Inspiration all around

June 1st 2012,


I can't believe it is already June! It seems like just yesterday it was January and I was desperately wishing to be in Africa with the children. We had another long and exhausting day at the orphanage although this morning we decided to take the dala-dala the whole way. It turned out to be a lot faster and less stressful as we weren't rushing to get to the orphanage "on time". I have to laugh at the whole on time comment because in Africa there isn't really a concern for being on time. Many Tanzanians are not bothered if you are 30 minutes late, or an hour late. This is just something I have not been able to get used to because in America time is of the essence and everyone is rushing back and forth all day long! I like the concept of not having to worry about the time (I've even stopped wearing a watch) but it has been hard to get used to.


At the orphanage we are the only teaching volunteers there, which was nice because that meant we got to spend the whole time in the classroom. We worked some more on the math equations and then just practiced reiterating and writing their numbers. All the children are capable of speaking and writing 1-10 but few of them know them out of order. For example, today I spent quite a bit of time just writing random numbers on the board and if I wrote 6, the answer to the next number I wrote down was automatically 7, even though I may have written a 3 on the board. After a while, the kids started to the get the hang of it so I think over time this will help them in all aspects of their learning.


Another thing we did was make name tags for all the kids, which not only helped us but they also loved it because it made them feel special. The names of the children are: Bisuni (girl), Farida (girl), Maurina (girl), Bright (girl), Hussen (boy), Vicenti (boy), Shabani (boy), Elisha (boy), Eli (boy), and Rama (boy). There are two other boys that come to class around 11:30-12 after they get out of some other kind of school not located at the orphanage. The one, Yassini, is mom's favorite and he is really really smart, and the other likes to sit in the corner and just draw (I don't know his name yet).


Bisuni is an absolute angel and she has touched my heart unlike any of the others. She is one of the younger ones (I think she is 4) but she always gets picked on. Every day we have been to the orphange she has been hit in the head by one of the classmates, today it was Rama. She cries and cries and all I can think to do is pick her up and give her attention. She is one of the few children at the orphanage who actually seems to be sad. I mean I'm sure all of the children have been through their fair share of struggles and in some way are sad but Bisuni shows her sadness a lot. At the start of play time she went to go play jump rope with all the other kids but then kind of went off to the side alone. Mom noticed her coming towards me and said "here she comes!" As soon as I looked at her she came running over to me and jumped into my lap. The biggest smile came over her face and she started playing peek-a-boo with me (something I had started with her the morning before) for about 5 minutes and she couldn't stop laughing. Then she continued to play with my giraffe necklace, and my hair, and then she was playing hide-and-seek behind me. She is just the cutest little girl I have ever met and I wish so much I could take her home with me and get her as far away from all her troubles as humanly possible. I know my expectations are high- but it's the thought that counts, right?


Shabani and Vicenti are also two of the very smart children. When we practiced our ABC's they were always the first two done. All of their letters were formed correctly and they knew which letters were which, even if I went out of order. I think the only reason I was able to keep the kids interested in doing the assignment was that when I graded each assignment they all got a "great! :)"... Apparently the kids were more interested in the smiley faces than anything else. At the end of the day all the children got one sticker each, unlike the other day where I think they each got about five haha.


 This time we didn't stay at the orphanage for lunch because Deb wanted to show us Hope Village. After lunch in Moshi we met Deb at the house and the three of us taxied to the home of Cecilia/Cessy/Cecee/Ceci (there is some controversy over how each of us spell her name) and her five children. These five children aren't her own children; rather she has taken them in as orphans. Some of the children still have their parents but come from a bad family life, while others have no family at all. For the youngest child at this home, her parents died when she was only 1 1/2 years old (she is about 4 now). The scariest part is that her mother was born in 1992... Making her one year younger than me. It is definitely scary to think that so many of these women are having children at such young ages and aren't able to care for these children.


