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Well after almost 19 months in Tanzania my travels and experience there are over. Saying goodbye is so hard and resuming a life that is SO different is really hard. I've been home a week now. Home for Christmas and all that. I'm glad to be home. Definitely. But Walter couldn't come with me and I miss him everyday. I know he's an Africa dog and is happier chasing chickens and eating cow poo than he'd ever be in my backyard in California waiting for me to get home from work but it's still so hard. He really is Walter the Wonder Dog and there will never be another like him. So there's Walter that I miss, and then there is the people in Tanzania: my friends in the village and the volunteers I worked with. These are truly some of the most amazing, creative, resilient and funny people I've even know. I'm so privileged that my path in life crossed with theirs.
On that note, and because i like making lists here is a list of 50 most important things I learned while in Tanzania:
1. Get your dog neutered
2. Farm animals are painfully loud and annoying
3. You get used to it
4. Its easy to loose 20 lbs if you used to eat fast food everyday and then you move to Africa
5. You can find something in common with anyone... seriously ANYONE
6. Toilets are overrated
7. There are a-holes, liars, cheaters, thieves, and gossipers everywhere in every country and culture
8. A smile, offers to share meals, and soda are understood in all languages and cultures
9. Sarcasm, regular bathing, and personal space are not
10. When in doubt, consult old people
11. Most of the stuff we refrigerate in the states doesn't really need to be refrigerated
12. Everyone likes butterscotch
13. Chocolate, however, is an acquired taste
13. Listen to your gut
14. Those deprived of power and privileged most of their lives will be the first to abuse it
15. Everyone needs to believe in something
16. Take care of yourself first, you'll never be able to help or inspire anyone when you're all broken down and busted
17. Use snail mail - old fashioned cards and letters are fun to write and receive
18. Trust
19. Pay attention to the way your body and health react in a certain place or with certain people- sometimes it knows better than you do about what's best
20. PAY ATTENTION
21. There's always a way to be happy
22. Teaching- whether its to make pancakes or a new farming technique- is hugely rewarding
23. Be compassionate towards others- just a mere twist of fate would have your places in life reversed
24. Compassion can be really hard- especially when people are screaming in your face, stealing, or hurting children
25. Eat fresh fruit and veggies whenever you can, you'll never know how lucky you are and how good they taste until you can't get your hands on any
26. The developing world is a lot like Little House on the Prairie only with cellphones and the occasional motorcycle
27. When dismounting said motorcycle, do so on the left. Getting off on the right will result in a really painful engine burn
28. Wear sunscreen
29. Plant your own veggie garden, its fun and tastes better
30. Different cultures grieve in very different ways
31. Self-reflection, existential crises, artistry, and volunteerism are privileges of living in a developed country
32. Sometimes it feel really good to cry
33. Unconditional love is likely the best gift ever given or received
34. People will never know what is acceptable or unacceptable to you unless you tell them
35. Rats and snakes are not as scary as I once thought them to be
36. Take a multivitamin
37. Eat yogurt whenever you can, its good for the tummy
38. If you're sad, go sit and play with a baby
39. Faith and hope in personal abilities and power is a difficult concept to teach particularly to people who have never ever been introduced to it before
40. Cherish your education that taught your how to think and discern, where your teachers showed up, and where beatings and sexual assault were not acceptable
41. Make your house a comfortable place to relax but don't get too comfortable that you forget there's a big world beyond it
42. Read- it feels good
43. Don't make yourself miserable for the sake of being being tough or to make some similar point- no one's impressed and mostly, no one is paying attention. Stubbornness does not equal strength of character
44. CLEAN water is the best medicine for most ailments
45. Some rules must have been made with the intention that they would broken... why else would some of them be so stupid?
46. Timing is everything
47. Letting go is the only thing you can really control
48. Exercise- it also feels good
49. Silence, with strangers or friends, is ok and truly isn't that scary
50. Usually we sell ourselves short, we're stronger, more patient, and more flexible that we think


So there is the little wisdom i picked up in my travels. I'm home now and have my old cell phone number 626-590-4592 so feel free to call. Also I'm still raising money for the well in my village. Any donations or ideas on ways to raise money are sooooo appreciated. Much love and be well.

