Today was the second day of our two day HIV Ed seminar in Dar. We have it organized so that we split the attendees into 4 groups and Jami, Megan, Matt and I simultaneously teach our topics for one group. We have one session in the morning and then we rotate for the one after lunch so that at the end of the 2 days all of the participants have had been to each station. This allows us to work in smaller groups and have more interaction with each of the participants. All of the older / adult women are in one group, younger women (teens and young twenties) in another, young men in the third, and adult men in the fourth. Their knowledge base and interest changed from group to group, so we found ourselves covering slightly different topics depending on who we were working with, though the general topics were the same. Most of my time was spent covering the basics of testing and treatment of HIV, but it was a very interesting mix of discussions and I thoroughly enjoyed working with each group.
We have one man from the Masai tribe named Musa in our seminar, and we heard through Chibesa last night that the boys in this tribe need to hunt and kill a lion in order to “become a man”. So yeah… we definitely asked him about that today. A very interesting and fun conversation ensued. Apparently when boys are 16 or 17 they must hunt their first lion. Once they locate the lion they tire it out by running and chasing after it. When the lion gets tired it stops and prepares to fight the Masai boy. The boy wraps his hand in a cloth and allows the lion to bite it. When the lion latches onto his hand, the boy takes his knife and jabs it into the heart of the lion (up), then cuts off its head (down). If the boy cannot kill the lion then reinforcement comes in to assist (more men with spears) and once the boy recovers from his wounds he must go back to training so that he can try again. WOW! First of all, I cannot imagine chasing after a lion, though I must admit that the thought has a certain appeal. Then giving it my hand as bait … what?? And how hard would it be to kill and cut off the head of a LION when it is biting my hand and scratching me with his claws. I asked Musa how long it would take to train me to kill a lion and he said “one month.” Apparently one time they did train an Aussie and he made it out alive. Something to think about for the future… he also told me that he’d like to take us to meet his family and tribe next time we come, which a more realistic possibility for in case we don’t have enough leave time for serious lion hunting. Musa shared with us other interesting things about his culture: their diet consists largely of milk, meat, and blood; the youth are discouraged from becoming educated; their faces are branded with circles under the eyes and two lower front teeth are removed as signs of their culture; there is some “sharing” of wives; etc. I was very, very impressed with Musa’s willingness to tell us about his culture, along with his sense of humor, desire to learn, and overall countenance.
After we presented the certificates of completion at the end of the day and provided everyone with a small, bagged moringa plant we invited people to stay and teach us more about their culture, especially topics relating to the spread of HIV. We have people from several different tribes, but spent most of our time talking to Musa about the Masai people and a man named Tito about the Wakulya tribe. Tito is very concerned for the young girls from his tribe. When these girls are in their teens they are taken to be circumcised (genital mutilation), then immediately made to walk 18 kilometers. Many girls have died from this practice since they are still bleeding when they must go for the long walk. The government of Tanzania is opposed to it but has not been successful in stopping it, partly because the people have started to perform the procedure at night. For male circumcision, several boys line up and are cut using the same knife. Tito asked us to come to his village and assist with providing education in these areas.
Tonight was our last night with the Chibesa Family. Chibesa and Fena have been incredibly hospitable to Jami, Megan and I. Fena works hard to prepare food, water, and make us feel at home. It has been great to get to spend this time with them so that we can know them better and see how they live their lives and interact with each other and their baby girl. They are the kind of people that the more I know them the more I like them.
That’s all for today!! Hakuna Matata!
Tannen
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
12/30/09 from Matt (HIV Ed Team)
Sadly no one will see this in time to calm their fears about our arrival in Africa, but a little late is better than never I guess. Tanzania in the summer has been very different than Zambia so far. Due to abundance of water, both falling from the sky and pouring out of us, we have been taking one to two baths a day. I have never appreciated a cold shower so much as in the absence of air conditioning. Even though several members of our team have had trouble sleeping and needed to sleep in the living room under the fan, I have passed out every night and not even remembered my dreams. It’s kind of sad because the malaria medicine I’m taking is supposed to give you some incredible dreams.
So far we have visited the Indian Ocean, which was at least 90 degrees, and collected sand dollars to make necklaces. The people here are different than those in Zambia, we have not received the enthusiastic welcome in the markets. However, we were welcomed by our hosts and those who attended the seminars with joy. On our journey to the airport to pick up Tannen, Jim, Drew, and Megan, we gave a Masai tribe member a ride. He was security guard and interesting to say the least. We found out that he carried a long knife and a permit to kill people who were attempting to enter a house that he was guarding. Not surprisingly, with capital punishment for armed robbery and Masai guards, there is a strong deterrent for crime in general.
