Last day

As I write this, I regret to say that this will be my last posting. :(

This past week has been maybe the most incredibly eye-opening week of my life. LIA has just opened a new children's home in a place called "mererani". Ask any Tanzanian about mererani, and they will say that it's a bad place. I've learned that it is the most destitute place in all of Tanzania. Mererani is located right in front of the Tanzanite mines, the only known place in the world where Tanzanite can be found. There are currently, Mama Lynn says, about 3,000 underaged children illegally working in the mines at this very minute. Most of them have been kidnapped.

At Mererani, myself and some of the other volunteers painted a few of the rooms that the boys will be living in. The children's home will hopefully be completed in September. There is also "Fleeze House" that houses all of the children they can hold at the moment. This is such a reprieve for the children that have been abandoned in this area. I met a little boy named Nasora, who I instantly fell in love with. He is 10 years old and has been at Fleeze house since it opened. Mama Lynn said that his mother brought him there because he was being "eyed" for the mines because of his small body. Had fleeze house not been there, he may have ended up being kidnapped into that terrible world.

We also worked at the food kitchen in mererani one day. Mama Lynn gave us 2 huge boxes of head cream and we washed about 50 or more childrens' heads. A lot of them have white patches on their head, which is actually fungus. The lack of water there was unbelievable. Lack of clean water, I should say. There has been no significant rain in Mererani for 3 years.

Mama Lynn also sais that she is going to start a maternity center. Brace yourselves for this figure:

6 in 10 women who give birth in Mererani, die.

I have decided to put half of my project money into the title deed for the maternity center, which buys the land.

I also decided to pay for one year of secondary school for a boy named Samuel who has been asking Mama for help for weeks and weeks. He is 17 years old and just finished primary school. he is the only child in his family, so his education will definitely be vital for him to take care of his parents. Together, all of us managed to pay for all 4 years of his secondary school.

I spent more money on one month's surgery bill for the local doctor in mererani. Then the last of my money I spent on food for the town.

We visited a maasai school where the teacher had told Mama lynn that the children were starving. She was right. We visited the school, and the children were just skin and bone. There is no way that they can learn anything without food in their stomach. We brought a HUGE pot of vitamin-enriched rice from Kids Against Hunger and fed the class that day. The need here is so great.

I don't even have any pictures of the actual town, it is a very dangerous place. Light In Africa will literally be the saving Grace for so many here. I can't wait to return.

My flight leaves tomorrow night and then I'm back in the states on monday Afternoon. I intend to return to Tanzania as soon as I can. This place has my heart.

Thanks for all the prayers and messages that I've received. It meant so much!

Katherine

I'm running out of titles!

LIA has been such an eye-opening experience this past week, I don't even know where to begin.

This weekend Kate, Dana and I spent time at Tudor village, Pilgrim house, and the nursery.

Tudor village is about a 25 minute dala-dala ride (in a bus filled with about 60 people when Im pretty sure it was meant for 30. Only 40 cents though- and lots of laughter at how ridiculous us white people look!)

The village is currently in the process of being built solely from donations from volunteers. There are 2 completed houses right there, and it's LIA's goal to move all of the children in their care to this village. I've spent a lot of time in the toddler house this week. Only about 3 caretakers for maybe 20 3 year olds! They are so cute- and the second I walk up to the door they all come screaming out and begging you to to hold them. They'll take any affection that they can get. Maybe about 1/3 of the toddlers in the house have HIV- but they are lucky to get proper medication and care.


I, personally, fell in love with "pilgrim house" this week. This is a house for boys about 20 minute walk from tudor village. I've gone there each day when the older boys are at school and played with the others until they return.Yesterday, Kate, Dana and Myselft took 3 boys out to lunch in Boma- maybe a 50 minute walk. But they so rarely get out. One of them was "felixi" who has Downes Syndrome and hadn't been out to lunch in months. He waved at every single person he saw and was so happy the whole time.

There is one boy, Alfani, who arrived from the coal-mining village called Meriani about 4 days ago. I've grown quite close to him. He's about 7 years old. I dont know his background story- but Meriani is a place of extreme, extreme poverty. They told me at pilgrim that he's having a really hard time adapting to the boys home and cries almost every night before he goes to bed. I'm thinking I'll put some of my donation money into paying for his schooling. He has the cutest smile and is SO ticklish!

