Mary, Ester and opportunities of tumaini (hope) . . .

Mary showing Bibi how Pat taught her to knit . . .

Yesterday (until the skies opened and we “swam” down Mount Meru) was a productive but “mixed” day emotionally . . . Katy, Raymond and Lohai arranged for the children to attend mass in our absence and Grace, Oddo, Dr. Pat, Mary, Ester and I jumped into the Tumaini gari (car) and Peter drove us up the mountain!  Our first visit was to Bibi Mary’s house (we brought rice, sugar, beans and a pineapple as gifts) where we offloaded and then made the climb (straight up through coffee plants!) the side of the mountain to Bibi’s house!  Pat had no trouble whatsoever, but Oddo lost his balance and arrived at the top wiping dust from his trousers!  It’s a steep climb!

Bibi was very happy to see us, as was Mama Ndogo (Mary’s young Aunt).  Bibi had taken a fall and injured her shoulder and so Pat checked her out, assessed that nothing was indeed broken but that muscles in her neck indicated that she had most likely strained herself during the fall.  We asked for a kanga and fashioned a sling out of it, but Mary’s Bibi is a busy woman and was loathe to allow her arm to “rest” in the sling . . . she kept flailing it about using it for expression in conversation!  Her neck may remain sore for awhile!  Grace was the translator and we had the bishop from the Christian Revival Church in Ndoombo present also, as we explained, as strongly as possible, how Mary’s ARV’s have failed her and that she is now on the only other option available for her . . . AND, that there are no other options!  We told them HOW ARV’s fail, at which point Mama Ndogo (little Mama, or Mary’s Aunt, who loves her very much and has attempted to substitute for her real mother whom Mary lost years ago), began to cry.  She confessed that, in ignorance, many, many times Mary would be given her medications only at night because she was up early to school and “they just didn’t know” how important adherence was/is.  Grace will return for a seminar for all positive children in order to explain clearly . . .

We stopped in to greet Ndelio, a young man damaged by polio and living with his sister.  I try to help him out monthly but he really does need sponsorship.

(It’s 5:15 a.m. here and I just heard a noise outside . . . opened the door and wandered out.  It has been HOT, but it rained last night . . . do I have a RAIN story for you while we were up the mountain!!  In any event the house is silent and dark; one rooster crows far off in the distance and there is the rustle of a loose sheet of metal somewhere near because a beautiful breeze is blowing . . . I can hear the leaves on the trees but other than that, nothing . . . soon the children will stir and Lohai will begin his day with the chickens but for now . . . oh wait, and some crickets in the background . . . Pat falls asleep to the sound of the crickets outside our windows – her room twins mine, and says she loves the soothing effect . . . I did not discover the source of the noise but met Lawrence, our security guard and he is firing up some hot water so I can buy him a coffee!  For those of you who know me, you will recall how very much I love coffee, but here, in the heart of coffee plantations we have nothing but instant and it’s not so good, so I’ve become quite a tea drinker . . . my tin of instant coffee powder is the only in the house and sometimes, some of the family NEEDS a caffeine kick and so they dive in!  BTW-Yesterday, I caught Neema putting black pepper in her chai/tea and thought she had lost her mind until she instructed me to taste it . . . tam!  Delicious!  Not so crazy after all!)

Following our visit to Mary’s family home and greeting Ndelio we ascended (and did we ascend!) up the mountain to a crest (imagine panoramic views of quilt work patches of gardens of different colours, breathtaking vistas of plateau which runs from Usa to Moshi and then far, far off in the distance, the climb of a smaller mountain range.  Everything up the mountain is lush and green; banana trees abound and are interplanted with coffee or other perennial fruits/vegetables.  The climb at times is precarious and Peter dropped us not only into four wheel drive but LOW range four wheel drive more than once - thank you once again Master Mechanic and UAP for parts which keep our gari going!

