The Students

The most compelling reason I volunteer at GHTA again and again is the students.  The women I meet, and it is the same each time I come, are incredible.  They are smart, hard-working, ambitious, and brave.  The obstacles they face in their daily lives are things most of us who live in North America or Europe would not be able to imagine.  Yet they come to school each day with a smile on their face and a willingness to learn so that they may have a small chance for a better life.

The students are taught English, Business, and Vocations. They are divided into 3 Groups and rotate through the classes each week.  I am teaching Vocations/Math. The Vocations class is 3 hours long and during the first hour the students get a refresher course in basic math skills.  Many of the women’s educational level is Standard 7.  It is the equivalent of finishing school in the sixth grade.

Here are some pictures of the women in the Vocations class.  They are learning to make beaded jewelry, earrings in this case, and they are enjoying themselves.  There is a small market for beaded items at local gift shops here in Moshi.  Unfortunately, the tourist industry is suffering in this area as not as many people are traveling to Africa as did in the past.

This is Joyce. She is 47 years old and has 5 children.  She is often seen holding one of the younger student's babies.  The students are allowed to bring their children to school and they are looked after by Mary, a former student.  

 The woman with the cast on her arm is Ester. She is 24 years old with 2 children.  She broke her wrist on one of the first days of school and has yet to miss a day of class.

The woman in front in the black shirt is Neema.  The woman to her left (you can only see her hands) is also Neema. And the woman behind her in red is named Neema.  There is also another Neema who is not in the picture.  There are over 50 students and the struggle to remember everyone's name is real!

The woman in front in the beautiful African outfit is Miriam. Some of the women, especially the younger ones like Edna in the striped shirt, wear clothing we would expect to see at home.  The older women are more likely to come to school in more traditional Tanzanian clothes.  Some of them switch from day to day.  

This is Levina.  She has a 1 1/2 year old son named Brian who comes to school with her.

This is Pendo.  She is 41 years old and has 2 children.  She told me the last time she was in school was 1994.  She is struggling a bit with Math so she willingly stays after school to get extra help every day she can. She is an incredibly hard worker and sweet as can be.

This is Rayness.  She is 24 years old and has a 6 year old daughter. She is outgoing, charming, and has an incredible positive attitude. She is often seen taking a selfie!   

L to R, Zuwena, Tausi, and Bahati. These are the teacher/translators (not students) learning how to type for the first time.  They do not own laptops (a luxury the majority of Tanzanians would never be able to afford) so they are using a GHTA admin laptop and a couple that belong to the volunteers.  We downloaded a free typing program and helped them get going. They loved it. They were smiling and giggling, and having a wonderful time.  

What to Eat

This is my fourth time visiting Tanzania and each time, before I leave home, I get asked the same question: "What do you eat when you are there?"

At the Volunteer House from Sunday to Friday evenings, dinner is made for us by the lovely Magreth, who is also the Assistant General Manager of GHTA.

Magreth and me.  

Magreth making dinner.  And yes, this is how she looks, always dressed beautifully.

On Saturday nights, we go out to eat at a local restaurant.  There are many and you can get anything from wood fired pizza to Thai food to Middle Eastern food to cheeseburgers.  We make our own breakfasts and lunches from what we buy locally.

There are no huge supermarkets here in Moshi but there are several small grocery stores about the size of a dollar store.  They stock most staples but not fresh items like fruits and vegetables.  There is a large outdoor market the locals use where you can buy fresh meat and every possible kind of fruit and vegetable.  Most Westerners (generally people from Europe and North America) shop the grocery stores and small fruit/vegetable stands you find on the side of the road all over the downtown.  You can get cheese, pasta, rice, wine (South African wine is wonderful), crackers, cereal, jam, etc.

Baby bananas, they taste like our bananas, just smaller

Happy Belly Peanut Butter is yummy, just ground peanuts like I make at home.

You can find plain and flavored yogurt, only difference is the spelling.

Avocados and plum tomatoes are plentiful.  Muesli in the background, great on yogurt or as cereal.

The grocery stores offer fresh baked bread.

The coffee is instant but so much better than American"instant" coffee. Watermelon in the background.

This is an African orange, and yes it is green.  When you slice it open it looks just like we expect an orange to look like.

Lots of tea options

Africans as well as many other people in the world do not refrigerate their eggs.  These eggs come from one of our former students, Lusarie, who coated them in flour so when she carried them from her village to town they would be cushioned. Smart woman!

A Hike on Mount Kilimanjaro

We did a one day climb on Mount Kilimanjaro last Friday, we went to the first gate and returned.  It was about 15 miles round trip and took about 6 hours.  There are 7 different routes climbers can take and the one we took was called Marangu. You cannot climb Mount Kilimanjaro without a guide and we had 2, Deo and Thomas. The climb is pretty steep and the path is full of tree roots and rocks so you have to keep your eyes on your feet at all times.  There was also off and on rain so the path was slippery and muddy in places.  It was a great experience!

Before we started: Monika, me, Ashley, Jennifer, and Lisa

Let the climb begin

The part we hiked was mostly rain forest.  It was beautiful.

Lots of waterfalls

Taking pictures of us taking their picture:  Deo (one of our guides), Lisa, a trainee guide whose name I can't spell, Monika, and John

A small but lovely waterfall

A beautiful and colorful flower called a Fireball Lily.

Me and Thomas (one of our guides)

At the top

Random and Unusual Sights Around Moshi

While trying to get in all our daily Fitbit steps, Monika, Jenny, and I have been walking around the neighborhood as much as possible.  The photos below are some things we encountered on our walks. 

