July 28, 2009 - Visiting projects in Tanzania

What a great day today was. We started out with breakfast at our hotel then took a walk into Karatu. We thought we’d check out some of the wraps for sale in a variety of places along the highway. At the first one we stopped at, we were quoted the ‘Mzungu’ (white man in Swahili) price of equivalent $15USD for one…about $11 more than it should be. Ha ha, can’t blame a guy for trying. At the next place, the same wrap was equivalent $4USD. We weren’t in buying mode today though so will go back another time.

Then we headed to the office to meet up with Mohammed, Nderingo, and Deo who were taking us out for the day (more bumpy roads!) to visit some rainwater harvesting projects at schools in some remote areas. One of the schools has tanks that have been operational through a full cycle of seasons (rainy and dry), one school has had tanks through one (short) rain season, and one was just constructed in May and they are waiting for the rains of Oct. to fill the tanks for the first time.

Rainwater harvesting involves building huge (30,000 L) tanks that capture the rain during the rainy season and store it for use throughout the year. The tanks do not allow any sunlight to reach the water, which helps keep the water free from bacteria. The water is used by the schools for drinking and washing. And none of it is wasted. At the handwashing stations, the used water is captured in a plastic tub and then used to water trees and other plants on the school grounds.

The availability of clean water has had a tremendous impact…attendance is up, kids don’t faint during the day, grades are higher! Before, the kids were supposed to bring water from home to school every day, and if they didn’t they were punished, however water was scarce at home too so many couldn’t, yet their parents wanted them to go to school. Therefore, to avoid punishment at either end, often they would leave in the morning and just hang out somewhere until after school hours.

In conjunction with the rainwater harvesting, new pit latrines were constructed for the girls at these schools. Before, they shared facilities with the boys and there was a big issue of privacy. And, the new latrines, combined with clean water have greatly improved sanitation. Attendance of girls at these schools has improved with the new construction. They are beautifully built and well maintained.

Our arrival at the schools created lots of excitement! The first one was during class time so the kids were leaning out the windows and doors calling to us, waving and smiling. It was so cool. When we reached the second school, the kids were on their lunch break and were all out on the grounds. We had a blast with them, taking pictures and showing them on the camera screens…we were literally mobbed by kids, leaning in to look. It was so fun! At that school, the kids sang a few songs for us, then we sang for them. I’m so glad we brought the travel guitar along on this trip.

At the first school we talked with some of the older kids about what they want to do for careers. One girl wants to be the President of Tanzania, another a Sister (nun), two want to be teachers. One boy wants to be a doctor, another the Vice President. All very impressive goals.

(Above) Dwight surrounded by kids

(Above) Me surrounded by kids

(Above) The view from where I stood

(Above) Singing for the kids

We really enjoyed all the visits…and the CPAR hosts were wonderful. I felt like I learned so much today.

We had a fun dinner tonight. We went with Jean and her son to a place in Karatu called ‘Kuku George’s’…Kuku is Swahili for chicken. It appears the chicken is deep fried in a big pot of oil then cooked on a grill so it has a smoky flavour. It’s served all cut up in chunks on a big platter and you eat it with your hands, along with a bowl of fries each. It was really tasty. The place itself was interesting. We were sitting out front where you can watch all the activity on the street. And, an interesting mix of diners; there was a table of Masai men behind us in their colourful robes.

The day was warmer today but it cooled off while we were having dinner and we needed our sweaters. Oh, I forgot to tell you some exciting news…we got our laundry back today…choices…Woohoo!