The Result June 3, 2009

Hi everyone!

This is probably going to be the last update before we return to NYC.
The performance at Via Via on Saturday night was AWESOME.
The Umoja students stepped up to the plate and gave their best.

The performances were polished and exciting.
Everyone got together for the Single Ladies dance
as the last piece and it was so so great.

The event was hugely successful, raising 700,000 TSH for Umoja!

The biggest change that I’ve seen in the students has been their
willingness to put themselves out in the open and be confident about
who they are. They have opened up in an amazing way and enjoyed
themselves.

Patrick

Creating the Performance May 27, 2009

This week we have been creating, experimenting, taking risks, and
pulling together material for the students’ performance on Saturday
night.  Here is what it looks like we will be doing:

1. A “slam poem” by Mwajuma about HIV/AIDS.  She wrote this last week when all of the students wrote poems with the drama students.  They were given prompts such as “love,” “HIV/AIDS,” “past,” “future,” etc. Mwajuma wrote a powerful and compelling poem about how AIDS is our enemy and we have to fight back against it.  She has an incredibly powerful presence on the stage.  Collin and Ryan have choreographed a movement around it with about ten other students.  They represent the human lives being affected by AIDS and react to Mwajuma’s words in complete silence.
2. A song by Janet, the girl I mentioned before.  This was also taken from the poetry example mentioned earlier.  She wrote
   

   “Someday I am going to write a song, / A song that will be so powerful / That it will affect everyone.  /  It will be about my life /”  etc.

3. A song and dance of “Bogo zawa nyawa Tanzania,” a folk song about the different attractions in Tanzania.  The students taught Megan and me this song last week and have created a performance with it including dancing, singing, and percussion instruments.  It is a lot of fun
4. A huge choreographed dance to “Single Ladies.”  All of the
   students are OBSESSED with this song and are so into it.

Also, we will be performing some of our own material.  Collin will be improvising a dance to my unaccompanied Schelomo.  Megan be
improvising to Evan’s monologue.  Ryan will sing a song, and Jordan
will recite a poem he wrote about his name.  We will all perform Steve
Reich’s “Clapping Music” as well.

After our section of the show, some of the Umoja students will be
putting on an acrobatics show.  We saw some of them fooling around
yesterday and it was AMAZING!  They can just walk around on their
hands for as long as they want; or balance on one hand on top of a
pile of bricks, etc.

All the time I have for now!  I have to allow the last five minutes on
my time for the e-mail to send.  High-speed Internet is something very far into the future for Tanzania, apparently.

Another Update May 24, 2009

Hello everyone,

Sorry it’s been so long since the last update!  There is one decent internet cafe here with only six computers and sluggish internet speeds.  Also, I had typed up a very long update on Tuesday night but it got lost in cyperspace .

The experience has been absolutely amazing for all of us so far.  The people are all so friendly (although we did discover quickly that the friendly street people are just looking to sell us arts, crafts, and newspapers for twice their actual price).  People say hello to everyone as they pass on the street – completely different than in New York!  All of the food tastes amazing because it is all local and has no need for artificial preservatives, etc.  The other people staying at Ujamaa are so warm and friendly and have made it feel like a second home.  We are truly, according to the Swahili translation, a “community.”

There are 42 students that we have been working with at Umoja, aged 14-29.  They have each gone through unimaginable hardships.  Many of them are AIDS orphans and work hours upon hours each day in order to be able to make enough money to live.  Deborah, for example, wakes up early in the morning to cook for 25 people, and then walks an hour to Umoja for her classes.  When she is done she walks the hour back and cooks dinner for, cleans for, and does laundry for the same 25 people.  Every day.  Maria is a house maid – cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.  She has not been paid since January, but since she has no where else to go with guaranteed food or shelter, she has to stay with the same family – essentially, she is an indentured servant.  She is quite possibly the most upbeat, happy, and genuinely excited students at Umoja, and we never would have been able to tell that she was going through that situation if we hadn’t been told.  Janet’s father just passed away from HIV/AIDS last week, and her mother has just been diagnosed.  Before we came on Monday, she told Caroline and Emma, the program managers, that she doesn’t understand why she should even bother going to school anymore and that she will never have any reason to smile ever again.  Caroline and Emma believed that she would have to go through some counseling to help her through the impossibly difficult time in her life.  If they had not told us about her situation, we would have had absolutely NO idea.  She is constantly laughing, dancing, and singing along with everyone else.  On Tuesday we found out that the fact that she had come back for a second day was a strong statement about overcoming her emotional block – and we later found out indirectly that Emma and Caroline no longer think she needs the counseling to help her through this difficult time.

Honestly, if we hadn’t come here knowing that all of these students have lived through (and still do live through) unimaginable circumstances, we would have no idea.  They are absolutely the most excitable, giggly, happy and upbeat group of students that you can imagine, and so grateful for everything that they have.

For our own convenience, we hired a chef for lunch during the two weeks we will be at Umoja – otherwise we would waste much of the school day walking to get food.  We found out afterward that many of these students don’t know when there next meal will be – the lunch that we bought for them might be there ONLY meal for the day.  I never realized how much it was going to mean to them.

