Miracles

March 29, 2011

I met an old man this morning, the father of one of the girls TEMBO Trust is sponsoring. He had come to ask about sponsorship for his daughter who had failed her Form IV Leaving Exams. He had come to the office before I arrived requesting the same thing – could she go to a private school? 

TEMBO staff had explained that our policy does not allow this for a number of reasons. One is cost – private schools are so much more expensive than government schools and the quality of education is not necessarily better. This is not to say that private schools are not good; it’s just that some of them are run for profit and you have to be very careful when choosing. Another good reason for this policy is that TEMBO wants the girls to know they have options. Everyone is not capable of achieving in a purely academic stream. Following the same program a second time will not necessarily ensure success. Sometimes a vocational stream of education is worth exploring and we are encouraging this more and more.

Now the father asked if his daughter could take a computer program that would help prepare her to work in an office. This seemed like a good idea. We told him we’d check out colleges to see which would be a good choice, since even here there can be problems. A young woman who we know in the village completed a two year computer course a few months ago has still been unable to get a certificate despite repeated attempts.

I was interested to meet this man for another reason. He, like so many other people in the village, has been to visit the Babu of Loliondo. He is the retired pastor who appears to be instrumental in providing people with better health, and even curing serious illneses. He is being visited by doctors and even very high officials in the government. The Babu (grandfather, respectful term for an elder) uses a special herb found in the forest that is made into a drink. Long lines of people from Tanzania and beyond wait to receive this “cup”. There is lots of information on the internet about the healing that is happening (or not, depending on what you believe) in Loliondo.

TEMBO Trust staff member, Mary, explained that this man has suffered from a severe debilitating asthma for many years, since 1984, the man explained. He needed sticks to walk because he was bent over from weakness or an inability to breathe properly. He took injections of medicine each day since a puffer did not help. Yet here he sat, full of life and breathing quite easily. He no longer needed sticks to walk.

This man is not the only person I met who feels they have been healed of a serious medical condition, good friends of TEMBO Trust in Longido included. People are anxious to share their stories. I find myself asking, why not, and who am I to judge what a miracle is?

 I met another  Form IV Leaver today who passed her exams and just found out she will be sponsored by TEMBO Trust to go to Form Five (the equivalent of Grade 12). When I congratulated her she said, “It’s a miracle!” Interesting choice of words that took me back to yesterday’s meeting with the man who had asthma.

Possibility

Today it has been raining all afternoon - the first really good soaking since I have been in Longido. Fortunatus, the gardener at the guesthouse, will be able to plant tree seedlings he has grown into very moist earth.

The TEMBO Guesthouse and Sustainability

March 28, 2011

The roadside sign

The TEMBO Guesthouse (TGH), where I am comfortably staying, is located at the foot of Mount Longido in the heart of Maasai land and in one of the best cultural tourism areas in all of Tanzania. The TGH is central to the goal of making TEMBO Trust an independent Tanzanian organization by the year 2020. The guesthouse was officially opened in January 2009 to help provide funds for education and economic empowerment for girls and women. Growth has been slow but steady. The guesthouse continues to be highly subsidized by TEMBO Canada and in 2011-2012 we are working hard to reduce this subsidy greatly.

Nestled at the foot of Mt. Longido

TEMBO Trust's vision of ustainability is not just about money, though money certainly makes it possible. When TEMBO opened the TGH we made a choice to hire local villagers as much as possible. We could have brought trained or eperienced people from Arusha but this would not have helped the local economy. The current staff of three askaris (watchmen), a gardener, two housekeepers, and the TGH manager is all from Longido and Kimokouwa. Through employment at the guesthouse they are able to better provide for their families and educate their children.

The colourful multi-purpose inner courtyard

Hiring local people also means the learning curve is much steeper and it is even more challenging when you add in the fact that the service you are offering is to people from many different cultures. On the job training must happen, and so many new skills must be learned. Patience is a must but the benefits can be enormous and far reaching.

Harvesting rainwater from the TGH roof grows food for the kitchen

 It takes any business time to make itself known and to get its name and services circulating in the wider community. Effective marketing and follow up is essential. Seeds that were planted a year ago and replanted in the fall of 2010 seem to be paying off. TEMBO Guesthouse is seeing many repeat customers and some NGO’s have begun signing yearly contracts. New marketing strategies are being tested and the feedback from customers is enabling the TGH to better know what clients from around the world need and expect.

A current very large contract from World Vision, an established NGO, is teaching the staff many valuable things they will incorporate into the service they offer in the future. As one staff member offered, “This is teaching us what our weaknesses are.” It is also highlighting what their strengths are. TGH staff are able to work together under pressure as a very effective team to provide a very good quality service. Their pride in the service they offer is evident and appreciated. And it will ensure even more repeat customers. If they continue on the path they are on, and with the support of TEMBO Trust and TEMBO in Canada, as well as new and returning customers, 2011 might just be a very significant year in the growth of the TEMBO Guesthouse.

Beauty to welcome guests

Guests who arrive leave with the satisfaction of knowing that by staying at TEMBO Guesthouse they have contributed to TEMBO Trusts’ Education Sponsorship and Micro-Business programs for girls and women. And a backpack full of memories.

Journeying to Longido

March 24, 2011

Flying over the Alps

I arrived in Longido last night after overnighting at the Kenya Comfort Hotel in Nairobi. The flight was especially enjoyable from Amsterdam to Nairobi. There were a lot of empty seats. I sat near a gentleman from Kansas, Missouri – an English teacher spending 6 weeks in Nairobi teaching children’s stories to Kenyan teachers. The flight attendants were quite accommodating – I even found one who speaks German to reset my cell phone to English.

Endless

I wandered around the plane a few times to stretch my legs and captured a few interesting scenes as we flew over the Alps. By the time we were over the Sahara Desert my camera battery died. The impressions and designs in the sand below were striking. For a long time there were patterns that looked like twisted and flowing root systems that had been pulled out of the ground and placed on the surface. Then there was another long outline that could have been a four wheel drive that had passed by or a herd of camels. I chose to think it had been camels on a caravan. Probably it was the wind leaving its ever changing mark.

I couldn't help but think about the people of Lybia as we flew over North Africa, just a few miles above.

More endless beauty

A traveller going home

Here at the TEMBO Guesthouse we are filled to overflowing. There are forty two World Vision staff working in the countryside and eating three meals a day here. There has never been a crowd so large and the TEMBO staff are being exceptional in the attentive service they are rendering as a team – askaris, the guesthouse manager, the acting coordinator, and housekeeping staff are working alongside the kitchen staff to prepare and serve meals. Mama Nai, TEMBO Trust Co-Chair and Trustee, and I helped make box lunches for tomorrow as WV workers ate chicken stew, ugali, and Nusra’s delicious cooked cabbage.

This is day six with seven more to go. We met today to talk about challenges they are facing and what they are learning in meeting the needs of this group, and possible solutions. There will not be time for doing much else of anything until March 31. Yet I know we will.

The rains have come to Longido and everything is fresh and green. Mount Longido’s catch is flowing into the taps throughout the village. The people can finally celebrate after so many months of severe drought, and so can the goats and cattle.

Three visitors from London, Ontario, Canada arrive tomorrow for an overnight. What a crowd we will have!