The weekend of the 12th began with us volunteers taking in the Sauti za Busara Music Festival. The buzz around Zanzibar was that this music festival is one of the best put on in all of Africa, and judging from the crowds of tourists we encountered throughout StoneTown, this was true. After enjoying our dinner of Zanzibar Pizza in the night market, we arrived at a fort, where the event was being held. I walked in first and asked the man at the door the admission price for the night. He responded, “Are you from Zanzibar, or just visiting?” I thought the answer was fairly obvious, but appreciated his politeness. If I was a resident, the price was 2500 shillings, or about $1.70, as a visitor to the island, the price was 25000 shillings, or about 17 Canadian. I tried to explain that I shouldn’t have to pay the visitor price, as I confidently told him I am not just visiting, rather living and working here (everything is up for barganing here). I asked for a deal and he agreed to a two for one price. I grabbed the closet volunteer friend I could find, Alysha, and tried to bring her through the gate with me. After a hand shake that saw 25000 shillings transfer hands, we were in, half price! We entered at about 6pm and danced and enjoyed the music until midnight. We watched three bands onstage and they all put on quite a show. A variety of unique instruments were used, and the dancing was spectacular to watch. It was such a great time that we went back on Sunday and took in another few bands. My weekend was action packed with great music and new friends surrounding me, I even managed to get up on stage during the Sunday show to show off some of my dance moves. Don't worry, there is a video of that episode that I am sure I will share when I get back home!
The volunteering for YCI has been going really well, and we have reached the half way point in programming. Kanny, Fatma and I had our third practical session on Monday and challenged the participants to create an exact copy of a Word document we made for them. Their delimmas are still present, but we didn't have to show anyone how to open Word, and there wasn't any issues using the mouse either, so progress is being seen! Business computers has been a fun and interesting class to teach as well. We are learning that although the materials we are teaching are somewhat advanced, the process of teaching the professionals remains slow. Many people have brought their lap top computers to class and it is nice to have them follow our actions we put on thoverhead projector. That is when the overhead projector works, as power outages and connection problems remain an element to overcome. The class is very shy, but once we show new ways to use a program they have been using for years, they become excited and ask a lot of questions. The participants hold high positions within local NGO's and it is exciting teaching a room filled with the people that are working hard to create positive change on the island. Environmental programming has been comming along as well and Alysha and I have created a draft proposal for YCI to work with local partner organizations. We used composting as an example of how YCI volunteers would like to spread awareness and educate citizens on Zanzibar about environmental issues. We have researched the benefits of composting and have begun addressing many of the current issues surrounding waste management on the island. So many days here I find myself feeling a little off, and it is mostly because of the poor air quality. Plastics, papers, and anything that could burn gets burned here. There are days where the burning is really bad and Alysha and I are really eager to leave some programming behind that may begin to change the way in which people handle their garbage. Next Thursday, we will be visiting a few partner organizations to find out more specific environmental needs, and will determine the governments position of waste management on the island. It is really easy for me to tell people not to burn all their garbage, but it's not about telling them what not to do, it is about providing plausable alternatives and at this point I certainly don't have those answers. I do look forward to meeting the partners however, and hope to begin finding some of the answers that are desperately needed. I only have a month remaining so, for now, it's more about leaving something behind for the next group of volunteers to take to the next level.
Monday night had me with Mr. Victor, as he wanted me to call him, is Nyla's school teacher and he invited me to attend one of his night courses to interact with his students. Nyla is Damtu's daughter and lives at my homestay. Nyla wouldn't be in this class, and I was truly on my own to attend this meeting. I didn't know what I was getting into, but Mr. Victor tried to calm my nerves and helped me feel comfortable. We rode the Dala Dala together and arrived at a small language school in a nearby village. I entered the room and was greated by the class that was just getting out of session. They asked me where I was from, and then didn't waste any time getting to the more difficult questions. I was asked about the issues I saw facing Zanzibar, and was questioned about HIV and AIDS staticistics as well as why the European Union wasn't contributing enough to the development of Africa. I certainly didn't have all the answers, and selected my words very carefully. One participant, George, caught my eye. He was more of the funny guy in class, but his english was strong and he wanted to chat more with me one on one. He explained his struggles with pursuing further education, and talked about the difficulties obtaining employment on the island. He told me he was registered in the night course to learn enough english to work for a hotel in StoneTown. He told me he was lucky because he knew the owner of the language school and didn't have to pay to attend the classe. His fear was that regardless of learning english and aquiring job skills, there simply isn't many jobs for him to apply to. I enjoyed my time with him, as it seemed he has a lot of drive to do what is needed to move forward here, but he does have an uphill battle ahead. Later, I took his phone number and was able to connect him to Shaib so that he can possibly register for a basic computer course ran though YCI the next time a group of volunteers is here. He was excited for the opportunity and hopefully it will help him continue to fight for what he wants out of life. Mr. Victor ended my time with George and brought me back to the classroom that was now filled with about forty participants. He introduced me to the class and I was welcomed by having two students sing to me. The first was a boy, and he sang about half of what I thought was a hip hop song. The next was a girl, and she sang Celine Dion's Because You Love Me. She did her best, but it was a very difficult song to sing, but I appreciated the effort never-the-less. This class continued with the questions the first class had. They asked me what I truly thought of Zanzibar and questioned the education system in Canada. They wondered what history of Africa I was taught and asked a lot of questions about the support a Canadian girl would receive if she became pregnant in high school. Here, she would be expelled from school. I was questioned about condom use, and one guy in the back stated that they are just a piece of rubber that doesn't actually work. It was an overwhelming experience, but I feel that I handled myself very well. I have been struggling to know if my answers were helpful to them, but as Mr. Victor told me later, it was more important for the class to be able to ask questions, hear my accent, and mimic the english I used. These were strong young Tanzanians and although I was put in a tough situation, I learned so much about their issues and ours.
I have been enjoying myself here too, and it hasn't been all volunteering and attending meetings. Wednesday was a holiday here so we had the day completely off. I went for lunch at an Italian restaurant and enjoyed a plate of pasta. All the volunteers joined Charles and I at our homestay for the movie The Hangover, which had about 40 minutes cut out due to sensorship. Saturday the 19th was a great day as we booked a spice tour. I met a tour guide when I was at the music festival who simply named himself as Mr. Octopus. I had heard that past YCI volunteers have used his services and took his number down. He gave us a good price and he extended what would have been a 4 hour spice tour into a 7 hour trip that had us exploring a slave cave and the beach along with providing lunch at the spice tour. I took about 100 photos through the day and learned a lot about the various spices grown here on the island. The cinnamon tree was my favorite! Looking forward to our weekends ahead include an opportunity to scuba dive or snorkel, as well as taking a trip to Prison Island where slaves were once held before being sent to european and north amrican countries. There is a lot of history in Africa, both rich and poor in nature. I love the learning process I am going though here and am excited for Prision Island and all the other history lessons. Plus, there are giant turtles I will get to meet close up on the island! The beach is always beautiful and the volunteers hope to continue to explore those on the weekends as well. Only four more weekends before I lose the group though, so we are trying to pack it all in! I try my best to capture the past weeks adventures into the blog, and hope everyone is enjoying it. I miss Canada a lot, and to be honest, mostly miss the food! I will continue to take many photos and post them on Facebook or the blog when I get a chance. It takes about 20 minutes to upload a photo under the best situation, and sharing the internet with five other volunteers makes it difficult to get them online. I miss you all and thank you so much for reading my blog and supporting me!
Love, Love, Love
Trevor!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Trevor in Tanzania, week three!
Week three! I can hardly believe it!
