Weeki Tano (Week Five)

Week five started out very different then we all thought it would. The Mamas and Ashley were supposed to go to Kenya to start training with the Kenyan women’s group on kitchen health and safety and probiotic yogurt production but, as usual, plans changed. Turns out, the Mamas had to start their cow husbandry training this week through TASAF (Tanzanian Social Action Fund) and had to stay in Mwanza. Since the Mamas will be purchasing their own cows for the new kitchen to produce their own milk, they need to be trained in the area of cow husbandry. So their trip to Kenya was moved to the following week.
When we arrived at the yogurt kitchen on Monday morning the Mamas were anxiously waiting for the TASAF teacher (mwalimu) to arrive. The mamas gathered their notebooks (kitabu) , pens (kalamu) and chart paper in preparation for their lesson (somo) and we all sat and enjoyed some chai masala (milky tea) and andazi (fried biscuit things) while we waited for the teacher to arrive. Ashley, Jon and I were unsure whether or not we were supposed to attend the lessons so we waited for further indication from the mamas. When the teacher arrived the Mamas gathered up their belongings and said ‘tuwende’ (let’s go!). So we followed the teacher and the Mamas to Mtoni High School just around the corner. We entered into a completely empty brick building with dirt (uchafu) floors. I wondered how the lesson was going to take place without any furniture (fanicha) or blackboard (ubao). Just as this thought crossed through my mind, a number of Mtoni students (wanafunzi) came strolling down the hill carrying desks (deski) and chairs (kiti) for our lesson. Two students were even carrying a blackboard. The Mamas instantly rushed over to help the students and Ashley, Jon and I followed. It was neat to see some of the students and the Mamas balancing the desks and chairs on their heads. Women here often carry many things on their heads. It is a true talent. I was tempted to try this myself but I decided against it…maybe I would try some smaller items first. I did help carry the desks by hand though.
Once the lesson begun, the teacher asked whether the lesson should be taught in Kiswahili or in English. We all stressed that the lesson should be in Kiswahili since the training was for the Mamas and they are not fluent in English. So, the 5 hour lesson begun and we all sat quietly as the teacher explained the schedule for the week and delved into the subject of cow husbandry. Even though the lesson was in Kiswahili I was shocked at the amount of material I actually understood. Boy, did I learn a lot about cows that day! The lessons wrapped up at about 1:30pm (saa saba nanusu) and we headed back to the kitchen for some yogurt and buns.

The next day we decided not to attend the cow husbandry lessons since we could not understand all of the lesson and since the Mamas were the ones who were to be purchasing and caring for the cows. Instead, we thought that we would make better use of our time by filling in the shifts at the yogurt kitchen so that all the Mamas would be able to attend their lessons. The Mamas were pretty happy (furaha) and thankful (shukrani) that Ashley and I were taking over their positions for the week so that they could attend their classes. Jon was busy at home working on his research design and running errands in town. Mama Elizabeth’s granddaughter (Dorisi) who is sixteen years old, also helped us out at the kitchen. The first day was a little scary since we had never run the kitchen by ourselves. I also wondered how local community members would react to Mzungus running the kitchen since they were so used to the Mamas being there. The first morning running the kitchen actually ran pretty smoothly. I was surprised how well things worked out. Although we did get a few strange looks from people, everyone was very friendly and we were able to communicate quite effectively using the Swahili that we have already learned. So Ashley, Dori and I spent all morning cooking (kupika) and serving (hudumia) yogurt (maziwa). The Mamas returned from their lesson around 1:00pm and thanked us for manning the fort while they enjoyed their lessons.

On Wednesday Ashley and I went to the kitchen again to help out. This time we had the routine down pat and the yogurt customers recognized us from the day before. Ashley, Dori and I actually had a lot of fun all morning getting to know each other and teaching each other Kiwsahili and English. While we were at the kitchen we also obtained the list of the registered people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWAs) from the Mamas so that we could start to create a new documentation system for the people who are receiving subsidized yogurt. We are creating a new documentation system so that the subsidized yogurt is accurately recorded on a regular basis both for financial record keeping and consistent operational record keeping. After the Mama’s lesson we also spoke to the TASAF teacher about applying for other grants through his organization as the mamas are in need of other sources of local funding. The teacher referred us to the director of TASAF, Mr. Ngowi and gave us his phone number (simu numba).

