Two years later and I can finally provide an update on the Tanzania project. I am sorry to say that the original goal of building an office did not work out, which I will explain below, but I’m happy with the project that we finally agreed upon. The money is going to be used for small cooperative businesses among the members, such as selling clothes or fruit or raising chickens. The office would have had an indirect impact on the community by allowing them to recruit more members, but this plan will provide direct support and improve quality of living among members of WOFATA.
I don't know if I mentioned that WOFATA was founded in the largest city in Tanzania - Dar es Salaam. They have an office there where the founders work. Flora was the founder of the Arusha branch. The main office is the one who came up with the plan for the collaboratives. Their plan is pretty similar to what is done with micro-loans, where a small amount of seed money ($50-150) is given to three to five individuals who implement a small business and share the profits. I’m happy with it because it will address three of the major concerns I saw among members of WOFATA. The main issue is lack of support and opportunity for work among women. This allows them to branch out on their own by creating their own businesses. Nutrition is also an issue that impacts health and ability to work. With the additional income they will be able to afford more and better food and be healthier as a result. The cooperative nature of the projects also resolves the vicious cycle where a person with HIV/AIDS will get sick, go through all their money and belongings because they can’t work, recover if they are lucky, seek to borrow money to get reestablished, then get sick and lose it all again. Because they will be working in groups, they will be able to support each other if one partner becomes ill for a period of time without losing their business.
As for the office project, land was the issue. I was initially led to believe land is extremely cheap and we would mainly just need money for the building. This was not the case. It turns out Flora, the head of WOFATA, wanted to build the office on her property. I was not comfortable with that idea because if she had passed away her family would have likely claimed the office. My project coordinator then worked for about a year to try to get the government to donate the land, but wasn’t able to make it happen. I then had him start looking all over Arusha for the cheapest land and he looked at several spots over the next six months. The cheapest thing he could find in town was about $2300 for the land, which was about what I raised for the whole project. The building was still going to be another $2200. Even on the outskirts of the city it would have been over $1000, and they wouldn’t have been able to reach most of the city in those areas. Finally, I asked him to look into renting an office. Again, the central locations were about $100/month and up, which would have only provided them an office for less then two years. I felt like that was too temporary and might lead to them building up the organization only to see it collapse.
At that point I got into contact with WOFATA’s founding office in Dar es Saalam to ask what else they might be able to do with the money. That is when they told me about the cooperatives. They had already implemented a few with some grant money, but only in Dar es Salaam. I agreed to fund that project in both Arusha and Dar es Salaam and had half the donation money transferred to them about two weeks ago. Once they provide me with an update on the project I will either send the rest of the money to be used for more cooperatives or listen to their ideas for other projects.
So, I’m glad to finally be able to provide an update and have something underway. The good news is that the donations accumulated about $150 in interest during these two years, so that gives them a little more to work with. I think it will make a difference and hope that everyone who donated is okay with the change in projects. I did my best to try to get the office since that is what everyone donated money for, but felt like the money had been held too long and needed to be put to use. I have been getting occasional updates over the past few years about members I met who have since passed away and I felt frustrated by the pace of the project every time. The money is going to a good project now though. I have no doubt that it will prevent some deaths and greatly improve the quality of life of many members of WOFATA. I will hopefully post an update on the project in a few months once I find out how it has been going.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday, December 17, 2007
Status
Update: Things move slow in Tanzania
Last update I received, I was told that Flora had identified several potential locations for the building. They were in the process of deciding/negotiating about which property to buy. There is also the complication of making sure the person selling the land is actually the owner and not a family member or some random person. Once that is done, they will need to get the title before they start building. I don't know how long all that will take, but I do know the government is very slow. Anyway, just wanted to post an update to say that things are moving, however slowly.
Last update I received, I was told that Flora had identified several potential locations for the building. They were in the process of deciding/negotiating about which property to buy. There is also the complication of making sure the person selling the land is actually the owner and not a family member or some random person. Once that is done, they will need to get the title before they start building. I don't know how long all that will take, but I do know the government is very slow. Anyway, just wanted to post an update to say that things are moving, however slowly.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Underway
I wired $1000 to Tanzania today ($300 in fees to the company that is handling the project and $700 to get started). I'm sending them the money in two payments to have a little control over the project. I sent enough to get the land and build the foundation and I'm going to send the rest once I have confirmation that the building has been started.
This also gives me the chance to send additional funds since I still have some to collect. In total I have collected $2056, with another $175 that I still need to collect. So, I hit my revised goal of $2200. Additional contributions are still welcome as that would allow me to send them some money for furniture. Thanks to everyone who contributed!
This also gives me the chance to send additional funds since I still have some to collect. In total I have collected $2056, with another $175 that I still need to collect. So, I hit my revised goal of $2200. Additional contributions are still welcome as that would allow me to send them some money for furniture. Thanks to everyone who contributed!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Update
I'm just providing a quick update for everyone who has contributed to the fund raising. My goal was $1900. I have collected that amount and I still need to collect about $200 more that has been pledged. My target increased a little though. I'm paying the company that organized my trip $300 to coordinate construction and the legal aspects of the WOFATA building, making my goal $2200. I think it's well worth $300 to make sure everything is done right. So, I'm planning to wire the money in about a week. They are already working on getting the government to donate the land for the office. Things move slow in Tanzania, but the process has started. Thanks to everyone who contributed! You still have a week to get any donations to me if you're interested in contributing.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
One last thing
I know I said the blog was done, but I didn't quite realize how many people had been following this until I got home. I'm not sure how many will see this message, but I wanted to post some info about my plan to raise funds. I am hoping to raise enough money to help WOFATA open an office in Arusha.
Currently, the whole organization is run out of a notebook that Flora maintains. She keeps a list of members, some information about people she visits (members and non-members), and a financial balance sheet. Before I left I had Flora consult with a builder to get an estimate for an office. They can build their own office (15x15 feet with a couple windows) for about $1900. That way there would be no rent or ongoing expense. It would be nice to give them a little extra to furnish the office, but the important part is the building itself.
It would be a very basic office, likely without electricity. Electricity isn't necessary because nobody involved with the project can use a computer and most don't have electricity at home. The important thing is to have an established location and space where the leaders of the organization and other volunteers can work, and where people with HIV can come to get help and information. At the moment, Flora is really the only leader in the organization. She does everything. If they had an office, she could give others some responsibilities and they would have a place to work.
