Thanks so much, everyone, for your interest so far. We've been so blown away by the overwhelming response!
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
More to Sell
I was just going through the bag of Sr. Peg's stuff and I realized we also have some wallets to sell.
Trip Home?
On Friday Chris and I will be headed out of Tanzania for a 5 week trip back to the US. Barring any unforeseen circumstances or freakish weather, we plan to spend at least 2 nights in the following states: NY, NJ, PA, NC, GA, SC and MS. It's going to be whirlwind of a trip, but we are so excited and feel so fortunate to be able to see as many people and visit as many places as we are planning.
The past few days have been busy with packing, planning with family and friends, readying things for the house and the pets here in Mwanza and taking care of everything that needs to be done for our work ministries, which we'll be leaving behind for other people to take care of. But in the back of my mind I keep finding myself a little bit worried about leaving and not quite as excited as I would've thought. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm SUPER excited. I'm mostly excited to see people and catch up on the lives of friends and family. And I'm looking forward to the materials things I've missed. Let's be honest, that means mostly food! But at the same time I'm not, like, DYING to go home. I'm not homesick or thinking, "If I don't get out of here, I'm going to go crazy." I've even found myself thinking about how much work goes into leaving and making sure everything's taken care of, then flying halfway around the world and how tired and sick we are when we arrive and a little thought creeps into my head. Is it even worth it?
I know. I know. That's crazy. Of course it's worth it! I don't really mean that. But I keep having these thoughts floating through my head until it finally hit me the other day. I've adjusted so much to my new home that I don't feel like life here is that unusual anymore. I still have days when I get frustrated or haven't a clue what's happening. But all-in-all, I'm really comfortable living here in TZ and I, gulp, like it. I still miss things from the US, most especially family and friends. (And some foods.) But I've adjusted and it's not as hard as it used to be. I feel at home here.
I guess this is the beginning of feeling like I have a home in 2 places. And I won't ever feel completely comfortable in one place or the other. I am leaving home to go home.
The past few days have been busy with packing, planning with family and friends, readying things for the house and the pets here in Mwanza and taking care of everything that needs to be done for our work ministries, which we'll be leaving behind for other people to take care of. But in the back of my mind I keep finding myself a little bit worried about leaving and not quite as excited as I would've thought. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm SUPER excited. I'm mostly excited to see people and catch up on the lives of friends and family. And I'm looking forward to the materials things I've missed. Let's be honest, that means mostly food! But at the same time I'm not, like, DYING to go home. I'm not homesick or thinking, "If I don't get out of here, I'm going to go crazy." I've even found myself thinking about how much work goes into leaving and making sure everything's taken care of, then flying halfway around the world and how tired and sick we are when we arrive and a little thought creeps into my head. Is it even worth it?
I know. I know. That's crazy. Of course it's worth it! I don't really mean that. But I keep having these thoughts floating through my head until it finally hit me the other day. I've adjusted so much to my new home that I don't feel like life here is that unusual anymore. I still have days when I get frustrated or haven't a clue what's happening. But all-in-all, I'm really comfortable living here in TZ and I, gulp, like it. I still miss things from the US, most especially family and friends. (And some foods.) But I've adjusted and it's not as hard as it used to be. I feel at home here.
I guess this is the beginning of feeling like I have a home in 2 places. And I won't ever feel completely comfortable in one place or the other. I am leaving home to go home.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Hand-crafted Goods for Sale
While we are in the US on our vacation we will have some hand-crafted materials for purchase for those who might be interested.
One set of materials we're selling is to support Chris's work. One of Chris's women's group has been dying materials to make what is called vikoi (or kikoi in singular form). Vikoi are tie-dyed cloth with tassels on the end and they are commonly used for shawls, skirts, decorations, carrying babies, etc. Here is a sampling of what we have available to sell.
Various patterns and colors of vikoi.
Thanks to the generous donations from our friends, family and supporters, in the middle of last year we were able to sponsor the training for the women, which brought a facilitator in to teach them how to dye the fabrics. Here are some shots of that seminar.
The teacher showing the women how to prepare the fabrics for dying.
The women practicing folding the fabrics.
In addition to folding the fabrics, they tie it around bottle caps, which makes a nice pattern once dyed.
Dying and setting the fabric. (It's very caustic, which is why they are wearing scarves over their mouths.
Most women were very happy with their final products.
