Mud Huts and Mosquitos in Mateves Village, TZ

Long-overdue Update

2008-12-11T22:21:00.001-08:00

Hey all, I know it's been a while. I'll send an email out to those invested in the Amina-Shammim story.

If you don't remember, Shammim and Amina are the (now, previously) homeless mother and baby who I became close during my stay in Tanzania. They were both found to be HIV+.

I just got an email from my friend Jacob, who told me that they're both off the streets, living in St. Lucia's home care and orphanage, where they're receiving treatment for HIV. Amina ran away once, but overall, they're doing well.

I just wanted to let you all know that your contributions to Amina and her baby are paying for their home, and their treatment. Because of you, she and her baby will spend the rest of their short lives in a home, off the streets, surrounded by people who care about them. Not only that, but they're getting treatment that will significantly lengthen their lives.

A few pictures.....site and safari.

2008-10-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

The link to my flickr account is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30988921@N04/

you can see lots of pictures there - i'll be posting some later this afternoon with captions and explanations. i've got pictures of site, zanzibar, safari, and the kids i fell in love with at the orphanage, as well as my class! i've only got about 130 pictures up, out of 1500+ that i took, but i think it'll give a decent glimpse of what life in TZ is like.

it all makes me so nostalgic.

Bad News

2008-09-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

I just heard that Amina and Shammim, the mother and daughter I'd blogged about previously, are both HIV positive. It's so hard to hear, and immediately snaps me back to reality. I'm really heartbroken...especially about the baby. She's maybe got a year or two to live, max. She's already getting sick. It's so hard to imagine that brilliant, sassy little girl not getting the opportunity to live out her life.

It makes me want to go back more than ever. I was just starting to sink back into the easy routine of everyday life in the U.S. when I heard, and was snapped violently back into reality. I want to go back.

Anyway, I'm finishing up organizing my pictures, they'll be up before I go back down to LA for Dave's birthday this weekend.

I'm safely at home

2008-09-24T01:37:00.001-07:00

after a VERY long journey. I miss Tanzania like crazy, but it is good to be home, culture shock and all.

Pictures to follow, as soon as I get my new laptop to cooperate.

Last few hours...

2008-09-21T23:53:00.001-07:00

I'm going to miss this place. I'm going to miss everything from the red dusty roads to the view of Mt. Meru from my hut to the sight of 5 year olds herding cattle down the path every afternoon. I'm going to miss rice and beans, chapati, and maandazi, and the mamas who cook our food for us. I'm going to miss the chickens underneath my bed, the spectacularly vivid sunsets, and the smoky smell of campfire permeating my clothes and hair. I'm going to miss the lady who takes care of us at the internet cafe, the wildly eclectic group of people I came here with, and the sweet smiles and impish grins of the children I've met here. I think I'm even going to miss the choo. As cheesy as this sounds, I'm going to miss the raw energy of this place -EVERYTHING is felt so much more intensely here. America is so much blander.

Of course, there are things I'm NOT going to miss: the mosquitos, the roosters crowing at 4AM, the amoebas, the danger of walking around town at night. That's about it, though.

I've learned so much more than I can possibly fathom. I've changed more than I can possibly explain. This place exposed me to more reality than I could've possibly imagined. It's so bizarre to think that I'll be going back to Los Angeles, of all places, after being here.

Anyway, I'm off. Next post will be from the comfort of home in Ventura, CA. Wish me safe travels!

-Caitlin

I'm not ready to come home.

2008-09-20T03:01:00.000-07:00

See above.

What a fascinating morning

2008-09-19T02:45:00.001-07:00

This morning, some of my friends and I woke up early to go watch the International Rwandan Genocide Tribunals held by the United Nations. It was both fascinating and impressive to watch an international trial conducted by the UN.

The whole thing is free to watch, and within walking distance. We walked in, and had to give up a form of ID in order to get our UN visitors pass. We had to walk through metal detectors and past several armed guards in order to get to the room. We watched through a one-way glass wall and listened to the proceedings via headsets. It was all conducted in English, luckily - it wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. The witness they were questioning was shrouded by a curtain so the audience couldn't see him - all for witness protection. They talked about mass murders conducted by high ranking members of the military. The defense and prosecution really attacked each other at times - it was so tense. It was hard to believe that this was going on the whole time I was here, and I had no IDEA. It really sparked my interest in international law.

Anyway, I'm off to say goodbye to the street kids (and Amina) for the final time. It's going to be really, really tough, but I know I'm leaving them in capable hands.

And it's almost over.

2008-09-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

I think I've cried more in the past week than I have the previous two years combined. Saying goodbye to this place, these people, has broken my heart over and over again. I just keep thinking, "I'm not done here - I'm not ready to say goodbye." I promise myself and the people I've grown to love that I'll come back, but I don't know when that'll be.

The last week was really busy. Stressful, yet productive. Both elating and unbelievably depressing. I'm so emotionally tired, I could sleep for days. We taught the street kids for the last time. It was so hard to see the look on their faces when we told them we were leaving - it was like we were betraying them and abandoning them like everyone else had. Even though we're leaving them to the next volunteer group, we were the first, and they'd grown to trust and even care for us.

At Samaritan Orphanage, I cried 3 times. Huge, choking, ugly sobs. The babies and my friends tried to comfort me, but I was basically inconsolable. I was saying goodbye to kids I wasn't sure I'd ever see again. I changed their diapers, dried their tears, even taught one of them to walk. They ran to me when they saw me. Some of them are HIV positive. Some of the smiling, happy, healthy babies I know now won't be that way for long. They'll get sick and die even before their life begins. It just sickens me to think about it.

