Wanafunzi bora yetu kwenda katika safari! (Our best students go on safari!)

Enormous thanks go out to our guests Norma, Kathy and Sean who oh, so generously allowed us to fill the space in their safari vehicle (Lake Manyara National Park and Ngorongoro Crater) with four of our most deserving students – Emmanuel, Angela, Lazaro and Francis . . . and Oddo!  Asante sana for giving all of them this opportunity to join you on your safari and hongera sana (congratulations) to our children for their outstanding performance at school!  They have worked VERY hard to earn this privilege and we are so grateful for the opportunity to allow them to join you!

Our previous group, John, Lauren, Jamie and Jason experienced a couple of “shidas” with their safari schedule and for that we must apologize.  On the day before departure I’m afraid we had a call explaining that the lodge we had booked them into was overfull.  Baba Raymond (Raymond’s father) was good enough to race to a local hostel where the overflow was being sent and secured us two rooms, but he speaks no English and misinterpreted the fees.  Samahani (our apologies) for the confusion and we hope you are enjoying a wonderful safari!!!

You’ve asked for photos and Amanda (and John) were so good to get me my camera cable which I forgot in Canada and so well . . . Karibu watoto Tumaini!!!  Here they are!  They are well and happy and with the exception of a few rashes and a couple of flu bugs are all healthy!  Be well and we will be in touch!

July 29th from under my net at Tumaini House!!!

 First of all, Happy Birthday to my seems to be “catching up” sister Bonnie and speaking of birthdays, Pendo adored her gifts so big thanks go out to Auntie Pam and Heidi for loving her!  She is a happy little girl and shares all of her toys very generously with the other children.

Oddo met me at the airport and so did Harriri, Latifa and Liadi who chatted nonstop all the way back to Usa with me . . . IN ENGLISH!!!!  Latifa could speak almost no English when I left.  Liadi was coming and Harriri was farther along but they actually conversed!  “How is Baba?  Where is Lohai?  Is your plane ride nice Mama?”  I was dumbfounded!  The other children are advancing so very quickly also and in only three months!  Martha, big Daniel, and Margaret are vocalizing much more and they are doing so in English . . . it really is something to witness.

The children are well for the most part . . . we have some nasty rashes going on here . . . Christina, Priska and Pendo and Gerehad and Liadi all have body rashes (most are ringworm but Christina and Priska have a new rash I haven’t seen before).  Many of you will remember how Zawadi (Joseph) suffered with a terrible rash all over his face?  Well that is completely cleared!  His mouth has healed from when he fell off of the bicycle (although he is loathe to ride again) and his beautiful face is clear and bright again!

IT IS COLD!  Not a little cold, but where the heck are my socks cold!  Sweaters, even during the day but I marvel at how few colds we have amongst the children. .  .  thank you Jamieson Vitamins!  We could do a commercial for you!  Everyday a child comes to me asking, “Mama may I give the vitamins today?”  They pronounce it “veetameens”, and they love them!  We lock them up because the children are convinced they are pipi (sweet) even when we explain they are dawa (medicine).  How can something shaped like a lion and in a variety of colors possibly be dawa?

A friend sent me with some money for a fun day for the children and so next week we’re having a play day picnic with our volunteers.  Games, picnic, fun and treats!  Wait for our photos!

All of the children are home now from school and do we have some work to do!  Almost no one has shoes . . . school or sport and flip flops are mismatched and torn and we’re down to them.  It is frightening how quickly they go through shoes but there are no roads, just mud and dirt and rocks and they only have one pair of school shoes soooooooooooooo . . .

Speaking of school, report cards are in . . . Angela, they are checking but she may just be the top of her SCHOOL!  Either way, her performance is outstanding and her test results range from a constant high of 100% all the way down to 94%!!!!  Ema, #2 in his class of 58 and Lazaro #7 in the same.  Francis #1 in his . . . Some of our children still struggle but Martha, Gerehad, Jenny, are showing remarkable improvement!  We are going to town for a lunch date to celebrate.  This will be their second time ever, in a restaurant.  And on the subject of food we made Baba’s burgers last night with chips (fries) for the family.  I purchased 7kg. of ground beef in town and made patties and Raymond cooked them on Baba’s grill.  The family had not had burgers for the three months since I left and so enjoyed them immensely!  The favor was returned today when I enjoyed pilau which is rice and meat mixed with spices and was “tam, delicious.  Pilau is a favorite of mine . . . and tomorrow?  Beans and chapattis!

Harriri accidentally kicked the ground yesterday while playing football (soccer at home) and folded back ALL of the skin off the tip of his big toe.  It was ugly . . . I rebandaged him this morning and after church he came to me saying, “Mama when I was playing outside” (Harriri has one of those whispery voices) I sedently (accidentally) removed my bandage.”  No kidding, five years old and he “removed” something. . .

Kelvin has a sore throat and so came over and learned how to gargle with warm salt water . . . afterward, on his return to the main house he looked over his shoulder (the big boys are home from Amani) and when he saw the coast was clear said, “Hug Mama please”.  Life doesn’t get any better . . .

The Boys are Here!

Lohai (l) and Raymond (r)

July 13^th from Mama . . .       

And so, you might wonder, how do two young men from a coffee plantation in Karatu, Tanzania, desperately poor and hopelessly fighting for some kind of a future find Ontario, Canada? 

“Eet is gud,” they reply.  Steve (my husband) and I gifted Raymond and Lohai with a visit to our farm this summer and they arrived just over one week ago.  Mastering the airport transfer in Amsterdam themselves, they arrived excited, exhausted and without a hitch after we got their visas arranged and after missing their first flight because the headlights failed on the car their were driving in.  (There are NO streetlights on the way to the airport . . . when it is dark IT IS DARK!
Raymond and Lohai, you might remember, are two of the finest people I have been blessed to meet, ever, and they have, each in their own rights, earned their way here.  No one at Tumaini works harder than 26 year old Lohai, whose parents were too poor to send him to secondary school, and who, through years of malnutrition, weighs just 107 lbs.  Most of you who have met the boys remark on their sizes for their ages.  We need to fatten Lohai up a bit.  Having said that, his sleight build doesn’t slow him one bit from working hard and we feel honored to call him a part of our Canadian family here.

Raymond, at 129 lbs. beats out Lohai by 22 lbs. (I weighed in at 123 lbs), but is still sleight, instead Raymond has developed muscle from playing football (soccer here) and working out at school.  He was more fortunate when Oddo found him a sponsor to attend a neighborhood secondary school.  After meeting him, I helped bring him to Makumira from where he will graduate in February Division I, which is the highest academic achievement one could hope for in Tanzania.

Thus far, they have mini-putted, enjoyed ice cream, and seen and walked on a beach for the first time.  Raymond especially is enthralled with automatic doors (when we went to another store lacking them he waited quite awhile for it to open).  Both of them love scanning groceries and were “blown away” by a drive thru restaurant.

They LOVE the food, (not too crazy about shrimp though) some of which we have introduced at Tumaini but their favorite, here AND there is burgers . . . hands down, and without a doubt.  

They have snowmobiled on grass (you’d have to take that up with a certain crazy fellow named Dave in Stratford), attended a wedding, are visiting Niagara Falls with fellow director Lisa Engelhardt Robinson today (and will be jet boating), will ride up in the CN tower next week with fellow director Dr. Patricia Barry and hope to go out on Lake Erie with John Davies, our treasurer.

Raymond would like to return after graduation and attend post secondary school here in Canada but that will certainly require some financial assistance and Lohai is improving his English and learning how to drive tractor, use farm implements, etc. which will help him back home.  

I thank those of you who stop us in town to welcome the boys and give them a moment of your time.  This is a great big new world for them and your greetings make them feel welcomed and special. 

