“Look Homeward Angel” Thomas Wolf

Edward was in Iringa for the day. After breakfast, Spencer, David and I joined Moses and headed down to the secondary school with a 50 kg (over 100 lb) bag of cement. After that accomplishment, which weight Moses mostly bore, we continued with our task of helping Moses plaster the walls of the new school kitchen – well, at least we tried to be of as much help as we could to Moses. Spencer has actually gotten the hang of the proper wrist flick and is helping make good progress. He has been working harder than I think I have ever seen him work before – a very satisfying sight for his parents. I mostly fetched water and had many fun conversations with the school boys at the water pump. They are all very friendly and interested in who we are and where we come from.

Tea time in the faculty room brought news of the death of Mr. Kindole, one of the school’s cooks and one of the longest standing employees at the secondary school. Haran, along with input from the faculty, made a plan about to how to help the family. It was decided that classes would be cancelled for the afternoon, a group of students would dig the grave, the school choir would sing at the service, a substantial donation of food would be made by the school and money would be collected from individuals for the family. After lunch, with Mohammed by our side, we attended the first hour of the funeral service which took place outside the Kindole home, where many people were gathered and the choir was singing. We made a donation and signed the collection book and all were very grateful. The crying and wailing of the family members were striking to us and we left to finish our work at the school, as the procession left for the cemetery.

In the morning, I had heard word from home that one of my work colleagues passed away unexpectedly, so there was a lot for me to think about.

As I write this, we are spending another evening in front of the fire enjoying Mohammed’s stories about his escapades with the animals of the game parks and other aspects of life in Tanzania and Africa. We are learning so much from him and enjoying his company.