Materuni Village and Waterfalls

Posing in front of Materuni waterfall. 

One of my friends recently called me and asked if I would like to join him on an excursion out of town. I've been somewhat reluctant to go on day trips as most places require a bit of "local knowledge" to avoid paying imaginary fees (extortion), and since my Swahili is not yet up to par, an independent adventure seemed like more trouble than it was worth. However, when my Canadian friend said he "got a good deal" from a safari operator, I assumed that he had somehow squeezed us in with a tour group for a discounted rate. The Canadian speaks very good Swahili and lived down here some years ago and has recently returned. He appeared to have a decent network of people and seemed to be the perfect guy to set up an excursion. He even said the excursion usually cost $100 and included a coffee tour, so I was excited to get a seemingly great deal.  

The Canadian told me it would cost around 30,000 TZS ($20.00) but he was vague on the details. This is not unusual for him but when I met him in the morning I was a bit disappointed. He had "met the guy on the street" and got a cheap deal because he "thinks the guy is desperate". We were scheduled to leave at 11AM, which in my opinion was extremely poor planning due to the midday heat. There was no tour group; just the two of us, and he had arranged the time as it was most convenient for him. He was also vague on the details of how much everything would cost. Since I know this guy is on the odd side, and outdoors excursions are certainly not his forte, I decided I would just go with the flow and see what would happen. After all, in the end it was also a scouting trip to see if I could replicate the journey without a guide at a later date.

Materuni is located 14km north of Moshi on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. We took a dala-dala up the mountain and got off near Materuni village. Our "guide" was from the area and it was nice to have him introduce us to some local people. We stopped into a shack and tried some "banana wine", a type of fermented local drink with a very earthy taste. The first few hours of the walk were basically through a rural village, certainly not bad but hardly noteworthy. Overall it was nice to be outside of the city but this niceness was offset by the fact we were walking at a steady incline in the mid-day heat. 

We had arranged to have a "homestay" tour of a coffee farm, with lunch and coffee. This proved to be quite informal and poorly arranged. Apparently the Canadian thought there would be fish, but there was no fish. We ended up eating a very boring dish of boiled bananas (unripe). I was annoyed because they ended up charging us twice as much as a complete meal in town would cost (starch, veg, fruit, beans, meat), but once again fell victim to my friend's poor communication whilst planning. 

Filtering the coffee so we can drink it or turn it into coffee candy

The family had a coffee shamba (field) nearby and gave us a quick tour. We picked some beans and they gave us a demonstration showing how coffee goes from the plant to the cup. I was disappointed when they said, "No one here drinks coffee. We just sell to wuzungu (whites)." Although they didn't drink the coffee, the kids enjoyed mixing the ground coffee with sugar and eating it straight like that. "Coffee candy" was the name and it was much better than expected. 

Our "guide" pounding the coffee. 

After we enjoyed the expensive meal lacking in nutrients (yes, I'm bitter) and a strong cup of coffee, we we were off again. At some point we ventured off the village roads and into a valley, and the scenery turned far more beautiful than our previous route. We walked on a narrow path passing small patches of farmland, houses, and water collection points with makeshift taps made of split bamboo. We could see across the valley to a similar landscape and I was impressed at how many mashamba (farms) were on the steep and sloping hillsides, yet how lush and tropical the area seemed.

View of the trail

Click on the picture to see this is not a shack, it's the "Waterfall Bar"

View of the valley. 

As we approached the waterfall our guide told us there was a drunkard that would try to collect fees from us. He said the fee collection point was up at a local hospital though there was confusion in the village over who collects the fees and what they are used for. Apparently they have had difficulties taking ownership of the "tour programs." I wouldn't have been surprised if our guide just pocketed the money as I never saw any receipt or permit. In fact, I would have been even more skeptical that a fee even existed had it not been for the drunkard showing up and waving a letter in my face which did indeed state that the fee for the waterfall had gone from 5,000 TZS to 10,000 TZS in June 2013.

The drunkard pursued us for the last hour of the trail and met up with us as we approached the waterfall. He reeked of booze and although he wasn't too aggressive, I certainly saw the benefit of having our local guide. We ended up paying our guide 10,000 TZS ($6.23) each, which isn't bad, especially considering the time at the waterfall could easily be spent feeling uncomfortable or arguing with a drunk local. He also provided some interesting facts about the area, helped point out a chameleon that would have slipped by the untrained eye, and even picked some passion fruit from a low hanging branch.