So, here's what I'm thinking. For anyone who has been reading this blog and wondering how you can help, you can make a big difference by contributing to building this office. You can become a lifetime member of WOFATA by contributing $25 (or more). This is how I would suggest you contribute. Membership is not restricted to people with HIV/AIDS; it is open to everyone. This is the same amount the members in Arusha pay, although it might take many of them more than a year to pay in full. If we can actually raise the $1900 to build the office, I could also have a plaque made that lists the names of all who donated $25 or more, so they can put it on the wall. Smaller donations would also be welcome. Remember that most of these people live on just a few dollars per week, so even $10 is a big help. Donations larger than $25 are also welcome, of course.
Unlike donating to the Red Cross or United Way, or some other large organization, your money will not just be a drop in a giant bucket. By reading what I have written during my trip, I think you know the people you will be helping to some extent. With most charities, you rarely know so specifically where your money will go and who it will help.
If you're interested in contributing, e-mail me at stopthat21@yahoo.com to let me know how much you want to contribute. I'm going to collect the money so I can send it in one payment. My goal is to send them the money by the end of July. I didn't make any guarantee that I would be able to raise $1900, but I did promise I would send at least $500 by the end of July, and I will, even if it's all my own money. But I would like to surprise Flora by sending enough to build the office.
Currently, the whole organization is run out of a notebook that Flora maintains. She keeps a list of members, some information about people she visits (members and non-members), and a financial balance sheet. Before I left I had Flora consult with a builder to get an estimate for an office. They can build their own office (15x15 feet with a couple windows) for about $1900. That way there would be no rent or ongoing expense. It would be nice to give them a little extra to furnish the office, but the important part is the building itself.
It would be a very basic office, likely without electricity. Electricity isn't necessary because nobody involved with the project can use a computer and most don't have electricity at home. The important thing is to have an established location and space where the leaders of the organization and other volunteers can work, and where people with HIV can come to get help and information. At the moment, Flora is really the only leader in the organization. She does everything. If they had an office, she could give others some responsibilities and they would have a place to work.
So, here's what I'm thinking. For anyone who has been reading this blog and wondering how you can help, you can make a big difference by contributing to building this office. You can become a lifetime member of WOFATA by contributing $25 (or more). This is how I would suggest you contribute. Membership is not restricted to people with HIV/AIDS; it is open to everyone. This is the same amount the members in Arusha pay, although it might take many of them more than a year to pay in full. If we can actually raise the $1900 to build the office, I could also have a plaque made that lists the names of all who donated $25 or more, so they can put it on the wall. Smaller donations would also be welcome. Remember that most of these people live on just a few dollars per week, so even $10 is a big help. Donations larger than $25 are also welcome, of course.
Unlike donating to the Red Cross or United Way, or some other large organization, your money will not just be a drop in a giant bucket. By reading what I have written during my trip, I think you know the people you will be helping to some extent. With most charities, you rarely know so specifically where your money will go and who it will help.
If you're interested in contributing, e-mail me at stopthat21@yahoo.com to let me know how much you want to contribute. I'm going to collect the money so I can send it in one payment. My goal is to send them the money by the end of July. I didn't make any guarantee that I would be able to raise $1900, but I did promise I would send at least $500 by the end of July, and I will, even if it's all my own money. But I would like to surprise Flora by sending enough to build the office.
Still alive
I'm finally home. I have been awake for about 47 of the last 48 hours. I'm going to sleep soon. I will post more pictures on flickr.com in the next few days, now that I am home with a fast internet connection. That's all for the blog. Hope you enjoyed.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Last Days
I finished my work with the WOFATA group today. I believe I saw 47 people in total, mostly members of the organization, but also some outreach. It was a great experience. I think the counseling made a difference. One thing I figured out early on is that people were only advising their children about abstinence. Fortunately Flora (in the picture) agreed with me that they need to talk about condoms as well, so we talked about that with everyone we met who had kids. Abstinence is just not a realistic concept in a country where the average man gets married at about age 30 and the average woman at about age 22. Actually, I don't think it's a realistic concept in any country and the statistics tend to back that up. Mostly it was just nice to work with a great organization that is doing a lot of good for people with HIV/AIDS. They have almost no funding though. I am going to try to raise enough money for them to open an office. There are probably 15,000 people with HIV in Arusha and this organization only has about 100 members.I think I will be back to Tanzania, hopefully bringing my own students after I get my PhD and start teaching. It's hard not to fall in love with this place. The people are extremely friendly, and not just towards the tourists. If you sit in a restaurant you talk to the table next to you. When you're on a bus or walking down the street, everyone talks to each other. People have been encouraging me to try to teach here, as all of the universities teach in English.
A few days ago I visited Mama's village, about 2 hours from town. I got to meet her parents, three more of her children, and several grandchildren. It was nice. They live in a small farming village. I thought they only had two kids when I first got here, but the have eight. Only the youngest two live at home - Wilson and Jovena. Wilson is the one who takes me to the internet cafe all the time. He's one of the most mature and respectful 17-year-olds I've ever met. It's funny to think that in Tanzania you are usually considered to be an adolescent until about age 22. He already seems like an adult.
On Sunday I took a day trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was only $55 and I had a personal guide. Unfortunately it was cloudy, so I couldn't actually see the mountain. We just walked around at the base. This is really the first time the weather has screwed me since I've been here. I expected a lot worse during "rainy season." It rains about one in three days, but usually it's just a 20-30 minute downpour...and most of the time it comes at night. I have only had to use my umbrella twice. The temperature is also great. You would think it would be hot 75 miles from the equator, but we're way above sea level. Most days the temperature is in the 70's, and I don't think it has been higher than the low 80's.
Well that's about it for this blog. I posted a few more pictures of people I've been working with here and of Kilimanjaro. Thanks for reading and thanks for the comments. Here are my flight details for those who are interested. I leave on Tuesday and arrive in Atlanta on Wednesday.
NWA/KLM airlines
Kilimanjaro to Dar es Salaam flight 8481 (8:55pm)
Dar es Salaam to Amsterdam flight 8481 (11:05pm)
Amsterdam to Atlanta flight 8621 (10:20am)
Arrive in ATL at 1:40pm Wednesday
Friday, May 25, 2007
This is not the revolution
As of today I have met with 40 HIV victims for counseling and/or needs assessment. I'm also working Saturday and Monday, so I will meet with about 50 overall. That is about half of the total members, as there are close to 100 now.
