Up the Mountain

It's been a busy week, but on Wednesday, the liturgical reading from the gospel caught my eye.  Here it is Saturday morning but I  (David) wanted to take some time to comment on it, since I found it very meaningful.

From Matthew 15

At that time:

Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,went up on the mountain, and sat down there.Great crowds came to him,having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,and many others.They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,the deformed made whole,the lame walking,and the blind able to see,and they glorified the God of Israel

While I wish to God that I could just reach out my hand, touch one of our students, Edward Apolo, on the shoulder and he would be healed of his cerebral palsy (and believe me I pray he gets cured), I certainly do believe there is much we can all do to bring healing to the lives of people with disabilities.   

And it starts with us.  Jesus never would have been able to cure the people he did had the crowds not known he would receive them.  It strikes me as I read over the passage that Jesus did not go out and find these people with mobility issues, but that their friends and family brought them to Him.  That's a lot of faith and compassion to carry or guide your friend or son who can't walk up a mountain to have them meet with Jesus.  What efforts are we making to bring our friends and family members with disabilities to simply a better life experience, let alone an encounter with their Savior.

Here in Tanzania, we are still struggling with this concept.  Schools are integrated with kids with disabilities in name only.  Literally you are barred from coming to school if you have a disability.  Furthermore, programs that do provide support for people with disabilities are usually boarding schools, where more well to do parents can send their students off and forget about them for a good amount of time.  But at Huruma Special Unit, we are trying to make a place where parents and society can bring their family and friends to a place of growth, of education, and recognition of the God given dignity.

Yesterday, the parents of the students met for their bi-annual meeting.  Huruma's principal was somewhat upset by the low turnout (12 of 42 families showed up).  I also was somewhat disappointed, but in my broken Swahili, I tried to cheer them up by telling them that they were the ones that would make the difference.  In America, almost seventy years ago we were at similar levels of treatment for people with disabilities and it was the parents that pushed the government to make serious changes (not that America is perfect in this issue).  Hopefully some of my message came through.   

Still, the faith of these 12 parents who came despite the societal message that they are wasting their time, despite the economic pressures they face just trying to feed their families, despite the long walk up to Huruma with the imminent threat of rain (and boy did it rain hard during the meeting!) presses me to invite you.

This Christmas season will you join those crowds of 2000 years ago and these 12 (and more) parents of Tanzania?  Your prayers and your financial support can make a huge difference.  Pray for courage for these parents and that others will take heart to join them in bringing quality education to children with disabilities.  Pray that support would come in for next year so that Huruma can continue to pay its trained, dedicated staff in their calling ($40 a month covers all expenses for one child- mklm.org/Rossers).  And pray, most importantly, that these children would come to know the curing power of Jesus love.  Miracles do happen.

Thank you and Happy Advent

Parents of students at Huruma at Friday's meeting.

Just wanted to keep you posted on the progress of Yasmine, one of our students with cerebral palsy at Huruma who is making great progress learning to walk.  As you can see (from this better quality video) she has been climbing down stairs all by herself!  Stay tuned for when she starts taking steps on her own!

Walking down stairs!

At Huruma Special Unit (David's school) we have opened up a new classroom at the Pasiansi Parish to alleviate the cost of transporting students who live far from our school in Nyasaka.  One of the hidden benefits of this classroom is the stairs right next to it are great tools for physical therapy.  A woman from the Netherlands named Esther, herself a physical therapist, suggested we use them as such when she visited on Wednesday.  Here is Yasmine, who up until now could not walk on her own, discovering how to walk down stairs with as little help as possible.  As you can see she was very happy!

Sorry, the video starts out with high contrast, but gets better contrast the further she gets down the stairs.

David snapped these picture on his walk to school today.  These are girls in Standard Seven carrying water to their school to wash their classroom the day before they take the test to determine whether they get into secondary school or not.

Tomorrow is the day that somewhere near 100,000 Standard Seven students will be taking their test to determine whether they get into secondary school (yes, secondary school, not college).  We have heard from multiple accounts that this year there are many more students than spots.  For a young girl or boy in one of the poorest countries in the world this could be a determining day.  Please remember them in your prayers.

Have you ever wondered what David has been up to at his ministry?  Well, now you can check up on him whenever you want!  Check out www.facebook.com/HurumaSpecialUnit.  Here's a quick preview:

Magalata, Lake Eyasi and Beyond!

