Corrupt soldiers

Small-scale corruption is hard to avoid if you are staying in Tanzania for a long time. Today we visited Napuru waterfalls which is guarded by soldiers from the Tanzanian army. We made a shortcut on our way to the river, so we didn't pass the guard post. On our way back we met two soldiers who wanted our money. They accused us for going to the river without their permission, and they said we should have left our tickets at their post.

The soldiers are making money on tourists visiting this place.

We asked for apology and suggested to go to the post and deliver the passes we had bought at an office by the road. That was unfortunately not enough. We were told to pay contribution to solve the problem easily, because we had broken their regulations. They told us the money were used for cleaning the area. We had to tell them that we don't trust them because of corruption. That was the start of a long argue with four soldiers who were not 100 % sober. After more than one hour of arguing, and after we told them we would report them, they finally let us go. Avoiding corruption is never the easiest way.

Kenya trip

Last week I had decided to go to Kenya for five days. I took the bus to Nairobi and visited the four Hald-students there: Ola, Åsmund, Elisabeth and Ragnhild. We visited Mathare slum, MYSA (Mathare youth sports assosiation) and some farmers on the countryside outside of Nairobi. Then I went to Voi in southern Kenya to visit my friend Felix.

In Mathare I met people who openly told me about their lives; HIV-infected persons, young single mothers, people who lack school fees for their children. It was somehow a hard meeting with reality. People asked me for money because I am a white person. And I feel somehow ashamed of my own consume because these people can't afford to send their children to school. However, it is amazing how quick you forget about it some days later. We are not affected by the unfair reality if we don't face it.

In Voi it had been raining hard the week before I arrived. In fact it was the most severe rain in six years. The water had left its normal creeks and destroyed roads, houses and schools on its way to the river. It is terrifying to see how quick the water can destroy so much, and I think it wouldn't cost very much to build water pipes to avoid these problems. Anyways, Voi is a beautiful place. Felix took me to one of the hills in Voi where we could see big parts of Tsavo East national park and Voi town. In the evenings he taught me to make ugali, and I taught him to make waffles. We picked mango from the garden and enjoyed fresh waffles with mango jam. Yummy!  

See more pictures in SLIDE SHOW.

I and Ola are standing on the roof of the church where Ola works. Mathare slum in the background.

Some of the children at MYSA library knew some Norwegian words. We were impressed!

Need a ride? Enjoying a free ride with Åsmund and Elisabeth. 

Voi village

A primary school in Voi is damaged by the water.

Mail address

My mail address in Arusha  is:
Chrisc Tanzania
p.o.box 15951
Arusha
Tanzania

I'll be very happy to recieve mail, but don't send any valuable things. I've heard things can disappear at the post offices around here.

A football team needs a ball

In Arusha there are many football teams of the ages under 14 and under 12. CHRISC organizes a football league in Arusha for these age groups. Both CHRISC teams and other teams can participate. Last time I was at Kaloleni zone and watched them playing. The volunteers who were responsible for the matches were one hour late, so I got time to have a talk with one of the teams. Luckily there were some who spoke a little english. I didn't get very far by speaking my faulty swahili. However, they dared to try to speak english when they found out that my swahili was a lot worse. It didn't take long before they asked me for economical support to buy a new football for the team. The old one was almost worn out. And how can a football team train without a ball?
I wanted really much to give them a ball, but I've been told that it's a too simple and short-lasting solution to give away money. It creates dependence. Instead I tried to ask them what they could do to fundraise in order to buy a new ball. There weren't many suggestions. "We don't have money". I thought about what teams in Norway do to collect money. I suggested to find a job for the whole team. "There is no work." I suggested to ask the parents for a little support, so that they could save money for a ball. "We have no money." After we played a funny game and than the league matches started. On the field, the kids seemed happy and they played hard to win the games. Luckily, fun has no cost.
Later that day I couldn't stop thinking about that team, lacking a football. In Norway, many teams have one ball per player. Too many teams in Tanzania don't have footballs at all. I felt both powerless and frustrated. Why don't people want to share. One football costs so little, and can cause so much joy. Why can't their parents or community afford such a little thing as a football? I can't write more questions, because this post is allready too long. Look at some pictures. And see the CHRISCblog post about youth league.

