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