A Different Point of View

A Different Point of View

           

Here in Tanzania everything is different: the language, the climate, the customs, and the skin color are just a few examples. Even the way the children are taught at LOAMO and the discipline they receive is very different than in the US. Our way of life seems full of ease and luxury compared to the way of life here. I realized this firsthand when we went to visit the Save Africa Orphanage.

            At first, all the children were shy and we couldn’t get them to talk to us. But with a soccer ball and some smiles, we changed that. While at the orphanage, I went to look around the boys’ and girls’ rooms. There were 18 girls and 23 boys in total, but when I looked around, I didn’t find 41 beds. I only found 13, which meant three to four kids slept in one bed. When I looked outside, all the water was from a small spicket. Even seeing how dirty the children’s living conditions and clothing were made me reconsider what “dirty” was. Yet they continued to be happy and live every moment that they had with us to the fullest.

 Seeing the people’s “way of life” here in Tanzania reminded me of Cambodia – they shared similar struggles and it never gets easier to see. From what I have experienced, the people didn’t worry about what they could have or what they might need to survive the next week, month, or year, they thought about the present, and, especially here in Tanzania, they care for one another. All of the things we take for granted everyday in the US make our lives so much easier and we don’t even realize it. For example, at home I can turn on the faucet and instantly get clean water that doesn’t make my eyes or teeth yellow. But here, you need to boil the water. In order to boil the water, you need heat, and in order to get heat you need to buy electricity or propane, and in order to buy things you need money, which, here in Tanzania, is hard to make. Life is luxurious for most people in the US, especially in the Vail Valley. We are in this bubble that doesn’t allow us to see the true harshness of life, unless we pop the bubble and go to beautiful countries like Cambodia, Tanzania or Nicaragua. Life is entirely different for people all over the world, yet the people can just as happy, if not happier, than the people I know back home. I am still trying to figure out how the people’s happiness here is so contagious; it just seems to overflow into every person. It amazes me that the students at LOAMO can be so happy, even after hearing a few of their sad stories. One student told me about his mother dying when he was baby. Another told me she had to watch her 3 other siblings at 11 years old while her mother and father worked. Not many kids in the Vail Valley have stories like this, and if they do they usually have family or extra support and help. Yet they don’t seem to have the same kind of happiness that the children at LOAMO or Save Africa do. It is really difficult to explain how a certain kind of happiness can be different from another; it’s something someone would need to experience themselves, and I’m so glad I have experienced it here in Tanzania.

Benard

Benard

One of the most difficult qualities a person can obtain is selflessness. I believe that it is not something someone can be born with, but something someone must learn. Yesterday, I had the privilege of meeting Benard’s inspiring and selfless family.

           Benard is a boy from Class IV. At first glance, he seems like any other student at LOAMO- happy, and ready to learn. Maria, the founder of LOAMO, told Lisa Marie, AJ, Evan, Keelin, and I to go and visit Benard’s home. Benard had told Maria that he did not have parents, but when Lisa Marie asked he said he did. This is why after school ended, we took Benard and drove across Arusha to his home. Once we were outside of the gate, Benard told us that his mother didn’t actually know that we were coming to visit. While we were waiting, I was pondering all the possible circumstances Benard could be living in. The bottom line is that none of us knew what to expect.

           Once we were welcomed inside the gate we saw an actual house, which was surprising, because most people in Tanzania live in small villages or conjoined pods. We all walked into Benard’s home and sat in the family room. A custom in Tanzania is for the host to make the visitors tea or a meal, so his mother prepared some chai tea for us. After drinking tea and introducing ourselves, we started to ask about Benard’s story. Several years ago, Benard was working at a school outside of Arusha while living with his aunt. His mother was not able to take proper care of him, and his father sadly passed away. While working at the school, a teacher named Richard spotted Benard. Each day he watched him and saw Benard’s potential. Richard decided to meet with Benard’s aunt. His aunt decided to let Benard move to Arusha and live with Richard and his wife. Benard now refers to them as “mother” and “father” (hence our confusion at the school). Richard’s wife taught Benard how to cook, clean, and milk all of the cows. Richard then talked to Maria and came up with an arrangement to let Benard become a student at LOAMO. Now, he is at the top of his class. Each day, I correct his math homework and he is one of the only students who gets every single math question right. Benard is extremely smart, and it is very obvious in the classroom. Every morning Benard wakes up and does all the cooking and milks their 6 cows, all before he catches the bus to school.

            This made me consider the number of 12 year olds I know who are so hard working and determined. My answer is: none. Benard came from nothing, and he was given a chance, and now is making the best of everything he has. Benard and Richard truly inspire me. When Richard took Benard into his care, he did not ask for money or anything in return. He simply, out of the kindness in his heart, provided and still provides an education, food, and a home for Benard. That, to me, is the strongest act of selflessness I have witnessed. It was so inspiring to realize that Benard came from having very little education to being at the top of his class in math, and everyday at LOAMO he has the biggest smile on his face. This made me realize that there is a much bigger story behind each of the student’s smiles.

           Before leaving Benard’s home, Richard said something to us: “Success is not about what you can gain, it is about what you can give.” To hear that from someone who lives so simply and still opened his home to another child is undoubtedly the most inspiring and selfless act I have ever witnessed, and, in the future, I will try to live by Richard’s selflessness and Benard’s determination.   

TANZANIA- OPTIMISM

Optimism

I am constantly struggling with finding the right words to express how I feel or to perfectly describe everything I experience throughout each day, but this has made me realize it is not possible, and if it were, no description would be as special as the experience itself. That’s why everyday here in Tanzania I am trying to live as in the moment as the students do at LOAMO.

At the school I help teach in Class Four, which would be the equivalent of fourth grade in the U.S. But the rate at which the students are learning is very different. By this grade the children are expected to be fluent in English and Swahili as well as semi-fluent in French. Each day as I observe Ms. Glory teach a new math lesson and it amazes me because what they are learning at eight/nine year olds I was learning in seventh grade. In Class Four there are so any different personalities. There is a group of troublemakers; Otto, Peter, Fanta, and William. They are constantly making jokes followed by the class’s hysterical laughs. Then there is Karen, I like to call her “Mamma K” because she keeps everyone in line. The only comparison I have to the students in Class Four is the movie, The Breakfast Club. Not for the trouble making and acts of defiance, but for their unique characteristics. And as a whole they make the class what it is each day.

This morning Gitte and I met with the Class Four girls to teach them a song and dance. We decided on “The Cup Song” which they ended up knowing far better than us, but it didn’t matter because seeing their smiles made me day entirely better. In fact throughout the day all of the students from Baby Class to Class Seven never run out of this energy that everyone at LOAMO has. Even the teachers are constantly making jokes. Today during a boy vs girl debate they encouraged each other no matter who was winning or losing. This wasn’t the only thing that was expressive. Several of the questions asked left me speechless because at their age I did not know half of what they did. At the rare times where they didn’t know the answer, no one made fun of them and everyone was proud of one another. This creates an atmosphere of intoxicating optimism and happiness that I am dreading to leave.  

TANZANIA UPDATE

Compassion and Respect

After what felt like weeks of travel and overwhelming anticipation we finally arrived in Tanzania. Looking out of the plane’s window I could see Mt. Kilimanjaro’s enormous peak above the clouds. I couldn’t believe I was going to land in Tanzania; it felt like a dream or the captain would yell “SYKE” over the microphone and fly back home. But now I am actually here in Tanzania and I cannot explain how amazing it is.

Yesterday we went to Cradle of Love, a home for orphaned babies. Each child had his/her own personality. Some just wanted to be held while others pulled on our fingers to go explore. After a few hours I sat with one little girl who was now asleep on my arms. And as I sat there I realized that I felt true compassion that I hadn’t in the longest time. Back home people talk of small nothings and barely care about how many siblings you have or where you are from, but here in Tanzania they do. The people here take the time to learn your story, to understand who you are. Even the people that don’t speak a lot of English are so happy just to hear “Mambo” or “Poa.” On the first night a lady named Nai came to visit us. She told us how the people acted, the do’s and do not’s and she told us “The people here do not care what your skin color is, they do not discriminate, they simply love everyone.” THAT to me is the most beautiful way to live through peace and love.

Today we went to L.O.A.M.O School. Around 270 children attend the school. They all gathered in lines according to their class. (baby, kinder, prep, class 1, class 2, etc) One of the teachers lead the students, still in their designated lines, in different dances and exercises before school started. This lead me to compare the schools we have in the US to L.O.A.M.O. Why are we American students so reluctant to follow instructions, especially in schools? I know that I wake up each morning before school as slowly as I can. But in Tanzania the children rush to greet their teachers and friends. We have a better education system and opportunities for a successful future than the students at L.O.A.M.O yet they listen and respect their elders far better than we do. Even after I witnessed several children being punished for bad behavior by being hit on the hand or back with a wooden stick, they did not complain or cry. Even though it was upsetting to see this I was amazed at how much control and respect they had. So far on this trip I have felt and witnessed true compassion and I have the upmost respect for the students.

Post #7 TANZANIA 5-1-14

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."-Buddha 

The only way people on this earth are going to achieve happiness and peace is by learning how to love one another for their differences. Whether it be for their race, sex/sexual orientation, skin color, or religion; someday we are going to have to learn to accept what makes us different. 

To me perfection is one of the most destructive ideas. In today's world it drives teenagers to the point of depression and in the 1930's it started Hitler's idea of purification. The word "Holocaust" is from the Greek words "holos" meaning whole and "kaustos" meaning burned. Put together this was used to describe a sacrificial offering of being burned at an altar. In the 1930's-40's the word "holocaust" was given a whole new meaning; the mass murder of 6 million Jews, gypsies, and homosexuals. To Hitler the Jewish were a threat to racial purity and the perfection of the German community. The first official concentration camp was opened at Dachau (near Munich, Germany) in March 1993. After Hitler and his followers created several more concentration camps and "killing fields". By July 1993 concentrations camps held over 27,000 people under "protective custody". Most of Hitler's supposed followers had no idea that he planned to mass murder the people in the concentration camps. As many as 12,000 Jews were killed a day. In the camps Jews were not given clean water, a proper place to dispose of waste, or nutrition. Sickness spread quickly among the people so many died before escorted to the gas chambers. Before Hitler committed suicide he had murdered over 6 million Jewish children, women and men. While learning about the Holocaust I felt many emotions, but the two I felt the most were fascination and disgust. I am fascinated because one man, insane or not, changed the world. Yes he did this in a negative way and murdered over 6 million people but he had this idea in his mind that he would purify the world and he made it his duty to Germany to see through with it. One man, with one crazy idea, changed the world because he thought it was the right thing to do. That leads me on to being horrified. While researching on the Holocaust I came across gruesome pictures of the gas chambers, bodies, and cruelty of the Nazi's. I scrolled through pages of photos and videos, trying to understand how one man could see the bodies of children he had killed and felt no remorse. I don't think anyone will completely comprehend the hatred Hitler felt towards the Jewish.  

In today's society when we hear the word "slavery" we think back to the American Civil War, where one racially superior group owned and harassed another. However slavery takes on many forms, in many societies slaves are merely looked at as property. Some are used to maintain a stable military, for domestic labor, or concubines. Africa has had a long history with slavery; since the 7th century when Arab Muslim and European slave traders sent African slaves to Asia. A few hundred years later Europeans began to transport African slaves to Europe and the USA. Then fast forwarding another hundred years America was torn between slavery and equal rights. African people were discriminated against for their skin color, they were required to sit in the back of buses while the white privladged sat in the front, and forced to work on plantations for no pay. In both of these unfortunate circumstances they follow the same pattern; power and violence. It is hard for us to imagine to pain and suffering these people went though. Its even hard for me to believe that these events actually happened because of how brutal they are. But sadly they did, and our world can learn from past violence and work to make our world beautiful again.

http://africanhistory.about.com/od/slavery/tp/TransAtlantic001.htm 

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust 
http://autocww.colorado.edu/~blackmon/E64ContentFiles/AfricanHistory/SlaveryInAfrica.html

Post #6 TANZANIA 4-16-14

Here's some interesting facts on the Maasai Tribe:

1. The Maasai are a Nilotic group. Nilotic means "1. a group of languages of East Africa belonging to the Chari-Nile group"
2. The Maasai originated from the lower Nile valley north of Lake Turkana (Northwest Kenya)
3. They inhabit the African Great Lakes region (mainly Northern Tanzania and Kenya)
4. Cattle play an important role in Maasai life, it is their primary source of food
5. A man's wealth is measured in terms of cattle he owns and children he has 
6. The Maasai have a patriarchal society, which means the important matters of each group is decided by elder men
7. The Maasai tribe speaks Maa and are also schooled in English and Swahili (the official languages of Tanzania and Kenya) 
8. A woman does not own any property
9. Traditionally, the Maasai rely on meat, milk and blood from cattle for protein and caloric needs, the people drink blood on special occasions
10. The Maasai occupy a total land area of 160,000 square kilometers with a population of approximately one half million people

