Will It Rain Today in Tanzania?

For the first time since I got here, it is overcast. I heard it rained in Arusha yesterday, which was about 1/2 hour from here. Will it finally rain today? At lunch, Father Mike got a phone call from a woman trying to sell him a starving cow to pay for tuition. Things are going to get really bad if we don't get some rain soon. The newly-elected president made an emergency announcement last night to allow farmers and their cattle to go into wild life national parks, such as Ngorongoro and Lake Myanara, where are still some water in the craters.

Last night, there was quite a bit of commotion in my room. My roommate checked out in the morning and left for South Africa so I was all-alone in the west wing of the dormitory. About 11 pm, I heard some noise in the closet. When it continued, I went out to look for the watchman. It was pitch dark outside so I yelled out "Hello! Hello!" The dog started barking at me and lurched towards me. I was relieved when the tall, skinning Maasai watchman finally showed up from nowhere. His skin was almost as black as the darkness so it was really hard to see him at night. He checked my closet with a flashlight but found nothing.

Half an hour later, the noise came back. It was much louder this time and the closet was shaking, the keys swinging back and forth. Afraid that whatever was inside was going to jump out at me, I locked the closet and started calling a guy friend. By the third time I called him, he offered to come over and check on it, but suspected that I was just scared and hallucinating because I was alone in the house. By then, the noise was so loud that I began to wonder if someone was digging a tunnel into the closet to steal my money. Ha!

Another 30 minutes passed before he showed up with his entire family (What was he thinking?). Even his mother was there. The 2 watchmen (one very tall & skinning and the other very short and stodgy - what a team!) and their dog walked behind them. This time, they had bows and arrows in their hands. I heard that Maasai warriors are ferocious. The sight of their traditional weapon seemed to reinforce that. By then, the noise had stop. I thought to myself, "Now no one is going to believe me. And they are all going to think that I was crazy."

Finally my friend opened the closet that the watchman checked previously. Just when they were about to conclude it was just my imagination, they found a dead rat in my luggage. I couldn't believe a rat could make that much noise and movement and asked that they double-checked to see if there are other accomplices. There was none.

I couldn't bear the thought of the rat rambling through my belongings so I was awake by 6:30 this morning and washed all of my underwear which the rat died next to. Yuk!

We found a functional car yesterday. So glad that we will finally be driving out this afternoon to Mbulu after more than 2 weeks of waiting. The living standard there is much lower. I feel that we could probably be more of help there. We will be bringing with us bags of maize in case we run into families that are struggling for food due to the on-going drought.

Drought

The weather has been very hot out here. Typically, the raining season is from November to April. The precipitation increases each month as we get closer to the end of the season. Since I got here almost 2 weeks ago, there had been only 2 showers. There has not been a single drop of rain this week. When I was bused into Arusha from Nairobe, I saw miles and miles of dry land until we reached Arusha. At the goat cake party the other day, the locals talked about how some of the cows on the Maasai Land are not getting enough to eat and are becoming very skinny. The Maasai are selling their animals at discounted prices to offset the loss in maize production due to water shortage.

We have been trying to fix our car for the last few days but I have a feeling that it will not be ready this week for our trip to the rural area for new projects. I decided to head out for Usambara Mountains tomorrow instead to check out the afforestation projects there. The rainforest has more biodiversity than the entire Congo Basin so it would be interesting to visit.

Goat Cake Feast

Since I got here, I had been asking people about gourmet Tanzanian food. No one, even the rich, could seem to know if such a thing existed. Finally a friend who is running a rehabilitation center for the disabled told me about goat cake which is used for special occasions.

Goat cake is really just a roasted goat. I wanted to videotape the cooking process so I proposed a party at my friend's garden on Sunday. His 85-year-old grandma who is an expert in picking good goats set out for the Maasai market (Maasai people are herders) around 8 am with Baboo who is a nice 15-year-old boy and a family friend. They didn't get back until mid-afternoon. Baboo had to drag the animal home because he said the goat was very tired and grumpy from all the walking and squelching in the back of the van.

Lema Senior is the only "specialist" in the village who knows how to prepare the dish. The skill is passed on from generation to generation. He was very skillful and even checked the organs to see if the animal was healthy for cooking. Baboo and Eric began putting charcoal into the pit in the backyard while the female relatives and neighbors helped in the kitchen with other dishes.

It took about 2 hours for the goat to be roasted after putting margarine all over the meat. Neighbors and friends invited themselves to the party. I could see that they felt very much at home and would help with the chore at the house. The meat was laid on the banana leaves on the table in the garden. The first cuts went to the elderly women. I finally had my share. It was so fantastic - definitely the best lamb I have ever had. It was so moist. I wish I could have more but boy, the old ladies could really eat and there were many neighbors at the house. It's all about sharing.

It got a bit cold at night so we started a bonfire and sipped lemon grass tea with the host family until we were too tired. That night, we slept under the stars at their garden.

The Art of Giving

I ran into Naftal the other day. He used to work for the agency which arranged my trip last time. He said he was very happy to see me and told me that he needed money to send his son to a good college which cost a lot more than a regular school. He mentioned that he already got 50,000 Tanzanian Schillings from another volunteer but needed more to pay for the tuition for TS160,000.

My heart sank. He is not even looking for for a loan. He just wanted a handout. I know he drinks at night even though he needed the money for his family. Last time I was here, I was told that he didn't get paid for his work while his family's cow was sick and waiting to get treatment. I got together with another volunteer and gave him a big tip to help him with the bus fare to go home. I think that was the first time he got any money from the volunteers.

I felt partially responsible for starting and breeding the behavior of faking poor to get sympathy and money from the naive and good-hearted volunteers here. My mission here was to help people become self-sufficient but instead I have resulted in something completely opposite of what I was here to do. I realized that I needed to rethink about my approach and design of the program.

