Today we took Remmy on a spice tour, which is another tourist attraction here on Zanzibar.
A lot of the spices were used in traditional and herbal medicine, which a lot of people, especially in the rural areas, turn to rather than going to the hospital. Also, a lot of them were used for their oils for massage, hair, and skin treatments (the elephant apple is not edible, but has gel inside the fruit, which they use for hair!).
We got to try a bunch of fruits and spices I had never heard of before and see how many tropical fruits grow
Some of the highlights include:
Eating jackfruit, which is a mixture between a pineapple and banana
Eating a quinine leaf, which is what they use in antimalarial pills
Saw a screw palm, which is native to Zanzibar and looks like a regular palm tree except the trunk corkscrews at the very top
Eating starfruit, one of my favorite fruits!
Word of the day:
Pia - also
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Jozani Forest and Kizimkazi Bay
Tanzania isn’t the most impoverished African country, yet there is clearly lots of poverty here. Everywhere you turn people are doing what little they can to make a living. I have seen similar poverty in the slums of El Salvador and in the hutong areas/farm areas in China, but it seems that here it is much more widespread rather than in concentrated areas.
The widespread poverty is part of the reason that it is hard to pick scholars based on need, especially for three American girls who come from middle class families. In addition, because a community houses people from every socioeconomic sector, unlike the U.S. where it is more concentrated in certain areas, it is harder to use certain sections of town as an indicator of need. Of course, some sections certainly are worse than others and Stonetown is one of the “ritzier” places where even the poorest are probably better off than the poorest in a less established community. However, school is expensive for any family so almost every student has a certain level of need, and those that are EXTREMELY needy may not even be in school in the first place. There are certain metrics, such as finding out how much meat they eat in a week or how many of their siblings went to university, that we can use to assess who’s need is greater than others. Even the teachers agree that it is hard to assess their own student’s level of need.
Today we went to Jozani Forest and Kizimkazi to swim with dolphins! We could have taken a daladala but it sometimes takes 3 hours for a normal 45 minute trip, so we took a friend’s private hire. In the country there were still brick and stone houses, but there were much more thatched roof huts as well. It would be hard to build a brick or stone house in a rural area because there is much more manual labor involved. The scenery changed to more of a rainforest feel.
Our trip was awesome. At Kizimkazi Bay, we found Captain Abba, who took us out on his wooden motor boat. Because water got in the boat easily, Abba’s friend bailed us out the whole way with a bucket. We got to snorkel with the dolphins and see red colobus monkeys in Jozani Forest. We just walked up under a tree and watched the monkeys swinging above our heads.
We learned from locals that a ferry had drowned in the harbor and more than 200 people died. We almost put Remmy and her friends on the ferry that would have arrived at that time because it was much cheaper. I’m so glad we paid for her to take the fast ferry now. However, according to news reports, it was apparently a cargo ship and 3 people died. This is one of the only news reports I found referencing it, so I’m still not sure what the truth is. http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1009473
Word of the day:
pikipiki - motorcycle
gari - car
The widespread poverty is part of the reason that it is hard to pick scholars based on need, especially for three American girls who come from middle class families. In addition, because a community houses people from every socioeconomic sector, unlike the U.S. where it is more concentrated in certain areas, it is harder to use certain sections of town as an indicator of need. Of course, some sections certainly are worse than others and Stonetown is one of the “ritzier” places where even the poorest are probably better off than the poorest in a less established community. However, school is expensive for any family so almost every student has a certain level of need, and those that are EXTREMELY needy may not even be in school in the first place. There are certain metrics, such as finding out how much meat they eat in a week or how many of their siblings went to university, that we can use to assess who’s need is greater than others. Even the teachers agree that it is hard to assess their own student’s level of need.
Today we went to Jozani Forest and Kizimkazi to swim with dolphins! We could have taken a daladala but it sometimes takes 3 hours for a normal 45 minute trip, so we took a friend’s private hire. In the country there were still brick and stone houses, but there were much more thatched roof huts as well. It would be hard to build a brick or stone house in a rural area because there is much more manual labor involved. The scenery changed to more of a rainforest feel.
Our trip was awesome. At Kizimkazi Bay, we found Captain Abba, who took us out on his wooden motor boat. Because water got in the boat easily, Abba’s friend bailed us out the whole way with a bucket. We got to snorkel with the dolphins and see red colobus monkeys in Jozani Forest. We just walked up under a tree and watched the monkeys swinging above our heads.
We learned from locals that a ferry had drowned in the harbor and more than 200 people died. We almost put Remmy and her friends on the ferry that would have arrived at that time because it was much cheaper. I’m so glad we paid for her to take the fast ferry now. However, according to news reports, it was apparently a cargo ship and 3 people died. This is one of the only news reports I found referencing it, so I’m still not sure what the truth is. http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1009473
Word of the day:
pikipiki - motorcycle
gari - car
Friday, May 29, 2009
Zanzibar Commercial Secondary School
Today we took the daladala (first daladala ride for Iris and Camryn) to the Zanzibar Secondary Commercial School, which teaches commercial subjects (business, computer science, accounting, bookkeeping, etc). Delta Sigma Pi, the business fraternity at UNC, sponsors a scholar here. The school is in a town called Mchina chaka, named for the Chinese investment that went into building a lot of the structures in the town. There aren’t any Chinese people living there, just investment.
In terms of professionalism and command of the English language, the school was a step between Lumumba and Ben Bella. However, they did have a computer lab with 6 computers. Even though every computer has to have 6 people to it during class, this is the first public school we’ve visited that students even have access to them.
When we were setting up interviews with the top 5 girls in form II, the headmaster mentioned that when they sign up for interviews, we mean the time we say, so if they come hours late, we won’t be here. It was a great reflection of “Africa time”.
