A Time and a Place to Catch Up

 
It’s been the last full week for Malcolm in Tanzania as he begins thinking about packing up to return to the UK. Time to catch up on some of the things mentioned in earlier blogs.

Last week he mentioned that he has been playing the Cajon at the Fellowship services. For those of you unfamiliar with this type of drum, here it is. And yes, it can double as a chair!

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And it’s been an exciting week – in a Tanzanian way!

We’ve mentioned that there is a railway station in Usa River, near the SAFI Café. With only 2 trains a week each way, the main use of the train station is as a shelter when Malcolm got caught in a heavy storm on the way walking home.

However, on Friday he saw a train! – Or at least a train engine. Sadly, it was in the dark and he didn’t have a chance to take a photo. The main excitement, though, was the lack of warning. Unlike the UK there in no warning that a train is coming. Malcolm had borrowed Katy’s car and was driving to a point where the road crosses the rail track.

 

There are no warning lights or automatic gates. Nothing to stop someone driving across the track whilst a train is coming. When Malcolm was approaching a crossing by car, fortunately someone waved him down to warn him that a train was coming, and it passed after about 5 seconds.  Phew!

Driving has its own excitement even without trains. Main roads are tarmacked, but most other roads are dirt tracks. There is normally a maintenance regime which periodically ‘regrades’ the road by scraping the surface and flattening it. But fairly quickly, particularly in the rainy season, the road gets churned up and in places turned to mud. This means potholes everywhere.

But not just small potholes, as in parts of England. This is Africa so there are big potholes that look like ponds!

And to make life more interesting on his 4 mile journey home, which is slow enough due to the potholes, there are at least 50 sleeping policemen (speed bumps). These become even more effective when the rain washes the road surface away by the side of the bump.

Malcolm has mentioned some of the animals that live around the house he is staying him. This week, a herd of Elands cossed the road in front of him.

Then a small family of monkeys passed by.

All sorts of animals wander around. On Friday an unsupervised cow decided to wander along the main road outside the SAFI Cafe

And at Malcolm’s house, a caterpillar of a Monarch Butterfly built its Chrysalis on one of the shutters. It will be interesting to see if the butterfly emerges before Malcolm leaves next Thursday.

And finally, for twitchers reading this:

Know your Easter Place

 

Last weekend Malcolm celebrated Easter. As usual he went to the Fellowship (church) that Ben and Katy hold on Sundays in the SAFI workshop. As an English speaking service mainly white ex-pats attend with a few local Tanzanians. The services are fairly informal.

After the service Malcolm enjoyed 2 gifts – a home-made Easter egg made by Ben and Katy’s elder daughter, Alessia, and an easter ‘cookie’ sneaked into his suitcase by his wife, Irene. Lucky man.

A couple of weeks ago Malcolm moved house to allow Katy’s parents to stay with their family for a 3 week visit. Fortunately Ben and Katy had recently bought a partially refurbished 2 room cottage which they intend converting to their 4 bedroom, 2 storey family home, subject to raising funding. This indicates their long term commitment to continuing to work to support those with disabilities to earn a living in Tanzania.

The cottage is situated on a large, 2 acre plot. It is of typical construction of better buildings with brick walls, concrete floors and corrugated metal roof. Though basic by UK standards it is far better equipped than the homes of most East Africans.

Like most homes it doesn’t have mains electricity of mains water and sewage. However, it does have a solar electricity system. Solar is becoming  more popular in East Africa, though many people can't afford to install even a basic system.

Washing water is supplied by pumping river water into a large tank, whilst drinking water is bought in large, refillable containers costing about £1.50 a refill. This is better than most Tanzanians in rural areas who collect water by hand from a hole in the ground, or, if they are lucky, buy it from a village pump and carry it home in buckets or jerry cans.

Both rooms in the cottage are large. One is a kitchen / living room. This is well equipped with cupboards and a sink, but Malcolm relies on a large camping stove for cooking (boiling water for coffee, porridge for breakfast and the occasional beans on bread). 

This is easier for him to use than the common charcoal burner that Tanzanians would use for cooking – not in the kitchen but outside at the back of the house. 

