People I met in Tanzania....I thought it might be of interest to some people to hear about the Tanzanians who I have had come to know. 

I met Neema at my first placement in Morogoro.  You may recall she offered to help me with my housing issues and told me her name meant ‘Grace’, and she is aptly named.  Ney is 35 years old.  Immediately after her marriage she went to Holland to complete her Master’s in Public Admin.  Tumiani, her husband, visited a few times but it was a long and adventurous 2 years for an African girl.  Since then they have had two boys, Elija (pronounced e-lee-ah) and Alisha (just born at Easter).  The couple had to relocate to Dar for the final gestational month and delivery in order to ensure a safe birth even though she was not high risk.  She told me her decision was based on the fact that 5 of her friends (similar age and education/financial class) lost babies at birth in Morogoro. 

The house they rent in Morogoro is kept unoccupied for when they return plus they now rent a large apartment in Dar too.  They will stay in Dar until Ney returns to work because Thumiani is self-employed in Dar and usually commutes on w/e to Morogoro.   A smart business man he runs a car import business and has several other businesses in the developmental phase (e.g. chicken feed in Morogoro).  Ney’s parents were farmers with limited education but held a strong belief about its importance for their children.  Thumiani’s parents are both professors at the Agricultural University in Morogoro and were both associated with the university system in the Netherlands.

In Ney’s home you will find a fridge in the living room (only used for drinks), a microwave, a washing machine and dryer (none used) a huge stereo system and flat screen TV (used a lot by Thumiani), a leather couch and chair,  and modern glass tables.  There is nothing on the walls and the wall unit is empty except for photo-albums of their wedding.  There are 2 ‘maids’ to help with the 2 kids as Ney will be working again.  This is a common situation for those with money and one woman told me her maid has a maid. 

Family is the couple’s biggest focus outside of earning a living.  Entertainment or activities outside of work involves visiting family members, or more recently others visiting the young family (a constant stream with her mother and parents-in-law staying each for 3 weeks).  Sometimes on weekends, before the birth of Alisha, Thumiani would drive Ney and Elijah to Moshi (10 hour drive) so Ney could visit with her mother.  Thumiani would turn around and drive back on the Sunday only to return the following w/e and pick them up.  Ney would have visited various family members in the region during that week.  There are buses that run that same route but Elijah has not been exposed to the ‘germs of others’ and so Thumaini forbids the use of the bus at this point.  Much more comfortable travel for Ney but a lot of dangerous and arduous driving for a devoted husbanded and father,  not to mention the cost of petrol.  The gas costs are comparable to Canadian prices for a population that earns $45/month on average.  Of course that includes millions at the subsistence level and Ney and Thumiani are in the tiny middle class, with higher education and all that affords.  None-the-less owning and running a vehicle is very costly here.

When I visit Ney, I am always given a meal.  I have learned to bring small gifts in thanks and we go out together for meals and visits when we can (at least before Alisha was born).  Last time she provided rice, chips, beans, mchicha (a type of spinach), okra, Ugali, and King Fish.  The fish was cut in huge steaks and was fresh from the Dar market the day before (one of Ney’s first outings with Thumiani since her delivery in April).  As usual, it is plain fare, no spices except salt, but very fresh and delicious.  Even though I have moved around here in Tanzania, Ney has always stayed in touch via texting, email or calling.  I feel blessed to have gotten to know her and her family.

 

Aida was married young, with limited education and immediately bore a son.  One day her husband met a sophisticated woman and the two of them were speaking English together, leaving Aida out.  As they walked she gradually fell more and more behind until she could escape home.  At home she cried and was angry.  When her husband returned home and asked what happened she simply said she didn’t want to get in the way of their conversation.  For the next 6 months Aida studied English, in any way she could find.  One day her husband met the woman again but this time she surprised them both and participated in the conversation.  You see, rather than being jealous or angry at either of them, Aida had realized that the problem lay in herself.  She vowed determinedly never to let anyone or any situation make her feel small again.