The waterfall itself was spectacular. The falls are about 150m (500 ft) high and you could easily cross to the other side and climb along the rocks to sit behind it. You could also swim under the falls which is refreshing after a long hike. I look forward to returning, perhaps forgoing the "homestay" experience for a picnic instead!

Approaching the falls was quite beautiful!

View from the bottom of the falls. 

Endemic chameleon; the Usambara two-horned chameleon

Excursion to hike in Machame

This weekend we had the opportunity to go on our first excursion since arriving. A co-worker told me about a group that meets bi-weekly for hikes. She sold it quite well, saying that it wasn't necessarily a huge group activity and that it was a mix of people running or walking, with a small dinner and drinks available afterwards for 5,000 TZS ($3.11). She said they choose a new location each time and they lay out the route for joggers/hikers, the only thing you need to provide is transport. 

I figured we would give it a shot and in fact, I was quite excited. I thought of it as some sort of hiking club-- if anything I would be exposed to a variety of natural areas surrounding Moshi. Apparently the group had been operating for about ten years and I was curious to see what it was like. 

We got a ride with my coworker's friend and headed up in a group of eight. Most of the people were her roommates whom I had met before. They are all young people, a mix of volunteers and struggling NGO workers. They live in a house with eight people so they have a strong sense of camaraderie, though they also give the feeling of a clique, common when people live together. Either way, they are an enjoyable group of people to see from time to time and I was certainly grateful for the ride, as I would have no idea how to reach this place.

The hike was held in Machame, a sprawled out village on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro about 25km northwest of Moshi. The area is beautiful, a stark contrast from the relative plains of Moshi, with densely packed stands of banana, coffee, and a variety of flora. However, when we pulled into the meeting point, I was immediately put off by the massive congregation of wazungu (foreigners). There were about 40-50 wazungu and maybe four black people. I was happy to see that many of the people were older with children, though the whole setting made me feel uncomfortable. It seemed a bit exclusive and classist. It also became apparent that it was more of a social activity, something I understand but contradicts my motivations for going on hikes in natural areas. 

A domesticated pack of Wazungu (foreigners). 

Still, I tried to have an open mind and after the moderator explained the hike to everyone, we set off. We stayed behind the main pack, mainly to dodge the crowd but also to increase our chances of seeing some interesting birds. The moderator came by after about a half hour and chatted with us. He snickered when we said we were bird-watchers (for me that's a stretch) and said he had a birder out a few weeks ago and we moved at about his pace. He advised that if we reached the bottom of the river gorge within a certain amount of time we should just turn around instead of attempting the loop. We thanked him for organizing the hike and for giving sound advice. 

The hike was a bit strange and basically wove through homes on the outskirts of town. The trail was marked by flour scattered on the ground every few meters. It was nice to see the town but it was obvious that a massive pack of wazungu had preceded us. Much like we observed the town folk, they observed us. It was a bit like a parade, with children lined up to point and greet, something I was not thrilled about. It also made me feel uncomfortable that many people were taking pictures of the ramshackle houses and not greeting the people who passed (though this wasn't everyone). This made us fall back from the crowd rather quickly. 

After we separated from the crowd I settled down a bit and began to appreciate the beauty of the area. We walked along the ridge of valley and then down to a river. Most of the locals using the route were going to their home village across the river. It was quite steep and certainly a work out for an everyday commute. When we got to the bottom of the river we diverted off the planned trail and followed the river. We walked through a mix of farmland and secondary growth enjoying the sound of the river and the shade from the trees. Eventually we doubled back and our timing was perfect as we merged with the main group on their return trip. 

When we got back to the lodge we enjoyed a nice meal of chapatis and ingredients for a Tanzanian-type burrito. I chit-chatted with a few people and came to the conclusion that I would highly enjoy this type of excursion if I had kids and/or was new to the area. There were probably more than 10 families with children and it appeared to be a great time to have the kids play, get some exercise, and most importantly, get out of the Moshi bubble. And although it seemed like a great time to get to know people, I won't lie, I was too put off at this point to do much intensive socializing. 