Since then, the women have been practicing their dying techniques, learning about quality control, selling some of their inventory, and building up money to increase their stock. We are so pleased to be able to bring some of these fabrics to the US to sell. It's great to see their pride in their hand-crafts and to see how creative they have become!
If anyone is interested in purchasing any of these vikoi, we're selling them for $10 each (or more if you'd like to make a larger donation). All of the money will be given directly back to the women when we return to Mwanza. This is a great way to support a disadvantaged group of women who are working hard to better their families and improve their lives.
Another set of materials that we are selling are hand-crafted goods made by Sister Peg Donovan's project in Kalabezo. Sister Peg is a Maryknoll Sister who lived in Tanzania for 45 years and just returned to the States. In her time here, she started a pre-school for kids and a craft school for adults in a village, which we were fortunate enough to visit a few months ago when we attended her going away party. The women at Vema (the craft school) make purses, change pouches, computer bags, glasses cases, etc. We are bringing home some materials to ship to Peg but she gave us the go-ahead to sell any if anyone is interested.
These goods are assorted prices, but Peg said basically to see what people offer. Isn't that the African way? So, if you're interested in any of these goods, let me know in the comments and we can talk pricing.
We don't have any pictures of the women making these goods, but I do have the following shots from when we went out to the village back in December for Sr. Peg's going away party.
The outside of the school. Vema means good in Swahili.
It's tradition at special events, such as goodbyes, that the guest of honor shakes everyones hand.
A lot of people came out for the goodbye Mass.
We have limited quantities of all the items and also, since we'll be driving a very small car to NC, GA, SC and MS, I highly suggest that if you want to buy anything you let me know either in the comments below or via email at kreid(at)mklm.org. That way we can be sure to set something aside for you and bring it along with us. Also, everything is one-of-a-kind, so if you see something you like, it may be the only one like it. Get it while supplies last and support great causes in Tanzania!
One set of materials we're selling is to support Chris's work. One of Chris's women's group has been dying materials to make what is called vikoi (or kikoi in singular form). Vikoi are tie-dyed cloth with tassels on the end and they are commonly used for shawls, skirts, decorations, carrying babies, etc. Here is a sampling of what we have available to sell.
Various patterns and colors of vikoi.
Thanks to the generous donations from our friends, family and supporters, in the middle of last year we were able to sponsor the training for the women, which brought a facilitator in to teach them how to dye the fabrics. Here are some shots of that seminar.
The teacher showing the women how to prepare the fabrics for dying.
The women practicing folding the fabrics.
In addition to folding the fabrics, they tie it around bottle caps, which makes a nice pattern once dyed.
Dying and setting the fabric. (It's very caustic, which is why they are wearing scarves over their mouths.
Most women were very happy with their final products.
Since then, the women have been practicing their dying techniques, learning about quality control, selling some of their inventory, and building up money to increase their stock. We are so pleased to be able to bring some of these fabrics to the US to sell. It's great to see their pride in their hand-crafts and to see how creative they have become!
If anyone is interested in purchasing any of these vikoi, we're selling them for $10 each (or more if you'd like to make a larger donation). All of the money will be given directly back to the women when we return to Mwanza. This is a great way to support a disadvantaged group of women who are working hard to better their families and improve their lives.
Another set of materials that we are selling are hand-crafted goods made by Sister Peg Donovan's project in Kalabezo. Sister Peg is a Maryknoll Sister who lived in Tanzania for 45 years and just returned to the States. In her time here, she started a pre-school for kids and a craft school for adults in a village, which we were fortunate enough to visit a few months ago when we attended her going away party. The women at Vema (the craft school) make purses, change pouches, computer bags, glasses cases, etc. We are bringing home some materials to ship to Peg but she gave us the go-ahead to sell any if anyone is interested.
Assortment of purses, coin pouches, glasses cases, computer bags, etc. made my the women at Vema.
Closeup shot of purse with strap. We have this in many different fabrics. You can also see the small pouches to the right, also available in many different fabrics.
This laptop bag fits our Mac computer and it has an additional zippered pouch in the front. (Laptop not included, obviously! ;)
These goods are assorted prices, but Peg said basically to see what people offer. Isn't that the African way? So, if you're interested in any of these goods, let me know in the comments and we can talk pricing.
We don't have any pictures of the women making these goods, but I do have the following shots from when we went out to the village back in December for Sr. Peg's going away party.
The outside of the school. Vema means good in Swahili.