That was the beginning of many changes in Aida’s life.  Now, she is divorced and living as a single-parent which is highly unusual in her small Muslim community.  A talented artist, she runs her own business designing clothing for foreigners to be made of the brightly coloured African cloth (Kangas and Kitangas).  The production of the clothing as well as embroidered and quilted pillow covers and bags, is all done by a group of women who work with Aida in a co-op.  She tells me that she is still a shy person by nature and finds she must push herself to be ‘out in the world’ but she has never gone back on her word to herself.

 

 

 

I asked if I could interview Hilda and she preferred to write this ‘bio’ herself.  This is what she wanted to share with my friends and family back home:

My name is Hilda Charles Lurinzu.  I finished my O-level (Cdn equivalent of Gr. 10...brackets Peggy) education in 1991.  My very first intention was to become a nun (sister).

 

In 1992 I joined Benedictines sisters of Tutzing, this is a Religious Constitution which is found in Songea, Southern parts of Tanzania.  I stayed there till 2002, from there I decided to drop out to live another style of life.

In 2003 I joined Form 5 as a Private Candidate, I studied HGL, meaning History, Geography and English as my Form 5 subject courses.

In 2005 I sat for my A-level (Cdn gr. 12) exam and when the results came out, I passed with good grades which enabled me to join University.

Beside that I’m a mother of two children all are boys.  The first born is called Felix who is now five years old.  And is learning at Carmel Kindergarten (a religious funded private school emphasizing education in English...PF).  Brian is my second son is still breasting is now 1 year and 2 months.

Now I’m a teacher teaching at Sega girls Secondary School, the school is at Morogoro region in Tanzania.  I started working this year.  I teach literature From IV (Cdn gr. 10...PF), history Form III (Cdn gr. 9...PF) and I (Cdn gr. 7...PF), also non-formal (Girls who haven’t passed exam to enter secondary school yet...PF) History.

PF:  What I would add is that Hilda is one of those consistently bright and cheery people, very attentive to others, and obviously caring.  She chats a lot with the other teachers sharing stories 1 on 1 which always involves rounds of laughter.  Hilda runs one of the two Music Clubs, bringing along her wonderful knowledge of harmony learned at her church choir.  What I find especially appealing about her,  is how lovely she appears, always looking professional and beautifully dressed!  Hilda is a wonderful addition to the lives of the Sega girls and the staff she works with. 

 

 

 

Amaas had very limited English to go with my very limited Swahili.  What I do know is that he did not complete secondary school and needed to go out to work to help support his mother and younger siblings.  His father is not around.  He does ‘petty’ work, mostly labour and working on farm plots for others, harvesting etc..  Sega has hired him to help with the creation of ‘organic farming’ plots.  An NGO is sponsoring the creation and running of 28 bed for education purposes and production of new and different greens and herbs.  It’s amazing to me how we have managed to mess things up so much that a nation who has lived on subsistence farming for eons, has to learn how to use ‘organic farming methods’ all over again.  Amaas dug these 28 plots to a depth of about 5 feet...could barely see his hat above ground...then mixed straw and soil to refill the beds.  The beds are located a short distance from my house and when he’s working I can hear a constant singing and often ‘rapping’ to his favourite Bonga Flava tunes. 

 

 

 

 

A Student’s Life at Sega Part B

 

I think that students in other countries (including ours) would be surprised by the life of these girls.  Apparently it’s considered to be a ‘privileged life’ compared to the workday at home.  See what you think.   A typical day is as follows:

0600 Rise, clean (dorm rooms, bathrooms, eating banda) and their bodies with water hauled from the central tap.  There is running water to the dorms but it is salty.  Each girl is assigned with duties regarding cleaning common areas, classrooms, staffroom, gardening, grass cutting (“slashing”) or taking care and collecting eggs from 2000 chickens.

 0700  they are called to breakfast by a metal object hit with a stick... amazing what you can hear when you are hungry or going to miss out on something.  Breakfast consists of watery porridge and tea.

