Last Week in Mwanza!

 

Chris and I have just finished our last week in Mwanza working with the yoghurt mamas and will soon be off to Arusha! We have had an amazing time here and met so many awesome people. I’ve done things I never imagined I could do and have learned a lot about myself! We will be leaving for Arusha on March 8^th, and although we are sad to leave, we are both excited for the next adventure that awaits us in Arusha. I am looking forward to living in another area of Tanzania and experiencing a new atmosphere and meeting new people. We are scheduled to work with another group of Yoghurt Mamas in Arusha who have just started, but are not exactly certain on the status of the project. But, we are excited to see what Arusha has in store for us!

Here are a few highlights from our last week!

On Sunday, Chris and I were invited to a teacher’s house from Mtoni Secondary School (Perpetua). Once we finally arrived it was a lovely afternoon visit, but..getting there was another adventure! It began with a squishy, sweaty ride in a daladala where Chris and I were virtually scrunched up into pretzels, sitting two feet from the floor. Perpetua informed us to tell the driver of the daladala to let us out at the “bodany” (or something like that) stop and she would meet us there.  The problem was that the driver didn’t seem to understand what we were saying and neither did anyone else in the daladala. So after arriving in the village of Buswelu where she lives, we randomly decided to get out before we got too far away! It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. There was one stone and one or two shops in sight, apart from that, a long dirt road etched by rivulets and sinking tires. So, I called Perpetua and tried to describe to her where we were, but of course she had no idea. So we started walking down the deserted road to try and find some kind of landmark. Finally we reached a sign pointing in the direction of a school so we stopped and called her again. But, still she didn’t understand where we were, and the poor reception with the phone cutting in and out didn’t help much either! A few minutes later a man called me and asked where I was…he explained that he was Perpetua’s husband and that he would come and pick us up. I put Chris on the phone and he told the man where we were. About 15 minutes later a black van pulled up beside us with a man inside saying he was here to pick us up. Hmmm…this was definitely a little sketchy.  Chris said we were not getting in that van as it might be some scam to rob or kidnap us or something. The man said he was Perpetua’s husband, so Chris told me to call her back again and ask if her husband had a black van, etc, etc. It turned out that it was him and he was an extremely nice man and kindly escorted us to their home. Finally…we had arrived, at times I had my doubts that we would never find her!

                I was so happy when we arrived! They have a beautiful home (definitely upper class for African standards) with a couch, t.v, hot plates for cooking, running water, etc. We were introduced to her beautiful daughter Irene who is two years old and her house girls. We were served delicious pilau, mchicha, and nyama which I was also pleased about because I knew Chris would be happy about this, and I was feeling a bit bad, because I did kind of drag him along on this expedition (pole Chris!). But I definitely wouldn’t have made it there without him! I guess I should take a minute to thank Chris so much for being so helpful and tolerant of my severe lack of direction! He seems to have a built in compass in his brain, which is great for me because for some reason me and directions just don't mix!

On Monday, I went back to Igombe with one of the ChemChemi Mamas. I really enjoy visiting the women there, and I think what the ChemChemi program is doing for young women and their children is amazing! I had the opportunity to speak with a woman there who provides nutrition education to both pregnant women and women with small children. I was thankful that she spoke some English so I was able to ask her some questions about what types of things she talks to the mamas about since this is essentially what I am studying in school and part of the role of a dietitian. She told me that the first thing she asks them is what type of food they have. This is extremely important because there is no use preaching to people about what they should eat, if they can’t afford that type of food. She also said that she tells them to leave the maize flour unpolished so all the nutrients remain and are not washed off. I also learned that if the children are not following a healthy pattern on the growth chart they must attend the education and uji preparation session that is provided free of charge. It’s really nice to see such a great health education program here in Africa because in general, I feel like people are no aware about the importance of health and nutrition.

Following this I gave the yoghurt Mamas in Igombe two fact sheets on the health benefits of probiotic yoghurt. Currently they do not add the probiotics to the yoghurt as they have few resources and are just starting to build their business. They were very thankful to receive the resources and one mama read the entire fact sheet out loud to everyone!

Mama reading the Probiotic health benefits to everyone!