Yesterday the 3 of us spent our time in Moshi and went to an outdoorsy bar called Glacier. There were some really big performers there and we had a blast! We met up with our guides from Kilimanjaro and danced the night away :)

Today, we're going to Arusha, which is a bigger city about an hour away. The headmaster from the Obrien school invited us out to stay at his Aunt's house and get a pretty authentic homestay experience!

Back to LIA on Sunday night and I leave monday morning fo Meriani. This is the coal-mining village that we'll be working at for a week. They feed 400 people a DAY six days a week. We will also be working at a dispensary and the orphanage there. We're not even allowed to be outside after dark and there is an armed gaurd that has to escort us in the evening. It is a pretty dangerous place, but the volunteers from LIA will be completely safe. We all stay in a hotel at night. No worries!

Next and final blog will probably be next weekend sometime. Hope these aren't too boring :) There are so many random quirky tanzanian things i see everyday, but whenever I sit down to write this, I completely forget them. I'll keep a running list and next weekend the blog will be a litte more light-hearted!

-oh! thought of one. Yesterday we had to stop in the car for a cow crossing. there were about 70 cows crossing the road.
-Instead of parking your car in front of the store, these people here park their donkies and goats in front of the stores.
-lots more,but I'm out of minutes on the computer. Love to all!

LIA- the first day

Hello to everyone from light in africa

I'm at an internet cafe right now, with very, VERY slow connections so I don't have time to type very much.


We started at light in africa yesterday, and it has been a really eye-opening experience. They are in the process of moving all of the volunteers out of the main house- so accomodations are not fantastic. But there is plenty to do, with the nursery right behind the main house. Today we went to "tudor village". There are 5 houses currently being built ,2 of them are finished already. One is home to toddlers, and the other to little girls. These are all children that have been abandoned and placed on LIA's front door. They are so sweet, the kids. The nursery has about 20 babies, from newborn to about a year. They had 6 dropped off last week. Many of them are disabled, and a few have HIV/AIDS. LIA provides round the clock care.

Tomorrow i might be heading to the dispensary for the day. I don't have any medical training, but any extra hands help.

Next week I plan to spend my time is "meriani" food kitchen. It is in a poverty-stricken coal-mining area of tanzania, and the kitchen feeds 400 people a day, 6 days a week. Without these 2 meals a day, most of the residents would not survive.

The other volunteers are all over the place, i'm still learning the ropes so it'll take a while to get into the swing of things.

Blessings to all!
K

Faith that moves mountains

Hello to all from the bottom of mount kilimanjaro! For the past 6 days, Dana, Kate, and I have been sleeping in tents, freezing every night, using the beautiful natural surroundings of kilimanjaro as our own personal bathroom, and meeting amazing people. I don't have my journal handy, so I'm going to write what I remember.

On day 1, dana, Kate and I met our guides Fred and Festo- they were wonderful the whole time. We started at Machame gate and hiked for about 4 hours up to the next camp site. The porters here are AMAZING. they carry ALL of our stuff, run ahead of us, and set up our tents and make dinner by the time we get there. their work is to hard and so grueling, i give them a lot of respect.

Each night got a lot colder as we went higher and higher up. The next day was a really steep climb- lots of rocks to climb over. Some people were already getting sick. Altitude sickness affects anyone so randomly. I'm really lucky I didn't really feel anything until the top.

Fred, our main guide, hadn't been feeling well since day 2 of the trip. He had a fever and really no appetite. He made it with us until day 4- but then he decided that it was best to go back down. He was acting really tough for us, but who wants a guide that doesn't feel well enough to take care of you. He was great about it though, and got another guide to take his place. His english was the best, so the rest of the trip was a lot of "charades" playing. :)

The 3rd day was the second steepest day, the first being the summit night. we climbed over baranco wall. I felt like getting to the next base camp must be what heaven feels like, a little bit.

On the 4th day, we had gotten back from hiking around 4. We had an early dinner at 5, then went to bed at 6. I "slept" until 11.. although I don't think I ever fell asleep, I was so nervous. then they woke us up at 11pm to get breakfast and get our gear together. we left the camp in down coats, and I had 5 layers of thermal shirts on. We put our headlamps on, and up the mountain we started to go. There were about 100 other climbers doing the same thing.

It was so dark outside, and the stars were at their most beautiful. Absolutely no lights from anywhere to hinder them. I was so tired that I think I confused the headlights going up the mountain as stars. Summit night was STEEP. I climbed for 3 minutes, then had to stop, and catch my breath.