On a happier note, we did our testing at Kisongo Market on Wednesday. We worked all day, advertising, testing, and teaching as many people as we could reach. I talked myself hoarse, did condom demonstrations to a large group of Maasai men surrounding me, and answered many, many tough questions. Why couldn't we bring medicine? How were HIV + people supposed to tell their spouses? Their children? Isn't it better that they spare themselves the shame of knowing? What about rural communities that don't have access to any supplies? How was I, a mzungu, supposed to understand their culture? It was hard, but unbelievably rewarding. We tested many, many people, and answered many questions. My students even came to visit, and helped me translate. By the way, I'm apparently worth hundreds of cows - my Tanzanian friend tried to trade me after he was approached for several marriage proposals. Pretty funny, but a little disconcerting.

My friend who was hit by the car is doing well - she's back in the US, and is getting treatment for her foot. It was really hard for her to leave, but she knows it was for the best.

I leave here on Monday, will be home on Tuesday. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

One week left...

2008-09-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

..and that's so hard for me to believe. Don't get me wrong, I want to go home and see my family, friends, and boyfriend, but I can hardly stand the fact that I'm leaving.

It's hard for me to know that I'm going back to my nice home back in the States and leaving everyone behind here. It's hard for me to leave when I know there's still so much I have to offer.

Anyway, I guess I just have to take advantage of my last week here. It'll certainly be a busy one. We're going to be teaching English to the street kids, working at the orphanage, at least one last community teaching, and putting on a full-scale testing day on Wednesday. We hope to test hundreds of people with a mobile clinic at the local market. It'll certainly end this program with a bang.

This past week was tumultuous, per usual. I spent a lot of time at Samaritan Orphanage, changed more diapers, and fed more babies than I ever had in my entire life. I saw a little girl take her first steps, communicated with a deaf boy by writing to him in the sandbox, and had the little kids RUN to see me when I got there. That place is what I hope our orphanage eventually emulates. It's such a happy, homey place.

There was a scary part this week though. One of the coordinators fell off of the truck when we were riding to the main road, and got hit by the tire. She's fine, but part of her heel and the fatty tissue on the bottom of her foot was ripped off. Luckily, there were no bones broken or ligaments torn. Luckily, the tire hit her foot and not anything else. She was operated on in the local hospital by a great doctor, and she's going to be perfectly okay. It was pretty horrifying though, to say the least. It really brought me back to earth on how dangerous it was if we got hurt here.

Anyway, I wanted to give an update on Amina and her baby. We have the funds to build her house, but we want to make sure that she'll be safe living on site before we move her in. She's a raging alcoholic - I don't blame her for wanting to numb the pain of living in her situation, but we can't have that on site if we're having kids move in in 2 months. It's not uncommon for street people to use drugs or alcohol - you can get stone drunk off of local street moonshine for 5 cents. We're getting intervention through a social worker, and gradually getting through to her. It's hard though. I sometimes get so frustrated with her, but it's hard for me to imagine being in her position. I know it'll work out in the end. My coordinators have promised they'd send pictures when she's recovered and moved in.

Anyway, I'm off. I may be posting again tomorrow, and I'll definitely be posting the next few weekends.

Love you all,
Caitlin

Return from Paradise

2008-09-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I'm back in Arusha for the weekend, after a long week at site. Zanzibar was wonderful and relaxing and beautiful, but vacation ended and it was back to work.

Zanzibar was wonderful - beautiful white sand beaches, spectacular warm water, and AMAZING seafood. After eating rice and beans for 6 weeks, it was pretty wonderful. We stayed up at Kendwa on the Northern side for three days, which was really nice. There are no waves, and there's always a swimmable beach on the north side. The next 2 days we spent at Kichanga Resort on the East side. The owner, Stefano, is a really nice Italian man who lives there with his family half the year, and spends the rest of the time in Italy. He's adopted 2 local kids, and started an education foundation to help with literacy rates in the area. He found out we were volunteers, and let us stay at his fancy resort- complete with buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinne - for a really unbelievably low rate. I don't think we've ever eaten so much in our entire LIVES. We essentially ate and slept on the beach for two days. It was gloriously relaxing. I did step on a poisonus sea urchin, and got a nasty burn-rash on my hands and feet from my malaria medicine reacting with the intense equatorial sun. I burned despite using up an entire tube of SPF 60 sunscreen in 5 days! It was pretty intense, but I stopped taking my medicine for the weekend, and the rashes are healing.

This week I taught my last class. The standard 7 kids are preparing to take their national exams to see whether or not they pass primary school, and qualify for the best secondary schools. The kids were so sweet, and so receptive to everything we taught them. We gave them a free for all Q&A period, and they asked tons of questions about Obama and McCain, whether it was possible for them to move to America, and why the UN didn't let countries like Tanzania have any power. Smart kids, huh?

We're also working at an orphanage a couple times a week. I fell in love with an 8 month old baby girl, Brigitti. I also learned that I'll NEVER survive working in a daycare or preschool. 10 kids under the age of 5, even with a couple other people helping me, were overwhelming and exhausting. I was only there for 4-5 hours, but I was dead tired when I got back to site.

Anyway, I'll be sure to post more tomorrow. I miss and love you all. I can't tell you how much your support has helped me during the tough parts of this trip. It hasn't been easy, but it's been completely worthwhile.

Zanzibar

2008-09-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

Caitlin has returned safely to her village from Zanzibar, after having what she said was "the best time of my life!"