life's a landcruiser?... enjoy the ride

i just had maybe the best car ride of my life (which is saying a lot, i've had some pretty stellar road trips in my life) this morning i woke up early already irritated. i had to make the 1 hour motorcycle ride + the 3 hour bus ride into town to go to the bank. Ugh. If you think banks in the states are annoying try one in tanzania. Lines are a fantasy, so put on your helmet and get ready for full body contact banking. my motorcycle ride was a half hour early so i went without food... i really like my breakfast. then i finally got to the main road to wait for a bus to take me to town and... of course, no buses. an hour later still no buses. a few cars passed but none would slow down for the pathetic looking, hungry peace corps volunteer crouched on the side of the road. i kept flagging each one that passed anyways figuring it couldn't hurt. and it didn't. low and behold after about an hour and a half of waiting a lovley landcruiser slowed down and rolled down its window. Two white faces peered back at me. Now, let me explain to you i almost never see white people, especially when i'm not in town, especially ones i don't already know. so this was a bit of surprise. I asked if they would be passing through Iringa town, they said they were. I asked if it wouldn't be too much trouble to give me a lift there, they said of course it wouldn't be. So i crawled into the 4 wheel drive, leather interiored land cruiser with automatic windows and locks, a functioning air conditioner, a cd player, and a jack to plug your ipod into. It was stepping into another world. One i haven't visited in a LONG time. As we got to talking I found out they were two south african men who worked for a company based in south africa that works all over the world looking for alternative energy sources. Graham and Louie. They were wonderful. We talked the whole way. Louie has been to 84 countries and shared fantastic stories. It was interesting to hear his take on Tanzania in comparison to other African nations and other developing nations on different continents. I was so excited to talk to someone about development work (literally so excited i realized i was trembling a little and couldn't wipe a goofy grin off my face)... what are we doing here? whats our goal? why is it working so much better in Mozambique and Kenya (2 of Tanzanians neighbors) and stalling here in Tanzania. There are so many reasons and here is a man who as seen a lot of countries and cultures and could make some educated comparisons. It was so refreshing and even a little relieving to know that my frustrations and challenges aren't necessarily because of something that i haven't done right. I have come to the conclusion (with the agreement of Louie and Graham) that development work here has gotten ahead of itself. the real problem is in the education system. Swahili is the official language of Tanzania and English is the second language and considered the language of the educated and powerful. In primary school children are spoken to and taught in Swahili, which can be a challenge in the more rural areas because before school many children only speak the tribal language. English is taught as a foreign language the way students in the states are taught Spanish or french in high school. When these Tanzanian students reach secondary school all subjects are taught in English.... and then we wonder why they don't really learn anything. imagine having taken Spanish in high school then going to college where everything was taught in Spanish and you were expected to understand complex subjects such as physics. A little tough right? I will say that their memorization skills are superb. But this is the root of the issues. We need to teach them secondary school in Swahili so they can understand what is being taught or we need to teach them English from the start. This is what Kenya has done and it has been largely successful. Many of the wealthier families send students to boarding schools in Kenya so that they can have a good education and truly learn.

But I digress, the point is that these men were wonderful. They stopped and treated me to a "spot of breakfast" along the way. It was a wonderful surprise and a perfect cure for the bad mood i had started the day with. Louie told me he has started traveling when he was 17 and hasn't stopped. "Its the best education there is." Its true, I've learned things i didn't know were possible to learn, and for better or for worse "you never regret travel." The trip ended with him dropping me off in front of the bank. I told him that i was going in an attempt to reclaim some mysteriously missing funds. His reply was "let me give you my card. if you have any trouble in there call me up. i know the manager and we go way back." this is what i love about life, you meet the most interesting people along the way.... so ya, its been said before but i'll say it again: life is a journey and we should, by all means, enjoy the ride

Giving Thanks!

Since grandma Blanche passed away a few weeks ago I can’t seem to keep the a certain image of my 3 grandparents who are up in heaven out of my head. There’s Grandpa Whit charming the pants of St. Peter as he leans up against the gates of heaven relating some hysterical (and perhaps slightly indulged) story of his youth. Grandpa Bill is working diligently with the angels figuring out the most efficient protocol for wing repair. And Grandma Blanche would have the big G-O-D cornered giving him her opinions on how things are going down here on earth. In her long and fascinating life Grandma was a lot of things but afraid to speak her mind she was not. I’m eternally grateful for that. She no doubt passed that gift on to her kids and in turn on down to my sisters, cousins, and me.

