tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17080642105841290222024-03-14T00:25:24.991-06:00Abby & Sara Without BordersSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-43210265837416816702012-12-24T21:18:00.001-07:002012-12-24T21:18:17.769-07:00Whew – Merry Christmas Eve<br />
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It’s Christmas Eve, <st1:time hour="21" minute="22">9:22
p.m.</st1:time> in <st1:place>East Africa</st1:place>. It’s long been dark and
Sara and I are just getting ready for bed, scrubbing off the dirt of the day in
shower. Just another day here, but definitely not the Christmas Eve I’m used to.</div>
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Today, we finished getting ready for Christmas – a job we
have had since we got here and it really has been an undertaking. We have made
our lists and checked them way more than twice, hoping every kid is accounted
for and putting a lot of thought into each of the 200+ gift bags.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPA6UKpaNH6i8NgbG1da5ePjBpuUlPpY2t83IIRx2a1kr7pyfX82StpcpvMec92w8TMO5cmv8y26W93kZYuMwmVyGK6YlnTjJ1nqfnQ8mDOoOqGBquVJhDr8m9pfu2nexVpZLRkn40iY4/s1600/IMGP0264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPA6UKpaNH6i8NgbG1da5ePjBpuUlPpY2t83IIRx2a1kr7pyfX82StpcpvMec92w8TMO5cmv8y26W93kZYuMwmVyGK6YlnTjJ1nqfnQ8mDOoOqGBquVJhDr8m9pfu2nexVpZLRkn40iY4/s320/IMGP0264.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of our soccer crew</td></tr>
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Together, with Tony ( a volunteer from <st1:state>California</st1:state>,
who had spent the past couple Christmas’ here) and Arlene (a volunteer from <st1:state>New
York</st1:state>), we finished decorating the room we will
hosting the kids in and it looks great! We even had time to play soccer with
the older boys at Pilgrams. I say “play” very loosely, as they don’t trust
enough to pass to us – might be all the screaming we do when balls come near
our faces.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sH7lNIETD10OTbFh92ZIwSnds5lrB5Zoom9dkZt_F3NOi23vv_Hmm_gkCtwjjqs99lv8z8pj1tjkUc50vIqadtvk9sKKqf-sNxhUYKwhtpdTjSh_OQe7NvgeSgKIdlLrpdnQvOG8ctI/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sH7lNIETD10OTbFh92ZIwSnds5lrB5Zoom9dkZt_F3NOi23vv_Hmm_gkCtwjjqs99lv8z8pj1tjkUc50vIqadtvk9sKKqf-sNxhUYKwhtpdTjSh_OQe7NvgeSgKIdlLrpdnQvOG8ctI/s320/photo+(1).JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony and Sara - expert decorators of African Christmas </td></tr>
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It’s hard to believe our time here again is nearly to an end
and that we actually are ready for Christmas. Everyone tells us that this is
the most ready they have ever been – so we’re excited. All the Zawadis (gifts)
are ready and we are anxious – like kids waiting for Santa! But we’re waiting
to play Santa.</div>
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Mostly, we’re excited to see the kids’ faces and just spend
time with them tomorrow. Christmas like we Westerners know it, is not the
tradition in <st1:country-region>Tanzania</st1:country-region>,
but we hope they will think it’s very special. </div>
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We’ll let you know tomorrow. Wishing you all a wonderful
Christmas from <st1:place>East Africa</st1:place>! Abby and Sara</div>
abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-37414164299675418512012-12-22T11:23:00.000-07:002012-12-22T11:23:01.857-07:00Long and Dirty Day<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As Abby said, we’ve been putting together Christmas gifts
for all the 230ish kids supported by LIA for weeks now. We finnnnallllyyyy got all the outfits
settled for the kids in Mirerani, and as Lynn wants the kids to wear their new outfits
on Christmas, we hand delivered the clothes for Lighthouse (boys home) and Fleeze
House (girls home) yesterday. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzSl9pXCp20qH7ZlmpjOmLW_ARR6pJ9ohYNYF-BRkbgee-uk-hXIdZIrLJvJgJYTOR-QqJ4vMdIUlbjuq38GQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We didn’t have the chance to stay in Mirerani (actually a
good thing!) like we did last time, but the down side of not having to sleep in
the whore house is we didn’t get to spend much time with the around 65 kids who live
out there. When we dropped off their
Christmas outfits however, we had about an hour at each house to try to trick the kids
into liking (or remembering) us. I used my iPhone and
love of tomboy type activities, while Abby immediately did whatever she does to get in good with the
older kids. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After the visit to the houses, we stopped by the food
kitchen again. We actually recognized
some of the kids that were there from a few weeks ago – and better yet, they remembered us. The only time these kids see white skin is
when LIA volunteers come out and help feed them lunch. Most are so shy and scared, it takes ten
minutes of making stupid faces and demonstrating random ‘skills’ (like flicking
a pebble across the room) to make them warm up to you. They pretty much just laugh, and then hide
their faces, then try and do exactly what you did. There was one little girl
that was terrified of me though (even though I was ignoring her). The other kids thought it was funny how
scared she was of me so they kept pushing her at me…she must have thought I
wanted to adopt her – haha.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After the visit through Mirerani to see all the kids, we
somehow ended up driving through the Tanzanite (high priced gem only available
from this area of <st1:country-region>Tanzania</st1:country-region>)
market. The route was actually kind of
stressful, as the car was so surrounded by shady looking fellas the Land Rover
was constantly honking - third world style.
I didn’t get too worried though until Tony (another volunteer who’s older, over 6’ and has worked and volunteered all over <st1:place>E. Africa</st1:place>)
looked around at Abby and I sitting in the rear of the vehicle and said, “Mama
Lynn would not be okay with you guys being here”. I think I just said, “uhhh….should we lock
the doors”? Although I absolutely felt
on edge driving down that street, it was pretty interesting seeing how that
‘blood’ gem trades hands.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM10CEZSwU-OdURdP1qHGkki7kBlcN9XGsPl_epzIuNyceNF46Vo6kt4r9XUf0rflj80MzreBJiQ9t43IKky1yX40x6LRrE5E6c5OpW6ong_fmRsLFG7v5oJqO_XV0DIXU1lMlFSJh8XA/s1600/IMG_1504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM10CEZSwU-OdURdP1qHGkki7kBlcN9XGsPl_epzIuNyceNF46Vo6kt4r9XUf0rflj80MzreBJiQ9t43IKky1yX40x6LRrE5E6c5OpW6ong_fmRsLFG7v5oJqO_XV0DIXU1lMlFSJh8XA/s320/IMG_1504.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tony had two neighbor girls who raised $100 for him to buy
some goats for LIA, so Abby and I were thrilled when we were able to tag
along. As I grew up with goats and still
think they’re pretty cute, I was excited to go to the largest live stalk market
within a few countries (yes, countries – not counties). We pulled up to this field-ish area, and
there were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of goats (the cows, sheep, donkeys,
etc. have another area). Maasai were
everywhere, some with a heard of around twenty, some with a heard of one, but
EVERYONE wanted you to look at their goats.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was happy to oblige, and was quick to ignore the ugly
goats and point and smile at the cute ones.
Tony and Paulo (the guy who was actually doing all the work that goes
into buying goats from a field) were not too thrilled with my eagerness to let
the salesmen know I liked their merchandise, and they kept telling me to keep
my mouth shut and my head down – yeah….right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, no thanks to me, the guys were able to agree on two
wonderful goats for Tony’s donor girls.
The lady goat we immediately named Zawaiti (gift in Swahili), and the
very endowed male we got is named Chakula (food). The hope is that ‘food’ will give some gifts
to our girl ‘gift’ before he’s our dinner. When we have to fill out the customs declaration form that asks if we've been around any live stalk, we're going to be lying severely when we say no.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg260a7LueniMA3HfNMd0hPYc2vmYebRzhQZ1V8s8vMaR8yOYYaU9hhCc3ViZ0RTntE73zpnRTqk0Qby2KuahkTUQgyzMxjxOSsWDKI2BD7SdnCI2wVDIxDIVvf4XZOg1kNP-xBFyi0FZA/s1600/IMG_1505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg260a7LueniMA3HfNMd0hPYc2vmYebRzhQZ1V8s8vMaR8yOYYaU9hhCc3ViZ0RTntE73zpnRTqk0Qby2KuahkTUQgyzMxjxOSsWDKI2BD7SdnCI2wVDIxDIVvf4XZOg1kNP-xBFyi0FZA/s320/IMG_1505.JPG" width="239" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The best part of this goat experience (for me) was teaching
these tough African kids how to milk a goat.
