Safi School Project Blog

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2010-04-03T12:57:00.001-07:00

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2010-03-03T18:15:00.000-08:00

The news from Arusha and your trip sounds great! Thanks for all the information and anxious for an overview of what we were able to accomplish. Reinforces our efforts to move forward!

Lola Deane

home

2010-03-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

After a week of sleeping much of the time and doing little or nothing, we are "back to normal". You may take that any way you wish.:-)

So, people ask how it feels to be back home - it is wonderful to see family and friends, especially Jen, Jon, Sarah and Jack.

It is very orderly here in the U.S. People drive in the correct lane, no goats and cows are allowed on the roads, people stand in line in the grocery store - there IS a grocery store, church lasts one hour, the lights work, the hotwater is always there, I can drink out of the tap, the roads are paved, there are stoplights, we drive our own car - and we have to cook for ourselves!

So, I miss the smiling people we met every day, the children who loved to"high five" and shout "good morning", the daily walk to the school, the excited teachers and students with textbooks for the first time, the chaos of yo-yo's, kazoos, bagpipes, baseball, an auction with soccer balls and soccer shoes and cloth and school bags and Obama calendars, mornings, afternoons and evenings of conversation with wonderful people who gave of themselves for this project, an adventure a day!

And, I'd like to have more order to the teaching, building, projects that we participate in at the school.

I think it would be good to have a more deliberate "debriefing " each day. Random conversation is great, but maybe something more deliberate would be good.

We loved the group, the experience, not the heat ( altho morning and evening were great) and the people.

Salama, Mary

saying goodbye

2010-02-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

How do you say goodbye? Emotions are running high as I pack to leave this wonderful place for home. I am excited to go home and see my family but will also miss the friends I have made here and faces of the people of Tanzania. The faces are beautiful and always smiling. I will miss the children waving and saying jambo(hello), how are you? I will miss seeing the women in their colorful dresses walking with unbelievably heavy loads on top of their heads. I will miss seeing the piles of fruit spread out on a cloth on the ground beside the road that are for sale to earn a few shillings for the woman who tends the "shop" each day. Children play beside her and easily entertain themselves for hours.

Exciting things are happening at the school which have been talked about in previous blogs and it would be good to watch the changes as they grow and develop. I will have to settle for reports and the next trip to satisfy my curiosity and my hopes for the future of the school.

This morning we said goodbye to eight of our members as they left for Zanzibar and a new experience. Two others left for a day trip to Arusha National Park. Six more of us leave for home tonight. Thanks for being with us on the journey.

Off to Z-Land

2010-02-16T19:53:00.000-08:00

Africa rookies Katie and Bill blogging for the first time. We are at breakfast now, soon to leave for the flight to Zanzibar. Leaving many of the Merry Men and Women today who have been here for 5 weeks and are headed for home.

Just about all the superlatives about Africa have been used up. Such extremes . . . the beauty of the Serengeti and Tarangire, the staggering poverty and squalor of much of Arusha. The Maasai outside the city living in the mud bomas with the thorn corrals that they have lived in for thousands of years. Once into the country, much of Africa is a changeless land

The Milky Way still can be seen here in a vivid night sky. And the birds and bird songs -- WOW!

This trip has to rank up there with the best of our lives...meeting new friends, laughing, drinking wine and bumping along dirt roads which seem to go on forever, until we stop to see some spectacular sight (animal, vegetable or mineral!) Home Sunday

Words cannot express the incredible vastness and grandeur of the Tanzania wilderness and the elegance and beauty of the Massai people. In spite of the base poverty of so many, so many that we have seen and spent time with are industrious, so welcoming and rich in their relationships.

The group with which we are traveling is wonderful. Great and generous people and so talented. We've really enjoyed one another. It helps that most of us are a bit off plumb. . .!

About half of our group fly back to Seattle today while the rest of us are off to the island of

Zanzibar. Hi to our grandkids in Bothell, Bellevue and Portland!

Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T21:36:00.000-08:00

We are already celebrating Valentine's Day here - red heart gummy bears, heart M& Ms and more to come, I hear. I tried to explain the significance of the day to the women here at the lodge, but I couldn't do it.
The auction at Ngateu was yesterday, our last day at the school. They raised almost $1000, an unheard of amount, with the help of many Safi group members. People would buy something and give it to a student or a child or an adult. It was great fun. Katie Collins gave away kazoos so the whole place was humming by the time we left. Bill Collins played his bagpipes and that attracted people from far and near. I think we'll have to start a kazoo bagpipe band.
We were given certificates by the school board and staff, officially stamped and signed. ( We have ones for you all -Jeff, Adrianna, Jenny and Larry) All of us agreed that more was accomplished during these 4 weeks than any of us dreamed possible - computer lab is now functioning, library has more shelves and more books ( that people use!), the new stoves for the kitchen will be in place in a month, the teachers will be trained, students helped by Mwangaza Center people, the staff is definitely more optimistic, the Rotary here has added our well project to their list, students have learned baseball, kazoos, yo-yos, sukoku, Scottish dancing, English, math - it's been a great time. (And as one person said, we must be really wicked because their is no rest.:-)
But we're off to Tarangire game park to rest and debrief, tough duty.
We are getting anxious to get home! M

Zanzibar Pictures

2010-02-13T07:25:00.000-08:00

Safari - Kristina's camera

2010-02-13T07:11:00.001-08:00

Ngateu Library pictures

2010-02-13T06:53:00.000-08:00

The Library books get taped, stamped and shelved. Not only is Helen, the librarian happy but teachers are happy and students stop us and sya "Thanks for the books!" Can you imaagine having to take and pass your final national physics exam with never having access to a text book?

safari

2010-02-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

The migration is as advertised. Wildebeest and zebra as far as one can see. Lots of babies, newborn gazelle being licked clean by mama, hyenas, lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, giraffes - amazing, amazing.
We were dusty, hot and happy - more pictures than we can count. Back to work today at Ngateu. Government inspectors at school, making people nervous. Meeting with Mwangaza to finalize our mutual commitment to a better education for the students. Baseball, kazoos, math games, sudoku - tomorrow we organize for auction and I'll talk with the computer person about new computers for the school.
Time for sleep. Lala salama. Mary

Bagpipes, baseball, blogs, and babies

2010-02-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

Bagpipes, by bill Collins was the event of the day - followed by baseball. Dictionaries with bagpipe and pictures, discussion, performance , participation by students - and then the baseball finale , complete with Scottish dancing, led by earla, and kids and exhausted wazungu (that's us)
AND We had a great meeting with \mwangaza Center- an organization dedicated to improvement of education in Tanzania. They have agreed to provide resources for our school. We have agreed to pay for their help. More to follow. It appears to be a match made in heaven.
Today was a visit to neema Ndooki Swai,pastor, new mother, new masters' student. It was wonderful. We have pictures of each of us holding baby Noela, 2 months old, and many of Babu David I. holding a sleeping baby Noela. What a gift it was.
and then the orphan project, the adorable children, singing, and counting and healthy.
and then back with the great group who are here. Tomorrow we leave on safari. Home on thursday, Maybe we can email on the way.
It will be good for a break. \\m

more baseball

2010-02-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

The pictures posted for the baseball game were great and captured the excitement that was present! Yesterday Form III had a chance to duplicate the experience. The class was divided into two teams with Marilyn as captain of the Serengettis and David J(as opposed to David I) leading the Lions(simbas). David I was the pitcher and I believe that the Serengettis won! The highlight was the concept adopted by some of the girls that when your friend ran the bases you ran with her to give her support(usually four at a time). Of interest was the group of goats in the outfield!

One of our members had an opportunity to speak with her Form IV student and learned a great deal about commitment to education. When describing her day she said that when she returned home she did a few chores on the small farm but that her main job was to study. She would study in the late afternoon and evening and go to bed around 9:00p.m.. She would arise at 3:30a.m. to resume her studies before getting ready for school. She is why we are here! She is why we ask for support to continue our work here.

We are back at school today for more desk building and book cataloging and teaching. I am full of renewed excitement as we discuss the future of the school and ways that we can help.

Faces from Tanzania

2010-02-03T05:03:00.000-08:00

Faces

Return from Zanzibar

2010-02-03T04:03:00.000-08:00

Last night saw the return of the Zanzibar travelers and the arrival of the second group to work at the school and experience Tanzania. Conversation is high and excitement for the new arrivals is explosive as they see, hear and smell a different culture.

