The country is pretty diverse when it comes to religion. It is roughly split half and half into Christian and Muslim, but there are also people still practicing their traditional religions from before colonialism. Most of the Muslim population is found along the Indian Ocean coastline and in major cities. The mosques play the call to prayer everyday over loud speakers so you can always hear them no matter where you are in the city.
For Christians, there are several denominations here, but Roman Catholic is the dominant one. People are very involved with church, and in some cases it's amazing how closely their lives are tied to the church community. And on Sundays they sing and dance very enthusiastically!
In Mwanza the religious diversity is even more noticeable due to the Hindu population. Ever since the time when the railroads were built here, Indians have moved to Mwanza and made it their home. Today there are a few Hindu temples mixed in with the many mosques and churches here in Mwanza. This mix of religion gives the city sort of an oriental feel at times, however it's cool how well they all get along with one another. They seem to coexist peacefully together, and they try to keep their religious differences out of their day to day dealings with one another.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Another Home Visit
Greetings blog followers!
This past week at work I've been trying to finish up my grant proposal, but we went two days without power this week so that made it difficult. Next week I should have it completed and submitted for certain.
But I also got the opportunity to tag along on another Home-Based Care visit this week. This time we walked to some houses clear up in the hills of Mwanza. Mwanza is a very rocky and hilly city, and the families that live up in the hills are usually the poorest of the lot. There are no roads to these houses, no electricity, no running water, and no privacy from your neighbors. Furthermore, when I say "houses" I am actually referring to mud shacks. These buildings are small, with patchy roofing and lacking all the luxurious amenities that we're used to back home like stoves, refrigerators, etc. Imagine your entire family living and sleeping in the same one room house all the time! Also, to get water they must walk all the way down and then back up the hills with buckets of water from Lake Victoria. Needless to say, their lives are already tough.
However, the families we visited have even more daily hardships to endure as they are all HIV clients of ours at Shaloom and must adhere to specific ARV drug regimens. One family in particular stood out to me...It was a mother, two sons, and a daughter living together. All of them have HIV. One son is very young, but the other son and the daughter are older. The daughter though, is paralyzed on the whole right side of her body. She suffered a stroke and was left unable to move her right side. Apparently she's making good progress, because she can now feed herself and stand up on her own--things that she was previously unable to do without help. She can't speak anymore, but she can understand everything people tell her and is able to acknowledge them with noises and gestures. I was struck by her cheery demeanor and determination. As we entered the house, we waited for her to enter the room. She insisted on getting into the room on her own power, so we waited as she slid on the ground, pushing her body along with her left arm. Finally, she made it into the room and lifted herself onto a chair. She was so happy to do it on her own and also pleased to see that we'd come to visit her.
This woman will never be able to leave her house unless someone carries her down the hill, because no vehicles can make the journey, she can no longer speak or walk, and all she has is her family. But she still finds joy in the little things of life, and that was refreshing to see. What you begin to realize here is that most of the problems we have back home pale in comparison to the challenges many Tanzanians face every day. Too often we worry about the silly trials of life, and we fail to be truly thankful for all we have. I will surely think of families like these whenever I am stressed or upset in the future.
This past week at work I've been trying to finish up my grant proposal, but we went two days without power this week so that made it difficult. Next week I should have it completed and submitted for certain.
But I also got the opportunity to tag along on another Home-Based Care visit this week. This time we walked to some houses clear up in the hills of Mwanza. Mwanza is a very rocky and hilly city, and the families that live up in the hills are usually the poorest of the lot. There are no roads to these houses, no electricity, no running water, and no privacy from your neighbors. Furthermore, when I say "houses" I am actually referring to mud shacks. These buildings are small, with patchy roofing and lacking all the luxurious amenities that we're used to back home like stoves, refrigerators, etc. Imagine your entire family living and sleeping in the same one room house all the time! Also, to get water they must walk all the way down and then back up the hills with buckets of water from Lake Victoria. Needless to say, their lives are already tough.
However, the families we visited have even more daily hardships to endure as they are all HIV clients of ours at Shaloom and must adhere to specific ARV drug regimens. One family in particular stood out to me...It was a mother, two sons, and a daughter living together. All of them have HIV. One son is very young, but the other son and the daughter are older. The daughter though, is paralyzed on the whole right side of her body. She suffered a stroke and was left unable to move her right side. Apparently she's making good progress, because she can now feed herself and stand up on her own--things that she was previously unable to do without help. She can't speak anymore, but she can understand everything people tell her and is able to acknowledge them with noises and gestures. I was struck by her cheery demeanor and determination. As we entered the house, we waited for her to enter the room. She insisted on getting into the room on her own power, so we waited as she slid on the ground, pushing her body along with her left arm. Finally, she made it into the room and lifted herself onto a chair. She was so happy to do it on her own and also pleased to see that we'd come to visit her.
