EdUKaid

What has been going on the past few weeks? Well, the first thing that springs to mind is the issue of immigrations. I feel like I have been chasing an invisible resident permit yet I am not sure that I am getting closer. I guess what we are experiencing right now is the African bureaucracy at its absolute worst. We filled an application for a resident permit late last year for a volunteer who would come down in January to teach English and physics. Normally, it is not that difficult to get these permits as long as you see to it that all the necessary papers and documentation are securely attached to the actual application. However, something definitely went wrong this time round. The first application got lost somewhere in one of the immigration departments whether here in Mtwara or in Dar Es Salaam nobody of course knows.

Now most of us would probably ask: But how did the file get lost? I would normally call that a reasonable and commonsensical question but if you have once walked from the entrance of the office complex housing immigrations in Mtwara to the actually immigration office that question looses all its relevance. I do not know if the people working in the immigration office have a different set of eyes than I have or if they interpret what they see in a totally different manner. What I do know is that the only way that you can get to the immigrations office in Mtwara is by passing the room where they keep all the files. As soon as you pass those windows through which you see meter high piles of papers and applications. You are bound to have an ONIU (Oh-now-I-understand) experience. The chaos de la paper in the immigrations department in Mtwara is breathtaking, and I do not mean to compare it with a sunset by the seafront. It is breathtaking in the sense that you lose you breath due to dust.

Now that I think about it, it is actually a very clever move to make people walk past that chaos de la paper. People who come to complain about their visas are immediately discouraged. If they came there to ask how did my file get lost and then see the chaos in the filing room, then simply accept that the file got lost. I mean the reason is right there in front of them. No need to ask for any sort of explanation really. It seems to work as a kind of defence mechanism as it makes sure that people entering the immigration office are already accepting the state of affairs. But let us see. Today might be the day where we can get some information about the resident permit. My fingers are crossed and the rainy season might have made the dust fall down in the office at immigrations. Well, I hope so.

A few weeks have gone by now but it seems that the establishment of a normal day, a planned day, is something that I have to be patient about. It is not so much the extent of the handy work around the house, but when the local plumber in Mikindani is only given the title because he is the only man in Mikindani with tools and not a plumber because he knows anything about plumbing, then things are bound to take time. Furthermore, it is not possible to buy spare parts in Mikindani so when things break I need to get into Mtwara, the larger town in the area approximately 45 minutes on bike or 20 minutes on the dala-dala (bus). It also seems that a small problem tends to grow into a bigger problem, particularly when the plumber does not understand the most basic issues about plumbing.

To give an example: our water supply has been somewhat unstable and the pipe going from the septic tank into the house has been leaking a little. On this pipe we have a tap so that we can turn of the water when the tank is over spilling. This tap then broke leading to a small leak. I went into Mtwara and bought a new one (UK steel by the way). I gave it to the plumber who simply had to replace the old leaking tap with the new steel tap. Some how he actually managed to break the steel parts into two, which then made him go home and weld the old tap and the new tap together. This worked for two days where after the tap (or taps!) broke. I had already bought a new tap so I just sent for the plumber to come by again to replace the old taps with the new tap, again a UK steel tap. This time round the plumber succeeded in making a leak in one of the connectors on the central pipe two or three metres from the tap that he was working on. He then turned the main water supply off, leaving the house without water and decided to take all the connectors apart rather than just then one that was actually leaking. He convinced himself that the problem could only be solved with a new connector, which by chance we could buy directly from him as he had one at his house, a 10-15 minute walk from our house. 2 hours later he came back ready to replace the connector. For a real plumber this should not be a problem but when the plumber himself does not know how the connectors work and where the different cascades are fitted into the connectors in order to prevent leaks, then things a little longer. After two hours and four attempts of opening the water supply and closing it again due to leaks with the connectors, the plumber hit an ultimate low when he broke another one of the connectors when trying to fit the pipe into the connector. Now we needed another connector he said…

At this point in time I had run out of patience with the man. I told him to stop what he was doing and simply connect the pipe without connecting the stop etc. He did so and the leak was gone but so is the stop on the pipe, which means that the water can now flow both in and out of the house rather than just into the house. Of course we then had an exchange of words about payment which is not easy when my level of Swahili and his level of English are equally low. During the conversation I came to the conclusion that I had taken the right decision in telling him to stop his work when he claimed that sometimes water from our septic tank would run to some of the other house, even though there is only one pipe from the tank and that pipe goes directly into our house. So now I have hired a new man to fix the water. He is very cheap, well actually he works as a plumber for free. His name is Kennet Christensen. But for now I am taking a short break from the different task of plumbing as my left thumb is in need of rest to heal because I have also been hired as an electrician. However, trying to adjust a fan without turning the fan off is not the best idea, at least not when there is plenty room for fingers to get in through the “protective” guard of the fan. My own clumsiness, or the self-fulfilling prophecy of an office-man taking his hands out of his pockets perhaps. Let see when I get going with the water supply. At least the only danger is that I will get wet.