0745  Morning assembly where they sing the national anthem, get told off for wrong-doings, and inspiringly volunteer to give short talks on any subject (to practise English and leadership skills).  The girls stand there sometimes up to 30 minutes and there is a fair amount of fainting amongst the group. 

 

0800-3:30  Classes of 35 or 70 min duration.  There is a 15 min Chai break where they get tea, bread and peanut butter and 45 min lunch which must include Ugali (cornmeal mush) or they don’t feel they’ve eaten.  They also have beans, occasional cooked greens or cabbage, or a tiny tiny serving of meat.

During the next brief 30 min break (most classes start and or stop late...Tanzanians do not use clocks and follow time commitments the way we do), the girls have free time.

From 4-5:00 they are expected to do chores, or go to clubs (there are a number of different clubs including Tembo, where they learn about Elephants and the Ivory trade issues, English club, sports, art, computer science), or attend remedial classes in different subjects.

From 5-6:30 they do more chores, often out in groups slashing or tending the vegetable gardens, or helping the cook.

Dinner is at 6:30 and is a repeat from lunch.  From 8-10:00 pm they are once again in their classrooms for evening study period (and this is 7 days a week).  WHEW!!

Finally, they get to rest and get ready for the next day.  Saturday classes are only ½ a day, but there are usually other activities in the afternoon (Community Outreach when a class might visit an orphanage or a centre for disabled people), parent visits monthly, parent meetings, or sports competitions.  Sundays are the one day when things are quieter.  The girls wash their clothes (one change of school uniform, a Kanga and tee shirt, and the occasional sweaters).  They wash everything by hand, lay them out on the ground (or occasional bush) to dry, and then iron with coal-filled irons (like my grandmother would have used on the farm).

 

 

 

 

A student’s life at Sega. Part A

A personal story (as written by April, a previous volunteer, with some editting by me).

Subira Mohamedy is a 15-year-old “pre-form” student from Morogoro. The pre-formal program is a 6-month prep program for students who have passed their primary school exam but are not quite ready for secondary school. They will take a readiness exam before they are admitted to Form 1 (equivalent to 8th grade in Canada and the first year of secondary school in TZ) in January.
Subira passed her primary school exam in January of this year but was not able to enroll in secondary school due to her family’s lack of funds. She thought school was over for her. Her father, a subsistence farmer, died of an illness in 2004 when Subira was 7 and she told me that his death and her sister telling her she could not continue in school earlier this year are the two worst things that have happened in her life. Subira has three brothers, ages 31, 24, and 18 and three sisters, ages 28, 20, and 8. All her older siblings completed Form 4 (O levels) but most of them have no work. Her mother and one brother are farmers. One other brother sells products at the market, and the other three older siblings don’t work. Subira had heard about Sega school from other girls she knows who are students here so she decided to apply. She passed the exam to get in and moved into the dorm at Sega in July, having been out of school for 6 months.

 

Subira (L)is a member of the Temba Club (Elephant club)  pictured here on a club outing to the nearby game-park to view elephants and learn more about them.

Subira is one of about a dozen Muslim students in this school of 164 girls. She loves to study and her favorite subject is science. Her mastery of English is noticeable amongst the other students, showing how much she studies and practices.  She is looking forward to taking biology, chemistry, and physics in high school and her dream is to be a doctor someday. She also likes to play netball (sort of like basketball but no dribbling, only passing) and enjoys Bongo Flava music, though the girls have no way to play music in the dorms so only get to listen to it when there is a “music day” at Sega and the cd player and speakers are set up, about once or twice a month.

Subira said that she is hoping that if she studies hard, she will be able to get a good job. As a doctor, she would like to help everyone who is sick and if she is financially successful, she wants to help her family by building a house for her mother and providing many other good things for her and the rest of the family.