The headmaster also talked about some costs that the government and schools have begun to pay for. The government pays for part of the form IV national examination as well as some textbooks for a certain class. The school pays about 5000 TSH for school celebrations, including the Uhuru Torch celebration, which he assumed we knew about. Here’s a news article about it. http://thecitizen.co.tz/newe.php?id=12812
We then went back to FAWE, where we met with Bibi Asma again. We discussed the need for individualized costs for the girls. While it is much easier just to give everyone the same amount, it’s not fair to give one girl with less need the same amount as another girl with a lot of need. Because our metric is based on performance AND need, we really need to ensure that we are allowing every scholar to keep up their performance by addressing individual need. It’s fairer to ensure that between parent contributions and our contributions, every girl is receiving the same RESOURCES, which may mean receiving differing levels of money from S4Si. Everyone has some level of need, but there are such different levels and the levels are sometimes so vast that we need to focus on the individuals in order to be good at what we do.
We will meet with Bibi Asma again next week to have her go over a mentor manual that we will create for the hire of three mentors, which the S4Si board has approved. We told Asma that computer skills are one of our top priorities, so she wants to see if there are women students available at SUZA (State University of Zanzibar) to serve as mentors. Great idea.
Some reflections from the week: I am so proud of us for achieving everything we did this week. We still have a lot to do in terms of documentation, but we have a great schedule for the next few weeks. We really need to revamp the Delegation packet to include processes (interview, school visits, scholar visits) because the summer trips are one of the most important things S4Si does and serves as a very small window of opportunity. We need a set process that we can show to our donors but also pass on to delegations so that we are doing things consistently year after year.
SEWAGE: Later in the day, our friend Star took us on a walk to the Hundred Steps beach. We asked him about sewage and Star said they can’t afford to clean the water, so the pipes run into the ocean. We walked by the “poop pipes” and saw the “poop lines” (which are basically like ropes attached to buoys that separate where you are and aren’t allowed to swim. I’m still not planning on swimming in the designated swimming area.
To say thank you to Remmy for hosting me for a week in Dar, we treated her to a trip to Zanzibar, a place she hadn’t yet been. She was so excited to be here and I can’t wait to show her around Zanzibar, which is sure to be very culturally different from what she is used to.
Word of the day:
tafadhali - please
In terms of professionalism and command of the English language, the school was a step between Lumumba and Ben Bella. However, they did have a computer lab with 6 computers. Even though every computer has to have 6 people to it during class, this is the first public school we’ve visited that students even have access to them.
When we were setting up interviews with the top 5 girls in form II, the headmaster mentioned that when they sign up for interviews, we mean the time we say, so if they come hours late, we won’t be here. It was a great reflection of “Africa time”.
The headmaster also talked about some costs that the government and schools have begun to pay for. The government pays for part of the form IV national examination as well as some textbooks for a certain class. The school pays about 5000 TSH for school celebrations, including the Uhuru Torch celebration, which he assumed we knew about. Here’s a news article about it. http://thecitizen.co.tz/newe.php?id=12812
We then went back to FAWE, where we met with Bibi Asma again. We discussed the need for individualized costs for the girls. While it is much easier just to give everyone the same amount, it’s not fair to give one girl with less need the same amount as another girl with a lot of need. Because our metric is based on performance AND need, we really need to ensure that we are allowing every scholar to keep up their performance by addressing individual need. It’s fairer to ensure that between parent contributions and our contributions, every girl is receiving the same RESOURCES, which may mean receiving differing levels of money from S4Si. Everyone has some level of need, but there are such different levels and the levels are sometimes so vast that we need to focus on the individuals in order to be good at what we do.
We will meet with Bibi Asma again next week to have her go over a mentor manual that we will create for the hire of three mentors, which the S4Si board has approved. We told Asma that computer skills are one of our top priorities, so she wants to see if there are women students available at SUZA (State University of Zanzibar) to serve as mentors. Great idea.
Some reflections from the week: I am so proud of us for achieving everything we did this week. We still have a lot to do in terms of documentation, but we have a great schedule for the next few weeks. We really need to revamp the Delegation packet to include processes (interview, school visits, scholar visits) because the summer trips are one of the most important things S4Si does and serves as a very small window of opportunity. We need a set process that we can show to our donors but also pass on to delegations so that we are doing things consistently year after year.
SEWAGE: Later in the day, our friend Star took us on a walk to the Hundred Steps beach. We asked him about sewage and Star said they can’t afford to clean the water, so the pipes run into the ocean. We walked by the “poop pipes” and saw the “poop lines” (which are basically like ropes attached to buoys that separate where you are and aren’t allowed to swim. I’m still not planning on swimming in the designated swimming area.
To say thank you to Remmy for hosting me for a week in Dar, we treated her to a trip to Zanzibar, a place she hadn’t yet been. She was so excited to be here and I can’t wait to show her around Zanzibar, which is sure to be very culturally different from what she is used to.
Word of the day:
tafadhali - please
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Lumumba
Today we went to Lumumba, the best overall public school in Zanzibar, where we sponsor 3 girls. On our 30 minute walk we had to walk through a dirt field that had a bunch of chickens. The neighborhoods from Stonetown to Lumumba changed from the alleyway shops with flats above to standalone 1 room stone or brick houses that may have housed a family or two. There were still shops along the way, but they were intermingled with these standalone structures. These were definitely worse sections of town. In the shops, rather than selling tourist souvenirs, sold necessities such as soap, clothing, cell phones, etc.
There was a stark difference between Ben Bella and Lumumba. You can definitely tell that Lumumba is an excellent school. Everything was very organized and the headmaster seemed much more involved with the students and in touch with the school. He told me right away what the costs were. A lot of government officials graduate from Lumumba and it was named after Patrick Lumumba, a freedom fighter in the Congo in 1960. The school even has a sister school, Harbor University, in Los Angeles. Pretty cool!
One of the teachers, an English teacher, was an unofficial S4Si advisor for the three girls and helps them check their email regularly. She was incredibly helpful and she helped us with any communication barrier we had with the girls. We met with our three scholars, who were excited to see us. I realized that it’s hard to tell whether all of our scholars are Muslim because they wear uniforms that cover their heads. Every school has their own uniform, usually consisting of a black or blue dress and a white or yellow head covering. Boys wear black or blue pants with usually a polo type shirt with the school logo on it.