For my last week, we have been doing home visits. It adds another dimension to see the actual living space of the people I'm working with. Of about 15 home visits, only two have had a home with more than one room. Nobody complains about that though. This is just the reality here. If you have more than one room you're living large.
I finished doing the needs assessment last week and have been doing counseling ever since. Once Flora saw a few counseling sessions she told me, "you do counseling from now on." I'm happy it's going well because at first I was doubting I would be able to do much in the way of counseling. The counseling usually isn't as intense as you might imagine it to be. For one thing, it's short-term, so I have to keep the scope small and usually focus on just one issue. Here is an example - one woman worries constantly about where her next meal will come from. After talking, I realize she almost never goes a day without eating, although she sometimes has to go with just one meal. The kids always get at least two meals. There are two facts that dictate how I handle this situation: 1) she provides for herself and her children well enough to survive and stay relatively healthy and 2) there are absolutely no resources available to provide more food. Since the situation can't change, the focus is on how she thinks about the situation. She typically goes through the day constantly thinking, "where am I going to get food" and "what if I can't eat today?" Obviously very stressful. I suggest that when she has those thoughts she remind herself, "I almost never go a day without eating, but when I do I'm okay. I alway find enough to survive." As you can see, this is not some revolutionary change, just something that will help her cope better in a situation where there is no solution.
Another woman is very lonely since her husband died of AIDS and her children are away at school. She is isolated from her neighbors because they know she has HIV and she is stigmatized. She loves the Saturday support group though. She usually feels good for a day or two after the meeting. She stated that she wished they met two days per week, so I asked her to start talking about it with other members to see if anyone is interested. She talked to Flora about it right after talking to me and now she's taking the initiative to start a second meeting. There seems to be a lot of interest for another meeting, so I think she has a good chance of being successful. She seemed very happy after finding out there might be a second meeting and that she would be the one to set it up.
Then there is the woman I mentioned before who seems to have lost hope. Unfortunately I'm not here long enough to help her overcome that. My focus is to get her to rely more on the group for support. She's relatively new and hasn't really given it a chance yet. I am confident they can help her find some hope if she will let them. I think she is open to trying.
I can't believe I'm only a few days away from coming home. I feel like I've been here for months, but in a good way. I've seen and experienced a lot for such a short period of time. I wish I had a few more weeks.
For my last week, we have been doing home visits. It adds another dimension to see the actual living space of the people I'm working with. Of about 15 home visits, only two have had a home with more than one room. Nobody complains about that though. This is just the reality here. If you have more than one room you're living large.
I finished doing the needs assessment last week and have been doing counseling ever since. Once Flora saw a few counseling sessions she told me, "you do counseling from now on." I'm happy it's going well because at first I was doubting I would be able to do much in the way of counseling. The counseling usually isn't as intense as you might imagine it to be. For one thing, it's short-term, so I have to keep the scope small and usually focus on just one issue. Here is an example - one woman worries constantly about where her next meal will come from. After talking, I realize she almost never goes a day without eating, although she sometimes has to go with just one meal. The kids always get at least two meals. There are two facts that dictate how I handle this situation: 1) she provides for herself and her children well enough to survive and stay relatively healthy and 2) there are absolutely no resources available to provide more food. Since the situation can't change, the focus is on how she thinks about the situation. She typically goes through the day constantly thinking, "where am I going to get food" and "what if I can't eat today?" Obviously very stressful. I suggest that when she has those thoughts she remind herself, "I almost never go a day without eating, but when I do I'm okay. I alway find enough to survive." As you can see, this is not some revolutionary change, just something that will help her cope better in a situation where there is no solution.
Another woman is very lonely since her husband died of AIDS and her children are away at school. She is isolated from her neighbors because they know she has HIV and she is stigmatized. She loves the Saturday support group though. She usually feels good for a day or two after the meeting. She stated that she wished they met two days per week, so I asked her to start talking about it with other members to see if anyone is interested. She talked to Flora about it right after talking to me and now she's taking the initiative to start a second meeting. There seems to be a lot of interest for another meeting, so I think she has a good chance of being successful. She seemed very happy after finding out there might be a second meeting and that she would be the one to set it up.
Then there is the woman I mentioned before who seems to have lost hope. Unfortunately I'm not here long enough to help her overcome that. My focus is to get her to rely more on the group for support. She's relatively new and hasn't really given it a chance yet. I am confident they can help her find some hope if she will let them. I think she is open to trying.
I can't believe I'm only a few days away from coming home. I feel like I've been here for months, but in a good way. I've seen and experienced a lot for such a short period of time. I wish I had a few more weeks.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Rwanda
I had the day off today so I went to the Rwanda Genocide trials. Nothing too exciting, but it was interesting to see. Last week a priest was convicted of aiding the slaughter of 5000 people. Today I saw parts of an appeal and a trial of two mid-level government officials. One guy was appealing a 25-year sentence for approving of military action that led to the deaths of thousands. The other was being tried for a similar crime, although he was just denying every accusation. Everything took place in 1994. I imagine 13 years from now we'll be trying a bunch of people from Sudan, since the world is doing nothing about the genocide going on there at the moment. It would be nice if we could just prevent these things proactively instead of trying to sort it out decades later.
Oh, and I finally found a fast internet cafe. I just uploaded a bunch of pictures.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78555692@N00/
Oh, and I finally found a fast internet cafe. I just uploaded a bunch of pictures.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78555692@N00/
Monday, May 21, 2007
More pics
I uploaded some more photos. See the link in the previous post. I visited people in their homes today for more research and counseling. I'll write about that soon. I have tomorrow off and I just found out the Rowanda genocide trials are taking place right here in Arusha. I'm going to try to attend tomorrow at the UN building. I think I'm also going to take a one day trip to the base of Mt Kilimanjaro this weekend before I come home.
My Swahili is getting better. I know enough words to make jokes now. I still can't form a sentence, but I'm learning a lot of words.
My Swahili is getting better. I know enough words to make jokes now. I still can't form a sentence, but I'm learning a lot of words.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Good Weekend
On Friday I visited two orphanages where a few other volunteers are working. One was for children who were abandoned as babies and the other was for children whose parents had died. Both orphanages were actually pretty nice. I guess it's probably easier to get money for orphans than for adults. The larger of the two had about 70 kids and they had their own school attached. One of the volunteers I went on safari with donated two computers to them, making that orphanage probably the only one around with computers.
