It's just before 8am on Monday morning and we're in Dar es Salaam. Chris, Allan, and I (Bob) have finally found an Internet cafe that works (!) and has a ferociously fast net connection, at least by African standards.
We met with Harvest of Hope on 7/5. Impressive. Dr. Okemwa, an oceanographer, has made this school his retirement project. The school has been in operation for five years, and the grounds are a former farm. The chicken pens have been turned into classrooms, and the stable is the meeting hall. That sounds jury-rigged, but the result looks tailor made for a school -- maybe a dozen nice-sized and tidy classrooms going from primary school through secondary. The kids looked happy and healthy. The administrator asked them to introduce themselves, which they did (shyly). She said that introducing themselves to the "distinguished visitors" was a big deal for them.
Our flight on Thursday from Mombassa was uneventful, though delayed. We stopped in Zanzibar en route and got a nice view as we flew in.
On Friday (7/7/07) we saw Mama Rhoi's One Stop Center. Had a nice BBQ. We brought Nerf footballs, a Frisbee, and horseshoes. We had to show the kids how the games were played. I had a lot of fun showing the kids how to throw the various toys (too bad you throw a football the opposite way from a Frisbee). And here I was worried that I wouldn't find kids my own age...
Once some of the kids got it, they'd then show the others. There's quite an age range at the school -- roughly 6 to 16, I'm guessing. It's a surprisingly big orgnization. 150 or so students, a couple of dozen or so who are boarders, teachers and admimistrators. Rhoi has big plans to build a new 3-story schoolhouse.
Friday was the last day of the week-long HIV training (for both students and adults) that Pangea paid for, and we were at the "high table" at the awards ceremony. Looks like good community presence and participation (which we're increasingly seeing as important). There appears to be the inevitable friction between an organization and the local government, but perhaps our presence gave the One Stop Center a higher profile in the eyes of the officials.
Sunday was a break day. We visited a crafts bazaar and shopped in the local grocery store. Today (Monday) we're going back to visit the Teens Against AIDS camp. Rhoi had wanted to run a water pipeline (the well runs dry around December), but it seems to make more sense to drill a new well. They'll be able to irrigate more crops and perhaps sell water to the community. She should be able to get a much deeper well with a water tank to hold two weeks of water (electricity isn't reliable, especially in the dry season) for the grant money that we have given.
More football and Frisbee, perhaps? Allan has been asked to teach a yoga class and we'll also install the software we brought as gifts, and maybe do a little computer training. We met the three young adults who lead the Teens program on Saturday, and we'll start with a longer chat with them to learn what progress they've had.
Tuesday we have a 5:30am (!) flight back to Kenya. Won't be getting much sleep that night. Duane Edwards, a new Pangea member, is planning on meeting us when we get back to Kenya.
Everyone's healthy here and jet lag is behind us. Wish you were here!
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