The Challenges of Lending a Hand

Helping people is not always as easy as it seems.

Faye is a Briton who spent most of her life here in Tanzania. She is well-known in town for her charity work. I reached out to her because I realized that I would need a support system and some mentors if I make the most out of volunteer work here in the next 2 months.

It started to drizzle as I walked up the hill towards her house. I was happy to feel the rain drops on my shoulders. It’s been a hot and dry weekend. There was an electricity rationing going on due to shortage of hydropower.

Faye lives in a big house by Lake Duluti. When I got to her house, there were already several guests at her front porch, which overlooks the town of Tengeru and Mt. Meru Most of them moved out here from Europe and set up their own non-profit organizations to help the local communities. When I told them about the Maasai women’s project in Lengijave, they were more than happy to share with me their experience and suggestions. They suggested that I change the payment term from cash to goats to be consistent with the local custom and increase the collection rate. They also recommended that we require the villagers attend a class on how to raise goats to help them become successful with the business.

Knowing that many locals have grown accustomed to foreign aid, we quickly shifted our discussion to focus on how to develop projects that wean them off such reliance and ensure continued success. The conversation got so exciting that I couldn’t help bring out my camcorder to capture some of the thoughts. Most have encountered dishonesty and frustration during their projects, but their passion for the country and the satisfaction of being able to make a difference have kept them going.

I look forward to meeting each of them next week at work and learn more about their projects here.

I have to stop here before the electricity goes off again as the storm hits town and my keyboard is getting sandy. Later!

Returning to Tanzania

I am back in the Arusha area! It feels as if I had never left. It took about 31 hours to get here. This time, the trip was a lot more smooth than last time. I had a layover in London and got off in Nairobe from where I took a shuttle bus to Arusha.

I am staying in a center run by a catholic church. I am sure that would give my parents some peace of mind as you really can't find any place safer than that. My housemate who is a hair dresser. She is also an ex-volunteer who decided to set up her own non-profit organization for fund-raising. She has returned to Tengeru with the funding to build a new orphanage and help with AIDS education.

I was invited to a friend's house for dinner last night. The green curry vegetable was delicious. Everything was made from scratch (well, except the curry) and cooked outdoors with charcoal.

"Welcome back to Africa!" I said to myself as we had dinner by the bonfire that we set up in the garden under the full moon.

Videos of Tanzania

I will be flying back to Tanzania tomorrow. In addition to new volunteer projects with women's groups, I will also try to make documentary videos. Although it is a favor for a friend, I think it would also be an interesting experiment for me. I always enjoy photography and different culture so this will take it one step further. So much to look forward to.

Malaria Pills

I am getting ready to go back to Tanzania next week. Although the airfare is quite high, I decided to sublet my apartment and use the money to fund my trip. But the challenge doesn't stop there. I found out that Malarone malaria pills are going to cost me anywhere between $350 and $500. I don't have health insurance right now since I have already quit my job and am working as a volunteer. Even if I were still working today, the insurance still would not cover it entirely as the coverage is limited to 30 pills each year or each trip. It makes you wonder how the people in Africa who are most vulnerable to malaria could afford such medicine if I can't. Some friends offered to get the pills from Mexico or Canada but with no success. Some friends got advice from their doctor friends and said that I should skipped the pills altogether and just get treatment when I get the disease. It is amazing what doctors would say off record! It's unbelievable!

Got a text message from Tanzania at 2:30 in the morning as Lema was meeting with the Maasai women's group that we are working with. The group has ballooned from 26 members to 76. Apparently, the news about the goat project has spread. Many women from the surrounding villages who are eager to get help jammed the meeting room. Working independently as a volunteer without backing of any NGOs, I realized that I need to clearly define the scope of each project and stick to it. I recognized that I will not be able to save everyone in the world but should feel good that even just a few people that I can offer help to. My plan is to move on to other villages that are farther away from the major cities where foreign aid does always reach.

I picked up some children's clothes and toys from Xiomara last week. They will be donated to the orphanages in Tanzania. I am also looking for funding for the new projects. I checked with a couple non-profit organizations and learned that there are some unspoken rules about who they will or can help. This is all new to me. I am putting together a photobook that perhaps can help raise some fund for the upcoming projects. "Hakuna Matata" I keep telling myself - Don't worry. I will figure something out one way or another.

Photos of Tanzania

Finally I had the chance to upload the pictures (See the link on the side panel or the title of this posting) I took in Tanzania. It brought back a lot of memories... like pushing the car every morning to get it started, relaxing by the beautiful Duluti Lake near the house, the safari trips to Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Myanara. I am not an animal person but going to the national parks was such an experience. It's as if I were in Jarassic Park. I felt invisible as the animnals peacefully wandering around the parks without paying any attention to us. The tranquility made me feel emotional.

I finally finished the first round of fundraising which gives us half of the money the Maasai women's goat project needs. Lema, our local contact, has been doing some undercover investigations for us to verify the qualifications or poverty levels of the members of the women's group. I learned so much about volunteer work in the last 2 months. Simply wanting to help is not enough. How to define the needs, creating self-sustaining solutions and execute the project in a way that avoids or minimize waste or abuse are all important to deliver help effectively.

Of course, the support of friends and families is also indispensable, especially during fundraising. One of the checks came from Justin who has been working hard to get his own business going for the last 2 years. Arbin reached out to her friends to help with the fundraising efforts. Others stretched their pocket books during Christmas gift-shopping season when money was already tight. Tony, Beebee, Shirley and many friends helped research online for me on water filtering and soap making. It put me on the receiving end while I was trying to give others support. Right now I feel just like the people I am trying to help - so full of hope.