Another week has passed and the classes are in full swing. Basic computers remains to be just that, basic, but the participants are showing much promise. On Monday, the class went to the Internet Café to have a practical session. I created an assignment for the class to work off of during their time on the computer. The questions were instructions to produce a paper on Microsoft Word that was identical to the one I had given them. Step one; write the date at the top right hand side of the page. But wait, I forgot, to get to step one, they have to know how to open a new Word document. I went around the room, as did Kanny and our local volunteer Fatma, and placed my hand over so many of theirs simply to show how the mouse works on the screen. The participants were reluctant to move the mouse quickly, but slowly warmed up to it by practicing moving the cursor on the home screen. There were more problems than just opening a word document too. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing the work for them, and stood patiently in the room that was easily 35 degrees. I look up to see at least five fans on the ceiling of which only one was turning at half power. I mentioned this to Kanny and she replied something to the effect of, “are you sure you want them on, look at the dust on them.” A closer look told me the fan blades were actually meant to be white, not the black I initially thought they were. There was a major language barrier between myself and the owner of the shop as well, and I wasn’t about to waste my time explaining personal discomfort. There are about twenty computers in the café, but today, only about twelve were working. We managed to partner up everyone, which I think helped in the long run anyways because they were able to help each other through their issues, but even then the room was crowded. I felt so sorry for one participant. He shows up first to every class including this one. The first computer he sat on was having troubles signing in, so I asked him to move to another computer. After about ten minutes of him trying, he put up his hand and asked for help opening Word. I tried, but only to discover that Word wasn’t going to work on that particular computer. Now he was moved to his third computer. When he opened word and began typing, the document took on a life of its own and wouldn’t respond to any of the commands we were trying to give it. He was only able to do a small number of things, but he took it well and is eager to learn for the next time. His example was just one of many challenges we had at the café. One computer simply turned itself off with about fifteen minutes to go; leaving two guys making great progress left just sitting there wondering how this happened. The challenges with the mouse continued for many, as there were no mouse pads, and the space to move the mouse around was very limited. For some, when the mouse on the desk ran out of space to move, they thought the cursor wouldn’t be able to move higher. I had to show them how to lift the mouse and put it back down on the table. With challenges come successes however and the class started to move forward quite well. Kanny, Fatma, and I moved around the class without a moments rest for the entire sixty minutes. Hands went up every time I made eye contact with someone and the learning process was in full swing. One man, Jackson, was able to complete the document with about ten minutes remaining in class. He then switched places with his partner on the computer and showed the new user how to move through the functions. There is a large discrepancy between the knowledge they claim to have learned during theory classes and their abilities during practical. We make it look so easy when we are teaching that they too think the process will be easy. It is not for them however, and we have already adapted our teaching style to ensure they are getting the most from every class. Practical session was yet another amazing experience here for me. I care for my class a great deal and am working hard to ensure their success.
When leaving class on Tuesday, I was invited by some of the participants to a fundraiser event that night. The cost was $50 a ticket, and it included a dinner and some entertainment. I was eager to learn so much more about the problems facing people with addictions problems on the island, and was also curious to see how the issues were being addressed. This was my chance to show my class how much I supported their recovery, while I would learn so much more about the issues affecting Zanzibar. I was told the fundraiser starts at 6:30 and put on my nicest outfit here to attend. The event was WAY richer than I thought it would be. There were government officials present, including the Minister of Health, Minister of Education, and the Minister of Tourism and Sport I believe. I was under dressed and felt it immediately. The women were wearing extravagant dresses and the press was there to document the event. Although I showed up at 6:30, no one else came until about quarter to eight. I sat nervously along the wall which overlooked the Indian Ocean. Waves crashed below me as the tide was coming in over the beautiful white sand. A student from computer class arrived, and my anxieties eased. At least now I would have someone to show me around and explain what was happening. His name is Sabri, and to be honest, a favorite class participant of mine. Sabri is the guy that enters the room and everyone wants to talk to him. That was demonstrated at the event, as Sabri was mingling with some of the higher ups immediately. He was keen to introduce me to them as well, and made me feel very comfortable being there. He explained the issues he had with the event however, and said that he felt the government officials and the people at the event were just making a business out of recovering attics and they didn’t know the real issues. He felt this way because many of them were not actively involved with their recovery process, and he felt they can’t relate to the problem. There was an open bar at the event and that seemed unfavorable to put in front of substance abuse victims as well. It is a fundraiser never the less though, and it was nice to see so many people there. I sat at the table with people from my class, as well as some other people I had the opportunity to meet. Some of them were running sober houses on the island and were proud to tell me that there are now five sober houses on the island. I took down Mani’s number, the man who runs sober house number one, and hope to get Shaib and the group of volunteers to go and do a visit of the house during our stay here. There is so much passion and energy into what these men and women are doing, and I support their efforts 100%. There is even a woman in my class who was successful in opening the first woman only sober house on the island which currently has six participants. I was able to meet the mastermind behind the sober houses as well. He was an incredible man with an incredible story. Eight years as a heroine user before quitting and trying to help so many others through recovery. He spoke to the issues so well when he addressed the large professional crowd. The table I was at was cheering and giving him words of encouragement throughout the speech, and he ended up inviting them up onstage to introduce them and tell what sober house they were involved with. Their faces lit up, and it was a proud moment for a group of people that haven’t seen many great moments lately due to their past drug habits. A moment with Sabri had me ask him where he sees his life going from here. He simply said to me, “my life is in gods hands now; I have made all the wrong choices in life, so it is time for god to show me my direction.” The twelve step program is heavily used though the sober house program, and religion is a large part of many people’s lives on the island. I hope for Sabri in the way that he rebuilds confidence enough to make great live decisions in the future.
The rest of the week went well. Business Computers started and it was very much interesting to learn the difference between business computers back home and here. The first class had us open a Word document and show the participants the uses of the header and footer. Next we showed how to properly enter a cover page, and how to insert a new page rather than hitting enter a bunch of times to get to the page below. Proper insertion of pages numbers was shown too, and the class used the full hour practicing the new commands. The next class had us go over inserting a table of contents, and how to insert citations into a document. Some of the proof reading options were covered as well.
Week two of Environmental programming continued, and Alysha and I have been learning the challenges of creating a new program for YCI. We are focused in on one particular area now, that is a composting campaign, and are looking for resources to create a proposal to hand out to the partner organizations. We are working closely with YCI and hope to continue creating a product that will be used by many volunteers here in Tanzania.
So, I am certainly starting to miss the luxuries of home. I have been rationing the Cliff bars that I brought down, and have one for every three days that I am here. They taste amazing! I have been getting more and more into the food here, and have been eating a lot more fish. A lot of the fish that shows up on the table is smaller than my pinkie finger, with the head and tail still on it. It takes some getting used to, but they are quite good when really hungry. The treats, food wise, here come sporadically, and the rice and beans have become the norm. Alysha found some cookies that are like Oreos, and I enjoyed every bite of it. They sell bottles of pop here, and drinking from one makes me feel I am living in the 1920’s. The return system here is strange. I bought a bottle of pop for 1000 TSH, or about 65 cents Canadian. That same bottle of Coke say will cost me 600 TSH, or about 40 cents, if I have a bottle to replace the one I am using. So basically I got 400 TSH as a refund. However, if I take a bottle to a store and ask for 400 TSH for it, I will get nothing. There is no return for bottles, rather replacement. Odd.
I found a pool table outside under a tarp near a local store. During my walk toward home the other day, I went over to see the action. I asked how much and was told 500 (35 cents), a game. There were four people ahead of me waiting for a game, but the crowd of about twenty wanted to see me play. I didn’t want to be rude and instead sat to watch them play. After the game was over, a man approached me and insisted I play next. I pulled out 500 and took the cue. A man came out from the background and grabbed the other stick, I had an opponent. I asked if they brought out their best, and someone told me “yes, he is very good.” I haven’t shot pool in a while, and was worried about my skill at the table. The balls were smaller, and the pockets were too. I would have to adjust my playing style to hold my own. The man wanted me to break, but I insisted he did. He didn’t make one and I started to hear people in the crowd say “Mzungu!” This means white person. They were interested in me, and I was for some reason nervous to play a game I have been playing for years. I made my first shot and felt good about it before barely missing the second. He missed, and then I missed again. Now he showed his skill, making four balls in a row before just missing a ball in the side pocket. I made three in a row to counter his effort, and the game was tight. I had a long cut into the corner pocket and knew I wouldn’t make it. For some reason I took it anyways, and the cue ball bounced off the far wall after hitting my ball, and bumped the eight ball into the side pocket. The game was over! I gave a huge smile and thanked them for the game. I wanted to win so badly and show them my skill. It was a very fun experience and one I will remember every time I shoot pool back home.
