A Day of Goats

After a couple weeks in more rural parts (Pangani and a small town outside Bagamoyo) of Tanzania without internet, I'm back!  I'll be posting a lot over the next few days to talk about what we did the past 2 weeks.

For now, here's a story about the Saturday before we left on our trip.

Goat Story #1

Remember Sebastian from my first spotlight post?  This morning we rented a public bus (called a daladala) and drove over an hour to Nduruma, the village where Sebastian’s family lives, for a goat slaughter.  In Maasai culture, goat slaughters are saved for special occasions, which in this case was our visit.  The road to Nduruma was very rough, and I was glad to finally make it to the town. 

First, we went to his immediate family’s house, where his parents, sisters, son, and girlfriend live.  While the family lives in Maasai land and practices traditional Maasai customs of herding their cattle and goats around their farmland, their house was very much a middle class Tanzanian house. They had electricity and a TV in a living room with couches and chairs.  They also didn’t wear traditional Maasai clothing.  Sebastian’s sister actually lives in the US in Missouri, so his mother has visited the US before.  I’ll avoid too many details about the goat, but we did learn (and get to practice) how to skin and prepare the goat for roasting. 

While the goat was being roasted, we took an hour walk across Sebastian’s family’s farmland, looking at his crops and eventually reaching his grandmother’s Maasai boma (village compound).  His grandmother and some aunts/uncles/cousins still live in the traditional circular thatched roof homes and his grandmother wears traditional Maasai clothing.  All of his little cousins go to school, but don’t have a lot of money for supplies.  Sebastian’s family was so sweet and welcoming and allowed us to look inside the traditional Maasai homes.  All of his family spoke both Swahili, Maasai, and a little bit of English.

We then returned back to Sebastian’s family’s home and ate goat, ugali, and cucumber salad for a late lunch.  It was pretty good!  Goat is not typically my choice of meat, but I was very appreciative for the warm welcome from his family and for showing us Maasai culture.

Sebastian's family (from left to right).  Maryam (Sebastian's girlfriend), Johnson (Sebastian's son), Sebastian (in the red shirt), Lightness (sister), and his parents (on the right).

At Sebastian's grandma's house.  All of the Duke students with Sebastian's cousins and his bibi (grandma), who is sitting front and center.

Goat Story #2

After returning from Nduruma I headed over to Sakina, where my previous host family lives, for a wedding reception.  My two host sisters, Gladys and Irene, decorate for weddings, communions, etc., so they let me crash one of the weddings for which they had decorated.  I had never been to a Tanzanian wedding and had heard about the infamous goat “cake” that is brought to weddings, so I jumped at the opportunity to attend. 

I was running late, but the reception didn’t end up starting until the designated end time.  Hakuna matata, that’s Swahili time!  The chairs were all set up facing the front, so the guests were basically an audience to the bride and groom table.  The bride was Maasai, so her family was dressed in traditional Maasai clothing.  I’m not sure what ethnic group the groom was, but his family was dressed up in regular clothing. They were such a beautiful couple!  There was a DJ and master of ceremonies running the show.  Different groups of friends and family members danced up the aisles to present gifts and congratulate the bridal party. 

Then, the moment I was waiting for!  The goat cake arrived, which is actually not a cake at all, but a dead goat prepared especially for weddings.  The goat is standing up on a cart and the head is preserved, with some leaves or flowers stuffed into the mouth.  The bride and groom cut the “cake” together and feed each other pieces of goat meat.  Then they give pieces of goat to the maid of honor and best man, flower girl and ring bearer, and each of their immediate family members. 

After some more dancing up to congratulate the bride and groom, dinner was served buffet style, which included spaghetti, meat stew, orange, various vegetables, rice, etc.  Overall, a very successful wedding and successful day of goats!

The bride and groom with the goat cake!

Word of the day: mbuzi - goat

News Around Arusha - Part #2

Here is Part 2 of my annotated news list.

Moshi, Arusha ‘most clean towns’

(http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/-/22869-moshi-arusha-most-clean-towns) – This article talks about an award presented to Moshi and Arusha for being the cleanest towns.  It looks like the city is certainly headed in the right direction with a good vision, especially as Arusha is a major tourism hub for safaris and Mt. Kilimanjaro climbs as well as a city that is gaining more visibility in the East Africa region, as noted in the article.  I am glad to see that waste management is planning to be addressed.  It’s sometimes hard to find trashcans around the city and trash is disposed of by burning trash piles, so the smell of burning trash (on school grounds, side of the road, backyards, etc) pollutes the air, stings the eyes, and makes it hard to breathe.