Pray before play

Me and Idrissa, field manager at the league

Snake park and wild monkeys

On Sunday we planned a little trip to a village called Usa River, not far from Arusha. We hoped to see some nice nature and landscape, and maybe some wild animals. The trip was 15 kilometers of walking on the road, a visit at a lokal snake park, and a visit at a safari lodge with "wild" animals. We also saw Arusha national park from the border, but it was too expensive to enter for only a couple of hours. Hopefully we will spend a whole day there later. Luckily we saw some wild monkeys on the way back. We are very grateful for Emanuel who showed us the way and guided us in the Usa River area. He is tour guide student in Arusha, and offered to show us the area, even though he didn't know us very well. Hopefully I will get better at taking pictures of people on the next trip. Watch more pictures in the Web Album

Sometimes the birds come very close

Video 4

Lasse has published a new video: http://www.lasseiafrika.blogspot.com/

Video 3

Lasse has made a video from the trip to the waterfall: www.lasseiafrika.blogspot.com

A sunday trip

I like sundays. They are the most relaxed days, and they really charge my batteries. A sunday is resting day, and you can do whatever you want. Last sunday we went to Napuru waterfall, a beautiful place only two hours of walking from our home. The Tanzanian scenery had allready surprised me, so I had quite big expectations to this place. Four of our friends in Arusha followed us to the waterfall. After paying for entrance twice, and after passing beautiful forests and maize fields, we finally walked down to a small, steep valley. After some weeks in the city, I felt very happy about coming to this place. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

We stayed at the waterfalls for two hours. We had a bath in the surprisingly cold water and relaxed. What was strange was that we didn't see any other people. We were alone in this small paradice, one our of walking from a city of more than 1 mill people. I can't stop wondering why nobody else visited the place. Our friends told us that people are going to church on sundays, and therefore they don't go to the waterfall. But the first service is finished at 0800 in the morning, so people have plenty of time for going there.

Many people have to work also on sundays. And I guess the Tanzanians don't have the typical sunday-trip culture as we have in Norway. People prefer to stay at home and cook some nice food after church. However, like this make it a lot easier to stay away from the Norwegian scenery I like so much. I'm looking forward to see more of Tanzanias beautiful places. 

I felt quite tiny

Walking along a maize field. Mt. Meru in the background.

We followed the creek towards the waterfall

Refreshing shower

Everything was green in the surroundings

It was lovely to bath in the cold water

Video 2

Lasse has published a new video: http://www.lasseiafrika.blogspot.com/

Bonanza

On saturday we organized CHRISC bonanza in Arusha; a combination of teaching and football tournament. It was a long, hot day. However, it was definately worth it, when seeing all the joy that comes with a football tournament. I am very happy that I can take part in this good work. And I am proud of working together with good, hard-working voluntaires in CHRISC. Read the blog post we made at the CHRISC Tanzania blog to see more pictures.

These guys know how to utilize plastic bags

No doubt; this is competition

Sunday is church-time

Most people in Arusha go to church on sundays. At the lokal church, Kimandolu Lutheran Church, there are three services every sunday. Simply because the church isn't big enough for everybody, and that's a big church. It's impressing, especially when you concider that the first service starts at 7 in the morning! Here is the opposite problem from Norway, where there are too little people at church on sundays. Most churches have choirs, and Kimandolu church has a volleyball field, where the local CHRISC team is training.

Last sunday, we went to the lutheran church. It is more lively than the Norwegian Church, but the way they do the service is pretty much the same. They sing psalms, pray together, one of the priests holds a speech. Yes, there are two priests. One thing that was a bit strange for us norwegians, was the offerings. There was three rounds of offerings, for different purpouses. At the third round, those who wanted could give even more, and everybody clapped for those who gave more. Even those who couldn't contribute with money could give something else. Tomatoes, chickens or other goods will be sold at the service. It is not unusual that people pay heavy overprice for a chicken at church.