After over a month of hard work in the village, she was able to relax a little at a resort on the beautiful island of Zanzibar. The kind owner of the facility charged the volunteers very little to stay there, and Caitlin was finally able to enjoy some nice large meals and plenty of time on the beach.

This is her boyfriend updating on her behalf again. She might not be able to access the internet for a week or more, but she wanted me to let everyone know that she's doing great!

Safari Recap

2008-08-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

It was unbelievably fantastic. I went to Lake Maynara my first day, and Ngorongoro Crater my second. I camped in a beautiful spot overlooking the Rift Valley and the Lake - in other words, the cradle of CIVILIZATION ITSELF. It was unbelievable. I took nearly 2 gigabytes' worth of pictures and video. I saw lions, hippos, baboons, gazelle, impala, zebra, hyenas, etc. etc. etc. An elephant walked right up to our truck, a baboon and I surprised each other, and I saw the tail end of the Great Migration. They fed us well, entertained us, and took very good care of us. It was really, really fun. Sadly, I can't post pictures here, but I certainly will once I get home.

On another note, thank you SO much to everyone who contributed to the mama's houses. We are that much closer to getting them and their children off of the streets, and ensuring that the kids get an education. It really means so much to me.

Next time, I'll probably be emailing you from ZANZIBAR! I can't wait!

Love you all,
Caitlin

P.S. I just realized this week that I'm more than halfway through my trip. How weird is that?

Safari Weekend!

2008-08-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I leave for my safari at lake Maynara and Ngorongoro Crater tomorrow at 9AM, so this may be my only post this weekend. I also spend all next weekend (Thursday through MOnday) in ZANZIBAR, so posts may be more infrequent than usual.

I'd like to answer a few questions that have been posted the last few weeks. Mom, you asked about birth control, why we picked Tanzania, and how the kids know soccer. Mrs. Derse, you asked about why we chose to provide the services that we do.

Anyway, there IS birth control in Tanzania. Everything from condoms, diaphrams, the pill, and vasectomies are available. However, information about birth control, along with the capability of spending money on birth control aren't nearly as prevalent. Furthermore, religious and cultural beliefs oftentimes dictate against using birth control, particularly during marriage. For example, we can't talk about condoms or do condom demonstrations when we teach to a church congregation - we ask people to stay after if they'd like to learn.

Information and accesability is particularly a problem in the rural villages. In the major towns, you can find a duka la dawa (pharmacy) that sells most contraceptives, and you can buy kondomu at most shops. Furthermore, more people are around to talk about them, and information is much more widespread. However, villages are much more conservative, and generally poorer. Many people still think that the lubrication on condoms contains HIV, and wouldn't know how to work one even if they wanted to use them.

The kids know soccer because it's THE thing to do here. They make balls out of anything they can find - rocks, paper and string, leftover rubber, and they play allll the time. They watch soccer on TV when available, and listen to it on the radio when there are important games on. It's what the kids play at school. It's just a huge phenomenon in most African and Latin American countries - the kids don't even know what basketball or American football are.

Last summer, our directors, Hori and Jessica, educated communities in Tanzania about HIV and AIDs. They spent time in orphanages, fell in love with kids, and made it their goal to do their part in the fight against the disease. They chose Tanzania as their FIRST country in which to build an orphanage because it was the one they were most familiar with. They knew the country, the language, and they had Tanzanian friend who they knew could help them.

And as for why our main goal is building an orphanage and disseminating information? It's because it is our (and particularly our directors') passion to help abandoned and orphaned kids. Most of the orphanged/abandoned kids are homeless because their parents died of the disease. Furthermore, the disease does a HUGE number on the economy - both on local economies and on a larger, continental scale, by decimating the workforce and costing rural families their main breadwinners. If the man of the family is infected, and he has 3 wives, his wives 1.) are essentially left destitute when he dies, and 2.) are generally infected themselves. Then, when they die, the kids are left to live with other relatives who generally don't want them, and are often cast out on the street or sent to orphanages. Finally, we simply don't have the ability to build roads or help improve infrastructure. The government itself is struggling to provide goods and services. There's so much corruption, so many infrastructure problems, and malaria and HIV essentially decimate the labor force. It's a really complicated, messy, hard, seemingly impossible combination of problems that affects most 3rd world countries. We just try and help the most innocent victims of the whole mess.

On that note, I've got an important request to anyone who reads this: Our directors have decided to take in Shamin and Loveness' families, and build homes for them on our site. It'll cost about $900 USD per house, which was NOT in our original budget. We have to fundraise every penny, and quickly, if we hope to get them off the streets before they disappear. Amina, the 18 year old with the 3 year old daughter, is raped basically every night, oftentimes in front of her baby. We're trying to find Loveness and her family before she's taken as a prostitute. I know these people personally, and it's really important to me that we get to finish their homes before I leave. We're offering the mamas jobs on site helping with the kids, and giving their children a guaranteed education. You all know I hate asking for money, but this is really important to me. We've already gathered around $500, just from the volunteers, but we need more, and soon. If anyone has any extra cash, whether it be just $10, please write a check to One Heart Source, and PLEASE send it to One Heart Source, P.O. Box 24293, Los Angeles, CA 90024. If you can, write 'Amina hut' in the memo line. Make sure to include your return address for tax information. Also, please email me at caitlin805@gmail.com with the amount you've donated so I can tell my directors what's on the way.