Call on textile mills to avoid health risks, pollution -

(http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/-/23063-call-on-textile-mills-to-avoid-health-risks-pollution) – This article is about drawing attention to textile mills and the pollution they emit. I think it’s great that the country is paying attention to pollution from factories.  In my research of China’s investment in textile factories in Tanzania (Urafiki Friendship factory in Dar), I learned that worker conditions across all textile have also historically been risky, so I hope that standards for both pollution and worker safety continue to improve.  I visited the sales group at Sunflag textile mill earlier this week to get some information about producing kangas for the Duke LTP program.  I was very curious to tour around inside of the factory, which is now privately owned, and ask the workers questions about working conditions and how they manage pollution.  The textile industry was heavily developed in the 1970’s to promote industrialization in Tanzania, but in the 90’s the privatization of the industry closed down many of the textile factories, also putting many people out of a job.  Some of these factories have been revitalized, which in turn created more jobs, but also brought more pollution.  Textile factories in Tanzania most commonly make kangas, kitenges, yarns, and mosquito bed-nets.  See Tanzania’s government page on the textile industry (http://www.cotton.or.tz/index.php/textiles/tanzanias_textile_and_apparel_industry/)

Arusha hotel business networking event bears fruits -

(http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=41995) – This article is about a networking event that brought together many businessmen and community leaders to network.  In a city with high tourism and importance in the East Africa region, I think it’s cool to see an event that brings together people who can make a difference and collaborate to both help others and promote economic growth.

Nyerere Centre organizes students’ debate on integration

(http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/6079-nyerere-centre-organizes-students-debate-on-integration) – This article is about getting students involved in the debate on regional integration.  I haven’t researched the pros and cons of regional integration very closely, but I do know it is a hot topic.  However, this article caught my eye not just because the debate is engaging students from East Africa, but it really shows how Arusha is becoming a very meeting place in the East African region.  In addition, it’s so fitting that this type of debate would be held at the Nyerere Center for Peace.  Julius Nyerere, the first Tanzanian president, united all of the ethnic groups in Tanzania to promote peace, which is very much engrained in the culture here. 

TBL awards 11 ‘Safari Lager Wezeshwa’ competition winners

(http://thecitizen.co.tz/business/-/23121-tbl-awards-11-safari-lager-wezeshwa-competition-winners) – This article is about an entrepreneurship competition.  It’s great to see entrepreneurship being recognized and awarded.  I think developing countries produce some of the most amazing self-taught entrepreneurs because those without steady jobs have to be creative to earn money.  Many sell fruits that they grow, peddle goods, sell tourism services, etc.  I thought the prizes were interesting too – the article doesn’t mention whether the entrepreneurs were producers of beer.

Residents decry poor education services

(http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=42322) – Those who know me know that I could write a lot about the pros and cons of education in Tanzania.  I wanted to share this article as food for thought and will address some challenges and achievements I have seen in the schools in a future post.

Word of the day: Leo - today

News Around Arusha - Part #1

I have been reading the news around Arusha, and wanted to share an annotated list (in 2 parts) of the articles that demonstrated trends and interests in Arusha and Tanzania.  I won’t claim to be an expert on any of these topics, but I’ll use other sources to help support what I do know. 

Ex-Knicks coach to lead clinic in Arusha

http://thecitizen.co.tz/sport/-/22950-ex-knicks-coach-to-lead-clinic-in-arusha - This article is about a basketball clinic sponsored by the US embassy that was held in the stadium in Arusha.  In a very soccer (football) oriented culture, I thought it was cool to see another sport promoted here.  I’m not sure how popular basketball is here – it sounds like the US is just starting to heavily promote the sport.  I wonder whether the clinics leave basketball nets here after they leave, as these can be costly to set up.  Soccer only really needs a soccer ball (or a large avocado nut, small round ball, anything that can be kicked that’s round, etc), which is good for areas that can’t afford to set up infrastructure for other sports.  I don’t really know anything else about basketball in Tanzania, but I do know that Hasheem Thabeet is a Tanzanian player from Dar es Salaam and plays for the Portland Trail Blazers.  J

 

Brilliant music show thrills Arusha fans (http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=41866) – This article is about two Tanzanian Bongo Flava artists, AY and Mwana FA, who gave a free concert at the soccer stadium in Arusha as part of Coca Cola’s Billion Reasons to Believe in Africa campaign.  Bongo Flava is Tanzanian hip-hop started in the 90’s by a couple of Tanzanian DJs.  It has now spread to surrounding countries and we even have a station in Chicago!  Bongo Flava is played on the radio, in shops, and around the streets a lot here.  This music is extremely popular with students, especially those in secondary school.  See the Wikipedia on Bongo Flava for more on how it was developed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongo_Flava. 