In the end, the trip was nice, but I doubt we will go on another one of these excursions again. Perhaps we'll tag along on a few to remote areas if only to familiarize ourselves with "trails" but I foresee us doing more independent exploring once our Swahili is up to par and we have our own transport. 

View from the top of the valley. 

Looking up. 

Looking down. 

Beautiful river crossing. 

The river. 

This bridge was likely not designed or constructed by professionals. 

Walking along the river. 

Nice terrace at the hotel. Kili even peaked out of the clouds for the sunset. 

Money: Tanzanian Currency and Cost of Living

The currency in Tanzania is the Tanzanian shilling (TZS), locally called "shilingi". The banknotes (pictured above) are found along with coins in denominations of 50, 100, and 200. The current exchange rate is approximately 1600 TZS: 1 USD. The current notes have been in circulation since 2003.

Tanzania's rich wildlife is prominently exhibited on their bank notes. There is the common issue of the largest denomination being quite small resulting in stacks of banknotes for large purchases. While this helps to create the illusion of being rich, there is a lot of time spent on waiting for people to count literally hundreds of notes.

To give you an idea of the cost of living I'll give some prices of common goods. One thing I love when moving to a new country is adjusting to the currency. It's not a very wise idea when being paid in local currency to constantly convert to USD. It's better to wait until enough purchases have been made to get a "respect" for the shilling. For example, it might seem cheap to get a nice meal out for 8-11,000 TZS ( $5.00-$6.86) until you realize that local people eat out for half or a sixth of the cost. I always describe the "respect of currency" in the form of "how much do you spend without thinking of it as a big expense?" For example, in America I will likely spend $5 without thinking about it but when it gets to $10-20 I have to think if it's worth it. At the moment, for me it's 5,000 TZS ($3.12).

Another piece of information that helps give perspective are the salaries of local jobs. It's good to know how much local people get by on to keep you humble.

Items: 

Transport:
Local bus trip to town: 300 TZS ($0.19)
Chartered motorcycle to town: 1,500 TZS ($0.94)
Chartered taxi to town: 4,000 TZS ($2.50)
Public bus to Arusha (1 1/2 hours): 3,000 TZS ($1.87)
Bus to Dar es Salaam (10-12 hours): 30,000 TZS ($18.71)

Food:
Piece of cut pineapple/whole pineapple: 300/2,000 TZS ($0.19/$1.25)
Fruit plate at restaurant: 1,000 TZS ($0.62)
2 kg (about 5 lbs) of rice: 7,000 TZS ($4.30)
1.5L (about 50oz. or 2/5 gallon) of water: 1,000 TZS ($0.62)
Imported Cadbury chocolate bar: 1,500 TZS ($0.94)
Orange: 200 TZS ($0.13)
Hand of small sweet bananas: 2,000 TZS ($1.25)
500ml soda: 1,000 TZS ($0.62)
Egg: 200 TZS ($0.13)
24 tea bags (Tanzanian produced): 3,000 TZS ($1.87)

Results from my daily shopping trip. Total cost: 5,700 TZS ($3.56)

Dining out: 
Classic local meal (rice, beans, greens, small pieces of meat): 1,500 TZS ($0.94)
Local meal (chips, rice, chicken, etc): 5,000 TZS ($3.12)
Pizza at western restaurant: 8-11,000 TZS ( $5.00-$6.86)
Cup of coffee at coffee shop: 2,000 TZS ($1.25)

Other: 
Local sandals: 10,000 TZS ($6.20)
Short sleeve dress shirt from street vendor: 7,000 TZS ($4.37)
5GB internet service for one month: 30,000 TZS ($18.71)
Monthly water/electricity: 20,000 TZS ($12.50)
Rent: 140,000 TZS ($87.31)
Petrol: 2,187 TZS/liter ($1.36...about $4.93/gallon)
Diesel: 2,175 TZS/liter ($1.35...about $4.93/gallon)

Local salaries: 

Security guard/night watch: 100,000 TZS/month ($62.36)
Primary school teacher: 200,000 TZS/month ($124.72)
Secondary school teacher: 300,000 TZS/month ($187.09)

Although the GDP per capita is about 700,000 TZS ($438.00), Moshi is outside the financial centers of Tanzania. However, Moshi does benefit from tourism, though there are obviously a limited amount of jobs. From what I understand, someone with a bachelors degree would be happy to earn around 2,000,000 TZS ($1,250) in Dar es Salaam.