Anyway, please consider it. If you can't donate, no worries. Just write me an email anyway telling me how you're doing.
Love you all,
Caitlin

Dichotomy

2008-08-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, as I mentioned, I met a bunch of street kids. I also met a lot of the village kids in a more unformal setting. We've set up soccer games 3x a week at the local school. Somewhere between 40 and 50 kids show up.

The dichotomy between the village kids and the street kids is pretty amazing. The village kids, while poor and in ragged clothes and shoes are so much healthier and well-adjusted than the street kids. They're much more likely to go to school, to not use drugs, and to avoid prostitution or jail. Just having someone who loves them, a roof over their heads, does SO much for them.

The street kids, on the other hand, only have each other. There's Pascal, a 13 year old kid who ran away from home because of abuse. His mom left when he was one year old, his dad worked away all the time. He and his best friend ran away from their village together and came to Arusha. He really, really wants to meet his mom. He also wants to be a pilot when he grows up, and get off the streets.

Emmanual is 17. His mom died when he was younger, and his dad's new wife was horribly abusive. He said it was "like hell." He hadn't eaten in 2 days when we picked him up. He wants to be an engineer when he gets older. He raps on the streets for money, and works odd jobs when he can get them.

Loveness is 9. She and her younger sister and their mentally impaired mom live on the streets, since their dad left and their mom can't get a job. SHe's got the most beautiful eyes you've ever seen. She and her sister go to school during the day, and sleep on the streets at night. They're both really sharp, and we're trying to get them all in a home together before Loveness turns to prostitution.

Anyway, I'm done for the weekend. I'll probably be able to update once before the safari next weekend. Love you all!
Caitlin

Stories, Continued

2008-08-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I met Amina, and her baby, Shamin. Amina's not exactly sure how old she is, but she knows that she's somewhere between 18 and 20. She's maybe 4'11'' tall, and she looks both very old and very young at the same time, if you can imagine that. She's got very young features, but she looks so tired and old and lined already with the pain of street life and years of sun damage. The details of her story are fuzzy, but we know that she was kicked out of her house (in a rural village) at age 12, and sent to Arusha to find work. Her work fell through, and she ended up on the streets. We think she ended up selling herself for money. She got pregnant, and gave birth when she was 12 or 13. She was forced to give up her baby, Rama, for adoption.

Sometime between then and now, she met a man who gave her a room and some money to start a small street business. She ended up saving almost 25,000 Tanzanian shillings (about $23 USD, a fairly decent sum for a street business), and the man convinced her to give it to him so he could invest it. Since he was the whole reason she was off the streets, she agreed. He came back with no money, they got in a fight, and she was stabbed in the neck. She's been on the streets ever since. The man who stabbed her is the father of her 3 year old, Shamin. She's unbelievably sweet, and always so grateful whenever we give her any food or medicine. It's hard to believe she's younger than I am, and has already been through so much.

Shamin is one of the brightest babies I've EVER met. She's got a full Swahili vocabulary, can recite entire stories, and learns English unbelievably quickly. She loves my hair, and calls me "simba," which means 'lion' in Swahili. It's hard not to fall in love with her. Sometimes, when we're walking through town, we'll hear "Muzungu rafiki!" and feel a tugging on our sweatshirts, and Shamin and Amina happen to be resting on the street where we're walking. We always stop and say hi and play and get them something to eat, but it's just heartbreaking to leave them there. Both of them have malaria and bronchitis, and Shamin has a large tumor inside her mouth. We took them to the doctor, and got them medicine, and the doctor says that the tumor is an enlarged lymph node. Despite all her troubles, she's a really happy baby. She smiles all the time, and giggles like there's no tomorrow.

We're still trying to get them tested, but we think they're both HIV +. It's so hard to know that they're going to die of a completely preventable disease. It's hard to know that Shamin probably has 2 years, tops, while Amina has 5-7. It's hard to imagine living Amina's tragic and hard life, and picturing Shamin's brief one.

Some of their Stories

2008-08-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

As promised, I'm going to be detailing some of the street kids' stories that I heard this past week. I'm going to start out by talking about the orphanage that I visited last Sunday.

I don't remember the name, but it was settled just on top of a green hill in a gorgeous location just outside of Arusha. The first thing we saw was the milk cow tied to a stake as we drove up the road, then we saw swing sets, and a small grassy area, on top of which was a one story house. We walked inside, and immediately were surrounded by kids - about 40 of them to be exact, ages ranging from 6 months to 16 years o age. It was SUCH a happy place - the babies were all so incredibly adorable, and the older kids were so polite and so good at helping with the younger ones. It was so hard to believe that anyone would toss these kids out onto the streets or into dumpsters. They LOVED our cameras - taking pictures of one another was a huge game. The babies all wanted to be held and tickled, and cried when we put them down. We all ended up playing soccer outside. There were disabled kids, including one 12 or 13 year old boy named John, who ONLY wanted to give you high 5's and dance with him. He was the sweetest kid you'll ever meet - it broke my heart when I learned he probably got his mental and physical disabilities from being tossed in a trash can when he was a baby.

A few of the younger kids were HIV +. It killed me to know that they probably wouldn't make it past the age of five. It's even worse to consider that Neverapine, a drug that costs close to $3 a dose, was provided to HIV + moms FREE OF CHARGE by the Tanzanian government. HIV tests are free at government hospitals. A free test and a quick, $3 shot was all that was needed to give these sweet, happy babies a future.

There was a little girl with the widest smile you'll ever see prancing around with my glasses perched on her tiny nose. Another kid couldn't believe how long my hair was - Tanzanian men and women typically wear their hair closely cut, particularly when they're low-income. They all loved that we came to visit them, and asked us to come back soon.

