In my work with Amani Children’s Home, my focus is on furthering the organization’s sustainability through diversification of fundraising efforts. Can I get some love for diversification?
If you know James Mitchell, I’m sure you know all about Amani’s great Christmas card program and if you live in Little Rock, you probably either bought them, received them, or both. They were a huge success last year and Arkansas really showed its support for Amani.
This year, Amani is hoping to have a great fundraiser, but could use a little help. Individual contributions have been down significantly, as they have just about everywhere, and the printing costs can be expensive—around $2,000. As a result, Amani is hoping to find a printing company that would be willing to partner with Amani and assist in the effort or a donor who can help with the cost.
Know anyone who would like to help? Send me a note to jennifer@amanikids.org or joe@amanikids.org.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Random Notes on Tanzanian Life
Sorry I've been bad about posting lately. I've wanted to wait until I could upload pictures, but haven't been able to get a good enough connection. I know you've been on the edge of your seat, awaiting my next post. Here's a little something for being so patient...
-Bring your own toilet paper or prepare to be disappointed. I’ve quickly learned which facilities are likely to have TP and western toilets.
-Coffee’s a big export item, but no one here drinks it. Instead, people drink mostly chai but sometimes drink “Nescafe” or “Africafe”—the horrible, icky freeze dried crap Americans got conned into some years ago.
-The Watering Hole is popular because it is the only place in town that offers Wi-Fi and the price is cheap. Also, they serve cocktails using ice made from boiled water as well as the most American burger in town. There’s no sign, just a blue light outside the gate where you must be allowed entry by the guard.
-Shop keepers and most in the market will charge foreigners ( aka “mzungu”) exponentially more than local Tanzanians. I’ve been quoted prices five times what other would be charged. I ask people that have been here for a while what they think I should pay before I buy anything without a price tag.
-Tanzania is a conservative society and extremely pluralistic in regard to religion. In Moshi, Christians probably outnumber Muslims. There may be some minor conflicts, but I have never heard of such. From all I’ve heard and witnessed, everyone gets along.
-I’m lucky enough to own a water heater which is attached to the shower head in the bathroom. There’s no stall for the shower, it just drains into the “squat” toilet. We have a separate bathroom with a western style toilet because we’re living the high life.
-Tanzanian songs last twice as long as the average American song. I do not find this to be a good thing. P Squared, a set of twins from Kenya, plays on the radio about 50 times per day. I am also not very keen on this. Shania Twain and Gloria Estefan are also big here. Again…
-There are more pirated DVDs in Moshi than there are mosquitoes in Stuttgart, AR. Particularly popular are Prison Break and Lost. Compilation DVDs are also popular. They feature an artist such as Brad Pitt and put all his films on one disk. They are sometimes mistaken however, and will include Leonardo DiCaprio by mistake. Apparently these come from China; I hear most of them have Chinese subtitles.
For a good rundown on the day to day of an Arkie in East Africa, you can’t beat Michael Hodson’s blog. Please go visit and add him to your blog roll. I haven’t really been able to take the time to blog the minutiae (otherwise known as “the interesting stuff”), so you may benefit from a gander over there.
http://mobilelawyer.blogspot.com
-Bring your own toilet paper or prepare to be disappointed. I’ve quickly learned which facilities are likely to have TP and western toilets.
-Coffee’s a big export item, but no one here drinks it. Instead, people drink mostly chai but sometimes drink “Nescafe” or “Africafe”—the horrible, icky freeze dried crap Americans got conned into some years ago.
-The Watering Hole is popular because it is the only place in town that offers Wi-Fi and the price is cheap. Also, they serve cocktails using ice made from boiled water as well as the most American burger in town. There’s no sign, just a blue light outside the gate where you must be allowed entry by the guard.
-Shop keepers and most in the market will charge foreigners ( aka “mzungu”) exponentially more than local Tanzanians. I’ve been quoted prices five times what other would be charged. I ask people that have been here for a while what they think I should pay before I buy anything without a price tag.