They will walk through cow poop, pull 3’ thorns from their feet with
little limping, and pick up giant bugs for fun, but if you let a dog lick you
too much, or touch a goats nipples – you are the grossest and funniest thing
alive. I was clearly doing all I could
to gross them out, talking about five of the bravest (or weakest) of them into
trying to milk it, and they all though it is horrible. To really get them squealing, I’d shoot the
goat milk at their toes. Never thought
I’d be able to make an African child grossed out, they must have all been city
kids.</span></div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-37381914627953589442012-12-20T11:58:00.002-07:002012-12-20T12:12:32.594-07:005 days until Christmas – do you have your shopping done?<br />
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We do!!! (hopefully!) A Christmas miracle.</div>
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One of our BIG jobs has been getting ready for Christmas
here. All kids in Light in <st1:place>Africa</st1:place> care receive a new
outfit and then a bag full with a toy/gift, new underwear, socks, a toothbrush,
a juice, biscuits/cookies, and some sweets. For over 200 children, this job has
been (needless to say) keeping us very busy. Luckily through our friends and
family who gave us clothes and gifts as well as the various things gathered
over the year by LIA, we had a good place to start – so we thought.</div>
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It turns out, 2 nearly 30-year-olds, who don’t have kids and
only really spend time with African children, have no idea what will fit which
kid. Outfits we picked out for 6 year-olds would maybe fit 3 year-olds. Also,
we know most of the kids at Tudor Village very well, but the kids at Mirerani
and Pilgrams, we have maybe seen a couple times – so had we been left on our
own we would have some interesting outfit and gift choices.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwbJh28P5rYqo9NCRC7sqieMitPME7Aa9ojK32LYqEJP9OaPmihuNsp0nrEl2lbRuJ0f2AcnWo5jjXjgGH-NQ9whHmYRXuoxwv5zCd-a6uVfpX3HTegWbJ4-ZY7NogV8YPPfqJwBmY8k/s1600/IMGP0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwbJh28P5rYqo9NCRC7sqieMitPME7Aa9ojK32LYqEJP9OaPmihuNsp0nrEl2lbRuJ0f2AcnWo5jjXjgGH-NQ9whHmYRXuoxwv5zCd-a6uVfpX3HTegWbJ4-ZY7NogV8YPPfqJwBmY8k/s320/IMGP0200.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frida, Sara, Rita (our hero) and me</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Luckily, we had two of the older girls, Rita and Frida, came
to the rescue. Rita and Frida came to LIA as children and have both been here
nearly since the beginning. Now, getting ready to start college or further
schooling, the kids are serving LIA for a year before moving on. They have
helped us sort out the clothes and gifts for all of the kids, trying to
remember who each one is and all the kids in general. </div>
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Then we went to the market the first time, looking only for
girls clothes. We were originally told that for pants it would cost 2000
schilling each (the equivalent of about $1.50). Unfortunately, as it is close
to Christmas and we are Mzungus (white) – we were not able to buy pants, they were
giving us prices for 20,000 schillings, almost 10 times the price. Luckily, we
had Rita and Frieda again to help bargain.</div>
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We spent hours the first time walking through the market
trying to find the right sizes. And then if we found the right sizes, trying to
find something that at least half-way matched. And then if that all worked out,
something that didn’t have some kind of hole in it. On the first day, after
lots of sweat from walking around the hot market and then sitting on the
crowded buses, we were happy to enjoy some lunch and Fanta pineapple with the
girls. </div>
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Then, on Tuesday, we had to tackle the rest of the boys
clothes. We needed to buy for over 30 children, and given our first experience,
we were not too confident that that would happen in one day. We decided to go
to Arusha (a bigger city, where all the Safaris go out to the Rift Valley and
Serengeti and where the <st1:country-region>Rwanda</st1:country-region>
trials are currently taking place). </div>
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Pastor Frank (a long time staff member of LIA and a truly
wonderful man) drove us with Rita and then an older boy Freddy to Arusha.
Freddy was to be our body guard, but as he can’t stop smiling, we decided to be extra cautious ourselves, too.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvc1d4Fd-67Hg4_xaRtIDBEWrWjnp906UQBkVDNsVXPk2QGFo-qhWL41oJlxkY8gYv0dmwCUfO0tf8q2uGBTMrfrvW8fZ_aQfPvjLkS-AASFLCsvHIK_DNK2e3RgIY1lqSswvJTSZHdXc/s1600/IMGP0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvc1d4Fd-67Hg4_xaRtIDBEWrWjnp906UQBkVDNsVXPk2QGFo-qhWL41oJlxkY8gYv0dmwCUfO0tf8q2uGBTMrfrvW8fZ_aQfPvjLkS-AASFLCsvHIK_DNK2e3RgIY1lqSswvJTSZHdXc/s320/IMGP0202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">piles of clothes ready for deserving owners</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When we got to the market, all we saw was a maze of fruits
and vegetables filled with people. We walked through what we though was the
whole thing, quite discouraged that we had driven a hour to not find the market
and with the thoughts in the back of our head – there’s only 1 week until
Christmas. We stopped in the middle of the market – worried. </div>
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Then, we opened our eyes to a little shop right in front of
us. Rita asked how much the pants were and the man replied 22,000. Discouraged,
she started to walk away and Sara and I knew we had a long day ahead of us.
Then, something made her turn back, and she way able to get them down to 7,000
(a little over 3 dollars) per pair of pants. We were able to find 30 pairs! And
then 20 shirts!! We were done in less than a hour. Pretty convinced some sort
Christmas miracle. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1pklNXXTP5jhyu_Cb13YJgcu6FrUZjP18fsmxSlCmk6gGSC_YY5gWJNhvco20EnDNNnnA3yAv2BevqeOr926SD9dHb3C6zUGwUekMY858-tDd5zuITiU0OWSNL7Sxn724SN8yZJxyVo/s1600/IMGP0201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1pklNXXTP5jhyu_Cb13YJgcu6FrUZjP18fsmxSlCmk6gGSC_YY5gWJNhvco20EnDNNnnA3yAv2BevqeOr926SD9dHb3C6zUGwUekMY858-tDd5zuITiU0OWSNL7Sxn724SN8yZJxyVo/s320/IMGP0201.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gifts ready to be packed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Yesterday, we bought the juice, cookies, candy and hopefully
last two pairs of pants. Now its just time to wrap everything and triple check
that all the kids are accounted for. A big job – but thanks to the great help
and company, Sara and I have enjoyed it and are really looking forward to
seeing all the Light in Africa kids on Christmas day!</div>
abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-15656107246712837932012-12-18T11:26:00.003-07:002012-12-18T11:26:49.872-07:00Birthday Party<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Birthdays are celebrated
monthly at <st1:place><st1:placename>Tudor</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Village</st1:placetype></st1:place>, and each month, it’s one of the volunteer’s jobs to plan a party for
all the kids whose birthday falls in that month. As a birthday party for November didn’t end
up happening, Abby and I combined the November and December kids into one
party. All the kids were about 10 years
or older, so we started thinking about what types of fun things we could do for
their party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnfbRoM1ZAOor7f8ZHQuEX57vtqVNOPTZNx0c0p3pBEkx-NgC7YjBpqBnT1SvSdtIKXP8DEU5Fg66O4YWXU26dK1FQ-l6JsQivVhsjDmhj-9LxACd-ewfc7lOeB-jXMVdW83q6d0Yii4/s1600/IMGP0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnfbRoM1ZAOor7f8ZHQuEX57vtqVNOPTZNx0c0p3pBEkx-NgC7YjBpqBnT1SvSdtIKXP8DEU5Fg66O4YWXU26dK1FQ-l6JsQivVhsjDmhj-9LxACd-ewfc7lOeB-jXMVdW83q6d0Yii4/s320/IMGP0162.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First, we thought about
doing the “standard” Light in <st1:place>Africa</st1:place> birthday party.
We’d have sodas, little cakes, everyone would get a small gift, invite
one of their friends, and we’d all play games.
The problem we kept coming up with though, is what game does a group of
nine kids (aged 10 to 15) want to play?
Pin the tail on the donkey? Na,
probably not. What about donkey rides
from a local Maasai? Also, not likely
the local Maasai woman would not be interested in removing her water buckets
from her donkey to accommodate. Maybe
laser tag and ice skating at the local event center? We called, but they were all booked up with
other parties. So…we decided to do
something a little different, but ever popular.
Instead of getting them gifts and having a party at <st1:place><st1:placename>Tudor</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Village</st1:placetype></st1:place>, we’d take the birthday kids swimming at a hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcxiCD3iYs89wAJWRZueZ1SZOv42tgOTslk4c6gI0A8OHGRfivQ02yWranc5jFri2yaNCmYG6R6nI_UPERvirNBlnszadcWT9ES34DC9wjcrQL7_XPVIqU0TNA1SBdEFUGoL6RuYQ3Vg/s1600/IMGP0155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcxiCD3iYs89wAJWRZueZ1SZOv42tgOTslk4c6gI0A8OHGRfivQ02yWranc5jFri2yaNCmYG6R6nI_UPERvirNBlnszadcWT9ES34DC9wjcrQL7_XPVIqU0TNA1SBdEFUGoL6RuYQ3Vg/s320/IMGP0155.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sounds easy right, well –
nothing ever is here. It’s the best and
worst part about this place. We planned
to leave around <st1:time hour="13" minute="0">1pm</st1:time>, but only two of
the kids showed up. Silly us – they eat
around 1, we should have known they would not leave before eating lunch. We finally left around <st1:time hour="14" minute="0">2pm</st1:time>, loading six people in one tuk-tuk (rickshaw) and
five people in another. Then, we went to
the bus station in Boma, found an empty dala-dala and waited for about 25
minutes until they crammed another 15 people in the minivan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After finally arriving in
Moshi about an hour later, we had to walk about 30 minutes to the hotel we were
planning on swimming out. Only problem
was, we found out it was closed for a wedding.
Plan B was swimming at the local YMCA.
