3/24/20 Update! A lot has happened since my last post and it's time for an update....from America. That's right, I am back sitting in Allentown. Most of you know at least part of the story, so let me bring you up to date.

We had the soccer match and our village team lost. The rivalry between the village team and the private secondary school team is intense. Most of the students at the school are wealthy in comparison to the villagers, and unbeknownst to me, the village team has never (or rarely) won a game. The students did not hesitate to rub the village teams (and villagers who were present) face in it. They gathered together around us cheering and chanting, so I took the only possible recourse........and challenged them to another game.

During the next two weeks before game number two I started to prepare for my departure from Tanzania. After two years in my village I was scheduled to fly to America On April 5th. My preparations included: identifying who would receive my household stuff (chairs, buckets, pans etc), meeting with counterparts and friends, closing a few projects, and having a farewell meal cooked by the wasichana (girls). I met with the health volunteers and gave them prizes for the work they did in their villages, provided the local primary school with a donated computer, and purchased the wasichana a school uniform so they wouldn't get punished for not having one (or the one they were wearing was rags).

Three quick stories about this: #1 the only place to buy the uniforms is at a market that comes to town once week called Gulioni. It was maybe three kilometers away and I had initially thought to walk the distance. The girls were very excited about going to it and showed up in their finest clothes. This included shoes that were borrowed from their mothers or sisters. It was obvious that we were not going to be making the walk so through my counterpart, I contacted a teacher who owns a van. When they found out about the vehicle the wasichana were all excited because none of them had ever been inside a car. The excitement was palpable as we waited for it to arrive, and they ran and jumped in like it was a ride at a fun park when it pulled up. The experience itself was a little less exciting as the ride took 10 minutes each way, and the shopping took even less time, but it was quite an event for them.

#2 I decided to have mbuzi (goat) at my departure meal. Food is a significant thing to the Sukuma, most likely because of its scarcity at many times of the year. Most of their serious community events revolve around food, and serving goat makes it an even more important event. The goat was purchased days in advance and stood around bleating (is that what goats do?). I seriously tried to avoid it and felt guilty about what I knew was going to happen. I actually have not eaten much meat during my time here due to the expense and challenge of keeping it without refrigeration. The morning of the meal the girls were at my home early thinking they were going to do the slaughter, but we paid a local guy to do it. They were very excited about the prospects, and wanted to watch the whole process. They ran for buckets and bowls to collect the blood, and I watched them cook it up and eat it like it was caviar. They were knowledgeable about how to cook every part from the intestines to the brains, and the meal for my close friends and counterparts was a great hit.

#3 I had been working with an NGO for some time teaching teachers how to use computers in their classrooms. They had several trainings over the two years that I had assisted with. They were using the RACHEL program which is hardware and software designed to give teachers in rural schools access to the internet. (Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning) This NGO (ASMK) is trying to improve the quality of education for children in the Sukuma region and is operated by the friends and family of the Sokuma Chief. This organization provided the local primary school with a computer and continues to work with teachers to improve the quality of education for the children. There are many challenges faced by school employees and students in Tanzania, and this is not the place to have that discussion, but someday. The school received their computer on Tuesday, March 17th, and after all that work, I had to miss it.  I left that morning for Dar because of the Corona virus.

I'm sure that most of you have heard that the Peace Corps evacuated all 7,000 plus volunteers from around the world. Just prior to this evacuation I was actually talking with the Peace Corps about extending my stay in Tanzania a couple of months in order to avoid the hysteria. I think many of us knew that the safest spot for any of us during the pandemic was in our rural villages far from international travelers and problems. Of course, the evacuation order cancelled all discussion, and I was given a short time to get ready and move out. I travelled to Dar as Salaam and, after booking a new flight On Emirates, was on my way to America.

The problems associated with my early departure continue to mount. My original flight wants to issue credit for another flight rather than reimburse. It needs to be from and to the same place.(Tanzania to America????) All of the medical outprocessing that is normally done in Tanzania was passed on to our doctors in America, and we all know the status of healthcare here right now. Additionally, after a recent treatment of Albendazole in Africa I have significant heartburn, and my sinuses are really bothering me (hot, wet weather to AC and cold weather). All this adds up to the wrong time to be seeking medical support.

The story continues. I'm not sure how things will go here, hell I'm not even sure I didn't pick up COVID 19 in the airports or on the planes. Time will tell. I am watching for symptoms and trying to self isolate, but as most of you know, that's a pain all on its own (though there are some elements of quarantine that are similar to living in the savannah). I will continue to make posts as long as the story goes on.

By the way, the Village of Negezi won the second game and the villagers and the team were going crazy when the school team and all of its supporters stalked off the field. There was a big celebration in the village that night. That doesn't happen very often.

Mwana Kangwa

Photos:
#1 The health volunteers meeting to discuss people in their villages. Each one shared information on who was sick and what they did to help.

#2 The soccer team eating lunch. It was beans and rice for 30 people. This is one way to serve the food, on a big plate where each person digs in with their hands. Eating with hands (right hand) is very common.

#3 The goat (mbuzi) being prepared for cooking. The slaughter of the goat was quick. While it is a challenge for some people who are not used to it to watch, it is a cause of interest and celebration for the people here. The girls wanted to crowd around and watch the whole gory process, as well as grab the best parts as they became available.

#4 Here are the wasichana in front of the van for their first ride. They were very excited about it even though it was over fairly quick. They each got a uniform to wear after I had heard that they were punished for not having the school uniform.

#5 They surprised me showing up for the trip to the market in their best clothes. I didn't realize that it was a big event for them until that morning. I made copies of this photo and gave one to each. I wrote rafiki milele on the back, which I also taught them to say in sign language.

#6 Seems like I always leave behind those important to me. The wasichana are holding up a sign for the MOSH club, another group that will always be special to me.

Video:
The soccer match
The victory celebration after the match

2/10/20 I'm not sure why I do this to myself. We are getting close to the end of our tour, and many volunteers are relaxing and taking it easy. On the other hand, I'm staying very busy and have a pretty good challenge ahead of me.

The problem is that the mamas from the Negezi Village group of health volunteers are having difficulty with the villagers recognizing them as trained volunteers. The mamas from Ukenyange (a neighboring village) don't have this problem because they have been operating together in some capacity for some time now. Part of the agreement to attend the three day training we had was that they would visit their neighbors and share information and knowledge. This becomes a problem when the volunteers aren't recognized as being trained. So the challenge is to find a way to increase their presence and status in their subvillages. The question is...how to do that? The answer is.....soccer.

Soccer games draw villagers out of their homes and villages at an astounding rate. They love to watch their home team play....and their village team needs a soccer ball. What a coincidence, I just happen to have one that I received through participating in the Malaria challenge.

So here's the plan: I'm going to sponsor a soccer match between Negezi and the neighboring village. The Negezi team will get the soccer ball for participating. At the beginning of the match we will introduce all of the health volunteers and tell the villagers what they are trying to do. As an additional benefit for me, the small group of girls who I have been working with on nutrition and business will prepare a meal of beans and rice to be served to our team before the match. While the mamas doubt their ability to do this (they are only 11 or 12 years old) I have had them cook this exact meal in large quantity before and I am completely confident they can.

So members of both of my projects will benefit from this soccer match, and I feel good about ending my service to with the Peace Corps on a high note. Now let's see if I can pull this off.

Photos:
#1 Wasichana practicing cooking at my house
#2 Meeting with both health volunteers and wasichana together (wasichana hiding a little at top),

1/9/20 Well it has definitely been a long time since my last post. It's high time to do another. This may be my last post since we will be leaving Tanzania soon. Not sure where my path will lead after this is over, but I look forward to the next chapter.

Since my last post several significant things have happened. Number one is that I received the funds for the chicken coop project, and unfortunately most of them were stolen. The police are involved, and the case has many twists and turns, but ultimately the story ends the same. It was very difficult telling the mamas about it, in fact one of the more difficult things I have ever had to do. The thief didn't get all the money though. We had enough to buy the chickens, and that's what we did. The challenges continue with this project as many of the chickens died from unknown causes. We are still working together to produce more chickens on our own. It has been a long difficult project, but the value to the mamas is high enough, so we won't give up, ever.

Volunteer medical training. I have been working with volunteers from each of the sub-villages since my arrival here almost two years ago. We have had multiple volunteer trainings and visited countless homes far from the beaten path. Our hope is that the knowledge that the volunteers have gained will spread among their sub-villages, reducing the incidence of disease, increasing the number of villagers who seek treatment from medical professionals rather than witch doctors or not at all, and developing knowledge about disease prevention. Toward that end, we had a grant supported training with district level healthcare professionals.

The training was intense, and the mamas were active participants. Just a little story about the training: one of the first questions the trainers asked me was where were the men? They said that men were the decision makers and they should be receiving this training rather than women. I explained that the women were more oriented towards their family and their community rather than self interest displayed from many of the men, and that the men did not want to work as volunteers but wanted to be paid. They accepted this explanation, and agreed that it was true, but they had never trained women before and they still had some doubts. Their doubts were unfounded. The mamas impressed both of them so much that by the end of the training they expressed their desire for more trainings of this type. It should be remembered that some of these women can't read or write, and one was a witch doctor herself.

In other news, the rainy season has arrived. It is amazing to me how quickly this area goes from brown, dry and dead to green, wet and alive. The farmers count on it, and the rains have started a little earlier this year. We are all hoping for the rains to continue, and the villagers lives depend upon it. I planted maize again this year, and my Moringa trees are flourishing. Let's hope the good fortune continues.

I'll be home soon. I hope to see everyone when I return.

Photos:
#1 Chickens arrived
#2 Chicks for the mamas
#3 Training the volunteer health mamas
#4 Mamas preparing the food for the training
#5 Wrapping the goat intestines for lunch
#6 Green farmland
#7 Getting my farm ploughed the old fashioned way
#8 Some of my farm helpers reaping their reward
#9 The sun has almost set on this adventure

6/6/19 I guess it has been a while since my last post, I think it's about time to do another. I have been busy traveling around Tanzania and working on projects in my village. First the traveling: my Tanzanian counterpart and I travelled to Morogoro for a week of HIV Bootcamp. We learned the details about the disease and developed effective ways to teach prevention to the villagers. If you remember, we did a survey in my village when I first arrived. We found that there was very little knowledge about how it is spread and the proper treatment. 26 out of 45 households surveyed has either someone HIV positive or someone who has recently died from AIDS. One family had two HIV positive parents and no children. All three children had died from AIDS. They had been treated by a witch doctor using "local medicine". The local clinic is treating over 700 HIV positive patients regularly. That's pretty impressive considering that there is about 2500 people in our village. Patients may travel a long distance for treatment.

After Morogoro I spent two weeks in Dar es Salaam for my mid time physical and additional training. Yes, I made it halfway. I'm proud of the fact that of the five "older" volunteers who started, I'm one of the two left (and the oldest). That after losing 40 pounds and being the first volunteer of any age that has been bitten by a snake in a long time.

Now my projects: I think I mentioned a chicken project before. The plan is to give 20 mamas a chicken coop and twenty chickens. Another thing that we learned from the survey I mentioned earlier is that most families spend at least part of the year without enough food. This is due to many things, but one of the big factors is that most of the people in this village are farmers, and recent climate have extended the dry season and reduced the harvest. This continues to spiral further out of control with longer, drier dry seasons and fewer trees. The chickens will provide a dependable source of nutrition and income for families, but I'm finding that a project of this size is a real challenge for the village. Still trying to find someone who can sell us 400 local chickens, and the materials to construct the coops will have to be transported from the closest city. (First photo: chicken project mamas learning about creating a budget)

The health volunteer project. Training of first responders for each each sub village continues. Our last training provided trainees information about HIV, other local diseases(malaria, TB, typhoid), hypertension, and first aid for cuts and skin diseases. It is interesting to see how few older men are left in the village. There are quite a few older women, many of them are suffering from untreated things like arthritis, skin diseases, and hypertension. One of the mamas that came to the clinic on our free visit day had a B/P 240/130 and was complaining of a headache that she has had for a long time. The Tanzanian Red Cross has agreed to come to our village to teach and certify our volunteers in First Aid. That grant request is still in the works, but looking forward to getting as much basic medical knowledge as possible down to the lowest levels in the village.

Moringa trees. As noted previously, deforestation is a real problem here as many of the few remaining trees are being cut for cooking fuel. Most families cannot afford the cost of propane stoves, and solar stoves are no longer supported by the PC as a grant. I have lit my propane stoves in the presence of children and adults before and usually recieve a look of shock. I have planted Moringa trees around my house. For those of you who don't know, they are supposed to be fast growing, survive well in arid areas, and provide a lot of nutrition. Even the Moringa tree can't flourish well in this dry, hot environment, and upon my return from travels found most of them near death. So I hired some of the kids who like to hang around my house to fetch water from the river and water the trees. We have also planted 30 new seedlings which I will distribute to the chicken project mamas, and plant even more around my house. The kids I selected are a group of 11 or 12 year old girls who travel as a group, and are using the money to help support their families. Even this level of support for girls meets resistance from males in the village. Their principal told them that there is a man at the river that will hurt them if they go there for water. I had to escort them because they were all terrified. (2nd Photo: the Moringa crew)

HURU training at the local secondary school. Girls at both the primary and secondary levels lack basic hygiene materials and knowledge about menstruation. This becomes a real problem in schools that lack basic support for them. The HURU program provides pads, underwear, and training for young girls. We provided training and materials for girls at both the primary and secondary levels. The training was led by Fredina, a local woman active in many volunteer activities in the village. It is not very often that you find a woman with power and authority in our village.(3rd photo)

Gender conference: Peace Corps volunteers joined together for a gender conference. Each volunteer presented a class, and brought along four children from their villages, two boys and two girls. Some of these high school aged children have never been out of their villages before. The topics taught include: gender equality, HIV prevention, nutrition, self esteem/self confidence, and life skills. I taught leadership and teamwork, something that is big demand in this country as it tries to overcome the challenges of the past. (4th photo: me, 5th photo: the kids doing a team building exercise).

Well that's it for now. We are moving into the worst part of the dry season so water will start to be an issue for everyone. The water from the river is thick with sediment and sand, but it is still drank right out of the ground by the residents. I'm not sure how long I will be able to support my tree watering project as the water used for human consumption gets more scarce. It does not look very good for me to be surrounded by green while the surrounding environment is burnt and brown and the villagers are thirsty.

Talk to you soon,
Brian

Blog 3/5/19
Its been quite a while since my last post so I thought I might bring you up to speed. Its been quite a challenge getting things going again after my return home from emergency leave and the snake bite. I was out of the area for a total of six weeks with only a week or two in between. Since my return from the hospital in Dar es Salam I have been working pretty steadily on my projects, so here's an update:

The training of our health volunteers was completed. We visited each of the six subvillages and the volunteers used the checklist we created to ask questions of the sickest people. A photo was taken and shared with the local doctor who provided follow on directions. Some of the patients have already visited the clinic free of charge, and this weekend we are trying something new. We are going to the homes of the elderly people who can't walk to the clinic and we are picking them up and carrying them to the clinic in bajaji (a little three wheeled vehicle) where they will be treated by the doctor and returned to their homes. This is the first time this has been tried around here and I'm looking forward to working with our little ambulance service. We have another day long training scheduled in March with the Tanzanian Red Cross coming to visit.

The women's chicken coop project is in the process. Because of the poor nutrition of the villagers the chickens will provide a good source of nutrition year round to the families, as well as a steady source of income. The mamas are learning all about chicken keeping and business operations. We are deep into the planning for coop construction, chicken care, and budgeting. While this is not the exciting part, it is so important for the mamas learn these skills. Because of that, we are moving slowly but deliberately. We are currently working on getting our third construction estimate right now.

Refurbishment of classrooms at the local primary school. This project has been slow in progressing since there are several political offices involved. Of course my six week absence didn't help either. The District Engineer has promised us a new estimate for the repairs of three unusable classrooms. Currently there are over 500 students in just seven classrooms. The refurbished classrooms will provide much needed space.

The farm life. Our Moringa trees are doing well. We planted 18 trees, one of which died after I stepped on it while using the hoe to weed. The tallest is around five feet now and we are thinking of planting more. For those of you that aren't familiar with Moringa trees, they are very nutritious, have many uses, and grow well in dry environments. I taught a couple of classes about them to the villagers and handed out seeds. My corn is producing cobs at an astonishing rate. My plants are some of the first in the area to produce a harvest. That's because it was planted in early November before most planted their own. First time in my life that I am able to just stroll out and pick food that I produced myself. It feels good.

Teddy Bears. Yup, Teddy Bears. I gave out teddy bears to children at the clinic. They were knit by children in the US and provided to volunteers in the field to distribute at no cost. It is organized by the NGO called The Mother Bear Project. The kids loved them.

