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.