A little while ago, we took a little camping trip out to Lake Eyasi and the village of Magalata.  It was pretty amazing going out to the "ends of the earth" and spending some time with the Wataturu people. Here are some highlights.

The People

The Wataturu people are a small tribe that has many similarities to the Masai- nomadic, they were plaid kangas (like a thin blanket) and herd cows and goats.  They have been strongly resistant to modernizing forces and have been mostly successful by living hours from a main road in a place some of us may consider the "ends of the earth". They have gone to great lengths to preserve their culture, but with the exception of one drunk man who wouldn't let us camp near his family home without giving him "chai" (ie a bribe), all of the Wataturu people that we met were warm and VERY curious about what we were up to. 

David with Tom, an exceptionally educated Mtaturu
 who spoke some English and Swahili (most Wataturu only speak KiTaturu.

Fathers Dan and John, both having served in the area for more than 50 years.  It was an inspiring privilege to hear their stories and watch the way these men interacted with the people- so much wisdom gained over the years.

The Company
Our first stop on our trip was to Ndoleji where we met Fathers Dan, Hung, Don and John.  Hung is a newcomer to the area, but Dan, Don and John have been serving there for over 50 years.  They all had amazing stories about working with the people and describing the changes that have come to the area.  Dan has done some great work building windmills and water tanks for the different villages. In all, it was very inspiring to be amongst these resilient men of faith and learn of their legacies.










The Scenery

The second night we wound our way off road following cattle trails and scrapping past bushes to camp by a dry river bed on the edge of the rift valley.  It was distinct scenery with the rift rising above us and a flat salt lake spreading out to the south.  We set up camp and soon were welcomed by some of the local Watuturu.  They were very intrigued by our different ways of doing everything (or at least we think they were intrigued- they weren't laughing!).  We got up the next morning and hiked about two miles out to some natural pools made in the rock a short way up the rift.  The hike was a little grueling in the sun, but the swim was refreshing for those of us who partook.

The view from our campsite.

The Hospitality

The last night of our trip was spent in Magalata, a tiny village in the middle of what looked like a "moonscape" to some, where Father Dan works with a Small Christian Community. We spent the night sleeping under the stars in a small fenced in compound where Dan stays when he visits the community. The community of 14 Catholics welcomed us with open arms, cooked us a large feast of rice, chicken and beans and then invited us to participate in their nightly worship said in their Wataturu language.

Some of the children in the Small Christian Community if Magalata.


Overall the trip was an incredible experience. It is hard to describe it with words. Here are some pictures that hopefully explain a bit more.

A young Wataturu herder.

By the shores of Lake Eyasi

Sunrise over Lake Eyasi.

Father Mike Basano or Moses?  Mike works near Musoma at Kigera Village and made the trip a lot of fun with his jokes and many folk songs.  

Liz Mach consults with a Wataturu woman.

Of the many things they have in common, probably one of the most special is Father Mike and Caitlin's love for babies.

More babies!

A traditionally dressed Wataturu woman.  

A "salt farm" on Lake Eyasi where many hard workers were collecting salt.

Caitlin catching up on her sodium chloride.

Caitlin catching up on her teaching fix.  Anywhere she goes, this woman finds a way to teach early literacy skills.

The longest one mile walk to the much acclaimed "pools" on the edge of the rift valley. It was hot.

80 year old Father John asking the rest of us why we are complaining so much.  Living in this region for fifty years doesn't make you a couch potato!

Finally we arrived at the pools for a refreshing swim.  Some of us were a little suspect of the water quality.  Others, dove right in!

St. Francis of the Baobabs.  On the ride back to Mwanza, every time we saw one of these amazing trees, Father Mike just had to stop get out and appreciate it's wonder.

The mighty Baobab.

And wonderful they are!  It was a great trip!  Hope you enjoyed the pics (Many thanks to Father Hung who supplied a lot of them, especially the good ones).

Huruma on Facebook!

Huruma Special Unit is now on facebook! Like us and you will get updates on your newsfeed about the progress of the school David is working at. just go to www.facebook.com/HurumaSpecialUnit and click like!

Karibu facebook!

Chachachachanges…..

I know, I know. We are terrible at blogging. Sorry. We’ll try harder. I promise. I also promise that we won’t start every blog with an apology.  A few changes have gone down over the last few weeks so I thought I would get everyone in the loop. Here’s the abbreviated version: New principal, new ministry opportunity, AND new dog!