Thank you also for your continued love and support of our very lucky Tumaini children back home in Tanzania.  They are well and happy and busy and we will take new bikes back with us when we return.  Our boarding students are writing exams and returning home for a month off in August.  For myself I must say thank you again for your encouragement and support while I’ve been ill.  It has been a rocky road these past few months, health wise and I am only just getting back on my feet, this time, after suffering through shingles.  I hope the worst is over and I am finally, finally on the mend!  I may be returning to Tanzania at the end of this month if all goes well.  

Don’t forget we are planning a yard sale (hopefully July 23 and 24^th) so feel free to contact us if you have gently used things you’d like to donate.  And remember to watch Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies compete on our behalf on August 17^th on the new show, Canada Sings and please consider sponsoring one of our climbers who are fundraising for us by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro next month!  Visit www.climbkilifortumaini.com.

Specifically, there are several important thank yous to go out but, next time!  Be well, we hope you are enjoying your summer, and for everything and from the bottom of my heart . . . Asante!

Sunday morning from Mama's back porch . . .

It is early, too early yet for church and I am sipping my second coffee, bundled, because it is nippy this morning. . . cool, and a brisk breeze.  The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I pause and admire the work a wonderful young man (Tanzanian by coincidence) named Mathias and I completed on the flower beds yesterday.  It is the first time I have worked the gardens in over a year and they needed the attention . . . today they are happy.  We have an oriole bird feeder about ten feet from me and as I write this, a male dropped in for some grape jelly . . . the couple is nesting in one of our maple trees on the other side of the driveway . . .

Our darling Christina is feeling better thanks to Dr. Lyimo

15 year old Mwajuma struggles with recurring abdominal pain . . .

So, how is the family in Tanzania?  Well, the bad news was that Christina was sick, vomiting and needed an intravenous drip for a day, but the good news is that, because of support from people like yourselves, she, or any one of our children needing good medical care will have it.  Dr. Lyimo, in Usa River is a fine doctor and cares for all of our Tumaini family.  Fifteen year old Mwajuma has struggled for over a year with recurring abdominal pain and was home from Haradali boarding school again last week complaining.  Dr. Lyimo, like many times before can find nothing wrong and is beginning to suspect it may be a psychological issue.  Thank God we have Doctor Pat!

Absolute best buds Lazaro (l) and Emmanual (r)

I promised reports so let me begin . . . Ema (Emmanual) was, again, #1 in his class of 51 with Lazaro not far behind at #5.  Both boys tend to be shy when you first meet them  but they are fun loving young men who get into all kinds of mischief together as best buddies, sharing both the classroom and their dorm at Haradali boarding school.  Lazaro was “busted” for making arrows which he then proceeded to launch with his self made bow (his tribe are famous for their bow and arrow skills).  Lazaro (and younger brother Stephano) lost both of their parents to AIDS and came under the care of their uncle Lawrence.  He was the first family member I met who was attempting to honor his familial responsibility and his brother’s memory by caring lovingly for his nephews but the entire family struggled desperately, lacking enough food, living space and medical care.  When our children moved to Tumaini house in February, 2010, I gave Lawrence a job as our security guard to thank him for trying as he had to care for his nephews, for it is the exception and NOT the rule in Tanzania to love a step child or extended family member . . . most suffer, treated like unpaid servants, or worse, abused at the cruel and unloving hands of aunts, uncles and step parents, but not our Lazaro and Stephano!!

Uncle Lawrence truly cares about nephews Lazaro and Stephano

A sick Bibi Emmanual was grateful for our medical assistance . . .

You may recall that Ema’s mother died just six days after he was born and he had been living and struggling with his very old “Bibi”, or grandmother, who, by the way was incredibly grateful to us for our providing her desperately needed medical attention for a serious bladder infection last week.  She suffered for days until Dr. Lyimo was authorized to tend her and provide antibiotics . . . Ema was/is a quietly obedient little boy who has learned to HAVE FUN now that he is exposed to children his own age and encouraged to play and obviously he is a very studious STUDENT!!  He takes his studies very seriously and for him, and a few other children who shine academically, it is our wish to ensure they acquire the VERY best educational opportunities possible.