It's tradition at special events, such as goodbyes, that the guest of honor shakes everyones hand.
A lot of people came out for the goodbye Mass.
We have limited quantities of all the items and also, since we'll be driving a very small car to NC, GA, SC and MS, I highly suggest that if you want to buy anything you let me know either in the comments below or via email at kreid(at)mklm.org. That way we can be sure to set something aside for you and bring it along with us. Also, everything is one-of-a-kind, so if you see something you like, it may be the only one like it. Get it while supplies last and support great causes in Tanzania!
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Goodbye, Old Friend
I'd be remiss in not saying goodbye to a Reid family member. Last week Chris's sister's long term friend, roommate and cat, Parker, died. She'd lived to a ripe old age and she had a blessed life, but still we'll be missing her terribly. In fact, we have 6 pictures on our fridge and 3 of them have Parker in them. She was a big lady. She was a sweet girl. She loved to talk. And I'm happy that our new little (read: big) cat looks just like her. I've never known the Reids without Parker.
In her cat scratcher during a visit to Chicago in 2011.
Queen Parker, 2011.
Best friends for life.
In her cat scratcher during a visit to Chicago in 2011.
Queen Parker, 2011.
Best friends for life.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Our Wolf Pack Has Increased by 3
We just finished a busy but great week with our three new MKLMers and they are now en-route to language school for the next few months. Wow, it seems like only yesterday we were up there studying Swahili. Remember those days? Phew, I have to say I'm glad I'm through that tough period!
In the meantime, Chris and I will switch gears and start preparing for our trip to the States starting on Friday! We will be in NY, NJ, PA, NC, SC, GA and MS over the course of 5 weeks. It's going to be a crazy, jam-packed trip, but what isn't, right? We hope we'll get to see you! Also, we'll be bringing some hand-crafted goods to sell if anyone's interested in buying anything to support various MK projects. I'll try to post pictures of stuff before we come so you can see what we've got.
2014 crazy MKLM crew
In the meantime, Chris and I will switch gears and start preparing for our trip to the States starting on Friday! We will be in NY, NJ, PA, NC, SC, GA and MS over the course of 5 weeks. It's going to be a crazy, jam-packed trip, but what isn't, right? We hope we'll get to see you! Also, we'll be bringing some hand-crafted goods to sell if anyone's interested in buying anything to support various MK projects. I'll try to post pictures of stuff before we come so you can see what we've got.
2014 crazy MKLM crew
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
Zambia Recap
It's officially a new year, but before we move on I've got to get our Zambia pictures up online. I already put a couple of shots up on this blog while we were away but here a little more of a recap, along with some videos.
The train was quite an adventure.
We flew from Mwanza to Dar Es Salaam on Friday, Dec 20 and then took the train from there, through the southern part of Tanzania into Zambia. It was supposed to take about 2-3 days, but as things happen in Africa, it took almost 4 days. We had wrong information about when the train would leave but luckily we got there very early because it left about 5 hours BEFORE we originally expected it to. The ride was fine and the views of the mountains in southern Tanzania were very pretty but toward the end we were pretty ready to stop rocking and be on still ground for a little while.
We met some nice Danish folks on the train and when they found out it was Chris's birthday on the 22nd, they gave him a mango and told the kids at our window, who then started singing happy birthday.
Zambian version of Happy Birthday.
When we finally arrived, we had to take a mini-bus for 3 hours into Lusaka, the capital. I think we are fortunate to have lived in Tanzania for 2 years and so we are already familiar and used to this style of transport (meaning, shoving as many people as possible, along with their luggage, into a 15 passenger van). After all that time on the train it just would've been nice to avoid that part.
We spent one night in Lusaka, the capital, before taking an 8 hour bus south to Livingstone. But in that time before leaving Lusaka we managed to go to the mall and see a movie! What a treat!
Chris said it looked like King of Prussia Mall in Philadelphia.
We stayed in Livingston for 4 nights at the Fawlty Towers guesthouse. Not the same as this one, thank God but it was quite a nice place and we'd definitely recommend it.
I took advantage of the pool as much as I could. It was blazing hot in Zambia!
We had a great experience at church on Christma morning. The Mass was in English but the music was all in their local language. I wish I could've gotten a picture of the band because they had a bass player and guitar player, as well as a drummer. They were totally jamming out!
This was the procession for collection, by the women of the church. It went on a full 20 minutes and when it was finished an old lady in the back yelled "Another one!"
