A friend comes to visit...

March 24, 2010

Our week with Jordan flew by, but we were able to show Jordan so much about life in Arusha. We first took him to the village of Sambasha, which is a village that we had visited and presented to three previous times. We were able to have a small good-bye celebration with the leaders and the women’s group of Sambasha, and we were able to give the antenatal clinic of Sambasha several well needed medical supplies to help them continue their work for the village. Jordan, as a photographer, had a blast taking photos in the village, but also saw first-hand the generosity of the villagers that we have had the privilege to work with. They adorned us all with tokens of appreciation, and by the end, we all looked like real Maasai with our shukas (Maasai blankets worn as shawls) and jewelry. The most touching part of the day for me was an invitation given to Whitney and me from the leaders of Sambasha; they told us that whenever we come back, they will have jobs for us in the clinic and our own boma (Maasai house) to live in. This was such a humbling gesture, and it made me realize the relationship that we have built with these people through our work.

Jordan also wanted to go on a short safari while he was here, so we escorted him to the Serengetti and to Ngorongoro Crater. I don’t know that anyone could be so lucky on a trip as we were in the two and a half days of our trip. We saw the famous wildebeest migration in the Serengetti, the so-called “Big Five”, which included a leopard, elephants, several lions and their cubs, six black rhinos, and cape buffaloes. We also saw two cheetahs, hippos and just about anything else you could think of. Seeing the wildebeest on the Serengetti made me wonder if that was what the Great Plains used to look like when the bison roamed freely; I guess I’ll never know. My wonderful wife, a great friend, beautiful scenery, and incredible animals made this such a memorable trip.

We also took Jordan for a walking tour of Arusha to show him what we have experienced for the last 6 months. His reactions brought back memories of our first week in Arusha and how overwhelmed we felt; it made me feel like we have come a long way since we first got here, that I maybe wouldn’t have realized had Jordan not been here. The last place that we took Jordan was to the waterfall that we hiked up to a few weeks earlier. He wasn’t impressed with the difficulty of the hike, but the end result was well worth the sweat.

Our dog, Mala, got to go home with Jordan, and they both arrived safely without too much difficulty. We’re so excited that she is safe at home and waiting for us to come in another week. We were invited over for dinner by Tony and his wife, who runs the small restaurant down the street, who we have become great friends with.. We are planning on having dinner with the Simonsons before we leave, and our boss is having a small going away party for us soon. Other than that, we are just making sure that all of our loose ends are tied, finishing some last errands, and then we will be on our way home in less than a week.

0459 (The people of Sambasha made us feel like royalty that day, but even though we were dressed like Maasai by the end of the day, we still stuck out like sore thumbs. Great trip. Jordan told me that this village visit was the greatest thing he had ever experienced.)

Siku ya Wanawake (Women's Day)

11 March 2010

Three weeks now until we arrive in Denver and we are trying to use our last weeks wisely. Zach's friend, Jordan Edgcomb, arrives for a visit tomorrow and we will spend a week with him around Arusha and going on a short safari. We are excited to have him and look forward to being able to show someone first hand what we do and how we live here in Tanzania. Our last ten days will be spent trying to say goodbye and thank you to all the people who were so helpful and friendly to us during our time here!

Last week we went to dinner with a family of a friend we have back home. He married an American volunteer who was doing something similar to what Zach and I do, and they now live in Fort Collins, CO. Grandma Esther introduced us before we left thinking that Zach and I could use all the contacts we could get during our time here. We had such a great time with his family and were grateful for the connection and for being welcomed so warmly into a family and home.

We celebrated Women's Day on Monday this week. We visited a little village called Nduruma which is about 20 km outside of Arusha. There were hundreds of women there and lots of singing and dancing and speeches that stressed the importance of women's rights and empowerment. I was pleasantly surprised, also, by how many men were at the celebration and actively participating in the festivities. From my own personal observations it seems that most women here are well aware of their status and role in this culture, and are also aware of the problems with it, and yet not many women seem to be ready to put up a big fight to demand their rights and change their status. Even Mama Hindu, the director of the CWCD whose sole mission is the empowerment of women, still cannot get through her head that Zach does most of the cooking in our family and that our marriage works as a partnership, not a dictatorship. It is hopeful that the women here seem to be getting the knowledge needed to make changes to their lives, they just need to work out how these changes can be incorporated into their relationships and work places without changing the aspects of their culture that they value and want to preserve.

We are getting excited to see all you at home in the first weeks of April!

(Coming Later...internet is not working here! The picture today is from us giving wheelchair to the doctor of one of the village antenatal clincs that we visited that was incredibly under-equipped. The wheelchair was purchased with money from the Olson Family and my Grandma Chandler at home. They were extremely grateful for such a generous gift.)

Written by Whitney