I almost got pick-pursed today. I felt a guy putting his hand in the front pocket of my purse and looked over and shoved him away. Our local friends were very mad because Stonetown prides itself on being friendly and not having thieves around. It’s sad because the pick pockets here aren’t doing it for fun, they are doing it because they are very poor and hope that whatever they can get will be better than what they currently have. All the poor guy would have gotten from my front pocket was chapstick and hand sanitizer.
We found that if we sit in a certain spot on our bed, we can pick up one bar of wireless, so some of you may get a skype call someday!
Word of the day:
skuli - school
There was a stark difference between Ben Bella and Lumumba. You can definitely tell that Lumumba is an excellent school. Everything was very organized and the headmaster seemed much more involved with the students and in touch with the school. He told me right away what the costs were. A lot of government officials graduate from Lumumba and it was named after Patrick Lumumba, a freedom fighter in the Congo in 1960. The school even has a sister school, Harbor University, in Los Angeles. Pretty cool!
One of the teachers, an English teacher, was an unofficial S4Si advisor for the three girls and helps them check their email regularly. She was incredibly helpful and she helped us with any communication barrier we had with the girls. We met with our three scholars, who were excited to see us. I realized that it’s hard to tell whether all of our scholars are Muslim because they wear uniforms that cover their heads. Every school has their own uniform, usually consisting of a black or blue dress and a white or yellow head covering. Boys wear black or blue pants with usually a polo type shirt with the school logo on it.
I almost got pick-pursed today. I felt a guy putting his hand in the front pocket of my purse and looked over and shoved him away. Our local friends were very mad because Stonetown prides itself on being friendly and not having thieves around. It’s sad because the pick pockets here aren’t doing it for fun, they are doing it because they are very poor and hope that whatever they can get will be better than what they currently have. All the poor guy would have gotten from my front pocket was chapstick and hand sanitizer.
We found that if we sit in a certain spot on our bed, we can pick up one bar of wireless, so some of you may get a skype call someday!
Word of the day:
skuli - school
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday Thoughts
We spent many hours at this touristy and westernized hotel called Africa House, where we took advantage of free wireless.
There are also Obama signs in a lot of places. I’ve seen a bunch spray painted around Zanzibar and there were Obama signs and pictures of him plastered on the back of some of the daladalas in Dar es Salaam.
We went back to Ben Bella to try again to get updated costs. This time, the numbers were different from the ones we had received on Monday. It’s really important to ask the right questions. We realized that we needed to inquire about each Form’s costs separately, otherwise we would get average costs across forms, which wouldn’t help us when we are funding girls from each form.
We also took two of our scholars, Ghaya and Fatma, out for dinner. They are both amazing young women – very vibrant and ambitious. It was great to meet with them outside of the school setting to get to know them a little better. It was also great because the two were from different schools so they could learn from each other as well. One of our goals is to connect scholars from different schools together so they can be a support group for each other.
Word of the day:
Nimisheba – I’m full (in response to all the food vendors harassing us on the street)
There are also Obama signs in a lot of places. I’ve seen a bunch spray painted around Zanzibar and there were Obama signs and pictures of him plastered on the back of some of the daladalas in Dar es Salaam.
We went back to Ben Bella to try again to get updated costs. This time, the numbers were different from the ones we had received on Monday. It’s really important to ask the right questions. We realized that we needed to inquire about each Form’s costs separately, otherwise we would get average costs across forms, which wouldn’t help us when we are funding girls from each form.
We also took two of our scholars, Ghaya and Fatma, out for dinner. They are both amazing young women – very vibrant and ambitious. It was great to meet with them outside of the school setting to get to know them a little better. It was also great because the two were from different schools so they could learn from each other as well. One of our goals is to connect scholars from different schools together so they can be a support group for each other.
Word of the day:
Nimisheba – I’m full (in response to all the food vendors harassing us on the street)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Ben Bella and FAWE
Today we went back to Ben Bella to meet with more of our scholars. All of the girls always remember the names of the delegations that have come before. So cute! We also met with Form II girls that were identified by their teachers as being high achieving and needy so we could schedule interviews with them.
We passed by the statehouse in Zanzibar and learned that those that score in Division I are invited there for a celebration with Zanzibar’s president, who got his PhD in South Carolina. Very neat.
We also stopped by the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), which is right down the street from Ben Bella, to look into computer classes for our scholars. If they want to go to university, computer literacy is incredibly important. They have 3 week classes for less than 25 dollars on topics such as introduction to computers, Microsoft Word, the internet, etc.
After our visits at Ben Bella and SUZA, we went to the Zanzibar branch of Forum for African Women Educationalists(FAWE), who is our local partner. At FAWE we met Bibi Asma, who has been our main contact person in Zanzibar. We got some feedback from her on our program and also learned of a mentor program that FAWE runs for other NGO’s that give scholarships, which would allow S4Si to have an on the ground mentor checking in on our girls and making sure they have everything they need, are attending class, etc. This seems to be a necessity to make S4Si succeed at what we do and support our scholars in the best way possible.
I also had a ginger flavored soda today, which is now my second favorite drink (chai being the first).
Word of the day:
Chai ya maziwa – Chai with milk
We passed by the statehouse in Zanzibar and learned that those that score in Division I are invited there for a celebration with Zanzibar’s president, who got his PhD in South Carolina. Very neat.
We also stopped by the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), which is right down the street from Ben Bella, to look into computer classes for our scholars. If they want to go to university, computer literacy is incredibly important. They have 3 week classes for less than 25 dollars on topics such as introduction to computers, Microsoft Word, the internet, etc.
After our visits at Ben Bella and SUZA, we went to the Zanzibar branch of Forum for African Women Educationalists(FAWE), who is our local partner. At FAWE we met Bibi Asma, who has been our main contact person in Zanzibar. We got some feedback from her on our program and also learned of a mentor program that FAWE runs for other NGO’s that give scholarships, which would allow S4Si to have an on the ground mentor checking in on our girls and making sure they have everything they need, are attending class, etc. This seems to be a necessity to make S4Si succeed at what we do and support our scholars in the best way possible.
I also had a ginger flavored soda today, which is now my second favorite drink (chai being the first).
