A collection of journal entries by intern Alison Chen for the Western Heads East project, a University of Western Ontario community response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Week 1 in Mwanza






Meaghan and I have finally made it to Mwanza, safe and sound with all of our baggage. Thank you to all my family and friends for all their best wishes and gifts before I headed off, they have been a blessing for me. I apologize for the lack of communication with home because the internet at the apartment is still not working yet. Things take a bit longer to get fixed and done here in Tanzania.

Mon. & Tues., Aug. 6&7, 2007
We had a bit of a rocky trip departing on the night of Mon., Aug. 6th to Heathrow airport, which is so huge and confusing. We then had another red-eye flight to Nairobi, where I was feeling a bit under the weather, but surprisingly we didn’t run into any major problems. Our next flight had an unexpectedly long delay at the Kiliminjaro airport and we had difficulty getting a hold of the girls to let them know of our tardiness. With all of the confusion, we did arrive safely in Mwanza on Wed., Aug. 8th and after all the baggage checks and visa validations we were warmly welcomed by our new family in Tanzania.

Wed., Aug. 8th, 2007
Kim, Missy, and Jackie have been amazing at giving us a tour of the area and letting us know the ins and outs of living in Mwanza. After a long trip and only sleeping about 5 hours in 2 days, Meaghan and I headed home near Mlango Mmoja and jumped in the shower before heading to Tilapia for a good meal. We tried our best to stay up as late as possible so that we could get adjusted to our jet lag.

Thurs., Aug. 9th, 2007
Meg and I woke up early this morning to go to NIMR (National Institute for Medical Research) with Jackie and Kim to drop off the mother culture and CO2 packs with George. We are still looking into getting a freezer to hold the cultures at -20oC and keeping them sterile from the other blood and urine samples. Jackie, Meg and I then set off to Mahina, a community just outside of Mwanza that receives the probiotic yogurts for many of the HIV/PLWAs (people living with AIDS) patients. Many individuals living with HIV/AIDS have a difficult stigma against them because of the lack of education about the disease and the misconception of the way HIV is transferred. Jackie had a couple of enlarged photos and female condoms that were requested by one of the community members, whose husband would not wear condoms and is suspected to have HIV already. It was great to see the area and get an idea of how the members are living.
We then headed to Mabutini, where the Yogurt Kitchen is located, by the daladala (local van bus). Driving is pretty crazy and scary here because there aren’t always side walks and speed limits don’t exist. The horn is used to warn pedestrians and cyclists that cars are coming. Also, cars drive on the opposite sides of the street and takes a bit of getting used to. We dropped by the Kitchen for a quick meet-and-greet with the mamas that were working the kitchen and got to have a try of the yogurt being made, trademarked as Fiti. It is a plain yogurt, a bit sour, but very refreshing on a hot day.
Meg and I will be starting our Swahili lessons as soon as possible so that we are able to communicate with the mamas and with the locals on a daily basis. It will also make teaching English to the mamas much easier, however I am very impressed with the amount that they know already.
After lunch Meg, Missy, Kim and I headed off to the bank to take out some Tanzanian Shillings (Tsh) to use for groceries, transportation, and to purchase a cell phone which we went to go pick up directly after the bank. We stopped by the internet café briefly to send out a few emails and then went back home to get ready for a nice evening at the Tunza beach of yoga and dinner, it was amazing and a really great welcoming. We met a bunch of missionaries, locals, and volunteers visiting Mwanza: Major, Jan, Jenny, Danny, Laurene, Janine, Hank, and a bunch of German volunteers.

Fri., Aug. 10, 2007
We woke up early this morning to go to the Yogurt Kitchen in Mabutini for 8:30am. Jackie was interviewing the mamas for her project and asking several questions about their biographies and what WHE has done for them and their community. All the responses were very positive, including their own personal education about HIV and for their families, personal empowerment with running the yogurt project, and also to help strengthen the community both financially and physically. At the Kitchen, there were many kids running around and only some in school uniform. Jackie informed me that even though school is free for everyone, the costs of uniforms and books prevent many children from getting an education. It is a frustrating situation because many of the children are eager to learn and have such potential for great things.
We had lunch and then headed to NIMR so that Jackie could interview Joseph Mwanga, (Senior research scientist with a PhD, MSc and Honors BA). It was a great chance for Meg and I to get acquainted with him and get a bit more information about the project at NIMR.
Meaghan, Jackie and I went back to the Yogurt Kitchen to teach some of the mamas English. It was a lot more difficult than I expected because of the language barrier, but the mamas did a really great job picking up the grammar lessons. The lesson was also a good way to get to know the mamas and see how far they have come in learning English.

Sat. & Sun., Aug. 11&12, 2007
This weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to go camping at Kijerashi, just outside of the Serengeti National Park and we were able to see several wild animals: Zebras, Springbucks, Baboons, and Ostriches. We were driven in Majors truck with Missy, Jackie, Meaghan, Janine, Hank, Laurene, and I. We indulged in a fabulous diner and next day lunch of instant noodles on pieces of bread and peanut butter.

1 comment:

Karen Partyka said...

Hi Alison
Are you still in Mwanza? Im volunteering in Nyakahoja primary school and am looking to meet some other volunteers as im here alone. Can you send me an email if you are still here.
Thanks

St. Augustine's Book Sale (June 16th, 2007)

St. Augustine's Book Sale (June 16th, 2007)

Sport Seneca Silent Auction (June 6th, 2007)

Sport Seneca Silent Auction (June 6th, 2007)

Garage Sale (June 2 & 3rd, 2007)

Garage Sale (June 2 & 3rd, 2007)
lots of things to sell

hard at work - sorting and labeling

A much needed break