Final Days at the School

Our last few days at the school have passed by very quickly. We spent as much time as possible in the library covering endless piles of textbooks, while still managing to get out a few times. 

On Wednesday we were invited by one of the students, 15 year old Joyce, to lunch at her home.  Again this was an experience that humbled us.  We were treated to rice, meat stew and a green vegetable dish, and warm milk to drink.  Joyce took us for a walk around her neighbourhood to meet her friends, and on the way we encountered many children surprised to find a group of ‘wazungu’ in their midst.  It was a chance for us to see close up the make up of the village with the various homes, vegetable plots and water sources. 

Thursday’s lunch was quite a contrast.  We went to Moshi, a smaller city (popn. approx 130,000) and were treated to lunch by the Rotary Club president Kimaro and his wife Young.  It was a beautiful meal, during which we found out more of the projects that the Moshi Rotary Club is involved in.  They are currently focused on improving water supply and quality in the local schools, after which they will focus on the sanitation and teaching needs in the schools.  The club has also been involved many other projects, including the establishment of a market place in the area that has been very successful.  After a quick tour of the city we concluded our visit with a presentation to the Moshi Rotary Club. 

Our return journey was rather eventful as we were stopped by the police about halfway back to Arusha (40km outside of the city) and the taxi we were in was impounded.  It appears that the finance had not been paid on the car by the previous owner.  Fortunately, after waiting for 45 minutes we were rescued by Faye Cran a passing Rotarian and driven home.

We have met many wonderful and dedicated volunteers that are the driving force behind the school and it is with sadness that we now are saying goodbye to the friends we have made during our short stay here.  Coming to Tanzania has been the experience of a lifetime, and we look forward to sharing more of our stories with you on our return.  St Jude’s is an amazing school that has clearly impacted on the lives of so many here in the community through education and employment opportunities.  Coming here has also impacted on our own lives as we have a new found appreciation of how fortunate we truly are, and of how the vision of one person can change many lives.

Moshi Rotary Club

Serengeti Safari

Safari

Early on Saturday morning we packed our safari truck and left for our 4 day adventure into Africa’s national parks. We were accompanied by our knowledgeable guide, talented cook (both named Peter) and an Australian Rotarian named Tony who is also staying at the school.

After 5 hours of driving we arrived at Ngorongoro Crater.  This is a caldera the size of Lake Taupo that supports an amazing diversity of wildlife.  We were able to spend the afternoon viewing lions, zebra, giraffe, cheetah, the rare black rhino and many other native birds and animals in the crater. As we were not allowed out of the truck we were pleased to discover that the roof pops up allowing us to stand and take photos of the amazing views and animals.  The crater is like a natural zoo, we were able to get within metres of all the animals.  The scenery and wildlife changed at every bend, it was breathtaking to take in the huge diversity that exists within such a small area.

In the valley’s adjoining the crater are many Masaai villages, where the Masaai people still live traditional lifestyles that revolve around grazing cattle.  The valley is dotted with boma (groups of Masaai homes) and Masaai people wearing their vibrant coloured blankets.  Each day the children take their family’s herd of cattle 600m down to the crater floor for water, then return to the valley for grazing in the afternoon.  The Masaai women work hard collecting firewood, water and cooking while the men appear to sit, drink and gossip.  Ross and Brian seemed to think this a good system. 

The rim of the crater where we stayed was 2600 meters above sea level (about the height of Mt Taranaki) so we were quite unprepared for the cold night we experienced at the camp site that night. Luckily the rest of our journey was hot and sunny to make up for this.

The next day we drove through part of the Serengeti and were lucky enough to see more of the animals that we saw in the crater as well as baby leopards and baboons. Along the way we found ourselves in the middle of the wildebeest migration and were surrounded by thousands of what may possibly be the most unattractive animals known to man. Peter informed us that 2.5 million wildebeest and 1.9 million zebra take part in this 800km migration south in search of food every year.

