by Barbara Joye | Jan 19, 2013 | Journey 2013
This is my fifth journey to Kilimanjaro and I am delighted to be bringing my dear husband James Zinzow with me, for the first time! James has been serving as an engineer consultant with our project for several years now ‘sight unseen’, so we are both excited to have him actually meet the people and places who have brought such deeply special meaning into our lives. We stepped off the plane at 8:50 pm Thursday evening and commenced the ‘hurry up and wait’ process of obtaining our visas and then collecting our luggage. As we stepped through the doors into the public area we were greeted by almost 2 dozen of our dear friends and partners, smiling and hugging and laughing! Alphonse had orchestrated this wonderful greeting, and arranged 3 large vehicles to escort us, our luggage, and this beautiful greeting committee to our Kitole Homes B&B in Moshi. At Kitole the manager had lit candles throughout the common living area, along with fresh picked flowers from the gardens. We were able to sit and talk with our friends, taking in the faces and changes that a year apart may bring to us all. Before leaving, the lovely women from the Acorn Cooperative sang a quiet ‘good night’ song… and James and I retired for much needed sleep… our hearts full of the joyful sight and sounds of ‘old friends’....
by Barbara Joye | Feb 28, 2012 | JANUARY 2012 JOURNEY TO AFRICA
As I prepare to leave for Kilimanjaro airport and return home to America, images of the last 5 weeks come to my mind’s eye: Our group arriving in Africa amidst wind and dust and a night sky heavy with a million stars, all bearing silent witness to life come and gone and come again. Here, the ground and the air and its people reflect our common origins, rooted in ancient times. The many faces of Uru’s children: cautious, curious, smiling, laughing, welcoming, singing. Faces of this earth’s future, we work to leave the world a little better than we found it, for them. The awe inspiring Mt. Kilimanjaro coloring all of life, tempering Africa’s heat, and still offering some glacial melt for water. It is this water that now runs deep, deep underground, that we have tapped for the Grandmother Well at Kimocholo. A celebration of the ‘first water’ from this well, drank and shared with our group and many villagers, all blessing and giving thanks to the good God and for everyone’s fruitful efforts here and in America… for water and friendship. Breathtaking views from Uru’s hillsides, overlooking fields of maze, small homes and huts, and Moshi town far far below. Red clay roads full of rocks and holes and trenches, obstacles to certain movement, that became absolutely impassable with the onset of any steady rain. Boisterous and quiet moments alike in the Ngowi home, full of love and family and gratitude for ‘all that is’. The times of mourning for the loss of Alphonse’s mother, 104 years old and the oldest grandmother in Uru. For me, she...
by Barbara Joye | Feb 21, 2012 | JANUARY 2012 JOURNEY TO AFRICA
Every day in Africa is a day lived close to the elements, close to the earth, and close to its’ people. Here there is no insulation from any aspect of life or death, from the food eaten or from the effects of weather. On Kilimanjaro, people partake of food that is harvested and then eaten on that same day. There is no refrigeration, so good food management is vital to well being. Grain is ground, chickens are kept, eggs collected, fruit picked from the trees and if meat is eaten, it is butchered, prepared and consumed within hours. One of the days that our group spent at Kishumundu Secondary School, brought a delay in lunch and the school schedule, because the farmer was late with the just butchered cow… and it had to be inspected by the local doctor… before it was consumed by the children. As a vegetarian I have no problem being nutritionally satisfied for protein, with local legumes/beans as well as eggs, being abundant in Uru. And I am reminded of a bit of wisdom once said to me: “if you cannot be personally involved or even watch or handle your meat as it is prepared from ‘hoof to table’… you probably should not be eating meat”. It seems a practical concept that draws attention to our innate body/mind wisdom. Is it really advisable to be so far removed from our food sources that we have no idea of… or are not part of… their beginnings, their nutritional value or their safe handling? The mountain here also has great influence on the weather, and I have...
by Barbara Joye | Feb 17, 2012 | JANUARY 2012 JOURNEY TO AFRICA
There is a torrential rain pouring down on Uru bringing hail from the top of Kilimanjaro. The tin roof of the Ngowi home reflects every pinging of ice, and the banana trees bend around us, their great leaves swirling under water and wind. The seasonal ‘big rains’ do not come usually until late March, April or even May, so this is an untimely but welcome rain for those who live here. Small roads and dry creek beds will become living rivers, with water rushing down the mountain side, gaining great momentum as it flows. Unexpected rain relieves the long droughts, dampening the ever present red dust and reviving plants, animals and people alike, all of whom yearn for water. But as fast as these ‘roads turned to rivers’ swell, they will just as quickly dry up tomorrow, and the earth will crack open again under the heat of the African sun. Our work progresses on the water project after Tuesday’s Uru East Water Board Meeting of 22 people including village representatives, 7 village chairpersons, our cooperating NGO and the assistant district water engineer. Four villages were selected to receive the water from the Grandmother Well at Kimocholo. This decision was based on topography, placement of existing and future cisterns, and to provide relief for those suffering the most from lack of clean water. Five thousand people will be served by this sweet water, a water so good… it requires no addition of chemicals or purifiers. The Board also made the very courageous decision to pull out any and all very old pipes from these four villages, decaying remnants of...