Mama and Ester

We were not expecting Babu Ester but he was there, having just returned from the burial of a brother-in-law and of course Bibi was there to warmly greet us with some freshly boiled milk for chai.  Ester as you know has a brother and a sister but we had an additional surprise yesterday . . . Ester’s mother!  You will see in the photo how beautiful she is but unfortunately is mentally damaged.  After Ester was born as she was, her mother struggled, probably, with post partum depression which would have been exacerbated by her fears of stigmatization both for herself and her daughter, she came undone emotionally/psychologically, and has never recovered . . . she has the mind of a child and is the equivalent of a street person one would meet at home, filthy dirty and scrounging for food as she wanders around Tengeru and Arusha . . . but sometimes she wanders home and she was hiding outside while we visited.  From a distance she made a call to her father, which, I think, Ester heard and recognized.  I had been doling out lollies for Ester’s family and had given one to Ester for her Bibi but Ester held back, not releasing it.  After a minute or so, Ester’s Babu wandered out and we followed, with Ester in the lead.  Ester’s mother was far off at the end of the garden but some welcoming words brought her nearer to meet us (that or the promise of a lolly).  In any event Ester was able to greet her mother, and we were able to meet her.  She appears simple, watching us with a fixed smile on her face she isn’t aware of.  She did greet us (we were very welcoming in order dispel any hesitancy she may have had and of course Ester was happy to bring her two families together, but I was reminded of the life Ester had lived in that house, with that mother abandoning her, with her physical challenges and the stigma her family attempted to protect her from.  As wonderful as it was to meet Ester’s mother, it was a cruel reminder of how a physical deformity combined with an unaccepting culture can break a family apart . . .

Following chai we wandered outside to see the grey, swirling fog of a storm brewing AND coming our way.  The family at Tumaini laughed at our soggy return home later, as they had seen and heard the storm coming from up the mountain!  They knew we would be hammered by it and were we! It was time to get moving!  Now, the gari (truck) has a tiny “jump” seat behind the driver and passenger seats and Pat and Mary and Ester sat there with Oddo in the front passenger.  That left Grace and I in the back of the truck with 40 lbs. of sugar we had purchased and the cushions we had snagged from the sofa at Tumaini!  Peter did his best to outrun the rain, but the roads are . . . well, dirt paths really with outcroppings of rock and dips of riverbeds crossing and so “run” is not really the word . . . Pat, jokingly passed us out first one, and then a second umbrella and Grace and I did okay for most of the ride. Only once did ask for sabuni (soap for our shower)! 

We had one final stop on our way down Meru, to the home of a little, seven year old girl named Pendo, whom Dream (the HIV clinic in Usa) had asked us to visit.  Our discovery was heartbreaking.  Pendo, who is positive, her twelve year old sister Zawadi and their Bibi share a bed, if you can call it that, (the photos are difficult to look at so be warned), without a net, in a large shed they share with some goats which they keep near at night because they do not have $2.00 for a new lock in order to keep them secure, Bibi is old and thus the goats are welcome targets for thieves.  Pendo is covered, head to foot, in a rash of some sort (we are bringing her to Dream today for a complete medical).  They obviously need some beds, blankets, sheets and nets and the girls have almost no clothing.  An alcoholic grandfather refuses to allow the Bibi to harvest any of the fruit from the trees on their property for food . . . rather he sells them for piwa (a local alcoholic brew) and the children and Bibi go hungry.  You can see the problems with the house (water entering from two directions), but Pat’s brother Dan has generously sent us a donation and instructed Pat to do with it as she fits and she sees fit here . . . we will help with the water and get Pendo on the mend. . . Dream sponsors her for school already and older sister Zawadi simply needs a uniform.  We cannot change Babu but we can provide some sheltered protection for Bibi and the children and send a heartfelt Asante to kaka (brother) Dan for helping us help these little ones!  Dr. Pat fears a raging infection after having inspected Pendo’s lymph glands and the rash is terrible, but she’s a happy little girl and her CD4 is 808 and so from that perspective she is doing very well!  By the way, the Bibi has “borrowed” the goats in order to provide her grandchild with milk and THAT is going a long way to helping Pendo stay as strong as she has and about the Babu (grandfather) . . . empathy for this entire family is called for because the girls’ mother died of AIDS, and the children’s father is not known . . . that is fodder for gossip and abuse and he has broken down and given in to the temporary relief of alcohol, but at what a cost . . . 

7 Year old HIV+ Pendo

Covered in Rashes head to toe

Hard to look at . . .

And this is home

Bed for Bibi, Pendo and sister Zawadi . . . the water comes in.

And comes in . . .

And comes in . . .

You will see in the photos how the deluge began . . . after accepting that the storm would not stop any time soon, we decided to head out . . . but how?  Oddo waded out into the 4” “river” soaking his shoes.  He found some stones and began making a walkway but why?  Look at the rain!  We were saturated by the time a) I raced around to the far side of the car and climbed in behind Mary, Ester and the now safely protected bag of sugar . . . Pat came in from the other side of the truck and please remember - it is quite a “heft”, up and into the back seat and she is a mature woman, although you wouldn’t know it by watching her race around here and play with the children.  Combine the rain, the heft AND the fact that her foot was suctioned, under 5” of flowing rain into a couple inches of soggy mud and you can understand her struggle to haul herself into the vehicle!  Peter tried to push but the foot wouldn’t release initially!  This was a funny recollection over dinner later . . . Grace and a now sopping wet Oddo piled in and we were off! 

I’ve been up Mount Meru several times now and I’ve always marveled at how the mountain “takes” such a volume of rain as falls during the long rains coming (hopefully) in the next three months.  Having witnessed yesterday’s deluge, I still wonder!!  The road dissolved below our tires as the torrent flowed downhill.  We would have shot some photos but were so cold from the rain and so busy wiping the fog from the inside of the windows that no one bothered to reach for a camera!  We are not certain but will let you know if Oddo’s phone survived . . .

In any event we made it down the mountain . . . and we arrived safely and soggily home, much to the titters of the family here . . . not a drop of rain had fallen here.  Pat dug her mud encrusted foot out of her sneaker and we all headed for hot showers!  Thank God the electricity was on!  Sending well wishes to all at home and happy Valentine’s Day . . . Gerehad has just climbed up onto my lap for cuddles before school . . . another wonderful day beginning at Tumaini!

Knitting Lessons and Barafu!!!!!

Bibi Pat is teaching Mary to knit, and tomorrow they scheme together for something chocolate!!!

So what ARE those green frozen things?  Barafu!!!  Made with tamarind and Tam sana!!!

Latifa, Pendo and Chrstina loved them also!!!

BUT!!!!!  GREEN TONGUES!!!!!

We helped another child go to school!!!!!

And don't tell THESE children the food isn't good at Tumaini!!!!!

Mama Christina and Asante Volunteer Lucy!

Mama Christina visited us to wish her a happy birthday!

Thank you Lucy for loving the children of Tumaini!!!

Just another Tuesday at Tumaini – February 8th!

Yesterday was another wonderful day at Tumaini!  In the afternoon the beds I had made for the Chikira children were ready for delivery and so off we went, loaded with mattresses, sheets, blankets and nets.  We stopped in Usa to pick up the beds and then it was on to Glory, Ayubu, Wema and Carol’s house to make the delivery.  Thank you Cindy for coming along and providing us such wonderful photographs!  Thank you also to Joelle’s workmates Sujin Lee, Soon Nam, Guy Young Mi and Seo Sun Young who contributed to giving these children a measure of hope for the first time since losing their parents. 

Little Carol claimed the top bunk immediately, Wema on the lower and Glory in the third bed in their room.  Brother Ayubu will take the newly repaired bed in the other room!  They were HAPPY!!!

The pit for the new loo is half dug and all other repairs are complete which brings up to today!

A lovingly repaired Chikira home with L/R Mama Grace, Glory, Wema, Carol, Ayubu, Mama and Lyimo

Ayubu has a new bed!

Carol claimed the top bunk . . . Wema checking it out and Liadi peaking in . . .

Dr. Pat with our medical supplies . . . Asante Sana!

Liadi with some very special shoes from an angel in Canada

This morning after sending the Young Roses children off on the school bus I came back to help Dr. Pat unpack.  She is remarkably fresh for someone who spent twenty hours traveling, who rose at 7:00 a.m. yesterday after only 4 ½ hours sleep, traveled to town to get her internet, check banking details, helped me resupply Tumaini House, delivered the beds and then raced out for Lucy’s last supper!

This morning she wanted to unpack . . . the hospital!  Pat thank you!  We are now the lucky recipients of a full medical kit . . . antibiotics, antifungals, ointments, plasters, vitamins, pain killers . . . you name we’re covered for it!  Asante, Asante!  It took more than two hours just to unpack and sort the supplies. 

Also, check out the photo of Liadi who is the happy owner of some very special running shoes sent from a very special angel in Canada . . . thank you Mama and brother Massimo . . .

And then there’s Christina!  We finished a wonderful lunch of makande AND potato and leek soup (I am trying to introduce Neema to a new soup every week), when I was called to the front gate.  There I was introduced to . . . wait for it . . . Mama Christina!  Yes, Christina’s long absent mother has returned . . . and there’s more!  Today and not September 8^th is her birthday!  I called Katy to join me and Grace to translate, and then barraged Mama Christina with questions.

Christina’s birthday is today February 8^{th and} she is eight years old.  Her mother was just sixteen when she had Christina but couldn’t care for her so gave her to her father (who is a taxi driver in Dar Es Salaam and not the least bit interested in helping his daughter); who in turn passed her on to an aunt.  Christina’s great grandmother or Bibi Kubwa ended up with her and struggled to care for her until help arrived.  Christina’s mother has married (she was not married to Christina’s father) and Christina has two half sisters, 5 year old Shariffa and 1 ½ year old Shamimo.  We shared with Mama how Christina had told me, “I didn’t come here to learn . . . I came here to eat!”, how she LOVES nyama (meat) and how very happy she is almost all of the time.  I assured her that Christina is very much loved here and invited her and Bibi back to Tumaini House this evening for cake and ice cream!  What an extraordinary day! 

I can smell Christina’s cake baking (the generator’s running because we have no electricity) and Neema will decorate it baadae.  I’ve got to run!  It’s almost four and the children will be home soon for homework, a new snack (red peppers brought from the market by Dr. Pat – a new veggie for the children to try) and then happy birthday, birthday girl! 

Saturday at Tumaini and a Visit to Nelson!

Christina and Ester

Driving on the right of the car and the left of the road!!

Nelson looks serious but was so happy to see us . . .

Heard some noise in my room . . . hmmmm?

Ailanga Lutheran Seminary and Secondary School and Mount Meru in background, Harriri, Lohai and Gerhad in front!

Glory can you say "ham"?

A happy Nelson!

Ester's ballet moves . . .

Glory, Ester and Jenny

Our newest volunteer Mathilde - Karibu!

Connie, Jenny and Martha found my powder!

Mama Dorothea, and 8 year old son William say thank you to Jenna for helping them!

Her first day on new meds is behind us . . . stomach pain but all else is good

Asante Joelle, Jenna, and Lucy and Welcome Dr. Pat

February 4^th 5:40 a.m.

Canadian volunteer Jenna (yes Mom I’m sending her home safe and sound!) left us last night after a month here at Tumaini House and Joelle (Cindy’s daughter) returns to her teaching career in Korea today after her visit of almost three weeks.  Our resident Aussie Lucy will return to university after two months next week.  My hope for Jenna, Joelle, Lucy and ALL of our Tumaini volunteers is that they take away from their time here all that they hoped for and then some but hope that when assessing one’s contributions, to remember to measure from a perspective HERE and not back home.  Jenna worked with Latifa day in and out for a month and is responsible for Latifa beginning to understand the alphabet.  When Jenna would hold up a flash card with the letter “L” on it, Latifa wouldn’t say the letter (but she will) but “for Latifa”!  Jenna you began that ball of comprehension for her and THAT contribution is ENORMOUS!  To every volunteer who has, or will visit us here, please remember that each child here, before he or she runs, must learn to walk, and before that, to stand.  You have and will do so much for our little ones! 