Speaking of grateful, I think it’s the right time of year to share what it is that I’m most thankful for: (it’s the holidays so I feel that I’m excused for any excessive sentimentality)
This is called the “Grateful ABCs” I do this when I’m feeling grumpy or sad:
A- African women: they are far and away the strongest and most resilient individuals i’ve ever encountered
B- books: I’d be dangerously bored without them. Over 70 read in the last 18 months
C- Clouds: big white puffy ones and rainbows too. I’ve never seen so many in my life. They’re the upside of the depressing rainy season
D- Duct tape: “if you can’t duct it, f--- it”
E- Education that teaches you how to think critically and problem solve. It’s a privilege denied too many.
F- Family and friends: many of whom I don’t get to see often but all of which I’m blessed to be associated with.
G- Gardens: home grown tomatoes and potatoes are the best
H- High fives or “nipe tano” (in Swahili) so happy this is universal
I- Imagination: this goes along with education. I’m so happy that I was taught to have one. I have seen first hand how bleak life can be when imagination is snuffed out of children and absent in adults
J- Jeans: they never get dirty (or look dirty)
K- Kerosene lamps
L- Little kids: self explanatory I think
M- Macaroni and Cheese: even with fake butter and powdered mild it still tastes good!
N- Needle and Thread: for the inevitable holes
O- onions and salt: my only consistent source of seasoning
P- Pancakes and syrup: I can make both on my charcoal stove
Q- Quilts made by hand by African women trying to support their families
R- Rainbows (see clouds)
S- Solar charger: it has allowed me a cell phone and an ipod in a village with no electricity
T- Teeth: you finally see how valuable they are when you’re the only one around with a full set.
U- Unconditional Love: good to have when the conditions are seriously tough
V- Vegetables: again, something that you don’t know how great they are until they are seriously scarce
W- Walter: the best dog in the world!
X- Xanex, hahaha! Just kidding…kind of
Y- Yaks: it’s the only thin I could think of that starts with a Y
Z- Zungumza: Swahili for talking or conversing, as art I’ve started to truly learn in the absence of electronics

Fukuza?

So i'm still truckin along here working on a few projects. I've got my homebased care worker training coming up in the next few weeks to train village members to be the first line of care for people living with HIV. I'm also helping my mama's basket group learn a new craft, Batik. And good news on the well construction: we should be getting an official survey very soon!

I've run into a few bumps in the road recently, my village executive officer, my direct village supervisor, was "fukuza"ed out of town. It took me a while to figure out what that word means... turns out it means "banished" or "chased out".... oh. apparently he stole some roofing, i don't know. it didn't go well. so there was that and also a village member stole about $200 from my house... so its been a little rough.

Anyhow, here are some pics. overall things are good. and i'm good!

babysitting on testing day





my friend dada peter's new baby rabi





walter and me in all my braided glory

a nutrition poster i made for the secondary school

getting tested on testing day

my village: this is why i need to raise money to drill a well... its a tad dry

no rest for the weary

and by the weary i do mean me and other volunteers but mostly i mean the people who live here forever, not just for two years, and this is their life.

i've had a few requests for a blog post that actually gives some updates about my life so you (mostly trina) asked for it so here it is:
- peace corps tanzania just had one of it volunteers pass away. his name was joseph chow and he died in a rock climbing accident. he wasn't someone i was personally close to but i know he was a good guy, a solid volunteer, and a member of our peace corps family. he was just a few months away from completing his service and going home. so it hurts for those who were especially close to him but also for everyone here.

- village life has been about the same for me. i just keep pluggin away at the work i try to do here "pole pole ndio mwendo" (slow and surely is the pace) or at least thats what i hear. walter is good. he recently has acquired the ability to jump my courtyard wall that is about 9 feet high... pretty impressive and terribly annoying since that means he can leave my house and terrorize the village at will. when i was gone for a week for my mid service conference he ate 4 guinnea pigs from one of my neighbors... needless to say that were not that happy. he also has injured himself through the endevour..broke/cracked a rib maybe? he had something loose and floatin around in there and a swollen tummy but he's getting better and he's still the love of my life and i'm trying to work out the details of getting him back to the states with me.

the primary school just celebrated its 7th grade graduation (it only goes up to 7th, then you start secondary school) its weird to think that i was here for it last year too... time sure has flown. at the primary we're still working on getting text books. so far we've purchased 169 textbooks in the subjects of english, swahili, math, and science. we've still got more to go but we feel good about the progress we've made.

this week we were also supposed to have our guy from the Living Water International group come out and do the technical water survey for our well-in-progress but he has actually suffered from a terrible accident with his equipment where he severed off one finger completely and half of another! yikes. he seems to be ok but will need some recovery time so it sounds like well progress will be on hold yet again.... TIA.