We paid about 30,000 shillings for fourteen of us to swim (two other
kids and an adult had been at the local hospital for tests so they were able to
join us). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Swimming suits in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Tanzania</st1:place></st1:country-region> are not your normal suits. They pretty much wear whatever they have
(shirt and shorts), so getting seven preteen to teen girls outfitted
appropriately for swimming was actually a bit of an ordeal. There was plenty of swapping shorts, giggles,
and then swapping again. Finally…we made
it to the pool around <st1:time hour="16" minute="0">4pm</st1:time>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The kids had an amazing time
- laughing, splashing, trying to float and trying to drown. Abby and I had a great time having goose
bumps for the first time since we’d arrived in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Tanzania</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilCXPICY9j91_yYt5CMEqY3wdtUE4dSavVFbveVUbjjzUInCRQwgJbsKfnacR759RnPM2vAd4L8Tik1iPw-nLWxOFbEUthgbtw_HAHbuuzM_ZJ6qhsG0nXDwMMLixVKskflI0myVErEyY/s1600/IMGP0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilCXPICY9j91_yYt5CMEqY3wdtUE4dSavVFbveVUbjjzUInCRQwgJbsKfnacR759RnPM2vAd4L8Tik1iPw-nLWxOFbEUthgbtw_HAHbuuzM_ZJ6qhsG0nXDwMMLixVKskflI0myVErEyY/s320/IMGP0192.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had to get out of the
pool at <st1:time hour="17" minute="0">5pm</st1:time>, as we have a <st1:time hour="18" minute="0">6pm</st1:time>-ish
(dark) curfew, but a pool party is a fantastic party in any country. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-91371768084905198612012-12-10T02:07:00.001-07:002012-12-10T02:07:51.501-07:0021 deep in a land rover – this is the Tanzania I remember.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<br />
We have now been in <st1:country-region>Tanzania</st1:country-region>
for 2 weeks and during the time, I kept thinking, wow, <st1:country-region>Tanzania</st1:country-region>
has definitely changed in two years. Here, we now have hot water, coffee,
breakfasts that don’t only include peanut butter and white bread, and even
Internet. There are now tuc-tucs (the rickshaws from <st1:country-region>India</st1:country-region>)
to take us to the little town Boma, so we don’t have to walk the 30 minutes to
get there. And, we have only see one cockroach and what was most likely a
tarantula, but not near the creatures we were used to having in our rooms two
years ago.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdg0vq1UPqraHI0rgPQIsNfsG9BtyEXwlMNzFTw-Jn_OglW8ENTsIJSI2muZW6UoaD-1keTCJore90yXeNiYtrmgCXvDQWJ5lM9Hn_liv-31A1F4USySnmcL5YUJjfJd_j_IDbWFyyWo/s1600/DSC05880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdg0vq1UPqraHI0rgPQIsNfsG9BtyEXwlMNzFTw-Jn_OglW8ENTsIJSI2muZW6UoaD-1keTCJore90yXeNiYtrmgCXvDQWJ5lM9Hn_liv-31A1F4USySnmcL5YUJjfJd_j_IDbWFyyWo/s200/DSC05880.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting medicine ready to be distributed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, Friday, on our way back from Mirerani, I was quickly
reminded where I was. We were in Mirerani to put on a medical dispensary for
the people of the town, who don’t generally have access to medical services,
let alone free medical services. We were able to help over 100 people, mostly
provided them drugs for Malaria, respiratory illnesses and infections as a
result of weakened immune systems due to HIV/AIDS.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5WstPXnVAfNkQ7NRU6rZUqZaQfJnLXg5_d63tvsPpnvmFKWVL8ylhdN_SZDw1EmzTxlOsz9xQMvOXxkwieuEHLnPx2AV013hzu91YE5Ano0yUj_XB9LA7u-lKLcAcsqrNy8B1Hy09Us/s1600/DSC05915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5WstPXnVAfNkQ7NRU6rZUqZaQfJnLXg5_d63tvsPpnvmFKWVL8ylhdN_SZDw1EmzTxlOsz9xQMvOXxkwieuEHLnPx2AV013hzu91YE5Ano0yUj_XB9LA7u-lKLcAcsqrNy8B1Hy09Us/s200/DSC05915.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing with the food kitchen kids</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The dispensary took place at the Light in <st1:place>Africa</st1:place>
<a href="http://abbysaranoborders.blogspot.com/2010/11/mirerani-day-3-food-kitchen.html">food kitchen</a>. We were also able to help out there, where about 300 kids are fed
generally their only meal of the day. The kids names are recorded and they are
given a big helping of maconde (a mix of beans and maize), a piece of fruit,
and a glass of water. Somehow, however, on Friday, the food kitchen was quite
full and the food ran out with about 20 kids left. Sara and I’s hearts just
broke seeing the kids peering through the holes in the wall, hoping to still
get in. They were given water and piece of fruit, but we were just aching
thinking that might have to hold them over until the next day. Ramesha told us,
that the food kitchen was unusually busy that day – probably because they knew
we were there – and normally there is enough food. That helped calm us a little
bit.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPbbADjfeVFkqFlFaQZbFEtDs6Gr4Rk4kl94l9Wm_78fCPsp6N0SEV8reLCvjG9UvMVVmB4_ELA7WJpROWeA63lxLXXFjcSMsBWkop4zNB9p36VLcDCzyVkzDwwfDBPsJFKT7IqS14K4/s1600/DSC05920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPbbADjfeVFkqFlFaQZbFEtDs6Gr4Rk4kl94l9Wm_78fCPsp6N0SEV8reLCvjG9UvMVVmB4_ELA7WJpROWeA63lxLXXFjcSMsBWkop4zNB9p36VLcDCzyVkzDwwfDBPsJFKT7IqS14K4/s200/DSC05920.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sara's new buddies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These people of Mirerani also do not have access to these
medical services or much food, as the only way to reach this town is a bumpy
Land Rover ride, which are obviously few are far between for these folks. So
after the dispensary, we hoped in the public transport of a Land Rover. For
2,500 shillings each (about the equivalent of $1.75), we were able to get back
from Mirerani, along with 21 other people in a normal sized Land Rover. At first,
the four of us climbed in the back (trunk) sitting on the ledges which were
little benches. That was already cozy. Then, another 2 men came in the back and
sat on the benches. That was just squished. Then 2 other men came and stood
with their heads out of the tops. That got claustrophobic. I thought, alright
nice and full, let’s get on with it. And then we picked up 2 more women (who
were not petite), who also stood – making it 10 in the trunk and a driver’s
helper hanging out the top. I felt nauseous and obviously not too thrilled about
the safety situation on this unkept, dirt road – contemplating where to hurl if
needed. I decided in my hands would be the best bet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJwGr-bT7W37a-SHouOwxPuHYeiPvxc9Utb_BV8SH9K6-4Q_XrUj4jxyLISWR7o2OEDhZ4oqpCJa4EFtkZtZdVeHk-xJjMec759lYWgi4klS8PWDTiZ8RUA_CdLSWpgKkNE6NFGGOook/s1600/DSC05864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJwGr-bT7W37a-SHouOwxPuHYeiPvxc9Utb_BV8SH9K6-4Q_XrUj4jxyLISWR7o2OEDhZ4oqpCJa4EFtkZtZdVeHk-xJjMec759lYWgi4klS8PWDTiZ8RUA_CdLSWpgKkNE6NFGGOook/s200/DSC05864.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back of a Land Rover, where we had actually 10 people</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, 30 minutes, several bruises, pretty intense back pain,
fallen-asleep limbs, and sweat-filled (probably not just my own sweat), we
arrived to the bus station back to Boma, all in one piece. I remember thinking
– yep, that’s the <st1:country-region>Tanzania</st1:country-region>
I remember. And, these people have to do this everyday – what a different
world. And in case you were wondering, we now have discovered more creatures
too, further confirming for me that <st1:country-region>Tanzania</st1:country-region>
is still <st1:country-region>Tanzania</st1:country-region>,
but more on that later!</div>
<br />
abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-21309599763339765072012-12-06T11:27:00.002-07:002012-12-06T11:28:49.845-07:00Bodily Fluids<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Efwi__wEGCp7FaN9-Cus7m-tUFJ9Wc1oGtKvrqHHwaNDHNOPuUmKE1Ss1IF69mYzsWoA5mum0Y48B6gv4cwi00m3GQqNHLLr7KLa7cBtqP0ogAnKuT09Ad14OIdZQyvv4kjAH1LdOak/s1600/IMG_1314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Efwi__wEGCp7FaN9-Cus7m-tUFJ9Wc1oGtKvrqHHwaNDHNOPuUmKE1Ss1IF69mYzsWoA5mum0Y48B6gv4cwi00m3GQqNHLLr7KLa7cBtqP0ogAnKuT09Ad14OIdZQyvv4kjAH1LdOak/s320/IMG_1314.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosy & Mary</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We all know mom’s have to deal with some horrible
things. It starts at the contractions,
and probably ends about their death. As
a single, non-parent person – I don’t have to deal with many issues that aren’t
my own, and I like it that way. My dog
is trying to teach me how to deal with the unpleasant issues that come along
with caring for something or someone, and I’ve heard enough stories from my
nurse roommates to realize other people are able to help out in these areas,
but I’m aware I’m weak and like to walk away when certain situations arise.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have issues with smells – issues that involve an
involuntary gag reflex and total loss of control. Every time I have to pick up my dog’s poop, I
gag to the point of tears and break out in a sweat. Now that you have an idea of my lack of
composure, imagine me getting puked on by a sweet little six year old with
motion sickness. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had been sitting next to Rosy on the bus (one of the
twins) on the way to Tanga, and when we returned from the bathroom break at the
rest stop, her sister Mary was in my seat too.
As they are tiny girls, there was no problem fitting the three of us in
the two seats, until Mary started spitting (or so I though) out the window. As I’m watching her “spit”, I kept thinking,
huh – that’s a lot of liquid for a spit.
I’d ask if she was okay, she’d give me a silly little smile and nod
yes. I thought, weird - ohhh well, back
to my sandwich. Then…it happened again,
with more “spit” this time. I asked
Ramesha if he could please ask her if she was okay. He assured she was okay,
but yes, she was throwing up out the window.
