Blog 3: Upendo Orphanage

-       Woke up and ate breakfast

-       Waited for the Dala Dala

-       Split into groups (Orphanage or preschool)

-       Arrived at Upendo Orphanage

-       Talked to the head sister about the history of the school

-       Met the kids

-       Played with the kids (about 15 kids, ages 1-6)

-       Each found a kid that we hung around with for most of the day

-       Cleaned up messes that the kids made

-       Fed them

-       Played more

-       Put them down for a nap

-       Left the Orphanage

-       Went to the bank

-       Walked to a shop and looked around

-       Came back to the lodge for lunch

-       Waited for the Dala Dala, again

-       Packed into the small Dala Dala and went to the women’s group

-       Got lost, a lot

-       Met the women and introduced ourselves

-       Talked for a very long time

-       Jason and Jim went out with the leader of the group and bought shovels and wheel barrels

-       Looked at the items that the women’s group made to sell

-       Packed into the Dala Dala again and left

-       Got back to the Lodge and hung out until dinner

We started the day around 7:00, ate at 7:30, and waited for the Dala Dala, which runs on African time. The groups parted ways and went to each of their locations. We went to Upendo Orphanage. The ride there consisted of us going through the nicer parts of Moshi, called Shanti Town. After passing the very elegant, fenced in houses and nice cars we turned down a rough dirt road that led to the orphanage. After arriving at the very well kept orphanage, we waited for the head sister. She told us about the history of the orphanage, their system of how they work, and about the kids. We went into a semi-indoor courtyard where the kids were. The kids were all very excited to have mzungus as visitors. Mzungu is Swahili for white people and we are a rare sight to see there. We were all very excited to play with the kids too. Most of them were very young, about 1-4 years old, but there were a few kids that were older, around 6, that could speak very good English to us. Most of them had a lot of energy and ran around throwing things and yelling, while some were very burnt out already and fell asleep on our laps. We fed them milk and porridge for lunch which was a very difficult task because they were very fidgety and did not want to eat that much. They were also very messy. By this time a lot of us were even tired out from playing with the kids, most of them were not though. After feeding them we went back to the courtyard to play more and then brought them back out to take their naps. Putting them down for a nap was very stressful because none of them wanted to be put down and would cry and crawl out of their crib when set in them. It was hard to leave them, but we were all very tired. When we left the orphanage, our small group went to the bank to get Tanzanian Schillings, this did not take very long but it was extremely hot. Walking from the bank to the shops was even hotter though. When we got to the shops, we told the sellers that we were just looking and would be back Sunday to buy things. They had a lot of cool paintings, pottery, carvings, and jewelry. After about 15 minutes of shopping, we headed back to the lodge for lunch.

            It was interesting to share stories about our day with the other group of kids that went to the preschool. After this we all waited for lunch, which also was on African time. We had a big lunch and then waited for our dala dala again to bring us to the women’s group that we were going to meet up with. It was a very small van that we somehow fit 25 people in. The boys sat in the back and had to sit on each other which was not comfortable at all. It was extremely hot in the van and we had to stop to get directions about 3 times. It was probably a 30 minute ride that felt like hours. Jake had to hang his leg out the window so that Bryce had enough room to breathe. We finally met the women and we all introduced ourselves. The group leader, Jesca, had to translate everything that was said from Swahili to English, and vice versa. It was a great example of Pole Pole. We all sat in plastic chairs in the heat for about 2 hours while the women talked about what their group does and about what we would be doing there to serve them. While discussing the project of digging a fish pond, we were told we only had 2 shovels for all of us and no way of hauling the dirt away. In previous years they used their hands and small bags to remove the dirt, which was slow and inefficient. This gave Jason Becker the idea of buying a bunch of new shovels and wheel barrels for the group to use. Then the discussing began of how they would make this happen with the money and traveling to the store, Jesca translating every line. A few of the chaperones went with some of the women to go buy the materials while the rest of our group looked at the items that the women’s group makes and sells before getting ready to leave. Although a few people short, the dala dala was still hot and packed with people. The ride was much shorter after knowing the way back to the lodge. However, Jakes foot was still out the window. We arrived back at the lodge and had a few hours to just hangout, rest, and clean up before dinner. Everybody was very tired by this time and most went to bed or just relaxed after dinner. It was a very long and eventful day, but we all had fun and enjoyed it.

Nobody is sick yet and we are all enjoying our time here. The food is good and the geckos in our rooms are our friends.

-Allison and Jake