HOME VISITS (continued)

 "MAGDELENA"

All of the families who are registered with Shaloom are poor...some more so than others. Recently, I visited the home of Magdelena, the latest student enrolled in our kindergarten. This visit was unplanned. Magi came to class sick. When she fell asleep during our first session, and we struggled to wake her, I took her to the clinic within Shaloom Care House. Luckily, there happened to be a doctor on site that morning so he checked Magi over, and then had the lab run some tests. We returned to the clinic after our class was finished to get the results. Magi had malaria, intestinal worms and a UTI. The nurse gave her three different medications to take. As she was giving Magi instructions on how to take the medications, I could tell by the look on Magi's face that she would not be able to remember the instructions. I asked the nurse to give me the instructions and I would pass them on to Magi's mother. 

Omari, the student I tutor, had accompanied Magi and I to the clinic because that afternoon we had a tutoring session planned. I think by the end of the afternoon Omari wished he would have gone straight home after class. When the three of us left Shaloom, we walked for a least an hour before we finally arrived at the home of Magi's babu (grandfather). I wanted to take pictures of his home but I didn't think that would be appropriate. There were large pieces of old metal sheets propped up with sticks to create a border around a small campsite. Within the campsite stood a tent, approximately 8ft x 8ft, and 6ft high. The tent was made of empty flour or feed sacks sown together, tied to four posts made of tree branches. There was an old bed with a piece of tattered foam sitting on top under the tent. When I arrived, Babu welcomed me with open arms and managed to find an old stool for me to sit on. Magi's mother was cooking some dagaa (small fish) over an open fire at the corner of the tent. Two of Magi's brothers and one sister were also present. I gave the medicine and instructions to Magi's mother, along with some fruit we had purchased along the way. At first, I thought this was where Magi lived, but shortly after we had arrived, Omari and I were asked to follow Magi's mother. I thought she was showing us a short cut back to the village where I live. No...we walked for about 15 minutes and then arrived at Magi's home. The shack she lives in with her mother and four siblings is pictured below. It's made of cow dung and sticks! I understood then why Magi was sick so often, and why she misses so much school.

After we visited for awhile, and drank a soda, Magi's mother did show Omari and I the way back to Bwiru, the village where I live. We climbed up, over and down large rocks...jumped over gulches cut into the hills by heavy rains, and walked another 20 minutes in the hot afternoon sun. We arrived at my house about 5pm, four hours after we had closed the classroom. Omari and I ate some lunch but cancelled our tutoring session. Both of us were pretty tired after our afternoon adventure. "Maisha wa Tanzania!" (The life of Tanzania!)...a statement I often hear.

Magi is wearing the orange skirt. Omari is standing to the left of Magi. Doesn't he look thrilled!

"BONIFACE"

Bibi, Boniface & Octavius

Boniface is one of my brightest students. He seems to be starving for knowledge and really tries hard to complete his assignments without errors. It warms my heart to teach such a willing student! Boniface lives with his Bibi (grandmother), along with an older brother and sister. His Bibi is a home care volunteer for Shaloom Care House, so I had met her before. She had invited me to come to their home a couple of times and I'm glad I finally went. Bibi is able to speak a little bit of English so our conversation wasn't nearly as stressful as most of the conversations I find myself involved in. She is such a pleasant woman! She told me that she is praying for Boniface to become a priest when he grows up. Boniface was sitting next to her when she told me that and he agreed that he wanted to be a priest. Hopefully that "seed" continues to grow! The walk from Shaloom to Boniface's home took only about 15 minutes and we didn't have to climb a mountain! I really appreciated that! 

Bibi, Octavius, Boniface and the boy's older sister

Boniface's grandmother has a problem with her eyes due to overexposure to smoke while cooking. She has taught all of the children how to cook so they can assist her. Although she did most of the prep work for our meal, the two boys, Boniface and Octavius, did the cooking. I walked outside and asked what they were cooking, and with smiles on their faces they said, "Maharagwe na ugali" (beans and ugali). They seemed pretty proud of themselves, and they should be since they are only 6 and 8 years old (respectively)!

