Blog 8 – Jiendeleze and manual labor

Blog 8 – Jiendeleze and manual labor

We woke up earlier than yesterday. Most woke up around 7:15 for a 7:30 breakfast. However, room 109 (Grayson, Bryce, and Brock) and 104 (Ashlea, Jenna, and Larkin) didn’t set their alarm; giving the rest of the group a couple extra minutes. Breakfast was served on time and consisted of deep fried toast, bread, eggs, mangos, and papayas.  The crew split up into three different groups for volunteering in the morning. The Agano (preschool) group left first, followed by St. Louis (primary school). Finally, once the dala dala returned from Agano, our group rode to Upendo Orphanage.

            Upon arriving at the Orphanage the children and workers were outside waiting to greet us. After getting off the bus the kids instantly gravitated towards us and grabbed our hands to bring us inside. They brought us to a ‘play pen’ that had two windows and a merry-go-round in the middle of the room. The kids, ranged from 1-3 years old, loved looking out the windows when held up. There were also stickers on the wall that they liked to touch and peel off. Tricia hung out with David, a trouble maker, and Rafael who was very quiet. The boys loved to be tickled and Tricia was able to make Rafael smile. Ben spent time with a little girl named Jessica. He was able to get her to nap while he held her. He may have also taken a nap with her still in his arms. Lizzy helped capture the moment by taking some awesome Polaroid pictures.

            Between playing and napping with the kids we brought them to the feeding room, where they had warm milk. Most were able to feed themselves but others got help from us with holding the cups. Drinking the milk lasted no more than 15 minutes.

            After the brief break from play we went back to the playroom. A Dutch volunteer was also helping at Upendo (for 3 months) and brought out balloons, which were an instant hit. The balloons were mainly used for sucking on and hitting other kids, which we tried to stop. During all the fun, a young boy peed on Larkin. One of the workers cleaned up the mess. All to soon it was lunchtime.

            Lunch took place in the same room as milk time. Our jobs were to help kids eat all their food. Most of us were partnered with the smaller children who were in high chairs. The portions of food were quite large for small children, but the goal was for each kid to finish their meal. The kids in the high chair were very fussy and were difficult to feed, except for Rosie. The kid Ben was feeding refused to eat his food after taking a couple bites. Ben was discouraged and gave up. He ended up giving the food to another kid who had already eaten so he could be done. The kid Zanny was feeding threw up on her. Tricia ended up feeding Rafael, who refused to eat until he could also hold on to the spoon and help feed himself. After helping feed the children we were instructed to leave. However, Jessica didn’t want Ben to leave and insisted he hold her. Ben was sad to leave her but knew he would see her again. After we all left the room, screams were heard from frustration of us leaving.

            We were the first group back at the lodge. The St. Louis group was the next back. Lastly, the Agano group arrived. Once everybody was ready and changed out of pee and vomit filled clothes, we ate lunch of rice, beef, and fruit salad. Shortly after, we headed out for manual labor and meet up with Jiendeleze women’s group.

            Jesca is a lawyer and head of the Jiendeleze group, a women’s group dedicated to empowering women through increasing their economic independence. The group is currently composed of roughly 30 women who all practice their own trades, primarily crafts and clothing production. Jesca is an amazing leader and met Mr. McMorrow back in 2007. The group was founded in 2010, and ever since its founding, Cathedral students and the women’s group have worked hand in hand to connect student to the mamas (women) and organizing manual labor projects. This year our manual labor project is to help finish a fish pond that was started in 2016. Thanks to the chaperones the project has gone much more efficiently, as they all pitched in to buy 20 shovels and 4 wheelbarrows. This gesture meant very much to the women who were planning on doing the project with 2 shovels.

            Today we made much more progress with the project. We got there a bit earlier than the mamas and started digging and hoeing in shifts by travel groups. The breaks were helpful to prevent dehydration and tired arms. After about an hour of rigorous work the mamas joined us, with more hoes. One of woman’s husband joined us and was a machine! We deemed him the MVP. We worked in a cycle; with the mamas loosening up the hard dirt with their hoes, and us clearing out the loosened dirt with shovels and wheelbarrows. The boys of our group worked tirelessly, refusing to take breaks. By the end of our three-hour work period everyone was coated in dirt and we were all ready to head out. All of us felt exhausted but were proud of the work we did and progress we made.

            Immediately after arrival at the lodge everyone showered to wash off the dirt. The water was completely brown after rinsing us off… we were grimy! However after showering we all felt clean. A couple games of Uno were played in the gathering room, and Mt. Kilimanjaro peaked out through the clouds and was visible from the roof. Much of the group gathered on the roof to observe the sunset with Mt. Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. Martin, a teacher from St. Louis Primary, had his family visit Baba Dick and give him updates on their family and home. His niece sold cute bracelets to Baba Dick. Shortly after they left, dinner was ready.

            Dinner was made up of noodles, mashed potatoes, beef hotdish, and banana custard, and vegetable soup. It was a great meal after a hard days work. We had our group meeting and reflected on our time so far in Tanzania; where we saw love and faith in action. Baba Dick also reminded us to have two feet here for the best experience possible.

            It was a fantastic and taxing day but it is nice to know that we are beginning a routine for the next few days.

Ben- Hi, Mom, Sara, and Katie. I hope you had fun in Colombia. I’m excited to share stories once I get back.

Tricia- Hi guys! <3