My heel has been improving every day, but I do walk with some discomfort. With each day it does get better, and I really hope I get the chance to play soccer with some locals before I go. My bigger issue was the sunburn I got from the beach on Saturday. It was the worst burn I have had in my life. It made the small burn on my back feel like nothing. I lost range of motion in my ankle because the skin became leathery and swollen. I found a tub of water and have been soaking my feet every day since Saturday. The burn has recovered with only a few blisters, and the lesson has been learned. I am not coming home with the tan I had hoped to have; it simply isn’t worth fighting against the African sun!
Receiving phone calls and emails from home has been such a treat. I am able to connect with Stephanie often, and really enjoy that support! My aunt Jackie and Uncle Stan, you might remember them from my fundraiser event at the curling club, surprised me with a call this week and it was very nice to hear from loved ones. Thanks again for all of those reading my blog and making me feel connected to home. Please post comments, and write about things you would like to know more about while I am here. I have so much to write, and try and keep it as interesting as possible for you all. I miss everyone so much and look forward to seeing everyone in two months.
Another week has passed and the classes are in full swing. Basic computers remains to be just that, basic, but the participants are showing much promise. On Monday, the class went to the Internet Café to have a practical session. I created an assignment for the class to work off of during their time on the computer. The questions were instructions to produce a paper on Microsoft Word that was identical to the one I had given them. Step one; write the date at the top right hand side of the page. But wait, I forgot, to get to step one, they have to know how to open a new Word document. I went around the room, as did Kanny and our local volunteer Fatma, and placed my hand over so many of theirs simply to show how the mouse works on the screen. The participants were reluctant to move the mouse quickly, but slowly warmed up to it by practicing moving the cursor on the home screen. There were more problems than just opening a word document too. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing the work for them, and stood patiently in the room that was easily 35 degrees. I look up to see at least five fans on the ceiling of which only one was turning at half power. I mentioned this to Kanny and she replied something to the effect of, “are you sure you want them on, look at the dust on them.” A closer look told me the fan blades were actually meant to be white, not the black I initially thought they were. There was a major language barrier between myself and the owner of the shop as well, and I wasn’t about to waste my time explaining personal discomfort. There are about twenty computers in the café, but today, only about twelve were working. We managed to partner up everyone, which I think helped in the long run anyways because they were able to help each other through their issues, but even then the room was crowded. I felt so sorry for one participant. He shows up first to every class including this one. The first computer he sat on was having troubles signing in, so I asked him to move to another computer. After about ten minutes of him trying, he put up his hand and asked for help opening Word. I tried, but only to discover that Word wasn’t going to work on that particular computer. Now he was moved to his third computer. When he opened word and began typing, the document took on a life of its own and wouldn’t respond to any of the commands we were trying to give it. He was only able to do a small number of things, but he took it well and is eager to learn for the next time. His example was just one of many challenges we had at the café. One computer simply turned itself off with about fifteen minutes to go; leaving two guys making great progress left just sitting there wondering how this happened. The challenges with the mouse continued for many, as there were no mouse pads, and the space to move the mouse around was very limited. For some, when the mouse on the desk ran out of space to move, they thought the cursor wouldn’t be able to move higher. I had to show them how to lift the mouse and put it back down on the table. With challenges come successes however and the class started to move forward quite well. Kanny, Fatma, and I moved around the class without a moments rest for the entire sixty minutes. Hands went up every time I made eye contact with someone and the learning process was in full swing. One man, Jackson, was able to complete the document with about ten minutes remaining in class. He then switched places with his partner on the computer and showed the new user how to move through the functions. There is a large discrepancy between the knowledge they claim to have learned during theory classes and their abilities during practical. We make it look so easy when we are teaching that they too think the process will be easy. It is not for them however, and we have already adapted our teaching style to ensure they are getting the most from every class. Practical session was yet another amazing experience here for me. I care for my class a great deal and am working hard to ensure their success.
When leaving class on Tuesday, I was invited by some of the participants to a fundraiser event that night. The cost was $50 a ticket, and it included a dinner and some entertainment. I was eager to learn so much more about the problems facing people with addictions problems on the island, and was also curious to see how the issues were being addressed. This was my chance to show my class how much I supported their recovery, while I would learn so much more about the issues affecting Zanzibar. I was told the fundraiser starts at 6:30 and put on my nicest outfit here to attend. The event was WAY richer than I thought it would be. There were government officials present, including the Minister of Health, Minister of Education, and the Minister of Tourism and Sport I believe. I was under dressed and felt it immediately. The women were wearing extravagant dresses and the press was there to document the event. Although I showed up at 6:30, no one else came until about quarter to eight. I sat nervously along the wall which overlooked the Indian Ocean. Waves crashed below me as the tide was coming in over the beautiful white sand. A student from computer class arrived, and my anxieties eased. At least now I would have someone to show me around and explain what was happening. His name is Sabri, and to be honest, a favorite class participant of mine. Sabri is the guy that enters the room and everyone wants to talk to him. That was demonstrated at the event, as Sabri was mingling with some of the higher ups immediately. He was keen to introduce me to them as well, and made me feel very comfortable being there. He explained the issues he had with the event however, and said that he felt the government officials and the people at the event were just making a business out of recovering attics and they didn’t know the real issues. He felt this way because many of them were not actively involved with their recovery process, and he felt they can’t relate to the problem. There was an open bar at the event and that seemed unfavorable to put in front of substance abuse victims as well. It is a fundraiser never the less though, and it was nice to see so many people there. I sat at the table with people from my class, as well as some other people I had the opportunity to meet. Some of them were running sober houses on the island and were proud to tell me that there are now five sober houses on the island. I took down Mani’s number, the man who runs sober house number one, and hope to get Shaib and the group of volunteers to go and do a visit of the house during our stay here. There is so much passion and energy into what these men and women are doing, and I support their efforts 100%. There is even a woman in my class who was successful in opening the first woman only sober house on the island which currently has six participants. I was able to meet the mastermind behind the sober houses as well. He was an incredible man with an incredible story. Eight years as a heroine user before quitting and trying to help so many others through recovery. He spoke to the issues so well when he addressed the large professional crowd. The table I was at was cheering and giving him words of encouragement throughout the speech, and he ended up inviting them up onstage to introduce them and tell what sober house they were involved with. Their faces lit up, and it was a proud moment for a group of people that haven’t seen many great moments lately due to their past drug habits. A moment with Sabri had me ask him where he sees his life going from here. He simply said to me, “my life is in gods hands now; I have made all the wrong choices in life, so it is time for god to show me my direction.” The twelve step program is heavily used though the sober house program, and religion is a large part of many people’s lives on the island. I hope for Sabri in the way that he rebuilds confidence enough to make great live decisions in the future.
The rest of the week went well. Business Computers started and it was very much interesting to learn the difference between business computers back home and here. The first class had us open a Word document and show the participants the uses of the header and footer. Next we showed how to properly enter a cover page, and how to insert a new page rather than hitting enter a bunch of times to get to the page below. Proper insertion of pages numbers was shown too, and the class used the full hour practicing the new commands. The next class had us go over inserting a table of contents, and how to insert citations into a document. Some of the proof reading options were covered as well.
Week two of Environmental programming continued, and Alysha and I have been learning the challenges of creating a new program for YCI. We are focused in on one particular area now, that is a composting campaign, and are looking for resources to create a proposal to hand out to the partner organizations. We are working closely with YCI and hope to continue creating a product that will be used by many volunteers here in Tanzania.
So, I am certainly starting to miss the luxuries of home. I have been rationing the Cliff bars that I brought down, and have one for every three days that I am here. They taste amazing! I have been getting more and more into the food here, and have been eating a lot more fish. A lot of the fish that shows up on the table is smaller than my pinkie finger, with the head and tail still on it. It takes some getting used to, but they are quite good when really hungry. The treats, food wise, here come sporadically, and the rice and beans have become the norm. Alysha found some cookies that are like Oreos, and I enjoyed every bite of it. They sell bottles of pop here, and drinking from one makes me feel I am living in the 1920’s. The return system here is strange. I bought a bottle of pop for 1000 TSH, or about 65 cents Canadian. That same bottle of Coke say will cost me 600 TSH, or about 40 cents, if I have a bottle to replace the one I am using. So basically I got 400 TSH as a refund. However, if I take a bottle to a store and ask for 400 TSH for it, I will get nothing. There is no return for bottles, rather replacement. Odd.