What's nuts to me is that 3 women, 2 cooks, and 2 security guards take care of all these kids. It's mainly the mamas who serve as parents for all those kids - changing all those diapers, giving out all the medicine and discipline and kisses to FORTY kids, including at least 8 younger than 4.

Basically, the place was one big family. Despite all the sadness of their pasts, the kids were HAPPY that someone loved them and took them in. It really helped me to see the end result of all my hard work here. I want to create a family for all these street kids that I'm meeting.

A rollercoaster week

2008-08-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I'd just like to say that I'm going on safari NEXT weekend. Some people are traversing up to Uganda to river raft on the Nile and bungee jump (doesn't exactly float my boat), so we're all going next weekend. I still can't wait! Thank you all for your well wishes - I'm feeling 100% this week, finally.

This past week was certainly full of ups and downs, and opened my eyes to how the most vulnerable population in the world views reality. I visited an orphanage on Sunday, met a bunch of street kids and learned their stories on Wednesday, and made close friends with the village girls on Thursday. I'm going to try and retell as much as I possibly can over the weekend, particularly the street kids' stories, in a series of posts that will continue through Monday. What I heard from them both completely depressed me about the world they have to live in, as well as inspired me - their spirit and drive and goodness of heart is simply amazing.

These kids have been abandoned, abused, beaten, and starved - they sniff toxic glue in order to ease their hunger pangs when they haven't eaten in days- but these kids, some as young as 3 years old, still have hopes and aspirations of being pilots, engineers, even president of Tanzania. They all take care of each other on the street- sleeping together in parks, 300-400 at a time, to protect themselves against thieves and bullies. When they can, they pool their money to buy cheap potatoes, and fry them on the banks of the fetid streams that run through Arusha. They all have different backgrounds, but they only have each other. There are over 1200 homeless kids in the town I live in alone. It's completely horrible and heartbreaking.

The girls are worst off all. Most of them start prostituting themselves when they're younger then 13. They can't get jobs or homes, so most of them are manipulated into following older men who promise them money or shelter or food in exchange for sexual favors. Many of them are infected with HIV. When we scour the streets at night (in cars, to be safe), 99% of the kids we find are boys. You just can't help but wonder where all the girls are.

Anyway, more on this later. Bedtime for me now.
Love you all!

Feeling MUCH better

2008-08-10T00:46:00.001-07:00

After a pretty stressful day at the Maasai market and at the clinic, I can finally eat again. Shopping is hard work here, especially for muzungu. Everyone knows we have money, so they charge us twice as much as they normally would, particularly for stuff to bring home.

That being said, they have some COOL stuff here. Masks, artwork, carvings - I know I'm giong to spend a ton of money.

I'm visiting an orphanage today. It's going to be a pretty tough experience...most of the orphanages here are decrepit, run-down places, designed to give the kids some food and shelter, but not much else. Once they're old enough to be kicked out, 60% of girls turn to prostitution to make money, and 80% of boys are incarcerated within 3 years. Many of them are corrupt, as the owners embezzle money meant for the kids and spend it on themselves. It's pretty hard for some people in 3rd world countries, when they're put in charge, to take more money then they'd ever hope to see in a lifetime, and spend it on kids they don't know and don't necessarily like. It's just hard for people to be poor, with no way out except for stealing. It's why corruption is so rampant in underdeveloped countries. We can judge these people, but we have no idea how we'd react in their circumstances.

Anyway, I'm off. I'm feeling better, and SO excited for my safari next weekend. I'll be online at least once, so I'll give at least one update next week.

Love you all!
Caitlin

8/1-8/8

2008-08-08T00:39:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sick today - I don't know what's wrong with me. Upset stomach, headache, fever. It's depressing. What's possibly more depressing is that it's just the flu - of ALL the things to get here, I feel crappy because of the FLU.

Today is the Nani-Nani festival here in town. Apparently it's been going on all week, but today is Nan-Nani day. The kids got the day off of school, so I came in to town Thursday night. I really have no idea what Nani-Nani signifies, but the festival is like a fair, but without all the rides and competitions and stuff. They have music playing, and a GIANT swap meet. You have to be super careful though, with your stuff - it's a perfect place for pickpockets. I'm not going at night, because it can be dangerous for non-locals.

Anyway, last week's teaching was hard. We taught HIV biology to a bunch of 13 year olds who had NO background in bio whatsoever. We had to cover it all in 40 minutes, make it interesting, and make it understandable all in one go. It wasn't easy, but given the circumstances, we did a pretty good job.

I was also considering climbing Mt. Meru this weekend with 20 of my friends, but didn't end up going. Apparently it's just unbelievably beautiful, with lots of jungle trails, but it cost almost $200 to climb. Not only that, but it's HARD - almost 16,000 feet high, and the trails are pretty steep. If I had a decent pair of shoes with me, I would have jumped on the chance. As it is now, I regret not going.

HOWEVER, I'm going on safari next weekend! We have a long weekend, and I'm only going for 2 days, so I'll still be able to let everyone know ALL about it when I get back. I'm going to Ngorogoro Crater for the first day, and I think Lake Minera (I'm positive that's NOT how you spell it, but oh well) for the second day. I'm super excited, and I'm positive that the safari will be the highlight of my trip thus far.

Anyway, I'm going to see if I can stand walking around in the masses today for Nani-Nani. I may just end up going back to bed. I'm just glad that I'm sick this week, and not next week for my safari!