-Tanzania is a conservative society and extremely pluralistic in regard to religion. In Moshi, Christians probably outnumber Muslims. There may be some minor conflicts, but I have never heard of such. From all I’ve heard and witnessed, everyone gets along.
-I’m lucky enough to own a water heater which is attached to the shower head in the bathroom. There’s no stall for the shower, it just drains into the “squat” toilet. We have a separate bathroom with a western style toilet because we’re living the high life.
-Tanzanian songs last twice as long as the average American song. I do not find this to be a good thing. P Squared, a set of twins from Kenya, plays on the radio about 50 times per day. I am also not very keen on this. Shania Twain and Gloria Estefan are also big here. Again…
-There are more pirated DVDs in Moshi than there are mosquitoes in Stuttgart, AR. Particularly popular are Prison Break and Lost. Compilation DVDs are also popular. They feature an artist such as Brad Pitt and put all his films on one disk. They are sometimes mistaken however, and will include Leonardo DiCaprio by mistake. Apparently these come from China; I hear most of them have Chinese subtitles.
For a good rundown on the day to day of an Arkie in East Africa, you can’t beat Michael Hodson’s blog. Please go visit and add him to your blog roll. I haven’t really been able to take the time to blog the minutiae (otherwise known as “the interesting stuff”), so you may benefit from a gander over there.
http://mobilelawyer.blogspot.com
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Updates
#1) I have located two sources of food which offer items that include neither rice nor beans. Success! I ate not one bean or grain of rice on Saturday and was full as a tick. The pizza at Milan's and mishikaki (grilled meat) at Taj Mahal have ensured I will gain back any weight lost in previous weeks. I also located the aptly named "The Coffee Shop" and ordered something that more or less resembled a cappucino.
#2) Until Saturday, I had been too occupied by the threat of malaria to remember to be scared of insects & snakes. Thanks to the giant tarantula spotted in the proximity of my flip-flop clad feet, that is no longer an issue. I now scan the floor for potential threats about once every thirty seconds. After the initial threat had subsided (it ran behind the fridge), the very mean Germans took the opportunity to share every story they had collected regarding flies that lay eggs under your skin & a monitor lizard that ate their neighboors dog.
#3) I'm leaving on safari on Thursday. What a great birthday present! I'll be visiting one of the most famous game reserves in the world, including a trip to Ngorangora crater.
#2) Until Saturday, I had been too occupied by the threat of malaria to remember to be scared of insects & snakes. Thanks to the giant tarantula spotted in the proximity of my flip-flop clad feet, that is no longer an issue. I now scan the floor for potential threats about once every thirty seconds. After the initial threat had subsided (it ran behind the fridge), the very mean Germans took the opportunity to share every story they had collected regarding flies that lay eggs under your skin & a monitor lizard that ate their neighboors dog.
#3) I'm leaving on safari on Thursday. What a great birthday present! I'll be visiting one of the most famous game reserves in the world, including a trip to Ngorangora crater.
Turning 28 in Tanzania
The only way to properly celebrate one’s birthday in Moshi is by playing poker at a speakeasy and eating soul food. We’re celebrating my birthday tomorrow instead of today, since that’s the group’s regular poker night. I kept backing out in previous weeks due to other obligations, but figure I’ve got no good excuse not to play on my birthday. Olaf, the German with the winning streak, will be absent so I will have to wait until sometime next month to take him down.
The menu for tomorrow’s affair is as follows:
1st course: Salted tomatoes & fried okra
2nd course: Macaroni & Cheese
3rd course: Fried hot dogs on white bread with mayonnaise
Accompanying libations will include Coca-Cola & Fanta Orange.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Kili
Walked out the door Thursday to this...
It was the first time I'd seen it so clearly in the morning. I opened the gate to walk to work and stopped dead in my tracks. Turned right back around and grabbed my camera. Kili is the kind of mountain you wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley--large, imposing, haunting. The photo is taken on the road between my home and Amani--hence the corn. My camera absolutely doesn't do it justice.
