This is Sydney writing from the Peacock Hotel in Dar. It is early morning here on Wednesday June 28th and the internet connection is actually pretty speedy at this hour.
Yesterday we visited the Teen's Against AIDS project. The day began with a bit of uncertainty when our escort ( a woman who we had not had previous contact) arrived with a car too small to carry all of us. We resolved that problem and headed off to visit a youth camp organized by Teens Against AIDS with the help of the ARK Foundation (Washington DC based). As it turns out, the camp was located on Masaii lands, and we were the honored guests of both the Masai community and the Teens Against AIDS. As Chris said in the van on the way back to Dar, all the stars were aligned to make this visit a highlight of our journey. The Masaii people typically keep to themselves and continue to live their traditional lifestyle. The camp was for orphaned and vulnerable children from very young through teens from all over Tanzania. The purpose of the camp was to provide education on HIV/AIDS and to empower the youth to take control over their own lives.
The leader of the Teens project was actually in South Africa tending to his father who was receiving special medication for AIDS. He is said to be an exceptional young man with much charisma. We were welcomed by his assistant, Victoria, who is also a very bright capable young woman who did a great job of being our host and organizing the day. We were also welcomed by "Mama Roie" from the ARK Foundation who attends this camp annually and works closely with the Teens on an ongoing basis. She is an amazing Ugandan woman who lives and works in Washington DC and travels to Africa 4 - 5 times a year. She was our translator and communication link to the whole experience.
The location of the camp is also the place where the education center that will be built as part of our grant will be located. We saw the outline of the building trenched in the grass. The Teens have already produced much written material and we were provided copies in English. They have held three training sessions and are already making a big impact with the Masai community that we met. The young people in the Masai are learning about the transmission of AIDS and how to protect themselves for the first time. The youth have been able to take the message to their parents and they are being listened to for the first time. The parents of the Masai youth in attendance at the camp invited their parents to come for a discussion on female circumcision ( or female genital mutilation). The parents heard for the first time that the daughters did not want to participate in this practice!!
During this year's camp the Chief of this comunity agreed to allow his teen aged daughter leave to attend the ARK secondary school. This is an incredible measure of respect between him and the Teens Against AIDS and the ARK Foundation.
We were treated to traditional Masai singing and dancing as their honored guests - not as tourists. The day was an experience of a lifetime. We feel very good about having funded this organization and will relay more details when we return to Seattle.
Chris and Jerry head to Zanzibar today. Linda and I will visit a couple of CARE Tanzania projects today.
Asante Sana,
Sydney
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