I found a pool table outside under a tarp near a local store. During my walk toward home the other day, I went over to see the action. I asked how much and was told 500 (35 cents), a game. There were four people ahead of me waiting for a game, but the crowd of about twenty wanted to see me play. I didn’t want to be rude and instead sat to watch them play. After the game was over, a man approached me and insisted I play next. I pulled out 500 and took the cue. A man came out from the background and grabbed the other stick, I had an opponent. I asked if they brought out their best, and someone told me “yes, he is very good.” I haven’t shot pool in a while, and was worried about my skill at the table. The balls were smaller, and the pockets were too. I would have to adjust my playing style to hold my own. The man wanted me to break, but I insisted he did. He didn’t make one and I started to hear people in the crowd say “Mzungu!” This means white person. They were interested in me, and I was for some reason nervous to play a game I have been playing for years. I made my first shot and felt good about it before barely missing the second. He missed, and then I missed again. Now he showed his skill, making four balls in a row before just missing a ball in the side pocket. I made three in a row to counter his effort, and the game was tight. I had a long cut into the corner pocket and knew I wouldn’t make it. For some reason I took it anyways, and the cue ball bounced off the far wall after hitting my ball, and bumped the eight ball into the side pocket. The game was over! I gave a huge smile and thanked them for the game. I wanted to win so badly and show them my skill. It was a very fun experience and one I will remember every time I shoot pool back home.
My heel has been improving every day, but I do walk with some discomfort. With each day it does get better, and I really hope I get the chance to play soccer with some locals before I go. My bigger issue was the sunburn I got from the beach on Saturday. It was the worst burn I have had in my life. It made the small burn on my back feel like nothing. I lost range of motion in my ankle because the skin became leathery and swollen. I found a tub of water and have been soaking my feet every day since Saturday. The burn has recovered with only a few blisters, and the lesson has been learned. I am not coming home with the tan I had hoped to have; it simply isn’t worth fighting against the African sun!
Receiving phone calls and emails from home has been such a treat. I am able to connect with Stephanie often, and really enjoy that support! My aunt Jackie and Uncle Stan, you might remember them from my fundraiser event at the curling club, surprised me with a call this week and it was very nice to hear from loved ones. Thanks again for all of those reading my blog and making me feel connected to home. Please post comments, and write about things you would like to know more about while I am here. I have so much to write, and try and keep it as interesting as possible for you all. I miss everyone so much and look forward to seeing everyone in two months.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Photos
Some boys playing at the beach
'Group lunch at the beach on the east coast of Zanzibar
Me taking in the beach
I am trying to get more photos on here, but the internet connection is weak and it takes a long time. I will try as the week continues and blogs continue.
Tanzania Week 2
Jambo! Habarni? (How are you?)
The beautiful language of Swahili is spoken in about five countries in Eastern Africa. The language originated in Tanzania, and is used in Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I have been in Tanzania for almost two weeks now and have started to pick up on words spoken in Swahili. I learned how to thank people (Asanti), and being the Canadian I am, learned how to say sorry, Poli (the i is pronounced as an e sound). With each passing day, at least one new word is entered into my vocabulary. I have learned the numbers, and after a few minutes of thinking, I can say any number between 1 and 10'000. This is helpful because most of the items I have been purchasing cost under 10'000 Shillings. On many occasions, I have had to tell the shopkeeper "Pole Pole," asking for him or her to slow down their speach in hopes of me handing over the correct amount of money.
I took my new language skills into the classroom, as programming started this week. Monday was designated to plan the week of classes and we divided ourselves up in pairs for each course. The courses we are offering here are basic english, intermediate english, basic computers, intermediate computers, business computers, a class on HIV and AIDS education, as well as programming for environment initatives. I drew the basic and business computer classes, and will work on environmental programming as well. The basic computer course runs three days a week consisting of two days of theory and one day of practical. Alysha, a volunteer from Vancouver, teaches the course on Tuesdays with me and Kanny, from Montreal, will teach on Mondays and Wednesdays. The course is offered through the Department of Substance Abuse and runs for eight weeks. The class consists of members of the community who are clean and sober and are working hard to get their lives back on track. During the first class, I asked the participants to go around the room and introduce themselves. My translator, Fatma, a twenty year old local volunteer, gave the simple instructions and around the room we went. Each and every one identified themselves followed by a title of "recovering attic." It was a moment I will never forget in my life. I introduced myself and tried to make it as clear as possible just how much I wanted to be there to help them learn computer skills. A warm Karibuni Sana followed my speach, meaning I am most welcome. Alysha, Kanny, and I prepared a pre-test for the class and did this for two reasons. First, we wanted to know their level of computer knowledge, and second, we want to compare the results of the exam from the first class to the last to track their progress. The test consisted of 23 questions. Six questions were labeling parts of the computer, the next ten were multiple choice, and the exam finished with seven matching questions. The highest mark for the class was slightly over 50% and the class average was 23%. I asked, by a show of hands, how many people have used a keyboard before? Two of the twenty two people put their hand up. We have a lot of work to do.
The second class is business computers. Kanny and I are working together on this course and we are the first YCI volunteers to run the course. The goal here is to teach the volunteers and staff of the local partner orginazations computers at a higher level. Powerpoint, Excell, Microsoft Word, and Outlook are going to be key areas of study. These people know computers, but want to know the finer points of a variety of programs and want to feel comfortable creating professional documents. The class will begin on Monday, so, for now, Kanny and I are working on a pre-test and course outline. My third job is environmental programming. Fridays at 9am, Alysha and I work together to determine what enviornmental issues Zanzibar is currently facing, and how can we create a course to teach others about awareness and the steps individuals can take to have less of an environmental impact on the island. This is a huge topic to take on, but we will work with partner organizations over the next eight weeks and try to come up with something special to leave behind. As a start, we are trying to come up with a composting campaign or education around recycling. We also hope to work with a partner organization in hopes of doing a day to clean up the local beaches.
Alright, I have to go back to the experience of teaching the students at the Department of Substance Abuse. Just to give an idea of the level we are teaching at I will highlight some of the things covered in the first week of class. First, we gave a handout with a photo of a monitor, printer, microphone, mouse, keyboard, and a disk drive on it. The first time going over the terms, the class mumbled the words and were hesitatnt to confidently say the answer. After two days of repeating the words, the entire class say the words aloud as I point to the pictures. Success! It was then time to teach a few more words: icon, cursor, start button, tower or central processing unit, and on button. We went over the keyboard and mouse and the two topics took 45 minutes to teach. I am learning the importance of patients, as it is sometimes hard for me to stand in front of the class and think did it really just take 10 minutes to expain the functions of a shift key. My expectations are high for the class however, and I will work very hard to have all the students feel comfortable turning on a computer, opening and using a Word document, the Internet, and have all the students comfortable sending and receiving emails. I mentioned to the class that one of our goals was to get everyone an email address, they began to clap, cheer, and say Asanti Sana (Thank you much). I have never imagined a life without being able to connect with family and friends at the click of a button. Our third class covered the basics of Microsoft Word. We learned how to open Word, use the keyboard to type sentences, use bold and italics, and centre text using the paragraph tab. Working with a translator slows the pace of the class down, but it is very helpful to ensure everything we are saying is understood by the class. The class is teaching me Swahili words, numbers, and colors as we go, and I try to use Swahili in my class to show them how the learning for both of us.
Friday night the group of volunteers went to Stone Town and checked out the night market. There is at least one lantern at every table, and the entire market had about 30 tables. This area had more tourists around, and we were able to meet a few Amerians who are studying at the university in Dar Es Salaam. I ate a "Zanzibar Pizza" filled with chicken, egg, and a bunch of vegetables. I also tried sugar cane juice. The sugar cane is put into a press and the man at the market turns the wheel and the juice runs down a tray into the bucket below. I had a large glass for under one dollar. I have begun to open up more about my eating habits and have now tried shark and have eaten the fish that shows up at the table as a full fish. Lots and lots of rice and beans here and I eat a lot of bread. I found a store that sells Mars bars and I have been treating myself after work to one of those. The mangos are amazingly fresh. When we cut into one there is a mess of juice. I have drank a lot of fresh juices and have stopped on many occasions to enter a restaurant type place just to sit down and have a glass of juice.
