6 23 Update

God grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; 
Enjoying one moment at a time; 
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it; 
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life 
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

I’m not very good at this blogging thing. It’s been 18 days since my last post and here’s an update.

After my last slum visit, I was stood up two more times by Jackson, Lucy, and Hosna. After the second time I was feeling really discouraged and down on myself, but the next day Hosna’s grandfather brought her all the way to school! We now have an arrangement where I give Hosna’s grandfather dala dala fare every day she comes to school. For the past three weeks she has come to school eight times and the change in her demeanor is incredible. At first she was shy and overwhelmed by the structure and the other students but now she is very social and is quickly picking up where she left off.

I have not heard from Jackson, Lucy, or their parents but if they want to come to school, the same offer I made Hosna’s grandfather still stands for them. I was dreading telling Jackson’s sponsor that despite my best efforts, I had failed to get him and his sister to school. I explained the situation to her the best I could, and to my surprise, she was very understanding. She thanked me for trying and told me that I can’t be too hard on myself because some things are out of my control. It was a simple piece of advice, but very powerful.

I don’t give up on things easily. This is part of what makes me successful in school, but in the real world sometimes my ambitions surpass reality. I want so many things for St. Dymphna’s and my students; I want Jackson and Lucy to come to school, the students to be accepted by their community, the quality of their education be comparable to what they would receive in the United States, the list goes on and on. I have given my work here everything that I have over the past 5 weeks, but I have to accept that some things are out of my control. I can’t change Tanzanian’s perception of people with disabilities or completely modernize their educational system in 6 weeks; I’m no superwoman. I have to take comfort in the fact that I have done my best in the time I had here and I am leaving the school in better shape than I found it.

Last Monday a new volunteer named Ellie arrived from Ireland. She has great ideas on how to improve the school, and is willing to pick up on my projects where I left off. I swear she’s another gift from above. I was concerned there wasn’t going to be another volunteer at the school after me, but she’s amazing and has promised to keep me updated on things once I leave.

After I leave school, I’ve taken on another project (as if I wasn’t busy enough already right?). Some of the other volunteers that work at primary schools and orphanages have asked me to visit and screen some of their students for developmental delays or disabilities. I am far from qualified to make a diagnosis, but I do my best to find the source of the student’s difficulty and make recommendations for the teachers and the volunteers. So far it’s been going really well. Last week, I visited Pippi House which is a safe house for abused women. A volunteer suspected that an 18 month old boy named Peace was deaf because he did not respond to his name or speak, so she asked me to come in and perform some simple hearing tests. Long story short, he is not deaf but his communication skills are delayed because he is under stimulated. I found similar problems in other children at the home, and the volunteer explained that the children at the home are sometimes neglected by their mothers because they remind them of their fathers. After hearing some of the women’s stories, I found this to be completelty understandable. Anyway, the volunteer has decided to hold a parenting workshop for the women and I’m working to teach Peace sign language. In my completely unprofessional opinion, I think he is capable of speech, but sign language will allow him to communicate his wants and needs until he can do so verbally.

Anyway, I haven’t really discussed what my life is like outside of school in Arusha. After being alone for most of the day, I love coming home to my hostel family. They’re such an eccentric group of people from all over the world that are trying to do some good over here. Last week the Americans had the majority in the house, but now it belongs to the Europeans. It’s so interesting to hear people’s stories about what lead them to travel to Arusha, and where they’re going. There’s some novice travelers like myself in their late teens or early twenties and then there’s veteran world travelers that amaze us all with their incredible stories and experiences. It’s so nice to be able to come home to such an understanding and open minded group of people after volunteering. Our work is physically and emotionally draining and it’s so comforting to be able to decompress with people who understand and can relate to our struggles. It’s brought us really close, and I’ve made friends I’ll have for life.