Today we've been to a charismatic church, called Winners Chapel. The service started at nine, so we had to get up at 7.30. On a sunday! The service was very different from the lutheran church. People danced while they were singing, and the music was really loud. I regret that I didn't bring ear plugs. It's not possible to describe the atmosphere by words. I was very amazed by the preachers. They simply didn't run out of voice. And what an energy! For two and a half hour they talked, screamed and yelled in nigerian-english and swahili until their napkins were wet from sweat. Afterwards they danced, waving their napkins. Everybody danced. I liked the singing and dancing. It makes me smile. However, the service lasted for four hours, so I was quite exhausted afterwards. Luckily we were allowed to sit during the speech.

On our way back from church, we met people coming from church, and people going to church. It seems like there are services the whole day.

Winners chapel

  

Act Now

I want to write some few words about ActNow, my exchange program. Act now is one of three exchange programs at Hald International Centre in Mandal, Norway. It is a one year study of cross cultural communication and international work. ActNow is organized by Strømme Foundation and financed by FK Norway. Check out the links at the right if you want to know more about the school and the organizations.

Act Now is devided in three periods: Fall course, internship and spring course.
The fall course is a 6 weeks course, where we learn about development work, intercultural communication, leadership, practical issues about travelling and much more. Norwegian and international students attend classes together, so most of the teaching is in English.

In the internship, norwegian students go to partner organizations in development countries and international students go to different destinations in Norway and stay work there for 7 months. While we are abroad, we read some books and write two papers as part of our study.

The spring course in Mandal is focused on information work. The students can use one week travelling in Norway. Then we'll tell about our internship, the school and try to influence people's view on the different countries we have visited.

I stay in Arusha in Tanzania. Here I work for CHRISC Tanzania, a partner organization of Strømme Foundation. CHRISC works for empowering youth through sports. I will write more about what CHRISC do when I get a better overview.

Bad taste party at Hald International Centre

Lasse's videoblog

Lasse, my teammate in Arusha is making a videoblog. Today he posted the first film:

http://www.lasseiafrika.blogspot.com/

The video is also on YouTube: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eu4BQNCcqs

First days in Arusha

First days in Arusha

The time runs fast, and we have allready been in Arusha for three days. Everything is new for us, and there are so many impressions. I can only tell about some of them. We have been very well taken care of. Phyneous, our contact person from CHRISC has spent so much time with us these first days, and we are very grateful for that. Allready the day we arrived, he invited us to his home for supper. The next day he was together with us almost the whole day. I am impressed by the way we are welcomed.

Then, a little bit about all the new impressions. The first thing I noticed was the warm climate at Kilimanjaro airport. Then we bought visa. We payed and gave our fingerprints at one office, and we got the visa and were taken pictures of at another office at the airport. After some thinking we still couldn't find a good reason for not doing all at the same office. The taxi ride from the airport was exciting. I think we can forget about seatbelts in Tanzania.

The first days I and Lasse (and Phyneous) have spent much time buying nessecary equipment for our apartment, such as cleaning equipment and toilet paper. There are not many shopping centres, so you better go with a local person if you are looking for something spesific. Every time we buy something we have to bargain, except at the supermarket. For me, the first offer is usually "mzungu" prize; sometimes more than ten times the normal price. White, western people are called "mzungu". Going to the market in Arusha is a nice experience. First it may look like chaos, but you soon find out that the trading is easy and well-working. Some sellers may follow you even out of the marketplace, but most of them are nice and polite. You find everything you need there to make a nice dinner.

Our apartment is located east from the center of Arusha, besides a big field called Tindigani. Some days, more than ten football teams are training there. These days everything is green and beautiful because it is raining every day. I am both surprised an very happy about the beautiful scenery around here. When we go to Arusha, we use "daladala", the local minibuses. Today we were 18 persons in a toyota hiace.

Now I feel that we have settled, and I start to get used to our new home. People in the neighbourhood are nice and willing to talk. Some are not used to talk to western people, and are a bit shy. But it is extremely easy to brake the ice, especially when I try to speak swahili, which is the official language. I like this place!

On our way back home from shopping in a "daladala"

We'll have to learn to clean our shoes

Tilapia, the most common fish in Arusha. Lunch at a restaurant near CHRISC national office. 

Spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce

The "light of freedom" monument. It is a memory of Tanzania's independence. 

In the centre of Arusha

Buying rice and wheat at the market

Impressions from Kampala

Now we have stayed in Kampala for two days. Tomorrow me and Lasse will go to Arusha together with Phyneus, our contact person at CHRISC Tanzania. He will also be our coach, teacher, advisor, anything we need.

