Kwa heri and goodbye!

Hello! I’m writing this with a heavy heart, as we heard on Monday that the sister of one of our TNZ team members died. It was a terrible shock for him and, as he left for Dar on Tuesday morning, we all said goodbye to him on Monday evening, which was horrible. All our thoughts and sympathy are with him and his family. We’ll miss him so much over these next few days and, of course, once we go home.

Today was our community farewell which, apart from the sad news, was a lovely afternoon. The awesome community farewell team organised a really nice, reflective and fun few hours with our host families and other community members that have been important to us during our stay here. We had the classic slide show of photos, alongside presentations on the different aspects of the programme, a role play of our time in Karagwe, a ‘string of memories’ and, of course, soda, mandazi and groundnuts. Oh yes, and some dancing to Waka Waka (Time For Africa) at the end.

None of us can believe that we’re leaving so soon. 5.30 on Thursday morning is looming far too near. The first month of our time felt, as I’ve said, like the longest ever, but the last couple of months really have flown by. As Flo said today, ‘I’m not done yet!’ It does feel like 3 months isn’t enough – I just feel like we’ve settled in and know our way around Karagwe and now we’re leaving.

At the same time, I’m so pleased with what we’ve achieved while we’ve been here; especially with CADs. Last week it was the anniversary of the first International Women’s Day (I.W.D. is on the 8^th March) and we marked it with a chai afternoon at a local hotel, where we enjoyed some debate on gender issues, a presentation on FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) and more general discussion, led by WOMEDA (Women’s and Men’s Development Agency), a local NGO. We didn’t have time to do everything on our agenda, partly due to us not being able to start until an hour after we’d agreed because of African time, but mostly due to how involved people were in the debate and discussion, which was awesome! We hadn’t anticipated so much involvement of everyone; we just sat back and listened to the Swahili keep flowing.

Another project we’ve had is renovating a classroom at Rumanyika Primary, a local – er – primary school in Kayanga, which was also some volunteers’ placement school. It was completely out of use, because it was in a pretty sorry state, with what can only be called pot holes all over the ‘floor’, no windows and a big crack in the wall. Two of the Hannahs in our team spotted it one day and had the idea to try and sort it out so it could be used as an activity room, or a classroom for extra-curricular activities – maybe even for the facilitation of sessions on sexual reproductive health. We decided the floor was at the top of the list of things to do, so we set to getting cement. Very kindly, the mayor donated a bag of cement and a couple of bags of sand to the cause, which got us off to a good start. We all helped carting said materials and water to the classroom from SAWAKA one hot Friday afternoon after team meeting and got to work. The TNZ volunteers quickly proved to be the most competent and capable in the job and were awesome in their work. Once the sweeping and shifting of gravel (first out of the holes in the floor, then back in – there was quite a lot of controversy as to which was best) was done, us mzungus didn’t seem to really have any more to do. Our TNZ counterparts were amazing and worked way past curfew (oops) to finish the floor, which now looks so much better. Although this project sounds like a cliché gap yah activity, the fact that the classroom is now being used by the older students as a study/social area is proof that it was a worthwhile use of our time.

Aside from CADs, we’ve also had some pretty memorable socials, most notably of which was on Sunday 2^nd February. We all piled into a dala-dala belonging to Flo and Walter’s baba and set off to Bweranyenge, a beautiful corner of Karagwe bordering Rwanda. After seeing a site where baba’s tribe used to hang out, eating maize at baba’s brother’s house and experiencing the spirit of the chief in a hut in the garden, we headed to the crème de la crème of views at the border.

We’d heard that the views were stunning, but we weren’t prepared for how beautiful they’d be. There were plenty of rocks for us to run/jump/sit on, too, so we were more than happy. It was such a nice day for us all to be together on the last weekend to relax, chat and enjoy les paysages. The time to leave came far too soon!

A few of us have been to watch the sunrise over the Kagera river valley this morning, and we’re just waiting for breakfast at Hannah Nick’s house before our first day of debrief. We saw chapattis being rolled out, which is very exciting.

So, this will be my last blog in Karagwe! Crazy stuff. It’s going to feel like such a shame to say goodbye; it’s such a beautiful part of the world and we’ve been made to feel so at home. I’m SO excited to see everyone at home, but at the same time the thought of never coming back here is so sad. I’ll just have to come back!