     Modern society in Tanzania and the Massai tribes affect one another in several ways. For one, government policies, such as the preservation of parks and reserves, have made the traditional Maasai way of life increasingly difficult to pursue. Second, with increasing poverty and migration, the traditional authority of Maasai elders appears to be lessening. Over the years, many projects have begun to help Maasai tribal leaders find ways to preserve their traditions while also balancing the education needs of their children for the modern world. The emerging forms of employment among the Maasai people include farming and business such as; selling traditional medicine, running restaurants/shops, or buying and selling minerals. Many Maasai have moved away from the nomadic life to the modern.Many will happily return home dressed in modern clothes, only to show others from the traditional family homestead wearing a shuka (colorful piece of cloth), cow hide sandals and carrying a wooden club (o-rinka) that there is more than cattle. Especially for women, this given them opportunities to make their own money and become self reliant.
   While modern Tanzanian society and the Massai are vastly different, the US society and the Massai tribe also differ greatly. While in the US the value of money depicts one's power, in Massai cattle and children serve the same purpose. Another contrast between the two cultures would be the ways in which the dead are disposed of. In the US the deceased are buried, but in the Massai they are left to decompose. Lastly, gender roles may be one of the largest culture shocks. 
     Women in the US are treated as equals, with equal job opportunities, equal economic standing points, and equal chances to obtain their own oppinions; Massai women are instead treated with the equivalency of cattle. Their responsibilities consist of your typical 'house wife': cleaning and caring after children, food preparation, and serving men. This lifestyle varies differently from my own, and I believe it would be fascinating to witness it in person and to understand how Massain women deal with it. To understand these things, if I were given the opportunity, I would ask one of these women whether they would prefer a new start or money. 
     

Post #5 TANZANIA 2-20-14

   For me being inspired is not just looking up to someone, it is literally wanting to change your life or having them change your own. The impact should teach you something or make you want to follow in their footsteps. That is why my dad inspires me. He moved to Vail 35 years ago to pursue Tele-skiing. He would work three to four jobs in the summer then ski all winter because that's what he loved to do. The he started a multi-million dollar restaurant called TraMonti in Beaver Creek where he hired my mom and started a family. My dad has worked his whole life, from being the newspaper boy in his hometown to help with his families bills to present day. No matter what life throws at him he works with determination to accomplish what he wants. He constantly thinks with his heart and mind, my family and work. In the 15 years, which in my mind seems like a long time, I have seen my dad at his highest and lowest moments but no matter what happens he sets his mind to something and that is what I admire more about him. This has taught me that if I want to receive something I will have to work for it. He inspired me to do what I love while working for something I may want in the future.   

   Another person who inspires me everyday is Ghandi. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India. He promoted nonviolent acts towards achieving freedom during a very violent time. Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. He showed others how to channel anger into compassion. One of my favorite quotes from Mahatma is "Where There Is Love There Is Life." This quote speaks to me because when you nurture something by giving it not only the essentials but unconditional love you can change that person's outlook on life. The way I see it is, by you showing them love they will want to share it amongst others. He has inspired me that in times of frustration I need to step back, see it from the other's point of view and take a breath. Also to show love even when one can not love themself and smile. As I go to Tanzania his words will continue to inspire me to love uncondiotnally and let love grow.  (As cheesy as that sounds)

   The last person who inspires me is not just one person, it's "people". Everyday, through ups and downs, bickering and tears of laughter, we are always there for one another. Since preschool I have known Gitte whom inspires me everyday to be spontaneous. And since kindergarten I have known the same kids I now go to high school with, like Ava. She has inspired me to laugh when I don't think I can and inspired me to forgive. Each time I gain or lose a friend I am inspired. Whenever I meet a new person I feel like I've learned something new, maybe it's not super important but it matters. People everywhere can inspire me to change something about myself or to do something new. When I think about it, each person whom I have met has some impact on the person I am today. Imagine being given a list of people who made you into the person you are today...and next to their name you could see the exact personality trait you got because of them. That to me is mind blowing, we have such a massive impact on the others around us. So I guess you could say everyone inspires me. 

   If I were to be any animal I would be a snow puma. I think it would be the coolest thing ever because one, I like snow and two, I like cats. Also snow puma sounded way cooler than snow cat. I have always liked bigger animals with the appearance of power, and I think that reflects my personality because I have always had a thing against making yourself appear to be weak. Snow pumas are also known for being unpredictable as I can be. But to be honest, I would want to be a snow puma so I could have whiskers, paws, and live in the snow!