Word of the day:
Chai ya maziwa – Chai with milk
Monday, May 25, 2009
Secondary School
SMELLS OF TZ: It smells kind of sweet and smoky here. Sometimes it is more putrid; other times it is more refreshing.
LIFE IN ZANZIBAR: Every morning at 5:30, I am woken up by the call to prayer at the mosque. I always fall back asleep, but it’s a very interesting dynamic to have a town-wide call every morning.
As an American university student used to a fairly fast-paced life, I am so intrigued by the way things are accomplished here. For example, it’s incredible and cool that you can just walk around here and ask for Jack, and locals know right where he is and will take you there. A guy named Jacob Jacob (not a typo) is helping us plan our safari. He is kind of a moving office because he started his own business. So, we met him in one of the alleys and told him what kind of safari we wanted. At least he has some low operating costs!
In addition, the secondary school education system is confusing. Today we went to Ben Bella, one of S4Si’s secondary schools, and they didn’t have a breakdown of the costs for the school. We tried to get a good grasp on fees and the school calendar, but there wasn’t anything that outlined it. The headmistress just told us from memory, which she was unsure about. For being one of the best schools in Zanzibar, how is it run this way? We visited a couple of classrooms, but sometimes the teacher was absent and the students were just in the classroom doing revisions in groups. At the same time, the girls work VERY HARD and study all the time. Their favorite subjects are typically science related, which is awesome. Even if they want to be accountants or business people, their favorite teachers are the physics and chemistry teachers. Tanzania is definitely trying to encourage girls to be proficient in science right now since there is a shortage of those entering the medical fields.
SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM:
Tanzania uses the British system. They have 7 years of primary school and 6 years of secondary school (Form I through Form VI). The schedule can be confusing. School is year round, so they have week breaks during the year. Forms II, V, and VI meet in the morning from and Forms III and IV meet in the afternoon. S4Si starts funding girls in Form III because that is when many of them drop out. Form IV and Form VI have national exams that students must pass to advance to the next level (either Form V or University). If they don’t pass, they either drop out, resit exams, or retake a year. Forms V and VI are very similar to college-preparatory courses.
After reading about, hearing about, and talking about our scholars all year, I was so excited to finally get to meet them! Because Forms V and VI are in between U.S. high school and college, a lot of our scholars are the same age as us! It’s so humbling to meet these girls and talk with them about their ambitions and share stories about our lives. Some were more outspoken than others, but they were pretty shy overall and a little nervous to meet us. We talked about how we could support them better and talked to them as a group and individually, finding out what their ambitions are as well as sharing favorite foods, movies, etc.
We met a longtime S4Si friend named Star. He loves meeting up with S4Si students every summer, teaching them Swahili, and taking them to good local restaurants. For dinner, we had chocolate and banana Zanzibar pizza and breadfruit, which I’d never seen before. It has the consistency between cheesecake and bread. Such a strange thing!
We also learned the hard way how some locals rip off foreigners. A guy named Ali standing by one of the stands introduced us to the breadfruit and asked us if we wanted one. We said yes and gave him the money. We didn’t realize that he wasn’t the vendor and had charged us three times the amount it actually cost. He paid the vendor (about $1 USD) and kept the rest for himself ($2 USD). Darn!
Word of the day:
Ndio – yes
Hapana - no
LIFE IN ZANZIBAR: Every morning at 5:30, I am woken up by the call to prayer at the mosque. I always fall back asleep, but it’s a very interesting dynamic to have a town-wide call every morning.
As an American university student used to a fairly fast-paced life, I am so intrigued by the way things are accomplished here. For example, it’s incredible and cool that you can just walk around here and ask for Jack, and locals know right where he is and will take you there. A guy named Jacob Jacob (not a typo) is helping us plan our safari. He is kind of a moving office because he started his own business. So, we met him in one of the alleys and told him what kind of safari we wanted. At least he has some low operating costs!
In addition, the secondary school education system is confusing. Today we went to Ben Bella, one of S4Si’s secondary schools, and they didn’t have a breakdown of the costs for the school. We tried to get a good grasp on fees and the school calendar, but there wasn’t anything that outlined it. The headmistress just told us from memory, which she was unsure about. For being one of the best schools in Zanzibar, how is it run this way? We visited a couple of classrooms, but sometimes the teacher was absent and the students were just in the classroom doing revisions in groups. At the same time, the girls work VERY HARD and study all the time. Their favorite subjects are typically science related, which is awesome. Even if they want to be accountants or business people, their favorite teachers are the physics and chemistry teachers. Tanzania is definitely trying to encourage girls to be proficient in science right now since there is a shortage of those entering the medical fields.
SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM:
Tanzania uses the British system. They have 7 years of primary school and 6 years of secondary school (Form I through Form VI). The schedule can be confusing. School is year round, so they have week breaks during the year. Forms II, V, and VI meet in the morning from and Forms III and IV meet in the afternoon. S4Si starts funding girls in Form III because that is when many of them drop out. Form IV and Form VI have national exams that students must pass to advance to the next level (either Form V or University). If they don’t pass, they either drop out, resit exams, or retake a year. Forms V and VI are very similar to college-preparatory courses.
After reading about, hearing about, and talking about our scholars all year, I was so excited to finally get to meet them! Because Forms V and VI are in between U.S. high school and college, a lot of our scholars are the same age as us! It’s so humbling to meet these girls and talk with them about their ambitions and share stories about our lives. Some were more outspoken than others, but they were pretty shy overall and a little nervous to meet us. We talked about how we could support them better and talked to them as a group and individually, finding out what their ambitions are as well as sharing favorite foods, movies, etc.
We met a longtime S4Si friend named Star. He loves meeting up with S4Si students every summer, teaching them Swahili, and taking them to good local restaurants. For dinner, we had chocolate and banana Zanzibar pizza and breadfruit, which I’d never seen before. It has the consistency between cheesecake and bread. Such a strange thing!
We also learned the hard way how some locals rip off foreigners. A guy named Ali standing by one of the stands introduced us to the breadfruit and asked us if we wanted one. We said yes and gave him the money. We didn’t realize that he wasn’t the vendor and had charged us three times the amount it actually cost. He paid the vendor (about $1 USD) and kept the rest for himself ($2 USD). Darn!
