Nanja Secondary School Visit

So an update on the human rights project is probably due since the last time I talked about it was over a week ago. Last Thursday, the two other volunteers and I joined two members of HIMS and headed to Nanja Secondary School, a Maasai school an hour and a half outside Arusha, in order to discuss the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM) with some Maasai girls. Set, just off the highway to Dodoma, the school sits in the middle of a vast plain, with the school buildings scattered about and a volleyball court sitting with a football pitch in the centre of the school.

When the introductions were done, we began to talk with the sixty or so girls who were about fourteen or fifteen about the issue of FGM. The first questions was if anyone supported the practice and, not surprisingly, not one hand was raised. We assumed that all were against the practice but it could be that some were not willing to show their support for it in front of the other girls. We followed up with the 'why' question. The answers were those of educated young women: loss of blood, psychological implications, transmission of HIV. We then asked them what their male peers thought of the practice. They replied that some of their male friends were against it but the decision makers in the tribe were all men who supported the practice. We were immediately suggested to go and speak to the leaders of the clans in order to tell them to educate the young men of the clans. However, most felt that their male counterparts supported circumcision and want their wives and daughters to be circumcised as it is their culture.

We then began asking questions in order to find out the prevailing attitudes towards FGM from the girls and what they thought the solution was. The girls spoke remarkably good English and one of the more vocal girls was quick to stand up and give her account of what she thought needed to be done. She argued that there are things in Tanzania that women wanted eradicated, the two main ones being FGM and forced marriages. She suggested that education was the key to stopping FGM and said that, for those who supported the practice in order to keep their culture, “culture is dynamic”. After, we asked about whether the girls were circumcised or not, some were and some weren't. Focusing on the ones that had not been circumcised yet, we asked them if they had any plans as to what would happen when their time came. A few had plans to run away and find NGOs and other authorities who would be able to help them but many others were resigned to having it done to them without their own consent. Some said that they would have it done in order to be respected within their society and were unwilling to fight it due to the lack of support from others within their clan especially the elders, who are all male and pro-circumcision. She said the only thing that gained a girl respect, other than circumcision, was education, secondary school at least and beyond to university.

There were brighter stories though regarding what they would do to find a husband without being circumcised, with one telling us that her tribe does not force them to marry within their own tribe so she could marry someone who did not support the practice of FGM. Another told us she would become a Catholic nun as a solution. When we asked how they would be able to escape the circumciser if they came suddenly to prevent her running away and one girl told us that there was a long period of celebration leading up to the ceremony and that she would use that time to educate her parents in an attempt to get them to stop the ritual.

Another point that kept cropping up as a way of circumventing the ritual in terms of respect and marriage prospects was education. A girl told us that many Maasai parents did not want their daughters to be educated and celebrated when they received bad marks. My final question to them was where else in the world was FGM practised. One girl said Kenya although she got the type of FGM incorrect, another said America.

Unfortunately, time ran out and we had to return to town but we had found the day useful even if it did not really tell us much that we had not already been told. It was nice to hear it from the girls themselves, though. The truth of it is that these are extremely well-educated girls, whose English was extremely impressive who know about the health implications of the practice and are able or willing to fight against the practice in their own tribes. Some may go to university and become professionals through which they will be able to gain respect and a significant dowry for their family. Although some of these girls will inevitably fail in their quest to educate their parents and elders, a large majority will probably not even attempt to resist. Additionally, none of those girls we interviewed will ever be major decision makers in their tribes. It is the young men, the leaders of the next generation that we must engage with and educate.

Projects Abroad World XI 3 - 1 Father Renatus' Engikaret Select

Revenge, a dish best served cold, was the order of the day as the Projects Abroad World XI cruised to a 3-1 victory over Father Renatus' Engikaret Select at the Arusha Stadium.

The flat pitch and cooler conditions worked in the World XI's favour as Remzi Sipahi put them in front in the first half with a spectacular drive from the edge of the box. After the break Kevin Wong doubled the advantage with a neatly placed shot and added a third later in the game. The Engikaret Select team were able to grab a consolation goal late in the second half but it was not enough to begin a heroic comeback.

