Hujambo,

Karibu  (welcome) to my blog. Firstly let me give credit to my colleague Peter Monk, for the witty name of this site.  I will be posting stories and pictures as my two years in Tanzania unfold.  There are several links below which might interest you.  One is to sign in as a member.  That way you will be automatically notified each time I make an entry.  You can find out more about CUSO/VSO (the organization who has organized my volunteer work with my African partners (the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, and iTech).  For more details about my work read my Fundraising Page (link at bottome of page). 

 

Below, you will also find links to fellow volunteer’s blogs, and most importantly my fundraising page.  I need to raise funds to help support future volunteers and projects around the world (as past volunteers did to make my trip possible).  For every dollar I raise, CIDA will contribute 9.  Please consider helping me meet my goal of $2,000 (which would mean $20,000 in total)!  Here is my incentive to you… for anyone who donates $250.00 or more, I will host a dinner (when I return) with Tanzanian fare, music and a slide show of my 2 years in that country.  For anyone who donates between $50-100, you will be invited to an evening of pictures and stories…or sent a personal letter of thanks including a story during my time overseas.

 

So, karibu kiti, sit back and enjoy a little armchair travelling.

 

Upon arriving in Dar Es Salaam, myself and 19 other volunteers (10 of us in total from Canada, 3 from China, rest from UK) went through 5 days of In-Country-Training.  This invaluable time helped us to orient ourselves to living and working in this culture, and to understand the mandate and philosophy of CUSO/VSO.  The way I like to sum up the philosophical underpinnings of our work, is to say we will be following the old adage about ‘teaching a person/man to fish’.

 

 I won’t say much about Dar, except to say that it is suffering from typical ailments when a population grows faster than the infra-structure.  In spite of the crazy (cheesi in Swahili) traffic jams, the people are very friendly and helpful.  My niece Jodi asked me (on Skype) at what moment did I say to myself, “I’m actually in Africa”.  It would have to be my first day, when I was wondering the streets near the Econo-lodge (perhaps the name alone lets you know what part of town we are staying).  I was thinking to myself how familiar many things were, in the developing world sort of way.  There was a mix of black Africans, Muslims and Hindus (Arabs and Indians.  Then all of a sudden a young man came walking along the sidewalk towards me, dressed in his beautifully coloured Massai wrap and carrying his spear.  I also then realized what all the small holes were in the reddish dirt at my feet, not some unknown bug, but other spears used as walking sticks.  My heart skipped a beat and I beamed at him as he passed, giving away my wet-behind the-ears status.

 

The second week started with our first harrowing experience of navigating the bus system to make our way to Morogoro Town/city.  This beautiful place is about 3-4 hours away and the climate is remarkably kinder thanks to its elevation.  Although we only spent a week there doing language training (Swahili), I am fortunate enough to eventually return and live there for the duration.   We stayed in a convent which operates as a hotel.  Our teachers provided us with ample opportunity to learn and then practise getting our needs met (asking directions, learning the names of foods at the market and how to ask for prices and to haggle, as is the custom).  The way I look at this extremely minimal language experience, is that we got to view and take a few tasty bites of a huge buffet.  It in no way prepares a person to function beyond the basic greetings which are the foundation of relationship building, which is essential in this culture.  Here it is not ‘what you know’ but ‘who you know’, and in smaller towns like Morogoro, everyone will know my comings and goings etc..  That will be a change for me, as I have lived in the anonymity of larger cities my entire life!!

 

Most of us at this point in time are focussed on two things.  Where will I live, and when do I get to start working?  You might imagine that the personality traits they look for in volunteers are: being self starters, flexible and adaptable.  We have all been tested on this many times and have come up with a helpful reminder for one another…that is T.I.T. (this is Tanzania).  I’m quite sure you could replace that last word with just about any developing country around the world, and I have experienced similar differences in the concepts of time and efficiency throughout my travels.  The Swahili saying (mostly used in Kenya), and made famous by the Lion King, Hakuna Matata, we have no problems/worries, is most suitable at this point.  I often find myself humming the catchy tune of that song, subconsciously reminding myself that everything is as it should be for this moment in time, and equanimity/acceptance is the answer to non-suffering.  My years of Yoga/meditation practice are coming in handy these days!!

 

This final Sunday back in Dar, before we all head off to our placements, saw me getting up at 5:00 AM in order to participate in the RotaryDarMarathon.  It was a ½ Marathon and 9 Km Walk Fundraiser for the local children’s hospital.  I was happy for the early start and finish to beat the heat.  And yes, I was wise enough to do the walk, not the run, as I am still adjusting.  I did get to go running and hiking in Morogoro plus a one day Safari.  Here are some pictures of the many animals we saw in this small but very rich in animals) Game Park.  Pictures to follow once I can figure out how to quickly easily re-size and attach to this Blog.  One step at a time at a time…poli poli.