Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Trevor in Tanzania week 6 (and a half)

Blog Number Six
Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long to get another blog online, the computers have been used heavily for programming lately as we are nearing the end of our eight weeks here. The volunteers are starting to work on the final activity reports, and throwing an event for International Women’s Day has taken up most everyone’s time. International Women’s Day was March 8, and Alysha took the lead to plan the day. The plan was to host an event at one of our partner organizations, Umati, for approximately fifty people. Youth Challenge International donated gift bags to hand out to the female participants and the group decided to fill the bags with a calendar and a nutrition guide. Each month of the calendar had an image of an influential woman from history and today. There was a write up under all of the photos as well. We arrived at Umati around 2 to set up decorations, music, chairs, a power point presentation with further information about issues women are facing in our world today, and a mural. The mural was about six feet by six feet and in the centre read International Women’s Day. There were felt pens provided, and we encouraged participants to write a message about whatever they felt the day meant for them. The mural was a great success. So many people wanted to write their message we had to add a few extra sheets of paper to the end.

The crowd came in just after three, and activities were set to start around four. We had four speakers lined up, two from local NGO’s, Donald (East African Volunteer Coordinator), and a class participant, Zhara, who is managing a women’s only sober house. Alysha was the mc for the event, and Fatma translated for her. She stood at the front of a long row of people, and addressed the crowd of approximately 100 with a media camera about two feet from her. She did a great job introducing the speakers and welcoming everyone to the special day. Other than Donald, the speeches were in Swahili, so it was difficult to understand the issues that were addressed at the event, but from what I understood, the women were able to highlight their personal experiences while promoting their NGO and the work that gets done by the women working there. The speeches finished up, volunteers handed out pieces of cake and juice, and participants were encouraged to talk amongst one another about International Women’s Day and what it means for individuals and women in general. I was really proud to be a part of such a well organized and run event.

Some of the participants of the event were students from the Department of Substance Abuse. Mostly men, they were there to support Zhara, and to further spread their message of the importance of sober houses on Zanzibar. There was a narcotics anonymous meeting that night at 7, and I was invited to attend. The students wanted me to understand what they are working toward, and were eager to show me the sober houses they have created. I accepted their invite, and for the umpteenth time here, I stepped out of my comfort zone. We walked as a group of eight through small back roads to where the meeting was being held. We passed by where the previous sober house was located, and made our way to the meeting. It was only 6:20 when I got there, so there was a lot of time to visit the people in the house and better understand the system they are currently working with in an effort to provide support and change for one another. I certainly had mixed emotions entering through the metal gated entrance. I was nervous because I wondered how they would accept a foreigner coming into their private space. I walked through the gate and time froze. Everyone turned and stared at me. I gave a small wave and said hello. I was greeted and told that I am most welcome to come into the sober house. For the next forty minutes I was basically on a tour. People were coming up to me and showing me the books they use to support members at meetings, and was directed to the many messages placed on the wall. “I can’t, but we can”, “Just for today”, and “keep it simple” were written on three separate sheets placed next to the Malcolm X poster. On the wall beside that was a large sheet with the 12 step program written on it. The house was clean, and I read the list on the wall explaining the roles and responsibilities of the participants. Group A was in charge of the kitchen, B in charge of the toilets, C health issues including taking participants to the hospital if their detox was too difficult to manage, and D was in charge of cleaning the front and back lawn areas. The schedule for the participants was strict. Monday to Friday had each hour of the day scheduled. The morning had participants spend the first hour in what was titled a “feelings session”. There were breaks through the day, but from 9 to 5, participants were expected to attend the various meetings and be 100% committed to recovery. Saturday and Sunday had meetings scheduled as well, but they are allowed to have a visitor on these two days.

I spent about 20 minutes with the program manager, Mani, and he explained further the successes and struggles the sober houses are currently facing. He said there are three currently open for men, each hosting approximately 30. There too is the sober house for women, currently with six ladies using the service. The government has done little to financially support the houses and Mani tells me that the limited money they do get is used up quickly by the rent. They pay about $1600 a year for rent and there is little money left over to provide extra services to the participants. The government will come and visit and Mani told me that the vice president of Zanzibar came to the house a few months back. I asked if there was any support given and he told me that he felt it was all talk as they haven’t seen support. The goal for aid money from the government is to open up another house, and improve resources available to the recovering attics. He worries that when the government does recognize their need for financial assistance, they will look to change the program and take control of the recovery process. Mani is really proud of running a grass roots recovery program and although he wants the financial aid, he doesn’t want outsiders having too much of a voice in their recovery. The house was three bedrooms with a small kitchen and a small living space. The front and back yards had most the space and that is where most of the participants were found. Three bedrooms for the 29 people recovering from heroine to share. I asked if there are any problems or conflict, and was quickly told they do not tolerate any violence, abusive language, arguing, or raising of voices.

