Global Volunteers
part of the On the Road travelogue
 
 
I spent almost three weeks in a small village in Tanzania, helping the local community construct a new buliding for their secondary school.  This was through an American-based organization called Global Volunteers.  They have programs world-wide, bringing volunteers and local communities together.  One thing I really like was their philosophy: they don't go in and say "this is what you need."  They establish a relationship with a local sponsor, and offer to help them accomplish their goals.

This was a truly incredible experience, in many ways.  I was amazed how readily we were accepted into the community.  We were able to not only work side by side with local residents, but we were accepted as part of the village life - we attended church, were invited to festivities, went for dinner, played in soccer games.  We instantly felt like we belonged, and were able to get a truer understanding of what their way of life is like.
 

The Approach

Our volunteer team met in Dar to start the two day journey to Pommern, our home and work site for the next few weeks.  As I was checking in to the hotel, fresh off the boat from Zanzibar, I discovered the first meeting had already started.  Oops.  The next morning we boarded the bus for an all day ride to Iringa, the nearest "big city" to Pommern.  Luckily, we did have one major distraction: on the way we drove right through Mikumi National Park.  We saw all of the common critters: giraffe, elephant, buffalo, zebra, antelope, and baboon.  This was the first time many of us had seen these animals, and we were continually stopping by the side of the road to gawk.  We spent the night as guests of our hosts, the Lutheran Church.  The next day, a shorter, but bumpier, ride got us into Pommern.  Our team leader Mary got us situated in the Mission House, where we would be living for the next few weeks.

The Job

We were one in a long chain of Global Volunteer groups, stretching back over ten years, which had been working with this community.  Most of the work had gone into improving the secondary school.  The previous group had started the foundation for a new building - an assembly/dining hall.  We were hoping to finish that task.  Much of the work would revolve around building up a stone perimeter wall.  This meant hauling large stones to the site, transporting sand and water, mixing mortar, and helping the masons with the stonework.  Other work involved making door frames with the carpenters, and helping out in the local clinic.  All in all, there was no shortage of things to do.

Each day we had a meeting to see what jobs needed to be done, and to see who wanted to do what.  I wanted to try everything, and was able to do something different almost every day.  The first day I hauled stones.  We got a great tractor ride out to the next town over, loaded the bed with big rocks, came back, and dumped them.  Another day was hauling sand.  First we used hoes to loosen the sand from the sandbank.  Then, we borrowed the lorry and shoveled the sand into the bed.  I actually got a real kick out of swinging the hoe - very relaxing.  The day we got bricks, we actually got to see them being made.  First they water down the soil, then use wood molds to create blocks of mud.  These are laid out in the sun to dry, then are later stacked to form a kiln, and fired day and night.

All of this was mind relieving grunt work, but the cool part was working on the site, seeing everything come together.  The sand was mixed with bags of cement (heavy!) in a set proportion.  Then water was added slowly, using shovels to turn the pile over.  In a matter of minutes - voila! - instant mortar.  Next task was to select out rocks of the right size to fit the wall.  Finally, with the help of the masons, the rocks were mortared into place.

I also spent a day in the carpentry shop, making door frames.  It's amazing what they do with the most basic of tools.  They cut trees and use a two-man pit saw to cut it into boards.  These boards and then hand-planed smooth.  All of the jams were also planed down by hand.  Amazing.

The Village

But our experience at Pommern was so much more than the work - in fact it seemed that this was the least of it.  The first weekend we were invited to a traditional wedding reception.  Many went over early to help prepare the enormous wedding meal.  I even peeled a potato or two, but soon found that this was not my specialty.  The ceremony was long, and mostly in Swahili, but was a neat experience.  Periodically, there was much singing by various groups - we even got up and gave a song.  Another neat thing was the way they gave presents; they get in a line and dance up to the couple to present the gifts.  And the meal was pretty good, especially as we had to eat with our hands.

Everyone was invited to attend church service on Sunday.  I visited the nearby Lutheran church (our local sponsors).  It was a pretty cool service, if a tad long.  There was singing, there was a play, there was sermonizing, there was a-prayin'.  Again, mostly in Swahili.  But I think I got the general gist of it, and afterwards we all filed out in the courtyard.  Ladies went to one side, and men to the other, and then an auction was held.  Mary bought a rooster - not sure what became of it.

Besides the work we were doing at the secondary school, we had the opportunity to visit the village's primary school as well.  It was educational to see almost a hundred kids crammed into a classroom.  Primary school through Standard 7 is mandatory - but not enforced.  Many parents don't send their kids because of the school fees, or because they need their help around the farm.  You must qualify in a national exam in order to get invited to secondary school - and again there are the fees.  The same, but even more selective, occurs after Form 4 of high school.  Very very few make it to University.

We took a group walk out to a big rock one day; a waterfall another day.  We walked the town; many women bought material from local shops and had clothes made to order.  One day we had pottery lesson from one of the local potters.  Even Mary took a spin.  Locals came to the Mission House and set up camp, to sell us all kinds of baskets.  And it seemed like the kids were always hanging around.  For relaxing, we had the serenade of Gina's guitar by the fireside, or the ever welcoming Canon's and the refuge of the place.  In short, it was a full experience.

The Finish

For the last weekend, we had the option of spending two days in Ruaha National Park.  Most of the group went, and perservered the dusty ride over there.  We were lucky to spot some lions coming in - a good sign.  We stayed right in the park, right on the Ruaha River, in cozy little stone bandas.  You could hear the hippos lowing at night from their resting spots in the middle of the river.  Elephant also wandered around the camp, and we also saw giraffe, antelope, and baboons from the beach.  In short, an awesome place.  What made it even more cool was that the food was fantastic - I swear that first dinner was the best I've had on my whole trip.

The next day we did two game drives, and saw oodles of stuff.  We saw elephants, and the baobab trees they bore out for water, dik-dik, gazelles, giraffe, jackals, and crocodiles.  I even got to sit on the roof of the bus, if only for a short time.  The second day we arranged a walking safari through the park office.  Only we didn't realize that they were going to take us to places where we wouldn't see any animals.  I guess it's safer that way.  It was a decent walk though, and we did get to see lots of trees.

We met the rest of the group back in Iringa-town, where we had some time to cruise the local market, and sample the local brew (whatever the difficulties).  The next day we hit the road back to Dar.  Every time we stopped it seemed that we were swarmed by hawkers selling everything under the sun.  Once in Dar, we had a final dinner: people would be dispersing the next morning.

Z2

A small group of us were sticking around, and decided to head out to Zanzibar.  The first day we wandered around Stone Town, buying trinkets and catching a traditional dance performance.  Next off we headed north to the beaches!  It was as ridiculously beautiful as it was the last time I was here, so we proceeded to swim, snorkel, beachcomb, and generally play in the sand.  Unfortunately, in a few days we had to leave.  The time always seems too short here!  But others were headed home, and I was headed north, on to my next adventure.

...next: Kenya

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