Bagamoyo (lay down your heart)

Well, I have been home for 1 week, and I am not adjusted yet. I can't stop dreaming of going back.   I had no idea that my life plan would have been so affected by this little volunteer experience. It started as just a way to travel, do something different over the holidays, and challenge myself. But it has now evolved into a long term plan and a mission to become more aware of helping others abroad as well as in my own community. I have been so blessed to have this experience, and I have learned so much from this experience.  Thank you to all of my supporters for helping me find my way to Tanzania and having this life changing journey.   This has now become a dream that I cannot let go.  I fell absolutely in love with Bagamoyo, and the person that I have become because of Bagamoyo.  Thank you so much for supporting me and giving me the courage to travel and volunteer in such an amazing place.  I am certain that I will make it back there someday. Thank you! I am truly grateful!

Meghan Beacham  

I left a piece of my heart in Bagamoyo

Bagamoyo

Nakupenda Rafikis

It is my last week, and it is completely heartbreaking.  Today I spent my day with UKUN which is an organization that helps with AIDS education, home based care to patients, and testing for HIV/AIDS. I was tested for HIV today, and I am safi (clean)! It is a similar process to testing blood sugar for diabetes.  Then, I spent my day with Charles the creator of this organization, and we went on home visits to check on patients. We went to the famous Captain's hut, and we helped with physical therapy for a bit.  We chatted for a while, and he commented that I am learning Swahili very quickly. I always tell people I am learning pole pole (slowly) and they usually laugh at me. But I am finally learning how communicate with people that speak no English.  I am sure when I return to work, I will say things like..."Mambo! Habari Gani? Nzuri sana! Na wewe?" I apologize in advance...

It has been an extremely quiet week around here as there are only 6 of us left, but it is giving me time to process everything that has happened over the last month.  I have been telling all my new  friends that live in Bagamoyo that I planned this trip for a year and 1/2, and I am not sure when I can come back. But I feel that I am meant to be here.  UKUN for example would have a better shot at funding if they only had a website.  That is my first goal when I come back. My second goal is to help with Imuma which is an orphanage/daycare. There are about 36 kids, but they can only afford to have 7 kids live there full time. They are still the happiest group of children I have ever met. They have so much love in there hearts, and they have absolutely nothing. On Friday, we are going to the beach one last time before I go home. And then there is Bagamoyo. A piece of my heart will stay here in Bagamoyo.  There are so many artists, musicians, and culture here. I walk down the road everyday, and almost every person walking by greets me. And they become ecstatic if I say something other than "Mambo! Poa!"  In Seattle, they look the other direction. I think it will be more of a culture shock when I return than it was when I arrived here.  I just feel so blessed that I was able to have this experience.  Thank you to all of my contributors and sponsors. I would not have been able to have this experience without you. I have been touched deep within my soul, and I will always remember the time I travelled to Tanzania. It has changed my perspective, and it has change my life.  I am completely heartbroken to leave my new rafikis (friends) and watoto (children) behind.  Thank you so much for helping me to find my voice and my passion.  I will be posting a ton of photos and videos when I return next week. THANK YOU!!