Subira also loves to draw and volunteers to create cards for the USA sponsors, the previous volunteers and anyone else she can write to...so I know she is generous and kind-hearted and would make a wonderful physician. We can’t be sure, of course, whether Subira will achieve her goals but she is reportedly the hardest working girl in her class.  Good luck to Subira for a wonderful future.

 

Things I Love and Find-hard-to-love in Tanzania

A couple of my volunteer-colleagues have written love/hate lists.  I ‘borrowed’ some of their ideas to get me reflecting on my own list.  So here’s what I came up with after being here 8 months:

Learned to Love

1.        The basic nature of the Tanzanian people really is what they say... cheery, friendly and welcoming.  Unfortunately this gets covered by hunger/greed/want in the bigger cities and touristy areas (as in most developing and even developed countries).  I have found that the more rural I go, especially on my beautiful walks around Sega, the friendlier and warmer the greeting often including ‘Shikamoo’ which is a greeting of respect.  Sometimes the friendliness can be annoying, like when I was on my way to work (on Zanzibar for example) and they, young men hanging around idle, want me to stop and talk.  It feels rude not to stop...but really? It’s such a culture clash as we ‘Mzungus’ are always in a hurry to get somewhere and do something.   Most of the people I have met through work are helpful and friendly, if not very curious about me and my ways.  It is absolutely standard to be offered food or at least a drink, anytime you are at someone’s house. I am trying to take a page out of their book on slowing down and savouring the connection with others.  As for customer service...well that’s on my other list.

 

2.       The birds are wonderful!  Many are different from home with brilliant colours or unusual calls or strange living situations (the group hanging nests of the Weaver Bird).  Many are familiar like the Heron (blue with white), Raven (black with white), sparrows, finch, vultures, eagles, doves, and Secretary Birds (do we have them in Canada?).  Of course there were many water birds on Zanzibar.  I have heard two kinds of owls at night which are very different from each other.  Barn owls (long streams of a chattering sound) and Verreaux eagle owl (typical haunting hoo-hoo).  My eye often catches a turquoise blue on the ground, only to find little flocks of Cordon Bleu or Superb Starlings (blue or yellow).  I have been loving this rainy season as it’s also the ‘mating’ season so the birds are in full feather.  I have been quite bemused by these two small birds which grow long tail feathers (Whydah and Shrike).  They can barely fly with such long drag behind.   One looks more like a fish as it weaves through the air, up and down, to keep their rear-end aloft; the other looks like a flying lizard.  The Bishop Birds are gorgeous with a red hood and cloak over the black body.  They hang out in the wet areas reminding me of Red Wing Blackbirds but with much more splendour.  I also hear beautiful calls (early morning or even mid-day) but not been able to take the time to spot the singer.

 

3.       The air during this rainy season is unexpectedly gentle.  The breezes at dawn and sunset are delicious.  Of course it’s a reprieve from the heat of the dry season too.

4.       The red soil of eastern Africa is especially brilliant around Tanzania.  Although my running shoes are permanently stained red, and the dust in the house is interminable getting in/on everything.  But when the sun is rising or setting, the earth appears brilliant and alive.  There are some beautiful small mountains around my region to hike and enjoy the vistas across the plain.

5.       Lucky me as there has been an abundance of Mangos since December, with a seemingly endless season, and they happen to be my favourite fruit.   There are plenty of papaya, passion fruit, bread fruit (not my cup of tea) and other tropical options just hanging around on the trees or on the ground.

6.       The rainy season has brought crops all around where I am living.  There are fields of corn, which I had no trouble identifying, and is now much taller than me (‘higher than elephants eye’ I guess).  But interspersed with the corn, or in a neighbouring field, there’s another crop which took me several weeks to identify.  But once I did, my heart leapt as I realized the fields are coming alive at this time with Sunflowers...makes me think of Van Gogh!   Other crops include something they call pumpkin (squash family) and zucchini, rice, tomatoes, avocado, eggplant, green peppers and greens (about 3 kinds which they call spinach), cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onions.  Remember this list as it’s a clue about something on the other next list.  (Pics by Naomi Loeb, Sega volunteer)

 

7.       Although I have heard very little of the traditional music (Bonga Flava is really popular which is basically African Hip Hop), that which I have heard is amazing.  The place one mostly hears the traditional a capella 4-part harmonies is in the churches.  It is still on my list to visit more churches while I am here.  There is an ‘unfinished’ building nearby where there is a ‘squatter’ church at times.  I love to hear their singing if I’m out for a walk at the right time of day.  Other times I hear the ‘casting out of demons’ which would be on my second list (below).