 These are bajajis, the newest way to get around Moshi.  They are similar to a Tuktuk you would find in Southeast Asia and they are everywhere!  They are a cheaper alternative to a taxi as the cost for a trip from town to the volunteer house  (we take them when we have a lot of groceries and it is hot, hot, hot!) would be about $2 for a taxi and only 75 cents for a bajaji.  Riding in one of them can be both fun and terrifying. 

Two bajajis parked on the side of the road.

The amazing woman in the photo below is walking home from a long day of work with a large cooler balanced on her head, a baby strapped to her back, and carrying a full bucket.  The small boy trailing behind is also hers.  The women in Tanzania work incredibly hard to support their families.  

Woman walking home with cooler on her head, baby, bucket, and small child in tow.

Goats are all over Moshi.  We see them on our walks, we see them on our next door neighbor's roof, but there is nothing worse than  listening to a lonely goat moaning for his girlfriend for hours in the middle of the night. And I won't even mention the roosters!

The first time I was in Moshi I saw a sign for a Beauty "Saloon" and I thought it was an unfortunate typo.  Then I overheard some students talking about starting a business by opening a saloon.  My worst fear was realized.  The word "Salon" had somehow been translated to Swahili as "Saloon".

Team Building and Trust Exercises

Today at school the new Give A Heart To Africa students participated in team building and trust exercises.  Most of the women who come to the school do not know each other so it is a good way for them to become more comfortable with each other. 

As a volunteer I was not a participant but took part in guiding the exercises as well as taking pictures.  I was assigned to the "Volleyball" exercise and the goal was for the women to keep the ball in the air as long as possible by hitting it to each other.  You can tell by the looks on their faces in the picture below that they were having a good time.

New GHTA students having fun with their team building exercise.

Next we did the trust exercise called "Spiderweb".  It is a problem-solving activity requiring the students to manage their differences (size, strength, etc.). A "Web" is made of twine and has several  openings of different sizes and shapes.  The object is for everyone to pass through the web without touching it.  Some people pass through on their own and others are lifted, carried, and caught by students on the other side.  Everyone must pass through the web.  It was quite a workout but the students were very supportive of each other and worked together well.

The GHTA Teachers/Translators/School Staff

The first day of school for Give A Heart To Africa Class of 2020 starts tomorrow.  We are busy preparing for the students to arrive on Monday morning.  The school consists of 3 courses, English, Business, and Vocational Skills.  The volunteers normally teach the classes with the help of a Tanzanian teacher/translator (all former GHTA graduates).  There are usually 50 to 60 women from the age of mid-20s to mid-60s who attend the year long school class.  Each class is divided into 3 groups depending on their ability to speak English.  The classes rotate so all students have the same amount of time in each subject.  Classes are held Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 12 pm.

The first week of class the students are divided into small groups. They participate in team building and trust exercises so they can get to know each other.  Many of the students I taught in 2012 are still close friends with the other students who were in their class.  The students form a strong bond with each other and are encouraged to help and support each other with their studies.  Many of the women have not been in a classroom for years and some for decades.  It is amazing to watch them transform as time goes on.

There is also onsite childcare available so the women who have small children are able to participate.  Many of the women come from villages outside Moshi and ride buses and walk long distances to get to school each day.

Tanzanian Translators and Staff - Behati (English, hidden), Zuwena (Vocations), Tausi (Business), Mary (Childcare),Lisa (General Manager), and Sophia (Adminstrative Support and Bookeeper).

Upendo

Upendo

When I first volunteered at Give A Heart to Africa in 2012 there was a student, a young woman named Upendo, who was soft-spoken yet intelligent and full of potential. We became very close and I call her my Tanzanian daughter.  Upendo took her studies very seriously. She graduated from GHTA and wanted to become an accountant.

Today she is a confident 29 year old with a diploma in accounting, is studying for an advanced degree in finance, has a good, well-paying job at a large Tanzanian bank, and recently had a beautiful baby boy, Ibrahim. 


She worked incredibly hard, with many obstacles thrown in her way, to get where she is today. She has a bright future ahead of her. She is paying it forward by helping her younger sister get an education.

Upendo now lives in Iringa, a town about an 8 hour bus ride from Moshi.  I was so happy she was able to come back for a short holiday break and visit us at GHTA. It was wonderful to see her and meet Ibrahim.  

Karibu!

Karibu!

Swahili for “Welcome”

Happy New Year! I am in Tanzania. It was a longer than normal journey (about 24 hours) but I arrived shortly before the clock struck midnight and we entered 2020. 

There was a delay leaving Boston because of the ice storm, and fortunately my flight from Amsterdam was also delayed because of an equipment change or I would have missed it.  

There were some issues getting our visas once we landed at Kilimanjaro Airport.  As we like to say, “TIA, This Is Africa!” Things don’t always go smoothly but it is best to just go with the flow. 

Our plans to celebrate the New Year with champagne and Belgian chocolate were outweighed by our travel exhaustion.  We all decided we would delay the celebration. We settled in and went to bed.

Lala Salama!  (Swahili for Good sleep/sweet dreams)

Having a New Year's Day Toast - Linda, Monika, John, Jenny, and me

Our view of Mount Kilimanjaro as we walk to dinner

Photo from the porch of the volunteer house.If you look to the right of the post and above the orange wall you will see Mt Kilimanjaro in the distance.