Happy New Year

2014 dawns and I am a little behind in adding to my blogs. It is a matter of little holdups and I am enjoying writing for my grandchildren.As well I am typing out my diary - there are seven years of it  and I am only up to day 282.
Into 2014 I will get back to this.....

Life in Africa Sixteen

 From My Diary

Well now, I haven't added anything to this blog since early May. This is because I am typing up my diaries.
I kept a daily diary and while everything is not included it is quite full. As of now, I'm up to Day 137, 31 December 1995. And we were in Tanzania for seven years, so there is a lot to do yet.

It is interesting though to read some of my thoughts - many naive, some embarrassing and some downright uninformed.

Of course everyone looks at things from their own point of view and it took a long time before I saw things in a different light. Once I was thinking and (even) dreaming in Swahili my views and attitudes changed. It is amazing that Swahili remains in my everyday language. Also we were living and working in rural villages which is different to mixing daily with the expat community.

It is not my intention to post my diaries (one reason is that it is difficult to put on) but it is more private in nature.

So, on with Life in Africa Sixteen.

 These kids joined us in out wait for the village chairman to arrive at Olkung'wado. Well it was us who were waiting, and the kids came because they knew us as they were students at the local primary school.
The village office has changed now but then it was a fairly bleak place. We were going to negotiate to carry out plantings within the village - it you like to green up the grey concrete look of the place. The initiative in the end was not successful.

These are mostly the same kids but the picture shows the growing village of Olkung'wado. Partly built buildings/houses and all built with the concrete block. It made the village look grey.
The had been rainfall because the grass is green and kept short by browsing animals.
The browsing animals made it difficult to establish trees in in the village.
A woman who owned a bar, replaced the sandy soil
with good soil (2 cubic metres) and made a tree shelter of bricks in order to plant a Ficus benjamanii which we supplies - it grew well.

As a contrast, over the ridge and above King'ori is the village of Mareu where there is more rainfall and the bricks are burnt from locally quarried soil. Much cheaper and from my point of view more destructive to the environment.
These kids had been sent by their mother to collect some tree seedlings that we had dropped off at the church but we could see the girl had her hands full, so we transported them and the trees to their house.

 Our first Christmas at Makumira was with a family we grew to be close to a number of reasons and this was to increase as time went on.
They did not have the concept of Father Christmas or the exchanging of gifts on Christmas morning. They were keen though to have and decorate a Christmas tree!
The family came down for Chai & cakes and I sneaked away and returned dressed in red and banging my fimbo. The younger ones did not know who I was and I handed out the gifts. I had set up a treasure hunt for the kids as well and they had fun finding the little clues and gifts. Just a little New Zealand thing.

At Christmas tome there are Conformation ceremonies in nearly all the Christian churches. This one happens to be a special one, way up at Ugweno in the Pare Mountains.

 The kids, especially the girls see this time as an opportunity to be dressed in the best finery of their lives! This of course is at great expense to the families involved and the churches try to dissuade the practice - but with only limited success.

It is a point of pride for the families as well and I guess the families could use the amount spent on other things. Just a little of Life in Africa I guess.

The other point of pride for many Tanzanians is their house cow. Here is Mbise's mother with her cow and his father looks on.

A good number of the house cows are zero grazed, which means food is brought to them, rather that allow them to graze in the villages. This cause a very real commitment because hand catting and carrying fodder is a big job. Kids are co-opted to help but imagine, you cut the fodder (very often simply on roadside and unused areas) near your house and as the season goes on they have to go further and further to find feed.

 One particular Maasai boma housed young Neema (her school name) seen here on the right. Because she showed interest and skill in the seminar and with the school plantings, her father appointed her in charge of the boma and farm plantings. She did very well.

Valeska is an interesting village in that there are a number of tribes there and at least from my point of view, I enjoyed the diversity.

The girl in black was explaining to us that she had passed well in the national examinations, but her father was not interested in her going to secondary school. In this case it was not a question of money, he simply did not see value in secondary education for her.

These are issues apparent in Tanzania, but not only Tanzania, and while I have great sympathy for the girl, I would not do anything against the wishes of her father.

This Mama asked me to take her photo, and I gave her a copy.

She is the mother of Neema and had a sense of humour that I could identify with.

The picture tells its own story.

 

 With Mt. Meru in the background the church leaders came out to open a new parish just beyond the Leguruki village.
It is certainly a spectacle to see the leaders dressed in their regalia.
I enjoyed the opportunity to witness the event which is quite close to the home of the Bishop.