6.5 Update

Hey guys it’s been a busy week but here’s how I’m doing-

After visiting the slums, Hosna, Jackson, and Lucy’s parents all agreed to meet me downtown on two separate occasions but stood me up both times. Today I went back to arrange another meeting and the slums were just as depressing, but this time I was prepared. I wore a long skirt, long sleeves, and a head scarf to make my whiteness less conspicuous (as advised by the teachers) and brought sweets and 4 kilos of rice to hopefully warm them up to the idea of a stranger taking their children all day. I think it worked because they were very appreciative and agreed to meet me Tuesday morning. I’ll find out Tuesday I guess, but I hope they realize that I’m not giving up on their children even if it means more trips to the slums.

Although I’m determined and trying my best to be strong, I can’t pretend that I was totally unfazed by the extreme poverty on my second trip to the slums in 2 weeks. It’s hard for me to wrap my American mind around how people can live in these sorts of conditions, but I also think there is beauty in it. Hear me out-

Today we found Hosna first and I was happy to see her playing with other children in a New England Patriots hoodie. She looked healthy and happy, especially when her mother agreed to meet me downtown next Tuesday. Jackson and Lucy also looked happy and we found them eating porridge at a neighbor’s house.

These kids don’t sit around all day playing on their iPads or lusting after the latest toy fad. They don’t care that their clothes aren’t in style (although the Patriots never go out of style) or their shoes are worn thin. They make do with what little they have and, although saying they live simply is an understatement, they find happiness in the smallest things like a makeshift soccer ball or a few sweets. My experiences make me appreciate what I have and try to look at all the good things in my life instead of obsessing over the negative things. I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, and friends and family that love me very much. Everything else is just bonus.

Anyway, on Monday I spent the entire day evaluating the Pre-Vocational Class. Their progress from my last trip to Tanzania was somewhat disappointing, but I’m optimistic that the new curriculum will get them back on track.

Also this week I was sent a gift from above in the form of 4 Special Education majors from the University of Illinois! I was hesitant to bring them into the school in the midst of all the changes Mary and I are making, but it didn’t take long before they had settled into the classrooms like they had been teaching for years. I can’t tell you how much of a weight they take off my shoulders. They are so driven and motivated to help me and the students as much as they can in the two weeks they will be at the school. This week they worked on informally assessing the two other classrooms so I’ll have an idea of what to expect when I formally assess those students next week. Today they brought new shoes and socks for the students and the kids went crazy. They started dancing and singing a chorus of SHOOOOOOOOOESSS SHOOOOOOOOOOOESSSSSS!!!!  Julius in particular interrupted my class multiple times to lift up his pant legs, strike a pose, and show off his new shoes. Katrin, Katrin, TEACHER KATRIN! Angalia! SHOOOOOOOESSSSSSS

I swear smiles never left their faces all day.

It’s been a crazy week, but tomorrow I’m going on a safari for 4 days and 3 nights! Not going on a safari was my biggest regret from my first visit and I’m so psyched to be able to see the great migration on the Serengeti! I’ll post pictures as soon as the internet connection allows. I uploaded some more pictures of my trip and the students to facebook, so check it out if you would like and go like AFLLFA’s facebook page at facebook.com/allforloveloveforall! I’ve posted a lot of pictures of the school on the page lately and it’s worth a look.

Until next time

Kwaheri!

5.26 Update

Today was a difficult day.

If you read my previous report on the school, you know St. Dymphna’s Special School is doing poorly. For the past week I have been trying to understand their problems and communicate them back to members of AFLLFA so we can finds sustainable solutions. The problem I faced today was that, although they are sponsored, Jackson, Lucy, and Hosna have not been attending school because the bus isn’t operating and their disabilities and age make it impossible to travel all the way to the school alone. After discussing this with Mary, it was decided that I would meet with the student’s parents and see if they would be willing to meet me at the Arusha Post Office every morning and I would bring the students to and from school. After I leave Tanzania, a former teacher volunteered to continue accompanying the children.

