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Published: August 20th 2007
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Welcome to Kilimanjaro Airport
Elimo our driver picking Michelle, Whitney, Melissa and I up. I arrived to Tanzania on Saturday night along with 25 other volunteers for our three week adventure. The facilities are doable (think summer camp when you were 12 years old) and the staff and other volunteers are very nice. Our room is two bunk beds for four people with enough room to pivot turn from one side to another.
I met Michelle, from La Jolla, CA, on my flight and it turned out she was also one of my roommates. The first night we were the only ones in the room. One of the other beds was already taken by an existing volunteer who has been here six weeks and was in Zanzibar for the weekend. Lets just say after six weeks she's accumulated a lot of stuff and it might be time for some laundry. Our fourth roommate, Karen, showed up the following day, so the room is now FULL. I'm glad I'm not any taller as my feet already hang off the bed tangled in the mosquito net. Anyway, it is clean, the food is good, there's electricity (most of the time) and running (not always warm) water and internet (sometimes), so I'm not complaining.
The next
Tengeru
Our Village and street. day was orientation and a walk through our village, Tengeru, and around a local lake. I guess this could be considered my first safari . . . I saw a lizard, squirrel and ants that supposedly bite hard. The following day was the first day at our placements. My placement is called Upendo Foundation, a foundation started by a man named Mr. Shija. Upendo, "Love" in Swahili, was created to support his village which consists of five sub villages that have of a lot of widows and orphans and the average income is $1 per day (no, that's not a typo). I was a little nervous about my placement because no one really knew much about it and volunteers have not regularly been going there. Most of the other people in the group of 25 are in placements like hospitals, orphanages and schools and at least 3 - 8 volunteers are at the placement. I am the only one at my placement.
I was the first to be dropped off (talk about feeling like the first day of school in first grade) but Mr. Shija was not there. I have to say I was excited because that meant I
Hujambo!
Nicholas, the security guard, always smiling to greet us when we come home. could get back in the van and drop everyone else off at their placements. We went to a AIDS support placement and then a NGO set up to preserve the Maasai way of life. When we got back to my placement, Mr. Shija pulled up on his bike. He had no idea I was coming. Never got the paperwork. Once this 'situation' was all settled between the CCS coordinator and Shija, I entered the office and we started to talk about the organization. First, the office . . . it is a room, about 8 x 10 ft, with a desk two benches and a chair. There is electricity, but no running water in the entire village (answer to my question from last month . .. no, my placement does not have a bathroom).
We spent the day talking about all the projects he's trying to get started and about the 130+ orphans in his village. Throughout the five hours many the village people would walk by the door to peek in at the 'Mzungu' (white foreigner), but the little children, around four years old, were much bolder. At one point I was looking down at some papers and
My Bed
Not my king size bed at home. when I looked up there were seven little children all sitting on the bench staring at me. SO cute!
Today is Pheasants Day holiday so instead of going to my placement I went with some of the others to the Nkoaranga Orphanage, which is run by a hospital in another village about 15 minutes from ours. There are about 25 children, ages 3 months to 4 years, and two 'Mammas' that run the orphanage. The only other help they have to care for the orphans are the volunteers that come in. That's two women and 25 children under four years old.
I wish we were able to read minds and hearts because I don't know how to describe today and my experience here. My eyes are welling up now just thinking about what words to use and the images that come to mind from today. Imagine walking into a room and all these children just grab on to you and won't let go. They ALL want to be picked up and they immediately rest their head on your shoulder and nuzzle in your neck. They haven't been bathed and some were without underpants/diapers (this is the first thing
Roomie Michelle
Very entertaining listening to Michelle trying to get into bed at nigh under her mosquito net with her headlamp on. we rectify when we get there). They look at you right in the eyes and you can see they are just begging for love, attention and affection. I had both my cameras with me which they loved so they could see themselves in video and on the digital camera. There are no mirrors in the orphanage so it's not often they get to look at themselves.
When I was checking out the rest of the facilities, one of the little girls came up to me crying. I finally figured out that she was wet and needed to be changed but she couldn't find anyone to help her. I picked her up, found some clean clothes in a pile and changed her. Come to find out she is not a she but a he. They don't even have time to find "boy" and "girl" clothes for them, they just look for anything that closely fits. Once I got him changed and spent a little time with him the big smile came out, but he also wouldn't let go of me until it was time to leave. The hardest part was having to close the gate when we left so they
My Alarm Clock
Not my friend. would not follow us. A group of the children stood at the gate like they were in jail just begging to get out.
It's amazing how full you can feel after spending four hours just playing, holding and tending to these children and at the same time feel so sad and heartbroken about their situation. It's the hardest thing to leave.
Mosquito Bite Count: Zero
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Lynn
non-member comment
Give me an address
My boy's have way too many clothes. I will send a box immediately. Christy, hooray for you. I am so proud to know you. Please note a change of e-mail address. I am leaving my current job this Friday and I don't want to miss any of your amazing blogs.