The living room in the house is about 8' x 8', with one bedroom attached for Boniface's grandmother and sister. The bedroom is also used for storage. Behind the chair I was sitting on, there was a small bed frame with an old tattered piece of foam wedged in between the wall and my chair, somewhat resting on the bed frame. This is where the boys sleep. Octavius came in once the meal was almost ready and crawled over my chair onto the bed. Within minutes he was fast asleep! It was necessary for Boniface to crawl over my chair and jump on his brother to wake him up when our meal was served. 

There was only enough space left in the room where we were sitting to rest a 5 gallon bucket upside-down on the floor and place a large metal tray on top. A plate of food for me was placed on the tray, and a plate of food for the kids to share. I don't know where the grandmother ate, or if she ate. The kids sat on buckets, and we all ate with our hands. I'm getting pretty good at that now! Rice is still a bit of a challenge, though.

"JUSTINA"

Justina is the little girl on the right dressed in red. Bernardo is the little boy in the middle.

Justina lives with her parents, two brothers and a sister. Justina is one of only three of my students who lives with both parents. Her father is a "fundi seremala" (carpenter). In the USA, carpentry is one of the higher paying jobs...not in Tanzania. Most of them are paid a very low wage, but then their knowledge of woodworking is pretty limited, too. At least their house is a little larger than many I've seen. However, the furnishings were scarce, and there was no electricity or running water. Those are real luxuries here. The garden was pretty impressive. I've found that shrubs, trees and plants are very inexpensive here.

Justina, her older sister, little brother & Bernardo

Justina with her parents and two brothers

 Justina's brother, Bernardo was a student in last year's Shaloom kindergarten class. Justina's mother was interested in seeing what Justina had learned so I brought along some Kiswahili word flashcards and was quizzing Justina and Bernardo. Justina knew as many of the words as her brother, who is now in Primary One. Their mother said he hasn't learned much new since he left our kindergarten class. Bernardo is one of approximately 100 students in his class, with only one teacher. The number of students can be anywhere from 75 to 150, or higher! I can't imagine what that would be like for the teacher or the students!

Selling teething biscuits

 To supplement the family income the children sell small teething biscuits in front of their home. They are made from flour, salt, oil and water. I guess they are pretty popular for all ages but I couldn't recommend them. I tried one and it wasn't for me...hard as a rock! I've been to visit Justina's family a few times and each time there was something different for sale in the front yard. That's very common here. 

 

"MWAJUMA & PETER" 

Mwajuma is on the right of the picture, with her mother and two young sisters

 

Peter, with his mother and baby sister

Mwajuma and Peter are cousins but they live together with their mothers and siblings in a one room cement structure. Their mothers are sisters. When we arrived at their home, I thought they were celebrating something because there were so many women and children present. The house is among a few others arranged in a horseshoe pattern. They build them this way often for security purposes. That way they can watch out for one another and share food and necessities. Like so many times, there is no father (or any man) present, or available for help. The woman have children as a kind of "retirement plan" in the hopes that when the children grow up, they will provide for their mothers. This is also the case when the parents are both present. The more children you have, the more "blessed" you are! Of course, the difficulty comes in trying to feed and educate large families.

The day of my visit was very hot. Sitting outside in the shade after our walk from Shaloom sounded like a good plan to me but the families always want the guests to come inside the house. I suppose, in this case, since there were so many people outdoors, Mama Mwaju and Mama Peter thought it would be more private to visit inside. Not to mention the fact that the families are proud of their homes, however small and broken down they might be...it's still home and it could always be worse. "Karibu ndani", they say! Welcome inside! So, we sat inside. I tend to perspire easily normally, so by the time our 2 hour visit was over, I needed to hydrate myself in a big way! Lunch was my favorite...dagaa and ugali! (I'm trying to keep a positive attitude!)