Ngabobo Primary School

The village of Ngabobo is more remote. After passing by the Ngarenanyuki Secondary School, there is a road to the right, just before the high bridge. This road eventually reaches Sanya Juu [after going past Ilkirimuni] but way before Ilkirimuni there is a junction in the road heading North. This is the road to take to Ngabobo.

In our early days there, there was a police post at the road junction. Just a little wooden banda in the shelter of some Acacia trees. The reason for the banda was because the road went on to Kenya. A smuggling route. Apparently vehicles stolen in Tanzania made their was through here to Kenya - I suspect other smuggled goods too, probably both ways.

The police abandoned the post at some time - I think the police came from Sanya Juu - there was no accommodation here and I bet the cop/cops on duty were quite vulnerable - and gradually the building materials disappeared into some Maasai hut or other.

Ngabobo seemed to have a reputation,at least among school teachers. To be posted to Ngabobo was about the worst low-light of a teacher's career!

Ngabobo is a Maasai village established in a dry savanna area. There was a water race that we needed to cross to drive into the school, situated in the North of the village. The water is high in salts and cannot be used for drinking. There was a problem with drinking/household water and women made the long trek to the spring at Ngarenanyuki.

On our arrival at the primary school, we found that the building were ramshackled and there were few teaching resources.

No wonder the students did not perform well - poor resources, unmotivated teachers and parents who mainly did not see the value of education.

We were able to bring a few resources to the school and the National Parks authority rebuilt the school to a high standard.

The Headteacher lived on the outskirts of Olkung'wado, so he had a long journey daily. Later he had a bicycle.

As well as a planting programme, for which we supplied the trees, the Headteacher and the environmental teacher requested materials for a tree nursery. 

We had some reservation but decided to assist and teach the pupils how to manage a tree nursery.

Results were mixed. The worst was holidays and weekends when livestock passed through the school grounds damaging the nursery and tree plantings. The water race was some distance from the nursery so watering was not quite what it should have been either. 

We do not only plant seeds in pots - we plant them in brains as well.

Outside the new school block funded by the National Parks Authority, the pupils pose for a picture after a short seminar and inspection of plantings.

The Headteacher said they did/had not earned the prizes we had brought, but we found a way to hand them out.

We held a small competition among all the schools of the Ngarenanyuki area 'for the best work for the environment.' While Ngabobo were nowhere near some of the other schools in their achievement, I none the less had a soft spot for the pupils.

So we gave a football and a netball. The thrill of such gifts does not last long because thorns are everywhere in the savanna and there is no way of repairing damaged balls.

During the food shortage, we had some much food - beans and maize - to deliver that I hired a larger truck to assist with the cartage. 

For the uninitiated, it is daunting going to depots to negotiate for trucks! The guy we hired was really good and the deliveries went without untoward incident.

We always delivered food to the schools so the village authorities did not need to become involved. Food delivered through the village authorities tends to go in different directions.

There was a cholera outbreak at the time we were delivering the food to Ngabobo. This was possibly cause by a lack of household toilets and that was addressed shortly after.

Instead we delivered the food to the Lutheran church and that went well.

One young boy could not understand how he had missed out in the food - his siblings were given his share for the family. In the big truck there was some spillage so he andI gathered it up and he went off happily.

There was a water pipe to the area but over the years it had become almost useless. This was due to various damage including to irrigate some crops neared Olkung'wado.

We had some small amount of funds and were able to rehabilitate the line. The repairs could only be termed 'temporary' but at least in the meantime there was good water in the village. And the village people have the responsibility to guard their resource. 

Beyond Ngabobo, there is another small Maasai village called Ngareiani. 

The Pastor took us there because he wanted us to help them, but it was too late in our assignment to take on another task.

But look at the name. Iani - the village is called after the man Ian, who was a settler/farmer there in the past. So that is two village called after him (if it is just the one man, which is likely). 

I wonder who he is/was?

Life in Africa Fifteen

My interest in Africa was first stimulated when as a lad, I was taken to watch the movie Were No Vultures Fly. I recall very little from the story, but in my mind's eye, I see the vultures flying. Rarely in our travels did we see vultures circling a kill, but when I did I would look at them and remember that movie. Their dowdiness is no comparison to Lilac-breasted Rollers but everything in nature has its beauty.


'A horse in striped pygamas' The patterns on a Zebra are always fascinating. Sometimes the white is covered with the red dust of the savanna but more usually the white is quite sparkling!
This was taken on a trip through the Ngorongoro Crater.