Today the school’s guard and the Nursery I teacher took me to meet the families. We took a dala dala into Arusha and then spent the next three hours deep in the slums searching for the children. I wasn’t ready to be confronted with the extreme poverty I witnessed. The narrow streets were lined with raw sewage and waste. Children were in rags entertaining themselves with sticks and trash. The houses were made of long, wooden poles and insolated by mud that had run down the streets due to the rain of the night before. Others were lucky enough to have the protection of metal siding or tarps that were worn thin by the rainy season. Everywhere people were staring at me because white people pass through their area often (or ever). I tried to keep my eyes on the road ahead, not gawk at their living conditions, and pretend like walking through the convoluted maze of the slums was the most natural thing I have ever done.

Neither of my guides spoken English, so I remained quiet as they asked locals if they had any information about the whereabouts of the children. I was unable to do anything but follow them so I prayed inside my head;

Dear God, please look after these children. Please keep Jackson, Lucy, and Hosna healthy and please please please help me get them back to school.

First we found Hosna playing soccer with other children using a ball made of trash and string. Her face lit up when the teacher told her I wanted to take her back to school. Unfortunately her parents were not around but we got her mother’s number for the headmaster to call later this afternoon. Next we found Jackson watching over a few younger children and protecting them from a stream of sewage rushing from a plot of houses. He recognized me immediately, but was hesitant to show me his home. The teacher assured him it was fine, and he took us to see his little sister Lucy. Lucy has Down syndrome and is not very mobile. We found her lying alone in a dark room on a concrete floor. The teacher called to her, and she made an enormous effort to get up and greet us at the threshold. She also smiled when she was told that I wanted her to return to school, but unfortunately her mother was at work, so again we left with only a phone number.

I wasn’t scared by my experience today, just sad. I can’t find the words to explain how depressing visiting the slum was today, but it was overwhelming. Once we walked back to the city, the staff and I went our separate ways because I needed to decompress. I managed to hold myself together until I got to the hostel. Then came the tears.

I think I hit rock bottom today but the only place to go is up. It’s difficult to experience intense emotions here so deeply, but I can either be crippled by it or grow stronger because of it. Conditions aren’t going to get better by me hiding in the hostel and feeling sorry for the children. Conditions are going to improve through my actions. Here’s what I’ve been working on for the past week:

1)      Negotiating a contract with a local volunteer organization so they can send qualified volunteers to support the school and train teachers. Mary (the headmaster) can’t be everywhere at once, and volunteers with a background in education can bring new ideas and perspectives to the school that Tanzanian teachers may not have previously considered or been aware of.

2)      Writing a manual for volunteers that do not have a back ground in education. Students with disabilities need routine, structure, and sensitivity. Volunteers that do not understand that can easily disrupt their progress and end up doing more harm than good. It’s going to be a sort of how-to guide to Special Education and St. Dymphna’s.

3)      Assessment of the students. The range of disabilities at St. Dymphna’s is huge. I want to work with the teachers to figure out each student’s strengths and weaknesses so we can tailor their education to their specific needs.

4)      Get Hosna, Jackson, and Lucy to come to school every day. They are among the most vulnerable in Arusha and need to receive an education and vocational training.

It’s not going to be easy, but I’m lucky enough to have an amazing network of former volunteers, family, and friends for support. I’ll try to keep my blog updated with what I’m doing and in the meantime please keep myself and the school in your thoughts and prayers! Asante Sana

Snapshot of Daily Life in Tanzania

Tuesday morning Ryan, a volunteer at the hostel, rented a car and took 2 others and I to the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Somewhere in the mountains surrounding Mt. Kilimanjaro near the Tanzania-Kenya border, women sell their bananas to a wholesaler who then brings their produce to cities around Kenya and Tanzania.

I took some pictures out the window and posted them publicly on my facebook so I could share them with you-

https://www.facebook.com/kathryn.copley.5/media_set?set=a.709528875737123.1073741827.100000400518000&type=3

And here's a quick video-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TVATEI_ew4


Although this isn't in Arusha, it is very similar to what I see and experience everyday. Enjoy!