Local sandal maker

Pineapple by the slice or whole

Classic local meal. 

Fruit plate with: pineapple, watermelon, mango, papaya, banana, cucumber, avocado, orange and mango. 

First month at work complete...VACATION TIME

My organization closes from December 20th-January 6th, providing me with a well needed rest. Since I arrived and began work about five weeks ago, I have been going non-stop. To give you an idea of the variety of things I've done: conducted a bids analysis and hired a developer for the creation of a new database, hosted said database developer for three days for initial plan of the system, edited and contributed to three donor reports, created terms of reference with a funder for two consultancies that are now advertised, organized and conducted our main bi-annual qualitative monitoring workshop (three days), organized and conducted our bi-annual organization wide monitoring and evaluation week, assisted in drafting of two project proposals, AND a myriad of other random small projects. Our organization's financial year is the same as the calendar year so December is an extremely busy time for us anyway. If you have any idea of the pace of Africa and/or NGOs, you might accuse me of exaggerating the amount that I've achieved, but I swear it's true.

I've typically been going to work at 8 and often don't leave until 6-7. This is not a sign of my workaholic nature, rather it's an unfortunate byproduct of much of my work being dependent on other people. I spend a lot of time chasing people around getting signatures or input on certain projects. Also, I try to leave work at the office so I'd rather stay an extra hour than be at home pecking away on my computer. I do feel like the hours and stress level will reduce and some of it is self-imposed; I must admit that I've been both conscious of making a good impression and doing a quality job on anything I am involved in. I also assume that my salary is higher than most of the other local staff and as a result I want everyone in my organization to feel they are getting a good value from me. 

Reflecting on my first month I feel extremely satisfied. I have established a good rapport with pretty much all of the staff, from the senior management down to the social workers, cooks and cleaners. As a result of my interactions with staff and field visits, I not only have a clear idea of what we do, but I believe and support our mission and programs. 

I feel like I've made myself available to all programs outside of my department without imposing myself. An example is that I've seen some outdated methods with some of our economic empowerment programs and I've shared some of my previous experience with the program manager and staff. They immediately invited me to give input on their upcoming programs next year and welcomed any strategies and experience I had. I have also volunteered myself to assist in fundraising and grant writing, as our financial situation is (like most NGOs) quite precarious at the moment. For me, it's classic life in an NGO, participating in all programs wherever help is needed, working as a team, and at times, really feeling that "labor of love."

I've also realized how "at home" I feel working for an NGO in a developing country. Part of why I've been able to get so many things done can be attributed to my past experience working in such environments. Patience, understanding, and doing things immediately instead of putting them off for later are all key factors to getting things done. Plus, the "rapport" building cannot be understated; people are far more likely to do their part if they like you.

But for now, I've got over two weeks to enjoy myself! Finally, time to full immerse myself in Swahili, explore Moshi, go on day trips in the surrounding area, catch up on my reading, play guitar, and RELAX. 

Economic Empowerment: Micro-finance in action

This past week I had the pleasure of visiting beneficiaries of one of our mico-finance programs. One thing I really respect about my organization is the evolution of our programs. Years ago our organization was merely a foster home, which didn't really address the true cause of vulnerable children. Our approach has slowly evolved to the point where we now not only address children coming in off the streets in our transition home, but we also work with their families after reunifying them. This is a critical component as it does no good to reunify a child with a family in extreme poverty. They will likely meet the same problems that caused them to leave in the first place.

One of my frustrations with many large donors is their lack of acceptance for mico-finance programs. Most donors want to provide money to families to start businesses but refuse to allow programs that have any type of repayment. As someone who has worked doing alternative livelihood and micro-economic development in several countries for several years, I will tell you that in my opinion, this generally does not work. Why most grant organizations will not accept these types of programs is beyond me as international development literature strongly advises against simply providing people with money.

Interestingly enough we have two funders that each take one of the aforementioned approaches. One funder does not allow us to set up any type of loan system, rather the beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to set aside savings. A different donor encourages us to assist communities in setting up groups and giving them business training and management of their loans.