Laundry is something that I will no longer complain about when I get home. I spent two and a half hours learning how to do my first load of laundry. My homestay mother, Damtu, watched my every move and simply couldn't resist taking over the job in an effort to help me. I filled up a tub of water, put in a bunch of soap and began washing. She showed me the best technique and she was able to do a shirt in about a fifth of the time it took me. The water becomes dirty fast, so it took many refills to get the clothes washed. Then the process was repeated during the rinse. I had to mimic the washing process but without soap this time. Then, a second rinse finishing the wash process. I hung up all the clothes and hours later was able to fold and put them away. Now, I wash a shirt after I use it so that I don't have to spend hours of my weekend labouring over a bucket of laundry. Never knew how physically exhausting laundry could be.
The main religion on the island is Islamic. A great number of the population is Islamic, and there is a strong Middle Eastern influence here. Friday is the day of warship for Islamic people, much like Christians use Sundays. Every day of the week there are five calls to prayer throughout the day. The first, 5 am. I have been using earplugs at night to get a good night sleep, but often I am still awoken by the call to prayer. The Mosques become filled with men who face north to pray. The women pray from home. I am slowly learning about religion and am very much interested in learning more in the coming weeks. Throughout the day I will see people kneeling on their prayer mat thoughout the village. Work comes second to religion.
No matter where in the world I am, I want to make sure it's not all work and no play. Not only me, but the entire group was looking forward to a Saturday off. Alysha took the lead and planned a day at the beach on the east coast of the island. We hired a driver for the day and each threw in about $7. He drove us for about an hour and we arrived at a beach I have only seen in travel magazines. The warm light blue water smacked against the pure white sand. I had made it to the Indian Ocean! I dove in and played in the water like a kid for some time. I took in as much sun as I could handle, which I later found out was too much to handle as I am now burnt from head to toe, and enjoyed lunch at a restaurant on the beach. I took photos until the low battery light flashed, everything needed to be captured. The day was spectacular and provided a much needed break from the daily routine of life on the island. I learned that where I am living isn't actually called Zanzibar rather Unguja. Zanzibar is the entire collection of islands. The largest of the islands is Unguja, and the second is Pemba, a place I hope to go to soon. Apparently there is amazing scuba diving there and I hope I get a chance to try it out.
Alright, I will leave this blog with a quick story that happened to me here. I was walking from the office toward the dala dala stop when I realized I needed more credits for my phone. I entered a small business and asked for "Airtell", the provider I am using. The standoff began. She didn't understand a word I was saying and nor did I her. Long story short, I purchased 5000 Shillings worth of credit or about $3 worth just so that I could leave the store and everyone would be happy. I was looking at my useless credits when I was approached by two men. They were wearing tribal outfits and were very much interested in talking to me. They didn't speak a word of english, not a word. I didn't know this going into our conversation however, and tried my best to communicate with them. One pulled out a cell phone and pointed at my phone as if we were playing some sort of matching game. I smiled and they started talking really quickly in a language that didn't sound anything like Swahili. They pointed at the phone credits I had just purchased and for some reason I was trying to get their help using the card. I handed one card over to them and they proceeded to give me high five. I guess I just donated 1000 Shillings worth of credit. Quickly, I realized that this was where I was going to get rid of the rest of the credit and handed over the other 4000. They began dancing, laughing, and proceded to give me a lot of high fives. The situation blew my mind. The men looked to be tribal and yet had cell phones. We couldn't use words, but a connection was clearly made. They got the better end of the deal financially, but I now have a story for life. I walked into the next available store and purchaced the proper phone credits. When I was in that shop, I was again the centre of attention. I walk into a place and it goes quiet for about 30 seconds. After the silence, there is sometimes, and in this case, a sentance spoken followed by laughter. I heard the english word credit, and was thinking they were guessing my pupose in the store. I waited for the lady behind the counter to ask me if she could help me, and to satisfy the crowd, I made sure I asked specifically for credit. The people behind me all started to laugh, and I couldn't help but laugh myself. I knew they were making fun of me, but not in a mean way. After the lady gave me the cards I needed I said "Asanti Sana" and turned toward the group of youth. When they heard me attempt Swahili they began laughing again, but this time a voice spoke in english. He said, "ah, you are good." I laughed with the group and left the store. There never is a dull moment here, and that specific moment reminded me not to take everything so personally. They were having a laugh at my expence, but I was able to laugh with them and recognize the comdey in the experience. There is no room for getting my back up here against people. Everyone I have met is friendly, and we are all laughing together.
Life isn't always spectacular living in a developing country. There are many moments each day that make me very excited and happy to be here, but, on the other hand, there are moments that make me think about home. I know I have a lot of love and support there, and it helps greatly moving forward. The smaller frustrations wear off quickly however because everytime I leave the homestay or office I am being watched by so many people. The locals are very much interested in my presence, and I have to make sure that I am always smiling and saying Jambo to the children. Their smiling faces remind me why I am here and whatever small stresses I have quickly fade away. Whenever I am in a dala dala, taxi, or bus, I can look out the window to notice someone staring in my direction. When I first arrived here, it made me feel really uncomfortable. But now, I know the people are curious as to who I am, and the look is almost always now followed by a wave or a thumbs up. I catch myself laughing out loud a lot here, as it is truly a special place to be. Thanks for everyone leaving messages on the blog and to my hotmail and facebook. Everyones support means a lot to me here!
Next week I jump into the thick of programming and attend a few practical sessons with the students. Thanks for reading, I miss everyone a bunch, but am happy and safe here! Setting the alarm for 4:30 am, as I am going to try and track down a fuzzy cable channel to watch the Packers kick Pittsburg in the Super Bowl. Don't bet on it though, I am horrible at predictions!
Trevor
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Jambo (Hello), from Tanzania!
I arrived in the middle of the night between the 24/25th of January to Dar Es Salaam Airport. Instantly, I felt the heat. It was 11:30 at night and I was in a full sweat trying to fill out immigration papers. After a half an hour passed filling out forms, I sat waiting in a chair for my name to be called. A man wearing a blue millitary outfit came walking toward me. He held out my passport, showing me the photo page. "Is this you?" he asked. I thought I was about to be punished for something. Quite the opposite however, as he handed me my passport and welcomed me to his country. I skimmed the pages to ensure the stamp was there, and continued on through customs. I found my baggage and placed the first backpack on my front, and the larger of the two bags on my back. I moved through a set of doors, and stepped outside. There to greet me was Domitella, a member of the local Youth Challenge International team. She had a driver with her and the three of us went to the car, setting out for the Safari Inn for my first night. From the backseat, I had my eyes wide open taking in whatever sight I could see in the darkness. I was here, I had made it to Africa!
The room was on the thrid floor, and with each step came further anticipation of meeting the others from Youth Challenge. I came to the end of the hallway and was pointed to my room. A knock on the door had Charles, Andie, and Kanny come into the hallway to introduce themselves. I did my best to engage in conversation, but I was done. Two flights over 10 hours each, combined with flying through 11 different time zones, had me exhausted. I quickly took the mosquito net out of my bag and prepared for some much needed rest. I awoke to a generator outside the building, it was 6am. So much for catching up on sleep. I lied in bed until 9, and then got up to go for breakfast. I came downstair and met the other two girls, Alysha and Martia. Kanny handed me a phone and told me I could call my parents and tell them I arrived safely. I was then greeted by a man. He said something in his language, I noded and assumed food would follow. A bananna, tea, and two pieces of bread arrived, and I was off to a great start. From there, we repacked whatever things we used the night before and prepared for the boat trip over to Zanzibar. The taxi took us through the city streets of Dar Es Salaam, and we arrived at the ferry terminal. It was scheduled to leave at noon, a look at the clock tower told me we had 5 minutes to get on the boat. As the taxi pulled into the terminal, people began to run beside our car. They were flashing me the badge they had on, repetadly telling me they were licensed. Not knowing what that meant, or where their badges came from, I fought to get my own bag out of the trunk of the cab. We made it down the ramp and got onto the boat. The time was five after twelve. The boat was late, but I had no complaint. Shortly after we pulled out of the harbour, and were off to my new home for the next two months.