On Saturday I finally got to focus on counseling. I had also been working some counseling in when doing the needs assessment interviews, but this time I got to focus on counseling exclusively. I wasn't sure what to expect because until then I had not been able to successfully explain what counseling is to anyone here. Saturday is the day all of the members of WOFATA (or as many as can attend) get together and meet as a group. There were about 40-50 HIV/AIDS victims this week. As I said, I had not been able to explain what I wanted to do, and they kept expecting that I would somehow provide counseling the whole group together. I think the closest reference they had to counseling was church, so they were expecting me to stand up there and tell people the secrets to living a happy life. Instead, I wrote out a one page statement explaining what counseling is and what types of things I might be able to help with. Ali translated it to the group for me and six people got up to meet with me individually.
It actually went really well, which was a relief since I wasn't sure I could describe counseling in a way that made sense within the culture. One of the barriers here is that people don't like to give bad news, so they don't want to talk about problems. For example, if I'm meeting a group of people for dinner and I call one of them to say I will be late, that person probably won't tell anyone until I'm already at least 30 minutes late. The people here prefer not to give the bad news until it actually happens, or not at all if possible. Sometimes they will just phrase a problem in the past tense even though it is ongoing, like "I was horribly depressed when I found out I had HIV, but I'm okay now." Fortunately that wasn't much of a problem when meeting with people for counseling because I explained ahead of time that part of my job is to hear the bad news. Work is also highly valued here, so by explaining that hearing the bad news is part of my job I think they felt like it was more acceptable to talk about problems.
For the most part, people were interested in talking about everyday things that cause them stress. They knew I wasn't there to offer financial assistance, so we were just able to focus on things like the stress of not knowing where the next meal will come from, not knowing who will take care of your children next time you are sick, or of feeling lonely and isolated because of having HIV. One of the six people just wanted to ask me for a loan, but the other five took to the process pretty well. I think I will meet with three of them again, but I will just check in with the others to see how they are doing with what we talked about on Saturday. Next week we are visiting people in their homes, but I'm not sure if they want me to focus on counseling or continue the needs assessment. I know I will at least get to do some more counseling next Saturday. So far so good! I've heard it's not easy to do counseling through a translator, but I like it. That 20-30 second pause gives me plenty of time to think about what the person has said and what I want to say. I wish I had a little more time in Tanzania though. It's hard to make much progress with people when I can only meet with them twice...or three times at most. At least they have a good, supportive group in place already.
On Saturday I finally got to focus on counseling. I had also been working some counseling in when doing the needs assessment interviews, but this time I got to focus on counseling exclusively. I wasn't sure what to expect because until then I had not been able to successfully explain what counseling is to anyone here. Saturday is the day all of the members of WOFATA (or as many as can attend) get together and meet as a group. There were about 40-50 HIV/AIDS victims this week. As I said, I had not been able to explain what I wanted to do, and they kept expecting that I would somehow provide counseling the whole group together. I think the closest reference they had to counseling was church, so they were expecting me to stand up there and tell people the secrets to living a happy life. Instead, I wrote out a one page statement explaining what counseling is and what types of things I might be able to help with. Ali translated it to the group for me and six people got up to meet with me individually.
It actually went really well, which was a relief since I wasn't sure I could describe counseling in a way that made sense within the culture. One of the barriers here is that people don't like to give bad news, so they don't want to talk about problems. For example, if I'm meeting a group of people for dinner and I call one of them to say I will be late, that person probably won't tell anyone until I'm already at least 30 minutes late. The people here prefer not to give the bad news until it actually happens, or not at all if possible. Sometimes they will just phrase a problem in the past tense even though it is ongoing, like "I was horribly depressed when I found out I had HIV, but I'm okay now." Fortunately that wasn't much of a problem when meeting with people for counseling because I explained ahead of time that part of my job is to hear the bad news. Work is also highly valued here, so by explaining that hearing the bad news is part of my job I think they felt like it was more acceptable to talk about problems.
For the most part, people were interested in talking about everyday things that cause them stress. They knew I wasn't there to offer financial assistance, so we were just able to focus on things like the stress of not knowing where the next meal will come from, not knowing who will take care of your children next time you are sick, or of feeling lonely and isolated because of having HIV. One of the six people just wanted to ask me for a loan, but the other five took to the process pretty well. I think I will meet with three of them again, but I will just check in with the others to see how they are doing with what we talked about on Saturday. Next week we are visiting people in their homes, but I'm not sure if they want me to focus on counseling or continue the needs assessment. I know I will at least get to do some more counseling next Saturday. So far so good! I've heard it's not easy to do counseling through a translator, but I like it. That 20-30 second pause gives me plenty of time to think about what the person has said and what I want to say. I wish I had a little more time in Tanzania though. It's hard to make much progress with people when I can only meet with them twice...or three times at most. At least they have a good, supportive group in place already.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
With hope but no money, you die with hope
Finally I can describe my project, now that I've been working for a few days. As I said before, you never know what to expect here until it actually happens. I'm interviewing people (90% women) who have HIV or AIDS to assess their needs and identify common problems. This will help the project make more specific requests for assistance, which usually increases the odds of getting funding.
I work with a translator named Ali. On the typical day, Ali picks me up around 9am and we go to meet Flora, the founder of this project whom I mentioned in a previous post. She is about 10 minutes away by daladala (the local bus). The daladala is a modified cargo van that they manage to fill with up to 21 people, or at least that is the most I have seen so far. It costs 200 shillings, which is about 17 cents. When I get on, everyone looks at me for a minute. Ali tells me, "they're just surprised because they've never seen mzungu (white person) on the daladala." This is a recurring theme where I'm working. When I first heard people say mzungu I though it was something bad, but they tell me it isn't a derogatory term. People typically say hello (habari or jambo) to me as I walk down the street, so I do feel welcome. I don't like being a celebrity though.
After a 10-minute ride, we meet up with Flora and get on another daladala to whatever neighborhood we're working in that day. On my first day, and again yesterday, we went to what has to be one of the poorest neighborhoods in Arusha. As I walk down the street, people actually stop what they're doing to look at me. Ali tells me, "They've never seen mzungu on this street before. They're just surprised." We stop at a local market to buy one kilo of sugar and six bars of soap for each person I will meet that day. This costs me 1800 shillings per person (about $1.50). These are items most of the people we meet can never afford to buy for themselves. In this neighborhood we have to meet people outside of a church because their homes are too small to sit in, and they likely do not have chairs anyway. I'm told the rooms are about 8 by 8 feet and the rent ranges from 5-7000 shillings per month ($4-6). Most struggle to pay the rent and one woman I met lives with six other family members in that tiny space. The income in this area is well below $1 per day. Most of the people here can only afford ugali, a dish made from corn flour that tastes like rice. Some get two meals per day, others just one. I actually like ugali, but I can't image anyone living off it.
