In the Land of the Masaii......

On Monday, carrying apples, water, and trail mix from Trader Joes, the staff and I made the 2.5 hour drive to our safe drinking water project in Masaii land. This project is one of the 3 our staff operates, using volunteers who distribute the Proctor and Gamble Safe Drinking Water Treatment to more than 400 households in each area in exchange for $18/month and a t-shirt (see above- it's the P/G logo for their Children's Safe Drinking Water Program).

The difference in this project is that the volunteers living in this remote, arid location travel miles between households, usually on foot.

Meeting under a tree on the grounds of the primary school, here is one group of volunteers who assembled to hand in their distribution reports and discuss successes and challenges. Most speak Swahili, the national language of Tanzania, but we are lucky that Olais, one of the program managers, is of Masaii parentage and speaks the Masaii language. 

After the administrative issues are completed, the volunteers collect a month's worth of the water treatment packets.

Do you think you could master the skill necessary to balance 3 boxes like this? I know I never will- no matter how long I practice.
 
We are so proud that Proctor and Gamble asked Pamoja Project to take over this much-needed project when the previous international organization terminated their projects in Tanzania. It is a testament to the skill and trustworthiness of our team on the ground, and the strength of our commitment to Tanzanians in need, whether living near and far.

Carol

All About Amberini Village Dispensary

What an exciting time it is for us as Ambureni Village Dispensary prepares to open.

It's a good thing that when we began to build the new Ambureni Village Dispensary last February we didn't know what a long and torturous road it would be. Between the long wait for electrical hook up to the endless bureaucratic nightmare of getting certification from the new government, we needed more than a little patience- and persistence. Now the wait is nearly over.

This week the nurse will begin free vaccination clinics for local children, and as soon as the new doctor arrives our facility will treat a wide range of patients- including those ready to give birth. A few highlights of the building:

Here is the maternity ward- a large room with big windows that will be a pleasant place for new moms to meet their babies for the first time.

With access from the rear, there are 3 bathrooms. One for women, one for men, and one for staff.
 
Take a look at the view from the front (top photo) and you will see the window on your right that will function as the access to pharmacy services for people just walking up.
 
 Inside, in addition to the maternity ward, are the waiting area, 2 treatment rooms, the doctor's office, and the laboratory. It is truly a full-service facility.
There are a few minor touches to be completed, among them replacement of the plaque. It seems the engraver either forgot to put USA after New Mexico, or he thought Pamoja Project really WAS based in Mexico! Those of us who live in New Mexico are used to the idea that people aren't really sure we are part of the US, so we understand -).

Although this is Ambureni Village's dispensary, it is yours, too, as you are the reason local people have this wonderful new facility to support their health and wellbeing. Thank you so much!

Carol

If It's September, I Must Be in Tanzania

Yes, I'm back in Tanzania. My international travel story, complete with mechanical delays of 4+ hours in Atlanta, missed flight in Amsterdam and the Nairobi airport at midnight is, thankfully, now like a bad dream. The good news is that I have another story about what you make possible for Tanzanian children.....

When I met 15-year-old Gifti nearly 3 years ago, her life was a testament to resilience. Gifti is the child of her widowed mother's first marriage, unwelcomed in the home of her stepfather, and was receiving no school or other support from family. She was living with a neighbor and attending secondary school when permitted by the headmistress- because her school fees were 6 months overdue. During the months Gifti was banned from school, she would meet friends on their way home to copy homework assignments so that she could do them on her own. What did Gifti and her mother ask of us? To pay her back school fees. That's all.

 Pamoja Project decided to make Gifti's future support conditional upon her performance on the next Tanzanian national examination. After only 3 months back in school, Gifti scored in the top 10% of her class.  Here was a kid who was personally motivated beyond anything we had seen in a long time, and we were hooked.

Since Gifti will be finishing secondary school in a few months, Olais and I visited her to talk about her future. She really wants to be a secondary school teacher, she told us. But we all knew the course to do so would take 4 years, including the tenuous first 2 years during which failure would leave her without future prospects. Olais introduced the idea that if she entered teacher's college in January 2017, in 2 years she could be finished with school and be immediately employed as a primary school teacher. And in Tanzania, after you have spent 3 years as a teacher, you can return to college while continuing to receive your government paycheck.

Gifti appeared to think about this idea for a few minutes. Then came an awkward cultural moment. I asked Olais to translate the following for me.  I said, "I know you have had a hard life up to now. And if you had a job soon and could support yourself, you could free yourself from needing to marry just to have food.  A woman with her own money can make choices about her life. If after teaching for a few years you still want to be a secondary school teacher, you can follow that dream." Gifti's mother silently nodded.

An average Tanzanian man would not normally counsel financial independence for a young woman, but Olais took a leap of faith and told Gifti what was true- he wanted her to follow the path that would benefit her most- conventions be damned. 

As we left, Olais made plans with Gifti to enter her into the preparatory course for final exams so that she gets into a great teacher's college in January. We have complete confidence in her success.

And that, my friends, is how you and Pamoja Project are changing the life trajectory of Tanzanian youth, one child at a time.

Carol

Art for Ambureni School

What can you do to enhance a dull cinder block wall in an elementary school half way around the world? 

As Pamoja Project board members and close friends who paint together, the two of us decided to take on this challenge.

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Before even putting paint to paper, we had fun researching all kinds of ideas:
what might interest first graders... what images would engage them... what animals might they recognize. And, in the process, we learned some Swahili words!
watoto pamoja = children together
usomaji ni furaha = reading is fun

Nancy was eager to paint images which encouraged children to create their own drawings. Catherine had another concern - how to carry our artwork in her luggage. 

When Catherine arrived, everyone was thrilled with the colorful paintings. 

A typical Tanzanian class size is 100 students with 1 teacher and 1 assistant.
In order for a student to attend public school, they are required to have a uniform and bring their own supplies. Thanks to Pamoja Project donors and sponsors, many children are able to get an education that would otherwise be unavailable.

And now we realize that there are plenty more walls to fill!

Catherine Monserrat and Nancy Dean Kreger