In the evening we camped at Seronera in the heart of the Serengeti, a beautiful spot to admire the plains, watch lightning in the distance and view the stars. In the middle of that night some of us were lucky enough to be awoken by the sounds of lions roaring near our tents while others of us were so tired we slept through it.  Day 3 we went on a morning game drive and witnessed hippos wallowing in a pool before undertaking the return drive out of the park.  The Serengeti is stunning both by its diversity and vastness. 

After 3 days without showering we were happy to arrive at our campsite near the appropriately named Mosquito River as it had running water. We also discovered Keisha Castle Hughes and the film crew for Intrepid Journeys staying there filming an upcoming episode of the show for NZ television.

On our last day we went into Lake Manyara National Park. The environment there is vastly different from the other parks we had seen so far as it was a combination of rainforest and plains. It was here that we encountered an elephant family and were able to watch as they ripped branches off trees to eat.

We all agree that this safari was an amazing once in a lifetime experience that showed us a very different side of Africa, words can really not describe it. We saw everything we hoped we would see as well as much more and it was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Cheetah

Wildebeest and Zebra migrating

Flamingos

Giraffe and Zebra

Lion

Hippo

Safaris R us

Baboons

Sunrise in the Serengeti

Wildebeest migration

Hornbill

 Falista and her family with Ross and Shelley at their home.

 Falista's mother preparing lunch on the fire.

Brian,  Upendo, and her family

Upendo at her family home

Home Visits & More...

Our hearts have been stirred and our minds challenged this week. On Monday morning we had the honour of visiting the homes of two St Jude students who are sponsored by Brian’s family and his Rotary Club (Stortford Lodge). Ross and Shelley visited Felista Johana and her family while Brian, Helen and Yvonne visited Upendo Phidelis and her family.

Felista is a lovely young lady with great ambitions. She is currently in Form 2 at St Judes. She hopes to attend university in the future and study Biology to become a vet. She does very well at school, and is often in the top 10 students in almost all her subjects. Her teachers speak highly of her character and determination to learn.

16yr old Felista (Sponsored by Stortford Lodge Rotary Club) lives a few kilometers south east of the School of St Jude, in a very simple mud home with her parents and siblings. The hospitality of these beautiful people is so humbling. They have so little yet give so much. Felista’s mother cooked a feast of rice and beans, and the ultimate sign of appreciation – we were given a soda (Pepsi/Sprite). We were pleased to be able to offer a few simple gifts such as 1kg rice, 1kg sugar, soaps and a few other “luxuries” and school supplies for the children.  Things that seem so simple to us are an incredible blessing to these families.

One thing that was really hard to comprehend was the sheer distances that Felista and her family have to walk simply to get water. There is no water source close to her house, and when asked about storing rain water they said the tanks and guttering were too expensive for them. Instead they, like many other families, walk for miles to get water each day.

The visit to Upendo’s family was equally enlightening.  The family live in a mud hut a long way from the school on the family farm which is 45 minutes drive up the side of Mt Meru on a 4wd track.  We definitely got the impression that few cars travel that way.  Upendo is standard 5 (12 yrs old) and therefore is boarding at the school during the week, however, to go home in the weekends she must walk 2 hours from the bus stop to get home.

Upendo’s family was very welcoming. We were invited in for morning tea with coffee, sodas and cake – we could tell it was a very special occasion, and were treated as guests of honour.  It was very humbling.  The family are farmers and grow maize, beans, cassava and potatoes on their property of almost an acre. Mama also sells chai (tea) to passers-by for a few extra shillings.

Upendo is a very friendly, inquisitive and bright girl.  She received the first in maths prize and was third overall in all subjects for all of standard 5 and dreams of becoming an accountant when she finishes school.  She and her parents were humbly appreciative of the sponsorship, and clearly enjoyed the opportunity of meeting Brian, her sponsor. 

Last Monday at our Rotary meeting, we met the founder of an orphanage just down the road from St Judes. We arranged to visit her and the children this Monday afternoon.

In comparison to some of the other orphanages in town it is lovely, clean and relatively small with only 15 children ranging between 1-8yrs old. The children were so excited to see us, and were eager to play with the ‘Wazungu’. We taught them an African version of ‘duck, duck, goose’ and had a great time laughing and playing with them.