Most of the women I have met with are widows. Almost all have children who have HIV or have already died of AIDS. All of this is heartbreaking, but that is probably the toughest thign to see. The project founder, Flora, showed me a picture of her son just before he died of AIDS around age 9. That is an image that will never leave me. She also lost a daughter to AIDS around age 5. Somehow she has survived for 14 years with HIV, without any medication until the last two years.
Enough of the bad. I have also seen some very uplifting things. One thing I just found out about that really surprised me is that ARV meds are provided by the government for free to anyone with HIV. HIV testing is also free, although many avoid it out of fear. The free drugs have had a huge impact on the health of HIV victims. Unfortunately, other diseases are not covered, so people suffer for long periods of time with malaria, yellow fever, TB, and other illnesses. The drugs also don't work very well without adequate nutrition, which few can afford. Still, I'm not working with the late-stage AIDS victims I was expecting to meet. Some show physical symptoms of the illness, but not most.
Despite all of this adversity, the women I have met are extremely resilient. I was actually told by a 39-year-old woman with HIV, whose husband died of AIDS in 1994 and infected her after cheating, "I was sad at first, but not anymore because everyone has problems." She has already outlived her husband, far outlived expectations, and seen her daughter reach adulthood, so she just looks at the rest of her life as a gift. That was one of those moments where every complaint I have ever made felt ridiculous in hindsight.
Flora is a big reason people are able to have hope despite having little else. She is completely open and unashamed about being HIV positive. She has been very open about it since she found out in the mid 90's, when there was much more stigma surrounding HIV. She is probably the strongest person I have ever met, and very positive. But she is quick to remind me that "with hope but no money, you die with hope." This project is grass-roots, run and primarily financed by poor women with HIV. They barely have the funds to keep things going with their 80 members, even though they rarely provide anything material. The group almost collapsed a year ago when several senior members died in a short timespan. Unfortunately everyone asks for money, which I can't help them with beyond the small gifts I provide. I want to send them some money when I get home. We'll see how much I can raise.
Saturday I will also get to do some counseling with one of the women I met who is not as hopeful as the rest. When I talked to her, she looked as if she has absolutely given up. I've never seen anything like it, even when working with people who are suicidal. I asked Flora to be involved as well. Hopefully we can do something for her.
I work with a translator named Ali. On the typical day, Ali picks me up around 9am and we go to meet Flora, the founder of this project whom I mentioned in a previous post. She is about 10 minutes away by daladala (the local bus). The daladala is a modified cargo van that they manage to fill with up to 21 people, or at least that is the most I have seen so far. It costs 200 shillings, which is about 17 cents. When I get on, everyone looks at me for a minute. Ali tells me, "they're just surprised because they've never seen mzungu (white person) on the daladala." This is a recurring theme where I'm working. When I first heard people say mzungu I though it was something bad, but they tell me it isn't a derogatory term. People typically say hello (habari or jambo) to me as I walk down the street, so I do feel welcome. I don't like being a celebrity though.
After a 10-minute ride, we meet up with Flora and get on another daladala to whatever neighborhood we're working in that day. On my first day, and again yesterday, we went to what has to be one of the poorest neighborhoods in Arusha. As I walk down the street, people actually stop what they're doing to look at me. Ali tells me, "They've never seen mzungu on this street before. They're just surprised." We stop at a local market to buy one kilo of sugar and six bars of soap for each person I will meet that day. This costs me 1800 shillings per person (about $1.50). These are items most of the people we meet can never afford to buy for themselves. In this neighborhood we have to meet people outside of a church because their homes are too small to sit in, and they likely do not have chairs anyway. I'm told the rooms are about 8 by 8 feet and the rent ranges from 5-7000 shillings per month ($4-6). Most struggle to pay the rent and one woman I met lives with six other family members in that tiny space. The income in this area is well below $1 per day. Most of the people here can only afford ugali, a dish made from corn flour that tastes like rice. Some get two meals per day, others just one. I actually like ugali, but I can't image anyone living off it.
Most of the women I have met with are widows. Almost all have children who have HIV or have already died of AIDS. All of this is heartbreaking, but that is probably the toughest thign to see. The project founder, Flora, showed me a picture of her son just before he died of AIDS around age 9. That is an image that will never leave me. She also lost a daughter to AIDS around age 5. Somehow she has survived for 14 years with HIV, without any medication until the last two years.
Enough of the bad. I have also seen some very uplifting things. One thing I just found out about that really surprised me is that ARV meds are provided by the government for free to anyone with HIV. HIV testing is also free, although many avoid it out of fear. The free drugs have had a huge impact on the health of HIV victims. Unfortunately, other diseases are not covered, so people suffer for long periods of time with malaria, yellow fever, TB, and other illnesses. The drugs also don't work very well without adequate nutrition, which few can afford. Still, I'm not working with the late-stage AIDS victims I was expecting to meet. Some show physical symptoms of the illness, but not most.
Despite all of this adversity, the women I have met are extremely resilient. I was actually told by a 39-year-old woman with HIV, whose husband died of AIDS in 1994 and infected her after cheating, "I was sad at first, but not anymore because everyone has problems." She has already outlived her husband, far outlived expectations, and seen her daughter reach adulthood, so she just looks at the rest of her life as a gift. That was one of those moments where every complaint I have ever made felt ridiculous in hindsight.
Flora is a big reason people are able to have hope despite having little else. She is completely open and unashamed about being HIV positive. She has been very open about it since she found out in the mid 90's, when there was much more stigma surrounding HIV. She is probably the strongest person I have ever met, and very positive. But she is quick to remind me that "with hope but no money, you die with hope." This project is grass-roots, run and primarily financed by poor women with HIV. They barely have the funds to keep things going with their 80 members, even though they rarely provide anything material. The group almost collapsed a year ago when several senior members died in a short timespan. Unfortunately everyone asks for money, which I can't help them with beyond the small gifts I provide. I want to send them some money when I get home. We'll see how much I can raise.