This woman will never be able to leave her house unless someone carries her down the hill, because no vehicles can make the journey, she can no longer speak or walk, and all she has is her family. But she still finds joy in the little things of life, and that was refreshing to see. What you begin to realize here is that most of the problems we have back home pale in comparison to the challenges many Tanzanians face every day. Too often we worry about the silly trials of life, and we fail to be truly thankful for all we have. I will surely think of families like these whenever I am stressed or upset in the future.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Talent Show
Mambo vipi? (how's it going, what's up?)
This week Shaloom put on a talent show for the youth registered in our program. The goal was to let the children have a good time and also to raise a little money. It was pretty hectic getting it all organized this week, but it all came together in time for the show on Friday afternoon. The kids did a great job with the acts. Two of them acted as MCs and some of the actual acts included: singing groups, a theater group, and discussion panel, and traditional dancing with drums. The theater group and discussion panel both talked about HIV/AIDS education, and I was particularly happy with the discussion panel. That group took one of the brochures that I made and integrated the information into the act. They also promoted the brochure and we distributed them to guests on their way out.
I also got to play a little role in the show, as they appointed me "prop/stage manager" at the last second before the show started. It was pretty fun, I just took the props on and off the stage whenever they needed me to. Also, I was able to recruit a young boy to be my assistant, but he was special because he was one of the children that Carol and I taught English to the last time we were in Mwanza in 2007. It was great to see him again, and he turned out to be a big help during the show!
The fundraising part went reasonably well too. Our coordinator did a power point presentation that served as an overview of our organization and many guests responded positively and dontated generously. We were also blessed with a very pretigious guest of honor, The Regional Commissionor of Mwanza. I didn't know who he was before the event, but apparently his duties are similar to a mayor's. Regardless, people were very excited to have him there, and he was nice enough to make a speech asking the audience to donate money or make a pledge.
So all in all it was a success. Even though it was stressful to run and a little unorganized, we still raised some money. And even more importantly, the youth had a ton of fun!
However, as on most days here there are happy stories and sad stories to tell. As I was walking to work on Wednesday morning I saw a horrible accident. A young boy no more than 8 or 9 was hit and run over by a mini-bus only about 30 yards away from me. A crowd of people surrounded the accident as the boy was stuck underneath the bus. Eventually they were able to pull him out, but I didn't see him moving. They just picked him up and put him in the bus that hit him, then they were off to the hospital.
I couldn't help but think about how they may have been doing more harm than good by picking him up the way they did. Spine/neck injuries can be worsened very quickly if you handle someone like that in the wrong way. The problem is that there is no 911 to call...no emergency vehicles to come to the scene of accients...only a volunteer crowd of onlookers who do their best to get the victim to the hospital as quickly as possible.
I know one thing for sure...I will be extra careful crossing the street here from now on. Pedestrians don't have the right of way here, and the traffic drives on the opposite side of the road, so it's sometimes difficult to gauge the traffic when you're used to the way the traffic flows back home.
Don't worry mom, I'll make sure to look both ways before I cross the road :)
Take care everyone! Enjoy the new iphone that i heard was just released in the states yesterday!
-Ben
This week Shaloom put on a talent show for the youth registered in our program. The goal was to let the children have a good time and also to raise a little money. It was pretty hectic getting it all organized this week, but it all came together in time for the show on Friday afternoon. The kids did a great job with the acts. Two of them acted as MCs and some of the actual acts included: singing groups, a theater group, and discussion panel, and traditional dancing with drums. The theater group and discussion panel both talked about HIV/AIDS education, and I was particularly happy with the discussion panel. That group took one of the brochures that I made and integrated the information into the act. They also promoted the brochure and we distributed them to guests on their way out.
I also got to play a little role in the show, as they appointed me "prop/stage manager" at the last second before the show started. It was pretty fun, I just took the props on and off the stage whenever they needed me to. Also, I was able to recruit a young boy to be my assistant, but he was special because he was one of the children that Carol and I taught English to the last time we were in Mwanza in 2007. It was great to see him again, and he turned out to be a big help during the show!