Around 2 am, Kate was the first to feel the effects of altitude. She got quite sick to her stomach and really dizzy. Festo got her to go another hour, but at 3 am she couldn't even stand up. We had 2 guides with us going up the mountain... and 1 went down with Kate at 3. that left 1 guide and dana and I.

Dana and i climbed, ever so slowly, for the next 5-6 hours. we were both so exhausted. We decided that if we could make it to the the top of the rim, called "stella point", we would make that our "uhuru" (the summit). the sunrise around 6 am was beyond words. There is nothing i can say to give it justice.

Around stella point, dana was feeling extremely lethargic. She had to stop quite often and was just about falling asleep everytime she stopped-not a good sign. Festo got her to go about 10 minutes past stella, then we all knew she had to go back down.

This is where we got into a pickle, because we only had one guide left and 2 of us. Luckily, Festo saw his guide friend from another tour company, and told me to go with them, so I did. Dana made it so far though.

this other group was so nice- Jimmy and Jamie were the guides. they were with one other lady. we walked so slowly toward to the summit for about 40 minutes. When i say slowly, i mean any slower and I would be going backwards. the air was so thin.

But, I MADE IT! I was crying when I saw the sign. We got there at 9 am, so all of the others had already gone and left. I had the summit to myself. the glaciers were unbelievable, the look so small from the bottom, but they are massive. I stole a rock from the summit :) Was it worth it? Completely. 100%. It was the most surreal experience of my life. Would I ever do it again? Heck no!

Another 3 hours of "skiing" down on sand (literally, exactly like skiing, but with sand and not snow) I made it back to camp. 2 of our porters came and met me about 40 minutes from camp and pretty much carried me back because i was so exhausted. they were a Godsend.

I sang "amazing grace" to myself about 250 times going up on summit night. something about it calmed me and got my mind off the climb.

We all got back down today. 5 days up, and 12 hours down!

this was way longer than i intended!

Love to you all! I start at LIA on monday and am there for 2 weeks before I leave. God has been really good- there was definitely something beyond my body that got me up that mountain. there was no possible way I could have done it alone.

Love to all.

The end of one amazing chapter...

This week has been such an adventure. I don't even know where to begin. Today, I had to say goodbye to the school- we have been there for almost 2 weeks, but I feel like i've been there for an eternity. The teachers and the staff at the school are the most gracious people i have ever met in my life. I spent a few more nights at the school this week, and those have been my favorite memory. the stars here are un.believe.able. I have never seen so many in my life. We stay up after eating "ugali" and vegetables by the fire stove and then go outside and talk under the stars. there is one maasai watchman who watches the school at night- he has been so kind. I'll miss playing charades with him since we can't formally speak to eachother. But when we look at the stars, he tells me "ni mungu."- "This is God."


I think on tuesday, the whole group of us went to arusha- the a pretty big city about an hour by dala-dala away. \i sat on the back of the bus amongst a group of about 10 maasai who were moving their entire home. interesting! It was a good day trip, since the school is about 7 miles from the nearest anything.

I found one little boy wandering around the school yesterday in barefeet with completely tattered clothing. I inquired about him, and it turns out his mother abandoned him a while ago and he was left with his grandmother- who is not able to take care of him. He is maybe 2 or so. We washed him up and we found him some new clothes. We had the women's center sew him some things. His stomach was so protruded from lack of nutrition- but he is the sweetest baby in the world. He kind of clung to me since yesterday, and all of the maasai were telling me to "take him home with you to america!" All joking aside... I really tried to make sure that the staff will look in on him and take him to the hospital. His name is Thomas.

the maasai in the village gave me the name "namayani" this week- i think it means "blessed." But that's what they've been calling me all week. :) Saying goodbye today was very painful- lots of tears everywhere. I've gotten to know a few teachers very well. communication is so hard there.

I think i've gotten about 12 necklaces as gifts from all the people in the village. I went walking into the village last night- and as SOON as they see me, a Mzungu (white person)- they go into host mode. I must have had about 6 cups of chai tea in about 6 bomas yesterday. And you can't refuse the tea either....but it was fun! Lot's of good pictures.

Tomorrow we are going to hang around and rest. We go to moshi tomorrow night and then sunday morning we start the CLIMB. It will take us 6 days to reach the peak, if we don't have to add an extra day. Pray that dana, kate, and I make it!