New Principal

After a month off of school, I have returned to meet our “new” principal or as Tanzanian say “Head Teacher”. The day before we got out for vacation I showed up at the school to find all of the teachers sitting in the hallway chatting. When I asked what they were doing, they said “Planning Grace’s going away party!” I must say I was pretty taken aback since the day before I had been talking to Grace  (the mkuu)about events coming up in August and she failed to mention that she would be leaving in two days. Long story short, the next day we said “good bye” to Grace, headed out for school vacation and month later we have a “new” mkuu. I say “new” because the replacement principal is actually a teacher who has been promoted.

 Her name is Sister Oliva and she is awesome. She just doesn’t know it yet. Last Monday when I asked her what she thought about her new job she said “I don’t know how to do anything.” I told her that I would help her as much as I can and she seemed very pleased. The truth is, she is very organized and professional and I think with some cheering on, she is going to be great. The best thing is I have had a lot of time to build a relationship with her in the classroom and she seems to respect my ideas, so with God’s help, maybe we can start fixing some of the broken systems in the school that have been tugging on my heart like shaming and hitting. I am very optimistic that positive change is coming to Butimba. Please pray for Sister Oliva that she finds the confidence and time (oh yeah, I forgot to mention that she still has a full classroom full of kids to teach on top of her new job) to bring changes of compassion to our preschool.

New Ministry Opportunity

Over the two months that I observed in the two general ed classrooms at Butimba, I felt myself being more and more drawn to new special education classroom at our school. I started visiting the classroom during my break between morning and afternoon classes and found that I really enjoyed working with the students. I was also very impressed with their teacher, Salome. Salome used to teach at David’s school, Huruma, but when presented with the chance to start a new special ed program in an area that really needed it, she dropped everything and moved out to Butimba.

The more time I spent in Salome’s classroom, the more I realized how much help she could use.  I discovered that she had three big roadblocks. 1) No money. After chatting with Salome I found out that the parish priest who had promised to fund the program, doesn’t actually have the money he thought he would so Salome is essentially working for free.  2) No community support. It also came out that the parish community as a whole isn’t thrilled about the special education program.  3) No teacher’s assistant. On a normal day Salome only has 5 to 6 students in her classroom but the students range in age from 7 to 16 and have disabilities of varying levels of severity. It is nearly impossible for her to accommodate all of their unique needs on her own.

The first two issues are huge and will take some time and prayers, but the third issue is something that I feel like I can tackle. While I will still be assisting Sister Oliva and the other teachers in the general education classroom 2 full days a week, I have volunteered myself to assist Salome 3 mornings a week. My hope is that my presence in her classroom will lift her spirits and make her feel more supported while also showing the parish priest and community as a whole that I think the special education program in invaluable.  

So far, I have spent 2 weeks in Salome’s classroom and I love it. This week we only had 4 kids so it has been really nice to get some one on one time with each student. Some of the kids have pretty profound disabilities so at this point Salome and I are somewhat at a loss for what to teach them, but as for now we are just trying to keep smiles on their faces and I think we are doing a pretty good job.

New Dog

After months of going back and forth with a metalworking fundi (Swahili word for repairman/expert) about getting two gates made, we finally had some atrocious gates built so we could bring home our pup Tequila. She is a three year old mutt who was living with our regional coordinator’s step-son and she in sweet and very well behaved. She is a 100 percent outdoor dog (won’t even try to step foot inside when the door is wide open) but she loves to be around us. She also really likes sitting outside with Julius and Christopher (our guards) at night while we sleep too.  She doesn’t chase the chickens or bother people walking in and out of the compound during the day, but she will bark like crazy if someone comes in the gate at night or walks towards us when we are sitting out on the porch with her. Her only fault is that she has to eat and unless you want to spend around 30 dollars a bag, the only way to feed a dog in Tanzania is to cook for her, so every night, I do just that. I put on my Tanzanian chef hat and cook her up some ugali (think really thick mashed potatoes made out of white corn flour) and dagaa (tiny dried fish) and she is a happy dog. She really has made this house of ours feel more like a home. Don’t ask what we are going to do with her in three years when we go home….

Inclusion is coming!

