Wiki Nane

I began the week with a meeting a Kivulini to discuss the major events for the month of February. Masele and I sipped chai and revisited the task of creating an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in the WHE project. It seems like a simple task, but when you consider the vast background of the partners it becomes quite difficult to draws lines. A Women’s Rights Organization, a Medical Research Institute, a Canadian University and a group of 12 Tanzanian Women- you can imagine how often our ideals clash. Surprisingly enough, it seems to work as we all do share common goals at the end of the day.

I’ll entertain you with my Monday afternoon tale, the story of the stamp. During my eighth attempt at the immigration office for my Visa renewal, I was given the final task in order to complete the Mwanza cross-city scavenger hunt. I arrived at the office around 12:30pm and was set off on my stamp mission. I returned about 20 minutes later to an office that was closed for the lunch hour. I returned at 2pm to deliver my trophy- two 400Tsh stamps… only to be told that I needed one 500Tsh stamp. I smiled and nodded, realizing that any old stamp would be far too simple to find, and ventured off to find the “right” stamp. Another 20 minutes later I proudly walked in with my 500Tsh stamp, so excited to know that I had completed my task -only to be told that I had to go to the Tanzanian Revenue Agency to buy a specific 500Tsh stamp. I couldn’t help but to laugh and muster the words “you’ve got to be kidding me”. He pointed to his watch to remind me that I had only half an hour until they refuse payments for the day. Absolutely determined not spend another day in the labyrinth, I quickly set off down the street, reminding myself of a penguin as I ran in my floor length kanga. I bought the real “right” stamp from TRA then ran/waddled my way back to immigration. The only thing I could think was AWA, Africa Wins Again- But in a few days I will legally be in the country again!

Monkey business, that’s all I have to say- this picture could not be more appropriate!

On Tuesday I biked to Starehe to deliver yogurt and teach my final class for the month. Next Tuesday I will be heading to the airport to greet the next WHE intern, Tara, a Masters student under the supervision of Dr. Gregor Reid (taraheadseast.blogspot.com). In the evening, I had a local friend over for dinner. I had my second spa day since my arrival in Tanzania (the first was at an orphanage in Buswelu during week one). This treatment was a little more invasive. At the ripe age of 22 I had my first face lift- my hair was braided so tightly that I could barely wrinkle my forehead. Well worth it for the smiles of approval that I received from the women I passed in the streets for the rest of the week. I heard the words “safi sana dada” meaning “very cool sister”, if felt really cool to see their smiles and to feel acceptance from my peers.

Adamu with one of his 160 siblings at Starehe

In the middle of the week I was treated to a wonderful surprise. I opened an email to find a message from Andie, a friend of the past interns, Meaghan and Alison. She is one of the women involved in organizing the annual Mwanza Charity Ball. M&A were able to donate probiotic yogurt to the event, and shared the history of the WHE project. They must have “wow”ed the coordinators of the event, because they have donated 1 million Tanzanian Shillings to the Tukwamuane Women in order to continue providing yogurt for those infected with HIV/AIDS. Kudos for all your hard work ladies! Andie and I spent some time discussing the stipulations of the donation, which includes a report and pictures of those who are benefiting from the project. She also advised me on the process for applying for another grant in the future. I had a good friend over for dinner on the roof top in the evening and two and a half hours of Swahili lessons.

I also ran my sensory panel this week. I was able to entice my neighbors, local friends, the Tukwamuane women and their friends to sample some of my creations. I was trying to pair local prebiotic foods with the probiotic yogurt and I feel I was successful for three of the five items I had prepared. I used a nine point facial hedonic scale where 1= nzuri sana (very good), 5=sawa sawa (okay) and 9= mbaya sana (very bad). I felt really bad when I got an overwhelming “mbaya sana” response for one of my samples, which was oddly enough my favorite of the five. I have defiantly met a group who do not appreciate fine Italian cooking! Tanzanian’s are absolutely not accustomed to free hand use of garlic, onions and eggplant…Thank god I was able to revive myself!

Later in the week I was able to meet a potential candidate selected by Meaghan and Alison for the position of project coordinator and translator for Western Heads East. Grace is a very intelligent and educated woman with a background in agriculture. I see her to be very valuable in the months to come as we continue to work towards building a new kitchen and cow banda for the Yogurt Mama’s.
On Friday after English Lessons with the Yogurt Mama’s, I made my weekly trip to Forever Angels to be with the kids that I wish I could bring home with me. I watched one of my favorite little guys take his first steps and shared his excitement with him. He knew what he did and was so proud.

Every Saturday evening there is a group of us that play Ultimate Frisbee. We call ourselves the team of the world because we almost have at least one representative from each continent. It’s amazing to be apart of such a diverse group. The language barrier disappears when you let loose, laugh and play. The Africans out run me by a factor of ten, and I miss almost every play, but its all in good fun. We’re even toying with the idea of representing Mwanza in the Tanzanian National tournament held in Moshi this May- who knows, we may make it to the next Olympic games :)

The most multicultural team I’ve ever played on
(Australia,
Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania,
Ireland, England, Germany, Austria,
Philippians, Hong Kong
United States of America
and
Columbia just in this shot)

It was a happy yet sad weekend. I have met some of the most interesting, full of life people during my time here. The tough part is that they come and go way too quickly. We had a going away party for one of the girls nearing the end of a three year contract in Mwanza. I used to think my stay was long- two months in and I’m realizing how numbered my days are.




I ended the week with a gorgeous trek along the rock beds surrounding the lake to rejuvenate for the week to come.