OK, we left Nairobi on Sunday night, headed to home.

Little did we know that we were diverted to Bunjubura, Burundi to deliver a critical part for a Brussels airliner that hit an antelope either landing or taking off. So we left 2 hours late from NBO becase the incoming flight was delayed getting the part to be delivered to Burundi. Then there were all the people that had been stranded in Bunjubura , Burundi since Friday waiting to get to Brussels.

So we ended up missing all of our connections in Brussels, and are spending the night in Brussels, courtesy of Belgium Airlines. After getting checked into the Sheraton, we all had a nice afternoon walking around the city (broken up in different groups). The youngsters are headed back into the city for samples of Belgian beer and night life. We old timers are going to try the beer at the hotel and get 8+ hours of sleep.

About half of us are getting home via Toronto, arriving ORD about 15:15 via United on Tuesday afternoon.

The rest of us don’t arrive until 17:25 via Newark on American Airlines.

Sorry, don’t have pics of this…..

It is 5:30 in the morning in Musoma, just before dawn. The Epheta center is bustling with all of us getting our last showers, last packing as we prepare for departing about 6:45.

We had a wonderful Friday, with a debriefing and listening session with Bishop Michael, followed by a lunch together (and a cake). We discussed everything from tourism and education to the role of the church and secular institutions in development, especially in the absence of significant government activity. Before and after the bishop’s events, we had last minute shopping and packing. Kazeri, Bagaka, Mama Anna and I visited the Swahili language training center to determine how to incorporate that into the course next year. It seems quite feasible.

In the afternoon, several of us, including the Gosnays, Tim, Shawn, and Jeanine and I, visited the Musoma Public Library, which turns out to be the only public library in the entire Mara Region, that is, from Lake Victoria to the Serengeti, from the border with Kenya to the Grumeti River half way between Musoma and Mwanza. It is not a big library, with lots of outdated material. We hope we can improve the quality of the holdings in the near future.

Our farewell dinner last night was a chance for the group and our hosts to come together for a celebration of what we have accomplished in our weeks together. Many of us spoke about our feelings of joy and how our personal and group families have grown in astounding and unexpected ways. Back at Epheta, we polished off a few bottles of South African wine to make sure they were not lost.

We head to Nairobi today, and will spend a few hours in touring on Sunday. Probably won’t have time to blog on Sunday, so this is likely our last blog before we return home.

We are very grateful for all of our friends and family who have supported our efforts to get here, and our donors to TDS who have made building the dormitory for girls possible.

God bless you all.

Peace,

KT

Our last work day on the dorm project was Thursday, 25 June, as we have debriefing meeting and lunch with the bishop on Friday.

The walls are rising from all of the concrete we poured on the floor. The outlines of the dividing walls for the rooms inside the dorm are visible in the pic below, taken at the beginning of the morning.

Most of our time was spent moving yet another pile of bricks onto the dorm floor so the masons can easily access them and keep building the walls. There are three more loads of bricks yet to be delivered, for a total of about 20,000 bricks! It is a good thing there are plenty of Form 4 (senior) boys and girls available to help move them. This pic shows the Form 4 boys have arrived to help move the pile onto the dorm floor. (Girls have also taken turns; they alternate days on the build with studying for the national comprehensive exams.)

The last work of the group was helping to pour the concrete foundation for the shower/toilet area at the rear of the dorm. Mama Anna (Jeanine) took one last look at the progress on the dormitory for 160 girls and was quite pleased with all that we have accomplished, both in raising the money to buy the materials, and to help actually create the foundation for taking Nyegina Secondary School to the next level of academic excellence.

We were a divided group on Wednesday. About half of us were in meetings in Musoma, while the other half worked at the dorm building site, moving more bricks to the floor so the masons can lay the walls.

Tristan and Megan were pursuing interviews of microfinance loan recipients from FINCA, as well as the state bank. Lucy Carter and Astrid interviewed with Mama Regina regarding her Women in Development Program (including the organic veggie garden). Tracey and Shawn (and Astrid) toured the disability center to see the work of that NGO in action. (They had presented at the NGO Forum for the students 2 weeks ago.)

I spent the morning discussing the development plans for the Musoma Diocese with Bishop Michael, Fr. Kazeri, and the secretary of the Development Committee, Fr. Paskos.

We conducted the final academic seminar of the study abroad tour, a final discussion of the Giles Bolton book, Africa Doesn’t Matter. We were pleased that Fr. Kazeri could join us. Altho it was mandatory for the graduate students in the tour, it was also attended by a wide range of the group, including undergrad students and most of the volunteers. That brought a wide range of perspectives to the conversation and we had lingering conversations at dinner.

The last three days have been among the highest points of the trip for me. The experience in the Serengeti Nat’l Park is something that I will never forget. The opportunity to see elephants and giraffes grazing less than a few steps outside your vehicle is hard to describe. Early yesterday morning we even had the opportunity to watch a pack of five cheetahs work their way the through the tall grass as the approached a line of zebras. Finally, my particular land rover saw an amazing sight…..a hippo out of the water crossed just a few steps in front of our vehicle and made for the high grass and water on the other side of the path providing a lasting Serengeti memory that I won’t soon forget.

Today was another high point in terms of the dorm build.  The coordination issues that had troubled some of our earlier work were noticeably absent today. We also benefited from increased community support which helped our efforts to move thousands of bricks immensely. In the next three days I’m excited to visually see the outer walls of the girls dorm go up, and I’m sure it will be a little bittersweet as we say our goodbyes to everyone here in the Musoma/Nyegina community that has made our experience all the more vibrant and memorable.

