The Maruti loses a wheel

The Maruti was always parked outside our bedroom window, and we were in sort of a compound. The yard was surrounded by bougainvillea hedges and there was no gate, but we felt safe enough although it was a busy suburb.

One Sunday morning, I walked past the Maruti and notices something awry - I went back to check and found that the front wheel had gone!
The theft of the wheel was bad enough, but the worst part is to go to the police and fillout the forms - you need a police report for insurance purposes.
I had been to the police before and it is not the most pleasant of experiences. It is always busy and the demeanor of the police can be intimidating. And there are the sorry sights of some of the folk who have been arrested and being processed.
I had no real problem as I was 'known' and knew how things worked. There was the usual wait of finding carbon paper and the pin to hold the sheets together. Then before the report can be handed over, there was the fee to be paid and the yellow receipt form to be collected. A chance to pay posho but not taken up by me.
The police are too busy to investigate small crimes like this and they had no transport, so if I wanted someone to look at the scene, then I would have to take him - and the less contact, the better.

Back at Sanawari, the wheel hub was held up by a brick, and that brick came from the hen house at the back of the property. The outline of where it had sat could still be seen. There was the mark where the wheel had been rolled out the gateway and down the road.

I always suspected Baraka, and I think his parents did too, though they kept quiet. There was embarrassment for them and I did not find out until much later.
Baraka had cause a girl to become pregnant and while the news was kept from us, Baraka had need of some money 'to help out with the situation'.
Thinking about it, it was obvious that he was the culprit, tying up my previous thoughts on the issue of the stolen travellers cheques.

Bahati kwa Manyata

Bahati means [good] luck and according to The Arusha Times, Manyata Primary School has had some good luck! They have received Tsh60 000 000/- to refurbish the school.
The report states that this rural school is a high achiever and has a role of some 300 students.

I was closely associated with the Manyata (the Times article spelt it, Manyatta) over a number of years and this time will be the subject of another blog when I get to it. But we supplied desks, renewed the rood and carried out other rehabilitation work. Our greatest success was with the environmental project.
Lilian was educated there and her story has been told previously.

It is with some delight then, that I read of the bahati that has come to the school. (I hope there is money in the budget to improve the access 'road'.) I wonder if the same teachers are there. My friend, Tito the Headteacher is not for he was moved on and died. Kitomari who named his daughter after Mag had high standards, so perhaps he remains - I don't know.

This is perhaps one of the problems of education that I witnessed. It is difficult to attract staff to rural schools because there is always a problem with water. Usually no electricity. And travel is a problem and dangerous with overloaded buses or Landrovers.
The district school inspectors have power and are able to cause the transfer of a teacher. And they are able to accept a bribe not to cause the transfer of a teacher. So I guess an inspector can load a school with good or bad teachers. There is much more to this for another time.

But I want to climb on my soapbox, but in this blog.
The sixty million shillings is a very good thing because the outcome will be to improve the lot of a number of people - especially the students as I would hope the funding will cover a few items in the way of teaching aids. But the builders and suppliers will benefit and the school will be able to attract better teaches.

Hang on though. The school is achieving very well the way it is, so will better facilities improve future outcomes? I'm playing the devils advocate here - and of course it will.

But what I am coming to is this - and believe me, I have had a lot of experience.
When I first arrived in Tanzania the national average was 6% of primary student were able to go on to secondary school. Six percent! It is much better that that now, but still low.
However, after these bright young people are educated, there are no jobs for them. I have no idea how to address this but effort need to go into this problem.
There are side issues. One portly Australian told me that he would not employ a local - 'it is easy to bring in a PhD from India, give him a room and a bag of rice and he will be happy!' If this is the attitude, what hope have the young Tanzanians got?
There are well educated Tanzanians selling beer but their potential is much, much greater.

So, in my opinion, the sixty million shillings would be better spent in sustainable job creation - what and how, I'm not too sure, but there are answers.
In all of this one of the fundamental problems with aid is the targeting of it. The West is inclined to impose its perceived priorities which is sometimes misdirected.

Anyway, change is difficult to implement, but unless issues are raised, change has no chance.