Mwalimu Godfrey helps Yohana get ready for the "potato sack" race as Joseph from Huruma and other kids from Pasiansi primary school look on.

David didn't do much, but he suggested one day that the kids with disabilities from Shule Huruma could play with the kids from the primary school next door during recess.  For some reason, when he started at Huruma, this wasn't happening. However, one of the teachers, Mwalimu Godfrey really got it together and organized some games and all the kids love it. Now it is a regular event that the kids without disabilities come over to play with our kids. At first they were kind of shy but David and the other teachers have been guiding them in introducing themselves and shaking hands- and with kids, that's usually about what it takes.  Oh, we have a few kinks with some of our kids; one particular little deaf boy named Yohana is still learning how to play nice, but we are making progress.  This was a huge step towards integrating kids with disabilities and kids without.  

Mwalimu Agnes jokes with some of the
kids from the primary school

For those of you who saw David's facebook birthday requests and decided to help out, thanks a ton!  Know that because of your help, soon more kids who can only get to school by bus will be able to experience something that will hopefully someday be a normal concept here; inclusion..

Check out this video of some field games Mwalimu Godfrey and Mwalimu Agnes set up with all the kids together.

Where have we been?

We know it has been WAY too long since our last update, so let's quickly play catch up. Since we last blogged we have:
1. Finished language school

After 3 months in the comfortable Makoko Language School nest, we were set free to fly on our own. Were we ready? Probably not, but after a quick graduation where we were required to give impromptu speeches in kiswahili, the teachers handed us our diplomas and wished us luck in our next three years of navigating Tanzanian culture and language.
2. Went on a trip of a lifetime
The day after language school we hopped on a plane to Arusha to meet up with Caitlin's family for an incredible safari in honor of her late Aunt Sue. As many of you know, Caitlin's aunt, who passed away last November, owned a travel company that specializes in safaris. Over many years she became very close friends with a Tanzanian man named Willy Chambulo who owns Kibo Safaris. In gratitude for Sue's friendship and mentorship Willy invited all of Sue's children and siblings to come to Tanzania and stay in several of his amazing camps and safari lodges, all expenses paid.
 We felt very blessed to be a part of this incredible trip. The highlights were driving into the middle the great wildebeast migration, sneaking up on 10 sleeping lions, spending the night in canvas tents in the middle of the Serengeti where lions and hyeanas could be heard right outside and getting the chance to show our family some of the reasons why we love this country (oh yeah and let's be honest, gin and tonics, swimming pools and the bathtub at Lake Masek Luxary Tented Camp). The most important and touching event of the trip was spreading Sue's ashes near a lake full of hippos. It was a very moving experience to watch her be returned to the land that she loved so much. We were honored to be a part of this trip are overwhelmed with gratitude for Willy and more than anything the legacy and memories of Sue.

3.  Started our jobs
As soon as we returned from our safari we jumped right into work. David immediately began testing his Swahili skills, getting to know the teachers and students at Huruma. Within days of starting he was already being asked to help write IEPs and figure out how to pay for the school bus. The bus situation has been a big challenge for the school because many of the parents cannot afford to pay their students share for the bus. This means that almost half of the students in the school have been staying home. David and the other teachers are wracking their brains for fundraising ideas to find a sustainable way for the school to pay for the bus. All in all the teachers are trying their hardest and many students face great challenges daily, yet it is a very happy place and David enjoys working there very much.
Caitlin has had a much slower start at the Butimba chekachea. She has spent the last few weeks observing in the two classrooms, struggling through tea time Swahili conversations with teachers who want to know everything about Europe and mzungu hair (they  haven't quite figured out that all white people don't live in Europe)and trying to sneak in some phonetic awareness songs and games when possible with the students. The kids are extremely eager to learn and Caitlin finds herself completely surrounded by them whenever she sits down to help a student. She will admit that she still gets completly giddy when she walks in the classroom and all of her students stop what they are doing, stand up and say "Good morning teacher Katie! How are you? We are fine, teacher Katie!"
In her weeks of observing Caitlin has noticed several areas where she feels the teachers can improve their use of class time, discipline techniques and engagment of the students in curriculum. She is bursting at the seams with ideas but is patiently waiting to share while she practices her Swahili, learns more about how schools in Tanzania work and builds relationships with her teachers and mkuu (head teacher).