by Barbara Joye | Feb 15, 2012 | JANUARY 2012 JOURNEY TO AFRICA
SATURDAY morning meant another drive back down the mountain into Moshi town. Alphonse and I first visited an advocate (attorney) then contacted his attorney daughter Upendo in Dar es Saalam for further guidance, regarding the legal registration of the Uru East Water Board. A quick stop at TANESCO electric company also provided some additional information about cost estimations and regular readings on the electricity required to run our water pump, which is a primary budgetary concern for this Uru community. SUNDAY began with 7am Mass at the Roman Catholic Church in Kishumundu. Ninety percent of the Uru East residents attend this church, so it is a community center, a means of dispensing important communications within the community, and a source of spiritual inspiration for the residents, as well. Father Jumatano is new to this parish but has been a strong advocate for community support of our water project already. I have enjoyed his messages (once interpreted to me from Swahili) because of their strong advocacy for self initiative and self empowerment through individual and community participation. Our cooperative project is really a model for global community initiative, at a grass roots level. And I am continually gratified at how the Uru people step up to the challenges inherent in working with our water project (distance, language and cultural challenges, communication issues (internet, electricity, lack of basic resources etc.). We in the USA have much to learn from these people regarding community organization and participation. MONDAY was spent preparing for the 22 member Uru East Water Board Meeting, with suggestions for legal registering as either a Trust or Water Association...
by Barbara Joye | Feb 12, 2012 | JANUARY 2012 JOURNEY TO AFRICA
I drove from Moshi town to Kishumundu village last Friday, to attend the steering committee’s meeting of the Uru East Water Board. The meeting went well, with a review of what has been accomplished in our project and what is still left to be done. With the success of ‘first water’ from the Grandmother Well at Kimocholo, we are deepening into the visionary thinking required to manage the water distribution for long term sustainability. Establishing the legal rights of this Water Board to manage the water, as well as defining clear guidelines for ecologically sound and careful management, are among our immediate goals. Good ground was covered and our next steps planned, including a general meeting with the entire Board on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. (22 people including the governing Ward Councillor and the village chairpersons from Uru East’s 7 villages). Alphonse and I left the meeting satisfied with the progress and headed to his Palla home in Kyaseni village, where I will spend the week. I was ‘warmly welcomed’ (Karibu Sana), by all the friends and family here at Palla. Palla means raspberry in Chagga and it is the name that Alphonse’s home has been called ‘since forever’…. meaning it has been in his family’s hands since tribal times. It was so named because of the abundance of naturally growing berries on the land, but it also reflects the sweet face that this family shows to the world. Land in Tanzania is passed down traditionally from father to son or brother to brother. However, a call for enlightened sharing is underway, so that women in this society may...
by Barbara Joye | Feb 11, 2012 | JANUARY 2012 JOURNEY TO AFRICA
In an effort to be more adaptive during this visit and any future visits to Tanzania, I made arrangements to rent a vehicle from a village taxi driver. Having my own car allows me a freedom of movement that cannot happen when one is relying on our hosts to arrange drivers or share rides. That is the theory of course. The challenges to driving here include a steering wheel on the left side of the vehicle, driving on the left side of the road, and no sidewalks… which means all roads carry an abundance of ‘foot traffic’: women carrying huge banana baskets to market, men pulling heavy wooden carts, many small children in school uniforms walking to and from school, and goats, chickens and cows with their own ideas as to who has the rights to the road. There is also very little by way of paved roads. Tarmac exists only in town on the very main thoroughfares. All other roads are packed red dirt with varying depths of potholes, some the size of small craters. The last bit of challenge comes in the form of steep one lane roads up into the villages with dizzying drop-offs at regular intervals. In this place, there can be no automatic moments or day dreaming while driving, that bad habit in America of sometimes not even being aware of how you drove from one place to another, because you have been thinking about so many other things. Driving here requires absolute presence of mind at all times, or you may find yourself face to face with a wayward cow or slipping off...
by Barbara Joye | Feb 11, 2012 | JANUARY 2012 JOURNEY TO AFRICA
I’ve been home for a couple days with time for rest, jet lag acclimation-somewhat-and ponderings of our trip. I am struck by the difference between my first trip to Tanzania and this one. Four years ago, I was sort of in shock when I arrived. I had never been to a third world country and could not stop thinking about the dichotomy of our cultures and lifestyles. We spent the majority of our time in meetings and talking with officials about their water situation, researching various ideas and developing relationships with local village and government leaders. When I returned home, I was tired to the bones, and deeply saddened by the vast differences in our everyday living – clean running water to drink, shower and cook with, ovens to bake in, electricity that always works, and all those amenities that we take for granted. It was a difficult trip that I could barely talk about to friends; my eyes had been opened and I would never be the same person. This time, I returned home in a different state of mind. Yes, there is still extreme separation of the “have and have nots” by our definition of success and material possessions, but I now see clearly what they do have. A deep sense of community tied by their long standing culture and the close physicality in which they live on the mountain, a moral obligation to take care of each other and one another’s children no matter the work or the cost, an understanding of how to get things done together, a strong grasp and belief in God, and...