Tutaonanaa!! See you

Meghan aka Uwendi

Zanzibar

This was without a doubt the best New Year celebration of all time.  We left Bagamoyo on Friday after placement, and we headed to Dar Es Salaam to catch the ferry. Kennedy pushed us through the intense angry crowd to get us up front so that we would have good seats. We were in an enclosed area with "AC" that smelled of body odor and incense. As soon as we left the port, I knew I thought I would be sick. It felt like being on a roller coaster for 2 1/2 hours. We finally arrived in beautiful Zanzibar on New Years Eve.  We drove to the south tip of the island to stay in our rustic bungalows and ate dinner which was the same thing we eat at CCS (fish, rice, and potato).  We were all a bit concerned when we found that there was no bar at our hotel for new years eve, but we were pleasantly surprised to hear music down the beach. We headed to a hotel, and we were again the only guests. We had frozen "Tanzanian Kisses" which was the best thing we had ever tasted even though we could have become ill from the ice. We all decided it was worth the risk since it was New Years. None of us got sick from the ice by the way... There were two men drumming, and six men and women in kangas that of course pulled us in to dance. The women wrapped all of us in kangas including bibi (Fey the 80 year old volunteer with us) and put us all in a circle. We all took turns dancing in the middle of the circle. Some of us started running out of "moves" so we would start jumping in with the amazing 80's dances we knew. It was so much fun, and there was nothing of a typical New Years.  Nobody was drunk, there was no crying, and no drama. We were all just so happy to be together and enjoyed each other.  After the band left we had a little count down with the waitstaff, and they even opened a bottle of champagne for us. After midnight, we all ran and jumped in the pool in the darkness. It was amazing to swim in darkness under the beautiful bright stars and the ocean waves crashing. Completely beautiful.  Jordan, Amy, and I started singing the only Swahili song we know as well in the pool. I woke up to walk on the beach, and the tide was out.  I have never seen such an incredible paradise.  Of course, I was stung by a jellyfish, but I continued to walk in the water and look at the shells.  We laid by the pool for a bit, and we headed to Stone Town for a seafood Tanzanian lunch with wine.  Stone Town is absolutely beautiful. I wish I had more than one full day to spend in Zanzibar, but I am so glad I made the trip. After lunch, a few of us decided to take a boat to Chunguu Island (prison island). I was looking for pirates, but no such luck:) It was originally used as a quarantine for Cholera and Yellow Fever. But now, it has become a sanctuary for extremely large tortoises and peacocks.  We fed some of the tortoises, and one hungry tortoise chomped my finger. That actually hurt much worse than the jellyfish. I think I lost my clumsiness, but I have inherited love from animals.... I shook it off, and we went on our tour through the old prison.  We then got back in the boat, and enjoyed the sunset as we slowly moved across the water. It was serial to be on the Indian Ocean.  We then met up with the rest of the group at a mzungu place called Mercury's that was right on the Ocean. It was named after Freddy Mercury from Queen. There were a ton of mzungus, but the music was great. I started getting emotional because it was my last night in Tanzania with Amy and Jordan. They stayed in Zanzibar until they leave for Cleveland.  I am so happy that I have this bond with them, and I will miss them dearly. I might need to plan a small weekend in Cleveland soon. They surprised me and took me to their 5 star all inclusive resort for my last night in Zanzibar.  I was elated to take a real shower with hot water and air conditioning.  I even used conditioner!!  My poor sister is going to have her work cut out for her after being here for a month:) Sorry Tiff... he he he. The three of us drank and talked under the stars. I left in the morning and headed to the spice farm to meet up with the rest of the volunteers. I was very early, so I listened to Bob Marley with a little boy, and we drummed together on the dirt until they arrived.  It was just another moment that reminds me why I came to Tanzania. The spice farm was very interesting, but I couldn't focus because I was so excited to buy real coffee.  Only instant coffee seems to be available in Baga. I bought some gifts for friends and family, and we headed home to Bagamoyo. Just after I went through the crowded gate at the ferry, I heard my name being yelled. It was Amy and Jordan running behind the gate to say goodbye. I ran towards them, we hugged through the giant bars in the gate, and I began to cry. I miss them so much already. And now there are six.  The ferry went smoothly, and we finally got home to CCS in Bagamoyo

Today, I went to UKUN which is an organization that works together with the Red Cross. We went to the open market to buy watermelon and pineapple for a man in the hospital suffering from TB and AIDS. He has all the medications, but he doesn't have the proper amount of food and water.  Charles convinced the hospital to let him stay there for another week so that he could have a fighting chance to get enough food to eat with his medications. Charles will be stopping by to check on him from time to time to see his progress and make sure that he is hydrated and fed properly. I am experiencing new enlightening moments each day, and I am learning that I belong here. I can't imagine leaving when there is so much more to experience.

In love with Bagamoyo

I have been spending my week with kids from Imuma which is a place for kids in the neighborhood can come and be loved.  They can only afford to board 7 of the kids to live there. I have only been there for one week because Red Cross is on vacation for the holiday, and I am completely attached to them. There is one girl named Mosik, and she is very shy and quiet. She won't leave my side when I am there.  Today, we took all 26 of them in a tiny van to the beach, and they all went crazy with excitement. It was quite a sight to see 26 kids and 4 adults in a tiny van. Mosik stayed with me all day, and she actually spoke with me today. I have become so attached, I have no idea how I can possibly leave them. They are all so beautiful, full of hope and dreams, and they are the happiest children I have ever been around. I am in love with each and every one of them. We usually spend the first part of the day on the field to run around and play games with them before class. We tried to show them how to make a bottle rocket, but it failed miserably because we had pepto instead of alki seltzer. In class, we say KAA a lot which means be quiet and sit down.  We have them come up one by one and sing a song in English. This boy Suma who is 5, will come up and sing "If you are happy and you know clap your hands." It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. So much personality.  I am so inspired, that I have decided to work with them in my free time. I just can't let them go. I have also fallen in love with my fellow volunteers. This is a bittersweet week because many of them are leaving one week before I am. I have made so many amazing friends here in the community as well as the staff and other volunteers. Ok no more gush gush because this weekend I am heading to Zanzibar for New Years, spices, Stone Town, tortoises, and more music and art. I have found my heart here in Bagamoyo. Stay tuned, I will try to add photos soon...