The fundraising part went reasonably well too. Our coordinator did a power point presentation that served as an overview of our organization and many guests responded positively and dontated generously. We were also blessed with a very pretigious guest of honor, The Regional Commissionor of Mwanza. I didn't know who he was before the event, but apparently his duties are similar to a mayor's. Regardless, people were very excited to have him there, and he was nice enough to make a speech asking the audience to donate money or make a pledge.
So all in all it was a success. Even though it was stressful to run and a little unorganized, we still raised some money. And even more importantly, the youth had a ton of fun!
However, as on most days here there are happy stories and sad stories to tell. As I was walking to work on Wednesday morning I saw a horrible accident. A young boy no more than 8 or 9 was hit and run over by a mini-bus only about 30 yards away from me. A crowd of people surrounded the accident as the boy was stuck underneath the bus. Eventually they were able to pull him out, but I didn't see him moving. They just picked him up and put him in the bus that hit him, then they were off to the hospital.
I couldn't help but think about how they may have been doing more harm than good by picking him up the way they did. Spine/neck injuries can be worsened very quickly if you handle someone like that in the wrong way. The problem is that there is no 911 to call...no emergency vehicles to come to the scene of accients...only a volunteer crowd of onlookers who do their best to get the victim to the hospital as quickly as possible.
I know one thing for sure...I will be extra careful crossing the street here from now on. Pedestrians don't have the right of way here, and the traffic drives on the opposite side of the road, so it's sometimes difficult to gauge the traffic when you're used to the way the traffic flows back home.
Don't worry mom, I'll make sure to look both ways before I cross the road :)
Take care everyone! Enjoy the new iphone that i heard was just released in the states yesterday!
-Ben
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Names
One last thing before I go...I thought I'd fill you in on how names work here.
My name is very funny to most people here, because your last name is supposed to be the first name of your father. They can't understand why Grace is my father's name and there are always laughs when I introduce myself. The concept of a surname/family name doesn't exist here, so it's difficult to explain.
If you're a mother, you are called Mama ____(whatever the first name of your first born is). So for example my mom's name would be Mama Ben. That's all everyone would have called her for the rest of her life after I was born. Fathers can be similar only using "Baba" instead of Mama.
Also, you can always just call someone kaka(brother), dada(sister), mama, baba, bibi(grandma), mzee(old man)--even if they are strangers.
For my name, Grace is funny but my first name is hard for them too. I'm not sure why, but many people don't understand Ben, so I oftentimes just say Benjamin. However, now many people just call be "Benja" haha. Oh well, as long as I know they're talking to me!
My name is very funny to most people here, because your last name is supposed to be the first name of your father. They can't understand why Grace is my father's name and there are always laughs when I introduce myself. The concept of a surname/family name doesn't exist here, so it's difficult to explain.
If you're a mother, you are called Mama ____(whatever the first name of your first born is). So for example my mom's name would be Mama Ben. That's all everyone would have called her for the rest of her life after I was born. Fathers can be similar only using "Baba" instead of Mama.
Also, you can always just call someone kaka(brother), dada(sister), mama, baba, bibi(grandma), mzee(old man)--even if they are strangers.
For my name, Grace is funny but my first name is hard for them too. I'm not sure why, but many people don't understand Ben, so I oftentimes just say Benjamin. However, now many people just call be "Benja" haha. Oh well, as long as I know they're talking to me!
Home Visit
Hello from TZ!
To begin I'd just like to assure you all that things have calmed down a bit at Shaloom this week. They're working on the money issues, and everyone is gearing up for our youth talent show next weekend. It will be a big fund raising event for the organization, as well as a chance for Shaloom's youth to display some of their talents and have fun.
This past week I tagged along on my first home visit. Shaloom does home visits sometimes when a client is unable to travel to see us either due to financial or medical issues. The purpose of the visit is to check in with the client and make sure they are coming along okay with their day-to-day lives. So I went with some of the staff to a house (it was actually a hut) that was a good distance away on Tuesday. The client was the father of the house, but there was also a wife and seven children. When they interviewed the man, I learned about his case history and it was really quite sad. He found out that he had HIV about two years ago after he had been sleeping with a mistress. He then proceeded to transmit the virus to his wife, who in turn gave it to their youngest child during pregnancy. She's also pregnant again right now, but is taking the drugs that help to prevent mother to child transmission.