Kwa heri!

Birthday Antics etc

Hello again! Crikey, we’ve only got 2 and a half weeks left. Let’s not think about that.

Our latest news is our last CAD, which was a very successful ‘Leader Engagement Meeting’. Each placement group invited as many community leaders from the communities in which they work as they could to SAWAKA on Saturday 18^th for a meeting with all of us volunteers and our supervisors. Our aim was to give out as much information as we could about our objectives here, how we’ve been working and how the next cycles will work, as well as giving plenty of opportunity for feedback and suggestions on how we could improve what we’re doing. It was a really positive afternoon and we were given plenty of feedback and advice for our last few weeks. A common piece of advice was to prepare the schools and communities more for our arrival. As we are the first cycle of volunteers, we had to introduce the whole VSO – ICS/SAWAKA/Million Hours Fund to our communities. Personally, I feel quite proud of the fact that we’re the first representatives of the programme and we have, I think we’d all agree, made an awesome impression… Good luck next cycle!?!

The sodas and various treats from the market went down a treat at the meeting but, unfortunately, the only food that was left over for us to eat was the pre-meeting coffee beans that no one likes.

In other news – it was my birthday on Friday! Yay! It was a day of very mixed emotions. It started with stress, as it was my group’s GCD and tension was high as we were running late and full taxi after full taxi to Kayanga beeped past us. Next was nervousness, as our awesome fellow volunteers who’d all delivered amazing GCDs before us filed in for the session. It actually went really well, so relief and enjoyment ensued.

Unfortunately my Baba’s cousin died at the beginning of last week, so his funeral was on Friday. Jackie and I left our GCD in the more than capable hands of Helen and Bonavitha and went to the funeral. It was an amazing sight; there were hundreds and hundreds of people there, all the women in kangas and, as the service was held in his garden, everyone was gathered wherever there was space. It was difficult to see if you were at the edges of the crowd, so most people were chatting quietly, napping on the grass or wandering around the peripheries. We ate some delicious pilau rice under the banana trees about half way through the service then rejoined the congregation for the burial. That was when sadness joined the list of emotions! We were told that Baba’s cousin had dug his own grave a few months earlier, which is interesting! Apparently that’s the kind of man he was. Unfortunately we had to leave as they were throwing confetti into the grave, so we didn’t see the conclusion of the service, but I’m so glad I saw what I saw.

I was feeling pretty low after that, but as soon as I rejoined the rest of the legends that are my fellow volunteers I was cheered up no end. I walked into the bar to them singing Happy Birthday and then was presented with two BEAUTIFUL kangas and an awesome card signed by everyone. It’s SO exciting to have kangas now; I can’t wait to get one of them tailored into a skirt and to wrap the rest around me like an African mama. Felix, one of our German mates, also gave me a wicked assortment of bizarre presents, including a toothbrush head, a M23 Congo Rebel Group calendar and an X Ray of his tooth. Highlight! So, my birthday concluded with us all in excellent spirits.

My party was on Sunday! My baba very kindly offered us his hotel/bar as a venue, so all the volunteers, our supervisors and our German mates convened at Africana Safari Lodge for drinks, food, chats and general fun times. It was such a nice afternoon/evening. The Hannahs and Helen made me a lemon drizzle cake, too, which was AWESOME! I feel seriously lucky and greedy to have had a 3 day birthday celebration, but it’s been great. It’s taken the edge of the fact that I’m now 19, which is the worst age ever.

My birthday’s all over now, so now we have to concentrate on making the next couple of weeks’ teaching as productive as possible and leaving as much information and advice for the next cycle of volunteers as we can. I hope I can blog again before we leave! Until then, baadae!

Hang on... Half way through?!

Hello!

 So this will be a bit of a reflective blog, seeing as we’re over half way through now! It was half time on Friday 27^th.

It’s crazy that we’re half way through; it really doesn’t feel like we’ve been here for 6 weeks.  I feel completely settled now (as expected), after an up and down first 3 or 4 weeks!  We’ve all agreed that life in England will be the odd experience, whereas our African life will feel normal. It’ll be so strange to see pavements and cars with only 2 people in and traffic lights and coffee shops… But that’s not for another 6 weeks.