The Projects Abroad World XI made a few changes to their team with the additions of three new players. Moses Phineas replaced Kevin Wong in goal while, Wong moved up front alongside another new face in the form of Bert Hoeksema. A third debutant began the game with Marcus Jansson taking the place of the departed Erik-Jan Meulenbrugge.

The Projects team lined up: Moses Phineas (GK), Chris Kammerer (SW), Marcos Rodriguez (RB), Baraka Mbise (CB), Marcus Jansson (LB), Jon Lambrecht (CM), Remzi Sipahi (CM), Regan Sirali (CM), Bert Hoeksema (RF), Kevin Wong (CF), Ian Baxter (LF)

Substitutes: Tim Leenstra

The Projects team decided to stick with their 1-3-3-3 formation that had conceded five goals in one half in their previous game, the side obviously putting faith in their pre-match preparations. Playing a sweeper in the form of Kammerer complemented their very narrow defensive shape and the improved positional and tactical understanding appeared to sure up their previous frailties.

The game began in the Engikaret Select's favour, though, and they dominated the early possession, as well as the majority of the referee's decisions. The first incident of note was an unpleasant one as Baxter and Lambrecht were involved in a sickening collision after a breakdown in communication when going for a high ball, the former coming off worse, clutching his ribs. Baxter soldiered on, hwoever, and was on the receiving end of another heavy challenge that left him prone on the ground clutching his side. Leading by example, he gritted his teeth and got straight back into the game.

After 15 minutes the tide seemed to turn in the World XI's favour as they began to find their passing game. Phineas was proving to be an astute signing as he dealt capably with any balls that came in his direction. Pressing forward, trying to take advantage of the Engikaret Select's high defensive line, the World XI began to carve out a few chances with Wong, Sirali and Sipahi failing to significantly trouble the goalkeeper. Hoeksema, however, was beginning to find joy down the right hand side and was starting to find his range with a couple of dangerous low balls into the box, forcing the Engikaret Select's goalkeeper into action. It was from one of these crosses, that the Engikaret defender could only direct into Sipahi's path, that the breakthrough came. Sipahi managed to crash a first time driven shot high into the roof of the net, leaving the goalkeeper flapping at thin air long after the ball had passed him.

The World XI began to march on from there, the flat pitch favouring their midfield as they were able to twist and turn past their opponents before finding teammates in space. Two further chances fell to Wong in the first half, a golden chance appearing after a cute through ball from Sipahi was met by Wong's left foot only for him to skewer his shot from an acute angle across the goal towards the corner flag. A second chance fell to the same player as a high ball into the box was allowed to drop but the new striker rushed his volley and could only send the ball back into the air as the Engikaret defender headed it away.

The second half continued as the first half had finished with Leenstra, on for Sirali, Lambrecht and Sipahi controlling the midfield while Baxter and Hoeksema switched flanks as Wong ran the channels. The warning signs were there as Sipahi found Wong, almost immediately from the restart as he broke through the offside trap but disaster was averted by a fine tackle from the Engikaret Select defender. However, moments later Sipahi found Wong in acres of space, with a great ball over the top, as the Engikaret offside trap began to crumble. Wong closed in on the goal and placed his shot from the right hand side of the area beyond the keeper's reach hitting the back of the net in off the far post.

Fortunately for the World XI, and for Wong, the Engikaret Select defenders failed to learn from that goal and moments later, in a carbon copy of the first pass, man-of-the-match Sipahi, once again, found Wong beyong the last defender and, racing clear, Wong was able to side foot his shot high towards the near post, although he was lucky as the keeper should have done better to stop the shot going though his hands for Wong's second and the World XI's third.

The rest of the game passed in much the same fashion although fatigue set in and Wong was unable to convert his chances into a third goal and the hat-trick remained out of reach, his left footed miss in the first half coming back to haunt him. Leenstra and Sipahi continued to boss the midfield and the back four remained most solid after an assured performance from Kammerer, Mbise and Rodriguez. The star of the defensive performance was the debutant Jansson as he showed excellent positioning and a calm head when bringing the ball out of defense, after a shaky start. The only blip on the performance being Engikaret Select's consolation goal as the usually magnificent Phineas spilled a shot into the path of the onrushing Engikaret striker who slammed the ball home.