When I look over at her – she just smiled at me again, and her twin
laughed (AWESOME, I got stuck with a pucker).
Ramesha just handed me a plastic bag and smiled. Everyone just smiles here, and no one thinks
maybe this is a problem.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few minutes go by, and she starts using the bag, but not
well. Something takes over, and I help
her hold the bag. I’m sure my face is
horrified, and I probably stopped breathing, but all I know is I held the bag,
got puck all over my hands, and didn’t puck in response. I felt awesome and adult that I held it
together.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two days after getting puked on (and proudly not puking on
someone back!), I got peed on, by Mary’s twin Rosy. We had been at the pool swimming, and she urgently
ran up to me and said TOILET. So, we
grabbed our sandals and went to the bathroom.
I assumed she just wanted an escort, until she started to try pulling
the bottom of her one-piece swimming suit down.
I started to help her remember it comes down from the shoulders, and she
starts squatting – on my foot. Again,
I’m sure I looked horrified, but I didn’t freak out, and she just smiled up at
me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Later that day, after our shower at the pool, a bird pooped
on my head. Everyone said I was lucky,
but I think that’s just the polite thing to say to someone who has had lots of
unwanted bodily fluid on them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moral of the story – now that I’m rounding my 29<sup>th</sup>
year, I think I’m growing up.</span></div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-78428133316049736882012-12-05T10:16:00.001-07:002012-12-05T10:20:57.390-07:00Our Mandela<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our new friend, Mandela</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVxTEnVUPwV8esjPm2h7qSce-i1g20I-XXf9L4ab7r8305wcd3VeHFzVAb6gTigMXj8dAu48FtG61-bRqI5YWs9OthUl4w0aaa7Nigca3C0Ef00LAEnr1ZkUWK9opsapX9L-tZuHUGTA/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVxTEnVUPwV8esjPm2h7qSce-i1g20I-XXf9L4ab7r8305wcd3VeHFzVAb6gTigMXj8dAu48FtG61-bRqI5YWs9OthUl4w0aaa7Nigca3C0Ef00LAEnr1ZkUWK9opsapX9L-tZuHUGTA/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandela in our sunglasses. Unfortunately we don't have any yet of the smile, but will take some shortly!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One boy we took to <a href="http://abbysaranoborders.blogspot.com/2012/12/trip-to-tanga.html">Tanga</a> was from Pilgrams, near <st1:place><st1:placename>Tudor</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Village</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Mandela loves to sing and
dance and has a smile that will one day break many hearts, as it definitely
broke ours! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mandela got to go to Tanga even though he was not from
Mirerani because he is new to Light in <st1:place>Africa</st1:place>. LIA took
him in after his mother accused him of taking the equivalent of 20 cents. She
then proceeded to beat and burn him. His face is still healing with raw scars
about a year later. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meeting this boy, anyone in their right mind would never
think he would steal or do anything remotely wrong – leading me to believe that
she was (like so many of these children’s parents) – mentally ill. For Sara and
I, it is unthinkable to imagine that anyone would do such a thing to a child,
but especially this boy with his beautiful, innocent smile and the best facial
expressions you can imagine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mandela is about 11 with the heart of about 11
eleven-year-olds. He helped make our job easier by looking after all of the
kids. If one didn’t get a mango that had fallen down from the big tree outside
our hotel, he made sure they all had one. He helped all of them swim (as he was
the only one who actually could), even Mary, the ~100 pound 12-year-old who
used water wings. If the kid’s juices were uneven, he would make sure everyone
got the same. His protective nature, even of us, was just cool. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mandela is like the other kids at LIA, who are willing to
share anything – even Mary who shared all her water wings and goggles with all
the other children at the beach. But those kids have been living with 200 other
children for years, and Mandela is relatively new – showing us again that Light
in <st1:place>Africa</st1:place> really treats every case specially and works
to integrate the children quickly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even with his extreme maturity, he is still a kid. I would
find myself walking and suddenly my hand being grabbed by Mandela, even though
he didn’t need – just wanted the warmth of another person. If we would smile,
he would back. Not knowing why. So again, the children have given us more than
we could ever give them – the gift of knowing truly special people.</div>
abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-41832363658327876282012-12-04T11:25:00.002-07:002012-12-04T11:25:34.589-07:00Trip to Tanga<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYk1lKwl6STFWDMw5oAAVRNNj2g7F-U7849gScMQbwetq4oawt80Gz_op27LnhaXwduRM7M0TpXhSKM1s_KyopjznfmQhfKviqPH5AxYyvPh1TOSpgKzbFFT-1NE2qfkp5aDeXBdlrso/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYk1lKwl6STFWDMw5oAAVRNNj2g7F-U7849gScMQbwetq4oawt80Gz_op27LnhaXwduRM7M0TpXhSKM1s_KyopjznfmQhfKviqPH5AxYyvPh1TOSpgKzbFFT-1NE2qfkp5aDeXBdlrso/s320/027.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tanga is a Tanzanian town along the coast of the <st1:place>Indian
Ocean</st1:place>, and it used to be a booming trade center from the English
and German colonies. Since WWII however,
the town has lost its tourists and economic importance. For the local Tanzanians though – it’s still
a great vacation spot.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had heard about the opportunity to take the kids on a
trip the last time we were here, and this time, we wanted to make it
happen. They are pretty picky about
which kids get the opportunity to see the ocean, and it’s generally new
children to LIA, as well as kids from Mirerani – where the most water they have
probably ever seen was in a five gallon bucket.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our journey started on Thursday and ended on a Monday, with
a group of eight kids under twelve, one Mama, one Ramesha (one of the older
kids who now works for them), and Abby, Sophie (another volunteer) and
myself. We took an “amazing” seven hour
bus ride, stopping once for a bathroom break, and arrived that evening to a
deceivingly beautiful mansion. The hotel
was modest, at best, with electricity, but running water only a few hours of
the day (i.e. toilets didn’t flush – draw your own conclusions for those
smells) and we paid only about $8/night for 13 people. Hindsight – we probably should have sprung
for an upgrade.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ramesha shared a room/bed with the four boys (5, 6, 7, and
11 year olds), the Mama shared a room with Mary (12 years old), Sophie took
care of the twins (6 year olds), and Abby and I were mamas to Ester, a very
cheeky (it’s a British term, but the best word we could come up with) six year
old. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The main reason we wanted to go on this trip was because
both of us remember how amazing we thought the ocean was (and still do). Having the opportunity to watch a child’s
face, who’s never been outside of their small, dusty, and dead world was
something we had to make happen. We were
right, the bus ride and hotel were worth it, just to watch them see all that
water and sand. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They laughed and chased the sand crabs, held their breath
and popped up out of the water with a proud (yet scared) expression, and
wouldn’t come out of the water unless they were told. The second day we took them to a hotel pool,
and there they got even more comfortable in the water. Almost every one learned how to swim (or at
least kind of float and shimmy though the water), a few of them tried to give
us heart attacks with their drowning attempts, and a few even got sunburns
(yes, that black African skin can burn).</span><br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuv9eKI661uCBB_MZXWsBhGI1g83jtEh0hfH_-Aogc8ewFi3NM6I3K_te4LxivkNL4cR_NbM6XOAMgGmNRkQmJubDjQJuJkR0l3VQOMsrwc_12VGc5wgmvXQxKCNNxSkG2_HF11rkCouE/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuv9eKI661uCBB_MZXWsBhGI1g83jtEh0hfH_-Aogc8ewFi3NM6I3K_te4LxivkNL4cR_NbM6XOAMgGmNRkQmJubDjQJuJkR0l3VQOMsrwc_12VGc5wgmvXQxKCNNxSkG2_HF11rkCouE/s320/026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Being able to watch the kids experience something new for
the first time was amazing, but the relationships we formed were
priceless. Most of the kids at Mirerani
are so shy and quite (and they don’t speak much English), it was hard to tell
if they were enjoying their time with us.
