On Wednesday, Susan, Gudila, Mary, and I started our three-day tour visiting 4-H clubs in some of the rural villages in Tanzania. The Tanzania 4-H program has been an incredible success for its participants. Part of our job is to assess and document the success of these clubs so other African countries such as Uganda, Ghana, The Gambia, and Kenya can model their 4-H programs after 4-H Tanzania.
We hired a driver with a 4-wheel drive vehicle to take us to these villages because there are no paved roads outside the city. Wednesday morning began with a short one-hour drive to the village of Muheza. The first club we visited was an out-of-school club for women. We met with the women and their advisors in the home of a club member. Susan was our translator because most people speak very little English. 4-H has had an incredible impact on the lives of these women. Most of them make clothing and food to sell. Many women across the country find themselves engaging in risky behaviors. Because of 4-H, these women have learned the value and importance of their health and the choices they make. All the women are single mothers who have only completed school up to 7th grade. 4-H has taught these women how to be successful business women who can provide a living for their families. Many of the women are able to send their children to school with money earned using the skills they learned through 4-H. One of the women heard that I like to sing, so the club sang a special song in their native tongue for me.
After meeting with the women, we visited a primary school club. The children were so excited to see a mzungu (white person). From the minute we stepped out of the van, the children looked at me because of my white skin. We spoke with several of the children to learn what they enjoy about 4-H. Most of the children said they had gained confidence and had become self-reliant because of the lessons they learned in their club. As we were getting ready to leave I took some pictures of the children. They were so excited to have their picture taken. All the children tried to squeeze into the picture and cheered as it was taken. As we drove away, the children ran alongside the van waving goodbye.
After our afternoon in Muheza, we drove five hours to Lushoto, a rural village in the hills. The area was incredibly beautiful with hills covered in lush green vegetation and tropical plants. There were waterfalls and rivers running between the valleys. Lushoto is at a higher elevation so the climate is very different. Susan and Gudila brought their coats because to them it was very cold. The temperature was comfortable in the mid-60's. We spent the night at a nice hotel that had hot water!
The next day, we visited two primary school 4-H clubs in Lushoto. The children sang their 4-H pledge for us as we walked in. After Mary spoke with them, I taught them all a song. I started to teach them "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," but they already knew it. So I taught them "The More We Get Together." After teaching them the English words, they sang the song in a round several times. I brought a number of 4-H gifts including frisbees, pencils, stickers, pins, wooden airplanes, and bracelets. The children were excited when I handed out some gifts before we left.
As we arrived at the second school, the children lined up and sang for us as we walked passed. Mary spoke with the children and I taught them a song again. Afterwards, I distributed a few gifts and the children went wild. Every child came up to shake my hand and say "thank you" before they left.
After our two club visits we had another four-hour drive to the city of Moshi. The city of Moshi lies in the region near Mt. Kilimanjaro. It's a 45-minute drive from the town of Arusha, which is one of the most popular and busiest tourist destinations in Tanzania.
After being woken up at 5:00 am for the Call to Prayer at the many mosques in Moshi, I began getting ready for our club visits. The club visits in Moshi were visits to rural Moshi schools. When I say rural, I mean a one-hour drive into the middle of nowhere on unpaved roads that are barely wide enough for a car. Our journey into these rural villages was more of an off-roading experience. There were several times when our car was leaning at a 30 degree angle while going over a three-foot gap in the road. To put this in perspective, Africans call this kind of travel an "African massage."
On the way to our first school, we drove through a village market. I have never seen so many bananas in my life. Hundreds of women were carrying banana bunches on their heads to take to the market. The market itself had literally thousands of banana bunches piled 15 feet high. I'm just going to throw this out there and say I think this village is the banana capital of Tanzania.
Our first visit of the day was to a primary school. The children were in the middle of exams so we did not have time to talk to any children, but we spent time walking around the school. Although it was a rural school, it was the most beautiful school we visited. The pathways were lined with flowers and tropical plants that added color to the already lush scenery.
Our second visit was even deeper into the remote middle of nowhere. However, once we arrived, it was a very beautiful tropical area. The club is situated at the Murango Waterfalls, which is a popular tourist area. One of the activities of this unique club is to help with the tourism of this area. The club members and their advisor gave us a tour and took us down to the falls. The cool water from the falls flows from Mount Kilimanjaro. After visiting the falls we had lunch and again collected information from the club members about their 4-H involvement and success.