Here's a nice view from the road to The Watering Hole.
It was the first time I'd seen it so clearly in the morning. I opened the gate to walk to work and stopped dead in my tracks. Turned right back around and grabbed my camera. Kili is the kind of mountain you wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley--large, imposing, haunting. The photo is taken on the road between my home and Amani--hence the corn. My camera absolutely doesn't do it justice.
Here's a nice view from the road to The Watering Hole.
The Office
In Tanzania, there's bars on every window, but no screens... don't know why. Makes mosquito aversion more challenging. Nice view though.
UACS friends, please note the postcards on the table...
UACS friends, please note the postcards on the table...
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Just Desserts
Those beautiful, smiling pictures were taken well before the onslaught of a rather severe bout of dyspepsia erased the guacamole-induced smile from my face. Both Laura and I were sick as dogs for the past few days, but (disclaimer) cannot blame Bollate with 100% certainty. I was in agony for several days and it was so much worse since I was away from home. My phone refused to send text messages, so I could not even complain to friends and family half a world away.
When I finally began to feel slightly normal, I thought about the children I’d visited with in Arusha. We’d decided that it was, perhaps, a virus. Had I caught it from one of the kids? Are the kids ill now? The thought of suffering through such a sickness on the street is unbearable. Bathrooms are inaccessible and there’s no good place for a child to clean himself; something so contagious would spread like wildfire under those conditions. Already malnourished, as all of the children are—each and every one, a virus like that has the power to kill a child.
When I finally began to feel slightly normal, I thought about the children I’d visited with in Arusha. We’d decided that it was, perhaps, a virus. Had I caught it from one of the kids? Are the kids ill now? The thought of suffering through such a sickness on the street is unbearable. Bathrooms are inaccessible and there’s no good place for a child to clean himself; something so contagious would spread like wildfire under those conditions. Already malnourished, as all of the children are—each and every one, a virus like that has the power to kill a child.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Random Arusha
Four weeks in, I fail to be surprised by randomness such as manequins with 1980s hairstyles wearing hot-pink, faux fur coats. What would be considered odd in Arkansas is down right common place here.
Dora, on the other hand, caught me a little off guard as she offered free samples of candy at the entrance of ShopRite. It wasn't until she greeted me with a very masculine, Tanzanian accent that I felt, again, at ease.
ShopRite is hard to explain, but I'll try. It caters to, almost exclusively, the roughly 40k expats that reside in Arusha (compared to about 200, maybe, in Moshi). Due to the location of the Rwandan tribunal in Arusha, there was a huge influx of expats to the city. They sell red grapes at 15000/kilo--even I couldn't justify that. They had cupcakes and one kind of coffee creamer. I was a very happy camper.
Dora, on the other hand, caught me a little off guard as she offered free samples of candy at the entrance of ShopRite. It wasn't until she greeted me with a very masculine, Tanzanian accent that I felt, again, at ease.
ShopRite is hard to explain, but I'll try. It caters to, almost exclusively, the roughly 40k expats that reside in Arusha (compared to about 200, maybe, in Moshi). Due to the location of the Rwandan tribunal in Arusha, there was a huge influx of expats to the city. They sell red grapes at 15000/kilo--even I couldn't justify that. They had cupcakes and one kind of coffee creamer. I was a very happy camper.
The Streets of Arusha
On Friday, I made an overnight trip to Arusha with the Amani street educator, Godfrey, to learn how he works with kids and the conditions in which they live. Amani special education teacher and roomate, Laura, tagged along for the ride. The trip to get on the bus at Moshi depot was harrowing in itself, as touts surrounded us, yelling, and with no concept of personal space. We finally jumped on the emptiest bus, even though we knew it wouldn’t leave for a bit, just to get away from the worst of them.