For anyone interested in Coke’s “A billion reasons to believe in Africa” campaign, here’s a news article from Tanzania from a few months ago http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/biz/4507-coca-cola-launches-youth-campaign and a Coke’s youtube video commercial as well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ownqxq32bSo.

Decomposed body of person with albinism found in village (http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=42544) – This is a sad article about an albino Tanzanian that was killed in one of the Arusha neighborhoods.  I wanted to share this article because it explains an old witchcraft belief in Tanzania (and neighboring countries) that albinos (and specifically their private parts) are lucky or have magic associated with them.  Thus, witch doctors will hunt albinos and remove a limb or private body part to keep.  It is definitely a gruesome and twisted belief, and now is considered an out of date practice. 

In 2009, I had heard of albino killings occurring in more rural areas of Northern Tanzania (where witch doctors are still prevalent).  Thus, this killing in the city of Arusha is very uncharacteristic and shocking for people here.   In the past 5-10 years the Tanzanian government has been more vocal about condemning this practice and anyone caught for an albino killing can receive a death sentence here in Tanzania. 

A positive side is that schoolchildren in primary and secondary schools here specifically learn about discrimination of albinos as a negative influence on society and that it is an outdated custom.  For more on this custom and why it still occurs, see the Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_people_with_albinism and an interesting Telegraph article http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/tanzania/7687951/Seven-new-albino-killings-in-Tanzania-and-Burundi.html.

Word of the day: Habari - news

LTP Science: First Aid

I got to teach a 40 minute LTP science class at SWIFTS Primary School (a small private school)!  The class was Standard 4, which is similar to 4-5 grade.  We team taught with the teacher, Mwalimu (teacher) Collins, and did an activity on First Aid, the topic that was in Mwalimu Collins’ lesson plan.   


First we had the students give us examples of ailments that would require first aid. Some of the answers were unexpected, but the list we came up with included muscle cramps, nosebleed, burn, hiccups, broken bone, snake/scorpion bite, and heart attack.  Then, keeping with the idea of participatory learning through pictures and writing, the students split into groups and each chose an ailment.  They then worked together to come up with a story and draw 4 scenes to illustrate how someone would get the ailment and how they would use first aid to fix it.  It took some of the groups a while to get started, but their pictures turned out awesome!  We hung them up on the blackboard so everyone could see the other groups’ pictures.  One group did fainting after getting too much sun.

Students here take 13 subjects: Math, History, Geography, Science, Civics, English, Kiswahili, French, Social Studies/Lifeskills/Vocational, ICT (information and communication and technology), and sports.  Once students go to secondary school, they have some mandatory subjects and others are optional.  Many students do either an arts track or a science track in secondary school.  See the Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Tanzania#Curriculum_and_language_of_instruction for more information about the Tanzania education system.

What I continue to be impressed by is how much respect teachers get here.  Students stand up when teachers enter the room and greet teachers.  They also call teachers mwalimu or maalim (teacher), even if they are retired.  In the US, I think teachers are often undervalued, especially those in elementary and middle school education.  In Tanzania, teachers at all levels are given high respect.  I’m not sure whether it is social status, salary (they get paid relatively well compared to the average salary), the value of education, or a combination of all of these factors that has rooted this respect for teachers in the culture.  

Most students learn for the sake of learning (rather than for an end goal of getting a job in a specific career) because having educated people for the sake of improving society is very ingrained in the mainstream culture (many proverbs deal with education: education is the key to life, etc).


Word of the day: kusoma - to learn

My Favorite Things (so far)

I wanted to share some of my favorite things about being in Tanzania so far!   

1.  Savanna Dry Cider - I love trying new ciders and this one is pretty delicious.  It's made in South Africa.
2. Avocados - you can't beat 25 cents for a deliciously huge avocado
3. Mangoes - Zanzibar has some of the juiciest mangoes I've ever had, but Arusha does a pretty great job too
4. Stoney Tangawizi - manufactured by Coke, this is my favorite soda of all time, which is a strong ginger soda (try ginger ale on steroids!).  I rarely drink soda in the US, but this is just too delicious to pass up.
5. Real Tanzanian Chai - there is lots of tea that tries to mimic real Tanzanian chai (like Masala spiced tea, etc), but you really can't match the chai that is made by boiling a pot of water on a burner and adding a mixture of spices (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, etc) and lots of sugar.  You would think a tea packet with all of these spices would come close, but it really doesn't.  It's all about the preparation in the boiling pot.
6. We took a Tanzanian dance and drumming class yesterday from an expert drummer/dancer, and that was amazingly fun (see picture below of the drumming).  We learned lots of Swahili songs and dances to accompany the drumming as well.  I could take this class a few times a week if I had time.