By the end of the third day in Tanga however, each kid had held each of
our hand (even the boys!) and we had gotten to witness enough smiles and hear
enough laughter to feel like we had done something special with them. We told Mama Lynn when we returned it was
hard not speaking the same language as them, and she replied with “You spoke
the language of love darlings, and that’s the only language these kids need
right now”.</span></div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-84030615839364203452012-11-28T22:00:00.001-07:002012-11-28T22:01:29.894-07:00Our Time at Light in AfricaAfter some issues arriving - like apparently cars hitting my plane in Nuremberg?! - I made with a grinning Sara and a grinning Paulo waiting for me. Then we got to a grinning Tati (our taxi driver from last time) and I felt an immediate sense of almost a - "wow, good to be home" - my third home that is :)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/416980_10100737105376903_2109677617_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/416980_10100737105376903_2109677617_n.jpg" width="179" /></a>We got settled and saw the kids, the reasons we are here. My heart immediately filled with joy when I felt recognition on both sides. We remembered them and we are pretty sure they do too! The older ones definitely and the even sing the little song they have come up with Habby, Sarwa, Habby Sarwa (our names). So that has stayed the sames, tons of laughs and smiles just on bigger bodies! Otherwise, this is a different Light in Africa. It has grown and we even have hot water - but more on that later!<br />
<br />
<br />
Mama Lynn got back from her travelling and we got out jobs for our time here. Because it is right up her alley, Sara will be organizing the sponsor lists digitally (as we mentioned before, it is the goal for every child to have a sponsor for monthly support and maybe the occasional gift) and I will be organizing to the gifts for Christmas. We will be helping eachother on both, but that will keep up busy!<br />
<br />
As for now, we are headed off with 8 kids to Tanga on the coast. We are bringing kids from <a href="http://abbysaranoborders.blogspot.com/2010/11/mirerani-hopeless-poverty.html" target="_blank">Mirerani </a>(the mining town), who have probably never left there before and it will be the first time they will see the ocean or anything else for that matter! So we will be taking care these children 24/7 for the next 5 days a definite challenge and learning experience for us, but hopefully memorable and fun for the kids. We will update you when we are back on Monday.<br />
<br />
One last thought, when you are reading this. I was walking around yesterday with one of the Mamas and she told the cook Babu - Pole Pole - and he just had the greatest laugh and just a voice of happiness. Pole Pole means to take it slow and easy. I got a huge smile on my face once again. These people are happy - remembering to take it easy and enjoy life.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-82094914680112848992012-11-28T21:41:00.002-07:002012-11-28T21:41:12.791-07:00We're Heeerrreeee!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><b>Sunday, <st1:date day="25" month="11" year="2012">11/25/12</st1:date></b></u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyp-OrlP9QnScwD1RAYGvO7M1NNzHUqds2gRMgfTsp-X9gPw-t4cmnFwdq3xdKuRlfUwWEvwu-8PkdCwjv3uoVn59PsGLevijAhJdHyguBbFK4YHUDcJOxlpBB6AHUXsY220s_Z6zWEY/s1600/IMG_1249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyp-OrlP9QnScwD1RAYGvO7M1NNzHUqds2gRMgfTsp-X9gPw-t4cmnFwdq3xdKuRlfUwWEvwu-8PkdCwjv3uoVn59PsGLevijAhJdHyguBbFK4YHUDcJOxlpBB6AHUXsY220s_Z6zWEY/s320/IMG_1249.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><b><st1:date day="25" month="11" year="2012"><br /></st1:date></b></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve been here less than twelve hours, and already, I feel
right at home. I say “I’ve been”,
because Abby’s flight to <st1:city>Amsterdam</st1:city>
got cancelled and she had to catch a flight out later Saturday night, and wouldn’t
be arriving until this morning.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So…I spent my first night back at Light in <st1:place>Africa</st1:place>
alone, and as much as I was dreading my first night here by myself, I was so
excited to be back. Paul (used to be in
charge of the boys home, Pilgrim) now handles the volunteers and runs Torchbearer
(more on that later), and when I saw him at the airport to pick me up, I gave a
small skip, even hauling the 200 lbs of luggage with me. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As soon as we started talking, the laughter and smiles were
immediate (it’s hard to not smile when you’re around people who are pumping out
pure joy with every breath)! Paul said
he was afraid I’d be shy and quite this time, but he had no such luck. I may have even clapped about three different
times on the drive to <st1:place><st1:placename>Tudor</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Village</st1:placetype></st1:place>
from the airport. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As soon as Paul got done showing me Abby’s and my new home
for the next five weeks, (yesss – didn’t have to stay in a tent at all this
time!), I took an amazing cold shower and slept for the first time since <st1:time hour="7" minute="0">7am</st1:time> Friday morning. Thanks to some very friendly birds, I was awake
at sunrise. I said hello to a baby
lizard next to the light switch in our room, walked around the volunteer area
of the village for a bit, <st1:place><st1:placename>saw</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Mt.</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Kilimanjaro, and did everything I could to not go running over the kids area. I heard them laughing while I was eating a
solo breakfast, and couldn’t quit grinning from ear to ear. I’m sure the very nice man who cooks for us
thought I was crazy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Paul and I (and Tatti – our familiar cab driver) went to
pick up Abby from the Kilimanjaro International Airport this morning, and now
that she’s here too, this place got even better.</span></div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-21283221703074916752012-11-15T09:42:00.000-07:002012-11-15T09:42:18.396-07:00Tanzania - What's it Like?<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWHh8alucvaidm0V7B-8Uce58JPie8fDkM3Vhy6gL-24PQpLrvKp-7XivAd3BdleY4OMM_JPzjDzE-2w6utOLXFzc2T3rb_o8f-zHs_xJPexhW75i2enb9e6srJDDJqzfbNmrR-KFDAQ/s1600/killi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWHh8alucvaidm0V7B-8Uce58JPie8fDkM3Vhy6gL-24PQpLrvKp-7XivAd3BdleY4OMM_JPzjDzE-2w6utOLXFzc2T3rb_o8f-zHs_xJPexhW75i2enb9e6srJDDJqzfbNmrR-KFDAQ/s320/killi.jpg" title="Mt. Kilimanjaro" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Kilimanjaro</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Like Abby said in her last post, trying to explain why we’re
going to Tanzania for five weeks is hard, but if you’ve seen the video (from her last post), you can
hopefully understand the why a little better.
Besides the “why” question, we also get the “what’s it like” question,
so I thought I’d give a quick geography/demographic lesson about Tanzania, as
well as a little about what our day-to-day lives will look like while at LIA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tanzania is an African country located along equator and the
East coast. Their main tourist
attractions are the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Serengeti</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">National</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Wildlife</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Mt.</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Kilimanjaro</st1:placename></st1:place>. The country is technically a tropical
climate, but as <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=tanzania&ie=UTF-8&ei=kg2kUKyvJ4Lg2gXm7ICIAg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAA" target="_blank">Light in Africa is located</a> at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro (bit
of a higher altitude), it is closer to a desert in my opinion. It is hot hot hot and dry during the day, and
cools significantly at night. There are
technically two rainy seasons, but with the recent droughts, they have made
much of an impact.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tanzania has more than 100 different tribes throughout the
country, but everyone speaks Swahili. We
were told by one local, the reason his country doesn’t have all the political
unrest/tribe wars like many other African countries is that everyone speaks the
same language. He knew he had brothers
all over the country if he ever needed anything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzx6X0kOM4WrDwsYXWZl90RaMYQnM074lQNLEpSeT3t-bq-VidyVR9ctApvVkWY3bYwdJneo7ZKK0C1Vvjslf5aPLbzQXcvwcDVDDh2sGjvidPc7sHfM_3ST1CLqcSwf4XGgWbxI9MSq4/s1600/boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzx6X0kOM4WrDwsYXWZl90RaMYQnM074lQNLEpSeT3t-bq-VidyVR9ctApvVkWY3bYwdJneo7ZKK0C1Vvjslf5aPLbzQXcvwcDVDDh2sGjvidPc7sHfM_3ST1CLqcSwf4XGgWbxI9MSq4/s320/boys.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Almost half of the Tanzanian population is under 15 years
old, and the leading cause of death in its population is malaria, followed by
pneumonia and rotavirus (diarrhea). The
HIV/AIDS epidemic is still a serious problem in the country, as there are
estimated 1.4 million people (out of almost 47 million) in the country living
with the disease. Without Light in
Africa’s support of the health clinic in Mirerani, the multiple <a href="http://abbysaranoborders.blogspot.com/2010/11/mirerani-health-dispensary.html" target="_blank">heath dispensaries</a> funded by LIA volunteers for the Maasai, and the countless medical
bills Light in Africa has covered – the area would be severely worse off. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Looking back on how our time was spent the last time we were
at Light in Africa, our days were generally pretty different. We did get into a bit of a routine, but we
had our tasks to take care of, and when they were done (or if we could push
them off), we’d spend the time hanging out with the kids. I’m assuming this round, our time will be
spent pretty similarly, except this time – we’ll be there for Christmas. We’ve been told we’ll help make sure each kid
at Tudor Village (around 200) will get a Christmas gift, (which knowing how
things go in Tanzania – those simple shopping trips will generate numerous
challenges and ridiculous stories to
share), as well as making Christmas gifts for the kids in Mirerani. The kids in Mirerani generally receive a
school book (schools require they provide their own), some candy, and pencils.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As much as both of us love Christmas with our friends and
family, we’re excited to be a part of an African Christmas, not only because I
know there will be no Hallmark BS to swallow, but also, because spending the
