Lohai, Raymond and Karatu

I fear that, in the telling of this story about two incredibly special young men, I will fail to give their integrity, their gentleness, their incredible work ethic and discipline the credit due.  I fear I will fail to explain just how remarkable Lohai and Raymond truly are . . . but suffice it to say I will try! 

Lohai had a birthday on the 26^th of December . . . he turned 26.  He works here at Tumaini, in the first job of his life, not because he is lazy, for anyone who spends a day here will tell you that no one and I mean NO ONE works harder than Lohai, but because there are simply so few employment opportunities for a young, uneducated man in this country, but, I am getting ahead of myself.

Lohai is very quiet – shy – incredibly kind (too kind most of the time and many people push him around because of his gentleness).  Officially, he takes care of our chickens and the garden, but the reality is that he is the day to day foundation of this foundation, our “go to” guy and we are incredibly lucky to have him.  When someone is late arriving to work in the morning, he puts on the chai for the children – he finds the missing book bag, school shoe, uniform.  He picks up after the children, and sweeps our yard, every day.  He runs for our photocopies, takes Liadi to bed at night and remembers to dole out medication to our sick children.  He also manages our vegetable garden.  Everyone, everyday, calls for Lohai and waits for that response, “Nam”?  He never shouts at a child, is never cruel and in fact struggles garnering the respect he so very much deserves.  His father, unfortunately, is a drinker of the local brew, pembe which is toxic and in visiting with the families one could tell that, intellectually, Baba Lohai is no longer entirely “with it”.  Each of us, Katy, Cindy (who has been struggling gastronomically and with migraines), Amanda and myself wanted to make the 3 ½ hour drive in order to meet the families of the boys we all love so very much and once there, I shared with Lohai and Raymond’s parents just how proud of their sons they should be . . . how very much we value their contributions and how lucky we feel.  I didn’t know it at the time but you can see in the photos that Lohai became overwhelmed emotionally with our visit, or the accolades, I don’t know, but I can tell you that in a private discussion later he struggled again to explain to his father how the drinking simply had to stop.  Both families are desperately poor . . . working on a coffee plantation for just over $200.00 per year . . . PER YEAR!  It is an impossible situation for the families to escape . . .

Raymond, is the polar opposite of Lohai . . . social, vociferous, and academically, incredibly strong (he is our brightest student.) Raymond shines as a kind and gentle big brother - the ideal steward and teacher to the smaller children and is closest friend to Lohai.  He is not always here (boarding at Makumira Secondary School) but when he is, life is a bit more colorful, a bit more jovial and the children notice!  When meeting the families we all remarked on how much Raymond resembles his father . . . not only physically, but with shared social behaviors also!  They are both immediate to smile, have a gentle disposition and are sensitive to the needs of those around them.  Both sets of parents are the best of friends and Baba Raymond has kindly offered to help Baba Lohai with his shida (problem) of drinking.  During our interview and with the language barrier (Baba Raymond was apologizing for the drinking and promised that it would stop) I got the impression both fathers struggle with alcohol but am happy to share that no, only Lohai’s father has the problem.  After our private conversation about problems and the alcohol we reunited with the rest of the group, sang happy birthday to Lohai and shared two cakes, one orange and one chocolate . . . thank you Neema and Mama Mwajuma.

RRRRRRRRaymondi with his zawadi from Mariel

Lohai has a big sister now in Amanda

Baba na Mama Raymond

Departing Tumaini with my guys!

We were praising the boys and Lohai became overwhelmed

Lohai's family

Raymond and family

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  We lost power last night and so I finish this tale in 2011!  Happy New Year to each of you and thank you for your well wishes!  We have a special thank you coming but I hope each of you knows just how very grateful we are for the love and support you have shown the children of Tumaini this past year . . . they are off on safari today, all of them, compliments of Soko Safaris here in Arusha and then prepare to return, or begin their new school years. . . things have been a whirlwind here, as I am certain they have with you, but will settle soon and our routine pace will slow a bit I hope . . . Cindy will begin to feel better and work will continue . . . but in the meantime . . . Asante, asante!  Be well!

Mary's confirmation - the good, the bad and the ugly and Happy Birthday Lohai and Grace!

5:39 a.m. . . . Did you know the roosters crow even in the rain?  It has been falling for about three hours and has cooled things down for us . . . beginning to worry a bit because today we are headed back up Mount Meru to attend a Christmas party for an orphanage in the village of Ndoombo.  Ester and Mary come from that area . . . and we’re going in the truck, you know, pick up, open back . . . in the rain?

