ChemChemi

Last Thursday I went with one of the Mamas involved with the Chemchemi project to Buswelu (village region in Mwanza).I really enjoyed the experience because it is in line with what I have been studying at Brescia and related to my future career interests. As I mentioned, this program is directed at improving the health and nutrition of malnourished children less than five years of age.

Once all the mothers had arrived with their children they were all weighed and measured and their progress was charted on growth charts very similar to what I have seen and used in some of my nutrition classes at Brescia.  It was neat to see them being used in a real life, practical situation and even better that I understood what was going on, considering I was the only person who could speak English! After this Mama Lau gave a brief lecture to the mothers, which I couldn’t exactly understand but it was related to the growth charts and the appropriate patterns. Uji was then prepared and given to all the children. Uji is like a porridge that you can drink, but packed with protein, fiber and other nutrients. However, most people put add loads of sugar.

SAUT

            Last week I had my first visit to SAUT (St. Augustine University). SAUT is an English speaking University, but Chris and I still invited our translator Stanley to come along with us, which was a great idea! The dala dala ride there was certainly an adventure, as always. For the majority of the ride I had a man’s sweaty armpit in my face and a women leaning over me with her nails digging into my back! Nevertheless, I made it there in one piece! When we arrived, Stanley had arranged to meet with a student he knew, and he kindly showed us around the campus and assisted us with contacting some people. The campus is beautiful and a lot bigger than I had expected. In terms of area, it is definitely bigger than Western but the buildings are smaller. We enjoyed walking around the campus and Chris and I could both feel that “vibe” you get when visiting any university. We met with the Vice Chancellor and explained our reasons for being in Tanzanian (me about the yogurt project and Chris about his research on black identity). Chris vocalized his interest in possibly guest lecturing a class so the Dean then sent us over speak with the head of the sociology department. He said he would follow up with Chris at his earliest convenience and by Monday Chris was invited back to meet with the Dean of Academic Affairs where he was informed he is welcome to guest lecture next week!!!

We also met with the Dean of students and suggested the possibly of having the probiotic yoghurt or fresh milk sold on campus. She seemed quite interested in the project and suggested we meet with the head of the sports department. After a short wait, we finally spoke with Kennedy (sports department) and I explained the Western Heads East project, the benefits of the yoghurt, etc. He thought the students could benefit from more education/awareness which I told him I would be happy to help with. He will be away next week, but we received his contact information to follow up and hopefully we can develop this opportunity! I just want to say thank-you so much to our translator Stanley! He has been amazing, and definitely much more than a translator. We have learned so much from him! Asante sana!!!

                                                Sign on the way to SAUT

Meeting Three!

On Monday we had our third meeting with the mamas! It went well and they were all in attendance which was a bonus! They have been in contact with people from Starehe Children’s home and Mama Joyce and I will deliver yoghurt there on Tuesday.

Last Friday I met a lady from Isamilo international School and told her about what I was doing here in Tanzania. She said that the Mamas used to deliver yoghurt to the school and that they would love to have them back. I mentioned this to the Mamas at the meeting and they seemed quite interested, so I will follow up with the school and hopefully they can start selling there next week!

I gave the mamas the information sheet on probiotics that I had translated for them. They were very thank-ful and posted it on the wall in the kitchen. This will help generate greater understanding in the community about the benefits of the yoghurt for everyone, not just people living with AIDS.

            I also met with Albert the Assistant Headmaster at Mtoni Secondary School where we arranged for me to give two presentations next week on the health benefits of yoghurt and milk to the students. I’m really excited about this opportunity to educate the younger community and raise awareness!

                                                         Probiotics info sheet in the kitchen

Starehe Children’s Home

            Mama Joyce and I went to the Starehe Children’s home on Tuesday to deliver yoghurt (Maziwa Mgando). Starehe consists of an orphanage and a nursery school for both the children at the orphanage as well as some outside students who pay school fees to assist with the costs. There are around 127 orphans in total, and many attend the nursery located right beside the orphanage. We stayed for a little while to visit with the kids, they are so cute and lovable! There are programs for them from 8am-12pm, then they return to the orphanage and another group of kids attend from 2:00pm – 6:30pm.

There seem to be many orphanages around Mwanza, and it makes me a bit sad to think of how many young children are left without families. However, from the two orphanages I have visited, they seem like wonderful places and I’m glad these kids are surrounded by people who care for them. 

                                                Preparing Yoghurt for kids at Starehe

 

Mahina Yoghurt Mamas

            On Wednesday Mama Paskwalina took Chris and I to Nyakato which is the region where the Mahina Yoghurt Mamas are located. It was nice to meet these Mamas and observe and discuss their strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. As far as I know, there are 5 mamas in this group and all are infected with HIV. We all sat with the Mamas for a while and Chris and I introduced ourselves, indentified some of their needs, and briefly looked over their books to get an idea of their expenses and profit margin. From what we saw, they appear to be doing very well, the yoghurt tasted delicious and I believe they have a lot of potential

The space they operate in is quite small, but Chris had some great ideas with regards to the layout which opened it up a lot more. We experimented with the positioning of a few things and they seemed to like our ideas.