Also, I've gotten questions about my living situation here.  When I was here in 2009, I stayed with a host family in a middle class Tanzanian home.  They had electricity, a gate around their property, an outdoor kitchen with oil powered burners on the floor (no fridge or stove/oven), a TV/DVD player, a squat toilet in an outhouse, and a bathing room next to the outhouse, where I would use a bucket of hot water to bathe.  The water came from a central tap outside, which we would boil before consuming.  We also had chickens, a cow, and some banana trees.

Here I am staying at a serviced apartments place called Kundayo Apartments.  I have my own kitchen area with a microwave, small stove, toaster, hot water heater, etc as well as a TV with cable.  I also have a sitting area, a shower, and a western toilet. See my kitchen below and my bedroom area (the mosquito net is the white mesh thing hanging from the top - at night I pull it around my bed so that it creates a little tent).

Ok, that's all for now!  Happy Sunday!

Word of the day: Ngoma - drum

Education Stakeholders Workshop - Swahili Proverbs

On Thursday and Friday, we had a workshop with school inspectors, academic officers (school administrators), and ward executive officers (administrators for specific wards, which are similar to neighborhoods).  The purpose of the workshop was to share the LTP methodology with the educational stakeholders that work with Arusha area teachers that use LTP so that the stakeholders would understand this participatory learning method.

Over the course of the two days, we did a reading photographs activity with both the stakeholders and with primary school students, a swahili proverbs activity, and an ABC project, where participants worked in groups to brainstorm words from A-Z for a specific subject (science, history, etc). and took pictures to represent these words.  The electricity went out during the ABC project (not uncommon), so they weren't able to print the pictures with the kodak photo printer and create a visual aid during the workshop.

The most interesting activity was the Swahili proverbs activity because proverbs in Tanzania are much more engrained in their culture than they are in the US.  Students learn Swahili proverbs at a very young age, both at home and in school.  Kangas, a type of fabric that many women wear in informal situations, have proverbs written on them.  The importance of proverbs in Tanzania reminds me of the 4-character sayings called chengyu's (成语) in Chinese because they deal with teaching a lesson or moral.

The picture below shows the proverb that means "unity is strength, separation is weakness".  Like all translation, not all proverbs translate perfectly into English, but the general concept is still clear.

The participants split into groups and brainstormed proverbs together.  Then they picked their favorite proverbs and took pictures with a digital camera to represent the proverb meaning.  The Duke students showed them how to use the digital camera (many had not used one before or only use them rarely) and print them using a kodak photo printer.  (All of this equipment and materials are available in Pelle's, the Tanzanian coordinator, LTP office/resource center in Arusha for teachers to check out and use in the classroom).  Then the participants pasted their pictures onto paper and wrote the proverb under them. 

It was great to see these key stakeholders get so into the LTP activities because they were able to see firsthand how participatory methods (lectures are typically more common in classrooms) can enhance learning in the classroom and encourage critical thinking, group discussion, and FUN!

Word of the day: Methali - proverb

M-Pesa and Mobile Banking

We visited a school today that teaches deaf children.  I learned a couple of Kiswahili words in swahili sign language, which is modeled after the Finnish sign language.  We will be working more at this school next month, so I will share more about deaf education in Tanzania later.  I am also learning more about different people's opinions on Tanzanian education, which is very interesting.  I hope to share some of these thoughts as I continue to gather different perspectives. 

Today, I wanted to share a mobile banking solution that was started in Kenya, but is now in Tanzania and Afghanistan and is continuing to grow.  I had heard about this solution, M-Pesa, but did not know what it was called until last night when I ate at Bigg Bites, an Indian restaurant in downtown Arusha.  (There is also a large Indian-Tanzanian population in Arusha, many of whom own restaurants or businesses and are on average more wealthy than a typical Tanzanian).

The owner was telling us how he has expanded his services to include delivery, and while some people are still getting used to the concept of food delivery, the expansion has been very easy so far because so many people can pay using M-Pesa by transferring money from their M-Pesa account to the owner's M-Pesa account.  The delivery person will not give the customer the food until the transfer is confirmed.  According to him, M-Pesa moves more money than banks and it is more convenient for the Tanzanians because they don't have to go through all of the time (apparently it can take up to 3 days for a transfer) and paperwork to receive, transfer, etc. money at a local bank. All they need is a cell phone.  Since credit cards are not popular in Tanzania and cell phones are generally affordable for most families, this is a great service for Tanzanians who can't open a bank account or don't want to spend the time filling out the paperwork in a bank.