Not only do beneficiaries in the second group show more success in their businesses but they also demonstrate increased capacity to manage their finances and organization. For example, one of our groups has set aside (independently of our instruction) a separate collection to either serve as emergency funds if a member has an emergency and defaults, or for use to disburse more loans and increase their membership. This type of forward thinking coming from a newly-formed community group is the type of indirect benefit that development organizations strive for.

I had the opportunity to meet with the second group in Arusha last week. There were two groups consisting entirely of women, one group with 11 people and another with 14. One group had been in existence for three months and the other group was meeting for the first time after receiving their loans. We have monthly meetings with the beneficiaries to collect money and discuss challenges and success stories.

Group members discuss the loan repayment as our community engagement facilitator examines the numbers. 

Hearing the women's stories was as humbling as it was inspiring. All the women had never worked or even participated in an income-generating activity. The sense of empowerment and pride that they displayed was remarkable. They all spoke of an improved economic situation that not only allowed them to provide things for their children like school fees, uniforms and books, but also provided stability to their entire family. They were extremely grateful for our presence and continued support of their group. They spoke of their different businesses: selling charcoal, buying maize wholesale and selling it in smaller amounts, selling spices, second-hand clothes, tailoring...pretty much every industry was represented in an innovative manner. I don't want to be dramatic, but these women wore the face of a lifetime of poverty making their excitement and gratefulness all the more apparent. Powerful stuff.

And you know how much our loans are? About $190.00. These loans are repaid interest free for two years, meaning the monthly payment is about $16.00. In my opinion, the best part is, at the end of two years, we will have money to provide loans to yet another group of beneficiaries. And hopefully the group members' success will have spread throughout the community resulting in an eager pool of beneficiaries anxious for loans to improve their life. All that remains are administrative costs for our staff to do follow ups (they check monthly on each beneficiary as well as the monthly group meetings) and money for the initial training (one week for both group formation and financial management). With all the money that's gone into international aid, I believe these types of projects to be the most effective. 

Happy Independence Day!

Tanzanian flag!

This past Monday, December 9th, marked the 52nd anniversary of Tanzanian's independence. I was surprised at how quiet Moshi was during the celebratory day. I'm not sure I was expecting parades and fireworks but there was literally nothing out of the ordinary to differentiate the day from any other. Maybe the buzz was killed by the death of Nelson Mandela (flags were at half mast) or maybe Moshi is just too sleepy to hold any type of  celebration.

Aside from some festivities in Dar es Salaam, the only other thing I have heard is that the president tends to give out pardons to criminals over 70 or those terminally ill in prison. This seems like a good idea but after reading the previously linked article I can't help but be a bit skeptical of the exercise.

Brief History
Tanzania's location on the East African coast resulted in early interactions with Arab and slave traders who operated in the area heavily from the fourteenth century. There was a hint of French influence in the economic possibilities of the region in the mid-eighteenth century, but the first established European interest came in the form of missionaries from the German Church Missionary Society. East Africa was seen as an opportunity for German colonial expansion and by the late nineteenth century, an area including Tanzania had become known as German East Africa. German methods of colonial administration were met with fierce local resistance but control was briefly established until the outbreak of World War One. Following Germany's defeat, Britain administered the region, which it renamed the Tanganyika region.

When the Second World War had ended, the Tanganyika region was placed under United Nations (UN) Trusteeship, which mandated Britain with the development of the region. Various independent movements sprung up around this time, including the Tanganyika Africa National Union (TANU), headed by Julius Nyerere. Support for TANU grew, and by 1960, the first elections were planned for Tanganyika. On 9 December 1961, Tanganyika became an independent republic and became known from then on as Tanzania (the name coming from the combination of Tanganyika and Zanzibar). In 1962, it became a one party state under Julius Nyerere. 

My Custom GoogleMaps of Moshi Life

I've never done a custom Google Map but today I was messing around with it and actually found my house! Then I was thinking some of you might want to take a closer look at where I live and as I blog about future Moshi experiences, I'll add them to the map.

My Moshi experience map

To give you an idea of the distances, it takes about five minutes to walk from my house to work. It takes about a half hour-40 minutes to walk to my favorite coffee shop and an additional 10 minutes to the market.

To take a boda boda (motorcycle) to town costs 1500 Tzs ($1.00) and a taxi costs 4000 Tzs ($2.50). There is a "bus" (aka dala dala) that runs from a road about a minute walk from my house and I'm sure it's very cheap, though I've yet to figure it out. 