Mary’s confirmation was wonderful and terribly sad . . . a typical combination in Africa.

We loaded the truck (and I mean loaded – pole Kal, he chose to stay back after seeing just how cramped things were going to be) imagine twelve of us PLUS a cake, speakers, a generator, fuel for the generator (no electricity in the village) three crates of soda, two boxes of water, foodstuffs, etc. in our little Toyota (thank you again Master Mechanic and UAP for all the parts!) climbing AND I MEAN CLIMBING, the mountain!  The journey consisted of us travelling 14 minutes west and 44 minutes north (as in UP!)  Peter, is a very capable driver, but when he made a sharp turn kushoto (left) I exclaimed that even he couldn’t get us up the vertical before us . . . Cindy laughed . . . she gets motion sick so needs the front seat . . . because from her vantage could see it was impossible, but I thought Peter might try.  From there on in it was on foot . . . straight up!

The path to Mary’s Bibi’s house where Mary has lived since her parents died almost ten years ago, meanders through a mix of banana trees and coffee plants.  We maneuvered our way up, decked out for church and hauled everything in the truck up with us.  Mary’s Bibi’s house (two mud structures on a flat bit of land about 18’ wide (think vertical now!)) is modest to say the least but we found Mary next door with her Mama Ndogo (little mama) who was preparing her for the service.  My photos do not do her justice – Cindy’s will come – but suffice it to say that our angel was absolutely beautiful . . . beautiful!  We had gone to town shopping for a tiara and veil, gloves and a pouch (clutch bag).  Mary had her hair done in a weave by two massai gentlemen who worked for about four hours to finish.  (We joke about finding the only women in this country with real hair – everyone else has extensions or weaves done – P.S.  Mama Mwajuma and Neema have their own hair – that’s two!)

Mary is one of those little girls who are not accustomed, nor comfortable, with being the center of attention.  Although she loved all of her big girl experiences, she was awkward with our praises of how lovely she looked . . . You can see in the photo how one delivers a young lady, dressed all in white, down a dusty mountain to the gari (car) to deliver her to her confirmation . . . piggy back style! 

We arrived at the church and unfortunately that is where the trouble began.  Daniel, a gentleman I met last year when he asked me to help Ester was present and hauled me around for introductions to the pastors of the church.  I immediately sensed something was not right.  Daniel insisted that Mary’s Babu had a shida with the Bibi, that he would not attend Mary’s service if the problem was not corrected and that he needed our gari to make an official visit to the home to “straighten things out”.  Something smelled bad . . . it turned out that Daniel was hasira (angry) because I had made arrangements for the meal and the celebration with Mary’s aunt instead of him and he felt slighted.  His angered festered when, becoming frustrated, I snatched my arm from his clutch, telling him “basi” – “enough”, as he attempted to parade me around telling all who would listen that I was HIS mzungu!  You can imagine how well that went over!  The service was stalled for an hour because of the argument at which point I approached the pastors of the church and told them I felt I should leave . . . that somewhere along the way it had been forgotten whom the day was supposed to be for, and that we had all attended simply because we love Mary.  Pastor responded that yes, I was the subject of the problem but not the cause and to please stay, the ceremony would begin immediately.  Mary’s Aunt was crying, her uncles were angry, explaining to Pastor that Babu WAS indeed attending (more on HIM later).  Pastor then welcomed us into the church to a back room where they had prepared chai for us . . . Daniel pushed his way into the room and rambled on about his orphanage (he doesn’t have one), his mzungu friend from Canada (me, and he doesn’t have one there anymore either), etc., etc.  Imagine four pastors and nine of us patiently waiting until Daniel finally realized how ridiculous he sounded, at which point we were invited to introduce ourselves.  The guest book was signed, chai was served and then we were ushered into the church for the service!  I have explained how long the service is haven’t I? We arrived at Mary’s Bibi’s home at 9:00 a.m., got to the church just before ten, the service began just after eleven and we finished just before two!  The head pastor invited me to say a few words and I rose to greet the congregation.  Daniel scampered after me and grabbed a second microphone . . . now I won’t tell you my Kiswahili is good yet, but if I may be so bold, my greetings and congratulations to the members of the church, Mary and the other children being confirmed was done in Swahili and was not bad . . . yet, Daniel felt compelled to translate my Swahili into . . . Swahili? Sitaki Danieli, sitaki!  He fungued his ndomo (closed his mouth), I finished my greeting and we sat back down for the service.  Pastor talked about people who tell lies about others and how we shouldn’t let the lies of others hurt us because we know the truth (he looked right at me when he said it and Grace was good enough to translate verbatim) and the liar knows he’s lying . . . Daniel left the church then.  Pastor then went on to ask the families about how much they had spent on the dresses and suits and hair and parties for the confirmees and then asked how many of the children had received a bible?  His point?  The mamas and babas had prepared the children’s bodies and faces and homes for the event but had they prepared their hearts?  It was a poignant moment . . .