The stories behind each smiling face break your heart. Children who were discarded at birth, children whose parents have died from AIDS, and mothers who have died in childbirth. They have every reason to be angry and upset at the hand they were dealt, yet they are enthusiastic and energetic. There is hope for them now. It may not look like hope as we imagine it to look… but it is there. You can see it in their eyes. 

After a very full and emotionally testing Monday, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the school focused on our work projects. We have painted building blocks for junior rooms – just a few top coats remain to be done. We have also painted the smaller of the two playgrounds, and spend hours covering textbooks in the library again. I have no doubt that we all could cover books with our eyes closed now! Collectively we can cover over 400 books a day! However the pile seems to be forever growing!

The girls took a welcome opportunity to escape work for a few hours on Wednesday afternoon and ventured into the huge central market. We dodged muddy puddles caused by frequent downpours, and weaved our way through pathways between stalls. Each section of the market sold different produce. The spice shops fascinated us. They were so visually appealing! The fish however was not! Shop after shop sold shriveled, dried fish and eels. The flies enjoyed that part of the market the most!  After a few close calls on the muddy paths, we stumbled across the mango section of the market – which made any preceding unpleasant moments worthwhile. We stocked up on delicious fresh mangoes and have been enjoying them ever since!

We had the ‘pleasure’ of bringing a wood lathe, which had been donated by a Rotarian, all the way from New Zealand with us for the carpenter’s workshop at the Usa River Leprosy Mission here in Tanzania.  On Thursday afternoon we could gladly drop the 90kg boxes off at their final resting place! We visited the mission and were shown around.  Rotary had a large part to play in the establishment and initial support of part of the project. The Mission houses a number of lepers and their families, and help to medicate and restore the lives to normality as much as possible. They also have a variety of craft projects and business ventures (making school uniforms on contract) as a means of self funding but they are struggling to make ends meet however. 

Every time you turn your head in this country you find yourself face to face with people in desperate need. There is just so much human need.

Friday was spent finishing off the painting projects, and with more time in the library.  We once again assisted with the ‘testing’ of children seeking a place in the school for next year.  As our third testing session we were well versed in our roles supervising the written tests.  It was a rainy afternoon, and the poor children looked to have spent many hours in the rain awaiting their turn.  Sadly, only 6 children were accepted to the next stage of home visits and further assessments to take place tomorrow.

Friday evening we relaxed with a dinner out at Njiro cinema complex, where multiple restaurants share a dining courtyard area and we were all able to choose different foods.  This concept could definitely take off in New Zealand!

Tomorrow, Saturday, we head to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengetti on safari for a short break.

Maasai Experience

We have been kept rather busy, our week has flown by and it is now over two weeks since we left home.

Thursday (2^nd December) was Awards Day or End of Year Assembly at the Moshono Primary Campus.  As at Usa River the previous day there were literally hundreds of parents there, all dressed in their best clothes and eager to see if their child received an award.  Those whose child did get an award were extremely proud.  Many of the parents arrived by school bus as it is several kilometers to the School from their homes.  The buses were running a shuttle service from around 7.00am for about 2 ½ hours.  We attended the full assembly and presented some class prizes again – the School makes good use of their guests.  In Tanzania it seems that guest speakers consider themselves higher ranking if they speak longer.  To us this appeared to be the case for an education ministry official who spoke at length in both Swahili and English.

The whole gathering which probably totaled 1,000 people were fed lunch – rice, pilau (rice cooked with meat), a boiled meat dish and fried bananas were on the menu.  The school cooks start at a very early hour to get the meal ready for such a large gathering.

We were at work on Friday morning – some more time in the library re-covering text books then cutting and gluing wooden blocks for classroom building block sets.  These are really needed in the classrooms and we are to make as many as there is wood off-cuts available.  The mitre saw at the carpenter’s workshop has been very handy as we have cut over 500 blocks so far.  We have sanded most of these and now need to paint them in bright colours.

