Hustle & Bustle

Written Monday evening, August 11

It has been a busy week here in Dodoma, and it’s hard to believe I only arrived one week ago today. It seems as though it has been several weeks at the very least, perhaps because we have packed so much into every day.

We had our first day at the office last Thursday, and Miriam had us doing things to prepare for the New York pilgrimage group that will be arriving on Wednesday. On Thursday afternoon Andrew, a missionary from the UK, took us to a Nane Nane festival, which literally translates to Eight Eight, a holiday celebrating agriculture and farming. There were booths set up to promote different agricultural programs and crops, stands selling crafts and jewelry, and a section of animals taken from the national parks. It was interesting to take part in this event, especially as “Wzungu”, or white people. We often get called this walking down the street, and walking to town recently Liz and I heard the comment from a child who couldn’t have been more than a year and a half old! I guess they teach them young!

On Friday morning at 4am we boarded a bus with about sixteen other missionaries and made the four hour journey to Mikumi National Park for a day-long safari. Although our guide told us that the dry conditions and the time of day were not ideal for seeing animals we still saw many, and all we missed were the lions and tigers. I’ve never seen animals so close and in their natural habitat, and the trip provided ample opportunity to use my new camera! After leaving the park we traveled a short distance to Morogoro where we had dinner and stayed at the Lutheran Junior Seminary (private high school) and Language School. Morogoro is in the mountains and experiences a much more frequent rainy season than Dodoma. As a result the town looked completely different from what we were accustomed to, as everything was lush and green opposed to the dry dusty conditions in Dodoma. The next morning we went to another Nane Nane festival before heading back to Dodoma.

Sunday morning we went to our first service at the Cathedral which was in English and much more contemporary than I’m used to. Apparently the Kswahili service, which is at 7am on Sundays, is much more traditional, and I think we usually will attend this service. The Cathedral is quite pretty, although it looks more like a mosque than a Christian cathedral. After church we headed out on our first Carpenters Kids distribution in Mwitikira. The CK staff loaded up two Land Rovers with all the supplies we had to give to the children and made the hour and a half long trip on an unpaved and very bumpy road. I have a feeling we will be doing lots and lots of traveling during my time here!

I guess I should give a brief background of the Carpenters Kids program…..
The program was started as a partnership between the Episcopal Diocese of New York and the Diocese of Central Tanganyika. The program links a parish in the U.S. with a parish here, and AIDS orphans and underprivileged children from these parishes are selected to be “Carpenters Kids”. These children are given school supplies, a school uniform, and breakfast every morning. When a parish is selected they are asked to identify about 75 of the most vulnerable children in their parish, after which a screening committee travels to the parish to conduct interviews with the children and their guardians. The list is then reduced to about 50 children, though this may vary depending on how many children the U.S. parish chooses to support. After the children are chosen they are measured for uniforms and shoes, and these are then made back in Dodoma. Every Saturday the CK staff goes on distributions to these parishes, on which day all the uniforms and supplies are given out. Currently there are about 4,300 Carpenters Kids from about 73 parishes in the diocese, supported by various churches in New York, a few in Virginia, one in Australia, and by a group of college friends from Colorado. The Atlanta diocese also gives some support, though they are not directly linked with a parish here. It costs $50 to support one child for one year, and $2500/year seems like such a small price to pay to enable these 50 or so children to go to school.

When we arrived in the village, which has no running water or electricity, I was amazed to see the large crowd of people which awaited us. We piled out of the cars and went into a small house where Suzanne, a missionary from the church linked with this parish, had been living for the past 6 weeks. She had been teaching at the school there, and it was amazing to hear how touched she had been by the generosity of the people of Mwitikira. She arrived planning to sleep on an air mattress during her stay, but was surprised upon her arrival to find a nice bed in her room. It was not until her final week that she realized the bed must have been placed there for her use, and in fact it belonged to the priest of the church and his wife. They had given up their own bed in order to make her more comfortable, which truly shows the compassion and generosity of these people.

We were served a meal of rice, chicken, and beans before we went outside to begin the distribution. This was the second trip to the village for CK, as last year 50 children were given uniforms. This year, however, an astonishing 136 new children had been selected to be added to the program. So, in addition to giving the 50 ‘veterans’ their second uniforms, we were also able to give all these new children their uniforms, school supplies, mosquito nets, and mattresses. There must have been several hundred people gathered under the shade of the trees, both Carpenters Kids and people from the village who had come to watch. The church choir was singing and dancing, and Liz, Miriam, and I went and joined them. This was one of the most unique experiences I have had thus far. Even though I couldn’t understand what they were singing, they made every effort to include us in their celebration. Finally it was time for the distribution to begin, and each one of the CK staff was asked to introduce themselves. Miriam and Noel (one of the wonderful Tanzanians who works in the office) had written out a brief introduction in Kswahili for Liz and I, and though I made an attempt, I am uncertain whether they were able to understand a word I said!

Each child was called up by name with their guardians to receive their supplies, and then they went and changed into their new uniforms. It was amazing to see the crowd of children slowly transform from a group of children in dingy and tattered clothes to a group in their bright new uniforms, and you could see on their faces how happy they were. Several of their guardians and parents came up to the staff and shook and kissed our hands to extend their thanks, and it was touching to see the effects of this wonderful program. I feel honored to be working for an organization which does so much for people who have so little, and I am grateful for the parishes in the U.S. who have chosen to support it. I only wish they could all visit these villages, as I have now done, to see what a difference their donations are making. I am glad the group from New York will be able to experience this feeling next week, and we will be going on several more distributions during their visit here.

I think the continuous excitement and activity of this past week is getting to me, and I awoke this morning not feeling quite 100%. My stuffy sinuses, achy body, and headache made for a long day, and Liz and I joked that perhaps I have contracted Malaria. Even though the symptoms are similar, I think this was a slight overreaction, and I hope to be back to normal tomorrow! I hope also to be able to post pictures soon, but I have yet to have access to a fast enough internet connection in order to do so. Thanks so much for all your thoughts and well wishes. Your encouragement is greatly appreciated. Until next time, Tutaonana! (Goodbye!)