We have been setting a theme to each day – Monday was “play.”  Have fun, loosen up, make some new friends.  Tuesday, “share.”  We performed for the students and they shared with us and each other.  Wednesday, “trust.”  Trust yourself, trust your friends, trust your teachers.  Thursday, “risk.”  Put yourself out there and try something new.  Friday, “create.”  We wrote songs, poems, new dances, and introduced the creative process that we will be exploring all of next week when we make their show.

Yesterday, being a day off from Umoja, we all went to a place called the Future Happiness Home.  It is a home for girls aged 4-18 (although the oldest is currently 14) who have lost their parents and do not have the capability to stay with their other relatives.  They are the most beautiful girls.  Again, they are so genuinely happy and excited to see people that I would have had no idea what they had gone through.  As soon as we opened the gate to enter the home, they came running down the driveway screaming giving each of us individual hugs and kisses!  We sang songs with them such as “Ring Around the Rosey,” “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands,” etc.

More updates soon!

We’ve Arrived!! May 17, 2009

We arrived in Tanzania last night after a LONG trip – 7 hours to Amsterdam, 3-hour layover, 9 hours to Kilamanjaro Airport.  It is  very humid and warm, but the locals consider this to be somewhat cold.  The city is absolutely beautiful - much less of a city than we are used to, more like a busy country town to our standards.  There are only 800 people in the entire city, and most everyone knows each other.  There are several markets jam packed with local foods and hand-made baskets, souvenirs, etc.  The people are unbelievably warm and friendly – they will just come up to you and start talking as if we were best friends.  The people are very supportive of volunteers.  Two people showed us around the markets and through parts of the city.  The hostel we are staying at is very nice – warm and friendly people who are all here for the same reasons that we are.  The area is too warm and welcoming for me to feel overwhelmed, but it is a bit of an unreal experience.  The people here really do live in a completely different way than we do, and it works just as well for them as our way of living works for us.  We will begin teaching at Umoja tomorrow morning!  Internet time is short, but I’ll update more when I get a chance!

Patrick

And we’re off! May 14, 2009

After all this time of intense planning and fundraising, we have finally reached the moment we’ve all been waiting for!  We will be leaving tomorrow night from New York City and arriving in Arusha, Tanzania on Saturday night!  We will be picked up from the airport by people from the Ujamaa hostel, where we will be staying.  You can view their website here: http://www.ujamaahostel.com/

 

We will be working with the students at the Umoja Youth Empowerment Centre (http://www.umoja.com.au) for the two weeks, with a culminating performance on Saturday, May 30th as part of a fundraiser for Umoja in the center of Arusha.  

 

Also while we are there, we have tentative plans to spend a day with members of the local Masai tribe, spend some time with orphaned children at the Happy Watoto Home, and meet up with a nurse who studied in Arusha.  It is going to be an amazing trip!

 

Please keep checking into the blog for updates about the trip.  Our Internet connection will be limited to the resources of nearby internet cafés, but we will do our best to keep you posted.  We will be uploading photos (hopefully, given the unknown reliability and speed of the Internet connection), to our Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arushaartsinitiative/  If all works as planned, the photos will automatically be updated in our “Flickr” widget on the sidebar to the right of this post.  (Right now there is one photo as a test, but hopefully there will be more as we update!).  

 

We are looking forward to this trip so much, and cannot wait to share the results with you!

Umoja Student Profile: Mwajuma May 12, 2009

Name:  Mwajuma

Age:  19

Tribe:  Mpare

Color:  Green

Skill:   Tailoring

 

Mwajuma’s Story:  Mwajuma is originally from the Kilimanjaro Region where her parents were small-scale farmers, growing coffee and selling to large companies. Eventually due to soil erosion and over intensive farming, the quantity and the quality of the coffee reduced and the  income was not enough to support the family. Mwajuma finished her Primary Education in Kilimanjaro before the family moved to Arusha to look for work. She has four brothers and one sister. Her father was employed at the General Tyre factory before    suffering from a stroke. From this point he was unable to work, and unable to support the family. During this time, their was no money coming in, therefore Mwajuma was unable to continue with school.

 

Later on, Mwajuma was able to pay for herself to learn tailoring. Using these skills Mwajuma and her sister, Sadati have created a small business for themselves, working from a single room workshop in a suburb of Arusha, called Moshono. With her small earnings she now supports her parents.

 

Mwajuma is employed by Umoja to make all our fabric items, made from the beautiful kitenge fabrics. She has made many skirts, bags, cushion covers and toys for us to sell to support the centre. Her brother, Abdallah was also involved in the creation of the centre as he rendered the classroom.

 

She feels that by attending the Umoja Youth Empowerment Centre, she will be able to learn skills that will help her develop her business. Eventually Mwajuma would like to train to be a tailoring teacher. She believes that the English, Computing and Key Skills courses that she will learn at the centre will help her future and her family.