Also, can't resist a shout out to IBM, which now operates the M-Pesa initiative for Vodafone, the Tanzanian cell phone company that is affiliated with M-Pesa.

I did some research and wanted to share some informative links:
- Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa
- Interesting article by BBC that outlines additional examples of how M-Pesa is used, primarily in Kenya  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11793290
- An Economist article with more statistics on M-Pesa in Kenya  http://www.economist.com/node/16319635
- Vodafone website with information about M-Pesa http://www.vodacom.co.tz/vodacom-m-pesa
- A white paper by IBM on its involvement with M-Pesa and mobile banking in emerging markets http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/pdf/GBW03122-USEN-02.pdf

Word of the day: simu ya mkononi - cell phone

LTP Tanzania 2012 starts tomorrow!

Tomorrow we will kickoff the 2012 LTP program by meeting the mayor of Arusha!  The Duke students will have Kiswahili lessons in the mornings over the next two weeks and will then observe classes at schools and start after school projects (which I will talk about in a later post because I am very excited about them!) at Arusha school.

I wanted to introduce some key players in the LTP program that I will be talking about over the coming months.

Katie - Katie is the awesome and enthusiastic director of the LTP program at Duke.  She has led a student group to Tanzania almost every summer since 2007 and has built great relationships with teachers and students in Arusha.

Pelee - Pelee is the coordinator of LTP in Tanzania.  He lives in Arusha and has been integral in getting the LTP program established in the Arusha area as well as getting buy-in from the Arusha education administration.  He is working on expanding the LTP program around Tanzania and has done workshops for teachers in many different cities.  Pelee taught for 34 years at a local primary school called Arusha school and is now retired. 

Omary - Omary lives in Arusha and is the head of education in Arusha.  He is very supportive of the LTP program and has been a great advocate in and around Arusha.

Fun fact: Tanzanians advise against filling up the gas tank completely because if their car gets stolen, they lose the gas they paid for AND the thieves can get farther away, reducing the chance of ever finding them.

Word of the day: Twende! - Let's go!

Spotlight #1: Sebastian's Maasai Education

Throughout the summer, I will be spotlighting people with interesting stories and conversations.  The first is that of Sebastian, one of the assistants at our guesthouse, who told us the story of how he was able to go to college.

When you talk to Tanzanians that have a college education, each one has a unique story, with a different path to success.  They all inevitably have had to overcome barriers, whether it was a quiet/safe place to study, financial limitations, or a strong network of support.  Many have creative ways of overcoming these barriers, such as entrepreneurial ventures or non-traditional paths, which often risk failure or family shame. 

For every student in college, there is a young adult the same age that didn’t have enough money to buy shoes to walk to school or had to care for a sick family member, etc., which prevented him or her from getting a post secondary education.

Sebastian told us his story about the impact of education on his life.  Sebastian is Maasai and grew up in a Maasai boma (the word for Maasai village).  Maasai don't place as much value on education because they are focused more on herding the livestock and integrating their children into the nomadic lifestyle.

However, as a little boy, Sebastian wanted to go to school.  At age 10 (3 years later than most Tanzanian children), he was allowed to go to primary school, which is free in Tanzania.  After primary school, he grew and sold fruits and vegetables to make enough money to pay for secondary school (high school), which is not free in Tanzania.  Tuition is about $20 USD per year, but with books, uniform, and additional fees, it can add up to over $200 USD.  Sebastian told us that little by little, he saved up enough money to pay for everything he needed to go to the first year of secondary school. 

To pay for his next 5 years of secondary school, Sebastian used his school breaks to work as a porter on Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Sebastian continued his porter job to pay for local college and graduated with a degree in tourism management. 

So today, how has Sebastian’s education impacted him within the local society and economy?   Some of the money Sebastian makes goes back to his boma to support his family.  Sebastian can afford to rent a small apartment outside of Arusha and use local transportation to go between work and home.  He also mentioned that while he is 31 and not married yet, he doesn’t want to marry someone just for the sake of marriage.  He is looking for a woman that is also educated and independent, which contradicts the cultural norms of marrying a young woman and having children very young.

Sebastian’s story was very inspiring and is a great example of the determination and perseverance that many people need just to get an education. 

Word of the day - Elimu (education)