5.20 Update: St. Dymphna's Special School

Reposted from allforloveloveforall.blogspot.com

ST. DYMPHNA’S SPECIAL SCHOOL

UPDATE 5/21/2014 

STUDENTS: The school currently enrolls 24 students, and St. Dymphna’s Special School is constantly receiving referrals for more. The maximum number of students the school will enroll is 40, although this would place an additional strain on the already minimal resources. Three students are sponsored and the rest pay minimal if any tuition or fees.

BUS: The bus has not been running since November 2013. It cost 1 million tsh (~$600 USD) a month to run and the school could no longer afford it because the funds are needed elsewhere. Students now must come to school independently either by walking or dala dala. This is difficult for many students for a number of reasons; they live far away, their parents cannot afford/ are not willing to pay the dala dala fare, or their physical/cognitive/behavioral problems make it impossible to travel alone.

A former teacher is willing to escort Jackson, Lucy, and Hosna to school every day if the school can fund it and home school four other former students that live in her area.

FOOD: Convoy of Hope has been donating food to the school for the past year and has reduced the school’s food expenses by 74%. St. Dymphna’s contract with Convoy of Hope expires at the end of May and an inspector is coming to see if it will be renewed next week.

STAFF: St. Dymphna’s Special School currently employs 5 teachers and 1 assistant, however has been unable to pay them consistent wages since July 2013. Mary pays them small sums of money when she can, but she is concerned that they may quit. The school no longer has a guard or shopkeeper because the guard was too expensive and the shopkeeper was untrustworthy. They also lost half their teachers since November 2013.

SHOP: Closed due to lack of funds to replenish inventory and to hire a shopkeeper.

VOLUNTEERS: The school had a bad experience with volunteers and staff from TVE (IVHQ) and currently only accepts volunteers from Ujaama Hostel and Itwangi Hostel and Volunteer Experience (ITHVE). The new volunteer coordinator at Ujaama Hostel is very interested in supporting St. Dymphna’s and working with AFLLFA to create sustainable educational and vocational programs for the school. She is visiting St. Dymphna’s tomorrow to discuss the role of Ujaama Hostel in helping to meet the school’s needs.

PRIMARY EDUCATION: Not yet evaluated.

ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT NEEDS: The last assessment of student’s health, family history, and physical and cognitive abilities was conducted in 2012. Another assessment is necessary as well as regular progress reports written by teachers and volunteers. A comprehensive copy of these records will be held in the office of the school and an abbreviated version with non-confidential information will be held at Ujaama and Itwangi Hostel.

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: The vocational class participates in beading and sewing programs. The beading is taught in the traditional Maasai style and helps build fine motor skills. The school has four sewing machines and two are in working order.  Two of the older students practice sewing scrap fabric together and are able to make a few different garments. They have made great progress, and this could lead to promising careers as seamstresses.

St. Dymphna’s Special School wishes to teach students of all ages and abilities agriculture by building a garden. This will benefit the school by decreasing the cost of food, and the surplus can be given to the teachers in lieu of wages or sold at the village market. It will also benefit the students by allowing them to practice daily living skills in a safe environment and ultimately be able to participate in their community. Before this can be attempted, the fence around the school must be secured to keep out the neighbor’s chickens that have destroyed the school’s previous attempts at constructing a garden.

Products made by the students are not sold due to insufficient funds to run the shop.

INCOME: Sporadic donations from former volunteers, sponsors that cover some student’s tuition, and Mary’s pension. Parents are asked to pay 10,000-20,000 tsh ($6-$12 USD) a month for school but most do not.

PROJECTS:

·         Curriculum development (after primary education has been evaluated)

·         Student assessments

·         Construction of fence and vegetable garden

FINANCIAL PRIORTIES:

1.      Sponsors to cover student’s tuition

2.      Teacher/ staff wages

Conducted by:

Kathryn Copley, AFLLFA (USA)

kathrynpcopley@gmail.com

allforloveloveforall.org

About St. Dymphna's Special School in Arusha, Tanzania

St. Dymphna Special Needs School (youtube)

What's a dala dala?

