Days 21 and 22

Day 21

This was our last full day in Tanzania.

We had a slightly disturbed night last night due to some problems with the electricity in the house. I am not sure if this was caused by our “housemates” overloading the system or if it was just a coincidence but either way, they seemed to spend a lot of time discussing this while we were trying to go to sleep. 

This morning there was still no power so we both had cold showers - this is always to be expected at some point during our trips to Tanzania. As we were sorting ourselves out for the day Millie appeared with a “fundi” and soon the electricity was back on.

We got up to breakfast just as the group from Germany were finishing. As we were eating we noticed all the students gathering in the garden. They then sang a few songs and explained to the  German group about the Hospitality School. It was a nice treat for us as we had never seen them do this before.......a bonus for staying at the same time as a tour group. Talking to Millie after the group had left she explained that the girls always do this when they have tour groups staying as most don’t realise MTAD is a school. I have added a short video of the girls singing.

This morning we had been invited to visit a different school in Moshi. Rachel, who used to be the head teacher af Kaloleni School has now been promoted to Ward Education Officer for a different ward. She asked if we would visit Shirimatunda School in the Soweto area of Moshi as she thought they would benefit from computers and ICT training.

This school has 1020 pupils of which 19 are taught in the school’s “Special Needs” classes. On arrival we were met by Rachel and the teacher in charge of the Special Needs Unit as well as the Academic Teacher.

This little girl from the Special Needs Unit also greeted us and just wanted to hug us and have her photo taken. She followed us around until we reached her classroom and then she went and sat down.........at least for a few minutes anyway.

The Head Teacher was not available immediately so we were shown around the school. We went to the Special Needs Unit first where the children are divided into 3 classes depending on the severity of their disability. The aim is that the children would work their way up through the classes with the possibility of eventually joining the main school. Some of the children obviously had some quite severe problems, whereas others, like one little girl who was deaf with some other fairly minor issues, was there because they couldn’t cope with a deaf child in the main school rather than because of her learning disabilities which was quite sad.

We were asked not to take photos inside classrooms which was fine. The rooms were actually quite  airy, light and well decorated compared to most classrooms. This unit is the only one like it in the area so children come from quite a distance away to attend. However having a child with learning difficulties still has a stigma attached to it in Tanzania and many parents just hide them away or else just want to “dump” them on the school. Sadly many of the parents, who are often very poor, see these children as a liability. The school tries to teach them some basic life skills so they can become a useful member of their community .......but it is a struggle.

We were then shown around the main school. Most year groups were split into 2 classes ie A and B. Each class had about 50 children.

The class below were having a Swahili Lesson, I did manage to translate their lesson reasonably well, which I think surprised the teachers 😀😀

We also had a look in the staff room and noticed that they already have 2 computers and a printer.

I noticed that the teachers had their menu for the month written on the blackboard and the cost of each ingredient. They had then worked out the cost of each lunch as TSH 1,000 per day, that’s 33p!

Outside there was a line of kids queuing up at the tap to get a drink of water.

And this is the school “bell”  which needs to be hit with a large stone.

By now the head teacher had arrived and we all sat down in the shade to discuss the ICT needs of the school and what ACTT (and perhaps us) could help them with in the future. The head teacher was competent using computers as was the second teacher but the other 30 staff were not really IT literate. We suggested that the first thing they have to do is to see how many teachers would like to do the basic ICT training course with ACTT which they have to pay for. Usually you need about 20 teachers to do the course to make it an affordable price for them. So if enough teachers want to do the course this will show us that they are keen to use computers and to have more computers at their school. If around 20 teachers complete the course, the school can then apply to us for some computers and we will assess their application along with others that we receive.

The head teacher seemed happy with this.

It was now lunch time so we drove back to Moshi town and stopped at Hugo’s Bar for a lunch of fish with onions, chicken with green peppers and some grilled bananas, all very tasty. It was actually a very nice setting so we decided to stay here and do a bit of work - so Robert had an outside office for the afternoon.

Later we went back to the ACTT office to get some receipts for all the computer equipment we had bought and then loaned to the schools. After this we met up with Ally and went with him to visit his family. Robert let Ally borrow his car so he could drive us there.

We have known Ally for about 8 years now, ever since we started visiting ACTT and for the last few years we have visited his family when we are in Moshi. He is married to Upendo and has 2 children, Issac who is 13 and Abbdy who is 5. They live on the outskirts of Moshi in 2 rooms that they rent along with a bathroom and kitchen that they share with several other families.

