Shanga House

Oct 31

Today was the day I found out the thing I miss most from Canada, a washing machine. It's all hand washing here, and in total it took me about an hour and a half to do my laundry, and that was going fast too. On the other hand I am actually getting really good at navigating the city, and even made it all the way to the ATM and back on my own today, easily fending off the advances of pushy street children and vendors. Around lunch time today we went to Shanga House, a place were disabled people make crafts. They are mostly blind deaf or paralazied, and everything is made from recycled materials. There are about 40 workers there in total. While there I had some delecious Tanzanian coffee, then we took a tour of the workshops, where a wide variety of things are made, including various items made of fabric, woven and sewn, blown glass beads jewellery and ornaments. All the glass and beads are made of melted down bottles. Some of their items support various causes other than the disabled people as well, for example $2 from every stuffed elephant goes towards saving elephants from poaching. After this it was a fairly relaxed afternoon, then off to the club, which was actually mostly outdoors, with the dancefloor being a massive wooden deck. We danced untill 3 and then went home.

Pictures
1. my laundry adventure
2. A deaf worker blowing glass at Shanga House

Friday

Oct 30

Today was the day that about half of the volunteers in the house left for Nairobi. Because of this, and the CCM winning the election (safety concerns), there weren't as many volunteers at the orphanage today. It was still very fun though, and the kids were more focused in class than past days. On Friday there is no second class, and an extra hour of playtime! I have become almost like a human jungle gym for the kids, and sometimes have as many as five of them climbing me. Another perk to Friday is that the kids got candy with their lunch, and got to play with some donated nail polish. The day was over very quickly, and then it was time to go home and enjoy the weekend! It was relatively quiet in town today, and no sign of any riots or otherwise because of the election results. This could partly be because people are very afraid of the government, as they do not take kindly to people speaking out against them. One of the highlights of the day was being able to sleep through the noises of the mosque for the first time this morning!

Pictures are various shots of the orphanage, the first one is my best friend there.

Contrasts

Oct 29

Today I saw a man walking in shoes made out of tires. This is actually not uncommon, and by far not the most striking example of poverty I have seen here. However this man was engaged in talking on his cell phone. An interesting contrast, from a malnourished man clad in only a blanket. It makes you think about the values we seem to have adopted as a society. Today was a normal day at the orphanage, except for the fact that I experienced standing in a dala dala for the first time, an experience I would not like to repeat. There is no way to stabilise yourself, so you are constantly being tossed around. As well I was too tall so I spent the whole time with my neck crushed down. At the start of our day at the orphanage two of the girls I work with took a little girl with eye problems to the hospital. On our way out of the orphanage we met up with them, and joined them in delivering the girl and her medicine to her mother. Our party consisted of 5 volunteers, a worker from the orphanage, and Godfrey, the man who runs the orphanage. Our first stop was to get some food into the little girl, at a little rotted out shack in a banana grove not far from the orphanage. Then we continued making our way through banana groves and past little run down shacks and houses. The most striking thing about this little trip was that beside these small houses were big mansions, with shiny new cars parked out  front. Godfrey told me that the people living in these houses get new cars every year, but never help the people in poverty around them. The little girl lives in a concrete house with two small rooms and a tin roof, with just her mother. Her mother has HIV and her father died in a motorcycle crash. The mother accepted the medicine, directions, and two sandwiches gratefully, and then we were on our way again.

About the election:

Finally the results are (almost) in! First a bit of background. There are two main parties in Tanzania. The CCM is the party in power, and has been for over 50 years now, Chadema is the opposition, popular among younger voters. The Area where I am staying is mostly Chadema. The CCM is very corrupt, so alot of people want them out, but Chadema coming in has the risk of still more corruption. Godfrey is very strongly anti CCM, as they take the money that is allowed for orphanages and development and pocket it for themselves. Sadly, it looks like CCM is going to win. Their presidential candidate has already won and it looks like the rest will follow suit. The verdict is still out on Zanzibar, as the vote was recalled by CCM because they didn't win, and it is being re-done. All the house staff are dismayed by the result, and there was a very somber mood at dinner tonight.

Pictures:
1. The banana groves
2. My view after a days work
3. My second roomate tonight!
Lala salama!

Getting The Hang Of It

Oct. 28, the second day at the orphanage.

I am now starting to learn a little more Swahili, and alot more of the orphans name. Today was an average day with singing, playing and teaching. One little guy just wanted to be carried around the whole day. Construction of the dormitories was halted today due to lack of funds. This project is very important, as it gives the orphans a home, and capable people to care for them 24 hours a day. They will always have enough to eat, and just be in an all around better living situation. As well, this cuts the commute out of their day, some having to walk hours to get to the orphanage. My gofundme account remains open, and all the money I receive will go towards this project. I learned not to trust dala dala touts today as one tried to short me 4500 shillings. Other than that, a typical day in Tanzania! My original post for this day did not post so this is a watered down version of what I had originally written.

I hope to post more photos soon, but there are a couple reasons why I haven't been taking many:

People always want you to pay to take photos
Anything that could be remotely considered a strategic target is off limits
Trying to make yourself seem less like a tourist is essential, so whipping your phone out all the time to take pictures is I'll advised
Orphans are fascinated by phones so if you're not careful you can be mobbed

Having said all that I am getting more ballsy so there should be more photos in later posts.

Kwaheri!

The Orphanage

The 27th was my first day at the orphanage.

