Well, we're not in Kansas anymore, or Connecticut for that matter!Tanzania is a most wonderful place- the country is beautiful, the people are so friendly, and it is truly amazing to hear about the work that Bekka has been doing: everywhere we are greeted as “Mama Bekka” and “Baba Bekka”- followed by a stream of Swahili that we nod politely to and reply “Asante” (Thankyou). But judging from the smiles and touching and hand holding,they are only saying good things.
The hospital and orphanage here at Nkoaranga are quite amazing: on one level to see how little the people here expect,and on another to see how much they make of what little they have. No complaints, no whining, a lot of hard work and dedication, and a truly amazing communal sense in which people help each other. Much of the credit for that, I gather, is due to Nyerere, who led the country from independence, and by leadership and example, avoided the problems of despotism and internecine fighting that has plagued so many African countries.
We have spent most of our time so far at the orphanage where I have completed exams on all the children: they are a remarkably happy and healthy group- apart from the endemic malaria (2 cases) one child who appears mildly developmentally delayed and a couple with relatively mild emotional disturbance, I was not able to find any significant problems. (Testing for worms comes later!!)
The “mamas” take really good care of these children, and you can really sense the meaning of Hilary Clinton's “it takes a village” phrase.
We also got to meet Rehema- Bekka's friend and student who is applying for computer college,and for whom Bekka has been searching out sponsors (Thanks Max and Hilde!).
She is a remarkable young woman- with a lovely family who we also met. Rehema is both beautiful, charming and clearly highly intelligent in a country where women have to compete with a deeply entrenched patriarchy. She is certainly one who deserves every chance to level the field.
Guest post part two: Mom
Special report from Mama Bekka:
We're here! What a beautiful country this is – I totally understand why Bekka loves it here. The climate is, as promised, as near perfect as it gets. Situated up about 4,000 feet at the slopes of Mount Meru, we wake up to mist and cloud, overcast and about 60 degrees, perfect walking weather to wander the forest and small unpaved roads, between banana and coffee groves on the steep slopes. By late morning, the clouds burn off and it heats up to the high 70s, low 80s, and though we are here in the rainy season, we have yet to see any rain except a few showers at night (this is a problem for them, but lovely for us).
The most amazing thing about being here, though, is watching Bekka in her element at Nkoaranga Hospital and Orphanage. She is totally a rock star here – everywhere we go, adults and children alike hail her and pull her aside and hug her and there are introductions all around – in Swahili, mostly. Bekka's Swahili sounds pretty darn fluent to me, though she insists it's not very grammatical. In any case, watching her haggle on our behalf at the Maasai Market is a sight to behold! We have been greeted as royalty here, with everyone hugging us when they find out we are Mama and Baba Bekka (adults are addressed according to their children, here). We have been invited out to barbecues and lunches and dinners and treated to wonderful Tanzanian hospitality, and told how much of a difference Bekka and her well project and her chicken coop and her garden and all the medical supplies and laptops we brought have made to the well-being of this entire area. We make clear – as we did when presenting all our supplies to the orphanage and hospital staff – that many people made this possible, and we once again thank all of you for making this miracle possible for this small corner of Africa.
And the children! They are beautiful, happy, and well cared for. Despite the poverty and their dire beginnings, these children are doing extremely well. David, along with Bekka, several British volunteers and a couple of British medical students, did a well-baby check on every single child at the orphanage, and though two babies had fevers and were rapidly brought down to the hospital, where they were diagnosed and treated for malaria (all better already), most of the children were remarkably healthy, according to David. They are uniformly small and below the optimal size on the growth chart, but in every other way are healthy and developmentally appropriate. They are cheerful and affectionate, and the “mamas” take wonderful care of them. We have decided to set up a special fund to supplement the salaries of the staff here, all women who take home between 40 and 90 dollars a month (!) and work long hours at a difficult job. They truly are heroic. Photos below of us with kids, etc. Believe it or not, I (Dot) spent many hours with children clinging to me and sitting on my lap, and actually enjoyed it. Have particularly formed bonds with Dianess, who chose me as her exclusive territory, and Eriki, whose boo-boo on his arm required my magical “Heile, heile sage” formula learned from my Dutch mother. Go figure. We also took three of the toddlers (Bekka's Zawadi, Simoni and Maurin) on a day trip to Arusha National Park (local), where we saw zebras, giraffes, water buffalo, baboons, colubus monkey, flamingos, and much more. This weekend we go on a two-day trip to Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater. What a country....
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| Mom, Dianess and Tumaini |
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| Dad at Arusha National Park with Simoni |
Another highlight was last night meeting Rehema, the young woman who was Bekka's jewelry student who we and my pa rents are sponsoring to send to university to learn computer science. She is beautiful (see photo) and so smart – with only one year of training, she learned to speak excellent English and French (we used both) and is apparently Bekka's best jewelry student. She wants to be a web designer eventually and we plan to help her reach that goal. We went to a local restaurant and enjoyed “chips mei-ei” which I always hear as “chips my eye”, the national dish of french fries in an omelet. It sounds strange but is delicious. We also had beef with uji, a wheat paste mixture resembling grits, which you eat with your hands. Another delicious dish, with the waiter bringing over a pitcher of water so we could wash our hands before and after eating. When we dropped Rehema off, we met her whole family – she lives with her aunt and uncle and four cousins she calls brothers and sisters, since she has lived with them since she was three years old. Her brother Good Luck (love the names here – they all embody a hope for their children) is a taxi driver and has rented us his very nice car for two weeks so that we can get around independently. David is handling the roads deftly, re-learning driving on the left.
Later today we will have lunch with the local shopkeeper whose son, Ezra, goes to the morning school at the orphanage. We are going to ask his wife to cook up a meal for next Monday, when we are having a Passover seder with about 15 people – no way to cook a meal like this in Bekka's kitchen with three burners and a toaster oven.
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| Ezra and his Baba |
Tomorrow we go out with the palliative care team and will report back. Meanwhile, we hope all is well with all of you. We can't get any news here and our American phones don't seem to be working, though Bekka's phone (203)379-7128 does work and receives text messages. Thank you Ruth for the spare AT&T phone, which has revived her ability to stay in contact through her American number.
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| Lots of love from the kids! |
More to come: Safari, clinic, donations, etc.
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It has now been almost two months since I returned to Nkoaranga Orphanage for Christmas and I still think about it every single day. It was, most definitely, the strangest Christmas I have ever had, but returning to Tanzania, was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