After speaking with the teenagers, we trekked back through the middle of nowhere on the clay roads with rather large gaps every five feet. We drove back to the town of Moshi to take Mary back to her hotel. We left her in Moshi because her return flight home on Saturday. Susan, Gudila, our two car drivers, and I began our eight hour adventure back to Tanga. Do not worry though, these roads were paved!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We hired a driver with a 4-wheel drive vehicle to take us to these villages because there are no paved roads outside the city. Wednesday morning began with a short one-hour drive to the village of Muheza. The first club we visited was an out-of-school club for women. We met with the women and their advisors in the home of a club member. Susan was our translator because most people speak very little English. 4-H has had an incredible impact on the lives of these women. Most of them make clothing and food to sell. Many women across the country find themselves engaging in risky behaviors. Because of 4-H, these women have learned the value and importance of their health and the choices they make. All the women are single mothers who have only completed school up to 7th grade. 4-H has taught these women how to be successful business women who can provide a living for their families. Many of the women are able to send their children to school with money earned using the skills they learned through 4-H. One of the women heard that I like to sing, so the club sang a special song in their native tongue for me.
After meeting with the women, we visited a primary school club. The children were so excited to see a mzungu (white person). From the minute we stepped out of the van, the children looked at me because of my white skin. We spoke with several of the children to learn what they enjoy about 4-H. Most of the children said they had gained confidence and had become self-reliant because of the lessons they learned in their club. As we were getting ready to leave I took some pictures of the children. They were so excited to have their picture taken. All the children tried to squeeze into the picture and cheered as it was taken. As we drove away, the children ran alongside the van waving goodbye.
After our afternoon in Muheza, we drove five hours to Lushoto, a rural village in the hills. The area was incredibly beautiful with hills covered in lush green vegetation and tropical plants. There were waterfalls and rivers running between the valleys. Lushoto is at a higher elevation so the climate is very different. Susan and Gudila brought their coats because to them it was very cold. The temperature was comfortable in the mid-60's. We spent the night at a nice hotel that had hot water!
The next day, we visited two primary school 4-H clubs in Lushoto. The children sang their 4-H pledge for us as we walked in. After Mary spoke with them, I taught them all a song. I started to teach them "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," but they already knew it. So I taught them "The More We Get Together." After teaching them the English words, they sang the song in a round several times. I brought a number of 4-H gifts including frisbees, pencils, stickers, pins, wooden airplanes, and bracelets. The children were excited when I handed out some gifts before we left.
As we arrived at the second school, the children lined up and sang for us as we walked passed. Mary spoke with the children and I taught them a song again. Afterwards, I distributed a few gifts and the children went wild. Every child came up to shake my hand and say "thank you" before they left.
After our two club visits we had another four-hour drive to the city of Moshi. The city of Moshi lies in the region near Mt. Kilimanjaro. It's a 45-minute drive from the town of Arusha, which is one of the most popular and busiest tourist destinations in Tanzania.
After being woken up at 5:00 am for the Call to Prayer at the many mosques in Moshi, I began getting ready for our club visits. The club visits in Moshi were visits to rural Moshi schools. When I say rural, I mean a one-hour drive into the middle of nowhere on unpaved roads that are barely wide enough for a car. Our journey into these rural villages was more of an off-roading experience. There were several times when our car was leaning at a 30 degree angle while going over a three-foot gap in the road. To put this in perspective, Africans call this kind of travel an "African massage."
On the way to our first school, we drove through a village market. I have never seen so many bananas in my life. Hundreds of women were carrying banana bunches on their heads to take to the market. The market itself had literally thousands of banana bunches piled 15 feet high. I'm just going to throw this out there and say I think this village is the banana capital of Tanzania.
Our first visit of the day was to a primary school. The children were in the middle of exams so we did not have time to talk to any children, but we spent time walking around the school. Although it was a rural school, it was the most beautiful school we visited. The pathways were lined with flowers and tropical plants that added color to the already lush scenery.
Our second visit was even deeper into the remote middle of nowhere. However, once we arrived, it was a very beautiful tropical area. The club is situated at the Murango Waterfalls, which is a popular tourist area. One of the activities of this unique club is to help with the tourism of this area. The club members and their advisor gave us a tour and took us down to the falls. The cool water from the falls flows from Mount Kilimanjaro. After visiting the falls we had lunch and again collected information from the club members about their 4-H involvement and success.
After speaking with the teenagers, we trekked back through the middle of nowhere on the clay roads with rather large gaps every five feet. We drove back to the town of Moshi to take Mary back to her hotel. We left her in Moshi because her return flight home on Saturday. Susan, Gudila, our two car drivers, and I began our eight hour adventure back to Tanga. Do not worry though, these roads were paved!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment