Happy Birthdays, Liadi, Latifa, Zawadi and Gerehad

Happy Birthday Latifa

I am hoping all is well with friends and family of Tumaini as we are doing quite well here also.  No serious illnesses despite remarkable rains and variable temperatures; hot, hot days and quite cool nights along with ideal malaria breeding grounds . . . we are fortunate.




Katy, Stephano, Gerehad and Francis

and Liadi . . .

 

 As most of you know, passing a national examination (written in English) is mandatory in order to advance in one’s education in this country . . . Standard IV, and VII (4^th and 7^th grades), Form II, IV and VI, (grades 9, 11, and 13).  Unfortunately 73% of Tanzania’s Form IV students have failed their national examinations which translates into 341,000 children’s academic careers have come to a screeching halt . . . the newspapers are full of child suicides and the country is screaming for an investigation into how this has happened.  Unfortunately, the writing was one the wall . . . in an effort to allow students to continue in their studies, the standard of acceptable performance has repeatedly been lowered until a “pass” is considered 32% for boys and only 28% for girls in primary school.  That means that students DON’T know 68 to 72% of the material they should and are considered passable . . . this had to catch up to us . . . Only 1,641 children in this entire country achieved Division I, 6,453 Division II and 15,426 students earned Division III.  Something must change and that we have already implemented that change for our Tumaini children is in large part thanks to you and the generosity of your continued support.

Your sponsorship dollars go towards not only better schools (all but two of our children are fluent in English, written and spoken), but better food, care and medical attention.  All of this adds up to a stronger mind and body with greater opportunities to learn at a much higher level and THAT translates into academic success!  Our reports are beginning to come in with our Amani students first.  They follow and remember they include five Class III children who, with exceptional performance in Class I, challenged the Class II year end examinations and now study in Class III!  We are just a little bit proud of Teacher Winner and her students Christina, Jenny, Daniel, Martha, and Harriri!  Neither these, nor any of our Tumaini children will become an academic statistic of the failure of the education system in this country and we thank you very much for helping to make that happen . . .

We hosted a baby shower for Margie who had a healthy boy named Pantaleo, little brother to Bryson.  Margie is on maternity leave for three months and thankfully her sister Mary is subbing in to help with the daily mountains of laundry we have here at Tumaini . . .

 

Mama Margie, Pantaleo and "Bibi" Dee

Nurse Elizabeth and family

I would like to ask some of our corporate
supporters to consider sponsorship of a different kind . . . one of our objectives at Tumaini is to expand HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention within our community and I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a registered nurse (Elizabeth) who will be retiring from her work at KCMC (Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center) this fall . . . she has much experience in HIV/AIDS, having worked counselling Masai (native East Africans) on the virus and it’s often fatal effects.  Elizabeth does all kinds of outreach of her own hosting two young Masai girls (11 and 13) who were to be “wed” off to much older men.  It is our hope to find an organization which may consider sponsoring Elizabeth’s salary, starting in November of this year.  The amount of time she will be able to give to us will depend upon the sponsorship support we receive for her . . . please consider, if your organization can, sponsoring this work so that we might expand awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS in and around us and thank you.

 

Papaa (Reward) and I

We’ve had a third CT scan completed for Reward in order to ascertain if the parasite discovered in his brain 1 ½ years ago has returned, as the symptoms have.  He is not blacking out again but experiences recurring headaches, almost daily, especially when he studies.  We’ve had his eyes tested, and now wonder if perhaps his pain is stress related as the scan confirms there is no parasite, only a small calcification.  We don’t know how further to proceed.  Reward was home for two weeks recently and with the exception of one evening when we were discussing some serious family issues, experienced no headaches throughout his break . . .

 

You know you’re in Tanzania when, on the way home from the airport, you have to stop in order to “attempt” to remove a donkey from the middle of the road whom refuses to move from the middle line because his/her mate/partner has died in the ditch on the side of said road . . . Lohai, Reward and Jeremiah tried for several minutes, diving off at the last minute as oncoming traffic raced by in the dark.  Donkeys are Masai pikipikis or motorcycles (a slower version) and are extremely valuable.  We tried but failed and returned two days later to drop a volunteer at Kia airport only to discover TWO dead donkeys rotting one on each side of the road . . .

 

Birthday boy Nelson, Mama and Papaa (Reward)!

 I was recently in Dar es Salaam (with my sister Pam, Bryson, who experienced flying for the first time and Katy).  Arriving on the 15^th for Nelson’s birthday (only his second celebration in 19 years, his first being LAST year), we were met at the airport by big sister Mary and Papaa (Reward), jumped into a taxi and headed to Nelson’s school to surprise him!  Successful in our efforts to gain him a pass, we raced back to our hotel, showered (I will never complain about the heat at Tumaini again as Dar, is about fifteen degrees hotter and at a humidity level off the charts . . . ) and headed out for a birthday celebration.  To say that Nelson was overwhelmed is a bit of an understatement.  He didn’t really know what to do with himself, or us for that matter for several hours after our “pick up”!  We gave him his gifts and headed to dinner downstairs in the hotel as the traffic in the city is something I have never seen, even in larger cities like New York or Rome!  It is unbelievable and people just drive wherever they want with no regard for traffic laws . . . cars just sit, else slightly crazy drivers like our Geoffrey take sidewalks and service lanes, skirting pedestrians and bajajis (sp?) (a modified motorcycle with two rear wheels and a covered seat).  For a few shillings one can skip around the traffic quite efficiently in a bajaji if not struck by a frustrated driver . . . and while waiting (and waiting) for the traffic to open we, on multiple occasions, witnessed fuel thieves, strolling along the side of a crawling fuel truck with a plastic bag or bucket, draining gasoline from the holding tanks of the vehicles . . .

 

We went shopping on Saturday (Katy, Pam, Mary, Reward and Nelson) and bought our students some new clothes and groceries for school.  You may remember that Nelson, home a couple of months ago for a term break, brought typhoid and then just days after returning to school was diagnosed with malaria?  Well he is much too thin, struggling with bad water at school and not eating enough.  He is a broad shouldered, tall young man and has simply lost too much weight and on his return to school last time, would not take any of the goodies our other older students take like peanut butter or Blue Band  . . . He explained that he didn’t want to be at his studies thinking about the food in his trunk. 

Nelson struggled terribly after his mother died when he was forced to live alone in his 13^th and 14^th years, finding his own food and the wherewithal to study and I worry that he cannot separate himself from those terrible years . . . on this birthday weekend however, Nelson did allow me to ply him with peanut butter, Nutella (a new favorite), some biscuits, a few chocolate bars, nuts, and some toiletries . . . it was a wonderful afternoon for all of us . . . Nelson’s second birthday celebration included his FIRST trip ever into a mall and a grocery store!

 I also met a beautiful couple (Phillip and Georgette) who hosted us in their home in Dar for a few days, housing, feeding and providing all kinds of assistance for some of the issues Tumaini is struggling with . . . it was such a pleasure to spend time with a family full of joy and love (their little son Ema raced to the car, opened the door and leapt into my arms every time I returned home from the city).  Their laughter, in a country devoid of much of a sense of humour, their gentle affection for each other and for us was a reminder of what love, of what family can and should be for I seldom see such tenderness . . . I feel so very blessed simply to have met and spent time with them . . . that they have stepped out to assist us with some of the beaurocracy we struggle with is yet another incredible gift they have given us . . .  oh, and did I say it is HOT in Dar????

We’ve been to the rehabilitation center and Ester (drop foot) and Latifa (club foot) were just outfitted with new leg braces and we are breaking them in . . . so far so good!

 

Enormous thanks to Minke, one of our volunteers who has been at another care centre for two months but I believe has found her Tanzanian home here at Tumaini and the Pallas 67 Atletiek Club, Wageningen for their wonderful donation to Tumaini in support of two desperately needy little girls Busainer (7) and Mulki (6) who have developed serious health issues as a result of long term malnutrition (stomach and blood concerns) . . . Minke’s contributions are going towards helping these girls and their Bibi find and outfit a safe home (a room or two), medical care for the girls, Mulki’s left eye was seriously injured in a recent accident and requires special attention as do their malnutrition concerns, support towards them attending first grade here at Tumaini (in a day school capacity as we simply cannot take any more children at this point), and to supplement their Bibi’s income perhaps with a small business. Minke came to Africa with the intent to provide some needy person aid and she has embraced TWO little ladies . . . thank you Minke and Pallas 67 Athletic Club.

 

Some of our boys (Stephano, Athuman, Harriri) were performing “magic” tricks while I was away . . . putting a piece of wet, balled up paper in each ear and then pretending with gestures and flair that the first installed piece “passed” through their heads after a bop on the head and a rub of the tummy, coming out the other ear . . . problem is . . . Athuman forgot to keep count, jammed three pieces into one ear and was only able to extract one . . . two trips to the doctor, drops, antibiotics to fight infection and patience have resulted in the extraction of a second but the third still rests in Athuman’s ear . . . perhaps we SHOULD check the other side of his head???

Harriri na Mama

I may have shared this with you in the past but it is a recurring heartache here at Tumaini . . . for many of the children and for me as mama . . . the other day Harriri, usually a very cheerful little guy began displaying in a hostile fashion towards me.  He is almost always funny, quick with teasing or joking and very affectionate, generous with hugs and cuddles but for the second time since Christmas, he became ugly, refusing to talk, severe facial expressions of anger and presentations of disdain . . . I recognized his pattern and asked if he needed to talk . . . he glared and shrugged me off a few times and I explained that when he was ready I would be also.  He won’t leave my vicinity but won’t allow me near him either until he is ready . . . after about an hour of parading and raging he marched into my office and declared that he needed to talk . . . now . . . I closed my door and tried to take his hand which he snatched away and then, glaring at me, asked, “Why did God take my Mama”? 

I’ve been down this heartwrenching road too many times with our children and it is particularly difficult for Harriri who was very close to his mother at the time of her murder.  It has been two years and the pain of his grief is still remarkably fresh . . . he sobbed on my bed for two hours . . . unwilling to let me hold him, or wipe his nose, even to take his hand.  I wonder if he feels he is betraying his mother’s memory if he lets me console him . . . I cannot leave his line of sight or things escalate but he must be left, by my side, without touching, to sob, which he does silently.  The agony on his face and the soundless tears pouring down his cheeks are devastating but he will not be comforted until, exhausted, he finally collapses in my arms . . . there is so little to be said, for he knows she is near in spirit and we talk about how it is not our place to challenge God’s plan, but for such a little boy, and even after two years . . . my God it is hard to witness.  Kelvin, who lost his mother when he was just 8 explained to Harriri that the pain of loss doesn’t go away, it just gets easier to carry around . . . so unfair a burden for a child to shoulder. . .

 



Raymond was home for a visit but is back in his second term at university in Dodoma and Mary and Reward will both graduate this year with their undergraduate degrees – his in Information Technology and she in Archaeology and History.  Deo is home for Easter but with an enormous assignment on his hands.  Nelson will not come home between Form V and Form VI but plans to stay in Dar and study through the summer break to better prepare for his final year in secondary school and so he may not be seen until June of 2014 at his graduation.  Such is the life a wannabe pilot . . . Amani students are home now, our own Classes I and II will finish on Thursday and our Haradali students will come home on the sixth of April.  Kilimani students Antony and Neema will finish tomorrow and so almost all of us will be together for Easter break and then the primary students will have April off . . .

Reports are following and please do let me take just a quick moment to thank so many of you for your continued love and support . . . of Tumaini, of our children, of me.  This is a difficult if not completely rewarding job and sometimes we just don’t have a good day, but I was reminded tonight during prayers with one of our children, after receiving some not so nice news, that even when things seem too difficult we should leave everything to God . . . for He knows precisely how to deal with our every need . . . I asked how, while this child suffered through so much more than any child should, he kept his faith that God would help and he answered, “I don’t think we’re supposed to be angry or sad, we’re just supposed to wait until God is ready to show us . . . then, if we listen, we can go in the direction He wants us to” . . . out of the mouths of babes . . . Ahsante sana and a safe and Happy Easter holiday to each of you . . .