- i have some other projects in the works: i wrote a grant for a series of 5 "health days" in various villages. we've completed two of these days and so far tested over 700 people for HIV and provided education about HIV prevention as well as living a healthy life with HIV. so far we've had about a 20% HIV positive rate which reinforces the fact that this testing and education is seriously needed. so its a success so far in terms of getting people tested and one that i'm proud of. i'm also planning a home based care training for people in my village in mid november that will train them in how to give palliative care to people in the village living with HIV. i'm waiting for funding for this project but have a lot of community support so i feel confident that it will be successful. and the other project in the works in a 5 day girls empowerment camp. me and 4 other volunteers are planning it. each of us taking 5 girls from our village to the camp where they will have the opportunity to take a break from work, play, have fun, learn about themselves and their bodies, learn some new skills, and hear from some other empowered women of tanzania. we're all very excited about the potential of this camp. keep your fingers crossed for us.

other than that i've been trying to keep myself busy and out of trouble :) life can be tough here sometimes... all the alone time gives a person far too much time to think espeically when it often seems that the history and culture of this country seems to working against my and the efforts of peace corps. i often worry that my work here is just feeding the cycle of dependancy that was set into motion in this country centuries ago first by colonialism, then by poorly implemented missionarly and foreign aide work. for years people here have been made to think that white is better and equals money and that they in themselves are not capable of effecting change in their lives and futures. these attitudes are changing and it is my mission here as well as peace corps idea of development that our role here is to teach, provide skills, tools, and opportunities but some people don't want that, they want money and a quick fix (don't we all) and thats tough for all development workers here and in many developing nations. but i guess thats just the world and human nature.

mac and cheese packages are always appreciated as well as any childrens books anyone has to donate to the school library. feel free...but not obligated to do so. as always i appreciate all your support and love from home. i couldn't do it without you. much love!

Picture update

Lake Momella in arusha national park. this was one of the stops on the trip with the fam. we woke up before dawn to make sure we could see the flamingos.

Flamingos

Sunrise over Mt Meru (with our safari vehicle out in front)

Sunset out on a peninsula in dar es salaam

My friend Alee's wedding to Tesso here in Tanzania. Cristina another volunteer designed her dress, Meesh (the one not in a wedding dress) translated the ceremony, and Alee's dad is a pastor who came from the states to perform the ceremony.

Tesso, Alee, and Me

Walter is a a really good reader.

This is the beach where i get to stay while i'm in Dar for my mid serivce conference... not so bad

These are the Maasai that guard our beach for us all day and night.

One Year: Check

pretty sunflower farm

picture it took me forever to put up. my dad sent me the paper from home and i had the kids a pic with it. they were stoked.

my 6th grade class that i teach health and english too

clinic day (really its when the mama's bring their babies to get weighed) in the village

HIV testing day in the village!

My apologies to all my faithful blog followers (all four of you) its been awhile since I’ve updated on life and times here in TZ. I also haven’t been able to check my mail in over a month so if someone’s waiting on a snail mail response…sorry. I’ll get to it I promise. One of the reasons I fell so behind is that I had a visitors!!! The whole family!! Mom, Dad, Jess, Jeff, and Amy. It was a bit surreal to have them all hear traveling the bumpy roads and sleeping under mosquito nets with me; a bit like worlds colliding (in a good way J). We had a great time. Mom and Dad and Jess came for two weeks and Amy and Jeff joined us a week into the fun. We visited northern Tanzania to see the animals in the national parks and to visit the Momela lodge which you can see yourself anytime you please by just popping in a copy of John Wayne’s “Hatari” filmed at the lodge in the early 1960’s. Needless to say this was one of its selling points for all of us (but lets be honest, mostly for Dad… he was pretty excited to walk in the steps of the “Duke”) We went on walking and driving tours, were not ten yards from giraffes, zebras, and warthogs, saw a lake painted pink with flamingos in the early morning, and got to see all kinds of species of baboons and chimps escorting their babies around on their backs. After Amy and Jeff joined us we headed out my village for a few days and after a ride that renewed all of our relationships with God, we arrived safely (only by His grace) to warm welcome. We visited church, the schools, and the health center and they were able to see a little bit of what I do everyday and the wonderful people I work and live with. The way they welcomed my family as their own reminded me how lucky I am to live with such a warm and kind people. The trip was concluded with a few days at the beautiful beaches of Dar es Salaam where we snorkeled and explored and had the kinks worked out of our backs. The whole trip was awesome and reminded me how much I love and miss my family (not that I forgot) and how lucky I am to have all the support they give me.
Also since I last updated I celebrated my one year anniversary in Tanzania. It has undoubtedly (just like everything else) flown by. It has been hard, and will continue to be so, I suspect. I often question the value of my time spent here but ultimately I feel that I have been productive in the last year and think I still have a lot left that I can do and offer during my year of service that remains. The well project is still in motion, and I’ve just recently had a grant approved and received funding to sponsor a series of 5 HIV awareness days in my and surrounding villages. We’ll have food, dancing, a soccer game, HIV testing, educational speakers… the works. I’ve really excited. They should start next month. I’ll keep you updated on how they turn out. My newest (or oldest, since I’ve really been working on this since the first day I was placed in my village) is selecting village members and training them as home based care workers to provide basic and vital care to people living with AIDS and all sick persons in the village. This is especially important where I live since there are no local health facility and because there is no transport outside of bikes and walking it is virtually impossible for very sick people, the ones that need it the most, to receive health care. Training home based care workers would give these people a chance. I’m working closely with the district government to find the ways and means to have 5 -7 people trained from my village by the end of my term of service next summer. Its proved a difficult endeavor so far since Tanzanian government and agencies are not typically known for their efficiency and speedy nature so I could use your good thoughts and prayers.
Also I wanted to give a little shout out to Crestview Preparatory School in La Canada, CA. Udumuka Primary school got your letters and couldn’t be more excited. You’ll get responses just as soon as school starts up again in the fall.
Thanks to everyone for the incredible support I continue to get. I love you guys!