Fortunately Malcolm gets his other meals from the SAFI Café, or has invitations to meals from Ben and Katy. Like most homes there is no fridge or washing machine, or many of the ‘necessities’ we take for granted in England. Washing is done by hand, and Malcolm hangs it to dry in the Living area. This is to try and avoid 'Mango flies' from laying eggs on the clothes -  the larvae that hatch have the annoying practice of burrowing into your skin!!!! To kill the eggs  clothes need to be ironed -if you have an iron!

The bedroom is another large room ‘with potential’! The floor is concrete, which is better than those Tanzanians living in basic mud houses, with earth floors. Posher homes may have tiled floors, cheap lino or a few rugs. In their 7 years working in East Africa Malcolm and Irene have not been in a house or office, with carpets.

 

The bedroom has an ensuite shower and toilet, which is a luxury here. Most homes in rural areas will have an outside loo and washing facilities, if they are lucky. 

There is a method of heating the water, which relies on the guards lighting a fire in a brick built boiler. Again, a luxury if you don’t have mains power for an electric heater, and easier than using a kettle.

Overall, this is a decent fairly comfortable place for Malcolm. Ben and Katy have great plans for converting it to a family home when they raise the funding, which is a challenge for those living on the allowances of Mission Partners. And they plan to move into the house as it is in a couple of months!

Malcolm's use of the accommodation has been useful in identifying problems. Readers may remember that over the past 18  years he has  had a variety of challenges with African plumbing and toilets. Nothing changes! The house has been empty for some months and since moving in, despite Malcolm replacing the leaking valves and flush mechanism in the en-suite and exterior 'guards' toilets the 3,000 litre tank has twice emptied in about 5 days. This suggests there is probably an underground leak in the low quality and dated plastic pipes used to get water from the water tower to the house - a repair job outside Malcolm's capabilities!!!!

PS In honour of 'Death in Paradise' Malcolm has named the house lizard Harriet - it must be a she as there are lots of baby lizards

'This is Me!'

 

‘I am not a stranger to the dark,
"Hide away, " they say
“Cause we don't want your broken parts"
I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars
"Run away, " they say
"No one'll love you as you are"’.

( ‘This is me’ from ‘The Greatest Showman’)

One of the difficulties that poor, developing countries such as Tanzania have is caring for the less abled members of the community. (This would have been the same in the UK until the 20th century). For poor, struggling families,  every member of the family including children have to work to raise enough food to survive. The birth of a child with a physical disability, or caused as a result of common childhood disease such as polio, measles or rubella, is a catastrophe here. Such diseases once feared in the west even a century ago are now rarely a problem in the UK as a result of health care and vaccination. In countries with limited and unaffordable health care they are seen as a curse, and families will often hide the affected person to avoid shame. A disability is seen as preventing someone contributing to their community and supporting themselves. To survive the person often has to resort to begging.

It was to help those with disabilities to earn a living, and to demonstrate to the Community that they can contribute to society that Ben and Katy Ray came Tanzania to take over the management of a workshop and café in Iringa employing about 100 adults with physical or hearing disability. Staff have worked at Neema Crafts for several years and most now own their own homes, and are now welcomed into shops when previously they would probably have been rejected. (See our blogs from previous visits to Tanzania in 2017/18 and 2019 for further information)

About 3 years ago Ben and Katy and family moved to Arusha to set up a similar charity (SAFI – Seeing Ability First International) which currently employs about 25 adults and growing.

The newest ‘business’, opening just before Christmas, is a café which is mainly staffed by those with severe hearing problems. All the waiters, cleaners and reception staff are deaf as are several of the cooks. It offers good quality European style food which is attractive to middle class Tanzanians, ex-pats and tourists.

Last weekend the school that Ben and Katy’s children attend held a sports day. The whole family is extremely athletic (unlike Malcolm!). Ben and Katy both won their respective 'Sprint' Triathlon events (500m swimming, 15km cycling and 5 km running) crossing the finishing line together. The eldest son, Zaki came third in the age 7-9 team Triathlon and Alessia second in her team event.