After a ride of about an hour and a half, we met up with Godfrey and booked a room in the same hotel in which he usually stays when in Arusha. He usually works with the kids til later in the night and buses don’t run late enough to get you home and, even if they did, you wouldn’t want to take them. It’s largely unsafe to travel at night. I heard that in the 1980s, before it was paved, the Arusha-Dar es Salaam highway was in the Guiness Book of World Records for being most dangerous road in the world. Adventure!
We went to the streets twice that night, once in the early evening, the second time later, around 10:00 p.m. At first we saw few children and Godfrey explained it was because it was still early—they were out on their own scouting for food. They congregate together again at night and sleep in small camps.
In an effort to engage the kids, Godfrey invited a group to play a card game. We sat on the ground of the Arusha bus depot and shuffled the cards. I think it was called “six card”, but I’m not certain. All that I know for sure is that my newbie’s luck held and I won the first round by accident. As the game went on, I saw several children sucking on small plastic bottles. I saw Godfrey’s hand move quick as lightning trying to grab the bottle, but the kid was faster. “When it’s cold outside and they have nothing to eat,” said one volunteer, “the kids sniff glue to sleep.”
Substance abuse is very prevelant among the kids and, as we spoke to them, several of them sucked on plastic bottles hidden behind their coats, which contained glue or some other inhalant. Substance abuse and dependence seems to be the most prevelant reason why children refuse assistance. Even some of the younger children, as young as nine, have admitted to using heroin—oblivious, as children are, to the danger of dirty needles.
Godfrey is wonderful at his job; I can’t think of anyone better suited for it. He roams different streets throughout the metropolitan areas, searching for children in need. Though his kindness and sincerity is obvious, he has a sort of emotional detachment which allows him to relate to the children on their level, while maintaining his own sanity. He is known among the long-term street survivors and I very often heard him greeted as “teach-ah”. One by one, Godfrey coaxes them to Amani.
We took a break and got some traditional African food before returning to the kids. We met up with a larger group of children now, back at the bus depot. Godfrey announced that he would buy a round a chai and bread, if the kids were hungry, and the number of children instantly doubled. When I stopped to count, 16 children gathered around waiting to be poured chai from a street vendor.
Later, as we continued around the city by car, we came upon the same group of children with which we’d played cards earlier in the evening. Several of the boys were talking to a man. Godfrey asked the driver to pull over. When the man saw Godfrey approach, he scurried away in quick fashion. Sexual predators also inhabit the dark streets of Arusha and know how to get what they want for cheap. I haven’t been so very mad at a single man in a very long time. Try as I might, I would never want to forget, but I can’t see the man’s face in my mind—it’s just a blur of shadows.
(I have made it a personal policy not to post any pictures of children with their names in any post. Due to the conditions in which we found them, I have further elected not to post pictures that clearly show the children’s faces.)
After a ride of about an hour and a half, we met up with Godfrey and booked a room in the same hotel in which he usually stays when in Arusha. He usually works with the kids til later in the night and buses don’t run late enough to get you home and, even if they did, you wouldn’t want to take them. It’s largely unsafe to travel at night. I heard that in the 1980s, before it was paved, the Arusha-Dar es Salaam highway was in the Guiness Book of World Records for being most dangerous road in the world. Adventure!
We went to the streets twice that night, once in the early evening, the second time later, around 10:00 p.m. At first we saw few children and Godfrey explained it was because it was still early—they were out on their own scouting for food. They congregate together again at night and sleep in small camps.
In an effort to engage the kids, Godfrey invited a group to play a card game. We sat on the ground of the Arusha bus depot and shuffled the cards. I think it was called “six card”, but I’m not certain. All that I know for sure is that my newbie’s luck held and I won the first round by accident. As the game went on, I saw several children sucking on small plastic bottles. I saw Godfrey’s hand move quick as lightning trying to grab the bottle, but the kid was faster. “When it’s cold outside and they have nothing to eat,” said one volunteer, “the kids sniff glue to sleep.”
