becoming home

MY FRIEND FELISIANA


*also just created ofoto picture album of highlights:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=olphhl7.18tk4fc3&x=1&y=-98an4t

so much has happened in the past few weeks as i've tried to settle into the rythym of the village - watching, learning when the men play soccer matches, the women take their corn to grind, the kids run screaming back and forth to school, when the one bus comes through the one and only crossroads, when "pombe" (local brew made from corn flour-usually imbibed by bibis and babas-grandmas and pops-only) is brewed, etc. every day is different and unique. but here's some of the latest happenings/observations that have made life interesting:

i'm excited to have discovered a treasure of an NGO called CHASAWAYA in Makambako (about 20 K away); it's dedicated to helping orphans of HIV/AIDS, most of whom are not in school for various reasons. they also organize village health outreach and peer education in villages such as mine! i biked to their office and back for the first time this week - 1 hour there as the sunrose and 1 1/2 hrs as sun set on the way back up the hills to Manga. it was a glorious ride there...not as glorious on the way back, just b/c it was a tough climb. i returned content with my day and visit to CHASAWAYA's new school site a bit out of town. they're currently constructing the stone foundation for 3 rooms total - 2 classrooms, and 1 office/staff room. the founder, Kaduma, is a charismatic woman, who felt called to helping these children she noticed growing in number on the streets of Makambako. she quit her profession as a teacher to start this NGO, and funny enough, received a lot of funding when she first started out from CARE-International! what are the chances? when i found this out, i knew i had found my place. although i've only visited her 3 times, i feel more and more confident about assisting them regularly and making them a permanent spot in my schedule...and maybe even selecting Kaduma to be my counterpart (Peace Corps requires this selection by November for our 3-month mark training in Dar es Salaam Nov 7-14th). time will tell...

i'm also happy to be feeling more comfortable with my 2 wonderful neighbors. they are like family. we share vegetables and cook together and laugh...it's so comforting having them around. we greet each other every morning before their work at the health center, and then again during the day, and at night, they usually come check on my to make sure i'm set for nourishing myself (that i have enough food, if i need help cooking ugali - it's an art and i don't have the touch quite yet, etc.), the night before i left for njombe, we watched the sunset together as Atu braided another woman's hair. we chatted, waiting for their banana cake to finish baking. i had given the 2 of them, the headmaster's wife, and my swahili teacher, Aidan (a male-shocking that he wanted to learn), a banana-cake-making lesson the other evening. they were so excited having never made it before, and it turned out just right and golden brown. then we cooked together - ugali, a tomato sauce with eggs, and green vegetables sauteed like spinach, splurging with banana cake and hot milk (a huge treat) for dessert. good times. we also laughed about lida's 2 year old daughter, felisiana (in picture above), peeing on me earlier that day...all over my lap! she's adorable!

i happened to accidentally fall into a CCM rally (the leading political party here), in support of leading candidate, Makweta. elections are quickly approaching in October and the ads/signs/word is out even in the village! Mama Makweta made a surprise appearance in a church in Makambako.it was interesting to see the possible future First Lady of TZ!

i had my 2nd swahili lesson with Aidan (mentioned above), a local man with a rare secondary education, and--just found out--2 wives/2 separate homes. however, he missed our session #3 because as a "balozi" or representative of Manga, he had to oversee the "hearing" of a case of a stolen bike the other night. am i living in the bush or what??!!! yes, someone's bike was stolen down the road and the balozis had to sit and discuss into the night about what to do/how to punish, etc...not sure what was determined finally. it's reassuring - clearly, manga is quite a safe place to live, and demonstrates how rarely theft occurs.

i witnessed my first childbirth at the health center! talk about AMAZING! truly, a miracle. i waited with Atu and the doctor for 5 hours and observed her running/jumping (practice here to induce contractions), contractions when they finally began, popping of a membrane (hernia?), the baby - VOILA, and lastly, the placenta emerging. what a chain of events! it was fascinating to me how uninterested the parents were in seeing their new child; the father (who happened to be the VEO - village executive officer) of course was completely uninvolved in the entire birthing and waited for about 15 minutes after baby was born to even enter to see his wife (he laughed when i told him american fathers usually are present during birth, and do coaching/comforting, saying "you can do it" or "i love you" -- he found that hilarious). the parents didn't even know what it was until i grabbed her (yes, it was a healthy girl) and brought her to them. i was so moved...