My Favorite Coffee Shop: Kilimanjaro Coffee Lounge

View from inside the main gate. 

My favorite coffee shop in Moshi is the Kilimanjaro Coffee Lounge (KCL). Although I have not patronized every coffee shop in Moshi, I highly doubt any coffee shop will exceed the greatness of KCL*. As mentioned earlier, due to the presence of Kili in the north, coffee is easily grown in the region resulting in plenty of locally produced coffee at an affordable price. In recent years there has been an influx of coffee shops--apparently a few years ago there was only one, while now there are over five.

The best part of KCL is undoubtedly the presence of an upright piano. As a piano player, I rarely get the chance to encounter a piano in developing countries and when I do, they tend to be horribly out of tune with a majority of the keys being sticky (or permanently stuck). This usually leads people to believe that I am terrible at playing the piano. The piano at KCL isn't in perfect tune and there are maybe four keys that are sticky but it is good enough given the context. Although it's located in the main seating area, KCL has ample outdoor seating (usually preferred among patrons) and I tend to go early enough before there is a large crowd. The first time I saw it was during peak hours and there were several groups around the piano. I basically stalked around waiting for people to clear out so I wouldn't disturb them. Now I've got a system where I go early on Sundays before it opens so I can practice, then later play throughout the morning.

The piano. 

The coffee at KCL is excellent, made with an espresso machine that you might see in Europe. The coffee is also very strong. I have stopped drinking coffee during the week so after one cup during the weekend I'm so jacked I can't play anything under 120 beats per minute. They also have a number of affordable snacking foods as well as a full lunch and dinner menu, though it's a bit expensive.

The vibe at KCL is laid back with a large outdoor seating area with umbrellas. It is located just outside the central of Moshi, close enough to be very accessible but not in the middle of the hustle and bustle (not that there is much of that in Moshi anyway). In the morning it is usually full of local Tanzanians having a cup of coffee and around noon it begins to fill up with foreigners and tourists. The design of the place is classic tropics-open-air and though it's clean and well designed, it lacks any pretentiousness.

At this point I've had a few people buy me a cup of coffee for my playing and even made a few friends. I've gotten to know the waiters that work on weekends and they are all very kind. Most of them profess that they would love to learn how to play the piano and one of them even joined me and "freestyled" some Swahili rap over a reggae groove. Who knows, maybe once I get some consistent practice under my belt, I may have a "residency" on Sunday mornings!

View from indoor seating area. 

*EDIT: September 24th, 2014-I have now patronized every coffee shop in Moshi and I stand by my statement!

Swahili Time

One of the more confusing aspects of the culture here is the presence of Swahili time. Swahili time is based on the sunrise and sunset, rather than midnight and noon. Swahili time derives from the fact that the sun rises at around 6 a.m. and sets at around 6 p.m. in most of the areas where Swahili speakers reside. This means that 7 a.m. is "hour one morning", while 7 p.m. is "hour one evening". I've found that locals exclusively use Swahili time unless explicitly noted. This caused some confusion when I agreed to a meeting at what I thought was 2 p.m., while it was actually at 8 a.m. I've quickly learned to specify exactly which time system people are referring to.

In addition to the confusion over daily time keeping, the days of the week are also offset from standard time. The first day of the week is Saturday, which is literally spoken as 'the first of the week.' As you can imagine, I learned the hard way discovering these small differences in time keeping. It's not often that you find yourself in an argument about which day of the week it is or what time it is, but before I became aware of Swahili time, this is exactly the bizarre situation I found myself in.

Mt. Kilimanjaro

Mt. Kilimanjaro as seen from Moshi. 

One of my favorite things about Moshi is the presence of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Simply referred to as "Kili" by locals, it is the largest free standing mountain the world and the highest in the continent of Africa. Kili is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo 5,895 m (19,341 ft); Mawenzi 5,149 m (16,893 ft); and Shira 3,962 m (13,000 ft). Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo's crater rim. Mawenzi and Shira are extinct, while Kibo is dormant and could erupt again.