The Projects Abroad team should be deservedly proud of their performance in front of an excellent home crowd and will look to march on from this victory as rumours of an invitational tournament in May surfaced after the match. The new formation and fitness regime seemed to gel well with the home turf. One key issue for the Projects team, however, will be how they are going to prevent two time man-of-the-match Sipahi, who finished today with a goal and two assists, from being tempted by a big money move. Immediately after the game, rumours of interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid were rampant on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Sipahi quickly moved to distance himself from the rumours, while not totally ruling out a move, stating "playing with Barcelona would be a dream job but for now my heart's with Projects Abroad and I can't picture myself in any other jersey."

Eurotrip Anyone?

So, a week since my last blog. In that week the human rights project has taken on a new direction. Leaving behind Morombo as our focus, we are attempting to build a project around the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). I will spare the gruesome details but you can probably work it out. If not, Google it. On Tuesday, we met with the man in charge of the HIMS FGM programme based in a health clinic in Ngaramtoni which aided victims of FGM. He gave us a brief overview of the vision and mission of HIMS and the work they carried out in relation to FGM. We were given an introduction into what FGM entails and the physical and psychological effects of it. It was pretty harrowing stuff but the rest of the week has consisted of research on the internet into FGM and the organisations that are already acting in order to eliminate this terrible ritual.

Progress has been slow and we need to seriously step up our efforts in order to make this project work.Today we met with a group of women who have themselves rejected circumcision and were able to ask some questions about the procedure and the way we can combat the practice but it was not as productive as I thought it was going to be, much of which can probably attributed to my lack of preparation so I'm going to have to make my own efforts greater.

More has been happening on the social side of things though. On Monday a few volunteers went back to the hot springs as some of them missed the first trip. Yet again, I forgot to take my camera so was unable to get any pictures. Next time! Anyway, I had just as much fun the second time as the first but it was much busier which many more people taking advantage of the Easter holiday. Thursday was the social at Herbs & Spices, an Ethiopian restaurant, which was excellent, especially the lentils. Via Via after and then a care outreach at Cradle of Love orphanage on Friday. I was only able to go to this due to someone dropping out as there were a limited amount of spaces and it was a great experience playing with the children and hearing their stories about how they ended up in the orphanage. We were introduced to some twins who had only arrived that week and when we were told the story one of the medical volunteers had worked at the hospital where the mother had died giving birth to them. We were able to play and feed the children and when we were called to go it seemed like the hour had passed in a flash.

That evening I headed out to eat with some of the volunteers and we had curry, which I have missed almost more than sushi! I had a mutton curry with rice and a garlic naan which was heaven, all for under ten pounds. The Saturday we headed to the Snake Park, which was a little bit disappointing and headed to Empire in the evening. Every time I go there on a Saturday, I tend to like it less and less. I much prefer Via Via as a venue, even if the clientele and prices are not anything to boast about. Anyway, we were celebrating last nights out in Tanzania for five of the volunteers, which sucks. It has only been a month and a half but I still feel like I'm losing some really great friends. Its similar to when we had some Aussie exchange students back in my second year of uni. Three months but felt like it should have been a lifetime. Here, in Tanzania, most of the volunteers are really close as, I suppose, everyone must have come here for similar reasons and are like-minded. One meets people from all over the world while volunteering and sometimes the sad fact is that one may probably never see them again. However, with the world so engrossed in social media, it has become easier to stay in touch and when you compare the size of America or Australia to the size of Europe, where many of the volunteers are from, it shouldn't be too hard to stay in touch. So I guess it's goodbye for now as I plan my Eurotrip visiting friends in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Anyone wanna join me?

Projects Abroad World XI 0 - 5 Tanzanian All-stars

On Saturday 7^th April, the Projects Abroad World XI succumbed in the heat to a 5-0 humbling at the hands of the Tanzanian All-stars. After a bright start the Project's defence held firm limiting the amount of clear cut chances that the All-stars were able to create resulting in a 0-0 half time scoreline. However, after the restart, the organisation and fitness of the All-stars began to shine through and the Tanzanians ran out comfortable winners in an, at times, feisty game.

Anticipation was high prior to the match with two members of the team running 15 minutes late and most of the others carb-loading using cakes, biscuits and a tin of Pringles. Not the best start. With their loyal cohort of five travelling fans, the team bus left Arusha with spirits high and tactical knowledge low. Upon arriving at Engikaret we had a team, a formation and not much else.

