ITVB - Blog

! Harbari everyone! It has been awhile since I have emailed. I went on Safari to the crater and to the Serengeti. Unbelievable. We not only has close, very close encounters with the big five: cheetah, lions, rhino, elephants, water buffalo, but the hippo, every wonderful bird, and impala and every kind of antelopy kind of animals. Wow. We stayed in okay places, but everything was worth the animals. However, my back to a toll with the jarring for 12 hours a day! I need Brent!

Back to work today. The children missed us and I know that Friday will be very hard. I will miss them especially those I bonded closely with. I cannot even imagine the abandonment they must feel when we leave. Yes, I know that others come, and they will bond again. It must be so grueling for them. I love them all and know that I do make a little bit of difference, but boy, do I wish I could do more.

We are teaching them a new song that they love, His got the Whole World in his hands! So much fun to watch them sing and do the movements. We taught the guides on the trip in our Land Cruiser, great way to get our minds of the road.

Angela an 18 month old little girl with AIDS is in the hospital and we will not get to see here again before we leave. My heart breaks knowing she is not getting the medicine she needs. Illiani is so angry about me leaving. I wish I could take her home. The adoption issue is so hard here, very hard to adopt. There are so many hoops to jump through. One of the woman who came with us from Denver, is going to go throug the process that will take her over a year.

Please those of you that I have sent letters to that you think that you can paste to the site, please do. I know there is more that I think you should all know, and I don't have a computer very handy.

Bless all of you,

Pamela

Jambo! We had to decide no more balloons, or crayolas. They eat them. Ah well. The children are getting healthy again. Less colds, but the fungus in their heads, just doesn't seem to go away. They love the flash cards and all the rythmes. As I read to them on the ground, and really it is just dirt and dust, they all want to climb onto my lap, its so funny seeing ten kids trying all to get on! So much dirt, pee, and who knows. I come back to the compound and have to shower for awhile. We are so fortunate to have hot water.

The girls that work there have ask to use our cards and books for a few days, since we will not be there tomorrow. We are going on a trip to a waterfall and to talk with a traditional healer...witch doctor. That will be interesting. Many of the witch doctor here tell the men to have sex with a virgin to keep from having AIDS. I do hope this one is different. I am happy to see the girls wanting to speak English. Not that I want to be an "Ugly American", because Swahili is such a beautiful language. It is the way of the world. They need to be able to speak English to make it at all. The children at the orphanages here are turned out, and if they have no extended families that will take them, they go to the streets at eleven. Our new orphanage called the Kili Center will take the street children. This center is an old house, so dirty and filthy. Some of the volunteers here have cleaned some of it up, painted, and are working with the director. His heart is in the right place, but he has no money.

Getting anything sent here, money, educational items or toys requires such a big tax and then we don't even know if they get what is sent. I will find out more about this in the following week. Adoptions has been made hard as well. You have to live in the country for six months before they will allow to take a child, at any age.

On the personal note, it gets a little hard not being phobic about germs! My own prayer is daily to stay healthy so I can work!

I love you all, and thank you so much for reading and staying up with me. I will try to write tomorrow, if not you will not hear from me until Sunday night. I am going on Safari with a big group of my new brothers and sisters here at CCS, Cross Cutural Solutions...Lions, Leopards, Hippos, Elephants, Oh my! and of course, the Masi

Much love,

Pamela

Mambo...Hujambo! Today is Monday and the internet is down in most places. I will be brief. I have asked my other friends if they have parts of their emails to me that could or might be pertenent to my work here to pass it on the everyone.

Our work is harder this week, since most of our children have major colds, as do most the volunteers! I am okay, just a little stuffy. We brought tennis balls today and balloons. We had quite a good time. Trauma as the balloons busted, but the children bounce back quickly. They have very little eye hand coordination. And they really should by now. They are not getting played like that much. We are doing our best.

Today the Sisters shared with us who is HIV/AIDS and I was surprised in some ways because they actually look good right now. They do separate them at feedings and I didn't notice last week. We were so busy doing other things. Tanzania in such need everywhere. Two of the orphanages we work with are out of food this week. We are going to write to the government and ask for money. This is not good.

Tanzania needs are huge. Only 10% of the population here have elecricity or water to their homes. One out of every seven have HIV. So sad. So much to do.

This afternoon I am going to the other orphanages to see what is going on and an AIDS hospital. I love you all and thank you for reading these emails.

Asante, Salema

Pamela

Mambo! The reply is Poa, which means cool! Only for the young. I am a Mama, so they say to me Shekamo Mama. My reply is always Merihaba. My words are very rudimentary because the children to not speak even their language very well because they are not getting very stimulated by the girls, who are teenagers themselves. I am pretty much over my sadness and the feelings of being ineffectual. Now I am doing every thing I can to stimulate. I sing, I dance, taking other action rhymes, flash cards is Swahili and in English, I blow bubbles every morning first thing and it makes them so happy. I cannot take pictures yet, I am hopeful that soon they will let me. Right now it is disrespectful. Every morning when they take them out to the yard, which is all dirt, and no toys, they all must hold hands in a line. They girls, the teenagers are now singing Swahili songs, then putting them in a circle and the little ones are called into the circle and they each dance an African movement. So now I am doing it and it makes every one laugh. I love that!I making in roads with the teenagers who care for the orphans. I speak Swahili and they just laugh at me and correct me, which is exactly what I want. Then as I show the children the cards and picture books, they teach me and then they ask questions. One of the other volunteers had her Swahili language book, and gave it to the teenagers. They are now being to trust us. They do a lot of corporal punishment, and we are told not to interfer. So as they see up being patient and teaching, they are coming around now and teaching us Swahili songs. Very good.