As is usual at the School on a Friday afternoon at this time of year, there was another round of testing prospective new entrants which we helped with.  The testing process runs like clockwork each week but it is all hands on deck to cope with the numbers.  There were fewer children to test this week – another 300 or so arrived – but unfortunately only a few made it through.  Entry into St Judes is recognized as a lifetime opportunity for the children so the parents are desperate to get their child accepted.  Consequently many of those that arrive each week are well out of their comfort zones.  Next Friday is the last day of testing this year but there should be close to 150 children selected to start school next year at the end of the testing process.

We had an awesome cultural experience yesterday (Saturday 4^th Dec).  Our day was spend at Monduli – a village west of Arusha which takes about 1 ½ hours to reach by bus.  The School hired us a school bus and driver for the day together with Felix – our beloved African guide who we have come to know quite well.  He will do anything for us and has worked his way from a school bus driver at St Judes to be part of the visitor team.  He recognized that a job at St Judes would give him an opportunity to learn and get ahead and persistently applied for a job as a bus driver several times before being accepted.  Similarly he had to apply for the visitor team job several times before he was eventually accepted, being turned down each time because his English was not good enough.  Felix spent many extra hours in his own time taking every opportunity possible to learn English.  He is like many Africans who are desperate to get ahead where being able to speak English is essential.

We first went to a local Maasai market where we were the only “mzungu” – white people – and where the locals bought and sold food items, jewellery, hand crafts and livestock.  We sent Felix to buy a goat which was needed as a gift to the Maasai hosts we were to visit later in the day.  We kept well away while Felix negotiated the deal (41,000 Tanzanian shillings – about NZ$40) otherwise we would pay a much higher “mzungu price”.  The market was a very colourful spectacle with all the Maasai people dressed in bright traditional clothing. It was a unique experience for us to be part of a non-tourist market where the Maasai people were simply going about their daily lives.

A visit to the home and boma (a group of houses) of Lias (an ascari / guard at the School) was another highlight of the day.  His home was some distance off the road and the bus (4 WD) had to negotiate quite a rough track to get there.  Once there we presented the goat which had travelled in the bus with us to Lias’s extended family and were treated to Maasai dancing and a look through their homes.  These are round mud huts with a thatched roof.  The houses are cool inside which was a welcome respite from being in the hot sun. This way of life is relatively unchanged from their traditional way of living – no electricity or running water and where cooking is on an open fire. Lias has two wives, both with young children. His father also has two wives and his uncle, three – all of whom live in the boma.  They have a smattering of livestock – goats and calves which are kept in a thorny enclosure at night.

We also met Donald Mmari from the Monduli Rotary Club.  Donald told us of two club projects which have been undertaken through assistance from overseas Rotary Clubs and a Matching Grant.  One of these is the provision of school uniforms and fees for 24 children to enable them to attend a local government school.  The second project we went to see was a bio gas digester which is one of twenty that have installed in the village.  This particular digester was fed by the effluent from three cows which were housed and fed a mix of hay and silage and produced enough gas for the household.  This is a giant leap forward as many trees are unsustainably cut for fire wood.  Many more bio gas digesters could be installed if funds are available – each costs between 850,000 and 1,000,000 TS (about NZ$1,000).

A tired group ended the day back at School.

Today (Sunday) was a day of rest – a brief trip to the supermarket followed by an afternoon relaxing by the pool at a local hotel.  We are ready for another week which will include visits to the homes of two sponsored children – one by the Rotary Club of Stortford Lodge, an orphanage visit and more project work around the School.

Local Masaai Market

Yvonne and Brian in traditional Masaai attire

Masaai Goat Market (41000TS = $40NZ for a goat)

Masaai Herdsman - typical scene

Masaai Family

Masaai Boma

Yvonne and Shelley - Masaai beaded necklace for special occasions

Helen in Masaai Necklace

GSE team in Masaai Village

GSE team at Monduli Rotary Club with Donald Mmari (Secretary)

Felista Johana and Family - student sponsored by Stortford Lodge Rotary Club

Savoury Bananas for final assembly lunch

Making steel reinforcing for concrete columns of new classrooms under construction

Dinner at Kahns street side BBQ restaurant

Standard 6 Primary Class Graduation

Parent Awards

Life at St Judes

Sunday dawned warm and bright. The night had been punctuated by the sound of earnest whackings and mention of a “big snake”. The gap under our front doors never seemed so large as the guards dealt to the writhing reptile outside. Apart from large serpents, there had been some other anomalous activities occurring including flooded upstairs rooms, and two burst water tanks. We are living in an accommodation block with many other long term volunteers, mostly from Australia. 

