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Friday, August 5th, 2011

Tanzanian bus ride - 7 hours

Taxi to the airport in Uganda- 45 minutes

Waiting for my flight in the Entebbe airport- 9 hours

Flight to Amsterdam- 8.5 hours

Layover in Amsterdam- 3.5 hours

Flight to Minneapolis- 8 hours

Taking my first hot shower in 13 days- priceless!

I am finally home after a long journey back to Minnesota.  The bus ride was not as dramatic as I had imagined.  To be honest I envisioned sharing public transportation with a goat or at least some chickens but that was not the case.  Aside from the bus being old, very full and stopping many times along the way- it was just like taking the bus in Minneapolis. 

Thank you so much for following along with this amazing experience! I hope that you will consider traveling to Tanzania and especially Bukoba in the future. The people alone are worth the trek.

Gertrude Stine spoke of her connection to Paris and that quote truly shows my sentiment after this journey.   

America is my country, but Bukoba is my hometown.

Last day at Kiteyagwa

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

My last day at Kiteyagwa.  After I was dropped off in the morning I spent some time observing a Geomotry class in grade 7.  The teacher, Richard, had to write out the lesson (shapes and measurements), teach and I can understand how it is impossible for him to get around and check to see how all 74 students in the class are doing.  The students were working hard at taking notes but they were sharing erasers, rulers and even a couple of students were sharing a notebook. 



Richard teaching Geometry



Students taking notes

 One person that has meant so much to me is Justina, the principal.  She refers to me as her sister and I have been able to ask her any questions I have about the school and Bukoba in general.  We actually discussed her family and the fact that she is working to support her brother’s three children while also putting her own two kids through college (her oldest is going into law and her second is in mass communications).  She shared that she was worried about her niece, Gloria, who would be graduating from 7^th grade in November.  She would like to send her to secondary school but doesn’t know if she can afford the $700-$800 a year to in role her in a quality school. Many students go through the basic seven grades but can’t afford to take the next step in their education. 

As much as this trip has meant to me, saying goodbye to these teachers broke my heart.  They wanted to do something special for a gift and pooled money together to buy fabric since they knew how much I love the skirt I had made here.  It was very humbling that these people would pool their money for me and the skirt and coin purse will be cherished forever!

Fabric from the teachers

In truth, I am really struggling with gifts all together. I am so grateful for the hospitality that has been shown and seeing them spend money on gifts is too much.  I can not even begin to describe the emotions and appreciation I have. My heart is full. It has been a truly humbling experience!

After spending time in Bukoba I feel it is extravagant to hire a driver for the return trip to Entebbe.  The bus is around $15 verses several hundred to hire a driver.  Smart has made all the arrangements and I am not sure if I should be writing this information since my mother will begin worrying.  DON’T WORRY MOM!! I WILL BE FINE!!! There are people who will take me from the bus straight to the air port and I will have many hours before my flight leaves.  My first experience with African public transportation!! I’m sure I will have a considerable amount to write next time!

Last tour of Bukoba

Monday, August 1^st, 2011

Today we are going back to the villages of Izigo and Kangabasharo. This area is so beautiful.   I am not a “nature” person but driving through all of the terrain is very beautiful!  I traveled with the Global Citizens Network (GCN) group that will be working with One Woman, One Goat to build a farm for several women to start this next phase of their business. 

Smart took GCN on a tour of all the regions that COSAD works with, much like he did for us.  It was fun to take new people to the school at Kiteyagwa and also amusing that the children remember me and talk about our time playing Duck, Duck, Goose or answering questions in the classroom.  The teachers also remember me and I enjoy working with them to get their profiles and pictures.  Many of the teachers are surprised and laugh when they see their picture on my digital camera.  I love the teachers at this school and they have been very welcoming! They are my people- teachers of the world unite!  They invite me into their lounge, poor me tea and willing to share even the little that they have.

We visited the COSAD resource center which is on the grounds of the Kiteyagwa school. The small building has four rooms, one for the CHI nursing office, one for TASE or the business office and then two for the education resource area.  There have been many books donated but I was still overwhelmed at the sparse selection, especially books for children to read. The fiction area seems to have higher level books like Harry Potter or Treasure Island but the level students were speaking English is lower, I don’t know where they are at for reading.  Smart hopes to have one of the rooms full of books- for teachers and students. The other would be a comfortable area with a table and chairs where people come and read or have a meeting.  Although it is so easy to donate books from America, they are also in need of books written in Swahili.


COSAD resource center



In the teacher’s lunchroom/office/conference room, there are only student desks in the classroom, is next to the primary school and all teachers use it to correct or do paper work.  There are no shelves and papers are piled on desks or the floor.  Teachers use this room for grading when they have their prep period and even make tea for each other.



teacher's lounge

After we left the school, we drove to Izigo and the COSAD office in town.  Several people met us there, some of the woman from the One Woman, One Goat program and singers from a choir in town (some of them are sewing singers) including Joyce and Jasper.  The choir sang for us and Joyce spoke to the group, explaining the program and what they hope to accomplice while GCN is in Bukoba. 



Meeting with Joyce, sewing singers and women from the OWOG program

One choir made up of mostly Sewing singers

 We walked to Joyce’s home (20-30 minutes) for lunch.  The farm that GCN is building will be close to Joyce’s house so she can provide water for all of the animals.  Joyce is one of the most amazing women I have met. Her husband is a teacher but she runs not only her own farm (of about 20 goats, 1 cow, and several chickens) but she also runs COSAD in Izigo and is the coordinator of OWOG (One Woman, One Goat where she personally visits all 100 women involved on foot).  She is involved in three choirs and participates in nine woman’s groups in town.  Obviously she doesn’t sleep but it makes me wonder what I would be capable of doing if I didn’t watch television or surf the internet.  She was a wonderful host for lunch and her home is quite beautiful.  I was also impressed at the fact that she is one of the few people I have seen with pets; she owns several cats that come inside and also has a dog.  While GCN was touring the site I took pictures of her family that I hope to print off and send back for her to have in her home. 

Walking to Joyce's home

 

Joyce's grandchildren helping with the goats



Joyce's farm



Joyce took us to visit several other women involved in the OWOG program.  This area is very rural and the “roads” to homes consist of a small worn path through the brush.  I am excited to see how this goat farm and enterprise benefit the women in this community!

We also toured Kangabasharo before heading home.  The walking tired me out and although I am truly enjoying my time here…I have the strongest craving for a cheeseburger.  If you are in town on Thursday afternoon look for me at Hoppers! I might even try the belt buster challenge if I really have a death wish. 

See you soon! Erika

Driving in Tanzania

Saturday, July 30, 2011

It is the last day with Anna and her mother, Mary.  We did some shopping around town and grabbed some lunch before they flew off to Mwanza.  As we waited for them to board the plane a truck drove through, scaring the goats off the runway.  There also seem to be a large amount of wild dogs that congregate at the airport. 

After they had left, Hope and I walked back into Bukoba.  Smart was doing some shopping and business downtown and I ran some errands while he was working.  It was fun to walk the city and people were very helpful. 


downtown Bukoba




people walking on the roads

On the way home, Smart needed to bring his car, as well as the van back to the COSAD house so I followed him from town to the COSAD house.  My very first experience driving internationally!  It was dark and the roads were quite rough but it was interesting going through town without any stoplights or signs.  Driving on the opposite side is not as big of a deal as I would have expected.