Cessy, only 28 years old, has turned out to be an angel for these five children in more ways than one. After she graduated from college she knew she had to do something about all the orphans in Tanzania, so she bought a home and ultimately took one child from different villages around Tanzania with a promise of giving them an education, food, water, and a roof over their head. She explained to us how difficult it was to choose just five children, as she wishes she could save them all. Many of the families she visited had more than one child, so it became even harder to choose which one she would take from the home. She pays for all of their education which in shillings is a lot of money but doing the calculations it comes to about 500-800 US dollars per child each year depending on the grade level (nursery, primary, or secondary). Cessy talked about the struggles children have even making it through primary school because while their parents may be able to pay one year, they might not be able to pay the next so they miss out on a lot of information and simply aren't able to catch up. In secondary school, all the subjects are taught in English which also becomes a huge issue because all through primary school they have been taught in Swahili. Places like the orphanage that my mom and I are volunteering at are doing a good thing by teaching Swahili and English because it will prepare them for secondary school. There has been talk about teaching English as early as primary school but many of the elders disagree because it would detract from their culture.


Cessy then took us on a tour of the house, where she has three bedrooms, one for the boys, one for the girls, and one for her. The dormitories are nicer than the ones we've experienced at KOC because they have full sized mattresses with pillows and sheets. She also has a small kitchen with a little fire pit outside. One cool thing is she has about five chickens in the back hut where she gets about two eggs a day! Some of the struggles she faces are the fact that she has limited water and no electricity at all. In Shanty town the water runs to the houses through two pipes along the street and it comes on at specific times for different houses. Unfortunately the water pipe at Cessy's house was broken by a truck driver (I think) and she never even knew. She knew she wasn’t getting water at the time she is accustom to but she wasn’t sure why. When the water bill arrived she was shocked to see it was about triple the price she usually pays. Turns out the water was still coming through the pipe but was just pouring into the street for hours. You’re probably thinking “wow that’s a shame but I’m sure she was able to convince the water company that it wasn’t her fault so she shouldn’t have to pay.” Well, you’re wrong… it wasn’t her fault and she shouldn’t have to pay, but the water company didn’t care and ultimately still made her pay. Cessy barely gets by as it is, so to then have to fork over extra shillings for a problem you A) didn’t know about and B) wasn’t your fault, is just a complete shame. Since the incident she has come up with enough money to fix the one bigger pipe but still has some water running into the street on a daily basis. As for the electricity, the house is wired but it doesn’t turn on, which makes it pitch black in the house around 6:30-7pm. The children have lanterns so they are able to keep studying but usually they go to bed around 9pm because they are bored. At one time Cessy did hire someone (an “electrician” who knew someone she knew) to come and supply electricity but unfortunately the guy showed up for a few days and absconded with all the money before he finished the project. No one really knows this persons’ name and no one has been able to find him since. It’s a real shame to know that all this hard work Cessy is doing to be able to provide for these children is just being shot down every time. We have to keep in mind that these five children she is raising are still living a much better life than they ever could have imagined with their real family. Sure is might be dark around 7 and there may be days where they don’t get to shower but the fact they are all receiving an education makes it worth the struggles. Their education is what is going to hopefully keep them off the streets, where they can live a successful and rewarding life.


Mom and I have thought about the idea of volunteering at Cessy’s house after we are done teaching at the orphanage. The cost to get a taxi from Moshi to Hope Village would be 10,000tsh every day (about $6). While we know Cessy would certainly appreciate us being their every afternoon with the kids we contemplate the idea of putting that taxi money to better use. Of course we want to spend as much time as possible with the five kids, but we are also aware that they need food, water, and electricity. After about an hour after meeting, the both of us have fallen in love with the kids and of course Cessy, and she has fallen in love with us. Personally, I would love to be able to pay to have her electricity installed because I know $1000 is barely any money at all. We’ve seriously discussed the idea of fundraising the money from friends and family back home to do so. We figured that if we got 100 people to donate a minimum of $20 then this dream could be completed. I am so awestruck and inspired by Cessy’s dedication to these children and want to help in the worst way. On Monday we hope to meet with her, after we meet a friend named Luka for lunch, and really discuss with her what the best option is. I want to see if she would prefer us to spend time with the kids (which is certainly valuable here in Africa), or if she would prefer us to help with some of the expenses.


During our first power outage back at the house, and most of the night I spend a lot of time thinking about Cessy and all the amazing things I could do to help her. I hope sometime soon we can come up with a plan that will benefit her, the children, and ourselves in the best way possible. Usiku mwema…