October 23, 2009

“The word impossible does not exist. The word itself says ‘I’m possible.’”
-Audrey Hepburn, submitted by Cheryl

Today is our fourth full day in Ipalamwa. We woke up to a very rainy morning. Pam and I taught in the morning and Ben and Cheryl continued with the door project. Ben and Cheryl discovered the supplies were not arriving, so it was a slow construction day. We are learning to go with the flow. In the afternoon I joined Ben to help out with some construction, but, there wasn’t much to be done. Cheryl taught in the afternoon and talked about NYC and the Empire State Building. However, there was a big misunderstanding in class. Harran thought Cheryl said that the Freedom Tower was going to be 1776 floors. We all know it’s impossible. Harran needed to explain that it’s feet, not floors.

It cleared up in the afternoon and we took a beautiful walk to the general store with Margaret, head girl, Lea, General and Titus. We sat around the table and drank Fantas and Coca Colas and discussed our countries. For me personally this was the best part of the day.

We moved onto the debate which proved to be a great experience. The topic discussed was the impact of a multiparty system on the economy. Pam gave her thoughts and I attempted to explain the multiparty system in the US.

On a personal note: the day began dreary for me, but ended on a highnote. I went to sleep thinking of all the hope I saw in the students eyes. – Rich

October 22, 2009

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We can not change our past…we can not change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you… We are in charge of our attitudes.”
-Charles Swindoll, submitted by Pam

It seems like we have serious momentum. Pamela and Rich continued the seminar series and headmaster and board are very appreciative. There are many projects that need completion and learning project management is essential.

Ben and I went with Mohammad to get water. We stopped along the way to see where the children go – it is so steep. I can’t even imagine. We plan to go on the weekend. We then filled up the buckets for us and along the way a child was screaming “mzungu!” waving like crazy. It is those tender moments that touch your soul.

We worked on the dorms and have made great strides. We will continue to work on Saturday for the frames.

At night we gathered by the bench to play scrabble and draft and then we had a ceremony to give the students gifts, and, of course, we did some dancing. They were hysterical laughing at me and Rich.

The conversations along the way have been deep – AIDS, rights, culture, how to succeed, how to get out of poverty. These students have hope and determination and I think our chats help.

Too much to write – it is a wonderful village that needs help and it is my hope people will continue to help and develop it. – Cheryl

October 21, 2009

“If I believe it, I can do it.” –submitted by Ben

We were all so happy today to start working. Divide and conquer was our mentality. Rich and Pamela went to teach. Ben and I went to do construction on the dormitories.

There was tons to joking about “Mzungu time.” Ben and I were keeping people on schedule. I went by Pamela’s class to hear the words “clash for clunkers” and “female circumcision.” I nearly fell off the step. When I asked Pamela about it she explained that the class was discussing human rights.

I went by Rich’s class and I heard him talking about his job and telling the children “if I believe it, I can do it.” Pamela says “short-term pain for long-term gain.”

I think we are all settling in. Ben and I had a blast of knocking down doors and tearing up the floors. The children came in and helped us.

On a personal note: I feel humbled. The love, hope, and strength of this village warms my heart and the team I am with have become my friends. – Cheryl

October 20, 2009

“Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and to feel connected to others. Instead we often contract, fear intimacy, and suffer a bewildering sense of separation. We crave love, and yet we are lonely. Our delusion of being separate from one another, of being apart from all that is around us, gives rise to all this despair.”
-Sharon Salzberg, submitted by Rich

Awoke to the very similar sounds to last year at Ipalamwa: the gong/bell for students to wake up at 5:30 am, the roosters, goats, sweeping outside the window, and students talking. After breakfast, we had our conversation with Harran and Mr. Mohani. Then Mr. Mohani took us on a tour of the school grounds explaining the various projects and issues/challenges the school has. Building chairs, bunk beds, making more bricks and filling in the hole from digging the clay dirt for the bricks. We then went to Mr. Mohani’s office to sign the school guest book. Mr. Mohani explained more of the projects/issues/challenges/problems.

We then walked to the soda shop where Ben and Pastor Alexander tried buying some of the supplies for the dorm renovation. We had dinner and played scrabble before turning in for the night. –Pam

October 19, 2009

“Oy!” –Cheryl, submitted by Ben

I first awoke to chanting at the first light of day. I must have dozed off again as I next awoke to birds chirping, one sounding like a duck quacking. But I knew it couldn’t have been a duck in Iringa, TZ.

The Lutheran Church ‘innkeeper’ made a wonderful breakfast and everyone was ready to pack up and “hit the road.” However, there were things to do and buy in Iringa before driving to Ipalamwa. Mohammad layed out the morning plan, but I knew from last year not to expect things to go as planned. We left our things in one room and then loaded ourselves into the jeep and headed into downtown Iringa. First stop was the ELCT Iringa Diocese head office to meet the General Secretary and sign the book. Upon arrival, Mohammad learned we first needed to meet the headmaster of the Ipalamwa school and he was still on his way to Iringa so it would be another 30 minutes or so. A quick change of the schedule and we went to Barclay’s Bank for a few of us to get money at the ATM. Then on to “Hasty Tasty” to order our lunch and take-away for dinner. Mohammad then told us Mr. Mohani, head master, was still not in town so we had an hour at the internet café where we all checked e-mail, facebook, etc. for the last time in 2-3 weeks. When Mohammad picked us up, Mr. Mohani was with him. So we went back to the head office. However, upon arriving we learned no one was in the office that day except the Accountant. So, per the usual formalities I learned last year, we were greeted by the Accountant and escorted to his office. We signed the guest book and then went to the market where we met Momma Tony. She was very surprised and happy to see me. I introduced her to Cheryl, Rich, and Ben. We then went to the stationary store for exercise books, pencils, masking tape, and scissors. Cheryl also bought crayons, coloring books, and puzzles for the younger children. Rich stopped at a shop and bought two soccer balls. I was surprised at how much I remembered to get around the area with no one else escorting us. We then went back to “Hasty Tasty” for lunch and everyone enjoyed the lunch and talking to the owner.

Mohammad took us back to the church to wait. He then went back to the shop and told me he would pressurize Momma Tony and Mr. Muhani to hurry up. His plan was to leave at 3:00 pm and it was 2:30 and he hadn’t started loading. We ‘hung out’ and sat outside talking with each other and some of the primary students from the school by the church. One girl came up to Cheryl and I and read questions in English from her exercise book. She was very confident and read very well.

Mohammad pulled in with supplies loaded on top and a number of men in the jeep but no Momma Tony. The men were there to help load our luggage on top and finish loading the supllies. Tom, who was a Form 3 last year, arrived and he explained that he graduated/completed his exams for Form 4. It was good to see him and Mr. Mohani and I owe him a soda for graduating. Once having everything loaded we were ready except no Momma Tony. We drove to the post office and picked her up. We headed out of Iringa and we were stopped by the road construction. We feared it would be hours except some of us said it would be quick and it was. This was 4:30 pm… a little later than Mohammad wanted to avoid driving in the dark. The drive was beautiful and I remembered places from last year. We arrived just at dusk and were immediately welcomed by the students to sing and dance. We then ate dinner and set up our rooms and called it a night. – Pam

October 18, 2009

“There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now.”
-Buddha, submitted by Ben

Waking up in a strange bed, in a new country, on a foreign continent, wasn’t as disorienting as I expected. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready.

The team ate a short breakfast and talked about our expectations, our hopes, and the reality of our present position. Pam’s stories offer some insight into what will come, but, at least for me, the village and what we will accomplish there remains a hazy future.

After eating we piled all of our luggage on top of the jeep and hopped in. It’s a long ride to Iringa. We spent it getting to know one another better and taking garbled attempts at speaking Kiswahili.

The highlight of the trip is Mikume Park. There we spotted zebra, gazelle, impala, elephant, and giraffe. Some of the animals are so calm and close to the road that it is our camera clicks that frighten them away.

When we got to Iringa it was already dark. We’ll have to wait till tomorrow to look around.

October 17, 2009

“The only way to get what you really want, is to know what you really want. And the only way to know what you really want, is to know yourself. And the only way to know yourself, is to be yourself. And the only way to be yourself is to listen to your heart.”
-Mike Dooley, submitted by Cheryl

How do I begin describing Dar-es-Salaam? The colors, the people, the activity. I guess it began at the airport. Off the plane and down a flight of stairs led me to a throng of people filling out H1N1 health questionnaires, visa applications, and pushing their way through customs. Outside was hot, bright, and crowded. The cab driver spoke of history, freedom, and football.

At the hotel I met Muhammad. He works for Global Volunteers and will be driving the team to Ipalamwa. He took me to an outside café where I met Pam, a fellow team member. This is her second trip and she’s full of past stories and present anticipation. It wasn’t long before we were joined by Rich and Cheryl, a brother and sister traveling duo. They had just got back to mainland Tanzania after a brief visit to Zanzibar. Cheryl has been to Romania with GV but this is Rich’s first volunteer outing. As someone who shares the same condition, I feel we’ll be asking a lot of questions during the upcoming car ride.

As for what’s going through me head: excitement, hesitation, shock, expectation, and jet lag. I can’t wait for Ipalamwa. –Ben