We spent all of Christmas afternoon wandering around Victoria Falls National Park.
World Heritage Site!
The train was quite an adventure.
We flew from Mwanza to Dar Es Salaam on Friday, Dec 20 and then took the train from there, through the southern part of Tanzania into Zambia. It was supposed to take about 2-3 days, but as things happen in Africa, it took almost 4 days. We had wrong information about when the train would leave but luckily we got there very early because it left about 5 hours BEFORE we originally expected it to. The ride was fine and the views of the mountains in southern Tanzania were very pretty but toward the end we were pretty ready to stop rocking and be on still ground for a little while.
We met some nice Danish folks on the train and when they found out it was Chris's birthday on the 22nd, they gave him a mango and told the kids at our window, who then started singing happy birthday.
Zambian version of Happy Birthday.
When we finally arrived, we had to take a mini-bus for 3 hours into Lusaka, the capital. I think we are fortunate to have lived in Tanzania for 2 years and so we are already familiar and used to this style of transport (meaning, shoving as many people as possible, along with their luggage, into a 15 passenger van). After all that time on the train it just would've been nice to avoid that part.
Downtown Lusaka, near our hotel.
One of the really good things to us about traveling around Africa is that it puts things into perspective and we can begin to get a larger picture of Africa as a whole, but also of Tanzania. Zambia was definitely more "southern Africa" (as opposed to East Africa, where we live and had thus far traveled) and we were shocked at how different it was. I hope to write a separate blogpost about my thoughts on the development in Zambia, but let's just say for now that we could see some positives as well as negatives to the way the country has developed.
We spent one night in Lusaka, the capital, before taking an 8 hour bus south to Livingstone. But in that time before leaving Lusaka we managed to go to the mall and see a movie! What a treat!
Chris said it looked like King of Prussia Mall in Philadelphia.
We stayed in Livingston for 4 nights at the Fawlty Towers guesthouse. Not the same as this one, thank God but it was quite a nice place and we'd definitely recommend it.
Farty Towels
I took advantage of the pool as much as I could. It was blazing hot in Zambia!
We had a great experience at church on Christma morning. The Mass was in English but the music was all in their local language. I wish I could've gotten a picture of the band because they had a bass player and guitar player, as well as a drummer. They were totally jamming out!
This was the procession for collection, by the women of the church. It went on a full 20 minutes and when it was finished an old lady in the back yelled "Another one!"
We spent all of Christmas afternoon wandering around Victoria Falls National Park.
World Heritage Site!
Picutres will not do this place justice. So beautiful!
Rainbow
We have so many shots, it was hard to narrow it down for the internet.
The folks you see standing on the other side are in Zimbabwe.
For various reasons we didn't get a multi-entry visa into Zambia, so we could only see the falls from this side. Victoria Falls are a mile long and only about 1/3 of it falls in Zambia; the rest in Zimbabwe. So all of this is only about 1/3 of it! Also, this is the low season for water-levels, so imagine how much more impressive it is when the water levels are at their highest. We hear you can't even see the falls because the spray/mist is so dense.
Also, Victoria Falls is one of the world's most popular places for extreme sports. Bungee jumping, parasailing, zip-lining, white water rafting. People come from all over the world to take their life in their hands for the sake of "adventure." Okay, I'm being snarky and just joking. But seriously people, what the f-?
We heard bungee jumpers screaming all the way down. Is there something wrong with us that all we want to do is enjoy a leisurely stroll around the falls?
At the end of the day we ran into our Danish train friends so we all went out for a sunset drink. It was really nice to share this experience with some other folks.
A great end to a great Christmas day.
On the day after Christmas Chris and I got up early and took a river cruise on the Zambizi. It was supposed to be a group tour but I guess everyone slept in because it was just the 2 of us.
And our fearless guides.
We saw this guy just sitting with his mouth open on the bank of the river.
We gave the hippos a wide berth so they didn't, like, knock our boat over or something.
The last thing we did in Livingstone tour/adventure-wise was take a walking tour. It started at 6:30 AM, which is a good thing because it was blazing hot by 7. Still, we managed to see a rhino up-close, a water buck and a lot of birds.
We spotted this white rhino within the first 15 minutes of the walk.
He gave us a little show by rolling around in the mud.
Sharpening his horn. Look at the little eyes!
So beautiful.
I was hoping to see some elephants and zebras but I guess they were hiding out somewhere cooler, probably a wise thing to do because by the end of the 3 hours I was ready for the pool and a nap!