Being the Sabbath, we set off to church with Gemma Sisa. We discovered a Catholic establishment deep in the slums of Arusha set up by some pioneering Irish priests. The singing was sensational, literally rocking by traditional standards and the devotion was tangible, and after an hour and a half of Swahili we decided to call it a day. Later we learned that the priest had told the congregation that the quota for entrance to heaven was one in five. At least one member of the GSE team will make it! Father Mike O’Sullivan invited us for drinks (soda) at his sanctuary after the service, he being a veteran of Africa for 18 years.

After church we headed for a resort called TGT which was hosting a Christmas market composed of stalls manned by many of the charitable organizations in and around Arusha. It was the perfect excuse for the kind of retail therapy only dreamed about back home. Brian had already proven his credentials as an avid shopper leaving the rest of us sitting literally in the dust, as he trawled the Maasai markets for elusive bargains (few found).

Arriving back home, we had dinner with the boarding students at the Moivaro Campus, where Ross performed a fire show to resounding applause and table banging, and thereafter rapidly succumbed to food poisoning.  The students took immense pleasure in showing us their dormitory rooms in the boarding house.  To most living at the School of St Jude is akin to living in a palace where they get their own bed, electric lighting, showers and toilets and are fed well with three meals a day.  Sadly most of the children at the School cannot even dream about these facilities at home.  The children are generally very happy and outgoing, ready to share aspects of their lives with us and ask really searching questions about our life in NZ.

Monday saw us complete the tiling of the mosaic while Ross walked the fine line between consciousness and unconsciousness. The mosaic has become something of a spectator sport, as people come to marvel at the new wonder of Arusha. It is slightly disconcerting that the Koru motif is commonly mistaken for a snake, and the Kiwi for an elephant. But we will ensure the message is clear before we leave.  The kiwi presence at St Judes will endure.

Monday night we delivered our first Rotary presentation to the Arusha/Mount Meru Rotary Club. This is a Club with 36 members comprising men and women of African, Indian and European origin. We were well taken care of by the Rotarians at the Twiga Sports Club, enjoying an Indian meal and met some interesting and diverse people.

On Tuesday we continued covering library books and began constructing building blocks to be used in the classrooms. Brian masterfully grouted the mosaic. That night we went to Khan’s, which is a mechanics workshop and car parts store by day and a street BBQ ‘restaurant’ by night.  We happily dined on the mildly spiced platters put before us, “chicken on the bonnet” being the house specialty.

Wednesday we travelled to the St Jude Usa River Campus to participate in the end of year awards ceremony for the primary school children. We gained an insight into the relationship between the school and the parents and learned that the success of the students depends heavily on the level of involvement that their parents have in their academic life. Accordingly as many parent awards were delivered as were student awards, most for “supporting academic progress”, “being at the bus stop night and morning” and “helping to find lost children”. We were treated as guests of honour and helped in the presentation of the awards to many adorable children with names such as Godlove, Innocent, Goodness, Loveness and Happiness.

A group of four Australians (three of whom are Rotarians) have been staying with us St Judes in preparation for the “Kili Challenge” – a climb of Mt Kilimajaro to raise funds for St Judes.  The money they have raised will buy a new school bus which is an excellent effort.  They leave on their intrepid seven day journey tomorrow (Thursday) and we wish them well.  We expect a text from the top and look forward to hearing of their adventure on their return.

We are well fed here at St Judes.  Two safari cooks have been providing fine food night and morning with lunch among the students in the school dining hall.  All school students and staff are provided with lunch daily which usually consists of rice, beans and a vegetable mix – nutritious and tasty.  The huge quantities of food are cooked on wood fired cookers with large urns resembling the copper boilers seen in household laundries of yester year.  This is a huge undertaking which is completed with military precision.