Still not adapted to the noise I was once again woken up by the mosque. Today fresh watermelon was served with breakfast, and then it was off to the orphanage. It is a long journey to get to Upendo Face, about a 30 minute walk through the city, then a 15 minute dala dala (minibus) ride, then another 10 minute walk to get to the orphanage. Dala dalas are quite the experience, they consist of a driver and a person to take money and corall people to his specific bus. They aren't all entirely trustworthy, and will try to shortchange you if possible. As many people as possible will be crammed in, sitting, standing, hanging off the back, sometimes as many as 20-25 people per bus. Drivers are reckless and generally there are religious slogans on the bus, such as "work hard pray hard" or sometimes images of the pope. The buses themselves are generally falling apart, and are painted in vibrant colours. The 15 minute ride we take costs about 500 tsh one way. Upon arriving to the orphanage children flock to the volunteers, demanding to be picked up. After storing our packs in the office it's time to play with the orphans. Games include soccer, jump rope or just running around. Soon, we all gather in a circle holding hands and sing for a few minutes, then it's off to class. I was helping out in class three, the class second to the top, with children mostly aged 5 and 6. We teach the children English, as well as letters and numbers. Most of them are at the point where they can write their names. The basic Swahili to interact with the children is a steep learning curve, but it is coming easier with time. There is an hour long break at 11:00, then one more hour of class. After this we help the children wash up, and serve them lunch, usually rice with a spicy sauce. After playing for another little while, we gather in a circle again, and sing, then it is time to leave. After the long journey home we hang out at the house until dinner, more Tanzanian pancakes with a stew. I am exhausted after the days work, so after watching the nights kill ball game, I go to bed.

Day 1

At 5 in the morning I woke to the sounds of prayer at a nearby mosque. Then again at 5:30

After that I was able to sleep in to about 8, but it is evident the day starts early here. Boiled eggs and fresh banana for breakfast, then orientation. After going over ground rules and other important information, I was given a tour of the city. I am in more of a rural area but a short walk away the transformation into a bustling city begins. There are people in vibrant clothing, women in burqas and balancing plates of fruit on their head. In the daylight the poverty is more apparent, but everyone here seems happy enough. Baobabs, various palms and jacaranda trees with purple flowers line the streets, as well as garbage. Fearless crossing of roads and fending off street vendors is nessecary to navigate the city. We first went to an ATM which did not work, but we soon found one that would. I ended up having to withdraw 600, 000 tsh, and their highest denomination of bill is 10 000. It barely fit in my wallet. The tour continued with attempting to get a sim card (which did not work) and showing me various stores restaurants and places to hang out. I then had lunch at fifis café, which is currently my only source of internet, and dessert at Afracafe, which had delicious cakes. As the election is still being counted (final results not due in till Wednesday evening, 3 days after election day) I wasn't able to go to the orphanage today, but it was nice to spend some time around the town with the other volunteers. When we got back to the house I had a second lunch of potatoes and fresh pineapples, which were delecious. After buying some nessecities from a vendor across the street who spoke very little English, I did not do much for the rest of the evening, as the combination of jet lag and heat was wearing me out. For dinner we had a stew of vegetables and a kind of sweet thin pancake, both local Tanzanian dishes. After that, we played a few games, involving the volunteer invented "kill-ball" (I don't even understand how it works so I won't try to explain it). As I went to bed, I realised I was starting to become more accustomed to the raucous noises of the streets outside.

Written on the 26-27
About the 26

The view from my apartment

My and Andreas' room

10000 Tanzanian shillings, about $6 Canadian

Sleep is For The Weak

Well it's been a hell of a ride so far.

The entire trip took about 32 hours, including an eight hour layover in Vancouver, and a 9 and 8 hour flight, with only half an hour to get to my gate in between. Throughout this I only slept about 2 hours on one of the flights. Upon arriving in Arusha I was greeted by a gust of hot air and the view of palm trees waving in the wind and baobabs, gnarled and strong. Customs was luckily a breeze, although they did scan every single one of my fingerprints. I was excited to find my guitar intact at baggage claim and then was picked up by Chris, one of the support staff at the volunteer house. When we arrived at the car I attempted to get in the drivers side, a mistake that Chris was used to as every volunteer living here did it when they first arrived. The drive from Kilimanjaro to Arusha is about an hour so I had lots of time to take in the scenery, Tanzanians walking along the road, luxurious houses, and houses that were some of the most run down shacks I have seen in my life. Driving here is more of an art than anything, and seatbelts are not nessecary. Watching the flow of weaving, pothole dodging and signaling with high beams made me glad I was not in the drivers seat. There does not seem to be posted speed limits, but in more populated areas speed bumps are abundant. The day I arrived was the day of the Tanzanian election, and as the results were coming in, a massive citywide party was starting, for all those that were happy with the results. It takes much longer for everything to be counted up here, so the results are not all in as I write this but it looks as if Chadema has won, taking over from the CCM, who have been in power for over 50 years. Chadema is popular among younger Tanzanians, so many here in Arusha are in the midst of celebrations. The volunteer house is three stories, and contains around 11 volunteers currently. There are only two boys, me and my roomate Andreas from Denmark. The rest of the girls are mostly from Denmark as well but there are also some from Germany, Belgium and Latvia. Everyone here has been very kind and accepting so far. That night I fell asleep to the sound of loud music, cheering and roosters and dogs fighting in the streets.

Internet is very limited for me here, so I will be writing these posts offline, and posting a bunch of them when I get a chance!

Written on Oct. 26
About Oct. 24-25

Pre-Departure

Hi everyone!

I have created this blog as a way of keeping everyone in the loop of what I'm up to while I'm away. As you probably know I'm going to Tanzania, a country on the east coast of Africa, south of Kenya, and North of Mozambique. I will be spending most of my time working at an orphanage just outside of Arusha, which is the gateway to the northern safari circuit in Tanzania. It's been a long process getting ready for this trip, but finally I am ready to go. The last few months have just been a whirlwind of vaccines, paperwork and preparation, but it has finally come together. I'm going to keep this post short, but expect to hear a lot more about my travels in the next few days!

Kwaheri!