Word of the day:
Ndio – yes
Hapana - no
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Streets of Stonetown
LANGUAGE BARRIER: Even though I don’t speak Swahili, the average Tanzanian speaks much better English than I imagined. Most of this is because starting in secondary school, all classes and exams are in English. Those that graduated from secondary school or completed most of secondary school have fairly good English. While there can be a communication barrier during more complex conversations, it’s very easy to get around and all it takes is a little bit of patience. I can’t imagine passing high school in a second language!
I am in love with the tea here, which is always chai with fresh ginger. It is delicious.
The shower involves a bucket of cold water, much like the one I will be using in Arusha. We refer to it as “taking a bucket.” I think there used to be a real shower, but it may be broken. Plumbing is very hit or miss. To flush the toilet we have to lift up on the lever in the water retainer behind the toilet – basically manually flushing the toilet. Sometimes we have to refill it with water.
We walked around the alleyways of Stonetown and let ourselves get lost and discover some of the city. We walked through a fish market and lots of other markets and saw a bunch of different shops. I saw a mother/child health centre, a business consultant shop, travel bureau, and hair cutting shop. It’s so incredible to me that there is this microcosm of businesses in these little alleyways.
People here are very friendly. They love saying mambo and seeing what response they get. They also always ask what we think about Zanzibar. It sometimes bothers me when they make references to the U.S. in conversation and say “the U.S. is so much better or well this doesn’t happen in the U.S. like it does in Africa.” While in a lot of respects we have better resources and commodities that make life “better,” who’s to say we are right and they are wrong? The need is very evident in this country, but the ways I would change it are to make it more American (simply because that’s what I know best and what I’ve seen work). Why should we assume that is the way it should be changed and is in the best interest of the people?
Some highlights of the day: For dinner we had chapatti, chai, and spicy potatoes called kachuri, which were delicious. We watched Brazilian fighting dancing on the beach. We also saw a monkey on a leash.
Phrase of the day:
Jina lako nani? – What is your name?
I am in love with the tea here, which is always chai with fresh ginger. It is delicious.
The shower involves a bucket of cold water, much like the one I will be using in Arusha. We refer to it as “taking a bucket.” I think there used to be a real shower, but it may be broken. Plumbing is very hit or miss. To flush the toilet we have to lift up on the lever in the water retainer behind the toilet – basically manually flushing the toilet. Sometimes we have to refill it with water.
We walked around the alleyways of Stonetown and let ourselves get lost and discover some of the city. We walked through a fish market and lots of other markets and saw a bunch of different shops. I saw a mother/child health centre, a business consultant shop, travel bureau, and hair cutting shop. It’s so incredible to me that there is this microcosm of businesses in these little alleyways.
People here are very friendly. They love saying mambo and seeing what response they get. They also always ask what we think about Zanzibar. It sometimes bothers me when they make references to the U.S. in conversation and say “the U.S. is so much better or well this doesn’t happen in the U.S. like it does in Africa.” While in a lot of respects we have better resources and commodities that make life “better,” who’s to say we are right and they are wrong? The need is very evident in this country, but the ways I would change it are to make it more American (simply because that’s what I know best and what I’ve seen work). Why should we assume that is the way it should be changed and is in the best interest of the people?
Some highlights of the day: For dinner we had chapatti, chai, and spicy potatoes called kachuri, which were delicious. We watched Brazilian fighting dancing on the beach. We also saw a monkey on a leash.
Phrase of the day:
Jina lako nani? – What is your name?
Saturday, May 23, 2009
On to Zanzibar!
We said goodbye to Remmy, Sam, and Maka today, the three friends that helped me all week. Sam said that while he doesn’t get to travel, he loves it when people from other countries visit because he gets to meet new people and it feels like he is traveling. He is also very in tune with US culture, especially the music.
We took the fast ferry to Zanzibar today, which took 2.5 hours. The slow ferry takes 8 hours, but is about 1/6th of the price. There are definite differences between Zanzibar and mainland, the most obvious one being that Zanzibar is predominately Muslim. There is a major tourism economy here as well.
Stonetown, the city we are staying in, is right by the ferry dock. It is full of narrow alleyways where people live and set up shop. It’s so easy to get lost – I feel like I’m in a scavenger hunt! Our directions to our house were: find the big Baobao tree on Mkunazini Rd. and go down the alley on its right side. Wind around until you dead end and go to the second floor on the house on the left. Ask for Zakiya.
ELECTRICITY: There is a way to have an electricity bill, but many people opt not to worry about paying bills by buying electricity credits, which is basically a pay as you go plan for electricity. You charge the meter by entering a number in the meter and the electricity then works until those credits run out.
CELL PHONES: Cell phones work like electricity and the pay-as-you-go plans in the U.S. There are stands everywhere selling airtime. You buy a card and enter a number into your phone and it credits your phone with whatever amount was on the card.
Word of the day:
Asante – thank you
Kwaheri – bye
We took the fast ferry to Zanzibar today, which took 2.5 hours. The slow ferry takes 8 hours, but is about 1/6th of the price. There are definite differences between Zanzibar and mainland, the most obvious one being that Zanzibar is predominately Muslim. There is a major tourism economy here as well.
Stonetown, the city we are staying in, is right by the ferry dock. It is full of narrow alleyways where people live and set up shop. It’s so easy to get lost – I feel like I’m in a scavenger hunt! Our directions to our house were: find the big Baobao tree on Mkunazini Rd. and go down the alley on its right side. Wind around until you dead end and go to the second floor on the house on the left. Ask for Zakiya.
ELECTRICITY: There is a way to have an electricity bill, but many people opt not to worry about paying bills by buying electricity credits, which is basically a pay as you go plan for electricity. You charge the meter by entering a number in the meter and the electricity then works until those credits run out.
CELL PHONES: Cell phones work like electricity and the pay-as-you-go plans in the U.S. There are stands everywhere selling airtime. You buy a card and enter a number into your phone and it credits your phone with whatever amount was on the card.