Saturday I will also get to do some counseling with one of the women I met who is not as hopeful as the rest. When I talked to her, she looked as if she has absolutely given up. I've never seen anything like it, even when working with people who are suicidal. I asked Flora to be involved as well. Hopefully we can do something for her.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Pictures
There is no place for me to reply, but I do appreciate the comments. I'm also checking e-mail every few days, so you can reach me that way.
I have a lot to say about my project after the first three days, but it's late so I'm just posting some pictures. I will write about the project tomorrow. They have me doing a "needs analysis" of people with HIV/AIDS to identify common problems and needs. So far I have met with 15 people in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Arusha, Tanzania. Here is a link to my photo account. I'll get more on there later. The connection here is slow, so I was only able to upload a few.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78555692@N00/
I have a lot to say about my project after the first three days, but it's late so I'm just posting some pictures. I will write about the project tomorrow. They have me doing a "needs analysis" of people with HIV/AIDS to identify common problems and needs. So far I have met with 15 people in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Arusha, Tanzania. Here is a link to my photo account. I'll get more on there later. The connection here is slow, so I was only able to upload a few.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78555692@N00/
Monday, May 14, 2007
Safari Mzima (Good Safari)
I took a 4-day safari to Lake Manyara (near Rift Valley), Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Oldevie Gorge (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). It was awesome. I traveled with three other volunteers, a guide, and a cook who made some of the best food I've had in a while. We started at Lake Manyara, where our camp site was much nicer than I expected. It was fenced in and had a pool and warm showers...the first warm shower I've had here. At Manyara park we saw a group of about 40 baboons who climbed all over our jeep. We also saw a large group of giraffes (twiga) on the plains. The best thing there was that we had a pack of 10 elephants (taymbo) come close enough for us to touch (although that wasn't allowed).
Serengeti was the best of the parks. It seems like you can see for 20 miles or more across the plains. We went there on days 2 and 3 of the trip. The first day we saw two lions together who had just fed and were laying in the grass next to the road. We also saw a croc swamp, where zebras were running in and out to get water. Unfortunately they already caught something shortly before we arrived, so they weren't hungry. This is migration season so there are millions of zebra and wilderbeast traveling in groups of thousands. The camp was interesting. We stayed just outside of the park, although there is no fence. It was darker than any place I've ever seen. The moon wasn't out, so the stars were more visible than any place I've ever been. We slept in tents and any animal in the park could have come into our camp. Our guide hired two guys with homemade bows and poison tipped arrows to stay up overnight and guard the camp. We didn't have any problems though. The next day we saw some leopard, about 20 elephants, several giraffes, and a huge hippo (kiboko) swamp.
Day four we went to Ngorongoro crater, which was created a few million years ago when a mountain collapsed. It is one of the most fertile areas in Africa, so it is rich with animals. Our camp was on the rim of the crater and we had zebra, buffalo, and elephants walking through. The wind was intense and it was raining like crazy, so I slept with the wind pressing the wet tent against me all night. Worst nights sleep ever. The crater was great though. Very scenic (picture attached). We saw a rhino (kifaru), which is pretty rare. There are only 20 in the park and they stay in the trees for the most part. We also saw a pack of lions attempt to hunt some zebra. They didn't catch it, but it was very cool. All-in-all, great safari.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Life in Arusha
I got back from my safari last night. It was great! I'll post something about that in the next few days. Sleeping in a tent in Serengeti is quite an experience. Again, I am unable to upload pictures. For now I'll just talk about Arusha and my host family.
My family is very nice. I am glad I'm not at a hostel. They already have one other volunteer staying with them - a woman from Canada (Danielle). They have two children, Wilson (age 17) and Jovena (age 22). Both are in school and they're thinking of sending Willie to America for college. The father is named Will and the mother just goes by Mama. That's pretty typical here. Once someone has children, they are often called mama or baba (father) by anyone younger than them who does not have children. The family is pretty well off by Tanzanian standards. The father owns a company that buys and sells Tanzanite (a gem found only in Tanzania). They have a four bedroom home, which is slightly larger than my apartment. It's a modest home, but very large compared to most homes here.
I think my host family would like to convert me to Christianity. Pretty ironic since it's usually Americans coming here to convert people. I said I would go to the Swahili church next week, which should be interesting. They wanted to go to an English speaking church, but that wouldn't be anything new. I'm curious to see if it's very different.
Life in Arusha is interesting. Almost everyone here wears slacks and button down shirts no matter what they are doing. There is an expectation that if you can afford to dress formally, you will. I heard a little about that before I left, so I'm not completely underdressed. Many people have cell phones too - they're cheap and you just buy charge cards to use them. I don't know what's going on in America, but our cell phone coverage sucks compared to Tanzania. You can get a signal in the middle of Serengeti park and I can't even get one if I go 5 miles outside of Athens, GA.
So far I've had some down-time to settle in. My project coordinators are always around, so we spend a lot of time in the local bars and restaurants. The food is actually very good here. If we weren't always walking everywhere I would probably gain weight. The bars are very different here. For the most part, only men go to bars. Women work in bars, but other than that, there are only prostitutes. As you can imagine, this is a big source of the HIV problem. Actually, not the source, but just one location of the problem. At first glance you might wonder why anyone would be a prostitute or willing to hire a prostitute when the HIV infection rate is so high. But with the poverty rate, it isn't too surprising. Most of these women have the choice between risking death from HIV/AIDS 10 or 15 years from now or going hungry today (or seeing their children starve). The country still has somewhat of a dowry system, where a man must pay the bride's family for the right to marry her (although this system isn't as strict as it used to be). So, many men are unable to afford marriage until they are in their 30's. That leaves many of them to the bars.
I met the woman who runs the HIV/AIDS project I am volunteering with. Her name is Flora and she is pretty amazing. She was diagnosed with HIV in 1992, after contracting it from her husband. She is still very healthy, which is amazing enough on its own. In 1992, HIV was heavily stigmatized (it isn't quite as bad now), but she consented to be interviewed by a national newspaper to talk about the disease. At that time people did not know much about HIV/AIDS, so that was a very courageous thing to do. A group in Dar es Salaam (the largest city in Tanzania) read the article and arranged to extend their local HIV project to Arusha, putting her in charge of this region. The project is very grassroots, run almost exclusively by women with HIV. They secure money and resources to help people who contract HIV.