We were given a quick tour of the facilities of Engikaret that volunteers had built for the school, including a water tank project supported by Projects Abroad and a classroom that the volunteers had built from the foundations, before we moved on to the school where we would be playing. However, during the tour we managed to lose a significant part of our team: the ball had been thrown into a cactus and the spines deflated the ball we had over pumped to be able to play our long ball game. The pitch was on the large side with no markings on it to tell you where the edge of the pitch was let alone the penalty area. We warmed up and got ready to go.

We lined up: Kevin Wong (GK), Marcos Rodriguez (RB) Erik-Jan Meulenbrugge (LB), Baraka Mbise (CB), Chris Kammerer (CB), Jon Lambrecht (RM), Josh Baravelli (LM), Ian Baxter (CM), Tim Leenstra (CM), Constantine Sirili (CF), Remzi Kemal Sipahi(CF)

Shooting downhill for the first half the Project's team kept their shape and discipline well, with Mbise and Kammerer holding firm in the centre of defence with Meulenbrugge doing well despite a few misjudged headers. The All-stars were having a lot of joy down their left flank, though no crosses were ever threatening. The World XI offered little going forward as the players needed time to gel and the first chance of the game fell to the All-stars when their striker was put clean through over the top only for Wong to put him off, the ball sailing over the bar as the keeper rushed out. The All-stars managed to create three more chances, twice shooting straight at Wong and forcing another save low down to the keepers right. The closest the Tanzanians came to scoring was a looped chip from just outside the box, that Wong let go in order to not fall in the huge pile of cow pat lying on the goal line, but the ball just did not dip enough. In reply the World XI carved out a couple of clear cut chances falling to Sipahi but, unfortunately for his team, was unable to convert either. A solid defensive performance kept the score at nil-nil going into half time.

This was not to last. As the game restarted, the heat and altitude began to take it's toll with the gap between the midfield and defence beginning to open up. As the All-stars began to find more space outside the penalty area, their superior teamwork carved out chances to shoot from distance and they were finally able to beat the World XI keeper with a low shot from outside the box. At this point, heads dropped and soon after the All-stars slipped the ball through the defence to leave the striker with a simple task of rounding the keeper to slot home a second. It was not long before the All-stars had a third when Wong failed to hold on to a rasping shot low down to his left and only succeeded in deflecting the ball into the path of an onrushing striker. This seemed to spark a mini-revival from the World XI though as the began to play better football, switching some of the positions to leave Baravelli and Sipahi in the middle. An exhausted Sirili, playing lone striker for much of the game, was given a chance when he was set through but only managed to drag his shot across the goalmouth from the right hand side.

As the All-stars made the most of their whole squad, the only change the World XI could muster was to bring Wong out of goal to be replaced by Sirili. Sipahi had managed to get a grip on the centre of midfield and was attempting to dictate the play when he could leaving Baravelli to make his physical presence felt. Assisted by Leenstra the World XI abandoned their 4-4-2 formation to a 1-3-3-3 playing three across the back in front of a sweeper, with Baravelli, Leenstra and Sipahi taking control of the middle, leaving Wong on the left, Lambrecht down the middle and Baxter as the right winger. The World XI attempted to make a comeback with Baxter throwing over a few crosses from the right and Wong winning a free kick just outside the box which Sipahi got on target. Unfortunately, the All-stars keeper was right behind it. Leenstra was finding a lot of space out on the left hand side of the midfield and was able to set Wong free and the winger showed his tenacity as he still retained the ball after being bundled over, preventing a throw in and demonstrating surprisingly quick feet to beat his man down the touchline. His cut back was met by man-of-the-match Sipahi who drilled it towards the far post where Baxter managed to connect with his knee only to see the ball fly agonisingly wide. The game was getting stretched and the Tanzanians made the most of their downhill advantage scoring two further goals on the counter as the World XI pushed forward in search of a consolation goal. That goal nearly came towards the end as Baxter found space on the right to throw over a great cross. Wong flung himself at it but the goalkeeper was well positioned to snatch the ball off his forehead.