Impromtu New Zealand Lesson

Goat presented to departing staff members at Assembly

Preparing the Mosiac

Working on the Mosiac

Finished Mosaic

Friday Testing - Children waiting for their turn

Reading test

Writing test

Ross performing Fire Show

Bunkrooms for boarders

Boarding students showing their room

Mosiacs to Markets and everything in between

Thursday (25 November) started off in the library – we spent some time covering books which the school will pass onto another NGO in the new year.  St Judes is changing to the international curriculum and will be needing new text books for this.  However, as the first class came in we were introduced and impromptu New Zealand lessons ensued.  The kids were so enthusiastic to learn about New Zealand, asking questions and eagerly looking through the few books with information on New Zealand.  It was very rewarding to help answer their questions.  Our selection process came in handy with the children asking whether any Tanzanian’s live in NZ, whether we like to sing and dance and much more.  They were truly amazed at the number of sheep we have. Three similar classes followed.

For lunch we had our first taste of ugali (maize meal cooked to look like mashed potato) with beans and a capsicum / garlic mix of vegies.  Although somewhat flavorless and sticky the ugali was far better than Shelly had made it out to be.

Music class was hilarious - we learnt a new song and dance with the children under the watchful eye of Mr Kaweka – a cool rasta rocker.  One verse and one move were repeated the entire lesson in various combinations to a drum beat so the bell at the end was welcomed by all except for Brian who had the time of his life?  Just take a look at the photos!

The afternoon was concluded with the final assembly of the year for the primary school children.  It was a very touching assembly with many of the children saddened with the farewell of teaching and library staff at the school.  Many awards were also given to the children who have excelled, or modeled good behaviour throughout the year.  A teaching couple from Australia, who are leaving after three years, were presented with a goat as a token of gratitude and respect.

Friday we got stuck into smashing tiles and creative thinking for a mosaic which is to be laid on a concrete path that Brian had supervised laying the previous day.  It is a large koru that merges into the Tanzanian flag and will look stunning in an area that was formerly a mud bath during the rains.

During the afternoon we assisted with the testing of the young children who came to apply for a position in the school from 2011.  There were at least 700 youngsters, all dressed in their Sunday best. Initially they had to complete a simple Swahili reading test which many did not pass. Those that did completed a written test and were questioned about their home life.  At each stage the children who did not pass were sent out of the gate with the disappointing news to their waiting parents.  There were about 40 left at the end of the day who were successful so far.  The parents waiting at the gate were singing and dancing with joy that their children were still in the game, it was truly emotional to watch.

The successful children are not yet guaranteed a place. First they go through to the next stage of testing which will include some rigorous home visits and assessments of their living situations. Those whose parents earn too much, or who have any electrical appliances or floor coverings in their homes will be rejected. It is an unforgiving task to select the children, the only consolation being that the children can come try again, but having been rejected once the chances of success next time are slim.  There are only 25 posiitons left to fill for next year.  Those that pass all the tests are put into a probationary class for 3 weeks, and only at the end of this is their place confirmed by their being given a uniform.   A position in the School of St Jude is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these children and once in the school they certainly make the most of it.

Saturday 27 November:  There was further testing of next year’s entrant hopefuls that were selected yesterday however we have had a day away from the School to explore Urusha and the markets.  Urusha is a bustling city (population we think about 1.2 million) that is made up of a number of villages the blend into one another.  There is a relatively compact shopping area with many shops and several markets.  The main streets are tar sealed with the foot paths and side streets all dirt and rough.  This makes the town quite dusty and dirty.  There are many people trying to sell anything from paintings to watches on the footpaths who continually accost you and become very pestiferous!  We explored some shops and the Masaai market where bargaining for a price is essential.  A taxi ride to and from town (Arusha) costs 8,000 TS (Tanzanian shillings - approx NZ$8).  Petrol is 1,800 TS a litre (NZ$1.80) and many food items in the supermarket are similarly priced to New Zealand although the majority of Tanzanian locals do not shop there – only expats and wealthy Tanzanians.

Loading shuttle bus in Nairobi

St Judes - PE Activities

St Judes - PE Activities

St Judes - Lunch Break

Local government school

Palm Island

Burj Al Arab - 7 star hotel

Burj Kalifa