4. We moved into our new house
We know that the suspense has been killing all of you waiting to hear which house we chose. (If any of you are remember our post from so long ago.) We chose...wait for it...the Mabatini house!

Caitlin cookin' up something 'licious

About three weeks ago we signed a year long contract and gave the owner a HUGE stack of Tanzanian shillings for the whole year's rent (the regular practice here) and a just a few short days later we moved in. We were a little hasty and probably moved in before we were ready but we were anxious to get out on our own and try our hand at Tanzanian life in the flesh.
Our first night was rough. The mosquito net was too small for our bed, we had to staple fabric over the window to serve as curtains and Caitlin came down with a crazy head cold. The biggest problem was that we didn't have enough gas in our stove to boil water so we had nothing to drink and more importantly we couldn't make tea for our new guard Julius as he took on his first overnight shift on our porch. To say that moving into a new home in Tanzania is a different experience than in the states is definitely  an understatement.
All in all we are much more settled now. At this point we have a bed, a stove, a refridgerator, a table, two couches and a whole lot of empty space.  Soon we will be ready to entertain guests with our many spacious rooms so get your tickets booked! 
That's some of the latest for life here- we'd love to hear from you if we haven't already. Shoot us an email if you'd like to know more or have an idea for how to get involved at rosser@mklm.org. Thanks for reading!

View from our front porch.

House of Compassion- Kigera Village

Father Mike Basano M.M., Liz Mach MKLM and watoto wengine (other children)

How do we describe the experience we just had?  Lord, help me.

This month a group of Americans have come over to Tanzania with a trip called Friends Across Borders (FAB) in order to see what MKLM, the Maryknoll Sisters, Fathers and Brothers are doing here.  Today the group got to travel to the House of Compassion at Kigera village, about an hour from Mkoko Language School and we were invited to come along. 

House of Compassion is a compound of about 70 people, all abandoned for one reason or another by society, even by their own families.  Here men and women with mental illnesses, orphans, people with HIV/ AIDS and other disabling factors that have left them unable to care for themselves in Tanzanian society, come together and live in community. While the rest of the society has told them that they are throw away people who are an unwanted burden, House of Compassion welcomes them with open arms, understanding and love.

To briefly describe the site, it was started in 1992 by a Tanzanian parish priest, Father Godfrey Bisako, who responded to the desperate needs he was seeing of homeless and abandoned people on the streets of Musoma and Mwanza.  He had started a similar house closer to Musoma in the 1980’s, but the house at Kigera is far bigger.  About two to two and a half football fields in size, the buildings were designed to provide security and a sense of community by surrounding the perimeter of the area, forming a rectangle, with the exception of a cross shaped chapel and a dispensary within their shape.  On one side are the rooms of an Italian Marist brother, Father Mike Basano and the other homeless men.  Adjacent is a long guest/dining room, another dining room and the kitchen, and adjacent to that are the rooms for women and children.

Bougainvillea

Still, describing the setting in no way conveys the experience of walking through this campus full of ducks, chickens, orange and magenta bougainvillea trees, people sitting on the ground with dejected faces that easily melted into smiles, people coming up to us, greeting us with that unique, warm Tanzanian hospitality, small children grabbing our hands and pant legs, babies being passed from arms to arms, people with obvious physical and mental disabilities wandering aimlessly, dancing and laughing. All of this was happening in one of the poorest countries in the world, where running water and electricity are not even a guaranteed luxury. Personally, I don’t think we have ever seen a place so desperate.

Yet, the day was filled with hope.  Without any fanfare and a with bouncing run, Father Mike Bassano, a Maryknoll priest, came running to greet us as we pulled in this morning.  Fresh, excited and eyes wide open, Father Mike toured us around the “village”, scooping up random children like a young grandfather and telling us their unimaginably heart breaking stories as he naturally bounced them on his hip or lovingly pinched their cheeks.  As we toured, a severely mentally disabled man interrupted Father Mike’s explanations several times, but the second generation Italian didn’t miss a beat and began joking with the man. It was clear the man thought he and Father Mike were equals, something he clearly learned from Father Mike who frequently is heard saying “We’re all in this together”.

Father Mike’s phrase is exemplified in many ways at the House of Compassion. Even though all of the compound’s residents have burdens of their own, they all manage to take care of one another. We saw babies being passed around between adults and older children, young children pushing wheelchairs of their elders and teenage girls helping with the cooking and cleaning. No one is forgotten about and everyone gets what he or she needs. Clothes are old and worn, the food is simple and the bedrooms are humble, but it appears that everyone’s needs are provided for.  

