Weeki Nne (Week Four)

I can’t believe that I have been back in Tanzania for over a month now. Time is flying by so quickly. Although the time has seemed so short, if I look back at the past month I realize that there is a long list of things that I have experienced and accomplished since I have been here. I am looking forward to the rest of my time here in Tanzania…who knows what will happen next!
Week four started off as usual, as we took some time to organize and finish some paper work. Ashley Jon and I spent the majority of Monday working on the master work plan and outline for . We shifted through past intern reports and internet documents for most of the day and chipped away at the documents until the early evening. After spending so much time indoors, we decided to head to Tunza Lodge for our weekly yoga class. I really find that the yoga classes are extremely beneficial for us here (well at least for me) as they allow me to relax both my mind and my body. I really find that a little bit of relaxation time is necessary to be able to function on a daily basis since our day to day adventures can sometimes be stressful and overwhelming.
The next day Ashley and I headed to the yogurt kitchen to discuss some project matters with the Mamas and to spend time with them for a little while. Since both Ashley and I are working with the Mamas on kitchen health and safety and yogurt production and documentation, it is important for us to spend lots of time at the kitchen interacting with the mamas and observing their daily routine. When we arrived we were happily greeted by Mama Elizabeth and Mamas Cecilia. About half way through the morning one of the community members came by the kitchen and had a very intense conversation with the two mamas. Because I am not (yet) fluent in Kiswahili I was not quite sure about what was being discussed, besides I was unsure whether or not I should be listening to the conversation. Afterwards, Ashley and I found out that some bad news had been delivered. Mama Elizabeth explained to us that one of the other Yogurt Mamas’ (Mama Joyce’s) daughters passed away that morning. Instantly my heart sunk, I couldn’t believe the news. We found out that Mama Joyce’s 17 year old daughter passed away (anakofa) from Jaundice. Instantly I wondered if she had been receiving the quality of care that we are so lucky to receive in Canada if she would still be alive. These questions and comparisons are constantly flowing though my mind as I am consistently recognizing and observing drastic inequalities that seem to make no sense to me. But, at the moment, it was no time for me to be pondering such deep and complex issues, my attention turned to the pain and sorrow that Mama Joyce must have been experiencing. I would save these thoughts for a moment when I would be by myself to reflect.
Mama Elizabeth quickly left the kitchen to inform the other mamas while Ashley, Mama Cecilia and myself sat in dead silence. I didn’t know what to do or say so I waited for instruction from the mamas. The somber mood in the kitchen was excruciating as we all festered in our own thoughts and emotions. Eventually a few of the other Mamas showed up and we were told that we were all going to go to Mama Joyce’s house to visit her. The Mamas closed the kitchen for the afternoon and we headed down the dusty road in Mabatini to console and provide our condolences to Mama Joyce. As we walked to Mama Joyce’s house, I felt very unsure as to what the rest of the day was to bring. All I could think about was the pain that one must experience when losing a child. I also wondered about the customs and cultural processes that occur when someone dies in the community. I wondered what I was supposed to do and not do, where I was supposed to stand, what I was supposed to say. But I reminded myself that I should just feel out the situation (as I often have to do) and be observant of what others do. I just didn’t know what to expect.
When we arrived at Mama Joyces’ small 3 room hut we noticed the large crowds of people overflowing from her quaint home. There were hundreds of people from the community who were there to share their condolences to Mama Joyce. Ashley and I followed Mama Elizabeth and Mama Cecilia into Mama Joyce’s house so that we to could share our support. When we walked in, I noticed that her entire house was filled with women and children, all sitting around her on the floor. The men in the community all sat outside and would come in to share their condolences one by one. There was an interesting gender dynamic in this process. Ashley and I greeted Mama Joyce at the door and expressed our condolences as well and then joined the rest of the bunch on the floor of Mama Joyce’s home. It was heartbreaking to see Mama Joyce in such a broken state and to hear her and many others weep so passionately. It wa hard for us to hold back our emotions as well but it was ok for us to sit there and cry with everyone else. We stayed at Mama Joyce’s house for about two and a half hours, sitting on the floor singing songs and prayers in unison as people sobbed quietly to themselves. As we left we once again greeted Mama Joyce and apologized for her loss. Looking into the eyes of one of the strongest women I know and seeing such vulnerability and pain set deep within me; I could never imagine losing a child. We were told by the Mamas that the funeral (mazishi) and burial (maziko)would be on Thursday. We returned home to share the news with Jon and to have some time to reflect.
On Wednesday the Mamas came over in the morning discuss and take care of some project finances. We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with our work at the internet café. Later on in the evening Ashley went to her Kiswahili lesson and Jon and I went home to work on our self taught Kiswahili. We made sure to get Ashley to ask her Swahili teacher about the process of funerals here and the proper attire to wear. When Ashley came home she informed us that Jon should wear dress pants, a nice shirt and shoes and that Ashley and I should wear our kengas, a nice shirt and a scarf. He also explained that funerals are a lot like at home where people attend a church ceremony and then the burial.