People bring gifts of thanks to the church and we had many half tied chickens wandering around the altar in their attempts at escape but all were herded up, retied and then taken outside and auctioned off to raise funds for the church.  We exited, took some photos, piled ourselves into the gari again and headed back to Mary’s home.  It had rained while we were in the church . . . a deluge actually, the noise of the pelting raindrops drowned out pastor’s words, and we feared we might have to swim back to the party but were pleasantly surprised, upon exiting, to discover the ground had absorbed every drop and the earth was dry!  Or, perhaps those at the bottom of the mountain were swimming for their lives!!!!!  In any event the party continued!  You will see in the photos that Mary was piggybacked back UP to her home, Peter and Lohai had set up the generator and the music (Asante D.J. Lohai) and our little guest of honor was seated.  An uncle (I think) then began a prayer, and spoke about how people choose, so often, to forget what the moment is “supposed” to be about (Mary) and instead conspire to achieve their own selfish goals.  Mary began to cry and I became more angry . . . it turns out that Babu is an alcoholic, was drunk, and was demanding we pay money in order to remain at his home.  He rambled on and then was escorted away by one of his sons . . . he would return later . . . still drunk but contrite at least, and we all did what we could to salvage Mary’s day!  The food was wonderful, we joked and played with her in our attempts to bring her smile back and eventually, succeeded!  Now ladies and gentlemen I must describe for you our amenities vis a vis the toilet.  Laci needed to go and so was presented at the door of a small “tent” with a roll of toilet tissue (we had brought it).  Upon her return she exclaimed, “Just how are you supposed to hit that hole anyway”?  The loo is simply a dug pit with sheeting around it for privacy!  Cindy refused it and gurgled her way home, over every bump on Mount Meru I fear, in order to wait for the western toilet in her room!

The day ended with full bellies, a bitter sweetness for Mary, my need to return to apologize to the Pastors of her church and a most beautiful illustration of just what a special young lady Mary is . . . we were unwrapping her gifts and counted up the fedha (money) she had received as a zawadi (we gave her a bible).  She had received 110,000 tsh. or about $75.00 which is an enormous amount of money.  It is customary for the confirmee to “gift” her parents (or in Mary’s case, her Bibi) with a portion of the windfall . . . I asked Mary to mpe hihi (put here) the portion she wished to give her Bibi . . . without a thought, Mary told me “zota kwa Bibi”, all for Bibi . . . it still makes me cry!

We returned home to enjoy cake and ice cream for Lohai’s (26^th) and (pole Grace, I forgot!) Grace’s (Christmas day) birthdays.  Mary returns Tuesday to take communion as a newly confirmed Lutheran!

Still to come?  Swimming – a thief – and returning to Ndoombo for another Christmas party!

A Tumaini Christmas Morning . . .

If you imagined the very best Christmas morning one could possibly imagine . . . and then multiplied it by, say, 1000, that would be our morning this morning . . . so much happiness here for our First Tumaini Christmas . . . 

Tumaini . . . our first Christmas

First of all to our friends at home, pole pronounced “polay”, which means “sorry”, particularly for the weather you’ve experienced recently. . . I won’t tell you that we need our sunscreen daily here of late . . .   the tree is decorated, the gifts are almost wrapped (Laci arrived safely with the last few bags).  Kesho asubuhi we will gather with chai and watoto wingi (many children) for zawadis (gifts).  Many of those gifts were sent by you and some very special ones we received from a special angel in Canada . . . The children are oh so excited to enjoy the day tomorrow . . . after breakfast, song and prayer, many will disburse to their families (Bibis/grandmothers, Mamas, Uncles/Aunts) to pay their respects and bring a zawadi of their own . . . most children are returning badaye (later) and we will remain here, catch our collective breath and prepare our Christmas feast . . . barbeque chicken, roasted ndizi (bananas), roasted pork (for Oddo!), and, wait for it . . . spaghetti!  Yes!  Christmas Tanzania!

Our volunteer from Australia (Emily) and I attended Langa ya Iruva (the AIDS group I support) yesterday where I received my Christmas present . . . halfway through our meeting there was a big commotion . . . Amina (Glory and Anjela’s mama had walked to the meeting to greet us!  She was wobbly and needed the assistance of Mama Gift, but she made it!  She is so sick, her tumor is still present and will take her down one of these days, but yesterday was not the day and she sat beside me throughout the rest of the meeting!