This was my first trip to Zanzibar and it too is different than the mainland in culture and climate. It is tropical and Arab infuences are everywhere. The people are 87% Muslim so the clothing reflects that also. We enjoyed a relaxing time at the beach but my favorite experience was the tour of a spice farm. We took a guided walk thru a plantation/farm where the spices are grown. We were able to see the plants, trees shrubs, roots as they were growing. We saw lemongrass, peppercorns, vanilla beans, ginger root, tumeric root, iodine tree, cinnamon trees, clove trees, cacao, nutmeg shells, cardamom pods. There were also many fruits which we tasted at the end before having the opportunity to purchase spices.

It was good to be back at the school today and continue our work with the students and staff.

A few of us stayed at the lodge this afternoon while the majority went into Arusha to see the sights and shop. Tonight we have dinner with the British student volunteers and say goodbye to Kristina and Mary's brother Wayne.

Greetings to all! Earla

back to Freedom Lodge

2010-02-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

We are now back at Freedom Lodge, our "close to Ngateu "place to live. the new group is on their way, the Zanzibaris are on their way back tomorrow and work resumes. My brother, Wayne is with us here and that's been good. He's with Operation Bootstrap and it's good to share stories.
BUT the exciting thing for us, we stopped at Ngateu on the way back to Freedom Lodge - and they were so excited about the "initiative" they had taken. And we are excited, too.
It is unusual for this school team - like unheard of- to do the things they did while we've been gone. They had tables built for the teachers - a suggestion at the board meeting, they took out the "carpet" ( linoleum) in the computer lab and washed the floors carefully, they put tinfoil on the new shelves, so the wet wood would not ruin the books, the new books are on the shelves, the have made a list of books that should be purchased with the next bit of money, they are whitewashing the staff latrine - amazing number of "initiatives" in this week. I am thinking it's a miracle. And they had someone take out all the computer junk. ( I hope it went to recycle, but it's gone and they were very pleased.)
Hot days, cooler nights , full, amazing moon, great people - such a life. M

Pictures

2010-02-01T08:48:00.000-08:00

We have so many pictures. They will be appearing as we get them organized.

Zanzibar

2010-02-01T03:33:00.000-08:00

This trip I added Zanzibar to the end and it is wonderful. I don't think I've ever sweated so much before in my entire life, and that includes child birth. But, like childbirth, it is worth it. We had one day of down time on the beach and Paige, I finished your book. Today we toured a spice farm which included a feast of fruit afterward including jack fruit (looks like bread fruit). The pinapple was better than the best I have ever had. Now we are in stone town. Very different than Arusha. I've lots of pictures and I will add them when I get to a computer that will let me do so. We're about to grab a bite and then shop - Elizabeth's favorite spot. Again....we find that the people are wonderful.

2010-01-30T06:38:00.000-08:00

all your comments have inspired me to write again - even though you may be getting too much of me. We're saying goodbye to Jenny and Larry and Adrianna and we will miss them!! The rest are in Zanzibar - larry and David and I are at the safari lodge. No blogging from Zanzibar as they haven't had electricity for 6 months. ( There are generators)
My brother comes tonight to the lodge with the OBA group and Jean and Marv will come in also - to eat, chat and shower in our room.( no water in Monduli for about 6 months.)
Haldor is visiting the Hadzabe - a hunter gatherer tribe south of the Serengeti.
We've talked lots today about the school and what to do and how best to help. Mwangaza Center is a huge part of what will help, I think. We're excited to talk to them again. It's still hot here, but the mornings and evenings are lovely - clear, full moon, still, flowers everywhere - not bad. And we have water and electricity!
M

Back in Arusha

2010-01-29T06:19:00.000-08:00

We're all together again, sans Jeff, and in Arusha. What a welcome we received at the Safari Lodge. By now I have grown accustomed to the staff recognizing us from previous years and the hugs and warm welcomes. I say that I'm accustomed to it but I admit I am in awe of the warmth. I want to carry it with me always. Tonight we will have an African dinner and then many of us are off to Zanzibar. We've been hot for days and the only thing I hear about Zanzibar is that it is HOT! I promise not to melt. I really missed blogging while on Safari but it just was not possible. When I get back to the states I promise to add pictures. WE HAVE GREAT ONES. I've never seen so many baby elephants. Stay tuned.