Word of the day:
Asante – thank you
Kwaheri – bye
Friday, May 22, 2009
University of Dar es Salaam
I met with Dr. Mukangara today at the University of Dar es Salaam for an hour and a half! We were 15 minutes late and I was getting pretty anxious, but Remmy, Sam, and Max kept telling me to relax (hakuna matata). They said I could be 30 minutes late, so I still had 15 minutes to get there! I ended up waiting for Dr. M for an additional 40 minutes. Haha. What a great cultural experience.
During our conversation, some of her assistants popped in to serve us tea and others took pictures of us in conversation. Dr. M really liked S4Si and she said that members of the Gender Club at the university visit different secondary schools to talk about gender issues and give advice about university. She said that she would see to it that they went to Ben Bella when they visit Zanzibar next.
I asked her the same question I asked Marge. It was interesting to hear the differences and similarities because she is approaching it from a university perspective whereas Marge was coming from a gender and NGO perspective. Here is what Dr. M suggested:
• Transitioning to university
• Coping with social issues
• Equity issues
• Leadership skills
• Public speaking
• Writing skills
• Computer skills
• Remedial courses
• Teambuilding/teamwork
Something she mentioned was that a lot of loan programs and scholarships are stretched too thin. They have either late payments or don’t give the students enough money to cover their expenses, which just disadvantages the students and doesn’t allow them to succeed in school. This is especially crucial for students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford an education because then they are forced to drop out.
In regards to university admissions for girls on Zanzibar, she said that unless there is a quota for a certain number of people to be admitted from Zanzibar, she believes a Zanzibar girl is treated like any other girl in the country.
In regards to government scholarships, it used to be only division 1 qualified to get a loan which automatically disadvantaged girls because very few girls get division 1. However, now the government gives scholarships and loans to those who score in division 1 and 2 and especially support those who want to be doctors, engineers, or science teachers.
Word of the day:
Hakuna matata - don’t worry about it (they say this a lot, especially to us since we get stressed out and anxious more easily)
During our conversation, some of her assistants popped in to serve us tea and others took pictures of us in conversation. Dr. M really liked S4Si and she said that members of the Gender Club at the university visit different secondary schools to talk about gender issues and give advice about university. She said that she would see to it that they went to Ben Bella when they visit Zanzibar next.
I asked her the same question I asked Marge. It was interesting to hear the differences and similarities because she is approaching it from a university perspective whereas Marge was coming from a gender and NGO perspective. Here is what Dr. M suggested:
• Transitioning to university
• Coping with social issues
• Equity issues
• Leadership skills
• Public speaking
• Writing skills
• Computer skills
• Remedial courses
• Teambuilding/teamwork
Something she mentioned was that a lot of loan programs and scholarships are stretched too thin. They have either late payments or don’t give the students enough money to cover their expenses, which just disadvantages the students and doesn’t allow them to succeed in school. This is especially crucial for students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford an education because then they are forced to drop out.
In regards to university admissions for girls on Zanzibar, she said that unless there is a quota for a certain number of people to be admitted from Zanzibar, she believes a Zanzibar girl is treated like any other girl in the country.
In regards to government scholarships, it used to be only division 1 qualified to get a loan which automatically disadvantaged girls because very few girls get division 1. However, now the government gives scholarships and loans to those who score in division 1 and 2 and especially support those who want to be doctors, engineers, or science teachers.
Word of the day:
Hakuna matata - don’t worry about it (they say this a lot, especially to us since we get stressed out and anxious more easily)
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Ministry of Health
Today Remmy took me to the national office of the Ministry of Health and persuaded the guards to let me meet with a Communications Officer, Nsachris. I spent about an hour with him and got a great view into how the health system operates from a national level.
ROLE OF MINISTRY OF HEALTH: Before, the Ministry of Health communicated policies directly to villages and rural areas. Now, they make national policies and leave it to the regional and local leaders to enforce the policies. It is less micromanaging and more looking at the big picture. Nsachris said that this transition is helping empower the villages to deal with their own specific health issues. However, the national Ministry of Health still has people that work with specific district governments to help them understand the policies and how to implement them.
Regarding HEALTH INSURANCE, he said that there is National Health Insurance from the government for government employees and there is private insurance provided by religious groups or NGO’s that cater to private companies. For those without insurance, the cost-sharing program goes into effect.
This is the policy from the Ministry of Health: If someone can’t pay for medicine, the fees are waived and people are still treated. They use certain metrics and guides to find out if someone is too poor to pay, but he admitted that these are sometimes not a great measure of ability to pay. They also use social worker interviews and other people in the villages to determine need. Also, children under 5 and adults over 60 are treated for free.
WEAKNESSES IN SYSTEM: He said the biggest issue is that there is a human resource crisis due to a lack of doctors and nurses. In rural areas, there are plenty of doctors, but they are usually the second hand doctors or non professionally trained. There are simply not enough qualified doctors in the country.
To mitigate this, they are setting up more government training institutions, offering scholarships for diplomas and certificates and creating more part time jobs in clinics.
ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE AND WATER/FOOD: Nsachris said that while access to some sort of healthcare isn’t typically a problem because the infrastructure is there (even in rural areas), access to trained doctors could be an issue. Also, sometimes people are not aware of what prevents certain illnesses or what food they should be eating. Thus, sometimes it’s not access to healthy food and hygienic tools that is the barrier, but rather the lack of basic health nutrition and hygiene education.
COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER PROGRAM: I probed Nsachris about this program and he said this used to be a nationally funded program. Now there are people trained in a lot of places without programs in place. In certain areas, the program was taken over by an NGO. He said the original intent was for the program to become self sustaining and to empower the villages to eventually take over. However, communities became dependent on the government funding to pay the health workers, so the program fell through. He said if they had to do it again, more thought needed to go into who these workers were: they needed to be real people who care about the community and will stay in the community for a long time. He said that the program wasn’t approached in the right way and the villages were not properly trained or equipped to become independent.
COMMUNITY HEALTH FUND: In some places there is a community health fund, which acts as community insurance. A family pays about 10,000 TSH (about $100) per year into the fund and then the whole family could be treated at the dispensary. Every district is supposed to have this, but it is up to the districts to enforce it.
