So I wasn't able to get to the internet prior to this so I have so much to say and I have to be back to CCS for lunch in 30 minutes. Where to start... I won't be in order..
Yesterday we had a tour a the Rau village and met the Village chief. It was awesome. I'll create a seperate post about the chief and what he does. The woman who gave us the tour was Mama Change (all a's are pronounced ah and all e's are pronounced e' as in fell) she looks like my grandmother. The village looks so cozy - dirt roads but no liter very clean and mud brick houses. It was very dusty there and I'll need to buy a scarf b/c its dusty every where. Everyone thinks I'm Tanzanian - Mama Grace (one of the head people at CCS) says I would have had a hard time if not for my dreadlocks b/c people would have thought for SURE I could speak. During the village tour one of the girls called me over b/c they wanted me to translate for them to one of the white volunteers! sizungumzi kiswahili this phrase serves me well now but when my accent gets better it will not ! lol
We have Kiswahili lessons today after lunch so that's great. Everyone is so friendly but even more so to me. Mama Judith said to me yesterday looking at me intensely and holding my hands (Karibu Andrea, this is YOURS) and Mac Daddy(his nickname for Macyani I think) was like be sure to come visit my house. 3 weeks is so short! There are so many people to see!
Anyway the village streets are Alabama dirt red and bumpy and dusty but lined with flowering bushes about 6 feet tall so it looks very beautiful. A street may seem empty one second and then the next a woman will appear with a bucket on her head or children will run around the corner and you didn't know b/c of the lined streets. We went and visited the sick and disabled, and older people (so of course it is a compliment to be thought of as older in Africa, when I told Mama Change that she looked like my grandmother she said "! Asante sana Andrea" so sweet. I was bragging about my gray hair to Edward (Mama Grace's son ) one night, and it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do from his perspective while on my other side was an American woman who dyes her hair and wonders why I don't - that's so funny.
side note: I think I'm developing a gray patch on the front right side (Score!)
This is so randomly organized so I apologize I may organize later. Anyway AIDS, I'm volunteering with Jipe Moyo and met 2 members yesterday for an orientation and the rest today. The women in Jipe Moyo all are HIV positive or have AIDS. AIDS is in 20% of the world in Tanzania its 6% of that 20 %. (I'm not sure about that number I'll need to clariy) There are 36 M people in Tanzania and 4 M have AIDS or are HIV positive. Uganda was the first place to have AIDS and now in Africa they have the lowest percentage of AIDS in Africa b/c of the education where as S. Africa has 45% of AIDS in Africa. This is why Jipe Moyo exists.
It spread fast in Africa not just b/c the lack of education and stigma but also b/c of the men having multiple wives, mistresses and traveling around Africa. There are a few ways people specifically women find out about AIDS. Going in to get tested (which is what Jipe Moyo advocates) but also when a woman gets pregnant, when her husband gets sick and/or dies.
If a woman is pregnant she should not breast feed so that she will not give the baby the disease but 50% still do b/c what reason can they give that they are not breast feeding ? and milk may not be affordable to purchase. This is why Jipe Moyo exists.
There are pills they can take which are free, offered by the government but people don't want to be dependent on them. I met Sia from Jipe Moyo yesterday, her husband died 4 years ago. He died fast b/c he didn't take the medicine saying that he was dead either way. That is shocking I could die tomorrow in a car accident what sense does that make? This is why Jipe Moyo exists.
Today I met the rest of the women and talk them English for 90 minutes and then had a business meeting. We will have a fundraiser/festival on Tuesday and I can't wait. It was so fun teaching them English they really want to learn which makes the job really easy. Fortunately too I've had some experience and the previous volunteers were awesome creating and updating a document that contains where they are in their lessons.
There is so much more to tell these people that I have met have such big hearts, but lunch and Swahili lessons call, till next time.
Yesterday we had a tour a the Rau village and met the Village chief. It was awesome. I'll create a seperate post about the chief and what he does. The woman who gave us the tour was Mama Change (all a's are pronounced ah and all e's are pronounced e' as in fell) she looks like my grandmother. The village looks so cozy - dirt roads but no liter very clean and mud brick houses. It was very dusty there and I'll need to buy a scarf b/c its dusty every where. Everyone thinks I'm Tanzanian - Mama Grace (one of the head people at CCS) says I would have had a hard time if not for my dreadlocks b/c people would have thought for SURE I could speak. During the village tour one of the girls called me over b/c they wanted me to translate for them to one of the white volunteers! sizungumzi kiswahili this phrase serves me well now but when my accent gets better it will not ! lol
We have Kiswahili lessons today after lunch so that's great. Everyone is so friendly but even more so to me. Mama Judith said to me yesterday looking at me intensely and holding my hands (Karibu Andrea, this is YOURS) and Mac Daddy(his nickname for Macyani I think) was like be sure to come visit my house. 3 weeks is so short! There are so many people to see!
Anyway the village streets are Alabama dirt red and bumpy and dusty but lined with flowering bushes about 6 feet tall so it looks very beautiful. A street may seem empty one second and then the next a woman will appear with a bucket on her head or children will run around the corner and you didn't know b/c of the lined streets. We went and visited the sick and disabled, and older people (so of course it is a compliment to be thought of as older in Africa, when I told Mama Change that she looked like my grandmother she said "! Asante sana Andrea" so sweet. I was bragging about my gray hair to Edward (Mama Grace's son ) one night, and it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do from his perspective while on my other side was an American woman who dyes her hair and wonders why I don't - that's so funny.
side note: I think I'm developing a gray patch on the front right side (Score!)
This is so randomly organized so I apologize I may organize later. Anyway AIDS, I'm volunteering with Jipe Moyo and met 2 members yesterday for an orientation and the rest today. The women in Jipe Moyo all are HIV positive or have AIDS. AIDS is in 20% of the world in Tanzania its 6% of that 20 %. (I'm not sure about that number I'll need to clariy) There are 36 M people in Tanzania and 4 M have AIDS or are HIV positive. Uganda was the first place to have AIDS and now in Africa they have the lowest percentage of AIDS in Africa b/c of the education where as S. Africa has 45% of AIDS in Africa. This is why Jipe Moyo exists.
It spread fast in Africa not just b/c the lack of education and stigma but also b/c of the men having multiple wives, mistresses and traveling around Africa. There are a few ways people specifically women find out about AIDS. Going in to get tested (which is what Jipe Moyo advocates) but also when a woman gets pregnant, when her husband gets sick and/or dies.
If a woman is pregnant she should not breast feed so that she will not give the baby the disease but 50% still do b/c what reason can they give that they are not breast feeding ? and milk may not be affordable to purchase. This is why Jipe Moyo exists.
There are pills they can take which are free, offered by the government but people don't want to be dependent on them. I met Sia from Jipe Moyo yesterday, her husband died 4 years ago. He died fast b/c he didn't take the medicine saying that he was dead either way. That is shocking I could die tomorrow in a car accident what sense does that make? This is why Jipe Moyo exists.
Today I met the rest of the women and talk them English for 90 minutes and then had a business meeting. We will have a fundraiser/festival on Tuesday and I can't wait. It was so fun teaching them English they really want to learn which makes the job really easy. Fortunately too I've had some experience and the previous volunteers were awesome creating and updating a document that contains where they are in their lessons.
There is so much more to tell these people that I have met have such big hearts, but lunch and Swahili lessons call, till next time.
