Godfrey

Godfrey

            Yesterday, I went on another home visit, this time to the home of Godfrey and his son, Brian. Brian is in Kinder at LOAMO, and Godfrey works in the kitchen there. Each morning, they bike down from their home to the stoplight, where Godfrey drops Brian off so he can catch the bus. Godfrey is not allowed to take the bus, so he bikes all the way through the city to LOAMO. The ride from their home is not an easy one, by any means. The road to their house is made of sand and mud and lies along a steep hill. It took us thirty five to forty minutes just to drive to their home from the school. Once we arrived, we were surprised to see five mud huts, each no bigger than a small bedroom, surrounded by huge, lush trees. Godfrey led us to his home, where we were greeted by his wife, his wife’s grandmother (who is between 90 and 100 years of age), and their five children. We walked into their home and saw that they only had two rooms. The main family room had two couches, a small coffee table, and one small cabinet filled with all their dishes and clothing. On the wall behind the couches, their shoes were hung from nails. There was no electricity, heat, or running water. When we asked where the bathrooms were, they waved their hands in a circle, meaning, “We go anywhere”. Once the family was comfortable with four “wazungus” (the word for white people in Tanzania) in their home, we started to ask them questions.           

Money and water are the two main resources that they lack. In order to get water, they have to walk several miles to an ever-changing water source and back, which is very difficult because they live on a steep hill and have to carry several buckets of water. Their two eldest daughters, who are eighteen and nineteen, had to drop out of secondary school because they could not afford their schooling anymore. Now, they spend their time at home, keeping the house tidy and preparing food. Their oldest son, who is fourteen, goes to a small, government-run school in the city. In Tanzania, the government school’s level of education is not like that of LOAMO – it is very minimal. The only reason that Brian, their second, seven-year-old son, goes to school at LOAMO is that LOAMO allows one child of a staff member to attend school for a reduced price. Their last child, who is four, does not go to school, even though she is old enough to attend baby class. After we established their financial situation, we asked about where they got their food. They explained that Godfrey’s wife sells produce in the town below their home. Godfrey is the chef at LOAMO, so he brings home food each day, which creates an atmosphere of sharing between them and the four other families that live there.

It was so inspiring to meet and learn about Godfrey’s family. They live so simply and even with the little education, water and food they receive, they are so happy. They welcomed strangers (Ms. Gutmann, Mallory, Tate and myself) whom they had never met into their home with open arms and let us ask personal questions, which I’m sure was intimidating. Every home visit is different. There are some heartbreaking stories and some stories that make you smile for hours. I think going on these home visits is so inspiring because we usually only get to see their lives from an outsider’s point of view. Everyday, we only get to see how the children at LOAMO act in school, and actually going to their homes and hearing about their struggles opens our eyes to how different and beautiful the lives of the people here in Tanzania are.