Oh, if I DO feel better, I'm going on a shorter hike tomorrow in the jungle, and also to a pretty awful orphanage on SUnday. I think we get to start recruiting orphans for the orphanage next week! I'm so excited for that - I know helping the kids will focus my energy and lift my spirits more than anything else.

As always, please keep up with the emails and comments. You have NO idea how much they're appreciated when I get into town on the weekends.

Love you all,
Caitlin

Hiii

2008-08-03T00:40:00.000-07:00

I don't have malaria (so far), but i'm not getting my hopes up: 10 out of less than 40 people have already gotten it. Malaria, in some forms, is a lifelong disease, but apparently that strain isn't common here. Moreover, it doesn't ever pop back up if you have a healthy immune system or if you catch it early. It'll be fine.

I'm still homesick, and I miss people. I don't think I'll ever NOT be homesick, even though I do love it here. It's a strange combination.

Anyway, to answer a few questions:

I do have a translator for my classes, as well as two other teaching partners who lesson plan/teach with me.

The school is unbelievably run down - the classrooom is a dirty room, with faded blue paint on the walls,with some desks and chairs, three students to one desk. Most of the students are taller than I am. One corner of the room is piled high with broken desks and chairs. There's a swarm of bees invading the roof right outside. We don't have books or handouts - copiers don't work without electricity - but we do make posters, and quiz the students. It's not like there's any problem getting them to pay attention; we teach about something that's unbelievably relevant to themselves and their entire community. EVERYONE wants to know about HIV - we get stopped by adults, kids, mamas, everyone.

It's still cold here, and rainy sometimes. The bugs and critters are startingm to move into our hut - I don't mind the frogs on the wall in some huts, but I do mind the spiders and giant roaches and huge beetles and mosquitos. Even the chickens have taken to laying their eggs on people's beds. Yuck.

Week 2: I start teaching!

2008-08-02T04:30:00.000-07:00

Hamjambo!

I have three parts to this this post: one bad one, one funny one, and one amazing one. I'm going to post in that order so I can get the bad out of the way.

1.) The bad one: I'm sick. I probably have malaria - I'll go to the clinic after I finish this post, and there's pneumonia going around. Besides the fact that I can't breathe or eat, I'm great. I'm being taken care of, I have medicine, and I'll definitely be fine in a few days. Don't worry (dad). I'll be fine.

2.)The funny one: I got eaten alive by mosquitos a few days ago - apparently, I crawled out of my net and they attacked half my face - 10 bites on one side of my face. I looked like "two-face" from the Batman movies. It was pretty funny - I didn't take pictures of it when it was really bad, but I still have some. Anyway, all the women in the village kept touching my face and asking me what happened. Now's the funny part: the word for mosquito is "mbou", and the word for "penis is mboo." They have VERY similar pronunciations. For about a day, before someone corrected me, when the women touched my face and asked what happened, I kept saying "penis." They just looked HORRIFIED and walked away. Oh man...they thought that the crazy muzungu mwalimi (white teacher) had some yucky venereal disease on her face. I couldn't stop laughing when someone told me what I had been doing and saying. I found the women and explained to them what actually caused the bumps, and they cracked up.

3.) The amazing one; I started teaching! Yesterday was the first day of my 6 week long class - I teach Standard 7 twice a week (mondays and fridays), which is composed of 13-15 year old kids. There are close to 60 kids in my class, all from the local village. They're all pretty poor - not all of them have shoes or school suplies, and most of them wear tattered school uniforms. They're all shy at first 'til you explain to them that we keep their secrets, and that we're not here to judge them. I LOVE teaching them - they're completely attentive and so interested in what we have to say about HIV, and I know that my teaching partners and i are making an impact on them. We're teaching them everything from basic HIV biology to sex ed to how to prevent transmission to how to care for sick AIDS patients. IT's wonderful to know that we're giving them information that will save their lives. Soon, we'lll have high school classes as well.

I also do community teachings. THis morning I taught at Uopemo school, close by. We taught the parents of these kids at a private school, and they were all so interested. We prepared a seminar, but it ended up being Q&A the whole time. We're going to set up a few nights so the adults can learn how to protect themselves, and so the mamas can protect themselves and their babies. I'm starting to get really involved with the women of the village - it's so hard for them when their husbnds cheat and infet them. A lot of times, the choice is to leave her husband and stay HIV - but lose her kids, or stay and be infected, but keep her kids. It's really hard to talk to some of them.

The little kids at the school this morning were adorable - between 2-6 years old. They just grab your hand or scream "muzungu" and ran away. THe other day, we made a baby cry when we walked in because he'd never seen white people before - he thought there was something wrong with us. At the schools, they surround you and say "good morning madame," and giggle, and hold out their hands for high fives - no matter what time of day it is. Everyone knows "good morning." They SCREAM when they see you coming, and their teachers lose control of their classes. They press their faces against the windows yelling "muzungu! muzungu!!" THen, the teachers chase them around with sticks to get them back to what they'rte supposed to be doing. It's pretty hilarious.

Anyway, I'll try and post once more tomorrow. I'm still loving it here, even though I'm sick. I'm still up and walking and teaching (and doing construction when I"m not teaching!)

Quick Sunday Update

2008-07-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I forgot to mention a few things yesterday:

1.) It's pretty cold here. Even though we're near the equator, we're in the mountains, and it's winter here. It's FREEZING in the morning - 50 degrees or so, and warms up to maybe 70 during the day, but gets colder when the sun goes down. It's rained a couple of times, turning the ground into soupy red mud.

2.) Yes, I did drink spoiled milk. It had nuts and veggies in it, and tasted burnt. I was done with taht stuff pretty quickly.