Umoja Student Profile: Lucy May 9, 2009

Name:  Lucy

Age:  19

Tribe:  Makonde

Skills:  Singing, dancing

Favorite Food:  Ugali and fish

 

Lucy’s Story:  Lucy was born in Arusha and has lived here with her parents up until last year when she moved to her uncle’s house. Her parents, Lucy and her two sisters were all sharing one room, when the uncle offered to have the children live with him. Both parents are traditional dancers, performing in various venues around Arusha, mostly for tourists.

 

Lucy did not continue into Secondary School, leaving at the end of Standard 7 in 2004. Her parents did not have the money to support her in her education. Since leaving Primary education,  Lucy has found no work and has remained at home.

 

In the future, her dream is to be a lawyer so that she can defend the rights of children. She feels passionate about the welfare of children and in particular, girls. Lucy believes that many girls are not given the opportunity to gain an education because boys are favoured by the families. All her life she has wanted to be a lawyer, and feels that she will be truly happy when this is achieved.

 

Lucy is a very enthusiastic student and we believe that she will do very well in her studies with us at the Umoja Youth Empowerment Centre. The courses she will study in this foundation year, will act as a stepping stone, helping her get back into studies and to focus on her dreams. When asked whether she would like to be married, Lucy replied, “yes, but at age 29, when all my dreams have been fulfilled”.

Umoja Student Profile: Hosiana May 6, 2009

Name:  Hosiana

Age:  22

Tribe:  Masai

Color:  Pink

Favorite Food:  Loshoro – a traditional Masai dish of maize and milk

 

Hosiana’s Story:  Hosiana lives with her parents in a rural area of Arusha. She is the third born of seven children. Her parents are small scale subsistence farmers, growing maize and beans for their own consumption.  Hosiana’s father works at home, tending the crops and looking after their four cows and three goats. The only money coming into the family is from the mother. She buys cooking oil in bulk and sells it to the villagers, only bringing in minimal profits.

 

Hosiana has a dream to be a business woman and to be financially independent. She would like to open a stationary shop. Hosiana would like to be married but only after achieving her dreams of being a successful business woman. She would then like to have two children. 

 

The work experience and business studies that Hosiana will learn at the Umoja Youth Empowerment Centre, alongside English and Computing will help her achieve her dreams.

Umoja Student Profile: Gerald May 3, 2009

Name:  Gerald

Age:  20

Tribe:  Hehe

Hobbies:  Rap music

Color:  Yellow

Favorite Meal:  Maize and fish

 

Gerald’s Story:  Gerald was born in Moshi, a city at the base of Kilimanjaro. He does not remember his father who left when Gerald was two and his mother was pregnant with twins. Whilst his father was around the family were renting a room in Moshi, but when he left there was no money to pay the rent, so they moved to Arusha to live with his grandparents.

 

Gerald’s grandmother sold bananas from her small plantation to pay for his schooling. When he started Secondary School his mother got a job in a milling factory, where she earned 15,000 Tsh (approx $14 US) per week. With this small wage, she paid for Gerald’s schooling. He finished Standard 4, but did not pass the examination for the next level. This is the case for many students as they struggle with the English language (Primary is taught in Kiswahili, Secondary in English) and do not get the extra attention they may need in overcrowded classrooms, with sometimes fifty students in a class.

 

Gerald is now twenty, and since leaving schooling last year, he has been employed casually doing building work. He has a passion for driving (already has learnt without a license!) and one day his dream is to be a tour guide working for a safari company. This has always been his dream, he says it is “in his blood!” Gerald’s reasons for choosing this profession are to meet new people and to take them to the beautiful places in Tanzania – also the driving of course!

 

The family; Mum, Gerald and twin twelve year old sisters, live in a rented double room in Kimandolu, a suburb of Arusha. At the Umoja Youth Empowerment Centre, Gerald hopes to gain further education and life skills, which will be the stepping stones to his future career.

Umoja Student Profile: Ebenezery April 30, 2009

Name:  Ebenezery

Age:  18

Tribe:  Mchaga

Football Team:  Arsenal

Hobbies:  Reading newspapers

 

Ebenezery’s Story:  Ebenezery was born in the Kilimanjaro region in a small rural village called Lole Marera. When he was two years old his father left and Ebenezery has not seen him since. His mother financially struggled but was able to support Ebenezery through Primary School. When he was nine years old, his mother remarried and had two sons. His mother is a house maid and his stepfather does not work, but grows food for the family to eat.

 

In 2005 Ebenezery finished Standard 7 (the final year of Primary School), aged 14.  Unfortunately he failed the examination to continue into Secondary school. This is the situation of many children in Tanzania due to the lack of support, overcrowded classes and poor quality education. 

 

After leaving school Ebenezery found casual work in the village such as digging and working on plantations. In March of this year, his uncle, Mremi, brought him to Arusha to try and better his life.  Luckily he was referred to us at the Umoja Youth Empowerment Centre and now is studying English, Computing, Business Studies, Personal Development, Civics and Careers.

 

At this time Ebenezery is unsure what career path he wants to take, he just wants to have a ‘good life’. When asked what his definition of a ‘good life’ might be, he replied “to have my own house, a car, a cow and some chickens.”