Babies getting weighed at the Igombe Health Center

Tracking their progress on growth charts

Reading the health benefits of probiotics

On Wednesday I visited Buswelu Primary school which, like Mtoni is partnered with a school in London Ontario called Tecumseh. The Tecumseh school has contributed to the building of desks and raised funds to support other needed supplies. Once we finally located the headmaster we were kindly ushered into his office where Stanley and I were presented with a large dusty guestbook to sign, which happens very frequently at various places we visit. I gave Leonard (headmaster) some paper and pencil crayons for the students and it is my hope to have them answer a few questions which I will collect before returning back to Canada.

Following this Stanley and I visited a few classrooms. Every time we entered a new class the students immediately stood up and said “Good Morning Madam, how are you Madam?” I felt so respected! Then, they asked me a few questions. One recurring theme I find that students ask about is related to the government in Canada. It seems like they are a lot more interested in Canadian politics than students in Canada.

Here are some of the questions asked:

1.      Who was the first Prime Minister of Canada

2.      Who is the current Prime Minister

3.      How many members of Parliament are there in Canada?

4.      What is the largest denomination of money (for one bill)?

5.      Is there a rainy season in Canada like in Tanzania?

6.      Do you like the black people?

From what I have observed, Buswelu is a more rural and impoverished area. By the stares and  looks of surprise I received, it became evident that these roads hadn’t seen many ‘mzungus’. Chickens, dogs, and goats darted onto the road at times, and the homes are generally constructed of clay or concrete.

Buswelu Primary School

Me with a Buswelu Class

SAUT Lecture

On Thursday I arranged to attend a lecture at St. Augustine University with a friend I met taking sociology. She kindly sent me her timetable and I chose to attend the Human Rights lecture which was a great decision. It was a cool experience to attend a university lecture outside of Canada and even more amazing to be in Africa! I would say most things were very similar, apart from the more advanced technology in Canada. For example, none of the students had laptops, just small notebooks, and there was no power point. The professor only used a small chalkboard to write down a few key words which I admit did make it hard to stay focused. Some similarities I noticed were that, students were free to ask questions, many students were on their phones text messaging, and some students left early. The lecture was 3 hours long with only one short 5 minutes break!

            I really enjoyed the topics discussed in the lecture. All were very controversial but really made me think and I enjoyed being back in a classroom setting. The main focus was “The right to life” and the different aspects discussed were: the death penalty, abortion, euthanasia, and disappearance. Thank-you very much to Lina for inviting me!

Farewell Dinner
On Friday evening Chris and I took the Mamas and a few friends out for our "goodbye" dinner. Although not all the mamas were able to attend it was a wonderful evening and I want to say a big thanks to Missy who helped out so much with arranging the location and menu! We couldn't have done it without you! I could tell all the mamas thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the food!
This pictures speak for themselves:

Chris and I before the dinner!

Mmmm Chakula!

Mama's digging in!

Delicious!

Enjoying the meal!

Picture from our last meeting:

A few more interesting facts:

Swahili vs. Kiswahili

     I was starting to wonder what exactly the difference is between Swahili and Kiswahili because it seems to me that the words are used interchangeably. But now, I think I finally understand: Kiswahili is the noun (the language) and Swahili is the adjective (i.e Tanzanians are Swahili people). 

Wild Life

       Dogs, goats, chickens, cats, and cows wonder freely along the streets and fields. The other day there was a goat on the soccer field during a game, but this phenomenon didn’t even phase the players. I also witnessed a cow on the playground of a primary school. If such a scene occurred in Canada I’m sure it would be making all the headlines!
Schedules

-          I don’t think there is a word in Swahili for schedule. People here are so “go with the flow.” Things are constantly changing, and a new unexpected adventure always seems to occur! Planning out your day can be helpful, but you have to realize, it almost never goes as planned.

-          It’s virtually impossible to go out and do just one thing. One event always leads to another unexpected adventure!

-         Although this is completely different from how I operate in Canada, I’m starting to get used to the random uncertainty and always enjoy the surprises each day brings! People here also have no concept of time. I’m starting to get used to waiting around. Arriving late here is not seen as a sign of disrespect, because everyone is always late! Also, if someone says I’m ready (tayari), you may still have to wait another hour

This is officially my last blog post in Mwanza! I will miss Mwanza dearly, but I am scheduled to return in May for one last time before heading home to Canada.

Stay tuned for my first update from Arusha where another adventure will begin…