The wind was up, and our rocky boatride was over two hours after it began. Much like getting on, people were eager to take our bags off the boat. One of the members of our group had to make a payment to get her bags back, as a local carried them down the small ramp for her. A banner above read welcome to Zanzibar, and we began filling out another immigration form to become truly welcome on the island. The immigration form was identical to the one I filled out in Dar, and I wondered the purpose of this one. Zanzibar has its own President, and this was an example of how the island views itself independantly from the mainland. This process went quickly and smoothly, and we were in another taxi to our office. The island is beautiful. There are stunning views of the Indian ocean, and the people are gorgeous. Friendly faces uttered "Jambo" as we passed by, and I was eager to find out where I was going to live. I was stop two, as Marti and Andie landed the first homestay location. They are about a ten minute walk away from StoneTown, the main city on the island. My stop was a bit further away from the town, but closer to the office. We pulled away fromt he main road and went down an unpaved laneway to access our house. Charles, 22 and from Montreal, will my roomate at the homestay. We entered a large two story house, and put our things in the second floor room. Beside our room is the bathroom. We later learned the toilet doesn't flush, and have to do what Charles calls a "gravity flush" after each use. The shower isn't so much a shower as it is a tap that feeds the yellow bucket below that then becomes used to dump water over my body. The water is cold, yet refreshing in the 30 degree weather.
The rest of the week had us meeting at the office for full days of orientation. We met our staff, Donald and sorry I am spelling this really wrong, but his name is pronounced Shiebe. We also met a local volunteer nicknamed Macco. We were told the local rules to ensure our safety and success for the weeks ahead. A part of the orientation included learning how to take public transportation. The buses are called Dala Dala's, and they are best compared to early 90's Westfailias (probably spelt that wrong too) They seat about twelve legally, but I have already come to learn ten to tweleve on the bus is merely an average. Some have passed by with upwards of 25 people on board. Women hold children on their laps, and it is not uncommon to be handed a small child to hold during the ride. The bus Charles and I take from about a half of a block away from our homestay is the 507. It will go into StoneTown, but we have been using it to take us to and from the office. There is no set route for the busses however, nor is there a schedule. The 507 could end up taking sidestreets and get offcourse depending on the needs of the passengers. Donald told us that we have to plan a lot of extra time when traveling by Dala Dala, as it has happened that people can stop the bus to get off and go grab say a newspaper or supplies from a shop while the rest of the bus sits and waits. The concept of time is a lot different here. First, some clocks are set six hours ahead, and their day goes off of that clock. When scheduling a meeting, we have to determine if it is with standard time or Swahili time. Second, there isn't meeting times like there are back home. If there is a meeting for nine, I am told to bring a book, because many times the meeting wont happen until say at least 10. Charles and I learned this already one morning. We made it to the office at 8:30, or ontime, only to wait until 10 for the rest of the group to arrive. Things come up a lot here, and things take a lot longer to do than they do back home. We all learn to understand that we do our best to get to where we said we would be ontime, but we don't hold it against one another if we are late. Anyways, our first Dala Dala ride alone was nerve racking, but all went well. We were the centre of attention as people were curious about us on the bus. We make it to Barclays Bank, the office stop, and upon return, were dropped off at the Mombassa Supermarket. There are NO street names or numbers on the houses. Everything is based on reference points. Take for example where we get onto the Dala Dala, "at the stop beside the big tree."
Friday afternoon had us visit a few of the partner organizations. The Department of Substance Abuse was the first on the list. We were greeted by four employees at the office, and were provided with an overview of the work that gets done there. One man, very well dressed with a tie on, was introduced as a lawyer, and the others all had important sounding titles. These men work along side government initiatives, and were very pleased to have us there working with them. We were polietly given a bottle of water and shown around the facility. In the basement was an area where locals use for, as what we would call in Canada, their AA meetings. Locals, who have experinced problems with drugs, come together and support one another and give eachother ideas about how the future can be positive. I was told they work together to help themselves. I was introduced to four other members of the department in the basement as well. One man was identified as a Social Worker and he had such an amazing smile to see us there. Life is a lot different here for these workers. They all didn't have a computer at their desk, nor a phone to contact local support services. Of the four, three sat behind a desk with just a pad of paper and a pen on its top. Our job with this partner organization is to facilitate computer courses for people roughly between the ages of 15 and 30 that have previously had problems with substance abuse. We were told the class will have upwards of 40 participants. The second organization was the Department of Disability Affairs. This was an amazing experience to be allowed to come in and work with this department. The department began in 1985 as an NGO, and became an official government agency in 2008The department works closely with the Employment Act 11 of 2005, as well as with the Disability Act of 2006 to ensure rights of the disabled are represented in the workplace. The board of executives consists of a member from the ministry of health, ministry of education, a member from the social welfare department representing women, youth, and children, a representative from the First Presidents office of Zanzibar, a disabilities representative, a member from the Zanzibar labour orginization, and a member from the Zanzibar trade union. This is a powerful board, and it demonstrates the importance of the current issues. The department is facing many challenges however, and one of the major challenges is credibility, as the department is in the infant stages. Currently, the Employment Act states that 2% of employees must be represented by a disabled worker. I asked about the efforts of the labour orginization and the trade union and what rights these groups are working to protect or enhance. I was told me about how they are fighting to increase the number from 2%, and was made aware of the efforts the two groups put forward on these issues. I come from the union CUPE, and am facinated by what unions around the world are fighting for. It seems that the union in Zanzibar provides a large part of the accountibility for disabled rights in Zanzibar. The union and the government organization seem to be working together to help employeers recognize the issues surrounding equality in the workplace. Imagine however a community where most of the buildings are single floors, and businesses are small. A business would have to employee 49 employees before having to hire a person with a disability. There are few big businesses here, and finding work is difficult able body or not. It seems more efforts are needed in training people with disabilities so that they will be taken more seriously in the workforce, and remain competitive.
Learning about the issues that are facing Tanzania have been challenging. The issues are similar to ones in Canada, but the lack of resources and support for workers on these issues inhibit the ability to make change quickly. Over the next eight weeks, I will learn so much more about how these issues are currently being dealt with, and will do my small part with education while here. Much of what I will do here is teach English, as it is important for locals to be able to learn the language to further their careers. I really don't know much about what is truly happening here yet, but am very open to discovering the challenges facing Tanzania. I feel privilidged to be able to work with these orginizations, and only hope I can be a strong contributor to the programs. Life in Tanzania is far different from life in Canada. I am enjoying my work here so far, and the people are making this experience so wonderful. Both the staff at YCI, fellow volunteers, and community members always have smiles on thier faces. The culture here is so friendly, and unlike at home, complete strangers will take time out of their day to come over and say hello. I have really enjoyed my first week in Africa. My fractured heel has been a major challenge for me. It has been over 8 weeks now, and it should be feeling a lot better. I am however, forced to walk on it a lot more here because it isn't really easy to move around on crutches. I am making the best out of it though, and have been keeping a positive attitude. I now can understand some of the issues that I will be facing working with the department of disability affairs.
A quick idea of living on Zanzibar. The streets are packed full of people. There are cars, minivans, bikes, and motorbikes everywhere. A great percentage of the buildings are one floor, and there is no mall or movie theater. The houses are small, and made of concrete. The money is the Tanzanian Shilling and the last exchange received was 1490 tsh for 1 American dollar. What does 1500 tsh get you? Well here is an idea of how far money goes:
Lunch for seven of us, including bottles of soda for everyone - 34,400 tsh or $23. The meal included rice, beans, a protien, I had beef the girls had fish, and a soup used to pour over the rice. The meal was excellent, and underpriced at about 3 dollars each
Charles got his haircut, and was "ripped off" at a price of 5,000 tsh or about $3.33. Apparently a haircut can go for as little as 1000 tsh
A house here costs about 10,000 American dollars
A school teacher makes about $100 American a month, but a waitress at a private restaurant in StoneTown that caters to tourists makes about $200 a month and pretty well has to know someone to get a job.
