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