Ken's Journey to Tanzania: Journal Entry #7

Ken Russo is spending three months this winter volunteering at The Baobab Home, an orphanage in Bagamoyo, Tanzania that provides care for children with HIV/AIDS. He is documenting his fascinating experiences and sends us periodic updates from his journal. Here is his latest entry. Read about his whole journey starting back at the end of January …

Friday, February 19
The trip to Dar was quick and uneventful. We hired a taxi and Terri’s favorite driver, Bwana Chu Chu. He’s a very good natured, large man with the patience of Job. It seems that nothing fazes him.

We arrived right on time for our meeting with Thomas Kipilingi. Thomas is about 35, well dressed and incredibly articulate. His command of the English language is impressive. Thomas has spent the last 9 years working with Rwandan refugees and has spent many hours in the camps. His office is on the top floor of a 3 story, glass building. It was also air conditioned. There are few high rises in Dar, most no more than 3 or 4 stories. He explained the grant process in detail and Terri and I felt that we made a very good impression. We will start writing our proposal when we return to Bagamoyo

Dar es Salaam is a sprawling city of approximately 4 million people located south of Bagamoyo on the Indian Ocean. It is chaotic and colorful with residents selling everything everywhere. The streets are mostly dirt with a few of the main roads paved. There are few traffic lights yet somehow getting around is no more problematic than driving in any major western city. There is mass transit, mostly buses which are always packed. Even here the roads are shared with goats, chickens and cattle. Here, as in Bagamoyo women balance large bundles or buckets of water on their head. There is a peninsula that juts out into a bay and it is here you will find large homes in gated neighborhoods sometimes with armed guards. This is also where you will see luxury shops and high end restaurants with US pricing. We had lunch at the Africafe, very upscale and very air conditioned.


Sunday, February 21
Terri and I took a ride to the center of town looking for a friend of hers. The Baobab Home jeep is perfect for the torn up dirt streets of Bagamoyo. It is a beat up, high clearance vehicle with a few dents and real safari charm. We found Terri’s friend who is a member of a nomadic tribe. She didn’t recognize him at first as it was the first time she had seen him in western dress. His tribe is very similar to the Maasai with the same ideas as to what is beautiful. Like the Maasai his two front lower teeth had been extracted, he had large holes in his earlobes and there is a distinct space between his two front upper teeth. Terri says at a young age reeds and then small pieces of wood are forced between those teeth to create a gap. He was reserved but friendly and he and Terri had a conversation in Swahili. His native language is tribal.

The “downtown” area of Bagamoyo is dusty with a low profile as most buildings are a single story. Most are unpainted cinder block with several older, traditional mud and stick dwellings. Dirt floors are the norm and kitchens are usually self contained and separate from the main dwellings. This makes perfect sense as the homes are already hot and almost everyone uses smoky charcoal or wood to cook. I think the only kitchen I’ve actually seen within a main dwelling is at Terri’s home.

We then went to check in with a woman, Assia, who was deathly ill with AIDS 2 years ago. Baobab had made sure she started HIV drug treatment and her health quickly improved, surprising everyone. Terri saw that she received job training and it was discovered she was entrepreneurial and her life improved immeasurably. Baobab built Assia a small home as they have for 8 other families in crisis. The houses are modest affairs but are life altering for the families. She married Bennard last year. He is also HIV+ and doing well on therapy. They are a most amazing couple. They have become Bagamoyo’s first public AIDS activists, determined to overcome the stigma the disease still carries here. Bennard has started an informal support group with monthly meetings for a membership approaching 500. He wears a t-shirt with the AIDS red ribbon and a slogan in Swahili, We Care. They travel to remote villages at their own expense and bring with them instant result, HIV test kits paid for by Baobab. They say, at times, they have met great resistance but have always found at least 5 people in each place willing to be tested. They are the most inspiring and determined people I have met here. They are also gracious and welcoming. Their home is clean and tidy with everything in its place. Bennard said he would like to call a special meeting of his support group in our honor. Terri and I may take him up on his offer as we would like to meet these courageous people and see if there is any way we can help. As we left they each took both my hands in theirs and said several times, Asante sana (thank you so much)

On Sunday Caroline, the Danish volunteer and Mugin and Ima, 2 former street boys and I traveled to Baobab’s shomba (farm). It’s a 15 minute drive from the current Baobab Home and a world away. As I mentioned in an earlier email within a few months all of Baobab’s operations will be moved there. Presently there are 3 buildings, the new expanded orphanage, an open air covered dining room and a small, traditional round building with a thatch roof which will be the office. There are 3 buildings yet to be built, a kitchen, a dormitory for the HIV camp (more on that in another email) and a home for Terri, Caito their son and a child on the way this April. The goal here is to expand services and become more self sufficient, growing their own crops and purchasing dairy cows. A by product of the cows will be bio fuel, reducing or eliminating the use of expensive propane or charcoal. As I mentioned previously the farm is sited on 15 acres and is situated perfectly to catch the strong breeze off the ocean. There are banana and orange trees along with mangoes. All the buildings were constructed using private donations and volunteer labor.

We came out to harvest a 1⁄4 acre of cassava, a starchy root similar to a potato. The leaves are edible and are often cooked with coconut juice. The smaller plants are pulled out by hand but even those are challenging. Caroline picked leaves while the rest of us pulled plants using hoes on the larger trees. It was hard, hot work but it felt great to be working outside in that strong breeze. The boys had much fun at my expense watching me handling the panga (machete). After 4 hours we had cleared the field and had quite a haul of cassava and leaves. We delivered everything to Baobab where the house mothers will prepare it. Needless to say I slept very well that night.