Tanzania - Project Week Two

 

In the second week of the project, we were invited to visit the homes of some of the participants in the class. It was heart-wrenching to see the desperate living conditions some of them lived in. These are beautiful resilient women who don’t give up despite their challenges. They continue on. They attend learning sessions like what Dave was facilitating. They take some of this information home and whether or not it was applicable, they feel blessed.

I had to think of the illustration about the starfish. You can’t rescue all the starfish that are washed up on the beach, but you can make a difference for the ones you do throw back into the sea. Naioth Foundation is working hard to make a difference in the lives of these women and their children and grandchildren.

It's such beautiful countryside as we walked to some of the homes. 

While Dave continued his teaching sessions, I was hanging out around the kitchen, learning about Tanzanian food. 

Preparing pumpkin leaves for in a sauce.

Peeled green bananas for sauce.

Calmat - which looks a lot like New Year's Cookies (Portzelchi)

If you're short, you get creative when stirring a pot of ugali.

The one afternoon we went to Arusha with the pre-school teacher to go shopping for school supplies.  She was thrilled to receive enough pencils, notebooks, crayons, workbooks, posters and more to outfit her class.  The little ones had fun trying to carry the big box of supplies to the office!

In the end, we felt so loved and blessed. On the final day, the women gave us gifts as a memory of our time with them. They were sad to see us go. Some felt like kindred spirits even though our communication was limited with their minimal English and our non-existent Swahili. What a wonderful group of women.

Dave's new shuka - the Maasai dress

making me look like the true tourist

Tanzania - Safari House

 

This is where the other half lives. 

We’re staying at a boutique hotel called Safari House, and, as the name implies, most of the guests here are either coming from a safari or heading out that way.

The Safari House is located on a large estate, about 15 km from Usa River (pronounce oo-sa), along a very stony hard dusty road which can be travelled at no more than 30 kmh!  Pole pole.  Slowly. Slowly.  We’re usually exhausted by the time we return from town and enjoy a refreshing splash in the pool. 

The room is very spacious and comfortable.  Breakfast included everything: fruit, granola, toast, pancakes, sausages, bacon and eggs (to order).  Dinner is always a delicious full three-course European meal.  We’ve been here so long we’ve been through the menu rotation more than twice! 

The hotel is near a golf course and polo club, two sports we don’t do, but we decided to check out the venues.  This is where the other half plays. 

At the golf course we walked around a bit.  It isn’t every day you see a gazelle posing at the 10^th hole! Or a flock of guinea fowl racing around on the greens.  There was a ladies open tournament taking place so the clubhouse was buzzing with people.  We sat down for a bbq chicken meal while watching the sun disappear.

view from the 18th hole

Cutlery is over-rated,  use your fingers for the coleslaw too.

The polo club was a beautiful setting for a sundowner, as they call it, and to get glimpses of Mt Kilimanjaro.  That, and watch some polo while gazelles were running across the field avoiding the giant horses thundering past.  What a sight!

They also were playing field hockey.

the best pizza ever

ah, this is the life.

if you look closely, you will see Mt Kilimanjaro in the distance

those are gazelles making a dash for it in the foreground

We really enjoyed being at Safari House, in the quiet countryside, a world away from the people we were meeting at Naioth. 

Tanzania - Project Week One

 

Dave’s assignment here with Catalyste+ (formerly CESO).  He is working on a project at Naioth Foundation. 

After they retired from their jobs, Boaz and Veneranda started Naioth Foundation as a way of helping raise the living standards of the poor, destitute and orphans through education, employment on their farm and material resources.  They have a small pre-school and they provide training in agricultural practices for women.  It's best to let them explain their organization at:  https://sites.google.com/view/naiothfoundation  or on Facebook at Naioth Foundation

Dave’s assignment is to present a training course on subsistence farming practices.  Boaz is the translator and as he is a seasoned agriculturalist, it is a good fit.  Dave says one sentence.  Boaz translate it into a paragraph.  I think he’s doing more than translating the words into Swahili.  He’s also expanding on the concepts. Dave sourced a curriculum that was in both Swahili and English, making the planning so much easier.

planning the lessons

the classroom

getting the technology all set up

the participants in the class

We are now at the half-way point.  This first week included a couple of power outages that changed the lesson plan!  No videos, so it was time for a field trip. 

Naioth has a large garden plot to help in feeding the many people that depend on them.  This then became the demonstration garden for the day’s lesson.  A little further up the road were some rice paddies.  The lesson continued.  Dave’s white pants didn’t remain white as he stepped into the irrigation canal between paddies. Everyone had a good laugh!

Meanwhile, I’ve been hanging out and learning about Naioth, stepping in to help where I can.  I’ve been singing songs with the littles at the daycare, grating tomatoes to add to the sauces for the lunches that we’ve enjoyed.  They've fed us well - no dieting here. I'm also entertaining a little 18 month old while his mama cooks.  He’s been calling me “Auntie”.  Some of the little ones at the daycare have adopted me, and like me own grandchildren, try to sit as closely as they can. 

helping out by grating tomatoes

some of the littles from the daycare

my little friend - following his Mama T.