MY IMPRESSIONS: It seems that the government has a bottom-down approach, making policies which then trickle down into the regional and local governments, who are then responsible for implementing and enforcing the policies. NGO’s have a bottom-up approach, starting at a local level and then making themselves known through regional hospitals and rarely making it up to the national level. In some communities, NGO’s and government work towards a common goal, and NGO’s help achieve what the governments intend with their policies through funding and training. These seem to be more effective because infrastructure is already in place to welcome these NGO programs – it’s usually the implementation and sustainability that is lacking. There are other NGO’s that do their own thing, never meeting the government’s objectives. In a village that already meets the government’s basic objectives, this may work fine. But in a place where an NGO is trying to reinvent the wheel, it sometimes falls flat.
Word of the day:
Mbu – mosquito
ROLE OF MINISTRY OF HEALTH: Before, the Ministry of Health communicated policies directly to villages and rural areas. Now, they make national policies and leave it to the regional and local leaders to enforce the policies. It is less micromanaging and more looking at the big picture. Nsachris said that this transition is helping empower the villages to deal with their own specific health issues. However, the national Ministry of Health still has people that work with specific district governments to help them understand the policies and how to implement them.
Regarding HEALTH INSURANCE, he said that there is National Health Insurance from the government for government employees and there is private insurance provided by religious groups or NGO’s that cater to private companies. For those without insurance, the cost-sharing program goes into effect.
This is the policy from the Ministry of Health: If someone can’t pay for medicine, the fees are waived and people are still treated. They use certain metrics and guides to find out if someone is too poor to pay, but he admitted that these are sometimes not a great measure of ability to pay. They also use social worker interviews and other people in the villages to determine need. Also, children under 5 and adults over 60 are treated for free.
WEAKNESSES IN SYSTEM: He said the biggest issue is that there is a human resource crisis due to a lack of doctors and nurses. In rural areas, there are plenty of doctors, but they are usually the second hand doctors or non professionally trained. There are simply not enough qualified doctors in the country.
To mitigate this, they are setting up more government training institutions, offering scholarships for diplomas and certificates and creating more part time jobs in clinics.
ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE AND WATER/FOOD: Nsachris said that while access to some sort of healthcare isn’t typically a problem because the infrastructure is there (even in rural areas), access to trained doctors could be an issue. Also, sometimes people are not aware of what prevents certain illnesses or what food they should be eating. Thus, sometimes it’s not access to healthy food and hygienic tools that is the barrier, but rather the lack of basic health nutrition and hygiene education.
COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER PROGRAM: I probed Nsachris about this program and he said this used to be a nationally funded program. Now there are people trained in a lot of places without programs in place. In certain areas, the program was taken over by an NGO. He said the original intent was for the program to become self sustaining and to empower the villages to eventually take over. However, communities became dependent on the government funding to pay the health workers, so the program fell through. He said if they had to do it again, more thought needed to go into who these workers were: they needed to be real people who care about the community and will stay in the community for a long time. He said that the program wasn’t approached in the right way and the villages were not properly trained or equipped to become independent.
COMMUNITY HEALTH FUND: In some places there is a community health fund, which acts as community insurance. A family pays about 10,000 TSH (about $100) per year into the fund and then the whole family could be treated at the dispensary. Every district is supposed to have this, but it is up to the districts to enforce it.
MY IMPRESSIONS: It seems that the government has a bottom-down approach, making policies which then trickle down into the regional and local governments, who are then responsible for implementing and enforcing the policies. NGO’s have a bottom-up approach, starting at a local level and then making themselves known through regional hospitals and rarely making it up to the national level. In some communities, NGO’s and government work towards a common goal, and NGO’s help achieve what the governments intend with their policies through funding and training. These seem to be more effective because infrastructure is already in place to welcome these NGO programs – it’s usually the implementation and sustainability that is lacking. There are other NGO’s that do their own thing, never meeting the government’s objectives. In a village that already meets the government’s basic objectives, this may work fine. But in a place where an NGO is trying to reinvent the wheel, it sometimes falls flat.
Word of the day:
Mbu – mosquito
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tanzania Gender Networking Programme
This week I I am meeting with different organizations targeted towards women and education. Our main goal is to not only make contact with some in-country organizations, but also find out what they think S4Si could do better to prepare our scholars in secondary school for university.
I first met with Marjorie Mbilinyi from the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP), a contact from UNC’s African Studies Department. She has lived in Tanzania since 1968 and became a citizen in 1969.
My first question to her was what can we do to make sure our girls succeed and how can we best prepare them to succeed in university?
She first gave me a little history of education in TZ. First, she talked about the shift in the quality of education from public to private schools. It used to be very competitive to get in a government run public school because they had very few spaces. The private schools at that time were almost like community schools, for example, religion focused, etc. Basically, public schools many times became exclusive to those who were wealthy or had connections. Schooling also used to be free until the Tanzanian government started charging for primary and secondary school. The dropout rate was so high that the government started funding primary school, but still charged for secondary school.
Now, it is quite different. Resources have simply dwindled in the government schools and private schools are now much better. She said that the government is indirectly subsidizing private schools by training teachers in university who are then being recruited by private schools. Thus, the private schools are getting the best teachers and overall, have better academics and resources (computer lab, good environment, etc).
To answer my question, she challenged S4Si to find a way that empowers our scholars and brings benefit to them, but also changes the environment for all of the students. In a UNICEF study, it was found that primary school was the MOST unsafe place for a girl of 8-10 years old because they are disrespected and not treated equally. While this is not true for secondary school, some of this environment certainly filters up into the secondary schools. So, for example, she encouraged us to buy a few secondhand computers, find a teacher who was willing to run the computer lab after school, and have special hours for S4Si students. The rest of the time could be open for the whole school.
• Stipend for small discretionary fund (soap, coke, hygienic products, etc.)
• Feminist literature in library
• Connect scholars from different schools together
• Find ways to help the school in the process so benefit is spread to other students and environment changes for all students
• Empower students through leadership
• Find a counselor for scholars and make them accessible to other students
• Look into what health services are available at the schools
Word of the day:
Zeze – fiddle (it isn’t a violin, but rather a gourd with a long fingerboard and strings attached)
Badai – later (Let’s go to the market later)
I first met with Marjorie Mbilinyi from the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP), a contact from UNC’s African Studies Department. She has lived in Tanzania since 1968 and became a citizen in 1969.
