Expat or Pro-pat?

Pinch me - Am I really home?  When in Africa for the 5 months, I was referred to as an expat; meaning a person who is voluntarily absent from home or country.  When I first heard the term, I thought it meant ex-patriot…and I was like, “Hey I love my country!”  Do you hear the whistles, fireworks, and drums in the background?  While I was walking up the airport ramp at my finally destination, I looked up and hanging above my head was the good “ole red, white, and blue.”  Honestly, I welled up with tears and was filled with such gratitude of having had a safe journey and a wonderful home to return to.

In the wake of my excitement, I had conflicting emotions because the 5 months in Mwanza, Tanzania felt like 5 years.  Entering my second week of the mission, it felt that I had all ready been there for months.  I immersed myself in work to combat fears and homesickness.  It didn’t take long to absorb the rich culture and feel at home.  The spirit of the children is amazing.  Their eyes speak volumes and are the depths of their souls.  They are exceptionally proud of their country and they have a thirst to grow in learning. 

 I was honored with one last send off celebration the night before I left at Morning Star Secondary School.  Father Raymond Manyanga gave a beautiful mass that was followed by a well-orchestrated celebration conducted by Sister Yulitha, the teaching staff, and the students themselves.  Evidently, the students had been preparing skits, songs, dance, and drum routines in the schoolyard throughout the week.  I was overwhelmed with a floodgate of emotions.  The best Hollywood directors could not have designed a better evening or portrayed the emotions that were expressed in the student performances and presentations of gifts.

So, here I am in the comfort of a beautiful bedroom at 2 a.m. in the morning.  There are no bats rolling in my ceiling or a mosquito net covering my bed. The silence is deafening because it is void of howling dogs or lizards jumping on the tin roof seeking balance with their long nails. How will I wake in the morning without the mosque’s cantor chanting the morning prayers, or the kitchen staff clanging pots and chopping wood to prepare for the 150 student boarders, or the students themselves as they sing their morning prayers at 6 a.m.?  As I attempt to sleep their beautiful voices resonate through my thoughts and their magnetic smiles are well imprinted in my mind. 

Sister Yulitha, Morning Star students and staff - thank you for a most memorable send off celebration.  The lessons that you have taught me are immeasurable, and I look forward to sharing them with my future students, my family, and friends.  Thank you for sharing your wealth of love and kindness.  We are a faith community forever tied with a warm history.

Happy Valentine's Day Husband!

Valentine's Day - a day of remembering loved ones and expressing gratitude.  What better a day to express my deep appreciation to my husband Guy for his support and love that he gave me during this time I was away from the family.  I've been counting the days, and now I am counting the minutes until we are reunited.  You along with Meghan, Paul, Charlie, Brian, Colette, Danielle, Jane, Ron, Fran,  endless family members, friends, Holy Cross School, and the Catholic Medical Mission Board have carried me through the rough patches of the mission. 

I look forward to being in the comfort of your arms once again.  Happy Valentine's Day to you!

I look forward to seeing you all very soon.  Have a wonderful day...God Bless!

I Could Just Scream From the Top of Mount Kilimanjaro

Yes, one could scream, but is anyone listening?  How is it, that due to technological advancements my students can speak to students in America on a single night over my lap top computer, but there are still children on the streets of Mwanza still homeless?  How is it, that a child of three still needs to be held because she contracted AIDS from her mother, and her ability to walk is delayed? 

My students sang their national anthem with pride to my students in America.  Yet why is it dangerous for individuals to swim in the second largest lake in the world?  Why is there an over abundance of food in the market, and yet daily children are rummaging through the mounds of garbage?  Why are the children’s clothes tattered and dirty?  Why are they walking alone?  Why are they not in school and why is there a fee for public schools? Why at night above the howling of dogs I can hear the screams of a woman or child? These are just of few of the many questions that cannot be ignored.

I leave Mwanza with a heavy heart, but will I really leave?

I have witnessed tremendous promise here with visionaries such as Sister Yulitha from Morning Star Secondary School and the Lumula Primary School.  What she has created for the future leaders of Tanzania is startling.  Her school is run with strict discipline out of pure love and faith to provide a brighter future for her students.  It has been an honor to be a teacher and guest at her school.  It is without certainty that I will read of a Morning Star Alumnus who will lead this country with honesty, hard work, and faith. 

I would like to extend my gratitude to Richard Sulumet, Director of the Tawawami Project, and his dedicated staff.  Your work and services that you provide in the Ilemela district lends promise to a brighter and healthier future for the orphans and the vulnerable youth and their families.  The foundation of your organization truly stands on perseverance and determination.  Tawawami is a model of the phrase. “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Additionally, I would like to express my appreciation to Father Raymond Manyanga of St. Francis Xavier Church, Nyakahoja Parish, Mwanza, who welcomed me to his country and parish and designed my assignment with Sister Yulitha.  Also, I’d like to thank him for introducing me to Johanna Sele who runs the Women’s Center in Nyshanna with vision, guidance, and love.  The Center demonstrates the empowering of women to develop independence and a better future for their children.