The meeting lasted from 7 to 8:30 and I sat quietly observing the process. We gathered in a circle and everyone had a turn at speaking about what recovery meant for them and how far along they are with their recovery. The man running the meeting read from the Narcotics Anonymous book in English, and it was quickly translated to Swahili. Of the ninety minutes, five was in English. When it came to my place in the circle to speak, I thanked everyone for inviting me into their private space, and offered words of encouragement surrounding the areas of support they are able to provide to one another. The meeting ended and I was told that I was welcome back anytime. I asked one last question at the end of the night to Mani and that was about the success rate. I said how many people out of ten succeed, he said 3. He added, if we are lucky. But like any person in a supportive role, he took a positive attitude and reassured me that even if he helped one person recover, he was proud. I thanked him for the work he does and again thanked him for allowing me to experience the sober house.

Nassor, the man who invited me to the meeting, walked me home and on our way we stopped into the second sober house. A participant from computer class greeted me and told me that he was working just like me, a volunteer he said. I asked him how long he has been volunteering for and he said a year and a half. Participants live in the house for four months, enter a recovery program for the next four months, and then return to the sober house for a minimum of four months of volunteering. Like the first house, I was welcomed back anytime, and they were trying to set a time on the spot. I told them I have a lot of work to complete for YCI, but hope to return before I leave the island.

I have worked hard teaching computer classes, and being invited to the Sober Houses showed me the participants appreciate my effort and want me to be a part of their lives. After a long week of work, it was time for the volunteers and I to head to the north beaches on the island. A lot of the beaches look the same here, beautiful white sandy beaches with turquoise water and palm trees. This beach had all that, just that much nicer though. The sand was the softest I have ever walked on and the atmosphere was special. There was a large outdoor restaurant and a place to sign up for all sorts of water activities. I casually walked to the counter more curious about prices than interested in participating, but found myself wanting to go for a dive. The man behind the counter was from England, and he phoned the neighboring resort to see if he could organize a few people to go in the early afternoon. I left his counter and arrived back over an hour later when he had found two others to go. Thankfully, I have my PADI scuba ticket, and was able to do a dive that lasted about an hour for $65. I saw so many different fish, all more colorful than the last. There were clown fish, trumpet fish, gold fish, flute fish, and I swam up to a blue spotted sting ray. The water was very clear, and the current didn’t affect our dive one bit. Everything worked out well, and it was such a treat to explore the underwater of the Indian Ocean.

I will finish up this blog with some of the challenges and experiences we as volunteers face in Tanzania. First, I would have to say the power is a major issue. We have to always have a backup plan while teaching in case a power failure, but besides teaching, it gets so hot here without power. I can handle the darkness an outage brings, but sleeping in a room that is already 30 degrees without a fan is unbearable. Next, the food! Simply put, I struggle only eating rice and beans every day. There are other options, but not always near to where I am. My home stay does a great job at making sure food is prepared, but I eat small portions as I do not enjoy the food. Water is another issue. We must drink a lot of water to stay hydrated, but the water is boring to drink and I get fed up with the taste. Luckily, I saved all my packets of Crystal Light for the last few weeks so I have been able to get the water I need in me. The Dala Dala is another area where I step way out of my comfort zone. It is difficult to get pumped for a day at work where I walk to a bus stop in 32 degree weather, oh right, the weather, I will get to that next, but I walk to the bus and get on with the other 17 people crowded into a 12 seat van. When people have to get off, we all have to shuffle over and my original seat gets changed about four times each ride. Sometimes I start in a seat that is comfortable and one that will be easy to exit, and within three stops I am somehow in the back right corner of the bus, my least favorite spot! It gets hot in the bus, and the seats mostly have lost their cushion as I have been learning more and more how to sit on what feels like nothing more than a piece of metal. The weather, well what more can I say, it’s hot, oh, and humid. Old Spice didn’t do their high endurance challenge here, as my deodorant lasts maybe 30 minutes. The rains are coming however, so I better be careful as to what I am wishing for. I share a room with another volunteer, something that I haven’t done since Camp Laurel back in 2003. Although the language of Swahili is beautiful, I often wonder what people are talking about and if the information concerns me. I have learned some of the language, but I would recommend volunteers take a course at home before coming. Every time I leave my home I have to turn on what I call politician mode, smiling and waving to the hundreds of eyes looking at me. Every move is watched here, and often their curiosity is followed up with me being called Muzugu. There is garbage all over the roads, and what garbage that has been collected is mostly found in a pile being burned. And one last thing, the noise! There is noise pollution everywhere her. It’s difficult to think sometimes. People talk really loud, and sometimes I cannot tell the difference between people talking happily or angry. If someone wants to talk to someone, they will just shout their name until they answer. Once answered, the conversation may continue from a distance. The roads area one lane each way, but honk to pass is standard here, so there is always someone honking. The mosque will play its part in noise five times a day with the call to prayer, and people seem to play music here a lot louder than back at home. There is no one to call for a noise complaint here, but the neighbor will often play music from 6 am to midnight, and by music, I mean bass. But look, I say all this honestly not complaining just stating what it is to live here as a volunteer. I understand that I give up a lot of personal comfort and space, but it is all for a great experience. In this blog alone I spoke about participating in an International Women’s Day in a foreign country, attending a Sober House, and understanding more about the government and how support is doled out. There are sacrifices, but there are massive rewards as well. I am still happy to be here, but am also keen on coming home soon. I have reached my half way point, and in 10 days from now, I will be on the move again. I will head over to Dar Es Salaam to catch up with the tour that will ultimately take me to South Africa. I have already been offered a burger with all the fixings by one reader of my blog, and I hope more people step up and take me out for wonderful food in an air conditioned restaurant when I get back home!
I will be home in less than six weeks. I am doing as everyone is telling me and enjoying every moment as I know the time will be over quickly. Thanks for everyone who has been emailing me with words of encouragement. Ha ha ha, lucky I saved this, as I am typing, I just experienced a power outage! Better get out of the house and seek out a place with power and a fan!

