Ngoma Viringu (Drum Circle)

Each village here in Kongwa District is unique. They way the villagers work together, the existing water and sanitation conditions, the environment, and of course the preferred leisure activity. In Njoge, for the women it was drumming, and for the men it was visiting the community hut where women cooking a mean batch of corn brew. The individuality of each village also reinforces the fact that the solutions for improving water, maintaining health, increasing the quality of education must be unique. This is certainly not any easy task.

In Njoge again we conducted household surveys, inspected the water points, gather GPS coordinates for the database and carried on with the fly trapping and identification. The photo here is of me explaining the fly traps and why we are using them. The water problem in Njoge, of course there was one, was that there is not enough. Women may wait 5 hours in line only to find that by the time they reach the pipe the water is gone. However, no one has considered controlling the growth of the local brick-making operation which consumes over a 6,000 liters of day in water to make bricks from the local mud. Sadly, you cannot drink bricks. The photo below shows the brickmakers waiting with 200 liter barrels to fill with water.

The assistants are becoming quite adept at discerning the difference between a M. Sorbens and a M. Domestica. Meanwhile, I still have the tendency to drop them on the floor, my shirt, etc while examining them and then quickly call for their help. They are such little buggers.

Last week I also had the opportunity to go to a Kitchen Party. It is only for women and is hosted the week before the wedding for the bride. It was quite an event with over 90 women from Kongwa and the area dressed in their brightest African clothes with braided hair so intricate that could be considered artwork. It was great not having any men there as I, nor the other women, had to worry about anyone’s hands or any other body part for that matter getting to close while we shook our behinds on the dance floor. The Tanzanian women have this amazing ability to really move their hips. Meanwhile I look like some stiff, uncoordinated white girl who grew up dancing to bad 90s music sung by folks like Vanilla Ice. My lack of rhythm usually solicited laughter, which made me laugh, which of course makes any situation that much more enjoyable. The Kitchen Party also included many, many speeches where use at least 10 sentences to say what could be said in one. Luckily the drinks had been served before the speeches. The women gave some very touching advice to the bride about how to maintain her faith, her strength, and her love during marriage. As always there is much meaning in life here.

Just Two Things

In an attempt to simplify my life
I have begun asking for just two things;
to arrive safely,
and to have something good to eat.
Anything extra, god decides to offer
especially those kisses,
floating on a soft breeze,
are simply added sweetness
to an already a blessed day.

Show Me Your Latrines

Life continues to bring new blessings, beautiful sunsets, and humbling challenges in Kongwa. We just finished our research in the second village, Manyata. It is always a delightful surprise to find a clean, sturdy, free of goats, chickens or pigs, well used latrine. When I do come across such a structure I usually take a photo, as I did below with the proud owner.

The village lacks any local water supply. The deep borehole pump, the third water project implemented since the 1960s) malfunctioned in 2004. Since that time, villagers have had to either walk 6 or 7 km to the nearest well or buy water that is brought into the village by young men. The water is bought at distant villages for $0.05/bucket and it is sold for up to $0.20. Given a bucket is only 20 liters, a family of 6 using only the essential minimum of water, may spend up to $10/week on water! This is a serious expense for villagers who are subsistent farmers.

Manyata is an Ujamaa Village, meaning it was created in the 1970s by the first President, Nyerere, who was Socialist and sought to move dispersed rural families into central villages to receive health, education, and water services. As a result, at one time there was much activity in Manyata, with water pumps being installed, grain storage buildings being built, and generators being used. Yet, like so much in Tanzania, things, people, and ideas quickly degrade in the harsh environment. It is often not long before life reverts back to how it was before all the outsiders and ambition moved in.

The experience in Manyata went much smoother than in the first village. One reason, among many, is that the village government and the villagers themselves were extremely generous and welcomed us with open arms. Rather than heading to the local corn brew hut at 8 am when we arrived, the village officials greeted us each morning to discuss our schedule and the help we needed. They often insisted on giving us chai, chipati, peanuts, sugarcane, rice and chicken to fuel our energy. We were more than happy to consume. The extent and variety of food they offered us and therefore the amount of eating did lead to some "changanika dawa"-mixing the medicine-which should only be done in moderation. In addition to the village officials, the villagers were always saying "karibu chakula"-come eat when we passed their huts. Given by 11 am I had already had 2 meals, I usually kindly refused. One woman, however, was so insistant I eat her pumpkin she just boiled I had to comply. Half-way through eating the pumpkin I bit into some hard, gritty material that could have just been dirt or the cow manure she told me she put on her fields. After a few hours of some serious rumbling in my stomach, I felt better. The lesson learned was that when the Tanzanians tell me not to "mix the medicine" they are serious.

The photo below was taken at a meeting with the village government along with the health and water committees. Up until our meeting, the three groups had not all sat down and talked together. The meeting and discussions that resulted were quite informative for all. It was evident that water, health, and economics are inextricably intertwined and any solution would require a joint effort by all the village groups. Several members highlighted how the lack of water effects everything from economics (villagers are forced to spend much of their disposable income on water), to health (in addition to trachoma and diarrhea, skin diseases are common due to a lack of water for bathing), to education (kids must gather water when they should be in school).

The photo of me in the cornfield is for Uncle, Farmer Jack! The look of shock on the villagers' faces when you tell them in the US we grow corn for animals; the same kind of corn that is the staple food in Tanzania; is always one of amazement.

The photo below is of our assistant/faithful driver/car repair man/gps guru/fly trap extrodinaire. We continue to collect GPS data on household locations, latrines, wells, and other important village buildings and gathering areas. The villagers are always amazed at how such a little machine could make a map on the computer.

And the flies...we are certainly trapping many (which means hours of fly counting and identification afterwards). The largest fly counts are at the houses where there are cattle pens. In the photo below the yellow piece of paper above the villager's head is the sticky trap which can attract up to 200 flies in 48 hours. The man in the photo is the owner of a dog that I'm quite convinced was at least half-hynea. The animal was big and threatening and full of spots. I visited the house to set up the trap, but when the time came to collect the traps I quickly found another task and let others on the research team greet the hairy beast.

Finally, I have included a few photos from homebase, Kongwa. The two below are from our favorite (and only), Saturday night dinner spot, Joseph's Chips. I always go with the four Italian NGO workers who are sure to call at least four hours ahead to make the "order" which is always the same as there are only three things on the menu, rice, chicken, chips (fried pototoes). One Saturday when the Italians were out of town I went on my own with another visiting researcher. We made the mistake of not calling our order in ahead of time. Upon arriving Joseph reassured us he could serve us dinner. Three hours later (butchering a chicken takes some time) we were eating the most delicious, greasy, chicken in Kongwa. Yum.

Otherwise, I continue to frequent the Catholic convent next door. The sisters are so sweet and full of life. I also think it is the only place I can drink red wine on a Sunday afternoon. I suspect, though, I am the only one that drinks the wine as we have been working on the same bottle for four weeks.

And why not end with a poem....

Sunset

The sun spoke to me one evening

as she sweetly revealed

all her layers of light.

In response, without thinking,

I began whispering,

beauty, faith, love

is here.