This entry in the EdUKaid blog marks the end of an era - if a one-year period can be termed as an era? - as Sally, project manager in Tanzania 2007/2008, has safely returned to the UK. However, with one era ending another begins and this time it is with yours truly Kennet Christensen at the wheel for the year 2008/2009. Before diving into this my very first EdUKaid blog I just wish to thank Sally for her efforts here in Mikindani and for making sure that I am all set to take over. I hope the best for you.

I have now been in Tanzania for a month. It may not seem that long but I can assure each and everyone of you, my dear readers, that time can pass immensely slow if you for half a month do not do much else than sitting on the trunk of a palm tree in front of a mud-house in Mikindani. Oh yes I am talking of my homestay which all new arrivals here at EdUKaid Tanzania undertake to help them settle in and learn Swahili.

Of the more exciting experiences during homestay were my many and highly varied encounters with animals, some domesticated and some not so domesticated. I had chicken sleeping under my bed, I had lizards and geckos running on walls and on the ceiling. The chicken left me with flees and like a hundred red bites all over my body while a gecko nearly tore my mosquito net when it fell from the ceiling or maybe it simply could not resist and decided to jump, gecko parachuting without a parachute.

The funniest experience during the two weeks happened one late night. Everybody had gone to bed and were sleeping. All at a sudden I woke myself and the entire household and maybe even the neighbours with a scream. I thought that I had had a really bad dream but I could not remember anything of the dream. The following morning I tried to explain to the family what and why I had screamed. Not an easy thing to explain when you don’t speak Swahili but we all just laughed at it anyways. The next night I woke up again but this time without screaming. I felt something moving on my left shoulder. I decided to hit myself or what ever was moving around so I hammered my right hand as hard as possible onto my left shoulder. As quick as I hit my shoulder as quick did I take my hand back again as I was really surprises to feel the soft fur of a mouse/rat. I did not sleep much for the rest of that night but the mouse came back every night, though now just staying under the bed in a corner of the room. I named him Edvard Munch after Norwegian painter whose most famous painting is titled Skriget - the Scream.

EdUKaid have always worked closely with our schools and their teachers and this relationship is important. The teachers in turn have to make decisions with their school committee. Significantly in small rural communities it is through the school committee, consisting of parents and village elders that has traditionally supported the school in terms of food for the children and resources where they could be provided. With this in mind that EdUKaid has been holding information meetings not only the school committee but also an open invitation to the parents, at Naumbu, Imekuwa, Mwenge and Mkangala primary schools. I was amazed by the turn out of parents and their cooperation and support that we have been receiving. It is nice to have a more visible presence not only in the schools but also in their communities. EdUKaid is alo starting a newsletter in January, one which will transcend our schools providing updates about our work but also is designed to give children the opportunity to compete in tasks not only between their fellow school pupils but also at an inter-school level. Prize will be won! The schools we operate in are so stretched out I think this sense of community and healthy competition will highlight EdUKaid schools as having a collective focus and be aware of one another’s achievements and successes.

The schools have been trying to show their appreciation to all the donors in the United Kingdom; they are only too aware that I am just the visible face of thousands of anonymous donors. This has manifested itself with the schools putting on performances of thanks these usually consist of the entire school standing in a circle and singing a song of thanks to EdUKaid. Then a marching procession to drums of children from standard 4-7 will come and make a speech about why they are particularly thankful, in their best English. It is quite touching and also humbling. At first I was embarrassed, thinking, but this is my job and another thing is that really in the great scheme of their combined situation we are operating on a relatively small scale. I began to realise as I blushed my way through the first schools songs of “thank you EdUKaid” (pronounced TAAN Q-E-D-U-KKKAIIIIDI - by 500 children I wondered what they were singing at first) is that this is an important part of the process. To the schools they are giving back the only way they can, through songs and offering me to share what little they have, this consisted of chicken, eggs and ugali a filling meal by any standard. Sorry I cannot share first hand the food they provided, I can confirm it was great, but I hope that I have shared a little of the events! Particularly the amount of children, drumming and singing, the atmosphere was just fantastic of course they got out class and had many practice sessions to achieve the performance they did so no wonder they enjoyed it! Anyway, here are a few words from one of the school songs that was presented to me in much honour and they had obviously gone to great lengths to type and print this out, it was signed by every teacher and committee member:

Thanks giving say – On behalf of our society and on behalf of school committee, and on behalf of teachers and pupils, and on behalf of myself;

I am standing here to give lot of thanks for your hospitable deed on your greatest aid you are giving us.