Stephano says Asante to "Uncle" Darrell for helping him . . .

Pendo (with Liadi) is oh, so very grateful to "Auntie" Heidi and Katie for loving her . . .

Harriri doesn't clown around about saying thank you to "Auntie" Cynthia for caring about him . . .

On behalf of Pendo, Harriri and Stephano, I would like to send our deepest thanks to Heidi, cousin Cynthia and Katie (a different Katie who volunteered at Tumaini House for three weeks in April), and Darrell (who, travelling to Tanzania to visit friends was kind enough to carry fifty pounds of vitamins donated by Jamieson (chewables, funnily enough shaped like lions and zebras) – stopped in for a visit with the children and chose to help Stephano) for oh so lovingly providing support to these children.  It goes without saying, (but I’ll say it anyway), that, without you caring, we could not sustain Tumaini house and provide the love, the care and the attention we do to our forty children, not to mention the outreach work we do for Mana OVC, our child orphan support group and Langa ya Iruva, an adult AIDS support group in Usa River.  So very many of you have reached out to us, opening your hearts and your wallets to help us help our children and I cannot express my gratitude enough . . . asante . . . sana!

July 23 and 24^th will be our Tumaini yard sale at my farm, 857 Norfolk St. S. Simcoe, ON.  If you have gently used, saleable items you’d like to donate we’d be grateful for the contribution.  Send me an email with details and we can arrange a pick up/drop off and once again thank you!

FYI Climbers!  Our crazy daughter Amanda has arranged a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro (week of August 8^th) with my nephew Sean, friends Lauren, John, Jamie, Jason, Rob, Kathy and Norma (I think that’s all) and are hoping to fundraise on behalf of Tumaini!  More news to follow but please feel free to support any or all of them with your donation which may be made online at www.tuchifo.com AND, we are able to share information about our “other” Katy and her sister Jer Wilson and her team who performed on a new television program called Canada Sings!  The contestants compete against each other for prize money which is then donated to a charity of the team’s choice and guess who was chosen?  Thank you, thank you!! We’ll let you know which night we’re on but the show airs August 10^th @ 9:00 p.m.!

Our "ambassador" and a very fine big Tumaini brother, Raymond

Lohai, one of the finest young men I have ever met . . .

Say a prayer for us will you?  We are working to finalize visa arrangements for two of our older boys to come and visit us . . . Raymond, a very dedicated and hard working high school student, and Tumaini’s “ambassador” of goodness, who sets a wonderful “big brother” example for the rest of our children, hopes to come and garner support for university and Lohai, who is the hardest working young man I have EVER met, works tirelessly at Tumaini raising our chickens, tending our vegetable garden, serving early morning breakfast to our children before school, etc.  Lohai is our “go to” guy at Tumaini . . . he finds the lost shoe or book bag as the bus for school is leaving, he maintains our container, finds the shovel/wrench/hammer, kills the poisonous spiders for a hesitant Mama Dee and Liadi, helps Baba Steve well into the night work on the new oven . . . I could go on and on!  In any event, Canadian immigration approval not withheld, both boys will be here before month’s end!  Lohai will learn to drive a tractor, improve his farming skills (and his English), see some of our beautiful country and experience many, MANY firsts . . . we cannot wait!!

Mama Dee and her "Men"!

Things are good . . . the children are wonderful!!!  Truly, wonderful!  I return to hold them again at the beginning of August for a month and many of you ask what they need . . . they ALWAYS need good quality black dress shoes (a strong sole), socks and underpants.  Rain jackets and rubber boots are needed.  Our children range in age from 3 to 22 so most sizes are needed. 

Bon voyage, safari njema to returning volunteer from USA Mariel and her mom Diane who leave Tuesday for a month at Tumaini house!  I just know your trip will be all you are hoping it to be and please give the children a hug from Mama will you? 

Mariel and mom Diane cannot wait to see Christina and all our Tumaini children . . .

To everyone, be well and please, PLEASE know how very grateful we always are for your continued interest and loving support of some very, VERY special and lucky little people . . . Asante!