Ally has bought a bit of land and is slowly building a house but it is expensive and progress is slow. The hope is always that they can get it to a state where they can move in and so stop paying rent and then they will have more money to finish off the house.

This afternoon we arrived about 4.30, before the children got home from school. It was nice to chat with Upendo and Ally and catch up. Isaac and Abbdy got home about 5.30. The first thing they did was change out of their school uniforms and then Isaac had to wash them. Once that was done the children joined us for some drinks and nuts and we handed over a few gifts. 

We had a lovely time with the family. We left around 7pm........I think the boys will have to have done some tidying up as they sleep in this lounge room.  Ally dropped us back at MTAD where we spent the rest of the evening. The terrace always looks nice when set out for dinner.

Day 22

So sadly today was our last day in Tanzania. We got up and had a leisurely breakfast. It was cloudy at first but the sun then came out and we had another pretty decent view of Kilimanjaro.

Mid morning we got a tuk tuk down to ACTT - the hot weather has meant we have given up on walking down there. We caught up with Robert and finalised all our finances.

For those interested, this year with your help, we raised £2960 which has supported 12 different schools with IT equipment - 9 of these schools were ones we were already supporting and 3 of these were new to us. This year we supplied the schools with13 desktop computers, 4 Thin Client computers and 4 flash drives, 1 laptop, 2 printers, 1 projector and 14 surge protection extension leads.

Also just for your information so you can see how things have built up over the years, since 2012 when we first supported Ashira School in Marangu we have now supported 18 Schools and 1 Teacher support Unit with the following equipment and resources:

85 PC’s
4 Thin Client Computers + Flash drives

8 Laptops
10 Printers

2 replacement Printer cartridges
5 Projectors + 1 spare bulb
1 Power Stabiliser

40 surge protection extension leads.

We also funded a full time computer technician for 2 years and an ICT trainer giving guidance on the educational software also for 2 years, both in schools in and around Moshi.

As you can see from the blog this equipment will make a huge difference to the children and teachers at these schools so thank you again to everyone who has supported us in this venture 😀

Once we had finished at ACTT we said goodbye to all the staff and then Ally dropped us down Kilimanjaro Coffee Lounge where we got some lunch.

Followed by coffee.

After this we went back to More Than A Drop to do our packing. Millie had kindly let us keep our room until this evening when we leave this evening.

Robert picked us up at 5.30pm as we were going to call in on his friend Evodi and meet his new baby before going to the airport. I asked what would be an appropriate gift to take and was told that things like cooking oil, nappies and fruit juice would be appreciated - so we stopped at a shop on the way and bought these.

Evodi welcomed us to his house and introduced us to his wife and his new baby son. The baby was so cute and really very happy. We were offered drinks and nuts and stayed for about half an hour. It was a pity we couldn’t have stayed longer but we had a plane to catch!!

After this Robert dropped us at the airport for our flight home. I hope people have enjoyed “travelling with us around Tanzania” and can see how just doing a little to help can still make a difference 😀😀😀

Day 20

So today we had a free day to sort out various small jobs/activities. We got up later than normal and had a leisurely breakfast on the terrace of More Than A Drop.

As we mentioned earlier we are not staying in the main B&B, we are actually staying in a house just down the road, so each morning we walk up the road for breakfast (to the white gate you can see in the photo) and so far we have seen Kilimanjaro every morning.

Since we have been in Moshi it has been very sunny, following the heavy rains of the previous few weeks and it seems that the flowers are now coming out. These flowers are just outside our house.

Last year plastic bags have been banned in Tanzania. This is obviously a great move for the environment, especially as they used to give out a huge number of the thin single use plastic carrier bags, you got one every time you bought anything. They now have switched to what appear to be paper bags which are pretty strong. We really like them and wish shops in the UK would use something similar.

For those of you who don’t know, More Than A Drop Is not just a B&B, it is a Hospitality School for young girls age 18-20 who have failed their Form 4 exams. It is run as an NGO by an Italian guy who is is trying to improve the employment opportunities for young girls. It is great that the money you pay to stay here goes to support a great project. The girls at the school are offered a 1 year course covering all aspects of the Hospitality Industry.....and of course they can put all that they learn into practice working in the B&B and Restaurant. MTAD has been running for quite a few years and has a great success rate - 90% of students going on to get employment.

Last year when we were staying at MTAD, we mentioned that we were involved with ACTT and what they do. This has led to ACTT now providing a 3 week computer course for the girls. When ACTT do ICT outreach training at schools they provide all the laptops, projector etc. whilst doing the training. This morning Boniface was teaching the girls about PowerPoint presentations so we went up to the classroom to see how they were getting on.