On Thursday the kitchen was closed (because of the funeral) so we took the morning to go grocery shopping at the market. The funeral started at two o’clock at the local Roman Catholic Church in Mabatini. When we walked up to the church it was packed and the building was once again overflowing with people; there were hundreds of people. One of our friends mentioned to us that one someone dies in the community, it is a community effort to console the family. Ashley, our friend Ingerd and I stood outside the door of the church with the rest of the overflowing crowd while Jon sat with the group of men outside of the church. After numerous songs and prayers the funeral was over and about tem men carried the coffin into the transport vehicle that was donated by Kivulini (the local women’s and children’s rights organization). The burial was to be held in Buswelu (about a 30 min drive from Mabatini) so the crowd dispersed into numerous vehicles. Since most people do not own vehicles here, there were many borrowed and donated vehicles. There were some daladalas (local VW wagons used for public transport), some cars and 3 gigantic trucks. The cabs of the trucks held about 50-60 people who would cram in to be transported to the burial. I have never seen that many people in one vehicle; all I could see were faces and limbs all mish mashed together. Our friend offered us a ride in one of these trucks but we thankfully declined; it looked pretty uncomfortable and dangerous. Instead we took a daladala and then a taxi to get to the burial. As we walked to the daladala station a young girl (about 5-6 yr. old) ran up and grabbed my hand; she wanted to walk with me. We peacefully walked hand and hand until we got to the point where she had to turn to go home. It was nice sharing a serene and silent moment like that. Our trip to the burial site ended up being quite long as our taxi driver got lost in the back roads of Buswelu. After about an hour of asking numerous Buswelu residents for directions, we soon arrived at the burial. Because we were late we quietly snuck into the back of the crowd to join in the ceremony. Numerous songs and prayers were again recited and the Minister blessed the body. At one point, the Minister asked representatives from both the family and community life to come up and present decorative wreaths upon the casket. Fist, they asked family members to come up and present wreaths, then friends, then schoolmates, teachers, people from Kivulini and finally someone from the yogurt project. When they announced someone to come up from the yogurt project, Mama Joyce signaled me and Ashley to come over. I had no idea that we were going to be apart of the burial ceremony; I was honored. Ashley and I moved through the crowds and entered into the burial area. The Minister called us over, handed us a wreath in which he had blessed and said a prayer as we laid down the symbolic, decorative item. We then returned to the crowds for more songs and prayer. After the ceremony us and the other ~300 people who were at the ceremony returned to Mabatini for another get together at Mama Joyce’s house. When we arrived back a her house, there were again an excess of people spilling out of the house, onto the hillside that she lives on. Some of the Yogurt Mamas alongside some other community members had stayed a her house all day long to cook food and prepare beverages for the entire crowd. We took our turn and went inside to sign the guestbook and present a small amount of money to help the family out during their time of need. I is a custom in Tanzania to give a small monetary gift at a funeral. Because there were so many people we decided to go home instead of eating at Mama Joyce’s house. We decided to relax for the rest of the evening after a very physically and emotionally draining day.
Since the Mamas were all going to be busy with mourning ceremonies, I decided to accompany my friend Pamie, who works for Kivulini Women’s and Children’s Rights Organizaion, to work on Friday. Pamie volunteers for a project through Kivulini that provides proper nutrition for malnourished children under the age of 5. The project is called Chem Chemi and volunteers circulate various rural communities in the area to provide proper nutrition training. Volunteers monitor nutrition projects alongside agricultural projects that are linked to feeding children in the area. The project teaches local individuals how to grow and farm nutritious foods and also teaches them how to prepare the food and serve it to ensure that the nutritional requirements of their children are met. So, I walked with Pamie to one of the Kivulini store to meet up with Thaeo, a local Kivulini employee who would take us to the Friday site in Sama (a community in the Buhongwa district). When Thaeo arrived we walked to the daladala station and took a daladala to Buhongwe. When we reached Buhongwe we then had to take bicycle taxis to our final destination in Sama. I was so excited to get on a bicycle taxi since I had only been on one once before the last time I was here. It was quite funny picking out a bike taxi to take as all the riders wanted me and Pamie on their bikes. After choosing a rider, I hopped on the back of the bike and off we went down a really rough dirt road. I felt really bad for the small driver of the bike that had to carry my big badunkadunk all the way to Sama, but the guys seemed very strong and had done it a million times before. The bike ride to Sama was one of my favorite moments of my trip so far. The landscape was so beautiful with all the rolling hills, boulders and green fields. I was totally at peace. It was really nice because the bike ride lasted for about 20 minutes before we arrived at the community clinic. When I jumped off the bike I was amazed to find out that the long, twenty minute bike ride was only going to cost me 500TSH (45 cents!). CRAZY! I made a mental note to take as many bike taxis as possible while I am here. When we arrived at the community clinic we were warmly greeted by a group of mothers with their children. We spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon with the Mamas and their children. We talked with them, played with them, ate with them and then weighed and measured them to monitor the progress of the project. It was a really relaxing and fun day. The community members were so warm and welcoming and welcomed me again when we left saying ‘karibu tena’ (come again). As we left I was so excited to get back on another bike taxi so we hollered over three young bike taxi drivers and were off on our way again down the beautiful road in Sama. I returned home later that day to enjoy a delicious meal with Jon and Ashley.
We spent the weekend relaxing, organizing, doing paperwork and catching up on our emails. We also found some time to hang out with friends and visit some local restaurants and clubs. I also used some of this time to reflect once again on our very eventful and emotionally draining week.