dark star safari

*the stars of manga, revealing girls' duty around sunset-collecting water from the river in buckets to bring back to their homes for cooking/bathing/washing*

I’m currently reading Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux, a tale of the author’s (returned PC volunteer) adventures through the African continent, from Cairo to Capetown. I just finished his chapter on his time in Tanzania, and he just so happened to pass through Makambako, my closest town. His description is classic: “Makambako was not a town at all, but just a collection of howels on a stretch of paved road where idle people sat or stood. Boys called out in jeering voices, and pretended they were going to throw stones at us…there was a gas station but it was derelict, abandoned, and few man-made objects are uglier than an abandoned gas station…what had been mud huts before were now shanties made of scrap labor…the old women selling fruit and peanuts bowed their heads against the cold gritty wind that tore at broken thorn scrub.”

Sooooo, who wants to come visit me now? Oh yea. Appealing, eh? Thanks a million, Paul.

Anyway, I thought I’d include some views from my bike ride to and from the Secondary School. A pretty scenic ride--perhaps more scenic than Makambako:




*a wee goat herder i passed on ride*


*Mama Mwakabongo-assistant headmaster’s wife expecting a baby any day now and weaving a traditional mbeya mat*

And some other scenes from life in the village:


*sara learning in Kiswahili how to follow the directions for “quick rice” and other flavored rice packets from the US.she was amazed that it was possible to cook rice so fast and with flavor.thanks dad for some taste of home*


*my house with everything in bloom*


*my garden with NOTHING in bloom. i’m learning slowly. however, the tanzanian corn and beans which sara planted are doing great. i was really late planting the US corn--next year perhaps?*


*my sweet little church on easter-just a short walk from my house. i sang at this service in the choir. why not? there's also only 4 of us total in the choir. big time*



The pictures above display my church on Palm Sunday when we had many children baptized, including the younger brother of my friend, Sara (her family pictured last), who helps me around the house. She has 5 brothers and sisters (only partially pictured). Her mama's in my mamas group, sewing beautiful baskets.

Other Manga news: I came back from weekend trip to find out one of my favorite mamas had died the day before of a snake bite. It was a shock to everyone. The saddest part is that she leaves behind 5 children, 1 still nursing, and unfortunately, her husband is worthless—spends every pesa the family earns on alcohol at the local bar.

Apparently, after being bitten one evening collecting bamboo juice, this mama decided to see the village witchdoctor for treatment rather than seeing the village doctor first. She was too late to get the “correct” treatment to reduce the poison and hence, suffered until death. She died only 1 month after being bitten. The whole village is still shaken. Her passing is a huge loss for all of Manga as she was a true volunteer-very giving, hard-working, involved and a greatly admired wife and mother.

This unfortunate situation is revealing of the vicious cycle of poverty: family’s lack of money> poor nutrition and lack of education >
premature death > reduced stability emotionally and financially > resultingly lack of sufficient education and nutrition for family/relatives..and hence, the cycle continues…

I had an interesting conversation in Makambako with a tribal (not sure which) man over a cup of my favorite beverage, chai ya maziwa. He was excited to see me, a stranger, and wanted immediately to know what tribe I came from in Europe. I informed him (the majority of Tanzanians I’ve come across down here assume all white people live in Europe) that I wasn’t from Europe, but hail from America, where tribes don’t exist. He just looked at me in disbelief. Imagine telling someone who’s entire life, dress, food, practices—EVERYTHING HE/SHE KNOWS--revolve around this identity and me, another human being, has NONE. He couldn’t quite grasp how such a thing would be possible. Needless to say, the rest of the conversation was pretty frustrating. He didn’t really know how to talk to someone without a “culture.” My great great grandmother and grandfather came from Scotland and England, I said, but we don’t really continue any of their practices. At this point, he became pretty disinterested with the stranger…and there I was, just being strange, kama kuwaida.

House update: the sink has been completed! Newsflash. It only took 2 months to make my village handymen to break from funeral going, goat caring, and other activities in order to do it. This construction will ease housework immensely and be a nice addition to the home for the next volunteer. So far, I’ve found the following to be the #1 handyman excuse here in Tanzania: funerals. It’s really extraordinary how many funerals there have been of late. Apparently this is the season, particularly due to the influx of mosquitoes-i.e. malaria.

I was excited to have a mama come to my house seeking nutrition advice for her baby who’s continuing to lose weight. It inspired me to make some big informational posters to hang up at the dispensary as well as at the bus stop (humorous that I’m calling it a bus stop—more like a village junction. The one truck from town stops here and unloads people, bags of corn, tomatoes, etc.).

I’m also looking forward to hearing results from a grant I submitted to the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam requesting funds on behalf of my Secondary School to construct a girls’ hostel. Why is it needed? (the following bits from my grant):

Sexual Harassment. Harassment by neighboring community members and fellow male students is quite common during the girls’ journeys home. Raping and unwanted pregnancies tend to be occurring more and more often. Since the school’s opening in 2003, 2 girls have died in efforts to abort pregnancies.

Dropouts due to transportation hardships. In 2003, 8 girls dropped out due to the difficulties of walking over 4 hours to and from school. This journey, in addition to their duties at home, proves to be unbearable for young girls, who are also trying to advance their education.

Lack of Academic Priority. Currently, girls return home to cook, clean, and care for younger siblings and their male counterparts, leaving little, if any, time for their studies. In order to succeed in academics, students need to review everyday outside of the classroom; however, for girls lacking time and support at home, there is no way to enforce such practices.

Sleeping on floors during exam periods. The Form 2 and Form 4 classes are required to sleep at the school on the classroom floors due to night review classes for six months, from June until November. This is enforced in order to save the long travel time to and from school.

It's hard to fathom that $13,000 will cover construction of a boarding facility to sleep over 80 girls, providing showers, toilets, as well as a matron’s home! Amazing. Bang for the buck. I’d be grateful for all of your good thoughts and prayers towards this venture. It’s essential for these girls.

Countdown til my mom comes to visit: 3 days! I can not wait to have her in country. Here’s our tentative itinerary. We’ll be crossing our fingers transport is good to us:

May 13-14: Dar es Salaam. City comforts.
May 15-16: Ruaha National Park for an off-the-
beaten path/this-is-no-Serengeti safari in SW TZ.
May 17-18: Kisolanza Farmhouse. Cozy stay in
cottages on a working organic farm with nice hiking. Not far from…
May 19-24: MANGA! Welcome to the village
mom. Karibu ugali, choos, and all the village has to offer-warm people, singing, dancing, drumming. They’re ready for you! Get ready to greet at the schools, sing at church, and cook with the mamas. Yeehaw.
May 25-26: Dar to depart L.

Clearly, I’ll have lots of good stories for the June blog.
Love and grace,
Tait