Meghan

Christmas Safari

We were picked up in a beat up landcruiser early Friday morning to drive the 7 hours south to Selous Game Reserve for our camping Christmas Safari. We stopped for lunch, and we ventured the rest of the journey on a very bumpy dirt road for the next 3 hours or so we thought. We were on this road for about 20 mins when there was a disturbing grinding sound coming from under the wheels. We pulled over, and our driver Peter pulled out the machete to "fix" the shocks. As we continued down the road, there were a whole new set of sounds. Amy, Jordan, Violenne, and I could not stop laughing because it reminded us of Little Miss Sunshine but much worse. It sounded like the car was about to collapse at any second, AND we were on such a bumpy dirt road. We stopped in a tiny village to repair the car before it got dark. At first, there was a large group of men just starring at us through the windows. Then all the children came to see us Mzungus and sat down in a group to stare at us. We couldn't really communicate because they were speaking a different dialect of Kiswahili. Many of the men were under the car with Peter helping him while we decided to play with the children. Jordan and Amy drew Hop Scotch in the dirt and we all demonstrated for them. Then some of the older boys would take turns. After each turn, we all laughed and clapped with each other. It was such an incredible moment because we were just hanging out, but it meant so much to all of us. Roughly 2 1/2 hours later, we headed to Sealous for camping. Of course the truck was still not fixed so we were all silent for the rest of the way as it had become dark, and Peter was extremely concerned for our safety. But then we would say things like... "Would you rather be stranded in the middle of the bush with the lions or in between villages where boys would shoot at you with there hands as you drive by?" Just before arriving at Hippo Camp, we saw a hyena. Peter also mentioned that there were many black and green mambas. We were all sure that the other truck with the rest of the group was worried because we were so far behind them. Of course cell phones don't work in the African bush:) So after a very long day of driving on Christmas Eve, we knew we wouldn't be sleeping well after seeing the hyena, staying at a place called Hippo Camp, and we were all aware of the presence of elephants, snakes, hippos, crocs, and the dinosaur like bugs that kept flying into the truck. We walked down this dark path in the bushes to greet the rest of our group. They even waited for us to eat dinner. We all shared our story, had an amazing dinner, and had as many beers as possible to get a good night sleep.  I was pleased to find that we were staying is tiny bungalows. Mine even had a large tree inside of it with a giant leafy branch directly above my pillow! I slept completely sound after hearing the hippos snort near by, thinking of mambas, and listening to the beautiful orchestra of what seemed to be 100's of 1000's piercing locusts.

We woke up at six am to get on a very small boat for the river part of our Safari on Christmas Day. We saw monkeys, crocs, hippos, and tons of colorful birds. The hippos sleep during the day and graze on land at night near our bungalows. All the females huddle up and sleep together in the water while the males stay on the outside to protect them. We were back at 8am for breakfast, then off to our Game Reserve ride in the repaired landcruiser. Peter stayed up all night fixing it for us so that we would not be stranded with the lions:) We saw tons of giraffe, elephants, water buffalo, wildebeast, baboons, impala, and crocs. We were a bit nervous when Peter pulled over in the middle of the Game Reserve to eat our lunch and have a bathroom break. We all squatted next to each other behind a bush in fear that a lion would run out of the tall grass near by and eat us for lunch, but Peter didn't seem too concerned about it. By 5pm, we were so dehydrated, sunburned, sweaty, tired, and delirious, we couldn't wait to have a few Safari beers and Christmas dinner which was pasta, eggplant, and some sort of egg/meat/pizza pie.  I thought I would get a good night sleep from exhaustion, but the noises at night were nothing I have ever experienced. I could hear the loud high pitched sound of the locusts, the group of elephants that liked to hang out, the hippos grazing, and I must not forget the man walking around with a very large gun ready to protect us at any moment. Looking back now, it was an incredible experience.

We woke up at 6am on Sunday to start the walking portion of our Safari before heading back to Bagamoyo. We meat this almost naked tracker covered in ash, carrying a hand made bow and arrow, and he was smoking what appeared to be a giant leaf wrapping a giant wad of ganja. Turns out, he was just smoking elephant dung. We had to stop twice, so he could have a lil smoke session. He said that it made him think clearly, attract elephants, and he said it was much stronger than ganja. I think we were all a bit shocked by this one. We saw elephants, yellow baboons, a giant baobob tree which he climbed, and we learned how to survive in the African Bush if you had to for some reason. He even taught us how to protect ourselves from a lion and showed us how to set a booby trap for dinner. I have videos, but those will have to wait until I get home. After a meal, we finally headed back to Bagamoyo. I have never been so excited to get back to CCS and take a trickle of a cold shower in my life. The Red Cross is on vacation this week, so I will be floating around at different placements all week which is exciting. I am also visiting the medicine man, and I will be working on a garbage clean up project in the village. Merry Christmas!!