We had our supervisions with our P.S.’s on Monday, so we’ve all been reflecting on our progress so far, as well as setting new objectives and goals to work towards over the next 6 weeks. Personally, I feel like I’ve really got a lot more self-conviction and that I’ve become a lot more open with feelings and opinions. It’d be impossible to do this programme, I think, without being able to share with other people what’s going through your head, whether it’s coping with home sickness, frustration with your placement or just simply missing cheese. Equally, the best thing ever is sharing an awesome session you’ve had, a beautiful view you’ve found or the location of a shop that sells cheese with your team. I apologise in advance to my family and friends in the UK; when I get home you’ll never hear the end of my emotions. Soz!

Jackie (my counterpart) and me after 6 weeks. I've gone blue and J's really tired. (Philly - a UK volunteer - painted faces at the Christmas party)

I kind of wish I’d done a ‘Me Before’ profile, so I could compare it with a ‘Me After’ profile and see how I’ve changed over the programme. I’ve certainly got a bigger bum from the mountains of carbohydrate-heavy food, slightly browner forearms and blonder hair, but I think I have changed in ways that aren’t visible, too. I definitely feel like I’ve matured in some ways (some might disagree!), but it’s difficult to pinpoint specifically how.

So, what do the next 6 weeks hold? Nyakahanga Secondary School is going back to school next week, so they’ll be a new placement for us, which is exciting! We’ve also managed to buy a volleyball, so we’re going to set up a volleyball club in Omurushaka for young people. Volleyball was chosen because it’s a pretty unisex sport – it’s easy to find a group of boys playing football in any town, but girls are hardly ever seen participating in sport for leisure. Also, we can play it and we’re a bit bored of football. We’ve found that most of our sessions with community members are very male-heavy, so our aim is to try and get lots of girls involved, so they benefit from the sexual reproductive health information we’re providing as much as boys. By using sport, we can engage young people in our sessions more easily so they can receive the information we want to pass on without feeling like they’re being taught/preached at. It also, obviously, encourages team work, keeps people fit and is fun fun fun!  We’re hoping to run weekly sessions in the evening, which will make the club easy to be continued by the next cycle of volunteers and easy to be run by some youth from the community.

The next 6 weeks also includes my 19^th (ew) birthday, for which my baba is planning a huge celebration. Woohoo! He likes a good dance, so it should be a good shindig. I can’t wait!

Kayanga and Omurushaka Football Teams

On Sunday we had another Community Action Day (CAD), which was great. It was the Karagwe region football final between Kayanga and Omurushaka and Kayanga’s coach asked us to run some games about HIV and AIDS with the teams before the match. We all turned up in our VSO ICS t-shirts and ran simple sessions with small groups of players as a little warm up. They addressed issues like the effects of HIV and how it progresses to AIDS[1] and the fact that you can’t tell if someone is HIV positive without asking them, or without them getting tested[2]. Once the game had started we handed out information leaflets about HIV and AIDS and about the work we’re doing with VSO ICS. There was a really positive reaction and it’s always good to show our faces and our t-shirts as a team!

Fox!

In other news, we have a new PUPPY at our house! I came home from Kayanga on Saturday night to find a big eared, long-legged little heap of sweetness in our courtyard. He’s called Fox, he’s about 4 months old and I LOVE HIM. It’s so exciting. He’s still in the howling at night phase, though, which hopefully won’t last too long. My family have named me Mama Fox now, because I cuddle him, which is apparently quite unusual for pets in TNZ! I’m more than happy with that name.

Sorry this has been a bit rambling. I’m listening to Dire Straits – Ride Across The River and it’s distracting my thoughts. Hope you’re all well; will update soon!

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[1] A penalty shoot-out, where there are 3 or 4 goal keepers at the beginning. The ball represents opportunistic infections (O.I.s), the goal represents the body and the keepers represent the immune system. As the game continues, a keeper is removed every so often, so more O.I.s enter the body, until there are no keepers left, which represents the immune system depleting because of HIV and the progression to AIDS.

[2] A really simple game involving two lines of players facing each other and two balls. The lines of players close their eyes, while the person running the game places a ball in one of the player’s from each line’s hands. Each team has 3 guesses to work out who’s holding the ball. It’s surprisingly difficult, so reinforces how important it is to discuss HIV and other STIs with sexual partners.

A lovely sunrise above the banana plantation.

When a tomato fits perfectly inside a tomato, it's the best thing ever.