Yesterday we visited the norwegian embassy and the strømme foundation office in Kampala. After that we visited a kindergarden in the miles2smiles project. The kids were surprisingly happy to see us. As soon as I entered the gate, I was surrounded by smiling, laughing and shouting faces around my knees. Sometimes when I bent down, it was hard to get up again because these kids like to climb.

Today I feel a lot more awake. We slept quite late and had a calm breakfast at the hotel before we were picked up by a taxi to go to the supermarket. Later we went to a lodge to eat lunch with Eseza, our contact person at Strømme foundation and the contact persons at the different projects.  

As we traveled with the taxi, Helene and Benedicte greeted people through the window. It is fun to see how surprized people are when they hear white people speaking luganda, which is the official language. People smile and respond nicely when we greet them in their own language. I'm looking forward to go to Tanzania and practice some swahili.  

We are ready to eat lunch together. Photo: Hanne Lilleberg

We were invited to have a look at a construction yard as we passed by. These two guys are
showing us how they make bricks. 

Children in Miles2smiles project welcoming us at the kindergarden. 

These happy kids have too much energy! Photo: Hanna Charlotte

A typical taxi in Kampala. Toyota hiace is a winner. Seatbelts are not. 

Parts of Kampala

From left: Phyneus, CHRISC Tanzania and Peter, CHRISC Uganda

Finally in Africa!

Serious passengers

On thursday me and the other ActNow-ers from Hald left Norway. We'll be back after 7 months. Those going to East Africa met at Amsterdam airport and then travelled to Kampala together. Me and Lasse played games and ate a lot of food, so we had a pleasant flight. You'll never be hungry when travelling long distance with KLM. We had a short stop in Kigali, Rwanda.

Unserious passengers
Photo: Hanne Lilleberg

Before we left Norway we were told that when it is raining in Africa, everything stops because people need to find shelter. Then it was a bit funny that the bus picking up passengers at the airport in Kigali was late for one reason; the rain. When we finally landed on Entebbe airport near to Kampala, we were all quite tired. Luckily, everybody got their visum and their luggage. And contact persons from the different projects welcomed us warmly.

Happy ActNow-ers from left: Hanna Charlotte, Benedicte,
Lasse, Synne, Miriam, Seline, Benedicte. (I and Helene
 were busy loading the bus through the window.)
Photo: Hanne Lilleberg

Is East Africa ready for these people?

When we travelled from the airport we got a lot of new impressions from our bus seats: The hot climate, a lot of different smells, the moon looks different, bumpy roads, people everywhere, driving on the left side of the road, colourful buildings, palms, lizards to mention some. At our hotel in Kampala we were welcomed by the owner and some of the staff. They served us supper at twelve in the night. That's good service. After supper we went straight to bed under a mosquito net.  

Strømme foundation

Today my class visited Strømme foundation's (SF) office in Kristiansand. The staff there had many inspiring presentations. I was very fascinated of how SF cooperates with Norwegian industrial companies. It surprised me to hear about all the benefits for a company who supports SF's engagement for education and microfinance in development countries. Read more about Strømme foundation at http://strommestiftelsen.no/ . It becomes more and more important for companies to show that they are engaged in world solidarity. That is positive both for marketing and for being an attractive employer. Engaged people who care about global questions want an employer that also cares. When I apply for jobs in the future, I hope the moral and engagement of the employer will play an important role for me.

Welcome to my blog!

In October i go to Arusha, Tanzania together with Lasse (www.lasseiafrika.blogspot.com). We are students at Hald International Centre, and the internship in Tanzania is part of the programme ActNow. This blog is mainly for writing about my stay in Arusha, but I will write some posts before I go. I will write in english, because many of my friends at school are international. I am going to work with CHRISC Tanzania at the national office in Arusha. I also want the people there to be able to read my blog.

I hope to make a more african look when I go to Arusha, but for now I use Norwegian pictures because I want to use my own pictures:  Background picture: Ulvesund lighthouse in Måløy.
First picture: Me and Hera, my family's dog on Storhornet mountain.
I will appreciate comments, and questions I will appreciate even more.