The weather had other plans though.
On the 28th we took the bus back to Lusaka and had a day to rest and see another movie. Nice! And after all that adventure, we were pretty ready to just slow things down and head home. Still, I feel so fortunate to have been able to make this trip, to see more of the world and to spend a low-key, stress free Christmas with my favorite person in the world. I wasn't sure how I would feel traveling on Christmas and not doing the traditional things but I have to say it was wonderful! I might advocate getting rid of gifts from here on out and traveling every year on Christmas. Seriously, that in itself is really a wonderful privilege and gift.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Help Spread the Word About our House for Rent
Our house in Columbia is up for rent again.
Would you or someone you know be interested in renting it? It's listed here with Columbia Property Management.
Please help us spread the word so we can stay stress-free in Tanzania and keep doing the work that we've started!
Would you or someone you know be interested in renting it? It's listed here with Columbia Property Management.
Please help us spread the word so we can stay stress-free in Tanzania and keep doing the work that we've started!
Friday, December 27, 2013
Merry Christmas from Zambia
I've been putting some shots up on Facebook, but for those not on there, here are a few shots from the past few days' Christmas trip to Zambia.
The train ride from Dar Es Salaam to Lusaka was long and tiring, but we saw nice scenery and met some cool internationals.
We were so surprised at how developed the country is. Check out this mall with a band playing Christmas music!
We made it to Livingstone and saw The Falls on Christmas Day. We were totally awed!
Yesterday, Boxing Day, we had a nice morning river safari, fully equipped with an early AM beer. Why not, it's vacation?
Last night we met up with our Danish train friends for a delicious Indian meal.
And today we took an early early HOT HOT hike and saw this white rhino up close. Worth the early wake up and blazing heat.
Tomorrow we head back up to the capital city of Lusaka and will probably just chill and take in another movie or 2 before we fly home to TZ on Monday.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Merry Christmas (a bit early)
We head out to Zambia tomorrow for a Christmas vacation, so I'm taking this moment to wish you and yours a very Merry and blessed Christmas.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Winter MKLM Newsletter
If you read this blog, you probably know more than what's in our Maryknoll Lay Missioners newsletter. But, in case you want to download it and stuff it in your holiday cards to send to your friends and family, you can download it here. Thanks and enjoy!
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Parents Meeting and First 2 Sessions of Lulu
I'm excited to say that the Lulu Mabatini program is officially launched and operational. A few weeks ago we held a meeting for parents/guardians/husbands of our participants. This kind of meeting is crucial because girls have very little say in their homes and take on the brunt of household responsibility. We wanted their caregivers to understand the goals of the program and to give their support. Otherwise, they might forbid the girls to attend or make it very difficult because they have too much work to do.
Natalie speaking to the parents about Lulu.
I was really happy with the turnout and participation. Most people said that they were excited about the opportunity for their girls to learn and to better themselves and that they appreciated the work we were doing. That means they will free up some time for the girls to come!
Last Saturday we had our first session for the participants themselves. Right before starting time, the skies opened up and the rain poured down in buckets.
What do you expect from the rainy season?
I knew the rain would effect our numbers but more than that, I was worried because a lot of the girls come from the hills and I hoped that they weren't stuck somewhere cold and wet. However, we had 19 show up and many of them actually came early and beat the rain. (Coming early!? That's an anomaly here where everything runs late.)
The participants introducing themselves in pairs.
Yesterday we had our second meeting and we had 25 participants. The girls were a little shy at first, but they're slowly warming up and hopefully are enjoying themselves.
In an attempt to inspire some creativity, the girls had to draw/color a picture of their house and environment. Many of them were uncomfortable with coloring because they said it's for kids. But for those who did, they really loosened up and seemed to enjoy themselves.
Another cool development over the past week is that we now have a youth facilitator. Her name is Sikudhani* and she was a participant in one of the groups in another part of Mwanza and has been trained as a peer leader. She is a strong, smart, poised young woman and will be a great addition to our group!
Sikudhani is in her early 20's and is raising 2 children.
I can't wait to see how things unfold in the coming weeks as we really get into the meat of our subjects. Over the next few sessions we will talk about planning for your life, communication skills, and saving money.
*In Swahili Sikudhani means I didn't think. There are a lot of names like that here, like Shida, which means problem, or Mashaka, which means doubts. To me that's such an injustice to your child to give them a name that announces your regret at having conceived them. To be fair, though, everyone so far that I've met with a name like this doesn't seem to mind it. Still, it's something I can't get used to.