This is from the 25th

2010-01-29T06:14:00.000-08:00

Great day! Serengeti. My third visit and each visit outdoes the previous visit. On this green savannah, the wildebeest and zebra outnumber any possibility of counting. Imagine driving across Montana on a dirt road with no fences and seeing the land covered in cattle and horses. It’s impossible to take a picture or describe the numbers of bio mass that we saw. The elephants gathered to an extended family of 75 that I could see and you could probably add another 20 who were too bunched or too young to show. Then later….. the leopard! There were also lions, ostrich, impala, grants gazelle & tommys, hartebeest, topi, springbuck, waterbuck, vultures, eagles, giraffe (not as many as the 50 plus we saw yesterday), hippos, wart hogs (pumba), jackal, hyenas, even the little dik dik, and I can continue……

I sit now in the yard beyond Ndudu’s lodge. A nearby knocking tells me that a pileated woodpecker knocking the acacia tree to my right. Between my seat and the blue lake, (yes it has water!) stalks a marabou stork on its long stilt legs. A lodge worker comes out to begin the evening fire. The hat is not needed but the smoke keeps down the flies. Eight superb starlings are curiously checking me out. Oh look, zeebra. What a trip of contrasts. Just this morning I was discussing water filtration systems with a man working with another NGO. Issues of sanitation, implementation, maintenance and cultural necessities blended into sanitation and hygiene. His most stunning statement was that in places where these are used, the locals say they use it because “babies are not getting sick,” Can anything be more sublime.

Tuesday - me again

2010-01-27T02:51:00.000-08:00

Since I'm not looking for animals, I get to blog. Elizabeth took David to Rotary so he can talk to them about the water project. David and I first went to the Mwangaza Center to talk with Shoonie, from the u.S. , John and Salome, from Tz. Mwangaza is a center for education of teachers and is walking distance from Elizabeth's. They have done an assessment of all the Lutheran Church sponsored schools in Tz. , including Ngateu. We rank near the bottom of all of the schools. (ranking is based on performance on the national exams.) That's the bad news, which we kind of knew. But the good news is that they are going to help! A proposal is being pressented to us next Thursday for the cost and the scope of their involvement with teachers and headmaster at Ngateu. It is very exciting. They have done their homework. They were excited also, to hear of our ideas and assessment of the school, teachers, facilities, etc. Books, library and working computers delighted them as MANY schools have none of these. There's so much to tell that I can't do it here, but I will write it up and share the highlights. After we had talked awhile, and we realized what their involvement would mean to Ngateu andour involvement, David tried to tell them what it felt like for us and he got all choked up. It was an amazing meeting!!!!
The Tanzanian teachers also gave me advice on various questions we've had and that is so valuable. One question was whether sponsors should be able to buy a set of textbooks for their student,or if other students would be left out. The answer was please buy the textbooks, maybe not all of them ( 8 or 9), but maybe 4 or 5 that the student really needs. That way, some students will have their own textbooks in class, so the school books will spread farther.

So, I feel hopeful and excited. Now I will walk back to Elizabeth's and tonight, the 3 of us will try out a new restaurant to see if the group would like it. (Somebody has to do these restaurant checks.:-)
We will be glad to have the rest of our friends back and hear their tales. m

Monday evening

2010-01-25T07:54:00.004-08:00

Elizabeth and David and I are now alone with the dogs, Sinde and Cheza , in Ilboru. Jeff left tonight and we will miss him!!!! He will add pictures when he gets home. The safari group reports the migration of wildebeest and zebra is at Ndutu ( where they are), 20 lions, 3 cheetahs next to the vehicle, leopard, etc.

We have visited the school, eaten about 5 times, driven up and down the lovely roads, had the best "chilly" cashews ever, and Indian food for the second day.