3.) I may be able to post pictures eventually, but I'm wary of bringing my camera into town. Things get stolen pretty easily. Everything's much safer in the village.

4.) It's officially been a WEEK since I've been home. I miss home a ton, but I'm adjusting to the lifestyle.

5.) I'll (hopefully) have a cellphone next week!

Anyway, posts will only be on weekends from now on since there's no internet in the village.

Love you all,
Caitlin

Mateves Village

2008-07-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

So, I'm going to be lazy today and just write in bullet points. I've finally moved into the village, and I won't have internet access except for once a week, so posts will be more infrequent. However, if something important happens, I'll call Dave or my parents and have them post it.

-First off, I told everyone that i'm living in a mud hut. That's not entirely accurate. I am, in fact, living in a hut made out of mud and COW SHIT collected from the fields. Apparently, cow shit makes the mud stickier. I learned this the first day on site (Tuesday) when I was up to my elbows in it while building my hut. The local women LOVED that I was getting dirty with them, and I couldn't help but laugh at what I was doing (and what i was going to be living in!) The huts are small, with 7 to a room, with dirt floors and palm leaf roofs. They're cozy though. We each have a cot, a foam mattress, and mosquito nets. They're surprisingly cozy though, and I've made good friends with my roommates.

-The site itself is relatively small, only 3 or so acres, surrounded by cornfields, with a small hill on one end covered in acacia trees (the standard Africa trees). We have our huts in a half circle on one end, with a kitchen/firepit in the middle, and we're digging the foundation for the orphange on the other side. My job the past few days was digging, and carrying buckets of dirt on my head with the local Maasai women who help us. They CRACKED UP when they first saw me carrying the bucket on my head, and rushed over to help teach me how. They're such unbelievably sweet people, and so welcoming "karibuni!" I've been doing lots of construction work - mixing concrete, helping build a chicken coop, and helping mud the huts. Uncle Brian, you'd LOVE this kind of stuff.

-Okay, now for the choo ('ch-o'). (Bathroom - sort of). It's basically a shack with a cement floor and a 3x5 hole in the ground. It's like trying to pee on a post-it note - and failing miserably. Going -5 people have gotten malaria in the past week. 2 on the first day. I'm just waiting my turn....I got my first 3 mosquito bites last night. They're sneaky little buggers, and drink DEET like kool-aid.

-We have a dog, named Tusker - he's young, only 10 or so weeks old, and he's adorable. He's spoiled rotten by all the girls (including myself) who feed him and let him sleep in their room.at night by yourself in the dark is AWFUL and SCARY, so we all (the girls) make a mass trip to the choo right before it gets dark.

-It's amazing how much we take for granted at home - I showed the local people a bunch of photographs from home, and they were completely awed. SOme of them even wanted to keep the pictures and take them home to show their familes - I told them when I left. The kids go NUTS when you take pictures of them, and giggle like mad when they see their faces. WHen I took a video of them, they went even crazier, and we played tag - me videotaping, and them trying to see if they could avoid the camera. It's one of our favorite games.

-The food here isn't bad. It's mostly beans and rice, but even that is better than it sounds. I get some meat at dinner (not killed on site - thank GOD - I named all our chickens), which is pretty good. We paid some local mamas (just another name for grown-up women with children) to cook for us. I've had some great salads and egg-roll type things with beef or goat in them, and some chicken curry. The fruit here is unbelievable.

-I start teaching next week - I'm a little nervous, because every bit of information that you put out the people hold onto like glue. If I say something even a little bit wrong, the people here take it to heart. You have to be so careful to be consistent and put out correct information. I'm going to be teaching everything from HIV biology to sex ed to general condom info. Eventually, I'm going to be teaching some HIV + mamas how to breastfeed their babies without infecting them, which is a heartbreaking and sensitive topic.

-I'm a little homesick, so please leave comments and write often. I love it here, but I feel very disconnected from the real world, and I miss everyone like crazy. I know it'll get easier, but in the meantime....

Love you all,
Caitlin

P.S. Little bro - apparently I yelled "shaddup Colin" in my sleep last night. Thought you would enjoy that.

Annnd I'm back!

2008-07-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hamjambo!

I can't tell you how much I've fallen in love with this place - basically, from the minute I saw Mt. Kilimanjaro peaking through the clouds on the plane, I was hooked. Right now, I'm in Arusha, the main city next to the site where we're building the orphanage. I"m staying in the Meru Inn for $5 a night.

Basically, the last three days have been pleasantly insane, cumulating with today's amazing visit to the Hatuchokoo school ("never tired" - meaning that the workers never get tired of putting all their time and energy into caring for the many kids).

As Dave wrote, I was in Paris for a day - I had to pay a ton to store my big luggage, and couldn't afford to store my smaller one, so I was limited in both mobility and available cash, but I still went out and looked around the city for a few hours, luggage in tow. I'm sure a few people thought I was homeless, bedraggled as I was, but I still loved it. I saw the Arc de Triomph (pardon my spelling, haven't slept in 3 days) and the Champs Elysses and a bit of the Eiffel Tower. I definitely want to go back. HOWEVER, I can certainly do without Charles DeGaulle airport - overpriced and confusing and GIGANTIC and not that consumer-friendly. Oh well.

Addis Abbaba was a much MUCH nicer airport, in a completely beautiful part of the world. Ethiopian airlines was actually quite pleasant, although NEVER on time - almost causing me to miss my connection in Adis. Lots of friendly people and good food. I managed to rest a bit even though I was squished between two large, smelly men, and my seat wouldn't recline.