Mass was one of the most moving experiences we have had in a long time.   We sat in awe next to a seventy-five year old Tanzanian women, surrounded by people the world has more or less forgotten. Watching a boy called John Eybel (named after the priest who found his pregnant mother, who would later abandon her son, wandering the streets), diligently helping Fr. Mike on the alter we knew that here God had come in such a gentle, emphatic, loving way to tell these people, “I know your pain, I too suffered abandonment, loss and physical torture.  And I am here with you now.  You are not forgotten.”  The beautiful, tender harmony of the people’s singing and solemn kneeling on hard planks testified that possibly nowhere in the world was God’s love appreciated more, than here. 

After lunch, we took a trip to the lake to see the wind powered water pump and the meager farm.  Moses, one of the many children who from the beginning had latched on to our hands everywhere we went, kept saying to Caitlin, “Twende kaburini!“ (Let’s go to the graveyard!). It seemed like such an odd place for a four year old to insist on visiting, but when Father Mike explained that he often liked to take walks there with the children to remember the people, which their community had loved and lost, it made sense. It was so beautiful to see Moses and the other children walking happily among the dirt mound graves as if they were visiting old friends. The graveyard wasn’t a scary sad place for them, it was a familiar place filled with people they had been told stories about and people who they had loved and who had loved them. Truly death had lost it’s sting.

In the future, on desperate days when we ask, where is God, or what is he doing in this world, hopefully we will think back on what we saw today and remember. 

To see a video of the House of Compassion and Father Mike's work made by someone else, visit http://youtu.be/VhP7C9mUxxI

How We Spent our Language School Vacation . . .

After a whirlwind week in Mwanza, we have returned to Musoma to finish out our last month of language school. While some students spent the week pumzika (relax)-ing, we spent our week away from school taking care of business.   This included getting licenses, visiting work sites, shopping for rental houses, practicing driving and finishing our tax return.

Driver’s License:

Pretty much the same process is involved in getting a Tanzanian driver’s license as in the U.S., except, we had to go back and forth to the police station two blocks away three times, make a deposit at the bank and come back the next day to pick the license up.   All the same, when we got our licenses they looked pretty fancy, even fancier than our Washington licenses in David’s opinion.  They have some anti-counterfeiting translucent holograms on them that look cool, two pictures that would be pretty hard to copy and a graphic explanation of what class driver’s license we were given.  The best part was that the TRA (Tanzanian Revenue Authority) trusted the Department of Motor Vehicles in WA and didn’t make us retest- even though here in Tanzania they drive on the opposite side of the road.  We also give props to the TRA for their graphic organizer, which explained the process that one needs to go through to renew and obtain a license. It may not have been an accurate representation of what our process looked like in reality, but at least they are trying.

Houses

We looked at a lot of houses last week, some which fit all of our criteria, some that didn’t fit any and some that we could never afford with our humble Maryknoll stipend. The house hunting experience was quite an adventure as there is no official real estate infrastructure in Mwanza. Our hunt consisted of driving around Mwanza, picking up random acquaintances of other MKLMers and then driving with them to various rental houses they had heard about through word of mouth.  In the end, we have narrowed our search down to two houses.  We are pretty torn. Here are the contenders:

House A is in a neighborhood called Pasiansi and is within walking distance to several other Maryknoll Lay Missioners as well as an outdoor market that sells fresh fruit, vegetables and fish. It is a 45-minute dalladalla ride to Caitlin’s work, about a 15-minute drive to David’s work and about a 20 minute drive into downtown Mwanza. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen and pantry, all in a pretty basic almost American style layout. The yard is huge with a cool cement wash table but there are no trees in the all grass yard (there is no such thing as a lawnmower in Tanzania). 