My first question to her was what can we do to make sure our girls succeed and how can we best prepare them to succeed in university?
She first gave me a little history of education in TZ. First, she talked about the shift in the quality of education from public to private schools. It used to be very competitive to get in a government run public school because they had very few spaces. The private schools at that time were almost like community schools, for example, religion focused, etc. Basically, public schools many times became exclusive to those who were wealthy or had connections. Schooling also used to be free until the Tanzanian government started charging for primary and secondary school. The dropout rate was so high that the government started funding primary school, but still charged for secondary school.
Now, it is quite different. Resources have simply dwindled in the government schools and private schools are now much better. She said that the government is indirectly subsidizing private schools by training teachers in university who are then being recruited by private schools. Thus, the private schools are getting the best teachers and overall, have better academics and resources (computer lab, good environment, etc).
To answer my question, she challenged S4Si to find a way that empowers our scholars and brings benefit to them, but also changes the environment for all of the students. In a UNICEF study, it was found that primary school was the MOST unsafe place for a girl of 8-10 years old because they are disrespected and not treated equally. While this is not true for secondary school, some of this environment certainly filters up into the secondary schools. So, for example, she encouraged us to buy a few secondhand computers, find a teacher who was willing to run the computer lab after school, and have special hours for S4Si students. The rest of the time could be open for the whole school.
• Stipend for small discretionary fund (soap, coke, hygienic products, etc.)
• Feminist literature in library
• Connect scholars from different schools together
• Find ways to help the school in the process so benefit is spread to other students and environment changes for all students
• Empower students through leadership
• Find a counselor for scholars and make them accessible to other students
• Look into what health services are available at the schools
Word of the day:
Zeze – fiddle (it isn’t a violin, but rather a gourd with a long fingerboard and strings attached)
Badai – later (Let’s go to the market later)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Mambo
Remmy is extremely motivated and is an AMAZING host. She arranged for her friends to drive me around Dar es Salaam for the week so I could meet with different organizations focused on health and education. Every night she tucked in my mosquito net and sometimes carried my bag so I wouldn’t be a target in the markets. One of my favorite nights was when we visited her friend Max for dinner and I got a better glimpse into village life on the outskirts of Dar.
UNIVERSITY LIFE: Remmy’s school is surrounded by many countries’ embassies, the National Museum of Tanzania, and the Ministry of Health, so it is located in a very safe neighborhood. She lives with 3 other girls in a girl’s hostel that is located on campus. Sometimes during exam week friends who live farther away will come and stay in their room so they aren’t late to their exams. Their room has a TV, stereo, DVD player, and computer and the girls all seem to get along really well. Remmy said that her roommates were so excited I was coming that they would pretend Remmy was me and would practice what they were going to say.
MOSQUITOS: Remmy just got over a bout of malaria, so she takes mosquitoes seriously. She said the mosquitoes love her and she is the only one of her friends that actually uses a mosquito net. The mosquitoes here are RUTHLESS. They are different than those in the U.S. There was definitely some selective evolution that only left the smartest, trickiest, and hairiest mosquitoes in TZ. They also make this noise that sounds like crickets – creepy!
DALADALAS: Daladalas are basically just big vans that serve as a cheap bus system. Remmy made us stop and watch people race to the daladalas. It was pretty funny. She said sometimes once a daladala passes by, people will start running to catch the daladala two stops ahead. It was madness! People were pushing and shoving to get on an already packed daladala. Remmy said it is not like that in Arusha and she sometimes likes to just watch people in Dar race and fight to get on a daladala. Someone jokingly opened a little luggage door on the bottom and gestured to get in.
Word of the day:
Maji – water
Rafiki – friend
Dar es Salaam
Hello! I have made it safe and sound to Dar es Salaam. I met up with the Sustain Foundation university scholar, Remmy, at the airport. I am so glad she was there to meet me! She brought two of her friends, Samson and Maka, who picked us up in a car. The first thing Sam said was "Welcome to Tanzania, the best place in the world!"
First impressions: Everyone is so friendly! I got hugs and kisses right away. We got in the car and all the popular songs on the radio started blasting. I felt right at home. I am starting to pick up some Swahili but all of Remmy's friends speak excellent English, so there hasn't been a language barrier yet. Everyone is also much more laid back.
That being said, I am so glad I have a friend here. I have learned so much in the last 24 hours about how Tanzanians live and view their country. They have a lot of pride for their country and just seem happier overall.
My internet time is running out, but I'll write again soon with some stories and better descriptions. Also, my email is having problems loading, sorry family! Love you and talk to you soon.
First impressions: Everyone is so friendly! I got hugs and kisses right away. We got in the car and all the popular songs on the radio started blasting. I felt right at home. I am starting to pick up some Swahili but all of Remmy's friends speak excellent English, so there hasn't been a language barrier yet. Everyone is also much more laid back.
That being said, I am so glad I have a friend here. I have learned so much in the last 24 hours about how Tanzanians live and view their country. They have a lot of pride for their country and just seem happier overall.
My internet time is running out, but I'll write again soon with some stories and better descriptions. Also, my email is having problems loading, sorry family! Love you and talk to you soon.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Habari!
I will be traveling in Tanzania from May 17th to August 19th and hope to keep you all updated on my adventures!
I am flying in to Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania (it used to be the capital, but it is now Dodoma). From there I will take a ferry to Zanzibar for a month and then fly to Arusha, where I will stay in a small community outside of Arusha called Sakina for two months.
In Zanzibar, I will be working with Students for Students International. We will be keeping a separate blog about our work with S4Si at http://www.s4siunc.org/news_and_media/blog.
In Sakina, I will be working with Sustain Foundation (http://www.sustainfoundation.org) and keeping a blog with Sustain Foundation updates at http://sustainsakina.blogspot.com.
I will update every time I visit an internet cafe and will try to update regularly - stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)