The children are remarkable . . . I wish I could show you just how much . . . but, I think if you visit www.vimeo.com/18122274 you may just discover for yourself . . . Asante Baba Kali . . .

There is so very much to be thankful for . . . that Mary continues to improve . . . she smiles often now and gets stronger every day . . . that little Neema and Rashid, two children from Majengo Village who couldn’t afford to get to their clinic and receive their ARV’s are now doing much better and their CD4 counts climb . . . Amina is stable . . . still sick but stable . . . the children are wonderfully happy and healthy and are learning English and numbers and more!  And there is you . . . you are such a large part of Tumaini House . . . your love which manifests into support . . . I so wish everyone who has loved us this year could see how their goodness has helped . . . how the children grow, or how their schools have improved . . . or how grateful the older ones are to be attending university (Mary and Reward), or some wonderful secondary schools (Raymond, Nelson, Deo, Margaret, Anna Deo).

Thank you . . . and happy holidays . . . please know how special you are, how loved you are . . .

As Mama Kubwa (Big Mama) hapa (here) I can tell you that most of these children know just how lucky they are to have found your love and they celebrate it every day in their educations, in their play, but mostly, in their love . . . Asante Mamas na Babas . . . Asante Dadas, na Kakas . . . and Happy Holidays!

Kelvin's Confirmation and Latifa Arrives!

December 20 – Mary, Reward, Nelson and Kelvin – The Minja Family and Latifa is here!

The electricity is sporadic at best here.  The pattern seems to be that we lose it around 10:00 a.m. and it returns at 6:00 p.m. so pole for not writing more . . . First of all, happy birthday to Tim and Andrew today and Oma and Stephen and Will, tomorrow!  Oma, here is your birthday gift . . .

Asante to the Moise family for sponsoring Evalin, to Randy for helping us with Harriri, and to the McCann family in Australia for sponsoring Gerehad next year.  You know that without your love, without your giving kindness towards these little ones . . . the brightness of their futures would be limited.  Asante, Asante, Asante!

Sunday, we were invited to attend Kelvin’s confirmation in Ngaramtoni . . . which, in Tanzania, is quite a process, think wedding, and one I would not have missed!  We left home at eight a.m., Peter, Cindy, Grace, Amanda, Katy, Lucy and myself piled into the gari and we were off!  It is a one hour drive to the church and we just made it for the ten o’clock service which started at 10:50.  Oh well, Tanzanian time.  Kelvin was ecstatic as he proceeded up the aisle and saw all of us there for him.  Both of his parents are dead and his siblings Mary and Reward made an eight hour bus trip from Dar to join us.  Nelson came from school and the “adjusted” Minja family was complete!  The service was long, as services always are here (four hours) . . . the church was jam packed and breathing room was limited, but, as I said, not one of us would have missed it.  The happiness on his face when he saw us in the pew, for him, when his parents are no longer able to be there, was a memory I will always cherish.  The church service lasted, as I said, almost four hours and we were somewhat wilted by the time it finished but so be it.  I wish I could find the words to express to you how wonderful it is to be a part of these children’s lives.  Kelvin’s parents are dead as I have said, as so many of our children’s parents are and he has adopted me as his mama.   My heart just filled up, watching him, with pride and love.  He is such a good young man and such a wonderful steward of Tumaini House.  Mary and Reward returned safely to Dar, on separate buses, so that, just in case there was an accident, Kelvin and Nelson would not lose both of their bigger siblings.  That is the kind of family this is.  Mary and Reward, instead of sitting and chatting together on the bus ride up and down, travelled alone, with no one to talk to, in an effort to minimize the effects of a potential accident.  Smart, smart dada na kaka!

The children are wonderful!  Karibu to Emily and Brett who are honeymooning from Australia and working with us for the next two weeks.  Katy has welcomed Amanda and Lucy and Rachael arrived yesterday and will suffer with jet lag for the next couple of days but is here and safe and looking forward to her time with us!!!!  Karibu to Laci on the 24^th and Christmas will be wonderful!

 

 

Baby Latifa has arrived and is no longer a baby!  Ester has embraced her as big sister and to see them together is remarkable.  I think Ester is ultra sensitive to Latifa because they both endured surgeries and had to wear a brace . . . it is heartwarming to see!  Like I said, power is intermittent . . . we will write as we can but please know how grateful we are for your loving support!  Christmas is wonderful here in Tanzania . . . Karibu sana!!!!!