I dont' know if i can post again before I climb, so the next one may be in a little over a week. Blessings to all!

sere! ( in maasai)
K

Update- I'm an auntie!

so, I had one of the most amazing weekends of my life! While everyone else went on safari this weekend, I stayed back in maasai land and lived at the school with the teachers. Each day was a blessing of its own. I can now count to 20 in kimaasai! just as soon as i pick up swahili..another language is added....

The children are so beautiful. They wear long, flowing robes of red and green and yellow. It looks so neat when they herd the cattle across the barren plains. It's like a speck of color slowly moving in a sea of light brown. The children are learning english, some of them can speak it quite well, others take a while.

I got to know 2 of the teachers really well this weekend. Teresia and taosi. It amazes me how hard the women work here. The roster started up at 4 am and then it was time to wash everything and get the meal ready. But, there is constant singing and constant smiling. They love their life.

I visited many maasai homes of the students over the weekend. They live in huts made of dirt, with maybe one room and one bed. I was adorned with gifts and given cups of tea left and right. The children often ask me why I want to come to tanzania, when their country is so poor and nothing like america. I tell them it is beautiful that the people are really blessed with humility, kindness, and hospitality.

The sunsets here are INCREDIBLE, and i have never seen so many stars at one time in my life. Everyone here is so connected to nature, and credit everything they have to God.

Famine is on the verge in the village. The "wet" season produced no rain at all, and now they are heading into the dry season at the end of july, without having any harvest. In august, edward told me they often go for a week at a time with no water at all. You never see anyone here drinking water. I must look weird armed with my 2 water bottles every day.

Life is good, otherwise. The school is doing an amazing job with the children, but they still need some help. I love trying to communicate with people who don't speak english. They appreciate my charades and then we all end up looking ridiculous as we act out what we want to say! I am so truly blessed to catch a glimpse of their life.

Only 30 minutes on this computer, for 5 dollars. Must run! I'm spending tuesday night and wednesday night at the school, so I won't be on for a while. Thanks for reading and God bless!


Oh, and I am a new auntie to Elizabeth "lizzy" Maeve McCreesh. She is SO beautiful and I was crying like a baby when i read that email. Courtney- i love you and I can't wait to meet her.

I texted courtney the number which anyone can call me at. It is best to call during the day here or early evening, we are 7 hours ahead. Calling from skype is about 30 cents a minute.

Kwa heri!
katherine

Malaria medication is no fun...

It has been quite a few days, let me tell you.

The children at the maasai school are absolutely beautiful, i hope to attach some pictures. This keyboard is a bit strange so dont mind the bad grammar. I spent yesterday at the O'brien school for the maasai, which runs from 7 30 am to 3 pm in the afternoons. So much singing and dancing! \The school is in the middle of the maasai village...miles and miles of endless plains and grassland. They haven't had rain since december, so their crops are not growing. A famine is on the verge in the village, so pray for rain if you can. the dust is unbelievable, my feet were completely grey after being there for just one day. .

Last night we all went out and got some dinner with Edward, the headmaster from the school. He is so extremely nice and doesn't get a chance to get out much. He told us that 98 percent of the maasai that live in the village have never stepped foot out of it. They have never seen cell phones, or tv's, or computers nonetheless. It really makes me think about how we live our lives each day almost physically connected to these machines.

mom and dad: they ask me what my parents' names are all the tie, and then they repeat with their tanzanian accent. "scott!" with hard "o" and "tiffany" sounds like "teeeeeefeany".

This morning, i took my malaria medication on an empty stomach. I told myself I would eat right after I took it, but it didn't even give me 10 minutes before i felt sick. i stayed back from the school today, it was pretty rough. I was going to stay at the Lodge tonight and spend tomorrow and sunday at the school, but the Lodge is full tonight so i'm off to sleep at the school in just a few minutes. I'm going to take the malaria pill again tonight, hopefully there will be no sickness. There are not many facilities at the school, (like the luxury of a nice bathroom...). I don't think the goat meat and the roasted chicken last night helped either!

\the rest of the volunteers are on safari right now, they just left. I'm waiting for edward to pick me up and then we'll drive to the school. it's only about 2 miles away, but the road is so bumpy it takes quite a while. I will be back to the lodge sunday night! wish me luck this weekend.

amani na penda, (peace and love)
katherine