I noticed that the roads are much better in Dar Es Salaam than Mufulira, but at least the mini buses are similar. I was reminded of their danger and excitement when we hit a bridge embankment on the ride back from the airport and were thrown two and a half feet to the right. Fortunately we weren't going very fast and there were only a few bruises and bumps. As for the dangers that we have been protected from, I was about two inches from stepping on a scorpion on the second night, which induced a couple of responses that came out at the same time. Because of curiosity, I wanted to look closer and in contrast I felt like screaming like a little girl while yelling “kill it! kill it! kill it!”. OK, it wasn't that bad, I didn't end up yelling, and I was a little more calm than the situation called for. Happily I have been checking my shoes for unwanted visitors ever since.
As for the seminar, we had a good turn out and even with the language barrier, the students have been attentive and willing to learn. One highlight was when one of the Masai people wrote his story on our chalkboard. It is against their culture to teach children so it was especially touching to see him write in English that even though he was proud of his culture and would not leave it, he wanted to learn and would go against the wishes of his parents. He provides an interesting perspective in the classroom and has promised to teach us more about the Masai people; I’m excited about this. I would say that all five of our sessions went well even with a reduced schedule. So far, the biggest obstacle has been the heat and humidity. Jami and I constructed a whiteboard using four small whiteboards and duct tape, five minutes into her session the duct tape let go and the board was no more. Fortunately we have been trained to be adaptive by circumstances in Africa.
We are all doing well and hope to find Internet access soon so that we can share our stories. In summary, the people, food, and location is all great and we have been enjoying every minute. Until the next time, thank you all for your continued prayers and I hope to write again soon.
Matt
So far we have visited the Indian Ocean, which was at least 90 degrees, and collected sand dollars to make necklaces. The people here are different than those in Zambia, we have not received the enthusiastic welcome in the markets. However, we were welcomed by our hosts and those who attended the seminars with joy. On our journey to the airport to pick up Tannen, Jim, Drew, and Megan, we gave a Masai tribe member a ride. He was security guard and interesting to say the least. We found out that he carried a long knife and a permit to kill people who were attempting to enter a house that he was guarding. Not surprisingly, with capital punishment for armed robbery and Masai guards, there is a strong deterrent for crime in general.
I noticed that the roads are much better in Dar Es Salaam than Mufulira, but at least the mini buses are similar. I was reminded of their danger and excitement when we hit a bridge embankment on the ride back from the airport and were thrown two and a half feet to the right. Fortunately we weren't going very fast and there were only a few bruises and bumps. As for the dangers that we have been protected from, I was about two inches from stepping on a scorpion on the second night, which induced a couple of responses that came out at the same time. Because of curiosity, I wanted to look closer and in contrast I felt like screaming like a little girl while yelling “kill it! kill it! kill it!”. OK, it wasn't that bad, I didn't end up yelling, and I was a little more calm than the situation called for. Happily I have been checking my shoes for unwanted visitors ever since.
As for the seminar, we had a good turn out and even with the language barrier, the students have been attentive and willing to learn. One highlight was when one of the Masai people wrote his story on our chalkboard. It is against their culture to teach children so it was especially touching to see him write in English that even though he was proud of his culture and would not leave it, he wanted to learn and would go against the wishes of his parents. He provides an interesting perspective in the classroom and has promised to teach us more about the Masai people; I’m excited about this. I would say that all five of our sessions went well even with a reduced schedule. So far, the biggest obstacle has been the heat and humidity. Jami and I constructed a whiteboard using four small whiteboards and duct tape, five minutes into her session the duct tape let go and the board was no more. Fortunately we have been trained to be adaptive by circumstances in Africa.
We are all doing well and hope to find Internet access soon so that we can share our stories. In summary, the people, food, and location is all great and we have been enjoying every minute. Until the next time, thank you all for your continued prayers and I hope to write again soon.
Matt
12/30/09 from Drew (Agriculture Team)
Got to love this tropical weather! Hot at night, hotter in the day. We almost got a cab just to get the AC.
Matt, Reuben, Dad (Jim), and I are staying with Pastor Gervase and his family in a house. The fly zapper works well but the scorpion had to be killed the old fashioned way (shoe).
Today we finished the first day of work. After we ate breakfast Reuben, Dad, and I (team moringa) took a walk to look for a spot to plant moringa. We went about five feet and Dad spotted one….. No, not a place to plant moringa, a moringa tree about 18 feet tall with a 100+ pods and lots of leaves. Very useful for our work shop. We looked all over and that was the only moringa tree we saw.
After that Pastor Gervase, Reuben, Dad, and I went to an orphanage with shirts and candy. Just one of many in great need. They drink from a well (four feet hole in the dirt) and eat whenever they can.