Ndoto ya Grace/Grace's Dream

I wrote this short story in an effort to make the environmental seminars more interesting for the school children. It was translated by Mr Kimaro and I made copes to give out to schools. [I used language suitable to be told in the schools.] I drew some pictures - very rough ones - as illustrations. There was no colour photocopy at the time.

I made a large flipchart of of the pictures to display as Joshia read. Joshia had a talent and made an excellent job of the reading.

Through my friendship with a Ministry of Forestry & Bee Keeping official, the story was printed in the Mkulima [Farmer] magazine.

Grace's Dream

As the midwife was cleaning Grace's small body, the light of a bright falling star shone upon her face.
The next day the midwife told the village people about this strange event, and the oldest, wisest man in the village said that some day Grace would do wonderful things for her people.

As Grace grew, she seemed no different to the other children of her village. She caught the usual childhood sicknesses and suffered the usual bumps and bruises; as well of course she was punished for her misdemeanors. It was notices however that the bean and maize seeds she planted always seemed to grow better than anyone else's!

When Grace was about eight years old, on an especially hot and dusty day, she fell asleep in her favorite place - under the big baobab tree [Mbuyu] which grew near the edge of the village. Grace had a strange dream:
The Mbuyu had a gaunt face, and the lower branches bent so it appeared like a person with hands on hips. The face was sad, and the tree spoke to her in a booming voice!
"Please help us.' Begged the tree, 'Our land is being destroyed by erosion, the forests have been felled and the people of the land do not understand how important the environment is to us all! Grace, please tell them and make them understand!'

Grace woke with a troubled mind. She remembered her dream vividly but did not understand what it meant.

In the village there lived an old man who had been Headteacher at the village school. Grace did not know him but had heard of his great wisdom and kindness. She decided to go and talk to him.

'Good morning wise teacher.' Grace greeted the old man in the respectful way.
'Oh good morning young child.' The old man's greeting was just as respectful.
Grace was a little embarrassed and shy, so looked at her feet because she did not know how to begin.
'How can I help you?' asked the old man. But Grace continued to inspect her feet. 'You can call me Olasiti. What is your name?'
'Grace.' she spoke softly, then brightened, 'Isn't Olasiti the name of a tree?'
'Yes, it is a tall strong tree!' replied Olasiti.
'Mzee Olasiti, what is erosion?' Grace asked.
The old man rubbed his chin in thought, then replied. 'See that ditch over there where the rainwater has washed the soil away to make a deep gulley?'
'Yes I see.' said Grace.
'That is erosion. That gully was once a road, but when the trees were cut down there was nothing to prevent the water washing the dust and soil away to form the gully.'
'How does that happen?' asked Grace.
'Well, when the rains come, water begins to trickle down the wheel tracks and the more rain that comes, the fast the flow of water. Soon the water has enough strength to carry the soil with it so the wheel tracks become deep ditches to form that gulley you see there. The fertility is washed away!'
'Mzee Olasiti, why does cutting the trees cause this? I don't understand.' said Grace.
The old man replied. 'Trees prevent erosion in two ways. When it rains hard, the drops hit the soil with such force that the soil particle are moved and begin to wash with the flow of water. The leaves and branches of the tree protect the soil by breaking the force of the raindrops. The leaves can even break big raindrops into smaller, less powerful ones. You know, this helps the soil to soak up water instead of running off and causing erosion.' Olasiti stopped for a breath, and Grace was enjoying listening to the wise old man.
'You said there were two ways trees prevent erosion.' Grace reminded him.
'Yes. The roots hold the soil together. Very small roots that are hard to see. With the roots holding the soil, erosion is less likely to happen.' he paused, 'Some of Tanzania's trees are special because they add fertility to the soil, which encourages other plants to grow. This too protects the soil.'
'I think I understand.' said Grace.
Olasiti continued, 'In the dry season, have you noticed the whirlwinds?'
'Yes, great clouds of dust!' replied Grace.
'That is erosion too! The dust is actually valuable top soil - the soil that has the most fertility for crops. After the rain has scoured the land, the wind comes to make things worse! The sun dries it and the wind blows the particles away. Even worse though, when man makes the ground bare by lighting fires, or even trough cultivation. The wind takes valuable fertility away!' The old man seemed sad.
'That's awful!' exclaimed Grace, 'What can be done about it?'
'First people need to be aware of the environment.' Olasiti began.
'Environment!' Grace was excited, 'That's the other word -' she trailed off not wanting to mention the talking Mbuyu.
'Hmm,' Olasiti gathered his thoughts, 'A healthy environment is vital for our existence - do you understand?'
'Not really.' answered Grace.
'Well the environment is all our surroundings. The land, the rivers, the trees, the animals, the birds, the mountains - everything. One depends upon the other - understand? I have just told you how the soil depends on the trees for protection. The eagle depends on trees for a home and on smaller birds and animals for food. Other birds depend on insects or seeds. Everything depends on everything else - wel for survival!'
'Like I depend on my mother!' Grace put in.
'Exactly right, but it goes deeper than that. When a leaf falls from a tree, the leaf becomes food for ants or termites and smaller plants called fungi. After those things have used the leaf it returns to the soil as fertility which helps beans and maize to grow. So we need insects and even the plants we can't see.'
'I think I understand why the environment is so important,' said Grace thoughtfully, 'but I don't think my family or my friends know about it.'
'There is much more to the environment that I have told you Grace. It is a precious thing and easily harmed.' reflected the old man.