**It is now 5:08 a.m. February 5^th and I am just getting back to writing.  You see, as I began work yesterday morning, in the quiet of the early day, (only roosters, dogs barking and the Muslim call to mosque), I thought I’d have some quiet to say thank you to our volunteers and to fill you, future guests of Tumaini House in on a bit of what goes on here, but here’s what happened . . .

Just after 6:00 a.m. Joelle wandered in with her cup of tea and asked if I might help by printing off her boarding pass . . . she doesn’t recommend Ethiopian Airlines by the way.  "Of course", I said, and logged onto their site.  Now let me remind you that here in Usa River we don’t have quite the “high speed” high speed internet we have at home, and many of the websites are very basic and very slow!  Well, Joelle and I couldn’t get to her flight information.  We were successful in accessing the site and then things locked up and I was unable to help.  Around 6:30 the children start coming down for their morning hugs and cuddles and well wishes before they leave for school and as this is one of my happiest parts of the day I don’t miss it very often and so we cuddled and chatted and then I saw the Young Roses children off to the school bus.  I made chai and then went to see a neighboring two room structure which may be available for rent as a school, returned from that, and then Mathilde, Lucy and I headed out to drop Glory at Dream for her monthly medical and to receive this month’s ARVs.   (Dream is a wonderful free clinic for HIV+ people located here in Usa, pronounced Oosa River), but we received a call and had to pick up her mother, Amina, who has taken a turn for the worse again and could not walk and so we did that.  We needed to pay the school fees for our Mana OVC children attending Uraki Primary School and then stopped to inspect the Chikira family’s progress.  You will remember the family of four children struggling with absolutely nothing?  Joelle you’ll like this news . . . we’ve got the roof patched and the sheet metal replaced which could not be repaired, the house has been remudded to withstand the oncoming rains, the fields are cut down and ploughed and wait for the rains to come and then we plant, 18 year old, acting parent Glory and her three younger siblings now have some pots to cook in and a kerosene torch and some clothes and dishes, and new locks on their doors, and the yard is clean and we’re hiring someone to dig a new pit for their toilet.  They have food and we visited the younger three at Uraki when we paid the fees.    Without delay or interruption all of this should have taken about two hours . . . BUT . . . well, things simply don’t happen like that around here.  I had called the matron at Makumira Secondary School to confirm that Mary’s clinic day would not be missed (Oddo had it wrong, but Peter had it right) and she called back, just as we were heading home to tell me that yes, in fact today was her clinic day and we should pick her up, and so we detoured to do just that.  “Picking up” a child at school involves a visit to headmistress and more waiting to obtain a pass for Mary to leave school, which turned out to be worth the wait because I took the opportunity to ask that all of our secondary students at Makumira be allowed to join us on Sunday for a picnic and some games and races!  Mathilde and Lucy and I put this together for all of us, as a family to have some fun!  Everyone will be together Sunday after church, well almost. . .  Haradali students are joining us, the Amani boys, and of course us here - stay tuned, I am certain Cindy and Kal will have some wonderful new photos for you.  Neema is cooking, AND baking AND making us barafu (freezies).

Soooooooooooo, we detoured to pick up Mary, who is looking tired but says she is fine.  We worry about her because she is such a gentle natured little one that, should someone come along and bully her, she will not defend herself, nor I fear, tell us.  In any event, we took her to clinic and I asked if I might speak with the doctor so that he could explain why her count is dropping.  (We had been told [erroneously] that Dream uses a different method for counting and so interpretation would be different.  I wanted to understand) . . . and so we waited.  The clinic is wonderful and spacious and clean and the patients are given biscuits and juice.  Mary first saw a very nice nurse who took her vitals, checked her weight and her height.  I shared with her that Mary has a rash which we’ve tried to treat with antibiotics but to no avail.  She said for me to wait for the doctor.  We were then ushered back to reception where Hilda shared her recollections of Mary’s entrance interview.  Mary began crying when she told her story of how she has lost both of her parents (to AIDS) and has lived with her Bibi who is simply too poor to get her to clinic.  Mary had missed clinic many times in the months before we met and herein lies the problem. 

The doctor explained that ARV’s work for a specific amount of time (Mary takes hers in the morning and again at night), after which, if not resupplied, the virus reflares, mutating, and building resistance to the drugs the patient ingests for suppression.  Mary’s first line ARV’s have failed, we discovered yesterday.  Her viral count is hitting the roof and her CD4 count has dropped to 21.  Despite our care and the good food she has been getting, with the failure of her medication Mary has become a walking magnet for disease.  She has full blown AIDS.  The doctor was frustrated and angry (not with us I don’t think, but with the problems of “procedure” here).  He very emphatically explained that we now must move on to a second line of ARV’s for Mary, that there is no going back . . . and then he dropped the bomb that blew my day apart . . . that if Mary’s adherence is not PERFECT, and she builds resistance to this second line, there is nothing further for her in Tanzania.  He then told me, “this computer is asking me if I am certain I want to move to second line, because there is no going back and there are no further options . . . I am pushing the “yes” button, but you must, MUST know how serious this is.”  I was rocked to my core. 

Our presence and insistence on answers for Mary’s rash and misunderstood CD4 count got her further investigation where the doctor discovered that some paperwork errors had him assuming her struggles were not failure but nutrition related.  By being there to explain that in fact Mary was receiving excellent nutrition and by pushing, he diagnosed that it is the medication which has failed.  Grace was there as were Mathilde and Lucy and I am not certain they understood the ramifications of the doctor pressing that “yes” button but they do now. 

After leaving his office Mary took us to the dispensary where we waited again.  Time was passing and Joelle needed to leave for the airport and so, finally, Mathilde, Lucy and Peter, who was waiting in the parking lot, had to head home.  Oddo was late to pick up Joelle and so Peter drove her.  I send my apologies to you Joelle for not getting back to say goodbye but am certain you understand.

Now, remember.  Mary is not a fighter . . . nutrition is imperative for her success.  She attends a school where, although we have tried to ensure her milk and eggs and fruit daily, we cannot be certain that, a) they will not be intercepted and, b) she will tell us if they are, and so, after four hours at Dream we (Grace, Mary and I) walked to Dinah Bar and had a very late lunch.  I reminded Mary of how much we love her . . . so many of us . . . everyone who meets Mary loves her . . . I reminded her of her great Aunt Mayre in Canada and how much she wants Mary to be healthy; of our American volunteer Mariel and how she and her family are working so hard to provide love and support and care for Mary, how hard I/we fight for her safety and access to what she needs and finally, how Mary MUST begin to fight for herself.  We talked about dying.  She was crying, I was crying.  I told her I want to have her child sit on my lap one day and call me Bibi (grandmother). 

We are going to keep her home for at least this week while her body adjusts to the new meds.  She must return in two weeks to reassess – check for liver failure, etc.  She is on some major antibiotics (again) to prevent something else from attacking her little body.  Dr. Pat arrives on Sunday and will be of great assistance and we pray.  Please join us.

I got home just in time to help the children with homework and then the power went out and so I could not finish writing and that was the day.  I will share with you soon more details about our little home here but now it is almost seven on Saturday morning and at 8:00 a.m. I leave to visit Nelson (big brother to Kelvin and little to Mary and Reward) who is working so very hard at Ailanga Secondary School and will absolutely, without a doubt, graduate Division 1 and go on with a scholarship to university . . . he is an extraordinary combination of natural talent (required if one wants to succeed academically here) and determination and dedication and I love him VERY much!  Oh, and just before bed, with the last of my computer battery I checked my email and discovered that Reward has received his results back for his first set of exams in his first term of his first year of university . . . three B’s and an A.  Let’s celebrate that!

Home Visit Follow Up!!