Changes

We gotta make a change... It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.

Let's change the way we eat,

let's change the way we live

and let's change the way we treat each other.

You see the old way wasn't working, so it's on us to do what we gotta do... to survive.

-tupac shakur

...as if this song hasn't already been quoted into cliche-hood it still one of the only things that kept me sane in the last few months. reminding myself to be flexible and that change is small, but it still counts. i'm not really sure where to start.

i'll start with this. computers in africa. i'm going to loose my mind (if i havn't already) if one more flash drive, memory card, ipod gets a virus from these computers that cost me two dollars an hour to use and at least a half hour to download one picture. i've actually screamed in the internet cafe. it wasn't pretty.... its true, in the scheme of life and all the pain and joy i see everyday this is minor. but i just want my pictures and music and grants to stop being lost. the grants i can rewrite. music i can get again later. but if i loose my pictures because a crappy computer gives my camera a virus.... thats it. those are gone. and it stinks.

then there is the fact that four of my closest volunteer friends are no longer members of peace corps. one moved to another city and the other three are now back in america. this stinks too. the relationships you form with your fellow peace corps volunteers is invaluable and truly what gets you through those hard days. i've just been so disappointed with the way this organization has treated its volunteers. but its government bueracracy... anyone suprised?

moving on, (and thats where the inspiration of tupac comes in, i can move on) a lot of good things have been happening too. next monday we are having our first village wide hiv testing day. we have posters up and lots of announcements have been happening. on top of that, because of the poor turn out on the last testing day, i've decided to bribe people with some of the awesome donations like pens, pencils, balls, and tooth brushes, etc. that i've recieved from family and friends. because of all this i expect a big turn out. i'll let you know how it goes. also i've recieved some VERY generous donations for building the village well from the Viola family, mrs. sarkarati, and my grandma luce. they are so appreciated and in october we should start construction. on top of that i'm working on gettting villagers trained in home based care for hiv/aids patients. so we are moving along and i'm learning a lot about what success is and how goals and ideals can change.

so cheers to change! much love and thank you all for your support.

i've got an amazing idea

money trouble? did those taxes kill you this year and you're looking for a way to ease the pain for 2009? well i'm here to answer your prayer!!!! help give the gift of water to Lwang'a village! I have partnered with an NGO called Living Water Internation based in Texas. They have agreed to pay for half of the well digging and building process: $10,000!! now its just up to me to raise the other half. every little bit counts and is surely appreciated. the number one disease and cause of death in my area is water borne diseases due to no clean source of water. you can donate directly to Living Water International and its all tax deductable... so what i'm saying is everyone wins but especially those kids who are literally dieing from diarreah (i know we've probably all felt that this was happening to us at one point... so imagine if it were to really happen....) here's how it works

send your checks or money orders to:
Living Water International
PO Box 35496
Houston, Texas 77235-5496.

the memo section please clearly note :
"Hannah's Hope" for Lwang'a village.