A brick kiln near Karatu had the environmentalist in me grumbling.
To produce these bricks there is a lot of fuel-wood used - equating to trees. Brick works decimate the land leaving huge craters where the soil has been excavated.
On the other hand, building materials are needed and people need to be employed. Burnt bricks are much cheaper than concrete ones, and can usually be manufactured close to the building site. Cost is a huge factor and a newly built burnt brick house looks very good!.

 Wildebeest and Zebra congregate together which is protection for them against predators. This herd in Tarangire keep a watchful eye.

A Kori Bustard roams the grassy plains. These are quite large birds and apparently are the heaviest bird in the world capable of flight. They do not fly much though preferring to hide from predators rather than fly away from them.
Kori Bustards eat mainly insects but will take lizards and similar prey.

These Baboons were in Tarangire National Park but we saw Baboons regularly when we passed through Arusha National Park on our way to to work in the Ngarenanyuki area.
Looking at those darting eyes, it is interesting to speculate what is going on behind them - certainly they have a measure of intellect - after all they are primates. 
Watching them groom and feed is much like 'people watching' at an airport!

A large male baboon sitting on a termite mound in the Tarangire National Park. I wondered if there were and live termites in there and if they nipped his bum!
Termites aggressively defend their homes and trails.
Anyway the baboon looked like he was enjoying himself.

There are plenty of elephants in Tarangire and we had a couple of frights when a bull ran at us aggressively. One time in Manyara National Park we sat in our car  surrounded by elephants - young Vai was wide-eyed and fearful.
When you look at elephants and how they live, you have to admire their strength and poise.

As water becomes scarce, the creek bed slowly dries up. This one is quite sandy so the elephants are able to dig  little holes to reach any underground water with their trunks.
They don't use their trunk like a drinking straw! They suck up some water, then put their trunk to their mouth and fill their mouth. Anyone who watches David Attenborough will know that anyway!

An area of Tarangire National Park and the river crossing. Down on the flat was a good area to spot lions coming to drink.
These are wild animals rather than zoo animals so you can't expect to see animals all the time.

Sunset in the Tarangire. Baobab on the skyline.









I took some special people on a trip to Tarangire - locals seldom  have the opportunity. We have Upendo, Mbise, Mama Upendo, Vai and Eriki.
They are standing below a Mbuyu (Baobab) a favourite of mine. It was a good trip.

A young lad managed to sell us this big tortoise so we took it into the park where we released it - a good outcome for the lad and the tortoise.
From time to time we were offered thing that in reality we had no person had good reason to own. Things like ostrich eggs, lizards and small animals. We mostly bought them and took them some distance and released them.



Way up above Lushoto township, we found and old man who had a tree nursery. I regularly bought a few trees from him - more to give him some money [probably to buy pombe - the local booze].
These kids were usually around to help - the old man's grandchildren. His daughter lived with him, or should that be the other way around?

 Kids at Mateves. Our activities at Mateves involved working with the village people and it was not until later when we found the primary school.
The school was pretty much in need of major infrastructure assistance but we were able to contribute with desks, text books and teaching aids.
There were 'science kits' available but they were not to a high standard at all.
These kids were beside the road where a friend of Joshia was growing maize.

Muriet village where we carried out an reasonably extensive planting project. There was a mixture of tribes there - mainly Maasai and Arusha.
Always keen to pose for photographs these kids give me a big smile.
The new power line was installed right above the village, but these people were unlikely to afford the electricity or even the wiring to use it.
Then the Arusha Council established a stinking rubbish dump  closeby. A sad thing to happen to the village.

A German woman brought her grandmother to our house at Makumira. The elderly woman was the second wife of the farm manager who had lived in the house. We conversed in Swahili and because she didn't speak English and we didn't speak German and it turned out that she was proposed to by her husband in the room this picture was taken.
There was an urban myth that the first wife was buried in the compound but her grave was robbed because of the likelihood that she was buried with a gold cross. I found no evidence of the grave - which means nothing.

Watering by Hand

When I tally things up, I have spent a good deal of my time irrigating/watering trees! Even in the commercial nursery here in New Zealand where we have good technology, it always takes time!

At Reidston we had a submersible pump down in the Kakanui River, but it could be guaranteed that if there was a long weekend or the Easter break approaching - the thing would break down.

Daily watering of cuttings was required - even though there were misting systems, and then in the yard, the sprinkler heads had to be checked that they had not jammed - always a soaking for me!

And out at Hilderthorpe the same was true, though we had no submersible pump! Though from time to time it would not prime and this involved time as well.

Not to mention the shifting of pipes in the paddock or the big mobile irrigator and its particular idiosyncrasies.  