The first phone calls home were really special for me. It felt like I was on a reality show and won a chance to talk to loved ones back home. I payed about 15 american and spoke for about 20 minutes in total. I do have a cell phone here, and if anyone is ambitious enough to buy a phone card back home, then you can give me a call. The best times to call me are from your local time (west coast of canada) from 7:30 am to about 10:30 am, or at night, only from 7 to 9 pm. Other than that, I am probably sleeping or busy at work. My number here, after going through calling card promts, it will ask to enter the number and this is it: 011255688688030
I miss everyone at home a great deal. I have been listening to my Ipod a lot and certain songs trigger memories of hanging out with friends back home. If you are reading this, I have probably thought of you while I am here. There is a lot of down time and time for reflection, and I have used that time to really appreciate the friendships and family I have back home. I am safe and happy here, and will try and send out a blog next weekend after an exciting week of events. Please post any questions you may have about Tanzania on the blog and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for all who made it this far reading this. I will post pictures when I can, but really it takes about 40 minutes to upload a picture.
Love,
Trevor
I arrived in the middle of the night between the 24/25th of January to Dar Es Salaam Airport. Instantly, I felt the heat. It was 11:30 at night and I was in a full sweat trying to fill out immigration papers. After a half an hour passed filling out forms, I sat waiting in a chair for my name to be called. A man wearing a blue millitary outfit came walking toward me. He held out my passport, showing me the photo page. "Is this you?" he asked. I thought I was about to be punished for something. Quite the opposite however, as he handed me my passport and welcomed me to his country. I skimmed the pages to ensure the stamp was there, and continued on through customs. I found my baggage and placed the first backpack on my front, and the larger of the two bags on my back. I moved through a set of doors, and stepped outside. There to greet me was Domitella, a member of the local Youth Challenge International team. She had a driver with her and the three of us went to the car, setting out for the Safari Inn for my first night. From the backseat, I had my eyes wide open taking in whatever sight I could see in the darkness. I was here, I had made it to Africa!
The room was on the thrid floor, and with each step came further anticipation of meeting the others from Youth Challenge. I came to the end of the hallway and was pointed to my room. A knock on the door had Charles, Andie, and Kanny come into the hallway to introduce themselves. I did my best to engage in conversation, but I was done. Two flights over 10 hours each, combined with flying through 11 different time zones, had me exhausted. I quickly took the mosquito net out of my bag and prepared for some much needed rest. I awoke to a generator outside the building, it was 6am. So much for catching up on sleep. I lied in bed until 9, and then got up to go for breakfast. I came downstair and met the other two girls, Alysha and Martia. Kanny handed me a phone and told me I could call my parents and tell them I arrived safely. I was then greeted by a man. He said something in his language, I noded and assumed food would follow. A bananna, tea, and two pieces of bread arrived, and I was off to a great start. From there, we repacked whatever things we used the night before and prepared for the boat trip over to Zanzibar. The taxi took us through the city streets of Dar Es Salaam, and we arrived at the ferry terminal. It was scheduled to leave at noon, a look at the clock tower told me we had 5 minutes to get on the boat. As the taxi pulled into the terminal, people began to run beside our car. They were flashing me the badge they had on, repetadly telling me they were licensed. Not knowing what that meant, or where their badges came from, I fought to get my own bag out of the trunk of the cab. We made it down the ramp and got onto the boat. The time was five after twelve. The boat was late, but I had no complaint. Shortly after we pulled out of the harbour, and were off to my new home for the next two months.
The wind was up, and our rocky boatride was over two hours after it began. Much like getting on, people were eager to take our bags off the boat. One of the members of our group had to make a payment to get her bags back, as a local carried them down the small ramp for her. A banner above read welcome to Zanzibar, and we began filling out another immigration form to become truly welcome on the island. The immigration form was identical to the one I filled out in Dar, and I wondered the purpose of this one. Zanzibar has its own President, and this was an example of how the island views itself independantly from the mainland. This process went quickly and smoothly, and we were in another taxi to our office. The island is beautiful. There are stunning views of the Indian ocean, and the people are gorgeous. Friendly faces uttered "Jambo" as we passed by, and I was eager to find out where I was going to live. I was stop two, as Marti and Andie landed the first homestay location. They are about a ten minute walk away from StoneTown, the main city on the island. My stop was a bit further away from the town, but closer to the office. We pulled away fromt he main road and went down an unpaved laneway to access our house. Charles, 22 and from Montreal, will my roomate at the homestay. We entered a large two story house, and put our things in the second floor room. Beside our room is the bathroom. We later learned the toilet doesn't flush, and have to do what Charles calls a "gravity flush" after each use. The shower isn't so much a shower as it is a tap that feeds the yellow bucket below that then becomes used to dump water over my body. The water is cold, yet refreshing in the 30 degree weather.
The rest of the week had us meeting at the office for full days of orientation. We met our staff, Donald and sorry I am spelling this really wrong, but his name is pronounced Shiebe. We also met a local volunteer nicknamed Macco. We were told the local rules to ensure our safety and success for the weeks ahead. A part of the orientation included learning how to take public transportation. The buses are called Dala Dala's, and they are best compared to early 90's Westfailias (probably spelt that wrong too) They seat about twelve legally, but I have already come to learn ten to tweleve on the bus is merely an average. Some have passed by with upwards of 25 people on board. Women hold children on their laps, and it is not uncommon to be handed a small child to hold during the ride. The bus Charles and I take from about a half of a block away from our homestay is the 507. It will go into StoneTown, but we have been using it to take us to and from the office. There is no set route for the busses however, nor is there a schedule. The 507 could end up taking sidestreets and get offcourse depending on the needs of the passengers. Donald told us that we have to plan a lot of extra time when traveling by Dala Dala, as it has happened that people can stop the bus to get off and go grab say a newspaper or supplies from a shop while the rest of the bus sits and waits. The concept of time is a lot different here. First, some clocks are set six hours ahead, and their day goes off of that clock. When scheduling a meeting, we have to determine if it is with standard time or Swahili time. Second, there isn't meeting times like there are back home. If there is a meeting for nine, I am told to bring a book, because many times the meeting wont happen until say at least 10. Charles and I learned this already one morning. We made it to the office at 8:30, or ontime, only to wait until 10 for the rest of the group to arrive. Things come up a lot here, and things take a lot longer to do than they do back home. We all learn to understand that we do our best to get to where we said we would be ontime, but we don't hold it against one another if we are late. Anyways, our first Dala Dala ride alone was nerve racking, but all went well. We were the centre of attention as people were curious about us on the bus. We make it to Barclays Bank, the office stop, and upon return, were dropped off at the Mombassa Supermarket. There are NO street names or numbers on the houses. Everything is based on reference points. Take for example where we get onto the Dala Dala, "at the stop beside the big tree."
