When we landed in Arusha, it literally felt like I had been transported in a photo shoot from National Geographic. There is something incredibly surreal about walking around the TCDC compound and having monkeys scamper across the path directly in front of me. As amazing as the experience was, I am very thankful that it was arranged in the manner that it was. I recognize the time and effort that was put into the schedule and the order of events, and as I look at my entire experience, all the different elements of the orientation really prepared me for the rest of my time in Tanzania.
Steven Ndosi
There is so much to say about this amazing individual. Steven was our guide during the first few weeks that we were in the Arusha area, in July. Among the many capacities that he serves, one of them is as a spokesperson of sorts - commenting on political issues and decisions that are made in Tanzania. For someone who has had the sort of face time on television as he has, he is an incredible humble person. Even in the states, my experience has been that even the local newscasters tend to sort of have an elevated status. That is not something that I noticed in Steven, and it really warmed my heart.
He spoke so passionate to us about his country, and despite the obvious frustrations that he has with the corruption, he was so positive and emotional. I think to the United States, and how outspoken and hateful some many people come across while criticizing the government. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with freedom of speech, and I believe that it is necessary for people to be vocal in their frustrations with the governments of the their country, but Steven was eloquent in his frustrations in a way that I rarely see today in the States. Granted, it is an election season, and that makes everyone’s tensions run high, but that is no excuse not to be creative and civil and concise.
Steven not only gave us a political history of his beloved nation, he also gave us a lesson in intense patriotism. Even without specifically talking about patriotism, or his sense of being a Tanzanian, he introduced us to the mindset that I encountered so many more times over my three-month experience. As Tanzanians tell us about their country, it is their country. They know that theirs is not the wealthiest of nations, but they take an immense amount of pride in their accomplishments. When learning about their nation’s history in primary school, I hear the pride in the instructors’ voices, even when I can barely understand the language - Kiswahili. Steven gave me an insight to his commitment not only to his immediate community, but also to the country as a whole, and spoke so passionately it made me feel ashamed not to possess the same devotion.
Peace House
I think the experience that unsettled me the most during our two week orientation was the tour of the Peace House. It is a school that was built several years ago, to house and educate orphans, selected by a committee. It is entirely funded by foreign donations. The school, without a doubt, was fantastic. The generous donations really mean a lot to each of the lives of those young men and women who had been given the gift of an incredible educational opportunity. But that basic and underlying fact aside, there were several things that bothered me, and I made myself think long and hard about why exactly they unsettled me.
The biggest problem I had with the whole idea of the school is that it targets orphans. In my experience, Americans have this romanticized, dramatic idea of who orphans are. So a group of sponsors from the USA come together and donate and fundraise to build a western school in the middle of Tanzania, and then select only orphans to be brought to this school to learn.
It seemed so backward. Why take children away from the people who have been raising them, making them even more of outsiders, and bring them to a school where they are treated differently specifically because they are orphans? As soon as they graduate from secondary school, they will go – where? They don’t have the connections that a child growing up in a village or town would have. They don’t have the relationships or the contacts. They were removed from that opportunity by the very people who were trying to help them. Now, I’m not saying that this reinforces the old adage, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,’ I’m simply trying to point out that this is a very American idea being thrust into a very non-American place.
Gemma and Lesikar
So often, people talk of ‘globalization’ but what they really mean is ‘westernization’. This is something that a lot of my pre-departure readings discussed – the idea that simply because something is not similar to the way the ‘west’ does things, it is therefore inferior, backwards, inadequate, antiquated.
This is something that Gemma spoke at great lengths about during our different opportunities to meet with her. emma and her husband were exceedingly welcoming to us, to their home in Monduli and in Lesikar's father's boma.
New products appear on our shelves every few weeks. There are new ‘must-haves’ and ‘can’t-live-without-this’ offers coming out of the radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and Internet. If things are not changing and becoming flashier and fancier, than they simply aren’t good enough.
But that philosophy does not hold so firm in other parts of the world. I spoke with several Tanzanians who, when given the choice, prefer to buy things used. Why? “Because they are still good.” Things don’t lose their value as they are used – they gain value. Items remain valuable even after there is visible wear-and-tea. This is a mindset that is essential non-existent in too many social circles in the United States. People actually pay more to buy their clothes ripped, stained, scratched, and frayed. I don’t understand it – I know many of the Tanzanians I talked to don’t really get it either. The concept of buying clothes and wearing them out until they get to that states? It would make more sense, at least to me, personally.
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As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is also easy. Tolerance is simple and takes little effort. Understanding, comprehension, learning, expanding one’s boundaries and comforts zones – those things are uncomfortable. Breaking stereotypes and deliberately removing one’s self from their support structures? That can be down right painful. But the benefits and knowledge that I’ve gained through this experience is worth it.
Monday, December 1, 2008
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