holiday with the ones you love is important, and we love those kids. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSvsCW6nSRzH3M3Y0agtGfwDgZeeO_2erj528yYa2VRbZ3pxh_46HDlXyLLO3p5oD1L2kX1cxo4jCCUQJGEK0J_P8C3fC3S7sViSjysiXphem_LhQFdqccf_WrQ_vepC2KcRI-zd6cxA/s1600/kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSvsCW6nSRzH3M3Y0agtGfwDgZeeO_2erj528yYa2VRbZ3pxh_46HDlXyLLO3p5oD1L2kX1cxo4jCCUQJGEK0J_P8C3fC3S7sViSjysiXphem_LhQFdqccf_WrQ_vepC2KcRI-zd6cxA/s400/kids.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-19757799001197537382012-10-30T14:34:00.000-06:002012-10-30T14:34:22.829-06:00"Life is life. It is our duty to help anybody and everybody"<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjLGYJI1XUQWdkWAVEkYj9qhnX_0QizVjgD5Gw1Oy-uexZ0zl6A2eDlizRMbHeohNOoa5IpHx3oFLc_mLjOoixGvWUU1Rfpjegf4vtmBtSzYp_qlZ_-uF9EYE3lsAHQB_8pMlhh02sIQ/s1600/168301_811528872663_5431271_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjLGYJI1XUQWdkWAVEkYj9qhnX_0QizVjgD5Gw1Oy-uexZ0zl6A2eDlizRMbHeohNOoa5IpHx3oFLc_mLjOoixGvWUU1Rfpjegf4vtmBtSzYp_qlZ_-uF9EYE3lsAHQB_8pMlhh02sIQ/s200/168301_811528872663_5431271_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Junior</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last week, I spent an evening telling a new friend about my experience in Tanzania. I was immediately encountered with a problem - where to start? How to truly convey why Tanzania? Why there? and Why am I going back? Truth is - you can't explain it.<br />
On the way home, I found myself stuck on a late train - again! Irritated, I decided to google some more information for my friend about <a href="http://www.lightinafrica.org/blog/">LIA</a> and came upon this <a href="http://vimeo.com/35572911">video</a> - a documentary about the organization. My irritation quickly grew to tears - joy - and finally extreme anticipation.<br />
Also, excitement that I could better show people why we're going back. Please take a look at the <a href="http://vimeo.com/35572911">video</a> and experience what we did. Experience:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Junior, the boy at the beginning who came to our birthday party last time</li>
<li>Mama Lynn, the inspiring women whose word we clung to - the Angel of Kilimanjaro</li>
<li>The beautiful children at Tudor Village, whose faces, laughs and songs are permanently engrained in my mind</li>
<li>A dispensary in a remote Masaai village, which we also ran with the raised funds in 2010, where we gave medicine and washed many infected heads</li>
<li>The food kitchen, that feeds a community in Mirenai - a city without banks or post offices</li>
</ul>
<div>
Hope you like it as much as I did! And if you would like to support, please visit our <a href="http://fundly.com/abby-sara-s-2012-light-in-africa-volunteer-trip-in-tanzania">Fundly Page</a></div>
abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-91529586977420104292012-10-16T12:56:00.000-06:002012-10-16T12:56:46.857-06:00Generosity is a Verb<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4oaeNxut_l4VlTYTCcBHPTkMUr5ohND6jZY3lOEY62Zc9iQgN8OCxnb4x1T_-YxlK44ZrboREGONUK8rAzqfqLeJVQPt_12ffkO402s0xjaWpsGlKw1G8dxTVNoCBqQRE8aO3qxNFzY/s1600/foodkitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4oaeNxut_l4VlTYTCcBHPTkMUr5ohND6jZY3lOEY62Zc9iQgN8OCxnb4x1T_-YxlK44ZrboREGONUK8rAzqfqLeJVQPt_12ffkO402s0xjaWpsGlKw1G8dxTVNoCBqQRE8aO3qxNFzY/s320/foodkitchen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve been meaning to write a post about generosity, and how
giving is so simple, and yet so easy to put off. As I’m attempting to put my mess of thoughts
on paper however, I quickly realized my thoughts on generosity really had a lot
to do with action. A generous spirit is
only impactful if you take the action required to give. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My parents taught me at a young age to help those who need
it, and give without wanting anything in return. I’ve tried to follow those guidelines throughout
my life, and when it comes to giving my money to Light in Africa, for me - it’s
a no brainer. Giving to a charity you’re
invested in is easy, you know that the money is going to a great cause and
supporting some amazing people. You also
know the people behind the scene are squeezing every last penny out of each
dollar they get, which to me, matters a lot as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The last time I got back from Africa, and I was struggling with
the guilt of being back home, and with how I’d be able to afford to get back to
Tanzania, I was asked why I felt like it was so important for me to get back. Why
didn’t I just send LIA in the $2000 I would spend on flights, the $25 a day I
spend to stay there (+/- $800), the $300 in visa fees, etc., rather than
wanting to spend it on myself and “waste it”.
My answer was these kids need support of all kinds. They need arms to be held with, legs to run
around with, smiles to encourage, and laps to sit in. Feeding these kids during their current
drought situation is incredibly important, but also making them forget for just
a few minutes a day what they’ve been though, and they are genuinely loved, is
a close second in my opinion. Don’t get
me wrong, being with those kids was the most rewarding and perma-grin
experiences I’ve ever had – being there is a selfish move. It is certainly no vacation, but I’m absolutely
getting something from my giving. My
hope is that through our experience, our friends and family back home are also
getting something. Through Abby’s and my
stories, I hope you feel connected to this organization and these
children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My wish is that our experiences affect you, and that you
feel compelled to do something. Whatever
your “action” is will be impactful to those who have so little. My amazing parents were the ones I talked
about in <a href="http://abbysaranoborders.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-real-feeling-of-need.html" target="_blank">my last post</a> who gave $1000 to Light in Africa early. As <a href="http://www.lightinafrica.org/blog/" target="_blank">Mama Lynn</a> and <a href="http://abbysaranoborders.blogspot.com/2012/10/keeping-food-kitchen-open.html" target="_blank">Abby </a>each discussed in their last posts, through
their incredible generosity, the food kitchen Light in Africa runs that feeds 300
street children, 5 days a week is able to stay open. Every time I even think about how amazing and
life altering their donation was, I tear up.
Like Abby, I remember those faces in the food kitchen, and I feel so
proud that my parents were willing to support these kids they’ve never met so
generously. They literally saved some starving
orphans in Africa, whoa. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Clearly a donation of that quantity is not common, but the
reason I shared their generous story, was because I want people to remember
that their money is a tool. The selfless
people who run Light in Africa save their kids daily, but without our support,
their hands are tied. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please consider giving something to these kiddos we love so
much. You can donate directly to the organization
<a href="http://lightinafrica.org/donations.html" target="_blank">here</a>, sponsor a child <a href="http://lightinafrica.org/donations.html" target="_blank">here</a>, or <a href="http://fundly.com/abby-sara-s-2012-light-in-africa-volunteer-trip-in-tanzania" target="_blank">donate online through Abby & I</a>, and we can
use your money however you’d like. If
you’d like to buy some Christmas gifts for the kids, we can do that. If you want to pay for some food for the food
kitchen, we can do that. If you want us
to find some mother who needs help with her bills, we can do that. We feel so honored to be a part of the action
behind your generosity. </span></div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-81729729880796509412012-10-16T09:23:00.000-06:002012-10-16T09:55:24.957-06:00Video of Light In Africa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Video of pictures from our 2010 trip</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dygOh7mQwIXhLGYVMEyJjnvpB9zuSOei9vFxz6ySRnr_ACoomREOa3DT72ZvFKDK77feIAMKxxXuJVeNXqMsg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-87295032534918132702012-10-14T12:02:00.002-06:002012-10-16T09:03:09.826-06:00Keeping the food kitchen openIn Sara's last post she mentioned a very generous donation, and what was done with it. I thought I would share the last post from the organization itself: <a href="http://www.lightinafrica.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry121007-100557">http://www.lightinafrica.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry121007-100557</a>. Thanks to this generous support, the food kitchen was able to stay open in this severe drought, which is truly amazing.<br />
<br />
Working there 2 years ago, I can still remember the faces of those many kids coming from school to have their only meal of the day thanks to Light in Africa. It bring smiles and tears to face all at the same time - thinking what would have happened, had they not stayed open and thinking about those lively kids coming to the food kitchen.<br />
<br />
So I just thought I'd add that short link and also thank our generous donator!<br />
<br />
As for me, I have had 4 weeks of pure stress and I having finally been able to sit down and think about what my stress is compared to those kids at LIA. Where they are worried where to get the next meal, I am well fed (much too well), healthy, and spoiled. Looking forward to getting grounded again soon ... and seeing all those smiles at the food kitchen!abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-77149906137362045542012-09-30T18:36:00.000-06:002012-10-01T08:46:28.717-06:00The Real Feeling of Need<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I use the word “need” all the time, and like everyone else
around here – I rarely actually require anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The word “need” for those involved in keeping
Light in Africa running however is not an exaggeration,
it’s an understatement. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Abby and I recently received a very large and generous
donation (more on that later), so we thought we’d ask Mama Lynn if we could
break from their standard volunteer donation procedure, and get them a chunk of
our pledged $3500 now, rather than when we arrive this November.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She very quickly said they could use the
money and when she explained why, I heard the need in her words.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszFi6P02JmvzyghyphenhyphenxK81RA0ROBpgkOK9gZ29AsI6uxcfFQqTvAEel65kRdc8GoOyuVKEjln1_fLMPzbxg7_j_TrR-LPsATei3RFjJjevRv63-_wI_H0XzbRDgsldUnExJPDVqflzAQzM/s1600/2010-11-27+001+882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszFi6P02JmvzyghyphenhyphenxK81RA0ROBpgkOK9gZ29AsI6uxcfFQqTvAEel65kRdc8GoOyuVKEjln1_fLMPzbxg7_j_TrR-LPsATei3RFjJjevRv63-_wI_H0XzbRDgsldUnExJPDVqflzAQzM/s320/2010-11-27+001+882.JPG" width="320" /></a>One of my favorite things about Light in Africa
is their interest in being self sustainable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For the most part, they grow their own crops and raise their own herds,
all in the interest of making sure they have plenty of food for their kids, and
to provide additional jobs for their communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Mama Lynn’s most recent <a href="http://www.lightinafrica.org/blog/index.php?m=09&y=12&entry=entry120926-074531" target="_blank">blog post</a>, she
talks about how the lack of rain has affected their crops and their Tudor Village site.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Kilimanjaro rejoin of Tanzania
typically has two rainy seasons, and unfortunately, those rains haven’t been