Kili was first climbed in 1889, by a German and Austrian, along with a team of locals. Today there exist seven official trekking routes and I've heard it takes between 7-10 days to reach the summit. Although it is not as technically challenging as some mountains in the Himalayas or Andes, the elevation is still enough to bring on altitude sickness and the temperature dips quite low. People tend to think of Kili as an "easy climb" yet more people have died climbing Kili than Everest (though far fewer have attempted Everest). Still, it is estimated that about 40% of people that attempt the summit do not make it all the way. From my understanding, because of high costs of park fees and other costs, people attempt to rush the trip, thus becoming more susceptible to altitude sickness.

Kili is subject to the changing world environment, evidenced by the slow disappearance of its ice cover. Since 1912, there has been a loss of 80% of the ice cover. From 1912 to 1953 there was ~1% annual loss, while 1989–2007 saw ~2.5% annual loss. Of the ice cover still present in 2000, 26% had disappeared by 2007. It is estimated that by 2022-2032, Kili will be ice free.

As mentioned in a previous post, Kili always lifts my mood. It can typically be seen in the mornings and evenings, with cloud cover obscuring it during the day. However, it can disappear for weeks at a time, though it makes it all the better when it finally reappears. On my walking route to work there is a beautiful vista of the mountain and it never fails to lift my spirits. As someone who is from one of the flattest areas in America, the sight of elevation always makes me feel good.

View of Kili along my route to work. Every morning and evening that I see this it cheers me up. This picture was taken after a heavy rain/snow. 

There are a plethora of outfitters and climbing expedition organizations in Moshi, and I'm sure they make a lot of money due to the fact that most people don't travel with their gear. If I am walking around town looking like a tourist (shorts and t shirt), I'll undoubtedly be stopped by a few touts asking if I am interested in climbing the mountain. From what I understand, prices can range from $1000 on up, with prices contingent on the route taken, time spent, and quality of the gear.

I'm unsure when I'll have the opportunity to climb Kili due the cost and the time commitment. I would have a hard time leaving this place without climbing it and I know how things can be put off when living somewhere for an extended duration. I also experienced altitude sickness in my most recent trip to Colorado, so I'm aware of the proper time necessary to acclimate on the climb. Hopefully I'll get some visitors that are interested in making the climb and summit the highest peak in Africa! 

Open house and Christmas Party

Last Friday we had our annual open house and Christmas party. The open house was an opportunity for stakeholders (local government leaders, teachers, former children served) to come to our office and hear about the programs we have been involved in. It was a very typical "formal" event with a high table, long speeches, music that was too loud, and a delicious meal. All of the children we serve were in attendance and the coolest thing for me was seeing the children that had been served in years past. They were now teenagers or adults and many shared stories of their success and stability. Having been completely flooded with work since I arrived, it was also nice to meet a lot of the children that we currently serve.

The open house ended at 3 p.m. and from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. we had our Christmas party. After the somewhat boring open house, the Christmas party completely switched the vibe from formal and stuffy to raging good times. The party was mainly dance competitions, dance performances, and general dancing. The kids were having an absolute blast and I think all the staff were pretty emotional to see the kids having such a good time. Knowing their story and their hardships, it was incredibly satisfying to see them just acting like kids. These children don't have elaborate birthday parties nor do they receive any Christmas presents, so the one time of the year there is a party for them, their energy and joy shine through.

There were two main highlights of the Christmas party for me. First, was the incredibly resourceful Santa that we had. One of our staff members dressed up in a Santa suit and with financial resources for this kind of thing low, we did the best with what was around. His beard? Unwrapped medical gauze from the medical kit. His gloves? Latex gloves from the medical kit. His sunglasses? Why not. He enjoyed walking around giving candy to the kids and was even kind enough to pose for a picture with me, though I did not sit on his lap and request any presents.

The medical gauze as a beard is probably the single greatest thing I have ever seen. 

The second highlight was the dance contest. The contest featured about 10 initial participants who danced to 30-second clips of music. After the dancing the MC would ask the crowd to make noise for either "staying" or "going". Everyone was having a blast choosing their favorites and making a lot of noise. Luckily everyone received cheers although in the end, someone had to go. When the dancers were down to two participants, one of the staff members was asked to come join the competition and after a little bit of encouragement he went up and danced.

Although the kids had more energy and perhaps some more flexibility, they were not prepared for the experience and "moves" that our staffer unleashed. Everyone went absolutely crazy as he wiggled and wound his way across the stage. The kids especially enjoyed seeing their "serious" social worker get loose and perform in a way I'm sure they never imagined he could. Waves of cheers roared from the crowd with every new move that he did.