It's very common for men to cheat on their wives here, but the difference from back home is that they rarely ever separate as a result. I'm finding out that women and children especially are not treated very well here. In talking with school children and teachers I have learned that children are still beaten horribly in school. Not just with hands mind you, but with sticks or belts. They can be beaten for being late to class, distrupting class, or even failing an exam. The children were shocked when they asked me and found out that children are not beaten in school in the U.S. However, that wasn't the saddest thing that the children were shocked to learn about our culture. They couldn't believe that men could go to prison for beating women or raping them. This happens here, and most people can't imagine it being against the law. Coming from a different culture and hearing this makes you sad and angry, but there's not a lot that anyone like me can do about it. I just hope that over time this improves. Fortunately, women are making some strides in areas like employment, where more and more women are getting jobs instead of working at home all the time.
But please don't think that all Tanzanians do these things. It would be completely wrong to stereotype the whole culture and imagine that they are always raping or beating each other. Many husbands and wives still have loving relationships, and teachers and parents still love their children. It's just that things like that tend to stick out in your mind, because it is such a culture clash. In fact, in many ways their family ties are much stronger than those in other countries. Each household is a very tight group with many extended family members living under one rough or on the same street. It is very common for parents, children, aunts/uncles, cousins, and grandparents to all live together and share responsiblities. The concept of the "immediate family" doesn't really exist, because they envision all of their extended family members to be apart of their so-called immediate family. They share money, food, shelter, and company every day. Here, the families and neighbors look out for one another day in and day out.
Therefore, I guess I'm learning that there are some ideas that can be borrowed from this culture, and things I'd like to change. But it's still a learning experience every day for me, and I'm continuing to understand a little more all the time.
-Ben
To begin I'd just like to assure you all that things have calmed down a bit at Shaloom this week. They're working on the money issues, and everyone is gearing up for our youth talent show next weekend. It will be a big fund raising event for the organization, as well as a chance for Shaloom's youth to display some of their talents and have fun.
This past week I tagged along on my first home visit. Shaloom does home visits sometimes when a client is unable to travel to see us either due to financial or medical issues. The purpose of the visit is to check in with the client and make sure they are coming along okay with their day-to-day lives. So I went with some of the staff to a house (it was actually a hut) that was a good distance away on Tuesday. The client was the father of the house, but there was also a wife and seven children. When they interviewed the man, I learned about his case history and it was really quite sad. He found out that he had HIV about two years ago after he had been sleeping with a mistress. He then proceeded to transmit the virus to his wife, who in turn gave it to their youngest child during pregnancy. She's also pregnant again right now, but is taking the drugs that help to prevent mother to child transmission.
It's very common for men to cheat on their wives here, but the difference from back home is that they rarely ever separate as a result. I'm finding out that women and children especially are not treated very well here. In talking with school children and teachers I have learned that children are still beaten horribly in school. Not just with hands mind you, but with sticks or belts. They can be beaten for being late to class, distrupting class, or even failing an exam. The children were shocked when they asked me and found out that children are not beaten in school in the U.S. However, that wasn't the saddest thing that the children were shocked to learn about our culture. They couldn't believe that men could go to prison for beating women or raping them. This happens here, and most people can't imagine it being against the law. Coming from a different culture and hearing this makes you sad and angry, but there's not a lot that anyone like me can do about it. I just hope that over time this improves. Fortunately, women are making some strides in areas like employment, where more and more women are getting jobs instead of working at home all the time.
But please don't think that all Tanzanians do these things. It would be completely wrong to stereotype the whole culture and imagine that they are always raping or beating each other. Many husbands and wives still have loving relationships, and teachers and parents still love their children. It's just that things like that tend to stick out in your mind, because it is such a culture clash. In fact, in many ways their family ties are much stronger than those in other countries. Each household is a very tight group with many extended family members living under one rough or on the same street. It is very common for parents, children, aunts/uncles, cousins, and grandparents to all live together and share responsiblities. The concept of the "immediate family" doesn't really exist, because they envision all of their extended family members to be apart of their so-called immediate family. They share money, food, shelter, and company every day. Here, the families and neighbors look out for one another day in and day out.
Therefore, I guess I'm learning that there are some ideas that can be borrowed from this culture, and things I'd like to change. But it's still a learning experience every day for me, and I'm continuing to understand a little more all the time.