On Wednesday afternoon Jon, Ashley, Joke (a Dutch medical student) and Myself visited the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) to meet with Dr. Changalucha (the director) and Simon (the lab technician who makes the probiotics) to take care of some matters concerning the probiotics supply for the yogurt. We found out that Simon, the lab technician, is currently training a student on how to produce the probiotic culture for instances when he is away or unable to make it himself. He also mentioned that another student is coming in July and will be trained in probiotic cultivation as well. The training of other interns who know how to cultivate probiotics is very important to the success of the project to ensure that there are consistent supplies of probiotics. We also spoke with Dr. Changalucha to say hello and to inquire about a good time to have the next Mwanza Steering Committee meeting.

On Thursday Ashley, Jon and I headed to the kitchen again to relieve the Mamas of their yogurt shifts so that they could attend their ‘cow classes’. Since there were four of us Jon decided to go run some errands in town and to touch up some stuff for his research proposal. Ashley, Dori and I had another fun morning together cooking yogurt, serving customers and hanging out. At one point I reached into my purse to get something out and I realized that I had my ipod with me. I took it out and shared one of the headphones with Dori. Like any sixteen-year-old, she loved listening to the music while she worked. I showed her how to use it and let her borrow it for the rest of the shift. It was nice to see Dori dancing around the kitchen while she washed the floor, stirred the yogurt and tidied up.
After our shift at the kitchen we made some food and headed off to yoga. Later on in the evening I worked on typing out the list of PLWAs so that I could start making the membership cards for our new documentation system.

On Friday morning Ashley left for a safari in the Serengeti. She met up with some of Sabrina’s (a past intern) friends who were living in Uganda for the last little while. Jon and I went to the kitchen again to relieve the Mamas. This was the first day that Jon helped out in the kitchen. Since it is traditionally the women who do the cooking in Tanzania and since it is a women’s group that runs the kitchen, Jon made sure to ask if it was alright that he participate in cooking and serving at the kitchen that day. It was funny because the Mamas really encouraged Jon to help out. Some of them giggled and expressed that it was nice to see a man cooking for once. All the Mamas laughed when I said ‘Jon ana Mama ya Maziwe’ (Jon is a yogurt Mama!). I guess it was quite a sight to see. Although it was different for a man to be in the kitchen making and serving yogurt, the yogurt customers seemed quite comfortable with it and everyone greeted him the same as they greeted the rest of us. It was nice for Jon to get to know Dori better as well.

On Saturday Jon and I went with the Mamas to the new kitchen site in Nyamhongoro to get some cost estimates for the building of a fence around the new site as well as to inquire about getting a store house built for the cow feed and supplies. As usual we took about a 20 minute daladala ride to the site. Riding on the daladala is always an adventure cause you never know what position you’ll end up in. This time Jon and I were stuck standing up, smooshed near the door that flies open every time someone get on or off. We were relieved to get off as our backs and legs were hurting. It’s a good thing that it is a beautiful, relaxing walk in to the site area. We arrived to the site area and sat with the local family(ies) (about 20 people) and waited for the builder to come. In the meantime we checked out the newly finished banda (cow house) on the new plot of land. When the builder arrived Mama Sabina and Mama Asha had a long conversation with him. The Mamas relayed to us that the cost estimates would not be ready until Monday since he would be spending a good portion of the day measuring the prospective fence diameter and securing an area for a store house. In the meantime Mama Asha was teaching me some more Swahili. I learned the words for fence (wia) and post (nguzo). The rest of the day we spent hanging out with friends.

On Sunday Jon stayed at home to rest and relax and I went with some friends to a beautiful beach in Nyamgezi district. We spent the day hanging out, lazing around and eating delicious food cooked on the BBQ. In the evening I went with some of my friends to an Indian wedding reception ceremony. It was really neat to see a wedding celebration in another cultural context. Again, it was another great end to the week.