Substance abuse is very prevelant among the kids and, as we spoke to them, several of them sucked on plastic bottles hidden behind their coats, which contained glue or some other inhalant. Substance abuse and dependence seems to be the most prevelant reason why children refuse assistance. Even some of the younger children, as young as nine, have admitted to using heroin—oblivious, as children are, to the danger of dirty needles.
Godfrey is wonderful at his job; I can’t think of anyone better suited for it. He roams different streets throughout the metropolitan areas, searching for children in need. Though his kindness and sincerity is obvious, he has a sort of emotional detachment which allows him to relate to the children on their level, while maintaining his own sanity. He is known among the long-term street survivors and I very often heard him greeted as “teach-ah”. One by one, Godfrey coaxes them to Amani.
We took a break and got some traditional African food before returning to the kids. We met up with a larger group of children now, back at the bus depot. Godfrey announced that he would buy a round a chai and bread, if the kids were hungry, and the number of children instantly doubled. When I stopped to count, 16 children gathered around waiting to be poured chai from a street vendor.
Later, as we continued around the city by car, we came upon the same group of children with which we’d played cards earlier in the evening. Several of the boys were talking to a man. Godfrey asked the driver to pull over. When the man saw Godfrey approach, he scurried away in quick fashion. Sexual predators also inhabit the dark streets of Arusha and know how to get what they want for cheap. I haven’t been so very mad at a single man in a very long time. Try as I might, I would never want to forget, but I can’t see the man’s face in my mind—it’s just a blur of shadows.
(I have made it a personal policy not to post any pictures of children with their names in any post. Due to the conditions in which we found them, I have further elected not to post pictures that clearly show the children’s faces.)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
My House
This is where I live, in a rural suburb of Moshi. I sit on the couch every morning and stare out the window looking into the front yard as I drink 1.5 pots worth of coffee before walking to work. The top pic is my front yard. It is small but the flora is beautiful. The pic below is the view from the road leading to my house. Everyone in my neighborhood grows corn.
Half-Cake
Every month Amani has a top to bottom scrub down, in which every staff member and child participates in cleaning every inch of the building. Even the executive director scrubs the floors. I helped the girls in their dorm and then found myself wandering around looking for another job. I was ready to give up and get back to my postcards when I wandered out to the kitchen and and saw the chefs busy at work.
They were getting ready for the next day's field trip. The kids would go to a nature center and learn about all the native animals.The chefs were working to prepare snacks for the next day. They were making popcorn and something nicknamed half-cake. The recipe is evidently half mdazi (a slightly sweet, deep-fried bread)and half-cake. I did made her promise to give me the sized-down recipe later! I liked it, but not enough to eat 200 of them.
While most cooking is done in a half-covered kitchen which is connected to an open-air dining hall, these treats are cooked outside so as not to burn down the nice, brand new building. All cooking at Amani uses a type of charcoal that comes in log form.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Two Arkies, a Yankee, and a German walk into an Indian restaurant…
Little Rock’s a small town. You can go to the local Kroger and run into your congressman or to Wal-Mart and see your high school principle. You can’t help but run into every living soul at Wal-Mart whether you really want to or not—it’s just the nature of our city. Turns out Moshi is much the same.
Last week, my brother, John, pointed me toward Michael Hodson’s blog. After spending time in the world of Arkansas law and politics, Michael decided to take a one-year trek around the globe, but with one caveat: he would make this journey without getting on any planes and without making prior reservations. Through the wonders of Facebook and obscure familial connections, I was able to meet up with Hodson who is preparing to climb Kilimanjaro while passing through Tanzania on the East African leg of his journey. I was fascinated by his ambitious itinerary and, after two weeks in Tanzania, was irrationally excited about meeting a fellow Arkansan on foreign soil. I have been suffering from a kind of southern accent deprivation.