Natalie speaking to the parents about Lulu.
I was really happy with the turnout and participation. Most people said that they were excited about the opportunity for their girls to learn and to better themselves and that they appreciated the work we were doing. That means they will free up some time for the girls to come!
Last Saturday we had our first session for the participants themselves. Right before starting time, the skies opened up and the rain poured down in buckets.
What do you expect from the rainy season?
I knew the rain would effect our numbers but more than that, I was worried because a lot of the girls come from the hills and I hoped that they weren't stuck somewhere cold and wet. However, we had 19 show up and many of them actually came early and beat the rain. (Coming early!? That's an anomaly here where everything runs late.)
The participants introducing themselves in pairs.
Yesterday we had our second meeting and we had 25 participants. The girls were a little shy at first, but they're slowly warming up and hopefully are enjoying themselves.
In an attempt to inspire some creativity, the girls had to draw/color a picture of their house and environment. Many of them were uncomfortable with coloring because they said it's for kids. But for those who did, they really loosened up and seemed to enjoy themselves.
Another cool development over the past week is that we now have a youth facilitator. Her name is Sikudhani* and she was a participant in one of the groups in another part of Mwanza and has been trained as a peer leader. She is a strong, smart, poised young woman and will be a great addition to our group!
Sikudhani is in her early 20's and is raising 2 children.
I can't wait to see how things unfold in the coming weeks as we really get into the meat of our subjects. Over the next few sessions we will talk about planning for your life, communication skills, and saving money.
*In Swahili Sikudhani means I didn't think. There are a lot of names like that here, like Shida, which means problem, or Mashaka, which means doubts. To me that's such an injustice to your child to give them a name that announces your regret at having conceived them. To be fair, though, everyone so far that I've met with a name like this doesn't seem to mind it. Still, it's something I can't get used to.
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Decorations are up
It took all of a few minutes, but our decorations are up.
The stockings were hung by Bubu with care.
Our itty, bitty tree. I kinda love it more than a big one.
I always wish I had kids to decorate with because it just seems like it would be more fun. Well, my wish was granted this year because a neighborhood kid, Abduli, stopped by.
Abduli approves of the publicity.
To be more accurate, he goes to school where David teaches and they were on their way home and couldn't get the truck past this:
That water was going pretty fast. David and Abduli live just on the other side of that stream (in separate locations, in case that's not clear). And the woman in the picture in red lives on this side just across from our gate.
It's not snow, but we got a pretty good hailstorm for about 1/2 an hour while I was decorating the tree and listening to holiday music.
That's ice. Does that count?
So David and Abduli hung out for about 1/2 hour till the water went down. David was kind enough to help Chris with some computer issues and Abduli was kind enough to chase around the cat around and give me "feedback"* on the decorations.
He liked the hat best.
From Tanzania, we're all wishing everyone a blessed Advent and a happy holiday season. Hope all your holiday wishes come true.
*I put feedback in quotes because Abduli isn't quite verbal. Though we've seen a lot of improvement since he started school, he's still fairly limited. Although he didn't technically say anything much about the tree, he did enjoy saying "cat" and "him/her" a lot. To his credit, Tanzanians don't do a lot of holiday decorations, plus Abduli's Muslim, so he probably doesn't have a lot of Christmas decorations in his house.** All of this contributed to him not really having any idea what was happening. But still, we had fun.
**Just because Abduli's Muslim doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't celebrate various holidays in non-religious ways. A Muslim woman I worked with last year said she put up a tree and celebrated Christian holidays as well as Eids because people in the neighborhood were all mixed and she didn't want her family to feel like anyone was different. I like that sense of unity.
The stockings were hung by Bubu with care.
Our itty, bitty tree. I kinda love it more than a big one.
I always wish I had kids to decorate with because it just seems like it would be more fun. Well, my wish was granted this year because a neighborhood kid, Abduli, stopped by.
Abduli approves of the publicity.
To be more accurate, he goes to school where David teaches and they were on their way home and couldn't get the truck past this:
That water was going pretty fast. David and Abduli live just on the other side of that stream (in separate locations, in case that's not clear). And the woman in the picture in red lives on this side just across from our gate.
It's not snow, but we got a pretty good hailstorm for about 1/2 an hour while I was decorating the tree and listening to holiday music.