The game ended soon after and the teams shook hands and applauded the fans that had turned out, the home fans jubilant after the victory. To celebrate the teams were treated to barbecued goat before the exhausted Projects Abroad World XI team boarded their bus for the long ride home.

Now, before you say anything, I know this sounds like the most biased match report you've ever read but I simply don't care, plus I only really remember what I did. It was a great day out and I hope we get to do it again soon, hopefully on a flatter pitch with less thorns. There were times when I could catch the ball and it would leave about five tiny balls with spikes stuck to my hands. I also managed to slice my thumb on a bit of glass before the game too so my hands took some battering. I need to find some gloves before the next game methinks.  

Maasai School's One Year Anniversary

Today was the one year anniversary of Projects Abroad's involvement in a village to the west of Arusha, first with a building project and, secondly, with a teaching project. We were all invited to the village to join the celebrations. The journey there took about forty-five minutes through one of the busiest roads in town, before heading out into the countryside. Along the way we were granted some great views and as we travelled further away from Arusha, the small shanty towns were gradually replaced by Maasai bomas dotted around the landscape, with the Maasai themselves wandering the endless plain. It had rained heavily in the morning so some of the guys had to get out and push the bus at one point. A bullet I managed to dodge. We arrived at the school without further incident and we were immediately taken to see the goat that we were going to be eating for lunch. This was important for the Maasai as they had killed what is their commodity in order to honour us as guests in their village. As it turns out, it was one of the volunteer teachers who works there who had the honour of killing the goat himself, of which I am envious, but then was duped into eating raw kidney, of which I am rather less envious.

The day started with prayers and a song by the church choir, which was sung beautifully. Then it was the introductions, first by prominent members of the village community then by the volunteers and Projects' staff. We were treated to another song, this time in Maasai rather than Swahili, before we were split into groups to play with the children. We went outside for the first game of the day: sack racing! The children dived into the game with great enthusiasm and were rewarded for their jumping, screaming and falling with sweets at the end of the course. For the people giving out the sweets, it was was manic. They were suddenly mobbed by a sea of hands grasping at the first sign of something sugary. After the children’s sack race, it was the turn of the volunteers. I took part and fancied my chances, however, it wasn't to be as poor preparation meant that during the race both my hat and my glasses fell off within a second of each other and, in the process of bending down to pick both of them up, I ended up flat on my face. Overall I came fourth or fifth, I think, but certainly will need to adjust my strategy for the next race. More pit stops maybe. There was a three-legged race and a game of piggy-in-the-middle with a football before we stopped for lunch. Lunch consisted of rice, goat stew, banana stew and some fruit. All to be eaten with hands. Different people attacked their lunch with differing levels of enthusiasm but personally I have no problem eating using my hands. The lunch break was a welcome pause from running around with the children even if the day itself was not particularly warm.

After lunch we continued to play with the children, carrying them on our shoulders and pushing them on the swings. The children seemed so happy to be able to play with all the volunteers. Finally, we went back to the church for more songs and each volunteer was gifted a Maasai necklace each. As the closing speeches were given, I had one adorable child on my lap who was particularly interested in my headphones and, when I placed them in her ears and turned my music on, began bobbing her head up and down to We Are The In Crowd. As we left the children burst out into song for their teachers and waved us goodbye as we boarded the bus. It had been an unbelievable day.

The next day there was no social due to the Maasai trip but all the volunteers were meeting for dinner before heading to Via Via after. We ate at Maasai Café, where I just had a pizza and headed to Via Via for one of the funniest nights I've had in a while. Via Via has really grown on me since I've been here but the one annoying part about Tanzania is some of the men can not take 'no' as an answer. There was one man who constantly tried to grab one of the girls in the group and grind on them, even when he was clearly told no. This probably happens in every country and I've definitely seen it in England but this happens almost every time we're at Via Via. I spent the good part of an hour, pulling the girls away from him and repositioning myself in between him and the rest of our group. Yet he still kept trying it on with them. Things like that really annoy me. Just because Tanzania is still a largely patriarchal society does not give men the right to do whatever they want. Apologies for the dark note to end but there you go.