and please also notify me that you have donated either by email: kheller@ucla.edu or snail mail:
kim heller pcv
slp 469
makambako, iringa
tanzania
so we can make sure the money goes to Lwang'a village.
and thats it. within a few weeks you will recieve a reciept in the mail for tax purposes. easy as pie or "ugali" (as they say here)

questions, comments or fundraising ideas are always welcome. thanks for all your support. much love.

still truckin...

baskets made, and ones in progress. this is my income generating project with a mama's group in my village.
the mama's group who make the baskets and eventually the batik too
you can have your own! email me or send me a message and we'll work in out. all the proceeds go to supporting the families of these women who are caring for orphans or vulnerable children or are single themselves
more baskets! all sized, designs, and colors.
me and bibi and walter. walter loves bibi. she's kind of like my grandma here. she made a lot of the baskets too. (sidenote: this is what i look like in the morning...i know i look good. you don't have to say it)
this is as far as the well project has gotten so far. they've come and surveyed and this is the spot. next we just have to start drilling, pouring cement and attaching a pump... no big.


as for me. i'm ok. a few road bumps but that is expected, especially on an african road. i keep a print of barack obama's pic and copy of his acceptance speach to remind me that "yes, i can."

I'm not sure... but i think this is what progress looks like.

walter and his best friend huruma. they're like peas and carrrots and for
some cuties in my village
seventh graders celebrating the news of new text books!
this is a fifth grade classroom. i couldn't fit them all in the picture but there are bout 70+ in each classroom
the toilets are still coming along. lookin better everyday!
i'm not that excited about having to cross the Euphrates River every time i need to get out of my village.
me and gladness. (thats her name: gladness)

Wow! I can’t believe the response that my one little blog post asking for your help received. I’ve received donation from all over the country all with notes attached thanking me or encouraging me in the work I’m doing…. I’m doing? YOU’RE doing. I’m just the messenger. And anything I accomplish here in the little village of Lwang’a in Tanzania is a direct result of the huge outpouring of support I’ve received from everyone at home. My dad recently sent me a package with a few of the essentials: mac and cheese, york peppermint patties, new contact lenses and a copy of the LA Times. It was great. I loved it. I always love getting a few things from home. But talk about depressing. The LA Times was a black hole of gloom and despair. Almost every article had something to do with the depressed economy and some horrible after effects that it was responsible for. Starbucks closed 600 stores in Jan.? Boeing is downsizing? Economists predict millions more jobs will be lost before the economy improves? Then there were other more horrifying articles about violence at home, in the states and abroad. Needless to say it gave me a dismal outlook on the world. But what my dad also included in the package were the notes and letters from those who have donated to help my little village telling I’m in their prayers or just that they care. It was hard at first to reckon the that envelope full of hope and kindness with the newspaper full of pain and despair. But after a moment it wasn’t hard at all. We as people are all essentially good. In fact you all are essentially AMAZING. With the economy as bad as it is more that 35 people found just a little extra that they could send my way to help some kids and families that need it. It’s just that sometimes we all need a little reminding that people care and we’re all in this together (yes I stole that line from High School Musical…but come one, it’s a good one). Now, excuse my sappiness in this post but I had to say thanks and remind you all that world isn’t just what the LA Times reports. At least that’s what you all have shown me.

Here is a breakdown of what we’ve done so far:

• Paid for half of the building of 8 desperately needed toilets for a primary school.
• Sponsored 17 secondary school kids who otherwise would not been able to afford school
• Bought 46 new English text books for the primary school so that each child has his or her own book to learn out of
• Bought a soccer ball for the primary school so that they don’t have to play with a tied up ball of bags anymore
• Started a youth health club that encourages people to make life choices decrease their risk of getting HIV.
• Started an income generating project for single mothers who don’t have enough money to support their families. We will be making and selling batik (I’ll put up pictures later of what that is) and hand woven baskets. (I’ll also put up some pictures of this next time. And if you want to buy either let me know! They are beautiful and amazing and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed)

I have plans for more text books for every subject. My goal is that every student in the primary school will have one book for each subject.