-Ben
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Rough Week for Shaloom
My organization just had a bit of a hard week. It's nothing that's really affecting what I'm doing, but it's tough on the staff. The biggest overall problem continues to be lack of adequate financing. On Wednesday, it was time to distribute beans and soap to our HIV-positive clients for the month of June. Shaloom used to donate 4 kilos of beans and 1 bar of soap to each person. However, recent money problems have reduced that to 2 kilos of beans and only 1/2 a bar of soap. But this week was even worse because for some reason there was not even enough money to give soap. Therefore, people only received 2 kilos of beans for the entire month. It was sad to see how disappointed everyone was. In fact, some people were angry (only 2 people out of 250 said thank you when they got their beans). The other sad thing is that Shaloom has around 1000 clients but only 250 are enrolled in this beans/soap program. The finances are just not available, so hopefully this grant I'm writing will be accepted and they can start a more comprehensive nutrition program.
The money problems appear to date back several months--when there was a different care coordinator running the show. Since then, she's been fired and they now have a new coordinator and accountant. Nevertheless, they recently discovered that there was a $3000 withdrawl from the bank a few months ago and that money is still unaccounted for. Needless to say the benefactors from Europe are not pleased with this news and they want it resolved quickly. They've put a hold on the money they've donated until the whole thing is sorted out. In the meantime, it's hard on the staff at Shaloom. They were supposed to get their paychecks at the beginning of the month, but there's no money in the bank for that. Furthermore, there isn't even money to fill our vehicle up with gas, so some of the staff have to find other means of getting around. We're all hoping things get better soon, but in the meantime we're still carrying on as normal.
Other bits of bad news have to do with the health of some of my co-workers and their families. One staff member who works at our youth center had a bad week because his pregnant wife has been sick with malaria. She was three months pregnant and unfortunately lost the baby this week because of the malaria. Also, our care coordinator's roommate (who helped pick me up from the airport) fainted in his home early in the week. They're not sure what caused him to faint, but he hit his head really hard and had to be taken to the hospital. He's still not feeling better and they're not sure what's wrong. The doctors want to do a CT scan, but the one that they have in Mwanza is currently broken so now he needs to get to Dar es Salaam or Nairobi. It's definitely not easy being sick here.
But with all of that not-so-good news I can reassure you that I am doing just fine. I'm writing my grant and still helping out around Shaloom with whatever I can. Plus, I ventured over to the Chinese restaurant in town yesterday and had a really tasty lunch. Once again my stomach was happy to have something other than Tanzanian food. Tonight I'm going over to a Canadian couple's home for dinner, so I'll probably have another good meal today. :)
I'm wishing everyone is doing well back home! Take care!
-Ben
The money problems appear to date back several months--when there was a different care coordinator running the show. Since then, she's been fired and they now have a new coordinator and accountant. Nevertheless, they recently discovered that there was a $3000 withdrawl from the bank a few months ago and that money is still unaccounted for. Needless to say the benefactors from Europe are not pleased with this news and they want it resolved quickly. They've put a hold on the money they've donated until the whole thing is sorted out. In the meantime, it's hard on the staff at Shaloom. They were supposed to get their paychecks at the beginning of the month, but there's no money in the bank for that. Furthermore, there isn't even money to fill our vehicle up with gas, so some of the staff have to find other means of getting around. We're all hoping things get better soon, but in the meantime we're still carrying on as normal.
Other bits of bad news have to do with the health of some of my co-workers and their families. One staff member who works at our youth center had a bad week because his pregnant wife has been sick with malaria. She was three months pregnant and unfortunately lost the baby this week because of the malaria. Also, our care coordinator's roommate (who helped pick me up from the airport) fainted in his home early in the week. They're not sure what caused him to faint, but he hit his head really hard and had to be taken to the hospital. He's still not feeling better and they're not sure what's wrong. The doctors want to do a CT scan, but the one that they have in Mwanza is currently broken so now he needs to get to Dar es Salaam or Nairobi. It's definitely not easy being sick here.
But with all of that not-so-good news I can reassure you that I am doing just fine. I'm writing my grant and still helping out around Shaloom with whatever I can. Plus, I ventured over to the Chinese restaurant in town yesterday and had a really tasty lunch. Once again my stomach was happy to have something other than Tanzanian food. Tonight I'm going over to a Canadian couple's home for dinner, so I'll probably have another good meal today. :)
I'm wishing everyone is doing well back home! Take care!
-Ben
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