We, the volunteers live in a very very small village, with one store, and no internet, really nothing. The walk the walk into town takes about 45 minutes. We do have basi, vans, but the roads are very very rugged and dusty, and hurt my back quite a lot. So walking is better. The taxis hurt too. But most people walk here anyway. It is so dusty and dirty. I take a shower when I come back from the orphanage, and I am still dirty after! We wash all of our underclothes. It is disrespectful for others to wash them. We can wash our clothes, but we cannot get them clean. So the women in the village do it for us for a few shillings or dollars. I have bought Tanzanian cloth and have had dresses and head dresses made to wear. The village women see me, smile and do a thumbs up. I have taken pictures, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to put it on the internet. When I get back, I will have many pictures to share.

Many of many of the volunteers are getting dysentary and malaria. Ending up at hospital. I am doing great! And I plan on staying that way. I am doing yoga, meditating, and praying. It seems to be helping. I am the oldest one here. The younger ones are off to do a very big hike today up the Kilimanjaro. I love it here now. I will do the best I can, which is to love from my heart.

I love you all so much and I hope to share more. Forgive me that I am not able to get to the internet as frequently as I wish I could. And forgive my spelling and sentence problems...I will do the best I can. It is usually very late when I get to the internet and there are so many people trying to use it. They keep us very busy all day long, with the children, Swahili lessons and Cultural lessons, HIV/AIDS classes... It is so funny how much I am eating. The food here at the compound so good! Tonight is the first night out to the bigger village of Moshi very dinner. Should be fun.There are many Mzungu or white people here to climb the Kilimanjaro.

Love to you all. Namaste

Pamela

Jambo everyone. I have tried many times to get on the site and cannot seem to do it. It is very primitive here and the internet is difficult.

The children are wonderful. Some malnutritioned, some with ringworm and other maladies, but so loving. Are orphanage is call Upendo and I go there every day to play, feed, and hold. There are so young, under the age of three. They have no toys and not much to do. Today I made flash cards, with Swahili and English. I brought bubbles and they were so delighted. It is hard and tiring work yet I am so rewarded. My job is to love and that is what I am doing.

One of the other orphanages ran out of food so we took a donation here at the compound and were able to get enough for food for another week, and then we don't know quite what we are to do.

All the people here are so happy and always smile, even though they are so very poor. I am so humbled by this experience. I will write more tomorrow when I am able to get on line again.

Much love and light,

Pamela

Jambo everyone!

Today is Tuesday and I went to the orphanage called Upendo. We live in a compound away from all the placements, then in the morning they drive us to our distinations. Some people, and there are about 30 of us, work in schools, hospitals and women's clinics. I am working with two other women from the US and England. The orphanage is run by Catholic nuns who are very nice and are very happy with our help. There are other workers, who go out in the yards with the children, feed them, bath them, potty train them etc. The children at this orphanage our newborn to five. The four and five year olds go to school during the day. So we played with the the 18 months to 3 year olds. The infants are kept away from us, because they are afraid that we could infect them. There are a few children with AIDS and more with HIV.

Our job was to go into the play yard and just play for most of the morning. We stay for a half day, then in the afternoon take swahili lessons, cultural lessons, walk through the small village and meet people, which is part of our work, to meet with the locals.

So I played with them all morning. I got them to march with jumping and singing. I learned enough Swahili to tell them to come, that they are wonderful and good. I think they enjoyed the experience of my hyperactivity! I taught them hookiepookie and the itsy bitsy spider. They had me running everywhere! They had very little food for these children. Warm mild at break and lunch was beans and water. Lots of running noses. I want to do so much and I have to keep awareness that I can do only so much.

In the afternoon the Swahili lessons were very funny for me. I cannot rely on the romance languages at all. It is more Arabic. Very hard, but everyone is so patient.

I can only wear dresses, so today they are making me four dresses that are very colorful and Tanzanian. Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures too. I look so funny with dresses to my ankles and sneakers.

This evening we took a walk into the local village at dusk. We turned around the sun was sitting on the Kilimanjaro! I really took some great pictures. People do not want you to take their pictures, without asking because they think that you are taking their souls. Today a Mama, which I am called as well because I am considered an elder, so I am called Mama Pamela, with emphasize on the e in my name, ask people to allow us to take their pictures, so I have a few now.

The food here at the compound is so good. I thought I would lose weight,but I think I will gain! My love to everyone and you are in my thoughts.

Kwaheri, which means good bye!
Take care,

Pamela

Hello everyone from Tanzania! It is so beautiful here. Actually, even though it is winter, it is very warm.

The trip took over two days, with all the air plane problems with security. And I am here! I am very tired and our first day is about meeting the volunteers, going into the city and meeting these incredible people. Everyone in the city and here at the compound are so friendly. My swahili is happening!

Tomorrow is orientation, more swahili lessons and then ready to work with the children. My assignement is all the infants. I will keep everyone in the loop. I cannot seem to use the blog yet, but I will.What an amazing site to see the Kilmanjaro as a backdrop. Everyone is so poor, but very loving. I will write more later. Please send this off to everyone.

Much love and light,

Pamela