Friday afternoon had us visit a few of the partner organizations. The Department of Substance Abuse was the first on the list. We were greeted by four employees at the office, and were provided with an overview of the work that gets done there. One man, very well dressed with a tie on, was introduced as a lawyer, and the others all had important sounding titles. These men work along side government initiatives, and were very pleased to have us there working with them. We were polietly given a bottle of water and shown around the facility. In the basement was an area where locals use for, as what we would call in Canada, their AA meetings. Locals, who have experinced problems with drugs, come together and support one another and give eachother ideas about how the future can be positive. I was told they work together to help themselves. I was introduced to four other members of the department in the basement as well. One man was identified as a Social Worker and he had such an amazing smile to see us there. Life is a lot different here for these workers. They all didn't have a computer at their desk, nor a phone to contact local support services. Of the four, three sat behind a desk with just a pad of paper and a pen on its top. Our job with this partner organization is to facilitate computer courses for people roughly between the ages of 15 and 30 that have previously had problems with substance abuse. We were told the class will have upwards of 40 participants. The second organization was the Department of Disability Affairs. This was an amazing experience to be allowed to come in and work with this department. The department began in 1985 as an NGO, and became an official government agency in 2008The department works closely with the Employment Act 11 of 2005, as well as with the Disability Act of 2006 to ensure rights of the disabled are represented in the workplace. The board of executives consists of a member from the ministry of health, ministry of education, a member from the social welfare department representing women, youth, and children, a representative from the First Presidents office of Zanzibar, a disabilities representative, a member from the Zanzibar labour orginization, and a member from the Zanzibar trade union. This is a powerful board, and it demonstrates the importance of the current issues. The department is facing many challenges however, and one of the major challenges is credibility, as the department is in the infant stages. Currently, the Employment Act states that 2% of employees must be represented by a disabled worker. I asked about the efforts of the labour orginization and the trade union and what rights these groups are working to protect or enhance. I was told me about how they are fighting to increase the number from 2%, and was made aware of the efforts the two groups put forward on these issues. I come from the union CUPE, and am facinated by what unions around the world are fighting for. It seems that the union in Zanzibar provides a large part of the accountibility for disabled rights in Zanzibar. The union and the government organization seem to be working together to help employeers recognize the issues surrounding equality in the workplace. Imagine however a community where most of the buildings are single floors, and businesses are small. A business would have to employee 49 employees before having to hire a person with a disability. There are few big businesses here, and finding work is difficult able body or not. It seems more efforts are needed in training people with disabilities so that they will be taken more seriously in the workforce, and remain competitive.
Learning about the issues that are facing Tanzania have been challenging. The issues are similar to ones in Canada, but the lack of resources and support for workers on these issues inhibit the ability to make change quickly. Over the next eight weeks, I will learn so much more about how these issues are currently being dealt with, and will do my small part with education while here. Much of what I will do here is teach English, as it is important for locals to be able to learn the language to further their careers. I really don't know much about what is truly happening here yet, but am very open to discovering the challenges facing Tanzania. I feel privilidged to be able to work with these orginizations, and only hope I can be a strong contributor to the programs. Life in Tanzania is far different from life in Canada. I am enjoying my work here so far, and the people are making this experience so wonderful. Both the staff at YCI, fellow volunteers, and community members always have smiles on thier faces. The culture here is so friendly, and unlike at home, complete strangers will take time out of their day to come over and say hello. I have really enjoyed my first week in Africa. My fractured heel has been a major challenge for me. It has been over 8 weeks now, and it should be feeling a lot better. I am however, forced to walk on it a lot more here because it isn't really easy to move around on crutches. I am making the best out of it though, and have been keeping a positive attitude. I now can understand some of the issues that I will be facing working with the department of disability affairs.
A quick idea of living on Zanzibar. The streets are packed full of people. There are cars, minivans, bikes, and motorbikes everywhere. A great percentage of the buildings are one floor, and there is no mall or movie theater. The houses are small, and made of concrete. The money is the Tanzanian Shilling and the last exchange received was 1490 tsh for 1 American dollar. What does 1500 tsh get you? Well here is an idea of how far money goes:
Lunch for seven of us, including bottles of soda for everyone - 34,400 tsh or $23. The meal included rice, beans, a protien, I had beef the girls had fish, and a soup used to pour over the rice. The meal was excellent, and underpriced at about 3 dollars each
Charles got his haircut, and was "ripped off" at a price of 5,000 tsh or about $3.33. Apparently a haircut can go for as little as 1000 tsh
A house here costs about 10,000 American dollars
A school teacher makes about $100 American a month, but a waitress at a private restaurant in StoneTown that caters to tourists makes about $200 a month and pretty well has to know someone to get a job.
The first phone calls home were really special for me. It felt like I was on a reality show and won a chance to talk to loved ones back home. I payed about 15 american and spoke for about 20 minutes in total. I do have a cell phone here, and if anyone is ambitious enough to buy a phone card back home, then you can give me a call. The best times to call me are from your local time (west coast of canada) from 7:30 am to about 10:30 am, or at night, only from 7 to 9 pm. Other than that, I am probably sleeping or busy at work. My number here, after going through calling card promts, it will ask to enter the number and this is it: 011255688688030
I miss everyone at home a great deal. I have been listening to my Ipod a lot and certain songs trigger memories of hanging out with friends back home. If you are reading this, I have probably thought of you while I am here. There is a lot of down time and time for reflection, and I have used that time to really appreciate the friendships and family I have back home. I am safe and happy here, and will try and send out a blog next weekend after an exciting week of events. Please post any questions you may have about Tanzania on the blog and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for all who made it this far reading this. I will post pictures when I can, but really it takes about 40 minutes to upload a picture.
Love,
Trevor
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Fundraiser
On November 20th, the Victoria Curling Club played host for my fundraising event. I worked so hard to make it happen, and for the week leading up to the event was like I was living a nightmare. I imagined no one showing up, no one bidding on the silent auction items, and not even raising enough money to cover the cost of the event! I think Jerry Michael saw that stress in me a few days before the event, as he casually reminded me that I was "just trying to be a good host." With those words I was able to calm down a bit and realize that I was just trying to make sure everyone had a good time. My efforts seemed to have payed off!! This was an event that I worked harder on than any event I have run in the past.
The only analogy I can use comes from the quote from Field of Dreams, you know the one, "If you build it they will come." With the help of Daniel Goodfellow, we built it, and more people than I could have imagined came!
Daniel and I managed to keep costs to run the event down as low as possible. My uncle Stan helped with the hall rental, Anna's friend Cris saved us money DJing, Daniel donated on the food order, and Victoria Print Press helped out with a deal on printing the tickets.
The silent auction was a huge success as well. There were 23 gifts to bid on, and every item had at least one bidder. I just want to take some time now to recognize all the sponsors to the event:
Sea Cider
Booster Juice
Cobs Bread
Panago Pizza
Ooh La La Cupcakes
Thats Hot Salon
Pharmasave
Fish Hair Salon
Safeway
Christies Pub
Shine Cafe
Silk Road
Spinnakers - Sips Bistro
Moksha Yoga
Red Robin
Leanne Chamberlain - Mary Kay
Debbie Janes - CPGA Teaching Professional
Highland Pacific Golf Course
Avril Crockatt - RMT
Jack Thame - Donations of Whale Watching Certificates
Thank you, I couldn't have done it without the sponsors. Please read the list and make sure you support the businesses that helped me!
With the night moving along smoothly, Cris Heath took the microphone and welcomed everyone to the evening. He did an amazing job throughout the night as the MC, and because of his efforts, the announcements all went smoothly.
Anna led off the speeches by highlighting her experience in Kenya, and she was able to give the audience some perspective of where their money was going to. She asked everyone to look at the drink they had in front of them. With an average $5 value, she reminded us that 8 children could see a doctor for that amount in Kenya, as children pay only .60 cents for a visit. I was very honored that Anna spoke, as she has been such a huge support and influence for me taking on this trip.
Alright, it was my turn to get on the mic. For what it is worth, I have done speeches before, a fair bit actually, but never anything like this. I wanted to tell everyone how thankful I was for them being there, and upon trying to do just that, I was able to look up and catch so many amazing faces in the crowd. This was the moment I realized how much love and support I have in my life, and it was really difficult for me to hold back the tears. After composing myself for a moment, I was able to explain how special it is for me to have a dream and a goal, and to now be able to share the dream with so many other people. My personal dream became our dream, and I will try my best to share it with everyone along the way!
The silent auction was a success, raising $925 dollars
Tickets were sold at the the door by April, who did an incredible job welcoming people all night!
The tickets were sold by donation with a suggested donation of $5. After tallying the ticket total, guests bought tickets for an average of $8 dollars a ticket! AMAZING!
My dad, Jack, did an outstanding job running a 50/50 draw as well.
He ran the total to $170, and announced for one last push to get the amount up to $100 for the winner and $100 toward the project. He was easily successful, as about 5 minutes later we were drawing for a $100 prize.
Melissa Anderson was the lucky winner of the draw!
The night turned out to be a HUGE success! After costs were covered to host the event, the money was collected and $1225 was collected to take to Africa!
I am looking forward to another post soon, as I just found out my placement in Tanzania!
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