Friday was dinner at friends' Farida and Saif's home. It was delicious and lovely and they are the most gracious of hosts. Sat. we had a school board meeting that was good. They are very grateful for books and 11 working computers and sorted parts in the computer lab, and people to talk to and teachers in the classes and baseball and baseball hats.
My favorite baseball game story was of Mr. Mosha, who is the Swahili/english teacher - and a delightful man. He wanted to bat and had no idea what to do. So he missed the ball several times - everyone laughing with him, hit it and ran to 1st - with some direction from the "coaches". Then the next student hit the ball and I told Mr. Mosha to run to second base, which he did, but then he ran off into the field, caught the next hit ball and threw it somewhere. He finally ended up at home, where we retired hiim for the day.
Sunday was church at the International church where we saw many friends, lunch at Ilboru Safari Lodge, then the curry and movie. We're eating too much! Elizabeth promises that she won't cook for us, but then she usually doesn't:-) .
Lots meetings this week, so it's good to be here - but I do miss the safari!
Enough- it's still warm and humid, but we sleep comfortably. Mary, Elizabeth, and David

Winding down

2010-01-23T22:27:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow morning will be my last trip up the hill to the school. I have an evening flight first to Dar es Saalam, then to Amsterdaam, then back to Seattle.

At the beginning of the trip I had a difficult time articulating what it is like here, and I still have not made any improvements. There are just so many contrasts. Often I see something that makes me laugh and smile and something else that makes me want to cry. It can be quite a roller coaster. I think that the work at the school is an example of this. The staff has been very very happy and appreciative about the 600+ textbooks that we bought them. They say that this will fundamentally change things at the school. Then you look next door and realize that at the primary school, the class size is over 100 kids per teacher and see that there is no way for those kids to be successful. We feed the kids at the school lunch, but outside the school there are still many hungry faces. We stay at a nice place and enjoy the company of the group in the evenings, while in the distance in the dark, we can sometimes here the sounds of domestic violence.

So it has been a little bit like drinking from a firehose. . . it is a whole lot all very quickly. But it really has allowed me to regain the perspective that I once had while travelling years ago. This is a fantastic place, and if you would like to gain some perspective on how incredibly fortunate we are in America, I'd encourage you to sign up for the Safi trip next year.

-Jeff-

Sat.

2010-01-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

David, Jeff, Elizabeth and I are in town at Elizabeth's office. Jeff is "saving her life". ( computer problem with her credit union.) We've decided that Jeff has to be a permanent part of the trips - he is amazing and insightful and fun! The rest of the group left on safari today and it was hard not to go, but we'll go on the next one.
This has been a great group - we hate to have anyone leave. But we are excited for the new 6 to arrive, also.
School board meeting this morning - went very well. They are so thankful for everything - books, shelves, computers ( 11 now working), teachers, baseball, - it's good.
I'm out of time - more tomorrow. Mary

Thursday, by Marilyn

2010-01-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

Thursday, 21 Jan. we taught the form 4 class the basics of American softball.

First we handed out baseball hats for them to decorate and keep.

Thanks to my son's family we had new baseballs, bats, gloves and base pads.

Jeff, Kristina and I instructed them on the proper grip and we rolled up newspaper into round balls to show them how we use the bat and the ball for the game. We were inside a classroom and it got a little wild. Some of the boys as well as the girls caught on quickly.

Friday, at 2 PM we went across the road to the primary school's field and played.

We divided the students into two groups and made two makeshift baseball diamonds.

One of the groups had lots of room. Ours, however was ringed with at least two hundred primary students, other form classes and interested people walking by.

Needless to say, we were a little concerned someone might get hit by the ball and do some serious harm to them. Jeff cautioned the eager boys to hit the ball softly. There were at least 4 home runs, and no injuries. The game was a big hit....

There will be some pictures posted soon..

We were so lucky to get our baseball game in as the sky darkened and a few thunder booms started and a few rain drops...but, we were not to be denied this wonderful opportunity to bond with the students and the surrounding neighborhood youngsters.

All the balls, bats, gloves and base pads were returned to us after the game..A miracle!!!

We will have two more sessions on Fridays (P.E. day) according to government, and instruct the other forms...at least forms 2 and 3. (these students range in the age of 14-18....my guess..)

hello all my friends and family...thank you all for the great support.

Marilyn