Today was amazing though. I'll give you a brief summary because my tired mind couldn't do it justice.

I woke up on the plane to Adis, managed to make my connection to Kilimajaro airport (basically the most beautiful tiny airport in the world), and whizzed through customs and into my waiting taxi. The ride into town was amazing - I finally started to realize that i was in AFRICA. Cows and goats everywhere, not many traffic laws, and people in tribal gear everywhere. As soon as I made it to the hostel, I was allowed 3 minutes to change and put on deodorant before I was ushered into another taxi to go visit thye abovementioned orphanage. These kids put tears in my eyes, I can't even tell you how much they touched me. They were so shy at first, but warmed up to us so quickly, slipping their tiny hands into ours and giggling when we showed them the pictures we took of them. We walked along basically a rainforest trail to a waterfall, where we met more kids who shouted "Mguzi" (white people) and joined us. The tribal mamas joined us and gave us walking sticks, and sang to us on the hike. We later met in a hut, and I ate very local food, including corn paste, spoiled milk, and drank home-brew out of a cow horn

Time's up! more later.

Love you all

Africa!

2008-07-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

Caitlin made it safely to the Southern Hemisphere, landing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia today.

She's still tired, but in even better spirit. Next stop: Kilimanjaro.

(This is Dave again. Caitlin had trouble logging into this blog from the Ethiopian airport, but hopefully will begin posting again soon.)

Arrived in Paris!

2008-07-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

Caitlin has landed safely across the Atlantic, tired but in good spirit.

This is her boyfriend Dave updating on her behalf. She regrets that she was unable to call all her loved ones on account of international phone rates, but was eager to let everybody know that she's safe and sound in Paris.

Have fun overseas Caitlin!

And I'm off!

2008-07-21T01:41:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I leave bright and early tomorrow morning! Send me your luck and wishes for a safe, (relatively) easy journey. I'll write again in Paris if I can.

Love you all!

It's almost time to go!

2008-07-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

24 hours from now, I'll be on a plane! My flight leaves at 9:15 tomorrow from LAX. From there, it's going to be an exhausting, fuzzy blur of changing planes in Dallas and Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia, Paris, and a stop in Nairobi! At least I get to explore Paris for a couple hours - that's going to be fun. Anyone who's been there have any suggestions? Wednesday afternoon, I'll be flying into Kilimanjaro (not the mountain, the airport), and that evening I'll be camping in the foothills of this beautiful mountain - Mt. Meru, the 5th tallest mountain in Africa. I'm a little nervous, but unbelievably excited!

This map gives you an idea of where I'm going to be. As you can see, I'm located in Northern Tanzania, near the border of Uganda - right near the equator! I'm in the mountainous region of the country, which is good because it means a more moderate climate - much less humid than the coasts, which translates to less mosquitos! That means there's a much smaller chance of getting getting malaria, which suits me just fine.

I'm going to be in the tribal lands of the Maasai people, one of the most distinctive African tribes. You can read more about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai They do have their own tribal languages where I am, but most people speak at least some Swahili and English. I know some Swahili, and I'll be learning much more throughout the trip. Luckily we have translators, Tanzanian university students, to help us teach in the schools and make our way around the local town on the weekends.

I should finish packing - my life for the next two months is scattered all over the carpet in the den. I'll probably post once more before I leave, and once I arrive in Paris. After that, I won't have any internet access except on the weekends, so posts will be infrequent.

Love you all!
Caitlin

T-3 days 'til takeoff!

2008-07-19T10:50:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone!

The picture above was the best I could find of where I'm going to be living for the next few months. It's a little misleading, because where I'm going to be staying is even MORE rural if you can believe that - the above is sort of the Tanzanian equivalent of suburbia. I'll certainly be posting more later, but I thought I'd give you all a taste of what life for me is going to be like for the next few months.

Anyway, before I leave, I thought it would be appropriate to give some background information on where I'm going, what I'm going to be doing, and the organization that I'm going to be doing it with.

First things first: I'm going to be spending two months in Mateves Village, Mateves Ward (sort of like a state) in Tanzania, which is located in Southeast Africa on the coast, just south of Uganda and Kenya. I'm essentially going to be camping for two months in a mud hut that I build myself, with no electricity or hot showers or internet except on weekends when I go into town. We're located on the grounds of a yet-to-be-finished orphanage, complete with a well and a fence thus far.

I'm going to be working with One Heart Source (http://www.oneheartsource.org) a brand new organization composed of a coalition of newly graduated students, their advisors, and their Tanzanian contacts. Essentially, a group of students volunteered in Tanzania last summer, and were appalled by the number of orphans (over 2.4 million) in Tanzania, and the complete lack of basic care and education for these children. Over 60% of female orphans turn to prostitution in order to make money to survive, and over 80% of male orphans are imprisoned within 2 years of turning 18. These volunteers vowed to return the following year with a plan to help as many of these kids as they could. They set up an entire non-profit organization, gathered support from a Tanzanian village, and recruited volunteers to help them achieve their dream of building an orphanage that well help Tanzanian children grow into productive members of society.

I just happen to tbe in the first group of volunteers, staying in Tanzania from July 21st 'til September 21st. I'm going to be looking for orhpans to put in our brand new orphanage, teaching in the local schools, and educating villagers on how to prevent themselves from getting HIV/AIDS. It's going to be an AMAZING experience, and I can't wait to go.

Please email me or comment on this post - the support I receive from my friends and family well help sustain me through the tough parts (malaria, food poisoning, homesickness, etc). I love you all!