The Following Takes Place Between 9am and 1pm

Today on the human rights project we visited a private pre-school in Morombo to discuss with the director how his school, one of very few in the area, had come about and to gauge how we could help as volunteers. It was extremely interesting for me having come from the teaching project at Gohechi to another school in a very poor area. The class, for there was only one, consisted of around twenty students with a wide variety of ages and abilities. There are two classrooms, with three teachers, and the classrooms are extremely basic. Unfortunately, I did not take my camera this time so was unable to take photos of the conditions they were in but it was still better than the makeshift shack a few hundred yards away that served as a classroom for less fortunate children who could not afford to pay for the established schools. The price of three months at this school was 100,000TSH but many could not afford to pay that and were charged a discounted 60,000TSH instead. The price included porridge but as they could not afford to buy lunch for the children, much like Gohechi, they were unable to keep the children there for lunch and afternoon lessons. However, the director told me that many of the children stayed anyway because their parents worked until 4 or 5pm. There will generally be someone there to look after them, the director told us, because the school doubles up as his house.

The director outlined his plan to expand the schools classes into class one, two and three in time and gave us a detailed description of his vision to build a separate building, in which he could live, so the main building could have an extra classroom, as well as his idea to buy the land adjacent to the school as either a plot for a new building or as a dedicated playground for the children. He also showed us his little vegetable garden in which he had grown some spinach, which he fed to the children, and some chilli, which he fed to us (and occasionally sold). I took a small bite and it was hot enough to make my eyes water but not unbearable. I still needed a swig from my bottle of water though. He seemed like a good man, wanting the best for his children but he also told us why he was unwilling to accept a lot of students for free, even though he had the space, suggesting that the paying parents would be unhappy if they had to pay while others get free education.

After we left the school we stopped by a funeral to pay our respects to a man, with whom HIMS was close to agreeing a deal to use his land to grow vegetables, who had recently lost his father. It was a sombre event and the first funeral that I have ever been to. Of course, we did not stay for long, stopping only to say pole sana to the man and his family but the pain was evident on their faces. Death and hardship are facts of life in Tanzania and this was evident when we then visited the site of a half-completed house, that had been repossessed by one of the banks in Arusha after the prospective owner had been unable to pay back his loan, before visiting the home of a man living in another half-built house with AIDS. Seeing people coping with things that I have absolutely no experience in is in itself a difficult situation. I just can not relate to any of these people. I've lost an uncle that, regrettably, I was not close to but no one extremely close to me; I've always had somewhere to live; the worst affliction I have is being insufferable to the average human being. I am really, really fortunate. Something I must appreciate.

For the majority of you who read this will know me personally, I have posted two new albums on my Facebook page, one regarding the Lake Duluti trip the other a bunch of pictures from International Women's Day that seems so long ago. I hope you enjoy them.

Human Rights and Wongs

Today I began the human rights project for April and May. Before I came, I thought the project would be focused on gender equality, HIV/AIDS awareness, elimination of stigmas surrounding mental health issues and disabilities. It turns out it's more focused on the people's right to a good quality of life. Much of it is based around teaching the people we help about how to improve their quality of life, whether that be by learning practical skills or improving their English. I was taken to my placement by another volunteer via dala-dala. We headed to Murombo, a few kilometres outside of Arusha, where Healthy Integrated Multi-sectorial Services (HIMS) was hosting an entrepreneurial workshop for the locals. Hosting I thought meant facilitating a businessman or speaker to give a seminar on how to start a small business but it actually was the other volunteer and me who gave a workshop on how to transform an idea into a business plan, how to raise the capital needed and how to put the plan into action. Now as someone who has never studied a business course in my life, this was a very interesting introduction into the project and one of the poorer areas of Tanzania. The people there were middle-aged men who had skills and ideas that they wanted to turn into profitable businesses.

We started by attempting to estimate the minimum amount needed for one single person to live. We estimated with help of the local men that one would need per month in rent, 210,000TSH for food and around 60,000TSH for miscellaneous expenses. That totals to about £120. We used this plus a figure of 200,000TSH for material costs for any sort of business plus savings and used the total figure of 500,000TSH for our total expenditure figure. Thus any business plan we had needed to exceed this. A tall order, first of all, for the people to find something to make that sort of money and, secondly, the people in the area have no way to raise the money needed to start up their business. They have no savings, barely any belongings and either the banks refuse to lend them micro-finance loans due to the inability to secure it against a property or the people are unwilling to risk their house.

