is breathtakingly green and gorgeous, and...... the internet doesn't work very well.
Sometimes living here is like camping. There isn't always water pressure, sometimes the electricity goes out, and the internet stick doesn't like certain people it seems. Yet, we all don't care. We didn't come to Africa to live like Americans. We came to Africa to help relieve the burdens placed on amazing people, not to worry about our own comfort.
So, while we would like to tell you an amazing story about writing all these fantastic blog posts, putting them on a flash drive, walking twelve miles down a cliff and across a river, only to have the flash drive eaten by hippos (while we miraculously escaped unscathed except for a few black eyes and missing digits...) and for all of this to be the reason we haven't blogged yet this summer, we can't exactly say that. Because it is not true (even though that would be awesome!). The true story is that we have been so busy with our projects, working with others, changing lives and having our lives changed in return to worry about blogging.
The good part is, now we are getting the ball rolling! We are going to start blogging, and catch you up about our many adventures these past two months, and keep you updated about this month's projects.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!
Sincerely,
Bailey and Alysha

1st Wave Volunteers

2nd Wave Volunteers

3rd Wave Volunteers