Our Sunday/Monday safari into the Serengeti was a big success. We enjoyed seeing lots of animals, with twiga (giraffe), tembo (elephant), simba (lion) and leopards as highlights. Camping overnight was also very cool. Lots of pics to share on that, but slow internet suggests adding pics later.

Today was spent on the job site, moving bricks in place to build the walls tomorrow (Wednesday). The foundation layer has been placed by the technicians (fundi) and that will let us build walls quickly tomorrow. These pics show the Nyegina Secondary School board members joining the brick line on 23 June 2009. The other pic is of Mama Anna and Baba Anna working with NSS teacher Dionse on the brickline that day.

Mama Anna and Baba Anna work with teacher Dionese on the brickline (23Je09)

Today we go to see the animals! And they are not in a zoo. We are all excited and curious as well. The construction project has been another opportunity for us to learn

how business is conducted in a different culture. The pouring of the concrete alone has caused us to realize how life is without modern equipment. Additionally, it has

allowed us to build new relationships with more of the teachers and students. They see us visiting and laughing (most of the time) as we work together to form lines to move the

raw materials to the foundation and join us. We enjoy the chance to get to know them on a first name basis and they seem to be enjoying their time with us. Surely it can help us build our Swahili vocabulary. Yesterday the girls were working with us and next week the boys take a turn. We continue to be amazed at the warmth and faith of the people here.

We learned that Saturdays are half days for work, but not before standing around awhile waiting for the fundi to return to work with us in the afternoon!

The picture shows many in the group “wailing” on a wall inside the PC Lab, breaking off the smooth surface so plaster will adhere. It was an outside wall and is now inside the new PC lab.

Several of the group also broke off and continued to work with the fundi to pour more of the floor for the dormitory. Others worked on plastering the inside walls of the PC Lab.

Sunday morning we are off to the Serengeti!

We had a day off from construction today, but that does not mean we didn’t learn and work. Several students conducted research interviews for their

independent study projects while some visited the local nonprofit organization Community Alive. A few enjoyed the local market to find gifts to bring home.

Our seminar session in the evening focused on the first few chapters of one of the books we read to prepare us for our studies of ngos in developing nations. Several members of the

service group attended including a couple of high school students! Tomorrow we continue to practice our newly acquired “building skills”. It is truly a learning experience

to work as a team together in building without using electrical tools or equipment.

We had another long day pouring floors for the PC lab. It wasn’t nearly as fun the second day. We had less help today; the Etaro congregation was to join us but could not because there was a funeral in Etaro, which they all had to attend. Attached is a video of the concrete bucket brigade.

embedded by Embedded Video

Still, the floors of the PC lab are now poured and curing. We hope to plaster the walls inside and out on Saturday.

We have Thursday and Friday off. Everyone is exhausted from such heavy work. In addition, some students still need interviews for their independent study projects, and Fr. Leo took take Helen and Cheryl (our nursing staff volunteers) and Jeanine and Hanna to see the regional hospital. Thursday afternoon we went to the Nyerere Museum.

Friday morning we will visit Community Alive, the center working with AIDS orphans and women. They also make cards and textiles for sale to earn revenues for the orphan girls, a center called Tupandane.

The ceremony day began with the students, teachers and community members lining either side of the road as the bus drove up the road to the school. It was a sight we will  never forget. As we departed the bus we were hugged by so many people! A mass was held in the Nyegina Village Church with the Bishop presiding.  The students and service group proceeded with the crowd of excited community members, students, parents, Father Leo and Bishop Michael to the tempo of drums and singing to the school sight where the ceremony took place.

Dr. Thurmaier, the Bishop, Father Leo among others spoke and led prayers and the cornerstone was unveiled. The winners of the choir contest, held on Sunday also entertained the crowd.

Work Group at end of long day: UMABU, TDS, students, teachers, laborors

This is our work group at the end of a long day. We carried concrete in Chinese woks in several concrete “pail” lines to poor the floor in the PC lab and a section in the dorm. We also helped install windows in the PC lab. Too many videos to load, but lots to show when we get back home!

Kaitlin and Katie interviewed teachers and students for their independent study projects yesterday afternoon at Nyegina Secondary School.

Kaitlin interviews teachers about information sources.

Katie Stone interviews teachers about the impact of access to electricity on women

This clip shows men laying the rocks for the floor. Next step is pouring the concrete around the rocks to make the floor, with a rebar reinforced concrete ring around the foundation.

All work is by hand, which makes it really amazing to watch.

embedded by Embedded Video

Here is a picture of the foundation of the new dormitory. It is very big–enough for 160 girls, 2 matrons!

We will only be working on the end closest to the group in the picture.

Also, my new Tanzania phone number is

011.255.789.865.568

More pics to come!

NIU Group Stands at corner of new dormitory building site

We finally made it to Musoma! The group got a tour of the Nyegina Secondary School this afternoon, and its first look at the new dormitory building site–it is huge! This dorm will serve 160 girls, plus have space for matrons and the shower/toilet attached building. We will be working on one section of the building in the two weeks in June, and probably add windows and doors to the computer lab, also under construction. (It already has a roof.)

We hope to send pictures soon. The internet connection here at the Epheta center is Musoma is much more reliable than in Dar (so far).

Tomorrow we meet microfinance lenders and then students have free afternoon to pursue their independent study projects. Megan Hencke has already been meeting with people to get the UMABU website project going!

The excitement builds…

Peace,
KT

On to Musoma!