I'll start with the project on Monday. I'm still not exactly sure what they want me to do. If they don't tell me, I'll just approach it as a counselor. One thing I've learned is that you never know what you're going to be doing here until it actually happens. They just come pick us up and tell us what we'll be doing. For example, my safari was supposed to start on Tuesday, but instead they showed up and said I would be meeting Flora and would start the safari on Wednesday. I don't really mind because it keeps things interesting. They are very good about keeping in contact and taking care of the safety of the volunteers, which is the important part.
I'll put something up about the safari in the next few days.
My family is very nice. I am glad I'm not at a hostel. They already have one other volunteer staying with them - a woman from Canada (Danielle). They have two children, Wilson (age 17) and Jovena (age 22). Both are in school and they're thinking of sending Willie to America for college. The father is named Will and the mother just goes by Mama. That's pretty typical here. Once someone has children, they are often called mama or baba (father) by anyone younger than them who does not have children. The family is pretty well off by Tanzanian standards. The father owns a company that buys and sells Tanzanite (a gem found only in Tanzania). They have a four bedroom home, which is slightly larger than my apartment. It's a modest home, but very large compared to most homes here.
I think my host family would like to convert me to Christianity. Pretty ironic since it's usually Americans coming here to convert people. I said I would go to the Swahili church next week, which should be interesting. They wanted to go to an English speaking church, but that wouldn't be anything new. I'm curious to see if it's very different.
Life in Arusha is interesting. Almost everyone here wears slacks and button down shirts no matter what they are doing. There is an expectation that if you can afford to dress formally, you will. I heard a little about that before I left, so I'm not completely underdressed. Many people have cell phones too - they're cheap and you just buy charge cards to use them. I don't know what's going on in America, but our cell phone coverage sucks compared to Tanzania. You can get a signal in the middle of Serengeti park and I can't even get one if I go 5 miles outside of Athens, GA.
So far I've had some down-time to settle in. My project coordinators are always around, so we spend a lot of time in the local bars and restaurants. The food is actually very good here. If we weren't always walking everywhere I would probably gain weight. The bars are very different here. For the most part, only men go to bars. Women work in bars, but other than that, there are only prostitutes. As you can imagine, this is a big source of the HIV problem. Actually, not the source, but just one location of the problem. At first glance you might wonder why anyone would be a prostitute or willing to hire a prostitute when the HIV infection rate is so high. But with the poverty rate, it isn't too surprising. Most of these women have the choice between risking death from HIV/AIDS 10 or 15 years from now or going hungry today (or seeing their children starve). The country still has somewhat of a dowry system, where a man must pay the bride's family for the right to marry her (although this system isn't as strict as it used to be). So, many men are unable to afford marriage until they are in their 30's. That leaves many of them to the bars.
I met the woman who runs the HIV/AIDS project I am volunteering with. Her name is Flora and she is pretty amazing. She was diagnosed with HIV in 1992, after contracting it from her husband. She is still very healthy, which is amazing enough on its own. In 1992, HIV was heavily stigmatized (it isn't quite as bad now), but she consented to be interviewed by a national newspaper to talk about the disease. At that time people did not know much about HIV/AIDS, so that was a very courageous thing to do. A group in Dar es Salaam (the largest city in Tanzania) read the article and arranged to extend their local HIV project to Arusha, putting her in charge of this region. The project is very grassroots, run almost exclusively by women with HIV. They secure money and resources to help people who contract HIV.
I'll start with the project on Monday. I'm still not exactly sure what they want me to do. If they don't tell me, I'll just approach it as a counselor. One thing I've learned is that you never know what you're going to be doing here until it actually happens. They just come pick us up and tell us what we'll be doing. For example, my safari was supposed to start on Tuesday, but instead they showed up and said I would be meeting Flora and would start the safari on Wednesday. I don't really mind because it keeps things interesting. They are very good about keeping in contact and taking care of the safety of the volunteers, which is the important part.
I'll put something up about the safari in the next few days.
Monday, May 7, 2007
I can't believe I'm in Africa!
I'm writing from Arusha, Tanzania! I got in last night around 8pm and it was way too dark to see Mt. Kilimanjaro. There aren't many lights here, so at night it's pitch black. There are still a lot of people walking and riding bikes at night, and I thought we were going to hit one of them on the ride from the airport. Only about 1% of the people have cars, so everyone is constantly walking everywhere.
Today was just a "recover from jetlag" day, so we're just checking out the city of Arusha. It has about 300,000 people and it is as poor as you can imagine for a city this size. Almost all of the roads are dirt, with massive pot holes everywhere. I went to one of the local markets today and it was pretty crazy. This is a weak time for tourism because it's the rainy season. People who rely on tourism for their income really struggle this time of year. Since almost all the white people here are tourists, people follow you around and beg you to buy things. Plus one of the other volunteers was handing out dollars to a few kids, so we had about 30 people following us around trying to sell us things. The people here are great, but business is cut-throat. Everyone is selling the same things, so the most persistent people are the ones who make the sale. A few dollars makes a huge difference, but there is so much poverty that you feel helpless to do much.
My trip got rearranged a little. I'll be staying with a host family (who I will meet tonight) instead of a hostel. I prefer that to a hostel. I'm also doing the safari at the beginning instead of in the middle of my trip. So, tomorrow I leave for Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater and I get back Friday night. A few other volunteers are taking the same trip. After that I'll start doing HIV/AIDS counseling (although I'm told it's mostly AIDS, not HIV). A lot of the people here don't find out they have the disease until it has become AIDS, so it is pretty common for them to die within just a few months of finding out. I was surprised to hear it was that fast, but nobody has money for antiviral medications or even money to treat the other diseases and illnesses that come from having a weakened immune system. At that point not much is important except resolving anything that needs to be resolved and hopefully finding some meaning and accepting your mortality.
They're fairly desperate for counselors (or anyone) to meet with people. There was only one other volunteer helping with this when I got here, and she just has a bachelor's degree in anthropology with a minor in psychology. I'm trying to teach her some basic counseling skills and she's coaching me on the issues she has run into over the last month.
Unfortunately I can't upload any pics on this computer, but hopefully I'll be able to do that somewhere else when I get back from Serengeti.
Today was just a "recover from jetlag" day, so we're just checking out the city of Arusha. It has about 300,000 people and it is as poor as you can imagine for a city this size. Almost all of the roads are dirt, with massive pot holes everywhere. I went to one of the local markets today and it was pretty crazy. This is a weak time for tourism because it's the rainy season. People who rely on tourism for their income really struggle this time of year. Since almost all the white people here are tourists, people follow you around and beg you to buy things. Plus one of the other volunteers was handing out dollars to a few kids, so we had about 30 people following us around trying to sell us things. The people here are great, but business is cut-throat. Everyone is selling the same things, so the most persistent people are the ones who make the sale. A few dollars makes a huge difference, but there is so much poverty that you feel helpless to do much.