Grace never forgot about her dream of the Mbuyu speaking to her and she remembered what old Olasiti had told her.
One day soon after, Grace saw her father cut down a Mgunga tree.
'Father! You are destroying the environment!' she told him.'
'I know that trees are becoming scarce in the village, but if I do not cut this tree, we will be unable to cook our food - then you will starve.' Grace's father replied.

Grace thought about this all day and at the evening meal, she said to her father, 'You are right that we need to cook our food and trees are the best fuel. We should make plans. It is easy to go from one day to the next and not worry about the future, but what happens to future generations?'
Grace's father was a little embarrassed. 'Maybe we will have to move away....'
'But father, that's not fair! This is a good place and our generation has to move away because your generation did not care for the environment.' Grace said quietly.
'I understand what you are saying Grace, but it is very difficult.'
Grace butted in, even though she knew she should not. 'No father, it's not difficult! plant some trees before you cut one down!'
'Hmm, that's possible.' he conceded.
'Of course it is father! Why not find out how much wood we need in a year and plant trees to harvest for fuel?'
'A good idea,' said her father, 'but there are difficulties.'
'You told me once that nothing in life comes easily.' Grace reminded him.
'Well,' her father decided,'you are in charge of growing our trees!'

Grace had no way of knowing how much wood was needed, she simply began working on a small tree nursery and during the rainy season, she planted them around their homestead. Many grew.
Over the following years she faced many problems; there were droughts, goats, cattle, hens and fire. She learned to cope with the problems and her successes became greater than her losses.
At first the village people laughed at her and watched her carry water during the dry moths to water her trees. It was hard work and they watched from their shady resting place.

It did not take long for the trees to grow and they provided shade on those hot dry days, and they gave shelter from the wind - the house wasn't so dusty anymore. And there was fruit and fodder for the cattle - even her father's crops produced more because of the extra fertility and shelter.

Grace became an expert on growing trees and when people saw her successes, the asked for her help and advice. Grace gave it willingly and shared her experience, seeds and seedlings. Gradually as the village environment improved, so did the quality of life there.

Grace had grown a small forest and there was more than enough fuelwood from fallen branches and she was able to sell other wood products, the value exceeding the income from her father's cattle - this was indeed a blessing for her family!
Harvesting caused some worries at first for Grace because she loved her trees but she learned about 'coppicing' and either tinned her trees or replanted harvested ones. Grace was practicing 'sustainable forestry'!

Over the years Grace shared her knowledge with anyone who would listen and gradually the message spread, like the ripples in pond when a stone is thrown in! From village to village the environment slowly improved.

The old wise man had predicted that Grace would do wonderful things for her people and he was correct! But Grace would say it was not her, it was the trees that did the wonderful things for the people.

Nadasoito

Nadasoito village is close to Mkonoo village so naturally enough the people there wanted to participate in an environmental programme like their neighbors.

Julius, the Ward Councilor came to our house in Sanawari to lobby for us to go there and he was ambitious to see large areas of trees planted in his home village. He had also come to talk to Big E about the water project.
I made the undertaking that the I would ensure the project would be completed. [As I had some pressure from Mo about it!]