Thank you Mwnaza, Tanzania for opening your arms and welcoming me on the daladala, at your restaurants, to your places of worship, at your markets, on your “bumpy” roads, to your National Parks and beauty, to your realities and fears, and most importantly to your spirit!

I will be in touch………..this is not good-bye, it was just hello!

Good-bye pizza party with the women of Nyshanna Women's Center

Thank you for the hand-crafted bag.  I love it!

Back to work...so determined to succeed.

Tawawami celebratory good-bye in "grande-fashion" - I was generously gifted a Maasai traditional dress and ornaments that I was encouraged to wear.  An extremely spirited night of speeches, song, dance, and "food."  I felt quite humbled and honored.

Singing and dancing, singing and dancing, singing and dancing....

Thank you Richard, Director of Tawawami, for a magical night - my eyes may be shut, but they will continue to be open to the needs of the youth of Tawawami.

The future!

The Right to Play! Morning Star Students Play as Hard as They Work!

United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights

This simplified version of the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been created especially for young people.

1. We Are All Born Free & Equal. We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way.

2. Don’t Discriminate. These rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences.

3. The Right to Life. We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety. 

4. No Slavery. Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot make anyone our slave. 

5. No Torture. Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us. 

6. You Have Rights No Matter Where You Go. I am a person just like you! 

7. We’re All Equal Before the Law. The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly. 

8. Your Human Rights Are Protected by Law. We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not treated fairly. 

9. No Unfair Detainment. Nobody has the right to put us in prison without good reason and keep us there, or to send us away from our country. 

10. The Right to Trial. If we are put on trial this should be in public. The people who try us should not let anyone tell them what to do. 

11. We’re Always Innocent Till Proven Guilty. Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it is proven. When people say we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is not true. 

12. The Right to Privacy. Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home, open our letters, or bother us or our family without a good reason. 

13. Freedom to Move. We all have the right to go where we want in our own country and to travel as we wish. 

14. The Right to Seek a Safe Place to Live. If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe. 

15. Right to a Nationality. We all have the right to belong to a country.

16. Marriage and Family. Every grown-up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are separated.

17. The Right to Your Own Things. Everyone has the right to own things or share them. Nobody should take our things from us without a good reason.

18. Freedom of Thought. We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want.

19. Freedom of Expression. We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people.

20. The Right to Public Assembly. We all have the right to meet our friends and to work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we don’t want to.

21. The Right to Democracy. We all have the right to take part in the government of our country. Every grown-up should be allowed to choose their own leaders.

22. Social Security. We all have the right to affordable housing, medicine, education, and childcare, enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill or old.

23. Workers’ Rights. Every grown-up has the right to do a job, to a fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union.

24. The Right to Play. We all have the right to rest from work and to relax. (personal favorite!)

25. Food and Shelter for All. We all have the right to a good life. Mothers and children, people who are old, unemployed or disabled, and all people have the right to be cared for.

26. The Right to Education. Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents can choose what we learn.

27. Copyright. Copyright is a special law that protects one’s own artistic creations and writings; others cannot make copies without permission. We all have the right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things that art, science and learning bring.

28. A Fair and Free World. There must be proper order so we can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world.

29. Responsibility. We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their rights and freedoms.

30. No One Can Take Away Your Human Rights.

Chinese jump rope in Africa?

Singing and dancing in the shade of a tree - can life be any sweeter?

Traditional group jump roping.

I leave in 4 days - I will miss their spirit!

This is No Chicken Scratch!

Tawawami Develops the Pastoral Community

with a Poultry Project

African farmers are extremely hard working and with the right support, they could dramatically enhance their productivity and prosperity.  It is essential that the African governments, International donors, academic institutions and agriculture researchers start collaborating to solve and address famine and the damaging effects of climate changes on the productivity of the land.

Poultry farming is an emerging industry and can help many farmers surface from the depths of poverty.  Poor guidance and inadequate care will result in a non-performing chicken, thus making the farmer fall deeper in the void of poverty.  The private agency Misenani Agri Services an agricultural establishment of Mwanza recognizes the challenges that face the pastoral communities.  The organization has graciously agreed to collaborate with the Tawawami Project in engaging in a pastoral service program that will aid the farm community that the Project serves.

Ideally, Tawawami in concert with Misenani Agri Services plans to target the needs of the woman of the community who have small farm plots.  Intervention would dramatically increase their livelihood by supplementing their income with a successful poultry program.

Before loaner chicks are distributed participants in the program would attend educational seminars conducted by both Tawawami and the Misenani Agri Service.

Seminars would provide the following instruction:
1. adequate housing for the chickens with improved lighting and ventilation
2. providing the proper equipment for feeding and watering
3. producing and providing quality feed
4. the proper administering of veterinary drugs and vaccines
5. marketing approaches.

Tawawami is seeking partners either local or international to help better serve the poultry industry and their program in the fast growing region of Mwanza.

For more information on how you could be more involved in the program; please contact:

Tawawami Director Richard Sulumet
email: mtawawami@yahoo.com
mobile: +255 755 681504