enough.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As this </span><a href="http://reliefweb.int/report/united-republic-tanzania/alert-drought-and-food-insecurity-central-and-northern-regions" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">article</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> warned in July, the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania
is now in a “critical period” due to the drought.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The maize (corn) they've tried to grow has
either wilted, or was never able to grow in the first place.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The people who operate Light in Africa
are now forced to dip into their reserves to make sure their kids get fed.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think the worst consequence right now
though, is that they may be forced to cut back, or even close, the</span><a href="http://abbysaranoborders.blogspot.com/2010/11/mirerani-day-3-food-kitchen.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"> food kitchen</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
they run in the tanzanite mining town of Mirerani.</span></div>
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If you think you have an expensive grocery bill, think about
what it costs to feed 350 children, three meals a day, seven days a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, think how much food it takes to feed 400
more kids, one meal a day, five days a week?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The $1000 donation Abby and I received a few weeks ago was transferred
to Light in Africa’s Moshi bank account last Thursday, and it will all go to
purchase food for their kids, because as we all know, with a shortage comes an increase
in cost.</div>
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The moral of this very long post?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can, please give something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Five dollars to you doesn’t mean much, but
five dollars in Africa can mean life or death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Donate directly to <a href="http://www.lightinafrica.org/donations.html" target="_blank">Light in Africa</a><a href="http://www.lightinafrica.org/donations.html"></a>,
or donate though our <a href="http://fundly.com/abby-sara-s-2012-light-in-africa-volunteer-trip-in-tanzania" target="_blank">Fundly page</a>, and we’ll make sure it’s used as efficiently
as possible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com0Denver, CO, USA39.737567 -104.984717939.5422015 -105.3005749 39.9329325 -104.66886090000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-27896091154651388762012-09-12T13:08:00.003-06:002012-09-12T13:10:08.678-06:00Fundraising has begun!Hi Blog Followers!<br />
<br />
Feels good to be back on the blog front, but even better to back blogging for our cause.<br />
<br />
Two years ago, Sara and I did a "once-in-lifetime" thing. Volunteering at Light in Africa - to say the least - changed us both. So much so that we couldn't make this "thing" once. (This is a standing joke with us both, as we always tell ourselves - eh, might as well, we'll only do this once). And we are volunteering once again for our cause.<br />
<br />
Two years ago, we also asked for your help, your support for our cause. I've said our cause now 3 times. In fact, its not really "our cause", is it? It's about the amazing people, the amazing community, the amazing children we met in Tanzania - you might think, their cause? Well, the truth is, once you do the "once-in-a-lifetime" thing, it becomes your cause - your passion - your life maybe.<br />
<br />
So now, we again are asking for your support for our cause. Not our trip. Not our flights - none of that. We again are raising funds for the people who need it most in the big scheme of things. For those of you that made this your cause, too, or maybe would like to - we look forward to your support. Either on our <a href="http://fundly.com/abby-sara-s-2012-light-in-africa-volunteer-trip-in-tanzania">FUNDLY page</a>, where you will find more details about what we are raising money for or contact us personally.<br />
<br />
More activities planned, so stay tuned!abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0Nuremberg, Germany49.45203 11.0767548.104327500000004 8.5498945 50.7997325 13.6036055tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-3957675701865828462012-08-22T15:26:00.001-06:002012-08-22T15:26:07.519-06:00Africa Adventure 2K12<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few weeks after Abby and I got home from Light in Africa in 2010, I wrote Mama Lynn telling her how much I missed her and her kids, and what a hard time I was having adjusting back to my normal life. She responded with a very fitting Tanzanian proverb, “Once you get our red dirt under your toe nails, it itches until you’re able to come back”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can honestly say it’s true – not that I had itchy toe nails, (even when the red dirt was under them, yes – gross I know, but also very true), but that an experience like what Abby and I shared stays with you and reminds you constantly about what you’ve witnessed and what you’ve experienced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That being said, Abby and I are very excited to officially announce we’re returning to Tanzania to volunteer with Light in Africa for five weeks this winter. We’ll arrive two days after Thanksgiving, and stay through Christmas. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">So, even though our adventure isn’t for another few months, our works begins now. We've already purchased our flights, we've updated our to bring list, now – we’re onto fundraising.</span></span></div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-81155023864204762462010-11-24T09:28:00.002-07:002010-11-24T09:32:56.377-07:00Leaving TomorrowFriends - we have some bad news...we have to leave tomorrow. That means we will no longer be able to wake up at 8am, start beers around 2pm, and go to sleep around 11pm.<br /><br />This place is a whole new world from where we've been. We miss the kids tons, but all the sleeping, amazing sunsets and cocktails have been easing the pain. We'll give a little closing update in the next few days.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06870340422566831474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-92017391547875224362010-11-17T05:16:00.004-07:002011-02-06T18:41:02.675-07:00Lasy day at LIA<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBZar6o9LRhcZpVIuGsRpAtGfd3CCro0NYDagVsKkyovw3NXn9wlqzlHef2YVaG3mdMlhBBpF9IWaenxmFwnm3nxmaAI5xQTOuwz-KccngWvXB90Y_I4Ix2b_dIUWILI8_RF1kMhb3rc/s1600/last+day.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 264px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBZar6o9LRhcZpVIuGsRpAtGfd3CCro0NYDagVsKkyovw3NXn9wlqzlHef2YVaG3mdMlhBBpF9IWaenxmFwnm3nxmaAI5xQTOuwz-KccngWvXB90Y_I4Ix2b_dIUWILI8_RF1kMhb3rc/s320/last+day.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540491532186731474" border="0" /></a>Hi all, today is our last day with the kiddos. It’s going to be very difficult and we are not looking forward to it at all. We have honestly had a life-changing experience and are so grateful to have met every single person involved with Light in Africa here in Tanzania. Thank you to all of them for changing our lives. <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">On our way to Zanzibar for a week now – check back in later!</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Abby and Sara</p>abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-41079011204641277412010-11-17T05:15:00.002-07:002011-02-06T18:44:53.082-07:00Market<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Yesterday, we went to a local market to buy some shoes for the kids. With the help of Dada Gudilla and Dada Gloria (two wonderful ladies we will miss very much), we made our way out to the bustling market located on a free area of dirt (with stands made of scraps of wood - or so it looked). There you can buy everything from shirts and jeans with Obama’s face plastered on it to Steve Madden hand-me-down shoes. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Sara a<img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwQGNLbHuPnqEyDj4j-v4CW46EiROjSMRkCWr8PbqSPUVkl-Poe4TQdVQ5AqWUij-PBqP2YLI-UGYXahVnqDx0eQb8alFM6oqjzBz43GEZkuIBNLYtdriRytagwSEbUOYUGBQIrknZbc/s200/DSCN3766.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544582929642867090" border="0" />nd I were “mules” in her words, as we were of no help bargaining the prices or even picking out acceptable shoes – these women just know better! I did get to pick out one pair of gold Nike shocks, which I was real excited about for some little girl. It’s amazing that all of our hand-me-downs – you see labels from Good Will, Old Navy, or Ross (we even saw an AWESOME New Kids of the Block sweater we wanted to buy off someone) – are Tanzanians “new” clothes.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">After about three hours and a lot of haggling on Gudilla and Gloria’s end, we bought 73 pairs of shoes for around $360! These kids go through shoes like crazy and it’s they are really a hot commodity around the homes. We were happy to be able to contribute some of our raised money to this. Today, we left money for the rest of the children to get shoes as well.<br /></p>abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-50671787089700324072010-11-17T05:14:00.002-07:002011-02-06T18:50:30.756-07:00Clinic<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfUt1iwiA402c4r-OWOrprcQPj053mWXtokfZNXpPGit3hQgjtmiUZgxxpQcfHpWrG9RV7oRphaFhebMCVBORSQ7MvfC5PoDLIOwIPnIqNM7rm3ac969i35WuEMW42PrSKt653dcanl0/s200/DSCN2217.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544584083324920642" border="0" />Due to the amount of children at LIA who have the “virus”, a hospital in Moshi (largish town near Boma) now sends out a team of doctors and nurses to Tudor Village to handle the kids monthly testing and prescription handouts. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I unfortunately realized immediately why they were testing only certain children – Abby however, came to understand the meaning of the clinic at an inconvenient time, while we were playing with the kids in the make-shift waiting room. I had a few minutes to shove my emotions into that dark place we all have for the time being, Abby regrettably did not.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Realizing that a child, who you’ve come to love over just a few short weeks, was given an incurable disease that (given their circumstances) will more than likely end their precious lives shorter than is fair is incredibly hard to swallow. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I kept thinking – she’s such an amazing kid – funny, beautiful, thoughtful, etc., etc., etc. what if she’s not able to become that changing force for Africa I know she can be? He’s so smart and kind, with a healthy dose of mischief, what if by the time he’s old enough to make a difference, or even have a family of his own, he’s not healthy enough to do so? These children were born with a curse, and I feel like it’s so unfair that it’s their problem to deal with – they are just an innocent victim. Thankfully however, Mama Lynn has made sure they receive their medicine and the doctors are able to keep up with their monitoring and keep them the healthy and vibrant child we know and love.