Hello from Arusha! Sorry it has been a few weeks since I
posted last, but I have been pretty busy learning the ropes of living and
volunteering in Africa. Let’s rewind to two weeks ago…
Welcome to Arusha, Tanzania! Laura and I get picked up at
the airport by our volunteer organization, Tanzania Volunteer Experience (TVE)
and embark on the nighttime journey to our volunteer house. I was a little
nervous- the ride was crazy and bumpy and I was actually really sketched out
when we arrived at the house. Simba House is in a back alley in an alley off
the main road and I was not comfortable with it. I told myself countless times
to just give it a few days before making any hasty decisions (such as buying a
plane ticket home). So the weekend came and went and I hadn’t left the house
resulting in me still being pretty uncomfortable with the whole volunteer
living experience. Not good. But thanks to orientation, I learned more about
the TVE organization and all the placements and a little bit about Tanzanian
culture. After all the paperwork and logistics, a few of the staffers took us
out to the main market area to get SIM cards, groceries, cash, and to help us
get around on the local transportation.
("We are strong women, we can do it" is the motto the women live by!)
And on Monday, it began! I officially became a long-term
volunteer at Positive Love! I really encourage you to check out the website
since it explains the purpose and mission of this organization much better than
I can!
I originally wanted to volunteer at an HIV/AIDS organization
because that’s what I had studied and researched most heavily in university,
and felt that by actually participating in a program alongside people with an
HIV positive diagnosis, I would gain a more in depth knowledge of the disease
and how people live with it. Because of the negative stigma toward HIV infected
individuals in Eastern Africa, it can be hard to gain employment and provide
for one’s household. So through organizations like Positive Love, women are
taught useful business skills as well as learning to love who they are and
appreciate their gifts. I have really loved working with the six women at
Positive Love and feel that this experience will be one I will cherish for the
rest of my life!
(Photo credit: Laura Powers- It's not all beads and bracelets, we also help cook and clean! Here I am washing dishes!)
During our time with the women, we are taught to make all
sorts of odds and ends! I’ve made so many different kinds of bracelets it’s
ridiculous! I feel that I could open my own friendship bracelet business after
learning about all these different styles! My inner 12-year-old girl is really
loving this! But the women also make necklaces, earrings, skirts, shirts, bags,
scarves and shoes, and some household items like serving spoons and glasses!
It’s really a never-ending array of goodies and it is SO HARD not to buy out
the whole store!
(Laura teaching some of the women English grammar rules)
So we go to placement for 4 hours a day and then have the
rest of the day to ourselves. If we don’t just come home and chill, we head out
to town to hang out, check out the markets, or get food. There’s a small
shopping complex near where we live and what the volunteers call Mzungu Square
(mzungu means white person/ foreigner). This is a hub for the white people to
go and get coffee, or groceries, and the best part… WIFI! The wifi at our house
can be pretty unreliable, so having a place to access the Internet is always
nice. There’s this really delicious gelato shop that is practically impossible
to avoid, and there’s some nice Western restaurants. It’s also the main stop
for public transportation. The dalla dallas are little busses that get crammed
full of people! Probably the most uncomfortable I’ve ever felt here in Tanzania
has been while riding the dallas. They really suck and the drivers are crazy!
But whatever, you’ve got to deal with them if you ever want to leave the
confines of our neighborhood.
So we head to Mzungu Square regularly after placement. We’ve
also ventured farther into eastern Arusha and visited a really cool market area
called the Masaai Market. Here you can get all sorts of Tanzanian goodies and
souvenirs. The shop owners will heckle you and try to pull you into their
shops, so it’s kind of annoying to deal with. I was able to get some pretty
great deals on some things and it was fun to barter and chat with the shop
owners. There’s also this cool coffee shop/bakery nearby the market called
Fifi’s, that serves great frappes and delicious bacon pancakes! And Wraps is
another place that you need to visit when here! It’s a food truck and walking
by you’d never think to stop, but they have great burgers and chips for only
$6! Score! Walking around town is helpful because we learn more about the area
each time we venture outside our gated house and always find new places to go
and hang out.
(The group with the tribe)
Last weekend, one of the volunteers here organized an outing
to a Masaai village. The Masaai people are the largest tribal group in Tanzania
and are recognized by their intricate beadwork and their jumping. Yes, jumping.
In many of their songs and dances, men and women alike will jump up and down as
part of the dance. Also, the Masaai warriors have their own form of jumping and
use it to scare of animals like lions and hyenas. It was so amazing to see
their village and how they live without any modern comforts. They’ve stuck with
their traditional ways and have resisted development even as the world around
them grows. We were allowed to put on their necklaces and blankets and were
taught a few songs, how they herd their animals, how to make fires with only
sticks and manure, and learned about the day to day life of the Masaai. This
was such an amazing cultural experience and I loved getting to witness
firsthand the traditions and heritage of the tribal peoples.
(Photo credit: Laura Powers- Me with the women and kids of the tribe)
I’m feeling much more comfortable with the area and with
volunteer life, so I think I’ll stick with my 3 month commitment, especially
since Laura and I have hit the ground running at our volunteer placement and
have some big plans to share with you all!
There is an unfinished building on the lot and I asked the
directors what they wanted to do with it or what it was for. They said that
they wanted to open a shop for the Positive Love products. A shop would be
really helpful to keep the workshop un-cluttered and would provide the ladies
with business management skills by run their own shop. So after discussing
amongst ourselves, we decided that since we are here for 3 months, we should
really try and finish this building so the director’s and ladies dream of
having a shop could be realized. After proposing our ideas to the Directors, we
were able to get price estimates and fundraise the money to get the project started!
We now have a finished foundation and 4 walls, a ceiling, and glass in the
windows! We, as volunteers are providing our labor, instead of paying someone
to do it, and will start prepping the building to be painted within a few
weeks! Hopefully we can get it all painted and furnished before we leave, but
if not, we’ve started this project and whoever comes after us to volunteer can
continue working on it!
(The building we hope to make into a shop!)
We have some other ideas for Positive Love, including
selling in the States and marketing to tourists here in Arusha. So we’ve got
lots to do in 3 months, and we are already two weeks in! My how time flies! And
it’s not all just work! We’ve got vacations planned, outings and adventures
galore, and Compassion visits to do! So it’ll be lots of busy days from here on
out, and I can’t wait to share all my experiences with you!
P.S. Mandazi is a fried ball of deliciousness and is
addicting. If I come home fat, it’s because I’m eating too much mandazi!
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