That's ice. Does that count?
So David and Abduli hung out for about 1/2 hour till the water went down. David was kind enough to help Chris with some computer issues and Abduli was kind enough to chase around the cat around and give me "feedback"* on the decorations.
He liked the hat best.
From Tanzania, we're all wishing everyone a blessed Advent and a happy holiday season. Hope all your holiday wishes come true.
*I put feedback in quotes because Abduli isn't quite verbal. Though we've seen a lot of improvement since he started school, he's still fairly limited. Although he didn't technically say anything much about the tree, he did enjoy saying "cat" and "him/her" a lot. To his credit, Tanzanians don't do a lot of holiday decorations, plus Abduli's Muslim, so he probably doesn't have a lot of Christmas decorations in his house.** All of this contributed to him not really having any idea what was happening. But still, we had fun.
**Just because Abduli's Muslim doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't celebrate various holidays in non-religious ways. A Muslim woman I worked with last year said she put up a tree and celebrated Christian holidays as well as Eids because people in the neighborhood were all mixed and she didn't want her family to feel like anyone was different. I like that sense of unity.
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
New Birth
One of my facilitators and I did 3 more home visits today for Lulu project. We've been pretty slow about getting them done and, considering we start our bi-weekly meetings this Saturday, I guess my goal of seeing everyone before then won't happen. Oh well, things happen in their own time so I know it'll all get done eventually.
I love visiting people's houses, though. It's a great opportunity to really understand the way of living here. And Tanzanians see guests as a blessing, so people are always really nice and welcoming when I stop by, even if just for a minute. I admit that I'm not very good at doing that unless prompted, so it's good for me to be pushed a little into doing it.
One of the participants that we visited today, a 20 year old girl, just had a baby this week. I knew that she was pregnant but I didn't put two and two together that that's whose house we were going to until we got there. We were brought into their living room/bedroom and told to have a seat. There was a bed on one end of the small room and a chair on the other. It wasn't until I sat down on the chair next to the bed that I realized someone was sleeping in it! I was a little surprised, but not completely because I know that space is limited in a lot of homes and people want visitors even when someone is sick. So I've been in similar situations before, but it's still a surprise to see someone moving around before my eyes have adjusted to the dark room. After we exchanged greetings with the family we realized that the "sick person" in the bed was actually the Lulu participant and laying next to her swaddled in a bunch of fabric was her teeny, tiny little daughter.
The new mother eventually sat up and participated in conversation with us and I was able to take this picture of her and her baby.
I don't yet know very much about this girls' story but I understand that the baby's father will most likely not be in the picture to contribute financially to raising the little one. Unfortunately, that's the story of so many women here. The good news is that much like in many other parts of the world, families in Tanzania are large and everyone helps out, so she lives in a home with her extended family who have created what looks to me to be a loving home for her and her baby. Unfortunately, the family income is quite low (the guardian sells rice in town) and with little schooling, girls like this one will have a hard time getting ahead for her and her daughter.
Lulu project will teach this girl and other participants about how to care for themselves and their children's health. Information about clean food, water and sanitation; diseases; bacterias; etc. will help them to stay healthy. Small business skills such as how to plan a business that covers their expenses, how to research the market to get profitable ideas, and how to budget and save money will help her to take care of her family's needs and hopefully help them to achieve a stable life. Finally, life skills such as self esteem, cooperation, healthy relationships and family planning will help her to navigate the difficult world that she and her daughter live in so that she knows that she is of value and is making a valuable contribution to society.
Since today is Giving Tuesday*, please consider making a donation to our work through Maryknoll Lay Missioners or to the organization as a whole, which places missioners in Africa, Asia and Latin America to work alongside the worlds' poor and needy.
In the meantime, I can't wait to hold this young woman's baby girl again next Saturday, because I have no doubt she'll bring her along to our first meeting!
*Or, you can consider donating any time of the year. I'm not limiting this to just today. ;)
I love visiting people's houses, though. It's a great opportunity to really understand the way of living here. And Tanzanians see guests as a blessing, so people are always really nice and welcoming when I stop by, even if just for a minute. I admit that I'm not very good at doing that unless prompted, so it's good for me to be pushed a little into doing it.