As an idea of how a Dala Dala drive can go, on my way here I stopped about every 13 feet to pick someone up, and the donkey that was pulling a cart managed to get to the office before I did.

Trevor

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Trevor in Tazania, Week 5

Programming is just flying along, as we have moved past the half way point in our classes. Although I have three classes each week of both Business and Basic Co mputer, my heart lies more with the group from the Department of Substance Abuse. Monday had us back at the Zenj Clove Cafe where we gave our participant's a sheet of paper with a set of instructions. The class unfortunately had to partner up again due to a lack of functioning computers, but they were able to work together to get through the assignment. For the first time, I was not frantically running from computer to computer demonstrating how to use a mouse or open Word, but casually walked the room behind each computer ensuring the correct steps were being taken. There are still many questions, but I am learning more an more that the discovery method of teaching works best here. When I simply show a task, they will comprehend the command, but ask me the same question the next class. Now, when a question is asked, I will go over to the computer and ask them how to preform the tasks one by one. When asked, "how do I change the color of the title?", the answer is no longer shown to them rather I will ask "what do you do before changing any text in Microsoft Word?" I look on the screen and see the cursor move to highlight the text. Once it is highlighted, the cursor will move to the "A" filled with color in the Home tab, and shortly after, I notice the text change from a standard black to say blue. A smile fills their face as they realize their capabilities on the computer. They know how to work through the issues they are having on the computer, and it is important for me not to solve all their problems anymore. My confidence rises with each class that participants will be able to work together to create Word documents they want, I now just need their confidence to rise quickly as I only have three more weeks with them. We made the assignment slightly more manageable in hopes more people would finish, and it worked. Because they were able to complete the worksheet, they were smiling and I had adults coming up to me explaining how proud of themselves they were to be able to finish. Monday was a success all around, and Tuesday and Wednesday's classes were used to review the materials so that next Monday will go even smoother.

Quite the opposite approach has been working in Business Computers. Kanny and I have changed our teaching style in an attempt to have the participants become more engaged in the class. We beging the class showing all the skills we hope they can learn in Power Point for example on the projector screen, followed with an assignment sheet with everything we went over in the first 15 minutes of class. For the most part, participants in this class only need to see how the task is done once, and then enjoy spending time on their personal computers practicing the skill. This week Power Point assignments were given, and by the end of class on Wednesday, they were doing a mock slide show presentation for the class. Kanny and I stressed the importance of having each slide look professional, and it was exciting to watch a presenation with pictures, annimations, and transitions properly used. Friday was day one of Excel, and the class was used to demonstrate many of the functions used in Excel. Monday's class will have the participants copy tables and use the sort and function options.