One of the refreshment stands at the event was operated by SAFI staff, serving large ‘Smash burgers’, cakes and coffee. Adolf is the café’s cooking teacher, and Gloria and Rahel are 2 of the waiters. The stand was so busy that they didn’t even have time to eat their own lunches!!

On the last day of term the school put on a version of the Musical ‘The Greatest Showman, which is loosely based on the life of PT Barnum. One of the core messages of the show is that everyone is of value no matter their ability. The opening quotation to this blog is sung by the circus’s Bearded Lady and the other ‘Freaks’ who make up the cast of the circus.

To empasise the need for inclusivity, as part of the School production the children were taught sign language . They were joined on stage by two of the waiters from SAFI, Gloria and Laide singing and signing the show’s song ‘This Is Me’. The chorus is:

‘When the sharpest words wanna cut me down I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out
I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I'm meant to be,

This is Me.

Look out 'cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen, I make no apologies,

This is Me

There were many comments on how moving the song was.

Finally, as it is Easter the staff of SAFI enjoyed a meal of their usual rice, beans and spinach but with the addition of half a chicken and a soda!

 

Have a great Easter

From Waste to More Productive Things

 What a waste!!!

 Last week Malcolm reported that the ‘Maji Taka’ was needed to clear a cooking fat burg from the septic tank (he also was misled by Google Translate. Instead of the whimsical ‘Water Taxi’ Maji Taka actually means the more earthy ‘Sewage’!).

 When staff arrived at work on Monday the septic tank was once again full – this time with rainwater. There had been very heavy rain over the weekend and rainwater had seeped in through the cracks in the concrete side walls of the tank. Time to call out the Maji taka again, but first to dig out the surrounding earth to repair the tank walls.

 

Enough of Sewage (at least for the time being). Onto more productive things.

The workers at SAFI comprise of some paid employees, but also trainees who are developing skills to set up their own ‘micro-enterprises’ - Independent organisations of 2-4 people  who, once trained, will run their own craft businesses. They may then use project facilities as a place to work, market and sell their products. In total there are about 25 employees and workers that rely on SAFI for their income. The day starts witha staff meeting for a short bible study, prayers and notices for the day

The paid staff include Jema and Grey. Jema is the finance manager, who in addition to running the finance office also has a range of other responsibililities such as handling personnel issues, and liaising with the tax authorities. 

Whilst here Malcolm is spending most of the time working with Jema to help develop the financial reporting systems.

Grey is the tailoring teacher. Though not deaf his skills include knowing sign language to communicate with the trainees who all have hearing/speech impairment.

One of the main objectives of SAFI is to enable disabled adults to earn a good living through employment, or by building up their own businesses / ‘micro-enterprises’. 

One of the ‘micro enterprises’ is called ‘Zawadi Toys’ which is run by 4 people. One of their main products are dolls including a mermaid with long, flowing hair. (Readers will realise that mermaids are difficult to see, but Malcolm is hoping to take a photograph of one before too long!)

Another ‘micro-enterprise’ is ‘Land & Coast’. The 2 ladies make a range of intricate jewellery. As with all the craft products made at SAFI, these are sold through the shops on site and at Slipway in Dar es Salaam.

The project also has a Carpentry workshop. One of the specialities is to make a range of furniture, such as tables and chairs. These are often to order, though they are also available through the Slipway shop. The workers include John, who has hearing impairment, and Elenadje who has a physical disability.

Most of the workers at SAFI are deaf, including the support staff, such as the cooks, who make meals for the workers. 

Though they appear basic, being located in a partly converted container and covered area part funded by the church Malcolm attends, the staff facilities are good by local standard and each work-day produces nourishing meals. 

Tanzanians rely on a simple diet such as rice, beans and spinach or ugali (cooked maize), beans and spinach. For many Tanzanians meat is a luxury reserved for special occasions such as Easter and Christmas.

Although Malcolm usually eats at SAFI, either a staff meal or one from the commercial SAFI café, on Sundays when the project is closed alternative arrangements are necessary.

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Last Sunday Malcolm went with Ben and Katy and their family to a local Tanzanian buffet (help yourself) restaurant where he enjoyed a luxury meal of fried chicken, chips, rice, water melon and matooke (a stew made from savoury matooke bananas (known as plantains in the UK).