Our Final Blog

Asante sana,

Well, we are officially back in the good old USA. It sucks here. Africa is soo much better! Who likes constant electricity, running water, and real toilets? But seriously, we had an amazing time in Africa. We will never forget the wonderful experiences we had with Baba Agatha and the family. We will never forget trekking back from church our first Sunday in ankle-deep mud wondering what we got ourselves into, standing up with our heads through the roof of the Landrover as Mombasa sped along the rim of Ngorongoro crater, or watching Dr. Massan yank out a baby in our first C-section.
We want to say one final huge thank- you to everybody that donated money or supported us on our journey. We hope that we were able to make a small difference in the lives of the people that we met. They certainly made an impact on ours. We are planning on sending more money to both Tunahaki and Mawenzi hospital through wire transfer this week, so if you would still like to contribute it is not to late. We are going to post as many pictures as we can of our trip, so check the blog over the next day or two to check them out.

Kazin jema (best wishes),
Andy and Ryan

A Week of Enlightenment

Hamjambo,

Last weekend, we took a short day trip to the Marangu village at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We traveled with Eli and his wife Rose as well as another jubilee volunteer named Sharmika. We left around 10:00am and took an hour Dala-Dala ride to the village. We visited the Marangu gate, which is where the "coca-cola"(what the locals refer to as the easiest and most commercialized) route of Mt. Kilimanjaro begins. After walking around, we walked a few kilometers to a waterfall close by. The entrance to the waterfall is in the backyard of a family's house and we had to walk to down a steep path that had become slippery from the recent rain. The waterfall was beautiful (as you can see) and we had to wade through the river to get a closer look. Our fellow jubilee volunteer turned out to be "quite complex"(as our African friends put it). She was very picky and brutally honest about almost every activity we did and made our host unnecessarily uncomfortable at times. Overall, it was a fine trip.
Sunday was movie day at the Kyara residence. The closer we come to going home, the more we have started to act like Americans again. Our physical exercise has decreased significantly and
tendency for "couch-potato"-like behavior has increased (especially Ryan).
Our last work week at Mawenzi has been the most educational and productive so far. On Monday we met a doctor from Germany who just finished medical school and is awaiting acceptance to a residency in the US. We have followed her around in the Medical Ward with Dr. Nkini and she has been an invaluable resource. In addition, because of her additional knowledge, she has been acutely aware of the shortcomings of the hospital and has enlightened us about many areas that require immediate attention. She was especially upset that TB patients we left in beds next to other patients who had HIV. In one case, an old lady had a very serious case of TB but had not been given treatment yet. We had to track down the TB specialist ourselves and tell him about the urgency of her case or she might have been neglected until it was too late. We have started to help Melanie design a questionnaire for future volunteers so that the hospital can fully benefit from future support. We are also organizing a supply list for the hospital so that volunteers can bring any used supplies in the future. For example, it would be very easy for people like us to bring used charts from the states now that many hospitals are going digital. The hospital is in dire need of supplies and we would like to donate a sum of money to help as much as we can. If you were thinking about donating to a hospital in need, this is a great opportunity to do so. Thank you for your continued support.
We will see you soon.
Andy and Ryan

Thank you

Asante Sana,

We would just like to say thank you to all of the people who have already donated to the orphanage. Because of your help, we have been able to bring the money for the dressers to the orphanage already. Construction has already begun and we should be able to take pictures of one of the dressers before we leave. Thank you again so much!! Although we have already contributed considerably to the orphanage, our work is not yet done. Both the orphanage and Mawenzi hospital are in need of long term funding. Today, we spoke with the chief administrator for the hospital who enlightened us about the many problems that Mawenzi faces. They need help in all areas and the chief is going to let us know how any small donation could best benefit the hospital.
Over the past week, we have spent a lot of time observing and assisting in surgeries. We have done everything from removing sutures to assisting in hysterectomies and tubal ligations. In the labor ward, we have also seen our fair share of babies entering this world. Since there are so many pregnant women in the same area, husbands are not allowed to be present for the births. Babies are popped out in assembly line fashion and we have seen up to 6 births in one hour (all in the same room). Also, in case you were wondering, all mothers are tested for HIV before they give birth so that all babies can be treated accordingly. This week has cemented our opinion that watching babies exit the womb is not the prettiest or most appetizing occupation. NO GYNECOLOGY!! Another discovery we made this week, was of the unusual side-effects to the anesthesia ketamine. Usually, when one hears blood-curdling screams mid-surgery, one assumes that the person is in severe agony.......not at Mawenzi. Apparently, this wonderful drug ketamine causes people to hallucinate. One particular hefty lady was screaming at the top of her lungs as her legs were propped up in stirrups. The doctor was removing a placenta in a fashion similar to cooking stir-fry (use your imagination) and when her screaming was unbearable, he proceeded to slap her across the face a couple of times. Now we know that if a patient is ever given ketamine, the solution is to simply give them a GOOD SLAPPIN.
In other news, we have come to the conclusion that half of the population in downtown Moshi sits on their ass all day and are searching for ways to occupy their time. For example, yesterday when we were boarding the Dala-Dala, we saw a man run by, clutching something in his hand and looking over his shoulder. When we looked behind him, we saw approximately 300 crazed Moshinites in fast pursuit. All traffic ceased as a mob of random people chased after the man with his stolen goods. At least we now feel safe that there is a natural law system that presides over Moshi.
Until next time,
Kwaheri
Andy and Ryan

