Update: October 2021
Awoken by the sound of street life outside the window of the hotel room I am sharing with another student. It would be another night of jet lag with me up at four in the morning checking my emails. Jet lag is a real deal. Breakfast was a normal fare of fruit, coffee, fried potatoes, rice, and some meat thing I yet to figure out. It seems the hotel thinks Americans must have meat at every meal every day when the opposite is true.
The day ahead for me was going to be a jam-packed day into the bush with the Maasai and going to a school where the Maasai children attend to see Convoy of Hope’s child feeding program in action.
After breakfast, I loaded up into a safari jeep and endured a bumpy ride through the bush of Tanzania on red iron rich clay roads. My roommate and I found ourselves in the same jeep with four other students from our sister school Evangel University in Springfield Missouri who were all on the football team. Four football players and two little women all crammed into a safari jeep were a sight to see!
Village of Tinga:
Clich’e to say this, but I do believe I left my heart in Tanzania Africa, namely the Maasai children of Tinga (small village near the base of Mt. Longido)
I cannot believe how energetic these children are when they have visitors. Hard to keep up with them at times.
As soon as they were let out of their classes, they latched on to all of us and at times never let go unless forced. Some even fought over my arms and were very interested in my skin color, counting my fingers, my clothing, my hair, my backpack, and my phone which took pictures of them. Most never had seen another human look like the way some of my team members looked.
The team tried to teach them a new game called four corners which turned out to chaotic. I was one of the four corners which at one point had large waves if kids come running at me, nearly knocking me over in the process!
A few of the children figured out the poking game and proceeded to poke me rather hard in the gut. It turned into all out war at one point with other team members getting poked as well. The iPhone became one tool in getting me to do crazy things for the camera. Even one of the professor’s sunglasses became popular for the children to try on.
The Purpose of The Trip:
The main purpose of the trip to the school was to help with Convoy of Hope’s children’s feeding program setup at this school. All the students here have greatly benefited from the feeding program as well as their families. Before Convoy came, most of the student only received one meal a day. Most were in poor health due to lack of nutrients missing from their diet, having intestinal worms, and having unclean water to drink.
Children Feeding Program:
Since Convoy of Hope’s program, the children have access to clean water to drink for them and their families. They now get nutritious meals at school and at home. Each of the team members had a turn at handing out the mango juice we brought for them (they have never had anything like juice before, it is very rare!), passed out the plates for the food, and ladled out fortified porridge with key nutrients along with de-worming medication for them to have. From pictures I have seen, they all look much more healthy than they did before.
Agricultural Program
Also, they have greens growing in a school garden plot for other nutrients into their diet.
Women’s Empowerment Through Education
The Tanzanian government has made it mandatory for all school children to have access to school and no school can turn a child away at the primary level (elementary level). This means there are more children then there is room for in the classroom, and so when we drove up to the school, some of the children were at desks outside under trees with their lessons. Just imagine children in the US having to sit outside in the elements to get an education because there is no room for them in the classroom. It would not happen, but it is a reality for most students in Tanzania.
Also, Tanzania has a real shortage of certified teachers to teach students. This school in particular only has three teachers teaching up to sixty students across multiple class ages and a headmaster who has to teach as well to give every child an education. Right now there is a foundation built for a third building, but the funds to finish it are non-existence. I hope in the near future this building will be completed and all children can learn in a proper classroom.
The day was hot and dusty around the area. I even got a bad sunburn with sunblock on because of how close to the equator Tanzania is, and the fact anti-malarial drugs can cause the skin to be sensitive to sunlight. It was worth it to experience this wonderful day with the children! Even if it means down the road I will get skin cancer (I hope not).
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Video on the work being done:
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