One of the participants that we visited today, a 20 year old girl, just had a baby this week. I knew that she was pregnant but I didn't put two and two together that that's whose house we were going to until we got there. We were brought into their living room/bedroom and told to have a seat. There was a bed on one end of the small room and a chair on the other. It wasn't until I sat down on the chair next to the bed that I realized someone was sleeping in it! I was a little surprised, but not completely because I know that space is limited in a lot of homes and people want visitors even when someone is sick. So I've been in similar situations before, but it's still a surprise to see someone moving around before my eyes have adjusted to the dark room. After we exchanged greetings with the family we realized that the "sick person" in the bed was actually the Lulu participant and laying next to her swaddled in a bunch of fabric was her teeny, tiny little daughter.
The new mother eventually sat up and participated in conversation with us and I was able to take this picture of her and her baby.
I don't yet know very much about this girls' story but I understand that the baby's father will most likely not be in the picture to contribute financially to raising the little one. Unfortunately, that's the story of so many women here. The good news is that much like in many other parts of the world, families in Tanzania are large and everyone helps out, so she lives in a home with her extended family who have created what looks to me to be a loving home for her and her baby. Unfortunately, the family income is quite low (the guardian sells rice in town) and with little schooling, girls like this one will have a hard time getting ahead for her and her daughter.
Lulu project will teach this girl and other participants about how to care for themselves and their children's health. Information about clean food, water and sanitation; diseases; bacterias; etc. will help them to stay healthy. Small business skills such as how to plan a business that covers their expenses, how to research the market to get profitable ideas, and how to budget and save money will help her to take care of her family's needs and hopefully help them to achieve a stable life. Finally, life skills such as self esteem, cooperation, healthy relationships and family planning will help her to navigate the difficult world that she and her daughter live in so that she knows that she is of value and is making a valuable contribution to society.
Since today is Giving Tuesday*, please consider making a donation to our work through Maryknoll Lay Missioners or to the organization as a whole, which places missioners in Africa, Asia and Latin America to work alongside the worlds' poor and needy.
In the meantime, I can't wait to hold this young woman's baby girl again next Saturday, because I have no doubt she'll bring her along to our first meeting!
*Or, you can consider donating any time of the year. I'm not limiting this to just today. ;)
Monday, December 02, 2013
Getting Excited
I just got back from a visit to a currently-established Lulu group meeting. There are 3 other groups meeting around the Mwanza area, so one of my facilitators and I went to check it out. The topic for the day was puberty and adolescences. Boy-oh-boy! Girls around the world are all the same. Giggling and talking about things that embarrass each other. It was awesome. I can't wait for our group to start! Our first session is this Saturday. Can't wait!
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Hide and Seek
After searching all over the house for the stupid cat, look where I found him.
Do you see him?
How about now?
He must've known we were annoyed at him for stinking up the back room by peeing all over the floor.
There's just a lot of patterns going on there so he's easy to miss.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
First home visits
We did our first home visits today for Lulu project. Mwanza ain't called "Rock City" for nothing. Sheesh, it's a workout hiking up those hills/boulders! I can't imagine doing it every day as the residents do (and usually they are carrying something in their head and/or a baby in their back).
Getting tired on the way up.
A view of Mwanza but I'm disappointed because if doesn't look like much in this shot.
We visited 5 girls today. We hope to do more on Sunday so stay tuned.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Lulu Update
I just typed up a database for the girls who have signed up for Lulu group so far. Here are the stats:
So far we have 33 girls*.
They range in age from 12-24 years.
Only 3 of them have jobs. They rest work in the home (theirs or someone else's) for no/little pay.
9 of them have children.
22 of them have left school.
13 of them went only to 8th grade.
Stated reasons for wanting to join the group:
*We will keep collecting forms for the next few weeks but also some girls will drop out, so these numbers will change. Also, we might break the girls into 2 groups, those in school and those not in school because their schedules are so different, it will be hard to find a time suitable for both groups of girls.
Can't wait to get started!
So far we have 33 girls*.
They range in age from 12-24 years.
Only 3 of them have jobs. They rest work in the home (theirs or someone else's) for no/little pay.
9 of them have children.
22 of them have left school.
13 of them went only to 8th grade.
Stated reasons for wanting to join the group:
- I want unity and collaboration
- I want to learn a skill
- To pull myself out of poverty
- I want to learn more and prepare for later in life
*We will keep collecting forms for the next few weeks but also some girls will drop out, so these numbers will change. Also, we might break the girls into 2 groups, those in school and those not in school because their schedules are so different, it will be hard to find a time suitable for both groups of girls.
Can't wait to get started!
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