MIS Tanzania Projects 2013 - Day 3 & 4

Day 3 - HIV Affected Teens Fun Day

Today, we spent the entire day on campus at ISM. The campus is beautiful so it was actually a treat to be able to hang out here for the day! We had breakfast at 8:00 and then waited for groups of people to trickle in. By 10am, a number of teens and their families and/or friends began to populate the ISM campus. We met them and organized a couple of games of pick-up basketball and soccer. Some just stood by and watched (despite my efforts to try to get them involved) and others did their own thing. At about 11ish, we gathered as a big group (I bet close to 100 people) on the ISM field and were listening to music and heard a number of introductions from the people who work at the clinic that helps these students - while not all of those in attendance had HIV, all of them have been affected by it in some way, shape or form.

The MIS students were all active in participating in the activities planned for the day, such as dancing (an African version of the electric slide), chugging cola, tug of war, a rap, a bboy performance, sack races and the most unique activity - chasing a chicken...a live chicken...well four live chickens. There were four 'heats' of chasing the four different chickens around the field until each one was caught: the Tanzanian boys, the Tanzanian girls, the MIS boys and the MIS girls. It was entertaining to watch, to say the least, although you couldn't help but feel a little bad for the chicken when it got caught...what is the best way to hold a live chicken anyway? The students who had caught the MIS chickens donated them to two students who would have really appreciated the eventual dinner treat for their families. And guess what was for lunch...chicken! :P

After lunch, we had a chance to sit down with an American lady named Annie who spoke to the group about HIV/AIDS and answered any questions that the MIS students had about the illness. She works at the clinic from where all those in attendance came from and/or families/friends came from. She shed some light on some myths that may be associated with the illness and the treatment options that are available for patients in Tanzania. I learned that the medication for the disease is provided free to patients but also that the medication is not as advanced and are hand-me-downs (so to say) from the western world. She was an optimistic lady, though, and I know the clinic must appreciate her and her efforts to promote HIV awareness and to provide assistance to those suffering from this illness.

To wrap up the day, some kids jumped in the pool, myself included. There were three girls that didn't know how to swim and were adamant that I teach them - what a workout! One of them had a death grip on my arm the whole time and my shoulders felt the effects of that the next day. After an hour in the cold water (yes, the water was quite chilly because it is 'winter' there), I had to retire from my role as a swim instructor but was proud of what I had accomplished in even getting one of the girls into the water. At about 5, most of the visiting crew had left and we had yet another delicious dinner at the ISM cafeteria to celebrate a successful day.

Day 4 - KCMC Occupational Therapy Department & Hospital

After another delicious breakfast with good company from Afzal, we headed off to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center Hospital. This project was one that I was looking forward to because the Junior School at MIS raised a lot of money towards this. In February, students from EC to Grade 4 participated in a Sit-Up-A-Thon which was organized and run by my colleague, Dan, and myself. Students took home pledge sheets and then spent some time at the beginning of a PE class doing as many sit-ups as they could in one minute. Then, they recorded how many they did (a partner should be holding their feet and counting for them), took this paper home and brought it back with a monetary donation. This year, the students were successful in raising just over 4,000Euros which is pretty incredible! The top five earners then got to choose some medical equipment to be purchased and brought with us to donate at the hospital while 3,000Euros of the raised money went towards helping the students with their tuition fees to study at the hospital's campus.

We sat with some of the aspiring Occupational Therapy students and learned a bit about why they've chosen to study OT and what they hope to do with it. It was very inspirational to hear what they felt and, despite the challenges they face with OT and it not being well-recognized in Tanzania just yet, they're determined to make a difference in the lives of those who struggle with simple physical activities of daily living. After the chat, we had a tour of the clinic and the MIS students gave a quick thank you speech and donated some other equipment that their personal fundraising had afforded them. Although there wasn't a lot involved and we were sitting around quite a bit, I enjoyed this project and felt a great sense of pride for my Junior School students and in seeing where their hard-earned money went.

We headed back to ISM for lunch and in the afternoon we headed to Muungano Primary School where we'd be starting our work project the next day. We met Mr. Munissi, the director of the school, and he showed us around the school and what we'd be working on in the next four days. If this school had been located in a western country, it wouldn't be a school. Mold was visible in all corners of every room and you could tell the roof had a leak because of the amount of water damage (and mold) that was located on the walls. This school was in bad shape. We'd be doing some painting (to cover up the mold) and we were also told we'd be building a gate to help limit the amount of traffic crossing through the school grounds; sadly, a lot of stuff gets stolen because of the lack of locks and security on the school grounds! We knew straight away that the painting bit was a bit of a waste of time seeing as how the leaking roof would ruin the paint in a matter of months but as we aren't construction workers and had no idea how to fix the roof (and we also had a limited amount of money to work with), it was going to have to do.

After our visit, I headed into Moshi with a handful of students who wanted to buy some souvenirs - the most popular being a Tanzania soccer jersey. We shopped a bit then sat down for a Coke before heading back to ISM for dinner and an evening of chilling out before our labour-intensive four days began!

Goooooo CHICKEN!

Poor bugger didn't have a chance...but, Bart didn't escape unscathed! In his epic chicken grab, he scraped his rear end and knee pretty badly!

Sarah's bringing whole new meaning (and reward) to the favourite PE Game "Capture the Chicken"!

And they're off...

This chicken wasn't too happy...and I can't imagine his wings felt too great in that hold!

Rap star Max and beat box king Flo with special guest bboys, Mike and Roland! :P

The Electric Slide...Tanzania style!

A beautiful flower with the KCMC College building behind

On the bumpy road back from the hospital...can't imagine an ambulance cruising too fast down here!

An incredible view of the roof of Africa!