8.       Traditional dress for the women (still worn) is simply having 1 or 2 large pieces of cloth (some batikked) to wrap around the waist as a skirt, to carry the baby on back, and wrapped over the head.  The increase in economic status brings ‘tailored’ dresses and skirts and tops from these beautiful brightly coloured fabrics.  Unfortunately this is changing due to ‘western’ influence.  There is a basic simplicity in terms of belongings except amongst the growing upper and middle classes (see more in my second list).   

Speaking of which:

Things I find hard-to-love

1.        Public transportation...the local small buses (vans or open backed vehicles depending on the town/place) are always packed to double capacity.  While one is cheek by jowl with their neighbours, you will see that if there are seats, then the men are in them with their legs spread wide, the women being in the aisles or sharing a seat with at least 2 other women, or sitting on upside-down buckets in the aisles or even crouching.  As for the ‘big’ buses that run between towns and cities...same story unless passing  an ‘inspection station’ during which the ‘extras’ are expected to duck down below the vision of the road-side inspectors.  The seats are typically  broken down, with almost no padding, ripped upholstery (if any exists) and very uncomfortable springs or just plywood.  The windows on all vehicles allow entry to a steady stream of exhaust (and rain or hot air depending on the season).  The bjaaje (tuc tuc or rickshaw in other countries) found mostly in Dar and bigger centres, are quicker and cheaper but unsafe do to the open access for theft or even personal injury as ones bumps along the shoulder of the road while in ‘stop and crawl traffic’.

 

2.       Nothing runs according to schedule or expectation (buses, trains, hotel bookings, banking services, Postal Services, ATMs, conference bookings and pre-paid catering services, or pre-scheduled meetings to name a few examples.  This includes people not showing up for scheduled job-interviews but still expecting to be hired or not showing up with the key for the conference rooms!!  I was told that my VSO manager flew to a far afield hospital on two occasions for a meeting with someone who didn’t show either time.  Admittedly, the Tanzanians are much more able to go with this flow than us Mzungus. 

3.       Every season brings a challenge in weather...the heat during the dry season (Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar) was relentless...I would be soaked within 5 min of being out, showered 3x a day and rarely found relief...sharing the house with mosquitoes, flies, armies of biting ants in the dry season. The rains brought housemates of cockroaches and tiny beetles, roads turned into deep mud paths with little lakes every so often (deep enough to drown the battery on our Rav 4) and flooded floors in the house (where the couches with no legs wicked up the water and soaked the cushions.

 

4.       The Tanzanian food is bland (only over-use of salt or sugar), high in starch, low in nutrition and without variety.  The list I made above are what I can get at the market but I am unsure who actually cooks with those items.  The basic Tanzanian main meal is Ugali (white-corn meal mush), ¼ ounce of meat or scrawny chicken or brown beans, a tablespoon of greens cooked to much (occasionally enhanced with onion or bits of tomatoe and baking soda/salt) or a tablespoon of a coleslaw type salad.  Tanzanians admittedly dislike vegetables.  Each to his own.  The struggle for me is coming up with interesting things to cook with the same limited ingredients.  If you know me, you know I’m a foody and am creative in the kitchen.  To my credit, I have made soybean patties, curried soybeans, lentils soups and stew, lentil breakfast porridge, pancakes with millet and rice flour etc..  Stir-fry, ratatouille, spaghetti , salads with canned fish are weekly staples.  Thank goodness there are a few shops run my people of Indian-decent (hence the spices, lentils, more variety in beans, brown rice, rice noodles) and Soya sauce and vinegar!!  I do realize the ‘privileged life’ which has created my desire for variety and nutritional meals.  There are a handful of ‘Safi’ restaurants (which translates to clean or cool and is used to describe clean drinking water and also a response when someone asks a young adult how they are).  These eateries are aimed at those with money, Mzungus and Indians (run by East Indians)...every restaurant has the same fair to offer and they all take over an hour to bring your order (shades of India...at least it’s freshly made).  There is a Pho restaurant in Dar right near where I stay and so I frequent it too...same ingredients but with a twist.