My trip got rearranged a little. I'll be staying with a host family (who I will meet tonight) instead of a hostel. I prefer that to a hostel. I'm also doing the safari at the beginning instead of in the middle of my trip. So, tomorrow I leave for Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater and I get back Friday night. A few other volunteers are taking the same trip. After that I'll start doing HIV/AIDS counseling (although I'm told it's mostly AIDS, not HIV). A lot of the people here don't find out they have the disease until it has become AIDS, so it is pretty common for them to die within just a few months of finding out. I was surprised to hear it was that fast, but nobody has money for antiviral medications or even money to treat the other diseases and illnesses that come from having a weakened immune system. At that point not much is important except resolving anything that needs to be resolved and hopefully finding some meaning and accepting your mortality.
They're fairly desperate for counselors (or anyone) to meet with people. There was only one other volunteer helping with this when I got here, and she just has a bachelor's degree in anthropology with a minor in psychology. I'm trying to teach her some basic counseling skills and she's coaching me on the issues she has run into over the last month.
Unfortunately I can't upload any pics on this computer, but hopefully I'll be able to do that somewhere else when I get back from Serengeti.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
On my way out the door
My flight will be leaving in about six hours (Northwest #8622 to Amsterdam and #8567 to Kilimanjaro for those of you who want to check and make sure I made it). I'm a little nervous but mostly excited. This is my first trip outside of North America.
After talking to the coordinator yesterday I'm not sure if I'll have many chances to update this blog, so don't worry about me if you don't see any posts for a while. Internet access is much more common in the other city I was considering (Dar es Salaam). It's harder to find in Arusha. Hopefully I'll get a few chances to post and upload pictures.
See ya!
After talking to the coordinator yesterday I'm not sure if I'll have many chances to update this blog, so don't worry about me if you don't see any posts for a while. Internet access is much more common in the other city I was considering (Dar es Salaam). It's harder to find in Arusha. Hopefully I'll get a few chances to post and upload pictures.
See ya!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Bearings
I have pretty much given up on trying to become at all functional in Swahili. I am just trying to focus on learning some basic words and phrases. I am not talented at learning new languages. At this point, I just want to know enough to show I that made an effort.
Instead, I'm spending my energy trying to get a better understanding of the culture in Tanzania, which is always important when doing counseling in a population you are unfamiliar with. I'm reading two books: "Tanzania: The Land and Its Peoples" by John Ndembwike and "A Plague of Paradoxes: AIDS, Culture, and Demography in Northern Tanzania" by Philip W. Setel. These are actually the only two books I was able to find about Tanzania, so I'm lucky that one is specifically about Northern Tanzania. The first book is pretty general. It covers mainly history and geography, with very general discussion of the culture. That part isn't very helpful, since Tanzania has 130 different ethnic groups! Many are not at all similar. Some groups are traditionally farmers, while other have traditionally been hunters or herders. Religion is also diverse. 30% of Tanzanians are Muslim, 30% are Christian, and 40% practice one of many different indigenous religions. Even many of the Christians and Muslims still practice aspects of various indigenous religions.
Interesting fact from my reading - about 8% of the people in Tanzania (like most of Sub-Saharan Africa) are HIV positive. But in Northern Africa, the HIV infection rate is less than half the rate in the United States (where it is about 0.5%).
Instead, I'm spending my energy trying to get a better understanding of the culture in Tanzania, which is always important when doing counseling in a population you are unfamiliar with. I'm reading two books: "Tanzania: The Land and Its Peoples" by John Ndembwike and "A Plague of Paradoxes: AIDS, Culture, and Demography in Northern Tanzania" by Philip W. Setel. These are actually the only two books I was able to find about Tanzania, so I'm lucky that one is specifically about Northern Tanzania. The first book is pretty general. It covers mainly history and geography, with very general discussion of the culture. That part isn't very helpful, since Tanzania has 130 different ethnic groups! Many are not at all similar. Some groups are traditionally farmers, while other have traditionally been hunters or herders. Religion is also diverse. 30% of Tanzanians are Muslim, 30% are Christian, and 40% practice one of many different indigenous religions. Even many of the Christians and Muslims still practice aspects of various indigenous religions.
Interesting fact from my reading - about 8% of the people in Tanzania (like most of Sub-Saharan Africa) are HIV positive. But in Northern Africa, the HIV infection rate is less than half the rate in the United States (where it is about 0.5%).
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Project Details
I received the details of the project I will be volunteering with. I will primarily be providing counseling to women who have been infected with HIV. All of the counseling is done in-home, in the areas surrounding the city of Arusha. I am told the program primarily deals with self-esteem building, coping with the illness, and health and prevention. Not exactly my area of expertise, but I'm looking forward to challenging myself. The main reason I wanted to do this trip was to get some first-hand experience in social justice work around an important problem. Looks like I have that covered. One aspect of this work that is in my area of expertise is that they also try to destigmatize HIV in the local communities. Not that I have hands-on experience with that kind of activism, but I wrote my Master's thesis on the topic of stigma.
I was initially worried I wouldn't be able to do much counseling because of the cultural and language barriers, but it shouldn't be a problem. English is the second most common language in Tanzania (after Swahili). So, I am told I might be able to work in English with women who are proficient, and that I will work with another counselor who is fluent in Swahili the rest of the time.
I was initially worried I wouldn't be able to do much counseling because of the cultural and language barriers, but it shouldn't be a problem. English is the second most common language in Tanzania (after Swahili). So, I am told I might be able to work in English with women who are proficient, and that I will work with another counselor who is fluent in Swahili the rest of the time.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Location, Location, Location
Here is a map of Tanzania. I will be volunteering in the Arusha region (Northern Tanzania) for three weeks. I will leave on May 5 and arrive back in Atlanta on May 30. I will connect in Amsterdam and fly into Kilimanjaro airport (just east of Arusha). I will also take a four day trip to Serengeti and Ngorongoro parks (to the west). Ngorongoro is on the west edge of the Arusha region. Serengeti is mostly in the Mara region, though it extends all the way into Kenya. Click on the map to see a larger version.
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