I hadn’t realized how much I missed home until we were sitting at dinner talking politics and he began trying to explain former President Clinton’s brand of political charisma to my North Carolinian housemate. As a kid in high school, Michael had met the Governor in a receiving line at an event and they spoke for a few minutes. When running for the Presidency several years later, the two met for a second time when Hodson was asked by his boss to pick the Governor up at the airport in the wee hours of the morning. The future President, bright eyed and smiling at 1:00 a.m. bounced off the plane and, upon seeing him for only the second time in many years, walked right up to Michael, calling him by his first name, and asked how his father was doing and if he still worked at “_____”. I’ve heard a hundred of these stories if I’ve heard one and exactly how he does it is a mystery to me.
It was great to catch up with an Arkie, if one in name only. I fear we may have lost him. Hodson appears to have gone metric and has started using words like “Celsius”. If you happen to be in Sudan or Nova Scotia—wherever he’s going next—try to feed the man some biscuits & sausage gravy before he forgets how to spell ‘sooie’.
Last week, my brother, John, pointed me toward Michael Hodson’s blog. After spending time in the world of Arkansas law and politics, Michael decided to take a one-year trek around the globe, but with one caveat: he would make this journey without getting on any planes and without making prior reservations. Through the wonders of Facebook and obscure familial connections, I was able to meet up with Hodson who is preparing to climb Kilimanjaro while passing through Tanzania on the East African leg of his journey. I was fascinated by his ambitious itinerary and, after two weeks in Tanzania, was irrationally excited about meeting a fellow Arkansan on foreign soil. I have been suffering from a kind of southern accent deprivation.
I hadn’t realized how much I missed home until we were sitting at dinner talking politics and he began trying to explain former President Clinton’s brand of political charisma to my North Carolinian housemate. As a kid in high school, Michael had met the Governor in a receiving line at an event and they spoke for a few minutes. When running for the Presidency several years later, the two met for a second time when Hodson was asked by his boss to pick the Governor up at the airport in the wee hours of the morning. The future President, bright eyed and smiling at 1:00 a.m. bounced off the plane and, upon seeing him for only the second time in many years, walked right up to Michael, calling him by his first name, and asked how his father was doing and if he still worked at “_____”. I’ve heard a hundred of these stories if I’ve heard one and exactly how he does it is a mystery to me.
It was great to catch up with an Arkie, if one in name only. I fear we may have lost him. Hodson appears to have gone metric and has started using words like “Celsius”. If you happen to be in Sudan or Nova Scotia—wherever he’s going next—try to feed the man some biscuits & sausage gravy before he forgets how to spell ‘sooie’.
Security
Security systems around Moshi are pretty interesting. I believe the only windows I have seen without bars were on the upper stories of some hotels in town. It is also not uncommon to have a guard. Laura and I employ a guard, Marti, who lives in a small building out back. He doesn’t pace the perimeter or anything; more than anything, he’s paid just to be around because a person’s presence is the biggest deterrent. A while back, some friends that had previously scoffed at the idea of employing a guard came back from a long weekend to find their home broken into and almost everything, including their mattress was taken. They later hired a security guard and installed a panic button which works on radio frequency.
Both the front and back entrances of our house include a separate steel door, which fastens by a thick padlock. The site where the padlock is fastened is encased by a metal frame, making it all but impossible to destroy the lock. The interior wooden doors are locked using skeleton keys, which are very common in this area. Each of the interior door jambs also include three sets of braces designed to hold 2 x 4s, which would make ramming the door very difficult.
The exterior of the house is surrounded by a brick wall and locked gate. Atop the wall are a series of broken glass bottles, which appear to have been set into the concrete. This type of cheap barbed wire is also very common in this area.
Both the front and back entrances of our house include a separate steel door, which fastens by a thick padlock. The site where the padlock is fastened is encased by a metal frame, making it all but impossible to destroy the lock. The interior wooden doors are locked using skeleton keys, which are very common in this area. Each of the interior door jambs also include three sets of braces designed to hold 2 x 4s, which would make ramming the door very difficult.
The exterior of the house is surrounded by a brick wall and locked gate. Atop the wall are a series of broken glass bottles, which appear to have been set into the concrete. This type of cheap barbed wire is also very common in this area.
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