5.        As in most developing countries there has been a profusion of ‘garbage’ and nowhere to dispose of it.  Stone Town and Iringa have figured out a system (which must include government money) to clean the streets and pick up garbage daily.  But as for the rest, there’s no such thing as recycling and everything is burned just outside the house.  The use of plastic bottles is atrocious but at least some get re-used to sell Sunflower oil, honey, petrol, juices (avocado or passion fruit).

6.       Women’s status is typical for the developing world, appearing to do most of the work including domestic duties (except for hard physical labour such as digging and building), they are abused, raped and get little respect from men.  The younger pretty girls will get flirted with and catered to until the men get what they want.  There is a higher number of female school drop-outs due to poverty, attitudes about education, pregnancy (cannot return to school during or after baby), family responsibilities, and orphan status. 

7.       Vendors and shop keepers have the attitude of a ‘bird in the hand’ therefore will over-charge and not care if they lose the sale now or for the future.  One guy said to me “today I win, next time you win”...when I went back another day he tried really hard to ignore me and pretend he didn’t know me.  There is no such thing as customer/vendor relationship or loyalty.  After 6 months of repeat business my volunteer-colleague ‘lost it’ when the woman who sold her water tried to rip her off and didn’t seem to recognize her.  We tried to give some local cooks business for our conference (a large order) and one of them didn’t even provide what we asked for (even knowing there would be repeat order the following week) after we pre-paid.  Live and learn!!

8.       Travelling by road is extremely dangerous...some say we are taking our lives in our hands every time.  There is a different hierarchy on the road...trucks, then buses, then cars, then piki pikis (motorcycles), then bikes, then pedestrians.  Basically, might is right.  Although this is hard for me to love, I do see it simply as a difference in cultural bias (lack of value for human life).  The worst is when we are driving in a car on a highway and the bus or truck coming toward us in our lane (typically passing on a solid line and hill) does not even try to move so we are forced onto the side of the road (at high speed) or even pushed to the side when the truck or bus is passing from behind and needs to get back into the lane quickly.

9.       The influence of western culture is changing the traditional dress and hence the fabric industry (basically being put out of business).  African countries receive large containers with huge shrink-wrapped blocks of discarded clothing (from faith-based groups, stores that rely on donations like Value Village or Sally Ann, which either can’t sell or don’t need, sporting tags and all.  The children and men wear worn-out clothing which was probably bought that way at the Saba Saba (used item market).   One home I visited (a couple of retired professors) had 4 large over-stuffed couches and wide-screen TV and huge sound system (neither of which were used apparently) all crammed into the living/eating space.  At the home of young professional couple I found the same media equipment but the couch and chairs were leather.  Both of these homes had the fridge in the living room (as they mostly keep drinks in it) and microwaves and spin-washers (neither of which were used by their maids/cooks).  One friend told me her ‘maid’ has a maid so money is nicely spread out. Unfortunately the rise in materialism has seen a rise in robberies and break-ins and muggings...both at home and person on the street...both Mzungus and wealthier Africans.  The increased divide between have and have-nots brings the increase in crime.

 

Well I see the second is longer than the first but that’s not to say that either one is complete...just a sample.  I will be leaving Tanzania in August after spending a year in Tanzania.   It will be interesting to see if I have moved anything from the second list up to the first by then.  (-: