Irente Update 9/20/12

Everyone at Irente Children’s Home is very busy getting ready for graduation of the second year students, which will take place next Friday, September 28th.  The program for the day includes a tour of the facility and refreshments in the morning, followed by the graduation ceremony.  Afterward, lunch will be served.  The invitations say that the celebration will begin at 9:30 am and continue until 2:00 pm.

The second year students are so excited to complete their studies here.  They have already finished their written and practical exams.  These include working in the farm.  Each student had to demonstrate their knowledge of proper farming techniques.  Along with these, written exams were taken in First Aid, Childcare, Midwifery, Pharmacology, and English.  I was happy that all of the students passed the English exam.  The high score for the second year students was 97.  One of the first year students scored 100 in the exam.  For us, this was personally rewarding.

The last two weeks have seen some painting being done.  Several places in the stone walkways have been repaired.  Today several second year students were scrubbing all of the walkways.  Even the flower beds seem to know that next week they will need to look their best.  Many roses, calla lilies and some beautiful blue flowers that remind be of allium are blooming.  

The students have been busy practicing the songs they will sing.  One song is in English with words of farewell to guardians, teachers, and “our sisters” (the first year students).  Some of the girls have already started crying.  It will be bittersweet.  

We are at 30 children now.  A new baby arrived named Falista. (Fa-lee-sta)  She is in the nursery with twin boys Issa and Hashimu.  One of our favorite little girls from Room 3, Amina, went home with her grandparents.  We miss her very much.  She is a very social little girl who loved when we got visitors. 

With anything in life, you have to take the good with the bad.  Lately, our connectivity has been a challenge.  It is one of the frustrations we are getting used to.  Our apologies for slow emails.  The electric also has been intermittent recently.  Fortunately the outages seem to run through the night when we are asleep.  We have gotten used to cooking and eating our dinner before dark, though, just in case the lights go out.  

Our biggest challenge lately was a problem with the car.  While driving to town on  Sunday the 9th, there was a loud sound near the front right tire.  Fortunately, we were able to continue to town, but Tom drove very slowly.  When we parked the car at Tumaini Hostel (owned by the ELCT) we could see that the front right side of the car was sitting lower than the left.  We went to do our shopping.  On the way back from the bakery, a driver pulled his car over to say hello.  He was a member of Irente Church who we see each week.  We never knew that he is a taxi driver.  Tom asked where we could find him when we finished so we could have him drive us back up the mountain.  We are so blessed to be well cared for here.

The next day Tom and Christian, the driver for the Home, went to town to take the pick up truck to the repair shop.  Now, we use the term “shop” very loosely.  Julius repairs cars and large trucks in a field just outside the center of town.  His only building is a storage area for tools.  Instead of a lift, he drives the vehicle up onto stones in order to work underneath.  Julius looked at the truck and diagnosed a broken tension rod, shocks, brackets and belts.  Tom, Christian, and Julius then went to several automotive parts stores in Lushoto.  The parts needed for the repair were not available in town.  Here the car owner must purchase the repair parts and take them to the shop.  Also, there is no such thing as calling for delivery of the parts.  It must all be done in person.  

So.....the next day, Christian and Julius took the bus to Tanga (3 hours away by car, up to 5 hours by bus) to buy the parts needed.  Tom gave Christian the money for the parts, the bus fare and their lunch.  They had to go to four shops to get all of the parts needed, then they returned to Lushoto by bus.  It was a full day’s journey.  The following day, Julius installed the new parts.  We got the car back on Thursday.  

This is just a small example of how complicated things are here that we take for granted at home.  We thank God that the car was drivable, since we were on a narrow road down the mountain.  With the condition of the roads here it was bound to happen somewhere.  We were very fortunate that it happened close to home.  

The Road to Tanga

About every six to eight weeks we make a trip to Tanga.  Our primary reason for this is to visit an ATM machine to stock up on shillings for the next month or two.  The closest ATM we can access is in the town of Korogwe two hours away.  Tanga, only one more hour of driving is also the closest place with a “supermarket”, about the size of a large Wawa.  So, at the end of July, we found ourselves in need of money and headed down the mountain from Lushoto to Mombo.

Mombo is a small town on the highway which connects Tanga in the east with Moshi and Arusha to the west.  The road is one lane each way, tarmac, and in some places so loaded with potholes that you can’t avoid them.  The speed limit is 80 kpm outside of towns and reduces to 50 or 30 kpm depending on the size of town or village you are going through.  One of the most noticeable things when entering a town or nearing a railroad crossing are the speed bumps.  First you bounce over two sets of three raised lines in the tarmac, maybe four or five inches high.  Then you come to the big speed bump, maybe a foot high.  So, if you are not paying attention all of the time, these can really rattle your teeth.

As the road continues to the east, the altitude gets lower and the temperature gets higher.  Leaving home we are usually in sweaters or jackets. We begin peeling off layers the further east we go.  Along the way, we pass through large sisal plantations.  Sisal used to be the main export of Tanzania.  It is used primarily in rope making.  With the advent of plastic ropes, sales dropped.  Now, with the emphasis on reducing petroleum based products, the exports are rising again.  

As we get closer to the coast, the road winds through miles and miles of orange and coconut groves.  In the wetter areas, there are rice paddies.  This trip we saw women working shoulder-high in the rice. 

Some of the traffic we see on the road can make the trip amusing.  Here there are very large busses, which is the main means of travel for people.  A bus from Lushoto to Tanga can take about six hours instead of three hours by car.  Another form of travel is the dala dala.  These are vans outfitted with seats for sixteen people.  Often, they carry twenty or more, along with the occasional chicken.  Our friend Ezra came to visit us in a dala dala and held someone’s baby for the trip.  

Dala dalas are usually brightly painted and have slogans painted on them.  Some of the ones we have seen are:  In God We Trust, 007 - The Man with the Golden Gun,  Bob Marley’s name and picture,  Rayban, and my all time favorite “Home Sweat Home”, no, this is not a typo.  Many have Bible quotes like “Whatever is excellent” or or express love and thanks to Mungu (God) and Allah.  

Some of the other things we have seen are:

A flock of small yellow birds flying along side us for about a half a mile.

Three baboons on the side of the road before Mombo.

Children playing soccer with a ball made of many tightly wound plastic bags.

A cart full of coconuts pulled by three donkeys.

A woman driving a motorcycle just outside Tanga, with her skirt flying around her.

A beautiful bird called a Black-winged Red Bishop (look it up on line...it is amazing)

Women washing laundry in a small stream by the road.

Women collecting water at the town pump and carrying 5 gallon buckets home on their heads.

Every trip is an adventure.

To Have and To Have Not

     A few months ago I woke up on a Sunday morning not feeling well.  My discomfort had been going on for a few days, but Sundays was more uncomfortable. I said to Susan I think I need to see a doctor. I called our friend in Arusha, Dr. Mark Jacobson head of Arusha Lutheran Medical Center who has here for 27 years as a missionary with the ELCA.  I said we would drive there to see him, but he said with my symptoms we should go directly to Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.

      Dr. Jacobson said to give him 15 minutes and he would make all the arrangements. He told us to arrange for a driver to take us down the mountain and meet the plane at the Mombo air strip. We called Pastor Kibonga, our boss here and asked if we could have someone drive us to meet the plane. Within 30 minutes Godfrey came to take us down the mountain. 

       We arrived at the airstrip which was just a field of tall grass. In about 30 minutes the plane circled and landed to pick us up. On board was a doctor and equipment in case of an emergency. The flight lasted about 2 hours. When we arrived in Nairobi, there was an ambulance waiting to take us to the hospital.  After 4 days of testing as an outpatient my problem was diagnosed and treated.

       As we traveled back to are home in Lushoto, I started thinking how fortunate we are. Here we are eight thousand miles from our home and can still receive amazing healthcare. Because we have. Our journey home consisted of a plane ride for forty minutes and a 5 hour bus trip. 

      We passed many villages as we traveled giving us the opportunity to see first hand the lifestyle of the people. There before us was the true picture of the way it would be for them if they had a medical need or emergency. When our bus stopped in a village  to pick up more passengers, I saw a person laying by the side of the road needing medical attention. I know for a fact they would not receive any care. Miles from any hospital or clinic most people have no where to go. They may suffer in pain and go on about their life as best they can. Until they meet their fate. If you look around your neighborhoods and cities the picture of the need for medical care is also reflected.

        We as Americans are very fortunate having the best medical care available in the world, but just like in the poverty stricken third world countries, it is not available to every person in the United States.

        Why is that? I’ve been trying to think about this ever since we got back home here. So many thoughts have crossed my mind and I would like to share them with you.

         As Americans we elect our leaders and give them the best medical care available, but do we insist on receiving the same? 

         We allow lobbyist to promote an idea or product to our elected officials  that will have some benefit for them or their party. In turn the lobbyist and the company they represent end up with more power than the politician. We have laws that prisoners in our jails are entitled to health care. Why haven’t we created laws requiring everyone to receive proper health care?  

     We are also responsible for the cost of our health care. We are encouraged by our legal system and our own personal greed to sue everyone involved when things may go wrong.

     Every night in America millions of children go to bed sick or in pain because no medical treatment was available to them.

     Every night millions of seniors suffer in pain doing without their proper medicine because they had to make a choice of which bill to pay, their electric bill or medicine. 

     Everyday many families face being denied health care due to a catastrophic medical condition.

     Everyday the men and women who served our country to protect our freedom are left on our streets forgotten and alone facing physical and mental sickness.

     This is just not right.

     We can afford to give all Americans health care in spite of what you hear. Our government spends billions of dollars in wasteful projects each and every year. Every time a bill is passed in Congress there are many, many extras added on to it. The general public has no idea of what was added. Wouldn't it be great if bills were published prior to passage so we could see all that is included?

      Its time for us to make a change that would be beneficial to all Americans.  Create a health care program that includes all Americans. I ask you to please pray for whoever is leading our country in the years to come, that they may have the wisdom, strength and courage to do what is right for all Americans.

An Irente Update

It has been a few weeks since our last blog post.  Things have been very busy at the Children’s Home and there have been some comings and goings.

During the month of June, we had the pleasure of getting to know Taylor Phillipi, a student from Kansas State University.  Taylor is a Pre-Occupational Therapy major in his Junior year.  He spent his mornings volunteering at the Rainbow School for autistic and mentally & physically challenged children.  In the afternoon, he played with the children at the home.  Many of the children and the child care workers became attached to Taylor in a very short time.  His stay went by very quickly and we were all sorry to see him leave.  

A second parting came four days later with the departure of Claudia Wallis, a German volunteer.  Claudia came last year, volunteering through a German organization for about six weeks at that time.  She felt drawn to return and came back on her own in February.  Her six week stay this year was flying by and so she contacted her family in Germany to see if she could stay longer.  She was able to postpone a semester of college and stayed on for five months!  Friday morning, July 6th, we drove her down to Lushoto to catch a bus to Dar es Salaam.  Many tears were shed by the students at the home.  Claudia had become an important member of the home.  She stayed at the hostel and ate her meals with the students.  She joined with them in evening devotions and sang with them in the choir at church.  Beside working with the children in the afternoons, Claudia taught math at the Irente School for the Blind every morning.  And she could bake wonderful cakes.  She taught the girls how to bake a cake on a charcoal fire.  She will be greatly missed.

This past week, two new babies arrived.  The first was Violet, a two month old who weighed in at 2.5 kilos (about 5 pounds).  Violet was born in her village and her mother died.  Her grandmother and some others in the village tried their best to feed her.  Since they had no formula, they were feeding her ugi porridge.  When they saw that she was not putting on any weight, her auntie brought her to the home.  She is beautiful, with huge dark eyes.

On Thursday, a second baby came to the home.  Her name is Marion and she was two days old when she arrived.  She and Violet share the nursery.  Marion is bigger and stronger than Violet, but both are eating well and already thriving.  

We have also been busy working on a project with our Peace Corps friends.  Last weekend, we traveled to Mambo View Point Eco-Lodge with four Peace Corps volunteers and a Tanzanian teacher named Frank.  Mambo is a village at a very high altitude on the western edge of the Usambara Mountains.  On a clear day, you can see Mt Kilimanjaro.  Unfortunately, it was too cloudy for us to see “Kili”, but the view was still spectacular.  The owners of the Eco-Lodge work with their local neighbors in many projects.  Glen, from Texas, had visited the lodge and arranged a return visit to teach perma-gardening with his counterpart Frank.  Brittany from Ohio, taught a group of local women how to make their own peanut butter.  Sarah from upstate New York, taught some people how to make a “light bulb” out of a 1.5 liter water bottle, water and bleach.  Many of the homes here have no windows.  Using a roof sealant, a plastic bottle filled with water and two capfuls of bleach is inserted half way into the corrugated metal roof.  

The sunlight illuminates the bottle providing light in a once dark room.  

This past weekend Glen, Frank, Brittany and another Peace Corps volunteer named Ezra came to Irente Children’s Home.  They brought fifteen of their students with them.  These kids ranging from 10 to 15 years old, along with students from the home, dug eight new terrace beds using the perma-garden method.  They also learned how to make peanut butter and played some HIV-Aids awareness games.  They also played soccer and Tom brought out his “American” football, which the kids enjoyed.

After the hard work of digging, we walked with the students to Irente View Point.  None of them had ever been there and were really amazed by the view of the Masai Plain from so high up.  They were very kind with us, worrying about how Bibi and Babu were doing, whether we were very tired.  Climbing up, two girls held my hands to be sure I was okay.  On the way down, one of the boys held my hand to help me.  It was quite touching to be cared for in such a way by teenagers we had only met the day before.

We enjoy our time with the Peace Corps volunteers, a touch of home.  They will return in September with a new group of students to dig more beds for the home.  We are greatly impressed with the work of the Peace Corps and ask you to keep them in your prayers.  

A trip to school

Today we drove Mama Rehema, little Nema and four of our students to “visiting day” at two of the local schools.  We stopped at the Montessori School first, just outside Lushoto on the way down toward Mombo.  There we dropped off Julitha and Rafikiel, who were going to visit Zawadi and Asha, students who were previously at Irente Children’s Home.  

We drove on to Usambara Primary School, a boarding school several miles below Lushoto.  At Usambara we visited Joseph, Rehema, and Anna, also former children from Irente Home.  With Tom and I were Mama Rehema and Neema, our next door neighbors, along with students Asha and Fadhila.  We started out in the headmaster’s office where each child’s grades were shown to us.  Asha carefully noted each subject, grade and any comments in order to report back to Mama Mdemu.  Someone went to find the students we were visiting.  By mistake, they brought in Zulfa Juma, not Rehema Juma.  (Juma is the last name usually given to abandoned children)  Zulfa continued with us on our visit and shared the food we brought with us.

When Anna and Joseph had joined us, we went for a tour of the campus.  The dormitories for the girls were close by.  The rooms were neat and clean, with each girl responsible for making her bed and maintaining her area.  Outside the door was a line two rows deep of flip flops which are worn inside the dorm and to the showers.  We asked Rehema how she would know which were hers and she showed them to us easily.  

The boys dormitories were a bit of a climb up a steep hill.  These again were neat and clean.  Joseph showed us where he slept.  We met the house mother as well as two other women who were washing the boys clothes.  

After seeing the dorms, we walked to the classroom buildings and talked with one of the teachers.  School here is held Monday through Saturday, with tests given every Saturday.  The class rooms we saw were a good size with many desks and chairs.  Boarding schools are preferred over the public schools, if possible, due to class size.  Many families send their children to boarding school if they can afford the fees.

This visit was special for us since we are Anna’s sponsors for school.  Anna is a beautiful little six year old.  Her parents are dead and she stays during school breaks with her grandmother out in the villages somewhere.  She spent her early years at Irente Children’s Home.  Her grandmother expressed her thanks and God’s blessings on us when she found out that we would pay Anna’s tuition.  Of course, this is a long term commitment.  Anna is only in first grade and has, we hope, many years of school ahead of her.  It is a commitment we are happy to make.

The fee for a child for a full year of school, including room and board is about $700 US.  This is an amount that we could spend at home without even knowing where it went... a weekend away, some meals out with friends, or purchasing this or that which we really don’t need.  Mama Mdemu is always looking for sponsors to help former ICH children have the opportunity for an education and a better future.  ( If anyone is interested, just contact us and we can furnish the details of how to sponsor a child).

After Usambara School, we returned to the Montessori School to pick up Julitha and Rafikiel.  They had also received reports on Zawadi and Asha.  Montessori is a Catholic school for girls.  It was easy to see the difference between the schools.  Montessori looks very expensive.  The grounds of the school were crowded with families picnicing on the lawns with their students.  The nuns made their rounds through the families, speaking with mothers and fathers about their children.  We said good-bye to Zawadi and Asha and walked back to the pick-up truck for our ride back to Irente.

We thank God for these institutions and the education that is available to those who can afford it.    