Child's Rights Teacher Training: Arusha

Because our organization has so many programs, I am making a concentrated effort to accompany staff on field visits. I think it's important to have a full understanding of the programs, not just sit in my office and develop monitoring tools for them to record their progress. Plus, the field is always fun and breaks up the monotony of the office life.

This weekend I accompanied our community engagement staff on a training for teachers in "child's rights," though it was really more of a workshop on progressive teaching methods, aka, you don't have to physically and emotionally beat a child. The department has been working with primary schools in the two cities we work in (Arusha and Moshi), holding a series of four workshops focusing on modern teaching methods and techniques. All too often, teachers simply read from a lesson book, write on the blackboard, and have the students feverishly copy down the information without really absorbing it. Even worse, if you fail to properly follow protocol, you will get beaten with a cane. There is even an established method of beating children in schools (girls get it on the hand, boys on the butt). 

Being in Arusha, it also gave me the opportunity to venture out of Moshi for the first time. The city is located about an hour and a half west of Moshi, a 3000 Tsh ($2.00) bus ride. I met a co-worker at 6 a.m. in the bus park and we boarded a very old rickety bus that, to my surprise, left before it was full. It has been my experience in developing countries that buses typically wait until they are absolutely packed to the brim before leaving and I was extremely pleased that we only waited about a half hour. I think the route is well traveled enough, with probably a dozen or so stops, giving operators an opportunity to pick up more passengers on the way. 

Map of northern Tanzania showing Moshi and Arusha. 

I was also pleased that the route was served by a full size bus, as opposed to a smaller and more claustrophobic "dala dala". Although buses typically stop more often to pick up and drop off passengers, dala dalas have you stuffed in like sardines, usually wedged between some enormous person with a puking baby and a goat strapped to their back. 

Full size bus. 

"Dala dalas".

I loved the ride to Arusha in the early morning. Mt. Kilimanjaro provided an awesome backdrop to the journey and as it disappears to the east, the slightly less grand (no snow on the peak) yet still majestic Mt. Meru comes into view. Mt. Meru is to Arusha as Mt. Kilimanjaro is to Moshi; a stunning mountain towering over the city to the north. The trip also gave me a chance to see outside the bubble of Moshi. Villagers queuing at boreholes with donkeys to transport water, 12 year old kids shepherding goats, small villages with simple brick houses and thatched roofs...having spent my entire time abroad in rural areas, I felt a strange pleasantness to be out of the city and view life as it probably is in most of Tanzania. 

View of Mt. Meru from our workshop location. 

Life on the move. 

When we arrived to Arusha we made our way to a hotel where the workshop was held. It was a very modest hotel with a conference room on the top floor and to be honest, it was much nicer than I had expected. The workshop was on a Saturday since teachers were obviously busy during the work week. The school we were working with was a large school with 48 teachers for over 2000 students. 

The workshop was a very rewarding experience as teachers were very engaged in the material and lacked the classic workshop look of "I'm just here for the free food and travel stipend". Although the entire workshop was in Swahili, some handouts were in English and I could get the gist of what was being discussed. There were four staff from our organization and they helped to translate some of the more important topics. I was also able to discuss with teachers their thoughts and feelings on the workshop, which were quite insightful. Many expressed the feeling that the government had not provided any meaningful skills training so they were happy to attend and build their skills. 

Workshop attendees work on an exercise.

Our facilitator, Amani, was awesome. It makes all the difference in these workshops: you can have the best programming but without someone who knows how to actively engage the participants, it will be in one ear and out the other. I was especially impressed since his energy remained high throughout the day as I struggled to keep my eyes open (I had to wake up at 5 a.m.). I also liked that the final activity was an exercise designed to outline the changes in policy the school intended to make, as well as policies they would like the government to implement. 

Our facilitator Amani runs through an interactive activity with participants. 

Attending the workshop was invaluable, especially considering I had read the reports from earlier reporting periods. I really felt that what we reported wasn't capturing the true value of the workshops, especially seeing how expensive they were to run. I think funders aren't too excited to fund this type of work because the results aren't as tangible as say, building a new classroom or providing some kids with books. But anyone who has ever been in a classroom in a developing country knows that the importance of modern teaching methods can not be understated!

More workshop work.