The next step for this group is to start adding the probiotics to the yoghurt. I provided them with an information sheet on the health benefits which they were very thank-ful for and overall they seem quite keen on getting them into the yoghurt. Chris and I will visit NIMR (National Institute of Medical Research) and speak with Dr. Changalucha to ensure it’s feasible for them to produce the additional probiotics for this group. If all goes well, I think there area could benefit from more community education surrounding the health benefits of yoghurt and probiotics.

                                                    Mahina Yoghurt Kitchen

 

                                          Chris and I with some of the Mamas

Interesting facts/observations

1.      People

-          From what I have been able to observe so far, everyone in Tanzania is so friendly and talks to each other no matter if you know the person or not. Whereas in Canada everyone is told not to talk to strangers, here it is like you are supposed to! There are also women, men, and even children carrying things on their heads everywhere! I knew this was common before I came, but seeing this balancing act just two feet away amazes me! They carry very large and heavy things such as baskets full of fruit, big buckets of water, peanuts, sticks etc. The children are all so cute, and constantly say “shikamoo” whenever we walk by. Sometimes I find young kids will just walk beside me for ages and some even hold my hand.

-          I have also noticed that no names end in consonants (or very few) as mine does, and people seem to have a hard time saying it. I may have to shorten my name to Shanna to make things easier!

-          Everyone seems to look after each other’s children. Many children are running around on the streets but anyone who is older can and will discipline them and they listen. They have learned to have a general respect for their elders no matter whom it is, which I really admire in such young children.  Despite their hardship, and often limited opportunity, the children here are, for the most part, extremely happy.  Many are sick, but they do not look defeated.  Except for school uniforms, nearly all their clothes are worn out or in tatters.  

                                                                  Starting young!

2.      Food and Drink

-          Luckily I am not a picky eater so I am adapting to the African cuisine quite easily. There is not too much variety in the food, but most nights we cook at home and add different spices or use different cooking methods.

-          African Cuisine: Main staples

·     Rice

·     Ugali: traditional dish made by mixing maize and/or cassava flour in hot water until it becomes like a stiff porridge and is usually eaten by rolling it in the hand to form a small ball which is then dipped in sauce before eating. Note: it is extremely filling and cheap so I can see why it is a central part of the diet here

·    Vegetables: mainly carrots, spinach, green peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Note: you cannot eat any raw vegetables here; they must all be cooked and peeled.

·    Fish: Tilapia is a common fish here, but we don’t generally cook this at home. In the market many people have buckets filled with tilapia for sale

                                                           Cooking Tilapia

·     Uji: like a porridge that you can drink, but packed with protein, fiber and other nutrients. However, most people put add loads of sugar

·     Chai: Tea (milk tea + suagr)

Street Food

·    Chapati: flour, oil, salt, pan fried into a round bread cooked like a pancake (Mamas make these as part of the breakfast program)

·    Chipsi: deep fried potatoes

·    Chipsi mayai: omelette made with chips

·    Mendazzi – a deep fried dough, very common in Africa, many variations in taste, texture and shape (Mamas make these as part of the breakfast program)

·    Mahindi: grilled corn on the cob. I see this everywhere! People sit on the streets grilling the corn over charcoal

·    Mishkaki: meat on a skewer grilled until crisp

·    Samosa: a mixture of meat onions and vegetables

·    Wali: cooked rice and beans

Interesting facts:

-     Margaret (our houselady) is an amazing cook! I am learning so much from her. The other day she boiled bananas on the stove in some type of tomato sauce. I know it doesn’t sound very appetizing but it was actually quite good!

-     People here eat everything with their hands. Yes everything! The other day Missy took us out for lunch and we had fish, rice (still on the bone), and spinach (mchicha) in a tomato sauce and the entire meal was eaten with our hands. When there were no utensils on the table I wasn’t sure if I should ask or wait for them. Then Missy started eating with her hands. I looked at her and she started laughing and said, “by the way people eat everything with their hands here!” I must say this was quite a challenging task, but when I think about it, it is quite practical!

                                                      Meal eaten entirely with my hands

-     The timing of meals is also quite different here. In the morning people will drink chai, have chapattis around 11:00, lunch will be around 3:00-4:00pm and dinner is not usually until 8:00-9:00pm.

-      When ordering something from a restaurant (hoteli kula) it’s important to have at least one back up option in mind because a lot of times they don’t actually have what is on the menu

-     If food is left sitting out or not closed up properly, within half an hour it will be invested with ants!

-     There are soda machines in pretty much every store! I thought Canadians and Americans drank a lot of pop, but here it seems even more prevalent, maybe because it is cheaper than water?

-     The other weekend we went to a going away party for one of our friends from Germany. The main part of the meal was Goat, which is apparently the most common type of meat to BBQ here!