A Joyous Announcement

On Monday, June 18th, our housekeeper Veronica came to work as usual.  She did our laundry, swept out the house and cooked dinner.  Between 1:30 and 2 pm, she came to me to say, "Tutaonana kesho", "See you tomorrow".  Then she walked 30 minutes up the mountain to her small house which she and her husband made from sticks and mud.

Her friend Margaret met her there and Veronica said she thought they should go to the hospital.  Margaret checked and told her that the baby was coming now!  Veronica's new baby boy was born at home.  Then she and Margaret walked further up the mountain to the nearest road and got a ride to the hospital.  At around 6 pm, she call us on the phone and said, "Bibi, we have a baby boy!"

The next morning, Tom and I drove to the hospital to see her and the baby.  We arrived at around 10:30 am, but Veronica had already been discharged.  After some errands in Lushoto, we drove home and walked up to her house to visit.

Veronica was at home in bed with her little son surrounded by many caring women including her mother and her friend Margaret.  She introduced us to her son who is named Fadhili, but she told us, "Ataitwa Thomas", "He will be called Thomas".  What a great honor.  He is a beautiful boy and weighed 4 kilo at birth, which is around 8 pounds.

Please keep Veronica, her husband and sons Ismaili and Fadhili "Thomas" in your prayers.  We thank God for the safe delivery of this beautiful new baby.

Rehema

On Monday morning, May 21st, Mama Mdemu traveled down to the shamba near Mombo to work there and see how the crops were doing.  While there, she received a phone call letting her know that her youngest child had died very suddenly in Dodoma.  Her daughter, Rehema was 33 years old and four months pregnant.  She had prepared breakfast for her three year old son and her niece who attends college there.  While dressing to go to her office, she dropped to the floor.  The cause of death at this point is still unknown and may never be known.

Mama Mdemu and her daughter spoke to each other almost daily.  The night before her death,they talked about Rehema going back to school for her Master’s degree after the new baby got a bit older.  How quickly our lives can change.  In the blink of an eye, everything is different.  Our hearts are broken for Mama Mdemu and her family.  We cannot imagine the loss of a child.

The change in atmosphere at the home was palpable.  Everyone continued their job, but voices were hushed and the mood was somber.  The grief was felt and shared.

In the afternoon, Tom drove Mama Mrishu, two of the students, and I to Mama Mdemu’s house in Lushoto.  Many cars were parked along the road near her house, several from the diocese.  Folding chairs were set up in a small grove of trees inside the gate.  These were occupied by many men.  A woman escorted us to the house.  We left our shoes outside with so many other pairs and went inside.  

The furniture of Mama Mdemu’s living room were moved along the walls of the room.  On the floor on the far side of the room, two mattresses were on the floor.  The sofas and chairs were filled with women, some young, but mostly older.  They were dressed in kangas and their heads were covered.  Mama Mdemu sat on one of the mattresses with several women consoling her.  It was a moving scene of love and compassion.  

We shook hands with each of the women around the room as we worked our way to Mama Mdemu.  When we reached her, people moved aside so we could kneel by next to her and offer our condolences.  I was then directed to a seat in the room and Tom was ushered outside with the men.  

In the living room, the number of women varied from 15 to 26.  Occasionally, someone began to sing and the others joined in.  It was peaceful and comforting to hear these beautiful women sing the hymns they all know by heart, melody and harmony blending together.  When some women left, I went and sat with Mama, holding her hand as we spoke quietly.  She asked if I had talked to our daughter Maureen recently.  I explained that we Skype with her every Sunday night, but because of her job and the time difference we cannot speak daily.  

On Tuesday evening, we traveled to Mama Mdemu’s home again, this time with more of the students and workers at the home.  The scene there was about the same.  The students from the home each paid their respects to Mama and then sang some hymns.  

Outside, several women were preparing food to feed the guests.  Again, the men were gathered outside and the women inside.  This watch would be kept until the time of the burial.  

Rehema’s body would be transported from Dodoma, but the burial was to be north of Moshi, not in Lushoto.  Transportation was arranged for Mama Mdemu and her family by the diocese.  

The amazing thing was that when I said “pole sana” (I am so sorry) to many of the women there, the response of several of them was, “All we can say is Thank God”.  What a faith-full response to give in such a time of tragedy.

Please keep Mama Mdemu and her family in your prayers.