DAY 13 - "Everything is Black" - Kyerwa - July, 2010

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For the first time in my life I was in a place, the interior of Karagwe - Kyerwa - where there was absolutely no source of light. Pitch black. Utter darkness. Could not see my hand in front of my face. More about that later. For now, the highlights of the day include: 1) Sat on the "back porch" enjoying the morning while Edina managed her hotel staff; 2) Rode with Dustin to Mabira in the interior of Karagwe; 3) A highlight of my life was the women of Mbira greeting us with their singing and dancing; 4) Stayed at the ELCT Compound at Kyerwa with Elsie, Pastor Godfrey, and Frederick; and 5) to bed in utter darkness.

NARRATIVE: Every morning we awaken mutliple times with the sounds of wild dogs barking, hotel workers shouting to one another, laughing, the rooster crowing and motorcycles beginning the day. The Imam's prayers were broadcast from the mosque each morning and it sounded next door. Not a quiet place; but a happy and active place.

We are headed to Kyerwa and Mabiria today to see the people of Karagwe and learn more about their needs and the work of the ELCT to meet them. Sister Regina (nurse) will come with us and Sam (Community Development Officer) will join us there. Dustin drove us to Mabira and Steve was nervous we could not afford the transportation bill. In his mind, it was 'too far away'. (Fast forward: This mindset changed once he experienced the remote communities and you'll see why after you read this blog entry.) Sr. Regina was conducting a seminar with the Women's Empowerment Group so if we were to go, it had to be today. Beautiful vistas en route but I nearly choked on dust. Red dust everywhere - caked on banana leaves, people's clothes and faces, in every crevasse, fiber, pore. Weeks after we returned from Africa I still found red dust on my shoes. On the cusp of not believable until I saw it. Coffee harvest is now and the trucks stacked with coffee fill the road and leave a wake of dust. At times we could not see through it.

Two hours later we arrived at a mud church just a tad smaller than our 2-car garage at home. About 50 women emerged, singing and dancing to greet us. Karibu! Karibu sana! Their faces were eager and expectant and the smiles in their eyes were contagious. I have not yet heard a song in Karagwe that was anything less than uplifting and this was no exception. Steve was really touched and so was I. Pastor Adrian was on hand to help us communicate. He had attended Luther Seminary in St. Anthony and spoke fluent English. I remembered later that I had met him in 2008. He explained that the women were to learn new ways to market their crops and would learn about family interactions from Sister Regina. The women greeted us and ushered us inside. Sr. Regina was well known and connected with the women. We sat 'up front' with Pastor, Sr. Regina and another instructor for the women's group. We gave a small speech telling the women how thankful we are to be with them. I looked out at the crowd of women packed into the small space. Their clothes were notably less urban than those of their counterparts in Kayanga. There were 15 babies in the crowd. Not a one made a sound. There was a banner on the far wall with three Coke bottles in bright fabric paint on brilliant white background. I meant to ask about that but forgot. All told there were about 50 women, a handful of men and 15 babies.

Steve later described the room as "fearfully impoverished". The men and teens looked desperate. Kids with tattered shirts and no pants. And the children could not mask how bizarre they thought Steve was. Their eyes were like globes- staring. Not judging - just dumbfounded. Was it his height? The blue eyes? Steve pretended to not pay attention to them but then would stick his leg out and touch one of them with his shoe. At first they were stunned, but second time around they got it. They smiled at each other and giggled softly. One bravely reached out and touched Steve's leg. Steve jerked his hands and made a motion at them with a big smile on his face. They all shrieked with laughter. Another one tried it. They did did it again. And again. They had quite a game going which seemed much more amusing to Steve and the children than to the mothers. I suspect this was an interaction those kids would not soon forget.

The women were so eager to learn about women's empowerment. They brainstormed all the ways they could earn money such as cash crops, handiwork, and livestock. Sister Regina talked about microloans. The women seemed excited about that. They had good questions about the value of their crops, how to get them from harvest to market, etc. - good 'food security' questions. Sister Regina taught about family relations, AIDS, alcohol and how to handle men who struggled with any of those areas. Particularly touching to me was when Pastor Adrian translated her teaching about lifting up the other women, not gossipping, helping each other during times of struggle. Regina: a walking Proverb.

Pastor Adrian, Dustin, Steve and I left the group and traveled to the "Pride of Tanzania" where the hot springs are. We walked through a semi-dense forest and saw the source of the springs. Pastor encouraged me to touch it - HOT! In the stagnant pool was a woman suffering from a disease, sitting in the water and looking at us with no self-consciousness. I smiled and wished I could speak Swahili. The kids playing near the spring got a kick out me touching the hot waters. We returned to the women's group. Unfortunately we are not like most Africans, and so Steve and I needed a toilet. So Pastor walked us to the edge of town where there was a wood shack with a slatted wood floor. The 6x8 inch hole in the floor was there for obvious reasons. That experience alone is motivation for me to do whatever is needed to help Karagwe build infrastructure where clean water and sanitation facilities are accessible to these people of Mabira.

Upon return, the women shared a bountiful 'lunch' with us. Banana, potato, rice, red sauce and a new treat - toasted cinnamon & sugar squares. Yeah! I noticed a couple of women in the crowd who seemed like they wanted to connect. I did too. At the end of the lunch, Pastor Adrian thanked us for coming and announced that the women had some gifts for us. Amidst singing and dancing, we were presented with fresh honey, ground nuts in traditional wrappers and a live chicken! During the music, a woman who had caught my eye earlier, danced up to me to hand me the chicken. I looked pleadingly at Steve and he intercepted the chicken for me. As the music and singing went on, we danced - Steve with the chicken. After presentation of the gifts, Pastor Adrian asked us to say a few words. I did my best to encourage and thank. I said "In my whole life I have never received a chicken." Dead silence. Pastor Adrian then translated what I said for the women. Uproar of laughter! Steve then said his thanks and said "And in my whole life I have never danced with a chicken". Dead silence. Pastor Adrian translated and again - uproarious laughter! Laughter and music - universal languages. We stayed for another half hour or so, standing with the women listening to them chat and bumping shoulders. What a joyous time. We are mindful of what our presence does to their resources and know that they have given sacrificially to us. There is a certain responsibility I feel to realize what we are doing to the local resources when we visit. Still - what a joyous time. Certainly a highlight of the 2010 trip. We look a group photo and then we said our 'good-byes'. We were again on our way.

Dustin took us to Kyerwa ELCT area. We met Godfrey and Frederick. Godfrey has 3 children and Frederick has 8 grown children. We settled into our spartan room with two low beds, aqua sheets (love the colors here) and 2 bottles of water. There is wilderness all around; a small fire on the mountain far away and darkness everywhere. Elsie made us a beautiful meal and when we returned to our room it was pitch black. We had not brought our flashlight to dinner so fumbled on the path to find our room. I am kind of glad we did that so I could have the experience of not being able to see partner, my hands or my shoes as we walked to the door of our room. I clung to Steve's arm tighter than I have ever done before and was semi-amused, embarrassingly dependent, and totally afraid of the dark all at the same time.

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Take me to the Educate Tanzania website.

http://educatetanzania.org

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Photos

The Women of Mabira
Women's Empowerment Group - Karagwe

Hot Spring
Hope for healing rests in the hotsprings.