Okay, that's it for now. There are other things going on like some repairs to my house, and my never ending quest to learn Swahili from my tutor Stanislaus. That's something I should have done a long time ago. Well, I guess it's never too late to try something new.

Photos:
The bajaji arrives delivering some of the mamas to the clinic. Over thirty people came, way more than the ten we were expecting. Not surprising that they would turn out to a free clinic. Many thanks to the doctor for his patience.

Leg wound: While at the clinic a family arrived with two burned children from a lightening strike that killed two in their family.  I watched the doctor treat the burns: removal of dead skin, hydrogen peroxide, antibiotic ointment, cotton soaked with iodine. The iodine soaked cotton dries into a hard shell protecting the wound. No pain killer of any type used, the seven year old didn't cry until the iodine, and then only a tiny bit. That was the smaller of the two wounds.

The mamas from the chicken project (minus a few). They are an enthusiastic bunch getting to know each other and learning to work together. Latisha (in the front looking at the papers) said "we are a family now".

Until next time, Brian

12/28/18, Only a few days left in 2018 so I'd best get a blog out. As most of you know I am back in my village after a few weeks in Dar for my snakebite. It was an interesting series of events that taught me a few valuable lessons, but now I am back home trying to pick up where I left off. That is not too easy to do, even my Swahili took a big drop after the six weeks of not using it (3 weeks in America and 3 weeks in Dar). We were just starting the village medical volunteer program and the primary school renovations before I left. Both will have to wait until after the holidays to get going again because people are very busy right now with the holidays and the start of the rainy season.

Life in a farming community like this revolves around the planting and harvesting seasons. When the rains begin everyone heads to their farms to plant their crops. I'm included in that, while I was away my neighbor had the field around my house cleared and planted with corn. We also planted Moringa trees (photo). This tree meets many of the nutritional and functional needs of the villagers, and grows rapidly in this type of arid environment. The second photo is of a meeting we had with some of the mamas to review the benefits of the Moringa tree, how to plant, and how to maintain. I also distributed seeds to these mamas and the others who showed up later. We also discussed trying to get the chicken coop project started again after the unfortunate death of my previous counterpart.

On a more personal level, my battle with the local mice has entered a new phase. Mice in the house becomes a real problem because they love to destroy my food supplies. I have tried various techniques with limited success. Putting food in containers (never have enough), and mouse traps (never caught one yet). My best luck has been just a bucket with water. During the dry season they would just fall in (sorry animal rights activists). Then I learned to put a stick across the top with food dangling down by thread. That worked good for a while.......until now. Apparently they are not only smarter than me, but pretty big too. The picture shows the bucket with the stick. It pulled the stick to the side and ate the bread. But the tomato has been eaten where it hangs. How could a little mouse reach down that far and eat something round? I picture a velociraptor or maybe one of those hyenas (a very small one).

So my next plan will be much more complex (see diagram). Since it is around Christmas I'm going with the Santa milk and cookie plan. So it sits in the chair and has to have a cup of tea. When it picks up the cup that frees the pendulum which swings striking the bowling ball which slides down the ramp hitting the book which falls over and puts an end to this charade. Thinks he's smarter than me huh?

On a more positive note, I made my first loaf of banana bread. It was delicious, and I ate most of it before I thought to take a picture of it. Not bad for a pan on coal stove if I do say so myself.

From my house to yours Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

Now where do I find a small chair and bowling ball....

Brian

12/11/18 I figured I would give another post to answer some questions and provide an update on my foot.

We think it was a Southern Stiletto snake. It is unique because it has fangs that extend out of the side of its mouth and can strike from the side, hence the name stiletto. If you remember I never saw the bite and I know it didn't strike full on with two fangs, but it did hit my foot from the side and there is only one puncture wound. So basically I was shanked. Figures I had to run into a gangsta snake.

The swelling on my foot has gone down to almost nothing. The only problem is that there is still pain when it is on the floor, and it turns a deep shade of blue when it is down. They assure me this is normal and that it will decrease in time.

I am currently staying with an expat host family who volunteered to take me in. I'm hoping to head back to my ville soon, but will have to wait until the foot is recovered well enough to get around, and the Peace Corps doctors give me the thumbs up.

I hope everyone is enjoying the cold weather and getting ready for the holidays.

Peace, Brian