TunaHAKI orphanage donations

Habari Zenu,
Since we have enjoyed our experience in Tanzania soo much, we now want to give back to the community. As we mentioned before, there is an orphanage called TunaHAKI which is partnered with Jubilee. The center was founded David Ryatula, a former acrobat, who found children on the street one day and decided to take them in. Over the years the center has grown to care for 20 children full-time as well as around 50 children who stop in for food and education. The orphanage has very little permanent funding and is always looking for more donations. Since we first visited the center, we have been looking for ways to improve the children's quality of life. After talking to David yesterday, he let us know of many different ways to benefit the children. He gave us a spreadsheet that describes the specific costs for the children's daily needs. The major necessities for the children are food and schooling. All of the children in the center are attending school, and he wants to keep it that way. In addition, David also told us of a smaller project outside of the main budget that would be very beneficial for the kids. The children sleep in small rooms and have very little space to store their own clothing. David said that they needed two large dressers(one for the boys and one for the girls) so that each child will have a space for himself. Each dresser costs $350 so the total cost would be $700. WE WOULD LOVE TO GET THIS PROJECT ACCOMPLISHED BEFORE WE LEAVE. This means that we would like to be able to buy materials and pay for the assembly in the next week or two. If you would like to donate now to this wonderful cause for any reason, please contact either of our parents about the amount you wish to donate and we will give the orphanage the money NOW in person. He are hoping to establish a long-term commitment to the orphanage through our fraternity as well as donate supplies to Mawenzi Hospital who are also desperately in need, so this is not the only opportunity to donate. However, if you would like to help the kids in an immediate fashion, this is a great opportunity to do so. You can contact our parents through email or phone.
Stacey Ruiz - JSERK@aol.com
Laurie Alsentzer- LAlsentzer@comcast.net
The kids are great and they would definitely appreciate anything that you could give.
ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT. We miss everyone at home. See you soon.
Kwaheri,
Andy and Ryan

Zanzibar pics

Well, once again this is only a fraction of the pictures that we took, but at the rate of 10 minutes per picture this is all we could manage. So here is a taste of the amazing scenery of Zanzibar's beaches and Stone Town, and we promise to post the entire collection of all our pictures from Tanzania as soon as we get back home.

Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam

Habari,

We had a great time in Zanzibar this weekend. We left Thursday at the butt-crack of dawn. We had to hire a Dala-Dala at 5:30am in order to get into town for a 6:00am bus ( it turns out that there was only a 6:30 bus) and had to pay extra money for the ride. We figured that since we payed extra, that the Dala-Dala driver would go straight into town, but we ended up picking up passengers, who paid the normal fare. After we reached the bus stand, we were immediately surrounded by ten men trying to sell us tickets. We knew in advance to search for the bus sign for Dar Express Company. Erasmus told us that the bus would be there, but...as it turns out the office was located a couple of blocks away. Eventually, after being led astray in many directions, we managed to find the bus stand and get a ticket by 6:30am. The ride was long but managable, as we were provided with complimentary snacks and drinks. Once in Dar, we grabbed a taxi with another American who was on our bus. It turns out that he was a New-Yorker in his 30's who quit his job and decided to go on a world tour for six months. He told very interesting stories about India and Asia, and it sounds like the conditions there are even worse than in Africa in some places. We immediately got a ferry ticket and made the 2 hour journey to Zanzibar. We took a taxi to our hotel in Zanzibar, the Victoria Hotel, and met with the Jubilee coordinator of the area, Omar. After dinner at the hotel, we met up with our Canadian friends from Moshi who were also spending time in Zanzibar. We went to an out-door fish market where local vendors were selling everything from octopus to shark on skewers. We bought some fish and some sugar cane juice squezzed right from the cane. After the market, we made our first of many trips to the ATM because all of our travel arrangements were payed for in cash, even the hotels (and zanzibar is frikin expensive).
On Friday, we got up early to drive an hour north to the beach where we would depart for snorkeling. We had a quick breakfast at a beach-side restaurant and got onto a dhow. Dhows are the traditional wooden sailboats of the Indian Ocean. We were on the boat with a group of Spee
do-wearing Spaniards and other various Europeans. The water and beaches in Zanzibar were absolutely amazing. The water was crystal clear and the sand on the beaches felt like white pudding. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures for today (because we forgot to charge the camera), but we will upload them as soon as we can. The snorkeling itself was also incredible. We saw hundreds of species of fish and coral of all shapes and colors. Although we only spend around an hour snorkeling, we both managed to fry our backs thoroughly. Since snorkeling was an all-day adventure, when we got back to the hotel we rested an hour or so before going out to our high-class dinner. We decided to splurge one night and dined at the only five-star hotel on the island, the Serena Inn. The meal was excellent and was as good as any meal you could have in the States. Ryan had his first real steak in Africa and Andy had some chicken and lobster crap(in Ryan's opinion). After a long day and a full stomach, we went back to rest and prepared for our Stone Town excursion the next day.
After waking up at a leisurely hour, we strolled into town. We decided to not take a formal tour since we were limited on time, but we made sure to hit up the popular landmarks. The town itself had a very distinguished cultural atmosphere. Stone Town was the last major slave-trade port in Africa. Most of the buildings were constructed in the 1920's during the reign of the last sultan, and the architecture had a very ancient Muslim feel. We spent some time at the House of Wonders, one of the more famous palaces in Stone town, and took several pictures of the surrounding area. The rest of our time was spent navigating through small alleyways and haggling with store owners. It is very easy to get lost in the maze of alleyways and we lost all sense of direction very quickly. It was not as easy to bargain against the Mzungu prices of Zanzibar but we were successful as we could be. After a hot and exhausting morning in Stone Town, we traveled back to Dar es Salaam by ferry. This time, the seas were pretty rough and almost everyone on the boat was nauseated (we saw many people vomit). We met a friend of Omar's at our hotel in Dar and he helped us to arrange find an ATM and transport back to Moshi. Dar es Salaam itself is a huge city in comparison to Moshi. The size of the city is about the same as Miami, but since so many people are walking or selling things on the streets, the city seems overcrowded. It was so large that it was the first time that we have seen traffic lights and multi-laned roads. The nickname of the city is "Bongo" (head in Swahili) because you have to be clever in order to survive. We had a great experience and we would recommend Zanzibar as a part of anyone's trip to Tanzania

Passing the time (Warning: This material is not suitable for all ages)

Habari,
This week was not nearly as exciting as the last, but we still have some amusing stories to comment on. From this week alone, it is clear that neither of us will EVER pursue a career in gynecology. Lets just say that leaking placentas and circumcisions are not our cup of tea. Lets paint a pretty picture for you. Friday afternoon- We are standing in the small operating room and Dr. Nkini is pushing a placenta out of a woman's nether regions "ace ventura style". If you are not familiar with the movie Ace Ventura 2, just imagine forcibly pushing on the female's abdomen as large amounts of "stuff" come out the other end. As the placenta was being squeegeed (?) past us on the floor, we stepped outside to perform a circumcision in the middle of the hallway on a seven year-old boy. When they first asked if we WANTED to see a circumcision we politely refused but the doctor insisted we must get experienced in all types of possible procedures. We kindly informed him that we would probably never perform a circumcision in the states. The emotional damage incurred during the two circumcisions we watched (the other being a 17 year-old) can never be undone. This deep wound was cemented by Dr. Nkini's comment after the first boy's life-changing ordeal, "Now he is ready for sex." On a lighter note, this week we also saw our first C-section. The procedure was very professionally done, but the football-like retrieval of the baby once the uterus was opened was quite profound. Although there was nothing medically "wrong" what we have witnessed, needless to say our minds have been made up on the matter.
This being the first weekend in a while that we haven't been out traveling, we discovered new ways of occupying our time. Our new favorites are whittling(Ryan is a master craftsman, particularly proud of his masterpiece "The Spirit-Stick-Staff") and listening to the "Westlife" DVD over and over and over (and over) again. Ryan now wishes that all Canadians will burn in eternal hellfire (a very useful quote from our SHOGUN novels), as he has developed another allergic attack following the visit of another Canadian family last night.
That is all of the humorous anecdotes we have for now, but we will have plenty to say on Monday about our journey to Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, which begins tomorrow. We hope that everyone empathizes with our eye-opening experiences so far. Also, sometime next week, we will post a description of the orphanage we have visited, including a list of needs and materials for the children in case anyone would like to donate.
Kwaheri,
Andy and Ryan (Your official African correspondents)