Dala dalas are privately owned vans that provide public transportation. They have four rows of seats in the back as well as a bench in front that seats the driver and 2 other passengers. Although they have a maximum capacity of 17 people (including the driver) this is generally overlooked and as many people, supplies and even livestock are packed in as possible. It's not uncommon to see women and children sitting on laps or men holding onto the sides of the van. I think the record for the most people fit inside a dala dala is 27 according to a volunteer I met in 2012. My personal record is 20 people, a goat, and 2 hens. As I'm sure you can imagine, the vans can get extremely fragrant, especially in the afternoon. Mmm body odor and animal feces...

The routes the dala dalas run are marked by a colored stripe on the side of the van. I take the black one from the hostel in Nijiro to Arusha and the yellowish orange one from Arusha to St. Ds in Sakina. The commute takes about 45 minutes and 1,400 shillings (84 cents) round trip. Apart from the stripe, the dala dala owners have the creative license to decorate their vans as they wish. Some decorations are political, others religious, and some downright hilarious. I've seen dala dalas decorated with stickers of American rappers The Game and Rick Ross. I've also seen a few with pictures of Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Thank you Al Queda sympathizers for stopping for me, but I think I'll catch the next one.

photos taken from inside a taxi

5.16 Update: Day 1 and the training wheels are off!

I arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport last night at 2:30 and was greeted by a man holding a cardboard sign that read “Ujaama Hostel”. He took my luggage to his taxi and then we drove off in the direction of Arusha. His English wasn’t good and neither was my Swahili so the small talk ended quickly. I was told that an English-speaking reprehensive of the hostel would also be there but I guess he couldn’t make it. I was too jetlagged to care.

This morning I woke up at the crack of 2 pm and was greeted with a breakfast of toasti na mayai (toast and fried eggs) and finally met the hostel reprehensive. I was told he was going to take me downtown to show me around, but at the last second he was called to go pick up another volunteer at the airport. Before he left, he gave me 500 tsh (equivalent of thirty cents) and vague directions on how to get to the center of Arusha via dala dala (vans with four rows of seats that are public transportation) so I could exchange my US dollars for Tanzanian shillings. Undaunted, I took the money and boarded a dala dala. Ironically “Talk Dirty to Me” by Jason Derulo and 2 Chainz was playing on the van's radio. I guess all radio stations are overplaying that song and I’m glad us Americans export quality music to the world. Twenty long, stinky minutes later I was in the center of Arusha. After exchanging my money, I decided to take a walk to familiarize myself with the city. I must have walked for 5 minutes before I heard a familiar voice say, “Kat-trin!” Immediately I turned around and it was Devotha; a former employee of the volunteer organization I was with the first time I went to Tanzania! We hugged and exchanged greetings, but she was in a hurry on her way to her new job so she introduced me to her Maasai friend, Felix. Felix immediately noticed the circles on my forearm and insisted upon taking me to where his grandmother, mother, and aunts weave traditional Maasai textiles. After dressing me in Maasai garments (see selfie below), he took me to his studio where he and his friends paint beautiful landscapes of Maasai villages and animals. He told me his greatest inspiration comes from the river which makes “God’s music”.  Having an obsession with all bodies of water myself, I agreed. Felix demonstrated how he takes cloth, covers it in wax, and paints stories about his life, tribe, and culture. Before I left, I purchased an original piece by him of Maasai women dancing for a whopping $6. He holds weekly art classes at Via Via, and I’m going to try to see if I can get some girls from the hostel to go with me.

On my way back to the hostel, I took the correct dala dala but missed my stop. It was an easy mistake to fix and on the bright side I had a beautiful ride through lush countryside. I don’t regret it one bit.

Anyway, the training wheels are off! Instead of a gentle introduction to Tanzania, I was thrown right into the chaos alone! It’s ok though, I’m confident, experienced, and open minded. I’m glad Felix showed me a side of Arusha most aren’t able to see and I hope there are more experiences like this to come! Until then Kwaheri!