Then we took a taxi to the church and walked around till the HIV ED team got done. We (team moringa) gave a ½ hour speech on moringa. I think that went over well.
All in all it was a good day.
Thank you for praying
Drew
Matt, Reuben, Dad (Jim), and I are staying with Pastor Gervase and his family in a house. The fly zapper works well but the scorpion had to be killed the old fashioned way (shoe).
Today we finished the first day of work. After we ate breakfast Reuben, Dad, and I (team moringa) took a walk to look for a spot to plant moringa. We went about five feet and Dad spotted one….. No, not a place to plant moringa, a moringa tree about 18 feet tall with a 100+ pods and lots of leaves. Very useful for our work shop. We looked all over and that was the only moringa tree we saw.
After that Pastor Gervase, Reuben, Dad, and I went to an orphanage with shirts and candy. Just one of many in great need. They drink from a well (four feet hole in the dirt) and eat whenever they can.
Then we took a taxi to the church and walked around till the HIV ED team got done. We (team moringa) gave a ½ hour speech on moringa. I think that went over well.
All in all it was a good day.
Thank you for praying
Drew
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
12/29/09 from Megan
"They've got cool bugs here, man." That would be Tannen's interpretation. Mine is "Ack, spiders! Ack! Get them off me! I'm gonna die!"
We also have a rather fantastic lizard keeping us company. Jami, Tannen, and I are staying with Pastor Chibesa and his wife, Fena, somewhere on the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam. Chibesa is Zambian, but has been living here since 2008, assisting Bishop Gervase Masanja, whose church we'll be borrowing for the next two days for our seminar.
We all arrived successfully, with only some of us delayed, and sans Tannen's bag (but who really needs clean underwear anyway?). While we were luggage hunting in the Nairobi airport, apparently Jami, Matt, and Reuben were here traipsing around on the beach, which they tell us is very close by. Hopefully we'll get a chance to check out the Indian Ocean before we have to depart. (And yes Mom, if this gets posted before Friday, we have train tickets, and no, I'm not going to run around by myself and get mugged.)
Okay, so I just took a shower. I don't want to give the impression that I'm ungrateful, because Chibesa and Fena are opening their home to us, which is seriously awesome, but I wouldn't want you to miss out on the opportunity to laugh at me. So the shower is essentially a bucket full of hot water that you pour over your head as you stand over the toilet which is a ceramic-lined hole in the floor. In short: do not drop the soap. Also, this would be an excellent time to shave my head. And most of all, I cannot BELIEVE how much water I waste taking a normal shower. I'm astounded by how little I can get by with even with the obnoxiously long hair.
Now it's back to revising my outlines for our seminar, because we're compressing a 4 day seminar designed for Muf to fit into 2 days, and we're adapting for translators. So far, my Swahili only extends to "Jambo!" (how are you?), "Habari" (hello), and "rafiki" (friend - why yes, I did learn that from the Lion King). We'll see how much more we can pick up in the next 48 hours.
Love to all,
Megan
We also have a rather fantastic lizard keeping us company. Jami, Tannen, and I are staying with Pastor Chibesa and his wife, Fena, somewhere on the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam. Chibesa is Zambian, but has been living here since 2008, assisting Bishop Gervase Masanja, whose church we'll be borrowing for the next two days for our seminar.
We all arrived successfully, with only some of us delayed, and sans Tannen's bag (but who really needs clean underwear anyway?). While we were luggage hunting in the Nairobi airport, apparently Jami, Matt, and Reuben were here traipsing around on the beach, which they tell us is very close by. Hopefully we'll get a chance to check out the Indian Ocean before we have to depart. (And yes Mom, if this gets posted before Friday, we have train tickets, and no, I'm not going to run around by myself and get mugged.)
Okay, so I just took a shower. I don't want to give the impression that I'm ungrateful, because Chibesa and Fena are opening their home to us, which is seriously awesome, but I wouldn't want you to miss out on the opportunity to laugh at me. So the shower is essentially a bucket full of hot water that you pour over your head as you stand over the toilet which is a ceramic-lined hole in the floor. In short: do not drop the soap. Also, this would be an excellent time to shave my head. And most of all, I cannot BELIEVE how much water I waste taking a normal shower. I'm astounded by how little I can get by with even with the obnoxiously long hair.
Now it's back to revising my outlines for our seminar, because we're compressing a 4 day seminar designed for Muf to fit into 2 days, and we're adapting for translators. So far, my Swahili only extends to "Jambo!" (how are you?), "Habari" (hello), and "rafiki" (friend - why yes, I did learn that from the Lion King). We'll see how much more we can pick up in the next 48 hours.
Love to all,
Megan
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