In Tanzania the lack of technology made irrigation a routine each evening. I stuck to my philosophy that I would always water by using a hand watering can, because if I did not, how then could I expect the village planter to water their trees by the same, daily method.
This was quite and undertaking because no matter how long my day or how tired I was, the job had to be done. Of course when I was away I made arrangements, but always it was obvious that sometimes the watering was missed.

I learned never to take the advice of locals who would say, 'Listen to the thunder, rain will soon be here - no need to water!'
Usually I would begin watering at 6:00pm as the sun was going down and it would take as much as an hour and a half. It was always in the evening so the plants utilized the water and evaporation did not occur.
As the weather became hotter, it was a matter of maintaining the plants, not encouraging growth - there was never enough water to do that.

By planting time the rains usually had come [otherwise we could not expect survivals on out-planting] and it was easier to add moisture to the pots for transportation.

So, if I tally it all up, a good part of my life has been spent watering plants to keep them alive.

Kisimiri Primary School - and Secondary

Kisimiri Primary School sits at the apex of two tracks that lead to it and then on up to the village and one track goes on the short way to the relatively new Kisimiri Secondary School.

The track we chose depended  where we had been previously: from Ngarenanyuki the track past [our] the water trough is a bit rugged but then continues up past Uwhiro eventually reaching the school. Or taking the ford which is now behind the Olkung'wado village office and on up to the Kisimiri village office where there was a sharp turn and a steepish dry creek crossing to reach the school.

Both these routes are dusty, sana!

When we first visited the school, some classes were still being held in the wattle and daub building, but there were also some newer classrooms of modern construction and some older but built on the same construction principles.

 From what I understand, the grandson of  one of those displaced settler farmers has started this group that has carried out some very good works at Kisimiri. They have been involved of a long time - since 1996.
There is a website Friends of Kisimiri and there is an opportunity to donate for the ongoing work.
All of this is a very good thing - they are delivering appropriate assistance and obviously they are proud of their Swiss heritage.
As it turned out, I never met these people but I saw what they have achieved.

Very often we found it appropriate to first involve village leadership with the environmental project so they felt comfortable with us moving around the village.
The man in the pink jacket is the Village Executive Officer, Mtengaji, and the man with the cap talking to him is the Ward Councillor.
I found that carrying trees in a bowl was far easier on the trees than carrying them individually, damaging the foliage.

 The whole school turned out to the environmental seminar that is always targeted to the older students. The smaller kids sat and listened as well. There is never enough shade and some kids are exposed to the sun for the entire seminar. Where possible we used classrooms or interrupted proceedings to follow the shade around any trees that were there.

Some of the older girls perform a Risala thanking us for the environmental programme. The kids enjoy cultural aspects of their education and singing plays a major role.
Although the area is very dry - the once reliable short rains have failed in recent years - but luckily Friends of Kisimiri had established a water point in the courtyard of the school and a flowing pipe in the creek bed where the track crosses. Therefore we expected trees would receive adequate water.

Planting on a cooler, foggy day. The teachers were quite ambitious about the area to be planted and the second year's planting was also ambitious but initial results were very good.
There were trees already established - behind the wattle and daub classrooms there were mpilipili, pepper trees which grow well in the area.

Loti walks around on an inspection of the trees after the first growing year and results were good.
It is always very difficult to assess which kids had looked after their trees the best. Of course every kid wanted to win a prize and most usually we said we would select the best ten. We left it up to the teacher though because it was they who knew which kids worked the best. Even that is not entirely fair but it was the best we could do.

The trees established well, which is due to the care they were given.
Behind id that iconic hill again!
The building is an eco-toilet built by The Friends of Kisimiri people. It is a very good toilet [especially compared to some I have seen].
The other good thing is that it was being used and cared for appropriately.

It is always difficult to select the kids who had cared for their trees the best. The standard here was very high. Never the less, we awarded prizes with the help of the teachers.

As usual the teachers too wanted to be photographed. In the previous photo, The man on the back row, third from the left was the head teacher. We had a good relationship with him and I'm sure Friends of Kisimiri did too.
As with other schools, teachers are moved around at the behest of the regional inspector person. There was also a round where 'under-qualified'  teachers were moved around.

While we were away 2000 - 2002 the Kisimiri Secondary School sprung up!
We did not have every much involvement with the school other than carry out an environmental programme and supplied trees.
The teachers were dedicated and seemed to me to doing a good job.
They had wanted help by way of a volunteer teacher through the Agency, but that was not pursued due to certain changes in policy.