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Abby and I were lucky enough to be able to help out with that aspect as well – financially and with hands-on support. The day after the clinic at Tudor Village, a few of the kids were required to show up at the hospital in Moshi for further testing. So, we, along with one of the Mama’s (i.e. caretaker) took off for Moshi with 8 kids all under 12 years old, including one baby, and one with special needs and a lot of energy <span style="font-family:Wingdings;"></span> We paid for all eight children to be seen by a doctor, have blood taken, and whatever else they did in the check-up rooms, along with x-rays for two of the kids. Total cost - 27,000 shillings, (which is under 20 dollars), a few boxes of cookies, 4 hours of our time, and priceless memories. </p>abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-23092992125520251642010-11-17T05:12:00.002-07:002011-02-06T18:51:59.919-07:00KIA Lodge<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOrVzDIbQQuiToH3V8AP82sFumHX3wicmXwPOKBLz9m3ZnGx4q9fiOQOSAM3w8qynuwKrRaHc0YUyZNq-V_h3IWTWVnv1C4npSdVVEdtcXYvSP0G6csI0mmzvBsXUJBDiGcDRumxBagM/s1600/swimming2.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOrVzDIbQQuiToH3V8AP82sFumHX3wicmXwPOKBLz9m3ZnGx4q9fiOQOSAM3w8qynuwKrRaHc0YUyZNq-V_h3IWTWVnv1C4npSdVVEdtcXYvSP0G6csI0mmzvBsXUJBDiGcDRumxBagM/s320/swimming2.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540490738300107122" border="0" /></a>There is a beautiful hotel near the Kilimanjaro airport called Kia Lodge, and due to Mama Lynn’s relationship with the owner – her kids get to use their swimming pool for free. Since we first arrived five weeks ago, we’ve been very excited to take a few of the kids on an afternoon trip to the pool, and thankfully yesterday – we were able to make it happen. </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">One of the Mama’s chose for us to take a girl who has been especially helpful in her home (to our excitement – we’d already fallen in love with this girl) and we picked two of her friends to join us. We told the girls we’d pick them up after lunch, and by the time we were able to break away, it was around 2pm. The girls had been waiting and were dressed up adorably for their little afternoon out.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">No children can actually swim (clearly lack of swim lessons available), regardless of the fact one of the girls we brought with us thought she was actually a fish. The afternoon was amazing and we had so much fun splashing around, playing Marco Polo, and watching the airplanes take off from the airport. Amazing way to spend an afternoon and something I plan on doing many times the next time I’m here.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-uM3MF-G6e4UCYCWkOX8dqzmZkYhSFAl0yx4Bv5KcToAyMh9PWNV0W3SgvNJlsoOlQ85HrFaorLVG6CASefCpG5OXCutDSC00KgHIYiTEsFZ-cqpqfcaXQNSREVsSPOAYA4jwIRfVRw/s1600/swimming.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-uM3MF-G6e4UCYCWkOX8dqzmZkYhSFAl0yx4Bv5KcToAyMh9PWNV0W3SgvNJlsoOlQ85HrFaorLVG6CASefCpG5OXCutDSC00KgHIYiTEsFZ-cqpqfcaXQNSREVsSPOAYA4jwIRfVRw/s320/swimming.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540490734696325826" border="0" /></a></p>abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-79260337837758815312010-11-17T05:09:00.002-07:002011-02-06T18:54:16.240-07:00Mirerani health dispensary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5CXz0duiAGcNNUWKnKeFdBfFfdeU355Op-SoW1cB1FFn5hD3oK2Xc4EaYodEH2OoniZAXOb2OApGuxmCojY8BaDwMuqO6Tm6XH8N5720CBStSJl5WHV6_O7rkb7U5vRGLxBKeyarGL0/s1600/dispensary2.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 311px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5CXz0duiAGcNNUWKnKeFdBfFfdeU355Op-SoW1cB1FFn5hD3oK2Xc4EaYodEH2OoniZAXOb2OApGuxmCojY8BaDwMuqO6Tm6XH8N5720CBStSJl5WHV6_O7rkb7U5vRGLxBKeyarGL0/s320/dispensary2.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540490181850806722" border="0" /></a>When we were discussing with Mama Lynn what all we could do with our donation, the idea of a health dispensary in Mirerani was brought up and we immediately loved the idea. As you’ve read, the town is a literal pain in the butt to trek through (I’ve got bruises to prove it) and without a bank you can imagine a hospital is out of the question. What the town does have however is a health dispensary (heavily supported by LIA). <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As ignored as the actual town is, you can only imagine what the surrounding area is like – right? Now imagine something worse…that area is where LIA does their heath dispensaries. These people are living about an hour away (via Land Cruiser) from the “town”, and have very limited access to any resources – medical/food or otherwise necessities. So, Abby and I (with donor money) paid for one doctor, two nurses, a Land Cruiser to get us all to the very remote Maasai village, as well as all the medicine previously requested by the doctor (yes, in Tanzania – you just walk into a pharmacy with money and walk out with whatever you want). </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The doctor with us at the Maasai heath dispensary is one of the doctors at the dispensary in Mirerani and it was a great pleasure getting to know him. He has one of the most genuine smiles and frequent laughing episodes of anyone I know, and seeing this hope/joy in someone who has seen such terrible things was very appreciative. We were able to sit with him in the makeshift clinic as he very efficiently diagnosed his 150ish patients. Most of the people (who had heard via word of mouth about the clinic and many traveled from other villages) had waited outside in the heat and sun for hours to be seen by this man, and many were able to diagnose themselves. They knew they had lung problems (bronchitis) from all the dust, they knew they had worms (don’t actually want to know how), malaria (due to the increase in information circulated), etc. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Many of the kids who showed up (most without parents) had a skin fungus growing on their head, which left untreated, turned into giant puss filled blisters. Abby and I were able to help out with that area, as neither of us have any medical knowledge that goes further than Gray’s Anatomy. We took turns putting an often time very scared child on our laps, and dipped them back over a bucket of water while the other scrubbed their head with antibacterial soap. After we instructed them to stand in the sun while their head dried, we applied a layer of ointment over their scalp, and sent them off with the rest of the medicine tube and instructions on application by a LIA staff member. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Cost breakdown for the day…</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">570,000 shillings for medicine</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">80,000 shillings for the Land Cruiser and driver</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">30,000 shillings for the doctor</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">30,000 shillings for two nurses</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Total Cost – 710,000 shillings (which is around $470) </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">That equals to about a $3 a person cost for this incredible experience, that unfortunately due to the high cost around here, will not be able to happen again until May or June – when the official "volunteer" season begins.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: right;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxh77OAf5Q8S0KizvdCrcgCROwAd8AqSUPzHhCfohuwFbeLLeYVY81tj9rvcDBLrcZbhAzJHN5194Ch539syb38cvDvVMkMLZntIP-Gu7ObTBA5ykR4NMxYUXtT-hjO2ydunrFjl8sw8/s1600/dispensary.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxh77OAf5Q8S0KizvdCrcgCROwAd8AqSUPzHhCfohuwFbeLLeYVY81tj9rvcDBLrcZbhAzJHN5194Ch539syb38cvDvVMkMLZntIP-Gu7ObTBA5ykR4NMxYUXtT-hjO2ydunrFjl8sw8/s320/dispensary.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540490173813037170" border="0" /></a></p>abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1708064210584129022.post-44920496250314083202010-11-17T05:08:00.003-07:002011-02-06T18:56:51.421-07:00Mirerani day 3 - food kitchen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNP7eK3UU21wqRPwE8mJfOndMWEOV4hmePl-nnVwEaj-4otJ9KKZhaEmXotVfZlLk4kK21dqNquDnzhhBxiusQGSka_DYXu2ONc3D21snW0xF39QV6Ov0h4VqTk-ct7bLbffW2WCq45I/s1600/foodkitchen.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNP7eK3UU21wqRPwE8mJfOndMWEOV4hmePl-nnVwEaj-4otJ9KKZhaEmXotVfZlLk4kK21dqNquDnzhhBxiusQGSka_DYXu2ONc3D21snW0xF39QV6Ov0h4VqTk-ct7bLbffW2WCq45I/s320/foodkitchen.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540489678642450050" border="0" /></a>Our third day at Mirerani, we helped out at the Light in Africa Food Kitchen. As mentioned in other posts, the Food Kitchen runs five days a week and serves an average of 400 people a day. The kitchen used to run six days a week, but the organization who donates the food, had to validate their donation through “research”. That essentially means they quit sending food for 5 or 6 months to see how necessary the kitchen was. Turns out, as everyone would have told them, it was extremely needed – one girl who visited the kitchen daily for her only meal starved to death in her home (mother had died of AIDS previously and left her alone). <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Now for what Abby and I did at the kitchen – she was a soux chef, I was a bus boy. For 3ish hours, she was bent over a hot pot of rice (by pot I mean end-table size GIANT bowl) serving two heaping<img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0uFP0OaMI5354XEUKL72QNi6PMKUeHYQrlJKrZHhPG0giGFMb3dtBV9dxJg-9-HxkZZMAD0hxkyYVo6wy6Xtbbvhwx3ek6SG3FHGMbLvjXRLp2VyhUHJgdPtiY3_b6iQPUHWYLRySgk/s200/DSCN2586.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544584848608712578" border="0" /> scoops of rice/bean/meat mixture with two cucumber slices, one tomato slice, and a third of a banana. The cool thing about the meal the kids are served is that it includes 100% of the recommended amount of nutritional value (as in many cases, the meal will be the childs only of the day).</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">My job as bus boy was to clear off the tables from their bowls, cup and spoon – as well as wipe the tables/bench down. I’m confident I had way more fun at my job than Abby did, as I was able to “talk” with the kids during my job. That means I jibber-jabbered on, and they looked at me like I was crazy (pretty much the theme here). Many of the kids had their tattered school uniforms on, but others were wearing literal rags. One little boy I remember had his adorable little butt-cheek showing from hip to knee, until his older sister strategically folded them when she noticed other kids were making fun of him. The incredible poverty and hopeless of the town can bring me to tears even now, and knowing that these kids have no one, and every day are vulnerable to terrors I can’t even imagine can make your stomach turn. In an area populated by criminals, prostitutes, and the children they make – you can draw your own conclusion.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The work and dedication Mama Lynn puts into this hopeless “town” is beyond remarkable, and I’m incredibly grateful for being able to witness her work with the people.</p>abbers2484http://www.blogger.com/profile/00938265396077252164noreply@blogger.com0