Asante Sana

This week I have said my goodbyes in Mtwara and have been wrapping up everything in Dar Es Salaam at the Country office for the last few days, exit interview and such and I will board a plane this evening back to the US.  Time has sped up and I can't believe I'm already headed home.

The question regarding my work here will remain ‘where does VETA go from here?’  The VSO advisors have made leaps here, but there is still much work to be done.  The piece I have been working on, mainly strengthening industry links and providing my input on the Life Skills course with resume and interview preparation documents will surely help, but it will take some time.  Again, I remind myself that I came here and VSO is here because there were already issues that needed resolving.

The strategy and activities budget are in stages of getting approvals.  The Industry Link Manager will now be working alone to get it all implemented.  She and I met with the both the Principal and Registrar in Mtwara as well as the Vocational Training Center Coordinator at the Regional VETA office this week and discussed the strategy as well as both issues and successes while stressing the importance that communication lines remain open in order for things to move forward.   From what I have seen there is plenty of opportunity for work locally for these trainees, provided they receive the right type of training and the teachers have the proper support.  Unfortunately I have observed some practices which are a step in the wrong direction but I am confident that if everyone could be given a slight push and shown that we are all on the same team, VETA/VSO/Teachers/Trainees alike, that this centre and Lindi could be quite successful in securing livelihoods and employing local people which will all move towards the overall goal of fighting poverty in this region.  In my opinion there are just some dots to be connected, and while these are at this time pretty spread out and there are large hurdles culturally that need to be leapt over, I think there are positive things in the future.

Working in a developing country has certainly been an eye opener for me and while I’ve enjoyed myself and the beauty of it all, I mustn’t overlook the fact that there is poverty all around me, people struggling to feed themselves and their families, and living on very little day to day.  Gender inequality is a major issue, along with teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS.  Every day something new reminds me how lucky I am and how much I take for granted and not to keep repeating but we all truly need these reminders at times. 

The very first Swahili phrase I learned before coming out to Tanzania was Asante Sana- Thank you very much- in an email from the project manager who interviewed me.  Since then I’ve learned a little more Swahili and a lot more about myself. There has been a huge change in me since my arrival filled with fear and anxiety and almost wanting to give up to now where I am saying goodbye to new lifelong friends (truly love and will miss you all, you know who you are) and colleagues with a heavy heart.   I hope you’ve all enjoyed my posts and I want to say once more I am so grateful to Randstad and VSO that I had this opportunity, and strongly encourage anyone who is considering it to go for it, apply, the worst that could happen is you decide it’s not for you but if you don’t try, how will you ever know?

“Forget the things that you own, travel almost anywhere you can go.

Dance across the tree tips, set them ablaze
Soaking in their pleasant warm summer haze"

Asante Sana Tanzania, goodbye to the beautiful sea, country, and people that surround me.  I have a feeling I may be back, but for now- I’m comin’ home.

Wikendi Njema

What a great weekend!!   It was my last in Tanzania and as you’ll see, I made the most of it!

Conquer a fear…Friday afternoon started off with a scuba dive fear conquering.  To be honest, I have never been keen on trying it out simply because it seems just so unnatural.  A couple weeks ago we went out for my first try, I did some of the exercises (taking the breathing regulator in and out, practicing signals for issues underwater, etc.) and then was off for the Discover Scuba dive.  However about 5-6 meters down I felt I couldn’t clear the pressure in my ear and started to panic, breath really heavy, and came back up quickly after only 10 minutes.  I was disappointed but thankfully Isobel, dive instructor and another great friend made here in TZ, offered to let me try again and I am extremely glad that I did.  Second time around I was much calmer, I just kept telling myself I could do it and refocusing on this beautiful underwater world around me.  We went 12 meters (about 40 feet for my American friends) down for about an hour and it was incredible-- the coral, the schools of fish, filled with color and life, wonderful experience I must do again someday!

Take in the sights…. Saturday morning we woke up and took a drive south to Mnazi Bay, near the village of Msimbati.  This is the area that started all this natural gas mining and where the pipeline begins, in fact in 2010 it was estimated that there were over 10 million cubic meters of gas underneath the territory of this village.  Though many people still live in the mudhuts and it is not as developed as Mtwara you can see it is starting to shift and change.   However, the reason we went out there and the beauty of Mnazi bay is the marine park with white sands and the snorkeling on a pristine beach completely untouched by tourism.  You can literally walk 20 feet from the shore and the reef is right there, I only wish I had an underwater camera to share some of what I saw, but it was fascinating, full of color and fish and I did see a big blue starfish which I was excited about.  There are some areas of coral that have been damaged by dynamite fishing, which is a big problem in Southern Tanzania (it is illegal now but still taking place) unfortunately.  You can see some is starting to recover and since it was made a marine park this has been happening less and less and I hope it continues to diminish.  I’m so glad I got to experience this place before leaving Tanzania.

A little history... On the way back to Mtwara, we passed this gorgeous Baobab tree. This magnificent species is rarely found outside Africa, and is known as the tree of life (yes, Disney folks, that tree), with good reason. It can provide shelter, clothing, food, and water for the animal and human inhabitants of the region. The cork-like bark and huge stem are fire resistant and are used for making cloth and rope. The leaves are used as condiments and medicines. The fruit, called "monkey bread", is edible, and full of vitamin C. The tree can store hundreds of liters of water, which is an adaptation to the harsh drought conditions of its environment. The tree may be tapped in dry periods. Mature trees are usually hollow, providing living space for many animals and humans. There is also some superstition around these trees as well and as some believe the hollow cores hold evil spirits and they will be released if you do cut them down. Anyway I find it all fascinating.

Shop, shop, shop… Sunday, I ventured back into the market “Soconi” in Mtwara and I thought of how I felt the first time I went there, when it was completely overwhelming and quite daunting.  However, after being here some time I didn’t find it quite so bad.  It was still crowded and there were beggars and you constantly have to bargain (thankfully I had my lovely Kenyan friend Trinnie with me and her fluent Swahili), but it truly is an incredible place and I came away with lots of good stuff to bring home!

That about wraps it up!  Back to work today to help finalize the budget for the strategy for both the EEVT project and the Lindi Secondary Schools project and hopefully having a couple more meetings though some things have now been postponed (Advisory Committee meeting will now be in July).  Will give a good synopsis in a couple of days.