House B is in a hillside neighborhood about 10 minutes outside of downtown Mwanza called Mabatini. It is about an half hour drive to the nearest Maryknoll Lay Missioner, but about 2 minute walk to a Maryknoll Parish run by a couple of really nice American Maryknoll Brothers and Priests. The parish is very active and appears to be growing quickly which would provide us the opportunity to take part in the parish community and possibly participate in the development of outreach programs. The house is much bigger than we need and has a sort of awkward layout, but it has been well maintained as it used to be the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers house before they built a rectory at their church. The house sits on a grassy shaded lot with two other houses that are both owned by the former police chief, who lives in one of the homes part time. The other home is lived in by a current police officer. We aren’t sure exactly how long our commutes to work might be, but we think David’s commute might look more like a 40-minute drive and Caitlin’s commute by dalladalla we think might be closer to 30 minutes. One other thing we really liked about the house is that is also very close to an outdoor market and shops and there is a soccer field right beside it.

Opinions anyone???

 Caitlin’s Visit to Butimba

On Tuesday and Wednesday I spent two full days in my future classrooms. The teachers and students alike seemed very excited about me being there and I had to explain several times that I was only visiting and wouldn’t be starting full time until April. Even by the time I left, I’m not sure that anyone really understood.

The teachers I will be working with are very enthusiastic and appear very excited to have an American in their presence. They asked me several questions about America and told me several times that they wanted me to help them learn English. They were also very excited at my attempts to speak Swahili. It was a little bit awkward spending the entire day in the classrooms as a visitor because the teachers really wanted to put all of their energy into treating me like a guest. They were constantly coming to check on me, bring me tea, uji, homemade donuts and chapatti.  At one point one of my teachers even sent one of her 5 year olds out to the street to buy me a fresh deep- fried rice donut.  It was hard to find the balance of being polite and accepting all of their generosity and wanting to stand up and yell “FORGET ABOUT ME, TEACH THE KIDS!”

The children were also very enthusiastic, but amazingly quiet and focused in the classroom. That sat quietly on their mats; truly only spoke when spoken to and ALL of them participated in every activity.  It was like nothing I had ever seen in America. The kids were so eager to learn and please their teachers.  I think it is going to take me a very long time to get used to that.

The teachers use a lot of really great Montessori methods that allow for a lot of student participation.  They also use a lot more English than I expected. They give most directions in English which in turn require an English response from the students- like when the teacher says, “Stand up,” the students stand up and say in unison “We are standing up” or when she says “Sit down” the students all sit down and say, “We are sitting on our mats.” It is really quite adorable when they speak English because they have somewhat British accents so they don’t pronounce their “r”s . They say things like “sweata,” “teacha,” “ motha,” and “fatha”.  I think I could listen to them speak English in unison all day with a smile on my face.

Overall, the teachers are doing some really great things, but there is definitely a lot of room for improvement. I was literally bursting with suggestions by the end of my two days, but held back and bit my tongue knowing that I still have a great deal to learn about culture and education in Tanzania. (Teacher friends, I have a million other details to tell you about the classroom. If you are interested, send me and e-mail because I would love to tell you more about it.)

David’s Visit to Huruma

David’s visit to Huruma went just as well, although none of his teachers asked him to teach them English- go figure..   He said that the students appear to be learning and happy and the teachers seem to take great pride in the accomplishments of their students. It gives us a lot of joy to know that students with disabilities who once were not allowed to go to school and simply remained at home all day are now being educated in a flourishing school. The school is fortunate to have many teachers and aides, however, in time there certainly will be some ways to help them better their practice, and hopefully, integrate kids at other local public schools with the students at Huruma.

While David visited, though, someone had broken the spigot for the outside water, so he and one of the other teachers set to impromptu maintenance and made a makeshift stop.  Later in the week George Otte and David replaced the makeshift stop with a cap and placed a new spigot inside the small house where the water tank is.  

A Day in Our Life at Language School

We are humbled and honored to have heard some clamor for more info on what goes on for us here in Africa.  While there hasn't been much quite ready for Hollywood just yet, we are learning the language at a clipping pace.  Here are a couple of brief snapshots of what the daily life of a student at Mkoko Language School usually looks like.

7:00   Wake up!!   (much better than the standard at HPS, if I may be so bold).  Mass is celebrated at 7, so if we are to go, we usually arise about 15 minutes before seven, but, hey, who's counting?

7:30   Breakfast.   A light meal here, consisting of fruit, toast and an egg to order if one desires.  Fruits range from mango, papaya, pineapple, soursop, bananas, watermelon and lately oranges- all fresh from here on the grounds.  

Hamming it up between class!

8:00 Cram We usually eat quickly so that we can be back to our room by 8 for our 8 to 8:30 cram time.  Usually we are required to memorize mazungumzo  (conversations) or hadithi (stories) and these last precious moments help solidify those infixes and noun classes in our heads.