So this is the classroom

And these are the girls receiving their ICT training from Boniface.

I have to say I was very impressed by Boniface. He explained everything slowly and clearly, always checking if the girls had any questions and the girls certainly seemed to be listening and understanding.

After a while we left Boniface to it and headed down to ACTT. It was now gone 11 and too hot to walk so we picked up a tuk tuk virtually right outside our gate.

On arriving at the ACTT offices everyone was very busy. The staff from Mwanza were not travelling back until tonight and so both teams were around. There seemed to be a lot of sorting out of stock and then packing it up so I think quite a lot of the laptops we had collected last week were being dispatched to Mwanza.

So for those of you who haven’t seen inside the ACTT Moshi office I have posted some photos below.

Thomas sorting out stock

 Bruno at his desk

 Winnie at her desk

Hamisi packing up stock to be sent to his office in Katoro

Ally in his workshop

Bakari

Dommy and Vai at their desk.

I realise now we didn’t take a picture of Robert’s office but it doesn’t look a lot different to the rest.

While we were in the office Robert had an unexpected visit from the Chairman of Close The Gap, the Belgian NGO that supplies ACTT with a large number of computers. He was in the country for a specific project and just called in to say Hi. He told us that ACTT were their biggest partner in Tanzania. We had a quick chat with him and then left him to catch up with Robert.

We decided to go to the bank and then on to Mimosa, one of the restaurants we like in Moshi when we want a change from local food. It is quite expensive by Tanzanian standards but the food is generally quite good.

Lunch did take quite a time as whilst the food is good the service is pretty slow.  From here we then walked to Union Cafe as we wanted to see Tabia who works in the Internet cafe there. Tabia used to work at ACTT. My sister had made some cuddly toys that we had passed on to various people we know here who have recently had babies. We had one left and had promised it to Tabia when we had seen her last week. Luckily she wasn’t too busy when we called in so had time for a chat and a photo.

We stopped for a coffee and then decided to go back to More Than A Drop. It was still very hot so we got a tuk tuk. We spent the rest of the afternoon sat in the garden until it was time for a G&T and then dinner. Tonight there is a group of 12 German tourists staying so we are sharing our “house” with 3 other guests...... just for the one night.

Day 19

Today we went to Arusha National Park for Day 2 of the ACTT Retreat. This was a real treat for the everyone. None of the staff from Mwanza had ever been to the park and only a few of the Moshi staff had been. Many of the staff had never seen zebra or giraffe.

There were 18 staff in total so we all went in one car and a dala dala that they had hired for the day. We went in Robert’s car with Shabani, Hamisi, Ally and Thomas and the rest went in the dala dala.

Our car arrived at the park gate soon after 11 but it was almost another hour before the dala dala turned up so the guys amused themselves walking around some of the information boards and exhibits.

Apparently the dala dala had been stopped by the traffic police because the break lights weren’t working and then the driver wasn’t happy about the fine so this meant they all had to go to the police station so the driver could officially object to the fine (he said he should just get a warning and then time to get it repaired)!! However.....I think he still got fined!!

So anyway it was gone 12 before we entered the park. We had picked up a Park Guide at the gate and he went in the dala dala and then the car followed behind. 

Early on we saw zebra, warthogs and baboons.

We stopped at the small museum and then drove up to the crater rim where you can get out and take photos.

An important part of any ACTT retreat in taking selfies........as demonstrated below by Winnie.

Driving on we saw giraffe and then we were lucky enough to see colobus monkeys.

Next we saw waterbuck and buffalo. Everyone took turns to take photos out of the window with their phones.

It was now mid afternoon and so we drove to the Momella Lakes and stopped there for some snacks.

While we were stopped Mbusiro, the ACTT Agent in Karagwe, and his wife Esther, presented us with some gifts that she had made herself, a poncho for me and a jumper for Pete and a scarf each in the colours of the Tanzanian flag......how lovely of her to make these for us 😀

At the larger lake there were a huge number of flamingos.

After a reasonable stop at the lakes we then drove back towards the gate. We saw quite a few animals on the way including a large number of giraffes, some very near to the road.

It was after 5 when we left the park.

Peter, Robert’s son, is at school very near the park gate so Robert thought it would be nice to call in and say Hi if the school would allow us - visitors are not normally allowed. Anyway, after a little wait Peter appeared. It was great to see him, if only for a few minutes.

The 2 Peter’s together!!

We then met up with the dala dala at a restaurant near the park where we had ordered dinner. This gave us all time to reflect on the weekend. Everyone thought it had been a great success and that the Moshi team had done a wonderful job arranging it all.