There were discrepancies between what Big E had budgeted for, recieved and used. Things like concrete blocks for the tank being substituted for rocks gathered locally by the school kids; and claiming Tsh250 000/- for rolls of polythene pipe when the actual cost was Tsh30 000/-. I did not condone this sort of thing and I fronted Big E about it with a satisfactory outcome - which I may reveal later.

In the end, I took materials from Big E's store, and had him buy other necessary materials; then Joshia I motivated the village men to carry out the work. Though I supervised the installations as I can do plumbing work.

I noted that there was an 'illegal' branch line going into a private boma, and when I mentioned it to Joshia, his look made me think this issue be left alone.

The people were happy to receive their water.

When you encourage people to plant trees, one of the first constraints is water, and for Nadasowito this problem was addressed, but there are strategies and gradually we were to develop those. But the Primary Schools Assistance Project opened to door for the local village people to participate in tree planting activities.

It was important to talk to the school - that is the chairperson and the teachers about what assistance was required. Now having been to a number of schools, we knew what was required in a general way, but by talking/negotiating the ownership of the project is turned over to the school - and that is appropriate.
Security for text books was deemed to be important so lockable cupboards were provided. Classrooms in most schools had no windows, just the gaps for them. Often there were no doors, or badly performing doors. The Headteacher's office usually did have a door and usually not windows, so while they may be dingy, the office was the most secure area in the school - so text books were stored there.
The contract for the school desks was with our friendly brothers from Ngaremtoni and the contract price included delivery. I was gratifying to see new desks in the classrooms numbered and usually with the Agency logo written on them.

We carried out our environmental programme in the school and in the village. We found the message spread from the school to the village and Joshia's reading of 'Ndoto ya Grace' added to the understanding for the kids.
We found it was important to carry out follow-ups and one of the tools we used was to make a show of measuring and taking a record of the trees that were planted. This was merely done to motivate the students and village people into caring for the trees - it was just a little bit of bullshit that worked.
Each student prepared a planing pit/hole and was later given a tree. A prize was given to the ten best tree shelters, then for the best performing trees.
We thought the Nadasowito tree shelters were not up to scratch, so we took the three environmental prefects on a field trip to Mkonoo Primary School where the shelters were to a high standard.

Visions in Action asked us to take out a group of new recruits to help them decide how they wanted to spend their year as a volunteer.
I had been worried that village people were confused about a medicinal tree called Mwarubaini locally. There are two trees with the name - one is Neem the medicinal tree and Melia a poisonous tree. The trees are similar in appearance to the untrained and Neem does not grow in the cooler areas of Tanzania.
The easy way to identify the difference is by the seed [they have a similar shaped berry]. Melia has a ribbed seed while Neem is smooth. I demonstrated this by peeling the flesh from the berry of the Melia. There was no Neem there because it is too cool at Nadasowito. Many people wanted to talk to me that day, and I did not get to wash my hands! We were provided roast maize cobs as a snack, and because of the poison from the Melia still on my hands, I was violently sick that night and it took a few days for me to recover!

Nadasowito Primary School was the first at us to be guests of honour at the Std VII graduation ceremony. This was after the Std VII national examination - the results of which determined if the student qualified for a place in a state secondary school. The fees of state secondary schools were cheaper and at that time only about 6% of all students went on to secondary school.

The graduation ceremony was an emotional time for these young people and the school did its very best to give them a fitting send-off. Not easy in those financial times [even now].
The letter of invitation was very respectful and I was prepared to return that respect. I had another appointment that day with Mama Faraja's group at Monduli. The Headteacher was happy with that constraint, being happy that we were prepared to attend.
There was singing and dancing, speeches, the presentations and role plays. Followed by a meal and a soda for the school leavers.
Some pics:





















April 8, Day 598:
To Nadasowito - even used Hidhafi's Suzuki. Big E was crook with the booze though! Made two trips and took over 100o trees for the village people. A bit difficult though because of the muddy condition of the road out there and it meant I had a lot of trees to prepare for delivery [load up too]. 300 trees was for a special project to be overseen by the Ward Councilor but he was late and Obedi, the village environment motivator, took us to the village office where we found him.
Joshia took out another load late in the day - I had other work at the Agency office.
Tired by days end but a person turned up wanting to buy 600 Michongoma - so I had to clean them up and help him to load them.