Environmental Programming this week was very exciting. Alysha and I were invited to a remote village about a 45 minute drive from our office. We passed by hundreds of palm trees, a construction zone, even had our driver accidently hit the rooster trying to make his way across the road before arriving at the village. We were greated by the "large" and "small" leaders of the community along with about four others that were participating in environmental initatives. I walked into a building made of cement blocks about a foot high each. I counted thirteen up the wall before focusing on the tin roof supported by pieces of wood wrapped with string. There were four window size openings on the feature wall, with about a foot between each opening. No glass, screens, or anything in the window, just open air coming into the area used as the office. I took my shoes off before entering and sat on a mat layed out on the floor. An introduction demonstrated the language barrier, as the people of the village did not know enough English for us to effectively communicate. Our translator was unable to explain the concepts to us as well, so the leader handed me two pieces of paper with Swahili writing on it. They were neatly tied together through the top hole punch by a piece of fabric, and I was told to take the paper back to my office to later translate. The English words we did understand were, trees, beans, and fish. Alysha asked what did they want from us specifically, the environmental issue our translator told us was they needed to purchase a cow to transport trees from two miles away. Not exactly the programming we were hoping for, but maybe the letter will expain their needs in greater detail. Quickly, we realized this meeting was not going anywhere, and the leader asked to show us around his community instead. I discovered that "beans" was not beans, but bees. They showed us hives they had set up spread over many acres of land. The small leader put her finger to her mouth and sushed us as we neared the hive to ensure we didn't disturb the bees. As it turns out, the community relies on sales of honey to neighbouring communities. As we walked, I wondered how long it would take us to get to the river the leader mentioned where the fish are. I didn't hear any water near by, and knew the ocean was far, I was confused. We stopped at a hut however, and discovered a cement structure with four walls about five feet tall. A look inside showed about six inches of water in what was now known as a tank. The leader grabbed a stick and began stiring the dark brown muddy water. Fish began to break the surface from frustration of being stabbed at. Our translator explained how the community needs to learn more about raising fish and need to develop ways to ensure the water remains clean. He explained how the fish feed off left over rice and bread. The tank was only about three and a half feet wide by about six feet long, but we were told there are 120 fish in the tank. Don't know what we as YCI volunteers are going to support this community with in terms of environmental issues, but it was an amazing learning experience to witness how the community is living off the land while creating strategies to create a better life for themselves. After a photo and thanks all around, we were given a bottle of honey as a parting gift. Each of us were to put our finger in the ketchup shaped jar and try the honey infront of the audience of nine community members. I was thinking how I could put on my best smile and say how much I liked it regardless of the taste, but after licking the honey from my finger, I honestly was pleasently surprised as the honey was very good. We were welcomed back anytime and their smiling faces sent us on our way. Our second environmental meeting was much more structure and was at our office. The partner organization described their needs with planting trees, but welcomed our eagerness to address the issues of waste management on the island. For the sake of trying to keep this blog somewhat short, I will get into these issues more next week. It does however seem promising for YCI volunteers to bring their ideas forward to this organization in hopes of spreading further awareness and education to surrounding communities on waste management issues.

The weekend was very exciting as the volunteers and I booked a trip to Prison Island. In what I call a forty foot canoe, we slowly moved towards our destination. Powered by a 15 horsepower engine, we fought the three foot waves and only looked ahead to more white-capped waves. Our first stop was just off the coast of a really small uninhabited island. The would be 30 minute transport took closer to 50, but we got there safely. We spend just over an hour using our snorkels to view the beautiful coral reefs below. There were so many different species of fish below us it was difficult to count them all. My favorite was viewing the giant clams that would change color as I swam towards them. There were creatures which had on average 10 inch spikes from their ball like bodies, so I stayed well away from those. Their color was black, with some small areas of red, but I found them to be the most beautiful creatures in this area. From there we swam back to the boat and fought the waves again for another 30 minutes or so where I did nothing but regret not taking a Gravol. I think the others did too, as the boat ride over was VERY quite. Prison island was beautiful and filled full of history too. The island was used to keep slaves before being sent out to European countries. We explored the prison cells and saw the gate that linked the prison to the ocean. The gate was called the gate with no return, for once a person went through the gate they would be used as a slave and not be able to return to thier homeland and families. It was a sad time for us, but the history is important. Also on the island are giant turtles. We spent a lot of time feeding the turtles cabbage, and we all enjoyed our time petting their long necks. There are over one hundred turtles on the island and the oldes one was 150 years. What a great experience! The day was crazy hot, and our time and energy were done. We made it back to our island and spent the rest of the day relaxing at Stone Town cafe. Sunday was spent exploring the market, and I spend a great deal of my budget buying all sorts of interesting things from Tanzania. I have taken on the ambitious task of reading a book titled The State of Africa, written by Martin Meredith, so hopefully when I get back I will know just that much more about what is happening on this continent!. Another week down!

Next week, we are programming more for International Women's Day (March 8th) and will continue with Computer and Environmental Programming. We are realizing how fast our last three weeks will go, so we are all trying to enjoy our time together to the fullest. Thanks for reading my blog, and I miss you all very much!

Trevor