A Lesson in Humility

During my last visit I noticed that other volunteers and I were being discriminated against because of the color of our skin. It didn't matter if we were walking through the city or the foothills to our volunteer placements, we would get stares, jeers, and insults in a language we didn't understand from random bystanders. After a while I started picking up some words and one I heard frequently was ‘pesa’ which means ‘money’. I don’t know if it was meant as a question or an automatic reaction to my skin color. Probably both. I remember getting increasingly frustrated when I was gawked at on a route that I had been taking to the school consistently for weeks. You see me every single day. I hear you laughing! Yes, you are very observant. I am white. What an astute observation! Why can’t you just accept that I’m here and I’m trying to do something good? I’m a human being just like you and your friends!

I got a dose of reality in a class called “Multicultural Education” this spring. What I realized is that in my white, middle-class, American upbringing I was told that discrimination is a thing of the past and “all people are equal now”. This idea is completely ridiculous (in general but especially) when you consider the historical basis for the prejudice modern day Africans have.  I’ll try to keep the history lesson short, but the area that is modern day Tanzania was once home to some of the oldest civilizations in recorded history. The Bantu-speaking people freely inhabited the land for a thousand years before it was colonized by Germany in 1884. For the next 78 years that the natives were under European rule, they were exploited, forcibly converted to Christianity, and dragged into various military conflicts. It wasn't until 1961 that the native Africans regained their independence.

Tanzania has only been a country for 53 years, and to think that there aren't any lingering Anti-European sentiments is naïve. European rule is something that is still fresh in their minds and I can’t expect the color of my skin not to be salient. I have to accept this fact humbly and tune out the harassment. I’m here to volunteer, not to start a debate. It’s going to be difficult though because I’m getting pretty good at Swahili and I don’t know if I want to understand the things some people say behind my back. 

6 Days to go...

After going crazy for the past couple weeks over finals, it's finally hitting me that in 6 days I will be leaving the country.

In 6 days I will no longer have internet access in the palm of my hand
In 6 days I will no longer be assured that water will come out of the faucet when I turn it
In 6 days I will no longer have consistent electricity
In 6 days I will be trading all of the modern amenities that I have come to rely on in exchange for a simpler way of living and a full heart.

Call me crazy, but I could not be more excited about it. I've been dreaming about going back to Tanzania and St. Dymphna's Special School ever since I left, but I really do not know what to expect. It has been a year and a half since I left and I'm sure the students have grown and the school has made changes. Not knowing is kind of exciting though. It's going to be an adventure.

I'm trying not to set expectations for my visit, but I have a few goals:

1. Learn more about my student's background, their community, and their values. I want to better understand the people I'm serving to figure out where my help is needed the most and what I can do to ensure lasting change.

2. Learn more about the teachers at St. Dymphna's Special School. They spend the most time with the students and know them best while volunteers come and go. I'm worried that last time I didn't collaborate enough with them to identify the learning needs of each student and how to address them.

3. Implement a sustainable curriculum that will equip the students with the skills they need to gain employment and become contributing members of their society. Matt Healey and I have made a plan as to what we believe the students should be learning, but we have a very myopic western perspective. I want to take our plan and collaborate with the teachers and Mary (Headmistress of St. Dymphna's) to adjust it to best meet the needs of the students. Who knows best what it takes to be a contributing member of Tanzanian society than actual members of Tanzanian society? Certainly not us Americans. If we want to make lasting, sustainable change then it must come from within the school and be on the teacher and administrator's terms or else all the work I do will fall apart once I leave.


and a couple personal ones...

4. Improve my Swahili. Once the language barrier is broken down, I'm sure others will be too.

5. Do something that scares me.

6. Do something that I didn't think I could do (or at least try).

7. Surprise myself.

8. Prove to myself (again) how strong I am.

9. Try 3 new foods.

10. Immerse myself in Tanzanian culture, tradition, and art as much as possible.

11. Savor every second and not take one minute for granted.

12. Stay open minded.