Meghan

Pole Pole

Well I made it to Africa! I apologize for the delay. We have not had consistent electricity, so it is much harder to get to a computer than I  thought. I have been here for one week, and I am completely in love. In love with this country, in love with the community of Bagamoyo, in love with my fellow volunteers, in love with Africa. I have been through so much already, I am not even sure where to start. I guess I will start with the moment I knew I was coming back to Tanzania again. On one of my first days, I was taken to a family's community of about 40 to 50 children, adults, and elders. We arrived, and all the children just flocked to us. The children would braid our hair and sit right next to us while the rest of the family put on an amazing African dance and music performance for us. They played so many different instruments. They we so incredibly warm and inviting. They even gave us tea and peanuts while we all sat around just taking it all in. We had an interesting conversation about polygamy. Many of the men have more than one wife, and it is very common. My program director Zik, would translate as we would all share our ideas and our thoughts on the matter. They would laugh as we said the women hold the power in most marriages, and we would laugh as they said the men do.  I met a rasta named James there who is going to teach me how to batik and drum today.  I have also met a ton of rasta artists who are teaching me how to paint Tinga style this week. My fellow volunteers are amazing. I have really taken to two girls from Cleveland named Amy and Jordan. We have our own little mzungu (white person) prison across the road from the main house with a few other volunteers. The water situation is a bit spotty, but everything else has started to feel normal. We have several lizards that like to hang out with us in the house, and they are all named Fred. I have my own pet bugs,  but I never see them. I just see the love bites it gives me over and over again while I am sleeping. Good thing I have been taking my Malerone because I have been eaten alive by mosquitos. :) The town of Bagamoyo is so welcoming. Almost everyone you see on the road greets you with Mambo! The greetings last much longer than in the states, and my Swahili is vastly improving each day. Yesterday I was walking back from the Tunajali (Red Cross program), and this little girl just ran out of her hut all the way down the road and jumped all over me. She had to be only 2 or 3 years old. The children here are the happiest children I have ever seen. They have nothing, yet they always have a huge smile on there faces. They always run after us and yell "Mzungu! Mambo!"  This week I get to do some home visits and test for HIV/AIDS. We will be travelling to different villages and visiting people that have been affected. This has been so eye opening I can't discribe it. Being here has completely inspired me to make some changes when I get home and possibly do some grant writing. There are so many amazing school programs for the street kids and youth programs that are in constant need of funding. But this is also the most beautiful place I have visited. After a busy week of volunteering, Swahili lessons, guest speakers, and a full on soccer game that we were not prepared for at all, we decided to get away for the weekend.

A few of us went to a small island called Lazy Lagoon. We had a bungalow on the ocean that was absolutely beautiful. We relaxed by the beach, I read some of Shanteraum, and enjoyed the luminous African sunset. On Saturday, Amy, Jordan, and I took a boat back to Bagamoyo, and went reggae dancing Sat. night with the rastas. That too was incredible. We were the only ones there dancing under the moonlight with the rastas. On Sunday, the three of us decided to experience church here. Of course they made us introduce ourselves because it was the first time. It was about two hours, and they even had a translator in our honor. We were so tired after the long hectic week that all we wanted to do is take a big nap. But Sunday evening, we had a little stint at our compound.

Amy, Jordan, and I were sitting on the porch of our little gated house when a taxi driver walked right through the front gate. He then tried to enter the house when our adorable guard Tuma was right behind him trying to get him to leave. He was hissing at Tuma and all of a sudden there was a mob outside the gate screaming and yelling while Amy, Jordan, and I were trapped on the porch right next to this fight. We had to hop over the porch and run around the back of the house because the mob started yelling at us. Eventually we got into the house, but we had to turn off all the lights and lock all the doors because the mob was still outside yelling and screaming. Poor Tuma was just protecting us while the taxi driver was getting the crowd excited and angry. Our director came over with the rest of the staff including the cook and the rest of guards to try and calm the crowd down, but it didn't work. Tuma came inside and kept us safe while Zik entered the main gate and kept an ey on the front of the house. This all lasted about 2 hours. It was pretty scary, but it taught us all to be more careful in general. Only call taxis, pike pikes, and bdajis they reccommend, always lock the gate, and be more alert. So we all went to sleep a bit anxious last night. We thought the community would be angry with us today, but they were completey warm and welcoming this morning when we all walked to our different placements.  This community makes me want to stay here more and more every day.   I am so excited for this weekend because I will be on a camping Safari for Christmas. One day on a boat, one day in a truck, and one day on foot. I will write more and add photos as soon as I can, but I am on Bagamoyo time which means Pole Pole (Pole Pole means slowly in Swahili). I miss you all so much, but I don't think I will be ready to come home when it is time. It is flying by so fast.