Next up was the formation of a business plan. Which no one knew how to make. So I suggested that I try to get in touch with some university friends who did business degrees in order to try and get a “master copy”, as the locals had started calling it. We then moved back to the problem of capital. This had us pretty stumped, with saving what little you can by doing what you're doing now or finding outside help in the form of a not-for-profit organisation. Here, I suggested working as a community to form relationships between businesses where, for example, the person growing vegetables would sell to the people who cooked food to sell on the street for slightly cheaper than others and they would, in turn, guarantee them business. After this, we had a small discussion about cutting costs, discovering that one man makes 5000TSH (£2) a day covering only a third of his expenses.

When we arrived back at the office, after some very lengthy closing speeches, I was given an overview of the project and the stuff they do. I think the ones that most interest me are the business related ones and the projects to help the youth groups, including teaching them how to play football. Doesn't sound particularly human rights-y if I compare to the equality issues you deal with in the Western world in the Lancaster bubble but I think this projects is going to be what I make of it.

Later that afternoon, Quirine and I lunched at Africafe spending way more that we should have and then went to the bookshop opposite. Here I decided to buy Hemingway's The Snows of Kilimanjaro simply because I love Hemingway and I'm in Tanzania.

So, there you have it. My first day of the human rights project. It is nothing like I expected it would be, structure and guidance is almost non-existent but from a CV point of view, I suppose it's good to get more business related stuff on there, even if it is dealing with small individual projects rather than huge corporations. Anyway, I got called a son-of-a-bitch today by a Tanzanian trying to sell me a safari. Apparently. I didn't understand the Swahili. However, my new tactic to anyone who tries to sell me a safari is to offer to pay them $50 for a five day safari. That gets them riled.

One Month On

Well that didn't go well. The football that is. I'd rather not talk about it. Anyway, like I said in my last post here is a summary of my first month of volunteering in Arusha, Tanzania.

Before I came to Tanzania I wrote about my goals:

1. Learn Swahili.

2. Read more.

3. Get fitter.

4. Learn to cook a new cuisine.

5. Appreciate what I have at home and not take things for granted.
6. Gain a unique experience.

So, in order, my Swahili is very limited, basic greetings are pretty much all I know other than a few odd words here and there. I should proably increase my efforts to learn in the next month. I have managed to read a bit more, mostly on Sundays when there is very little to do. I have read The Old Man and the Sea and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and have just started A Farewell to Arms. I think I've lost a bit of weight but I haven't done as much exercise as I would have liked. I need to start going to the gym or swimming now that I don't have to be at work by 7:30am every weekday morning. I've learned and noted down one recipe but that is all. I want to try and learn more but finding the time is a bit tricky as of late. However, the last two have been, I think, more successful. Sort of. I think I will appreciate more of my home comforts at home, especially the freedom granted to me by my parents. The experiences are definitely worthwhile and will hopefully be unique enough to help me land a job when I get back home. Whether I have any truly unique experience remains to be seen, I guess, so we shall find out in June.

I think what I have really experienced in this first month is a complete change of culture, while the house that I live in and the people that I hang around with gives me the perfect opportunity to compare the contrasting attitudes between the Tanzanian people and the Western volunteers. I have had a great time teaching the children at Gohechi, who have been at times funny, strange, infuriating, ridiculous and adorable. I have laughed so much while teaching the kids and it has been a great experience. I am, however, ready to move on but, from what I've heard, the human rights project doesn't exactly have structure. I won't miss the 6am alarm though! The climate in Tanzania has taken some getting used to. The heat is searing in the middle of the day and one needs to learn to walk slowly when the Sun is up.

Another thing I've had to adapt to is living in someone else's house. I can no longer raid the larder for a packet of crisps or take a look in the fridge for some olives or some cheese. The food has been mostly good, but I'm still not keen on cooked banana. One thing that had me talking with a few volunteers is how we barter for everything. We will try and get that 200 TSH (~8p) off the bracelet we're buying for 1700 TSH (~50p) or complaining that we have to pay 4000 TSH for a coffee (~£1.60) when it costs me upwards of £3 in Starbucks.

Anyway, yesterday I cooked my family an English breakfast which my host sister, Glory, seemed to love. Next up, a stir-fry then a pie or something.