I also we ask you to send our thankfulness we are giving to you, to all friends, members and helpers working with you from your home.

We, together praying with God the almighty father so he can bless you, and all your workers and members of your committee that you can continue as one great EdUKaid. We hope you will do this for us now and then again. Thank you.

A standard 5 pupil recited this, and I hope everyone who contributes to EdUKaid in anyway appreciated the sentiment.

It was after the 5^th chicken I had been offered one week during Ramadan, no one else could eat, that I realised this is small scale in terms of the amount of schools we have worked with this year operationally. But the reality is our depth, influence and penetration is huge within our school communities. The children in rural areas have access to new books and have somewhere to sit; otherwise our presence provides the teachers with a sense of value, pride and trust that is a two-way relationship and should be treasured.

By Sally (Education Coordinator)

* I have many photos to upload to reflect the above however internet connection is so slow you may have to wait until March when I return to the United Kingdom.

This January will see the end of EdUKaid’s first book and desk project. We will be delivering full sets of new syllabi texts books across all years and subjects across our primary schools on 2^nd - 3^rd January. This is to coincide with the beginning of term that begins 7^th January. The process has been a long; the books have been no way standardised between schools or subjects so it has taken a lot of research that began about a year ago with a lot of arduous but necessary research and meetings with publishers ensuring we got all the latest editions as well as their best deals! We have gained a lot of support through local businesses and it has been appreciated to receive donated transport by Sarah Holdings who brought the books from Dar-es-Salaam and have now provided EdUKaid with delivery transport and staff to the schools. To ensure the books are stored securely EdUKaid have also provided the schools with cupboards. These were made by local fundis (labourers) at EdUKaid house. BGP (a Chinese seismic company operating near all the remote schools) also provided free transport and workers to deliver the cupboards to the schools. So, a BIG thanks goes out to these two companies, who have enabled us to not only operate more cheaply but also more efficiently with staff that knew a lot more about me than knots on the back of a pick-up, brownies letting me down there!

The desk project has been completed; the schools responded well to being responsible for large sums of money and hiring local fundis near the school. This symbiotically not only helped their respective local economies but also emphasised the trust built up between the EdUKaid, the teachers and the school committees. I visited the schools weekly to keep track of progress of the desks and they all met their targets I gave them. This was quite astonishing given some fundis had to cycle up to 30 kilometres to get the timber for the desks. A feat in itself I think cycling with long pieces of timber through their bikes. I know I struggle without the timber on these tracks!

So 2007 has seen EdUKaid make more tangible contributions to the primary schools. In January we begin the process of making similar contributions to the secondary schools, a bigger task in some respects due to numbers but one that will be as worthwhile and fulfilling as the primary project.

By Sally (Education Coordinator)

Hello everybody.

Just a quick note about the beer fest we held this weekend at the Victoria and Albert in Netherhampton. It was a great success with lovely weather and we managed to raise over two thousand pounds. The African themed barbecue went down a storm with all of the exotic meats - goat, crocodile, ostrich and camel - selling out on the first day. The beers were all great with Edukation Ale winning the beer of the festival. More news will be in the next edition of the newsletter.

Tim

From now on we will be updating this blog with stories from our project in Mikindani. We hope that this will give you a bit more of an insight into what it is like to live and work in such a different environment. Sally McCartney, our Education Coordinator will be writing at least once a week as long as the electricity supply and internet connection allows her to - it has often been the case that we have had neither for weeks. Please feel free to add to the blog. Tim Dench.

Advanced notification of our Beer Festival to be held at the Victoria and Albert in Netherhampton over the weekend of� 7th/8th July. Should be a cracking weekend and a great way for us to raise funds. More information to follow…

We think it is really important for all of our supporters, staff, volunteers and partners to be aware of all of what we are currently doing and we also greatly value peoples suggestions and feedback so we welcome everyone to use our blog.

Hopefully you will find the Mikindani category an amusing and insightful view of life and work in our projects.

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