Each act of loving kindness helps repair the world. Thanks for being incredible.

i know we've all got ou r own issues...but here's something to you should care about

Brittany Wiitala.
she's a friend of a friend who i've met over the phone and we've corresponded through the Internet and snail mail. here is a truly inspirational person. She is currently working and Stevenson Elementary School in Fridely, MN as a Special Education Paraprofessional and as an evening supervisor for ACR Home, this is a residential community that provides support for people with physical or developmental disabilities. As you can see she has a big heart. She has this big heart of hers set on a mission trip to the Ukraine. She will be working n the Red Window region of Ukraine where she will work with the small existing Churches thee to encourage and strategize with her multicultural team to begin planning and building churches where there are none is a region that is economically depressed and desperately needs support that churches provide for the families and children of this region. talking to Brittany it is easy to see how passionate and dedicated she is to this cause.

before she is allowed to step foot onto the plane to Ukraine in August when her trip is planned to begin she must have 100% of her monthly and outgoing expenses promised. She is asking for your prayers and any financial help if you can give it so that she can go out and help people that desperatly need it. This trip is sponsored by SEND international. Brittany would love to hear from you if you have any questions or words of encouragement. you can contanct her at
Brittany Wiitala
S467 West Mann RD
Marshfield, WI 54449
bmwiitala@gmail.com

or

SEND US Office
PO BOX 513
Farmington, MI 48332
800-SEND-808
INFO@SEND.org
www.send.org


thanks for reading this far and for any help you can give her. she's the kind of person that you want to help. she's passionate and enthusiastic. the kind of person that will make a difference.
much love,
Kim

My sweet transportation situation

i don't want to complain. i really don't. but the rainy season is just not that awesome. this is our "road" out of villages and to the paved road that eventually takes us to town with electricity, water, banks, post office, and internet. its a big pain in the butt. i reach this about 30km out of my village and the road is still 10km out. ugh. only a few more months of rain.

potty pics

above: me and walter. painfully close and not at all related to toilets but i had to anyways
above: walter loves his christmas presents!!!
above: the reason we're doing this. these are the current toilets. full, crumbling, totally unsanitary. you really are making a difference!
above: our new bathrooms! this will be the boys side. as you can see the building is up, part of the roof is on.
above: there will be 8 stalls in all. this is the girls side. we still need doors, locks, bars and curtains for the windows, to finish the roof, cement over the brick. but we're getting there!
above: people come everday to work on it! that part amazes me everytime i come to visit.

POTTIES!!!

the toilets i asked for help to build are almost done! this is seriously lightening speed for africa. one of the beliefs here is that there is always more time. which is true. and lends to a slower pace of life but can often be frustrating for a volunteer whose time in the village is in fact limited. anywho. its coming along. i've included some pictures of the new ones in progress and of the old ones that are full (yikes!) and are falling apart. i wanted to take more. and some with me actually in the pics but my batteries died. so this will have to do for now. but i'm really happy and proud of what we've accomplished so far. there are 8 stalls and its already a huge improvement on what they had. the next thing i'd like to help the school with is getting enough text books for each child. as of now there are about 5 kids per book. as you can imagine, its not really conducive to learning.

other news in my work here is that i've started a monthly health class for the mama's in my village. they gather every month to weigh their babies so me and my tanzanian counterpart, an amazing woman named Olipa Mpiruka, have put together a curriculum relevant to them. So far we've had one class and it went really well. i'm excited because simple projects like this seem to have more staying power. i think its looking promising.

besides that walter is still walter. getting in trouble and making me laugh all the time. my nearest peace corps neighbor, mary, just got two brand new puppies. i realized how big walter's gotten and now walter has two little pups that look up to him. so now we've dubbed him Uncle Walter. he takes this new responsibility very seriously, hearding them up when they run too far from the house. so despite everything else i still consider him a good dog :)

* ok i have 15 minutes left at the internet cafe and the outrageously slow internet here has yet to post 4 pictures that i started to upload 30mins ago....this isn't looking good. so i apologize if i'm not successful. i'll get it next time

Just a regular day in the neighborhood

Not much to report other than that today i recieved a free ride to town from a very nice man with a pig in his toyota. Some might call this hitchhiking but in Tanzania we call it getting a "lifti". Its common practice and really no more safe or dangerous that public tranport around here. He saw me waiting for a bus at the side of the paved road and pulled over. I gladly accepted the free ride and only after about 15 minutes of small talk did i feel something kick the back of my seat. I looked back and it was a pig. Of course it was. He explained that there were two more in the trunk and he was taking them to town to sell. I was kind of relieved actually to find that there was a pig in the car because my first impression was that this nice tanzanian inexlicably smelled like poop. But alas it was the pig- and me- that smelled like poop after a 45 minute ride of not breathing through my nose. oh tanzania, you're full of all sorts of surprises!