L/R - Wema, Glory, Ayubu, Carol and volunteer Joelle

Volunteers Joelle, (in the photo) and Jenna escorted me this morning on my most recent home visits to check on some of the children of Mana OVC.  Two families were doing quite well and although a third family is struggling on a widowed mother’s income as a day worker earning approximately seventy cents daily (we will make a micro loan to help with a firewood business) and has four of her seven children still living with her, 48 year old Mariam Juma has taught her daughters about the importance of hard work in school.  18 year old Fatuma is in Form IV and is ranked 15^th of 180 students . . . (pole – sorry – Mary and Katy just returned from a visit to Mary’s Bibi, halfway up Mount Meru and stopped in to greet me. . . they are tired . . . and hot) . . . 16 year old Rahmajuma is 10^th of 200 students in her Form III . . . 14 year old Asha, in Form I is ranked 7 of 200 students and baby Lucy, 12 years old is 20^th of 110 students.  These numbers mean something here, in a country where “learning” is most often a self-taught skill acquired through determination and discipline.  There are many, MANY problems inside the school systems here and only those children possessing an ability to reason, process and think for themselves will succeed and we must help those that can . . .  Rahma is a member of Mana OVC already and we have helped her with school fees, books, supplies, etc., but we reached out a little farther and assisted Asha with her school fees also, ensuring her a chance at a successful year.  The news recently announced that 85% of Form IV students failed their national examinations and so, without access to private educational options, their academic careers have ended.  Raymond’s brother Robinson failed and so did Neema and Peter’s son Dula, for the second time, and so, we are forced to make some tough decisions and move on to help other children whose chances at success are greater.   It’s a very tough process because, we know and care about, very much, many of these children, and we all understand the significance of acquiring an education, but the need here is so very great and many, many children simply don’t have what it takes – intelligence, discipline, determination and/or the commitment to pass and so we are forced to find the children who do and to give them the very best opportunities our resources will permit.

And, speaking of opportunities let’s get back to the photo.  As I said, Joelle and Jenna joined me yesterday and met the Chikira family . Glory, 18, Ayubu 13, Wema 10, and Carol 5.  Mother died in 2005 (AIDS) and their father followed in 2008.  They live together with only each other.  There is an older brother but he is a drinker and so has been “relocated” to rented premises but the situation for these children, although heartwrenching (I was reduced to tears and although I didn’t look around, could hear someone(s) else sniffling also), there is truly very much promise for them!  Before their parents got sick, the family must have had some money because Glory still owns a 2 hectare farm and a house in dilapidated repair.  There are fruit trees surrounding their home and Usa River runs right through the land making it a prime location for farming.  Glory maintains a beautiful vegetable garden, but, there simply is no money . . . to repair the sheet metal on the roof that is leaking; to tear down and rebuild the loo; to repair what was the cooking kitchen.  Currently, all four children sleep in one, single bed, (or should I say bed frame) the slats that would hold the mattress up, if they had one, are gone, probably used for firewood.  They have no net and share one small room.  An encroaching and non-paying family member has been taking advantage of the family by occupying the second room in the house but Glory, with her soft spoken nature, has not the authority, nor confidence, to ask her to leave . . . WE are going to, and then give the second room back to the children.  Please, PLEASE help us help this family.

As I said the roof is leaking.  We must repair the mud walls of the house now, as I have witnessed where, once the long rains begin (March/April) the deterioration of that securing mud can be so much as to allow entire walls to collapse.  We must rebuild the toilet AND give them a safe place to cook, outside of their existing two rooms.  We need to clear and plough and plant their land and they need cooking utensils and an axe (imagine trying to cut logs into firewood with a panga, or machete) and they need clothes.  They will come Monday and we will plan and purchase and sort through our stash of of nguo (clothing) because they have almost nothing.  Lyimo (Mama Grace’s sidekick in Mana OVC) has promised to speak to the Chairman of the neighbourhood in order to have some encroaching cows removed who are currently gorging on Glory’s cornstalks.  We simply MUST help this family and here’s the good news!  Glory is finished school or perhaps has had to drop out for lack of funding or her need to care for the little ones, I will follow up . . . Ayubu is 20^th in his class of 180 and Wema is 12^th with almost 200 in hers.  Little Carol has begun preschool and although our policy is to allow only one child per family into Mana OVC, with the Chikiras lacking adult support of ANY kind, we have invited all three youngsters to join our Mana family.  Further, after preparing an income projection for the shamba (farm) we discovered that it can profit almost 1.4 million TZS. or nearly $1,000.00 Cdn. in its first harvest and we intend to have two plantings this year.  Your loan will be repaid before the end of the year, and that help will save a family home, a deteriorating farm, and the lives of four youngsters and set them up very comfortably for a future their parents can no longer help them with.  Please, do, step in.  Joelle’s school (she is teaching in Korea) has so very generously donated $120.00 but we need about $1,500.00 in order to complete all that we need to do, and with Glory’s permission, we will harvest the maize and sell it on her behalf, provide her and the children a modest allowance and then repay your loan and replant.  In the meantime we will educate Glory on the management of money and of her shamba.  I ask you please, if you are in a position, to help us help these children . . .