last weekend, i was invited to participate in both the standard 7 graduation at the primary school on saturday and a wedding in a neighboring village the next day after church. celebrations of any kind here translates into dancing, drums, singing, and speeches. and danced we did. i broke it down with the sloshed bibis (on "pombe"), my neighbors, local men in masks with drums, and kids with such beat, you wouldn't believe! the villagers got such a kick out of me dancing with them, side by side. the more i shook, the more they laughed, and i think accepted me. and oh, how they love the pomp and circumstance. the white girl has the speech down pat as i'm asked to say it when i make an appearance anywhere official--at church, schools, weddings, sendoffs, etc. they love it when i greet in kibena, their tribal language, or throw in a kiswahili proverb like "drop by drop it fills the bucket," referring to how my language will come, and how i will soon be like them, a true kibena. one day...

i went to a stellar girls empowerment conference last week in mafinga (town north of here), held at a local mission (meaning staffed by real tanzania nuns - quite a sight). it was a breathtaking place - overlooking a lush valley, speckled with acacia and eucalyptus trees. their were outdoor activities - even a low ropes course - for the girls invited from various villages to boost their self confidence. (hil, it reminded me of when your dad took us to that place near toxaway). there's so much work here do be done on changing the gender imbalance. it was inspiring to see how even after 4 days, these girls were standing a bit taller, speaking louder (most girls here in school speak into their hands, slumped over), and smiling - yes smiling. it was great to watch them evolve.

i'm trying to apply the same teachings with my housegirl, sarah, who's helping me around the house. she's fantastic - 15 yrs old and works like a dog. she helps me mop, do dishes, wash clothes, and even cook a bit (activities i used to spend 1/2 of every day doing). we're also exchanging recipes. we made tortillas and banana bread this week, and shared some tuna my dad mailed me (Asante!) - she loved it."tam sana" she said - "delicious." so, we're having fun, and i'm asking her what her goals are, what she'd like to be/do...goal-setting is such a foreign concept to young people here, especially to girls as they have little control in deciding their future....and thus, very little hope. sarah finished std 7 last year, which is where most people in the village end their education. in fact, only 4 people in manga have continued to seconday school. INSANE! but it makes sense-they can't afford it, even though to us it seems like pennies-about $40/year. anyway, sarah said she wanted to continue, maybe to a technical school, to learn to sew...she's not sure, but i was happy to hear her express 1 goal.

the other day, i insisted on walking her home, as i'd never seen where she lives. she was embarrassed, but we continued, passing my supervisor, mhagama, the doctor at the health center. he was buying a soda at the duka and invited me to join him. "no," i said, "i'm walking sarah home." he seemed shocked that i would do such a thing, choosing her (someone so "low" in society) over him (a man who holds great power as the 1 clinical officer or "doctor" - although he didn't receive full training to be a doctor - arguably the most educated man in manga). it felt sooo good to empower her indirectly. she smiled. she couldn't believe it. this man has serious chauvinistic and power-tripping tendencies that i refuse to be party to. so in small ways, i'm hoping to show him and her what equality is all about. it's really about how you choose to live and behave on a daily basis. who are you talking to, valueing? are you responding to people with love or in fear?

okay, those are my thoughts of late. i'd love to hear yours. so, keep the letters from home coming. i LOVE to go into makambako to my little po box and find news from home. thanks to those of you who have cheered up my days with dried fruit and fun letters. you have no idea...
peace,
tait

*wish list: materials for teaching - markers, pens, anything to brighten up that oh-so-white flip chart paper!

*by the way, my proposal to run the marathon in nairobi for HIV/AIDS and girls' empowerment was denied :(. i'm disappointed, but know there will be more opportunities to do the same in the future, like the mt. kili 1/2 and full marathon in february, 2006! anyone out there interested in joining and fundraising? let me know...more to come on that.