8:30 Mazungumzo Class
During our Mazungumzo class our teacher reads aloud a conversation between three fictional characters, Damas, Paskalia and Padri Robert (the American Missionary Priest who wants to know everything about everything) concerning topics such as land ownership laws, dowries and circumcision. The teacher also explains what all of the new vocabulary words mean and then they helps cement the sentences into our heads by making us repeat them outloud.  Then, usually, the next day we come in, recite the conversation from the previous day and then start the process over again. 


9:20 Hadithi Class

Damasi, Paskalia, na Padri Robert

A typical classroom with Mwalimu Joakim, Kim and Caitlin

In Hadithi class our teacher reads aloud a story about our friends Damas, Paskalia, and Padri Robert and then similar to the Mazungumzo class, they explain the meaning of the story and then painfully make us repeat each and every word after them. This has proven to be one of the harder classes for us because upon hearing a sentence like "Hapa kwetu, kulingana na kabila za wazazi, mtoto changa anapokelewa kwa furaha na anapewa jina lake"for the first time, the brain tends to shut down and only hear the voice of the parents from the Peanuts cartoons so when the teacher then looks at you and says "jaribu"(try), the only word you can get out is "Hapa...can you repeat that again?"Each time we are presented with a new story, we tend to get overwhelmed, but then after about a half hour of study we are able to memorize the stories and recite them perfectly in class the next day.

Walimu wa Mkoko:  L to R, Dismas, Sylvester and Joakim

10:10 Sarufi Class
Depending on who your teacher is, Sarufi or grammar class can either be an easy or more difficult class. If you have an experienced teacher light bulbs are turning on right and left and you can almost hear things clicking, but some teachers are still learning the ins and outs of explaining grammar in English and it takes a little cooperation to discern exactly how a new part of speech works. All in all, each teacher tries their best and we come to an understanding. During this class we have been introduced to all 12 of the noun classes and all the different tenses one could imagine, even some that don't exist in English.


10:50 Chai
If you ask the average 3rd grader what their favorite subject in school is, most will likely respond with "recess." Call me a 3rd grader, I think my favorite subject is Chai or tea time. Each day after our first 3 classes all of the students and teachers gather in the dining room to drink tea or coffee and eat homemade donuts, scones and occassionally left over pizza. While the refreshments are a bonus, what I honestly like the most about Chai time is that the teachers sit down with us like peers and chat with us. Sometimes we practice our Swahili and sometimes we just practice our English by talking about whatever burning questions the teachers have about America- everything from ice fishing to hip hop music. 


11:05 Mazoezi

For our last two periods of the day, we practice different exercises involving the vocab and grammar from the previous periods.  Depending on the day, this might involve a lot of the teacher saying (in a very distinct voice), "Tena?" (Again?) and hopefully a couple of "Sowas" (Okay, or good).


12:30-2  Lunch and Nap.  True to the warmer countries, a siesta is strictly enforced and appreciated (well, not really enforced, but nothing else is going on and it is terribly hot so the later is indeed true).


2:00-2:45   Language Lab.  All over again we listen to tapes of the teachers reading the Mazungumzo, Hadithi and Mazoezi as we follow along trying to anticipate the correct infixes and subject prefixes, or even the correct vocab word!   The machines are vintage Sony, but they serve their purpose faithfully unless the power is out.  Then, shida kubwa!  

3:00-3:45  Real Mazungumzo!   When we've had all we can of repeating, "Father has drank milk after eating bread," we head out to the benches under the tree where our teachers are leisurely waiting for us to engage in impromptu, meaningful conversation.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  Often the teachers are already deep in discourse on some topic and it takes all the muscles the ear has to just keep up with their electric chatter.  Finally a teacher will have mercy and ask us, in the equivalent of slow, southern drawl, "Caitlin, habari za mazoezi?" (if you guessed this means, how are your exercises, your ready for a visit).  The conversation to follow involves a lot of stumbling and looking to the sky on our part and patience and more "Tena?" on our teachers'!   Here's a short, somewhat staged clip of what typically ensues.   After five creative guesses in the comments section, we'll tell you what Dismas and David are actually talking about.  Guess away!

All in all, we are very grateful for our teachers and the patience and knowledge they give as we seek to learn Swahili!!