On a smaller, but no less significant scale, a young 25 year old mother, Dorotea, HIV+ and abandoned first by her son’s father after impregnating and infecting her and then by her own mother who, in ignorance was informed that she too could acquire HIV just by sitting in the same room as her daughter.  Dorotea had the baby, now 8 year old William, but began to get sick and finally, after testing, discovered her status.  She has struggled with her third round of TB and she and her son have virtually nothing.  As a day worker she earns about seventy cents and we need to help her.  If we can keep her strong and healthy, she will be in a position to continue to raise her son and so it is my wish to purchase her a male and female goat (goat’s milk is incredibly beneficial to HIV+ people) and a rooster and some kuku (chickens) for protein rich eggs.  The goats cost TZS. 140,000 and the kuku will cost TZS. 42,000 for a total of approximately $127.00.  I will help her start a small business after she is taught how to prepare a business plan and is trained in money management.  Please do consider helping Dorotea and William.

And at Tumaini House we are well!  Most of the house has been repainted, we’ve replaced the flowers around the house that the rabbits ate (they have been “donated” to some of the Mana OVC children), Liadi and Tony collided on bicycles and Liadi’s eye came out the loser with his first “shiner”.  Mwajuma, Evalin, Margaret, Angela, Eliza, Lazaro and Ema are home for the weekend and last night Baba Steve bbq’d “bahgas” (burgers) for the family.  For those of you lucky enough to have enjoyed his prowess on the grill, you will be pleased to know that not an “nth” of his skill has been lost here, and so, upon your arrival at Tumaini you too, may enjoy his culinary gifts . . . mmmmm tam! (Delicious!)

Baba is building us an oven also and photos will follow but suffice it to say that our dining adventures at Tumaini, already delicious, will only improve with this gift . . . Cindy and Kal and our volunteers have returned from a wonderful safari and you can see some spectacular photos at http://silverparrotstudio.blogspot.com/.

Enormous thanks are necessary for the loving support you continue to provide us here at Tumaini House.  Many, many of you are expressing an interest in visiting us and we say Karibu!  Come and meet the child (ren) you have chosen to support!  I marvel, time and again, when I watch Francis, who got 100% on his monthly tests at school, or Pendo, who, saucily, came up to me yesterday and said, “Mama!  You look very nice!” or Ester who talks a mile a minute now, after not having said a word for seven years!  Christina is kind and giving and she began as a “hitter”, and she makes jokes now about her love of nyama (meat)!  Christina can process the concept of a joke!  I remember where our little family began, where they came from and I get to witness their progress and foresee their futures as they discover that they will, in fact HAVE a future!  I cannot express in words how wonderful that marvel is and you, all of YOU have made that possible!  Asante . . . sana for loving and caring for us here and Karibu!!  Welcome!  Come, meet us and see just how extraordinary our little family is!!!  Cindy said that she saw more on her safari in two days this trip than she saw in three weeks on her last . . . I cannot wait to join Dr. Pat, Steve and Katy on safari and see for our ourselves, just how spectacular African wildlife is!!!!  Come, combine a safari and a visit to Tumaini and see for yourselves!  On a personal note I am sending a hug to my girlfriends . . . missing you all and looking so very forward to some time together when I return!  Be well and please know, always, how very grateful I am for the love you send us every day!!!!