The Other Side of Who We Are: Where I Work, Part II

Kids, kids kids

So when Ben isn't in Dar, he's staying in a small town south of Dar called Mbagala. Thats also where I try to spend 2-3 days a week if I can, if DPP isn't too busy. Mbagala is an altogether different place from Dar:

Dar is a huge, rapidly-growing city in East Africa, the largest city in Tanzania, and its urban. It is full of slums, though there are areas of town with unbelievable wealth. There are huge food and craft markets with people selling you all sorts of things. It is very dirty, and there are beggars and thieves.

Typical street in Mbagala

Mbagala is more what you might have imagined if someone told you they were "going to live in Africa". Its much smaller and more rural. The streets are largely unpaved and unplanned. While life in Dar might be comparable to the U.S. (electric stove, shower, internet at times), day-to-day life in Mbagala is much different. Electricity often goes out during the day (when the power-grid is the most taxed), we shower with buckets of warm water, and sleep under a mosquito net (Malaria is endemic here, so we wear bugspray 24/7, take medicine, and sleep under nets).

So let me get back to what I actually do there. Dartmouth is very loosely affiliated with a program called Bibi To Bibi (Engl: Grandmother to Grandmother) that functions to support grandmothers who are taking care of their grandchildren who are AIDS orphans. The bibis work to make crafts to sell locally to support themselves. The children all go to a school called Bibi Jann's, a school funded by a Swedish woman (Jann) for preschool, 1st, and 2nd graders. Thats mostly where Ben and I work. We teach one of the classes, usually the 1st or 2nd graders. This involves Ben speaking a lot of Swahili (he's a baller) and me pretending I know Swahili (doesnt work). We also do a lot of errand running with the director, Dickson—stuff like buying charcoal for the fires, going shopping for a bus that we're trying to raise money for, house visits, etc.

Studying

Gotta love 'em

We live at the school with Fatuma Pyuza, the head bibi, as well as various members of the Pyuza family and any orphans who have nowhere else to go (usually at least a couple). Night-time is a lot of relaxing, hanging out with the families, etc. All-in-all a great time. Which is why Ben spends so much time there.

Not camera shy

A word about Dickson. He's the man. He speaks pretty good English and is by our side most of the time we're in Mbagala. He teaches the grade that we don't teach, and handles most major decisions. On Sundays, we've gone to a couple beaches with him and Ashura, a child who was basically adopted by the school because she has nowhere else to go.

Dickson

Oh yeah and the food. Its awesome. They cook over portable charcoal grills (they look like camping stoves) and make general Tanzanian food. Because the ingredients are so cheap, we fill up. I'm probably strengthening the hell out of my immune system by being exposed to all kinds of stuff, but what can you do. Ben and I have also made it a priority to learn to cook Tanzania food, and we've picked up a couple different recipes. The men generally don't cook (though they all know how), so the men and women alike think its hilarious.