Sponsored Kids!!!

angela getting her haircutshukuru
sarah
henry
left to right: julinana, Kulwa, Tumaini, Newa, Reida, Doto, and Angela

SPONSORED KIDS:
Thank you all soooooo much! the response to my request for helpl with my village has been totally overwhelming. 17 kids (11 girls and 6boys) that otherwise would have not had the chance started school on Jan 13. Fully outfitted in new shoes, socks, uniforms, and with notebooks and pens to boot these kids were ecstatic. These kids are truley greatful. There is something that non-africans refer to as "africa time." This refers to the, shall we say "relaxed" attitude that africans seem to have toward time and schedules. no one wears watches and every comes to a meeting that starts at 8:00 by 10:30.... maybe. but there's no rush right? there is always more time. i, not surprisingly, have become quite fond of this attitude and expect when i ask people to meet for something. well i told the girls we are sponsoring to meet at my house between 8 and 9, thinking we would leave sometime before noon, you can imagine my surprise when i woke up at 7 to see four or five of the girls gathered in front of my house getting ready to go. wow. this is different for them. this is big. they we excited....really excited. this means the world to them.

Garedens, New Years, Obama, and IST

ashleigh and i amuse ourselves quite succesfully
entertaining ourselves one night in the hostelmy counterpart on the right. deep in thought at IST
me and mary: site mates!
passing the wig to margret. (note the dress i made!!)
no, not my real hair. me with mary and mussa


potato work
planting potatoes
workin the compost

For anyone who actually ready these... sorry i've been a little delinquent with my updates but i'm back and i'll try to catch you up.

My garden:
I actually garden a lot here. and i'm very proud of it. i even have the pictures to prove it. I've planted all kinds of beans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cassava, and bell peppers. the whole shabang. in these pictures i'm working on my compost and planting potatoes. go ahead, be impressed...


NEW YEARS:
it was fanstastic! we camped on the beach in Dar es Salaam. A beach called Kipepeo which means butterfly... it was kind of dissapointing that i didn't see any. but i digress. we stayed three nights there. it was beautiful. honestly the best beach i've ever been to. better than any in california or hawaii that i've visted.... sorry guys. unfortunatley i was too bust drinking pina coladas and soaking in the sun that i actually didn't get any picture of the actual beach. i did get a pictures of our new years party where we counted down at the local disco. I sported a homemade dress that i was quite proud of. I'm a little short on cash, i work for free - so its no surprise, so I actually used some very kind norwiegans as a diversion and climbed the fence when the guards were distraced. classy? very. economical? extemely. if any of you know my track record with climbing fences and walls you may worry. but don't. i came out basically unscathed. after new years we headed back to the city of dar es salaam and enjoyed the ammenities of being in a city. shopping malls, movie theaters, cheese.... you know, all the good stuff.

for me new years is usually a lot of build up and usually lacks in delievery but this year was great. it was a great break from our village lives and i got to see lots of my friends from training that i haven't seen in 5 months or so.


OBAMA:
Yay!!! yes we did! news from america is that the build up to the inauguration may have been a little overboard but here in africa it was just right. luckily about 25 of us volunteers were all together for a seminar here in the regional capital which means..... we had tv!!! we watched the whole thing. it was amazing. we set up in a bar that had tv and watched with a crowd of tanzanians as we all cheered and clapped as Obama spoke tersly and honestly (i hope..right?) about the state of country and the future of it. tanzanians don't cry... unless someoone dies and even then they don't always cry. they don't get it. so they got a kick out watching all these white people huddle together with tears running down but smiles still on their faces. it was a great cultural exchange.


IST:
in-service training. sorry peace corps (cause i know you read our blogs), but it was just about as boring as it sounds. useful. but boring. two weeks stuck in a hostel, spending 8 hour days in a classroom learning about grant- writting, policy, HIV/AIDS teaching tactics, and perma culture. the permaculture was actually pretty sweet because we got to outside and dig and sweat in the garden. it was also led by peter jensen the permaculture guru and one of the most excited people i have ever know in my life. the up side is that i got watch a lot of dvd's at night, daily hot showers, and pizza just about every day too. We also brought counterparts who are village members that each volunteer selected from their village to learn all these things too in order to support his or her (mostly "hers" in our group) work in the village. it is actually a huge relief to know that there is someone else in our villages that knows and understands what it is that we're trying to do. and its also lots of fun to get to know one village member outside the setting of the village.

so thats it. thats what i've been doing since the last time i wrote. tomorrow i'm back to village to put all my new training into practice. me and my counterpart have big ideas of school gardens, health clubs, and nutrition classes that will happen several times a week. if you're still reading this... thanks for hanging in. much love. i miss you all