.let us love the world to peace.

So I know you all are aware of the fact that I am quite in love with Africa. I also hope you know how much I love my kids at my school. I truly would do anything to help them and I can’t imagine a day without seeing their smiling faces. It is the type of thing that makes you realize your heart has incredible depth and capacity to love. Coming to Africa has truly made me realize that I can love even more than I thought possible, that I am able to achieve things I saw as distant dreams and that it truly is possible to love the world to peace.

            Last week we took one of our students, Ramsey, to Upendo. Ramsey loves to draw and is a very talented artist. The most incredible thing about Ramsey is his passion for art and the way he lights up when he draws. He is also very smart, very polite and loves to learn! Becca and I talked and we organized for Ramsey to meet Sibo and go to Upendo and paint. This was one of the most rewarding days I’ve had here. I brought Ramsey back to CCS from school where we ate lunch and he got to spend time drawing and hanging out with the other volunteers. Everyone loved meeting him and complimented his art skills. We also had Amani come and stand by Ramsey because they look like they could be father and son haha. It was great to see Ramsey having a good time at home base and to be able to just spend time with him. Katyann and I took him over to Mzungu bar and got him a soda and while we were walking he said, “I am so happy”. This made my heart so happy to hear and Katyann and I were so excited to see Ramsey having an amazing day.

            When Sibo came to pick us up we showed him Ramsey’s drawings and he was thrilled to see a new budding artist. I couldn’t have been more excited to have the two meet each other. I knew that Sibo would love Ramsey and I loved that we could bridge the gaps between Faraja and Upendo. I loved that we could be a part the beginning of a connection between two different placements. It is so important to be able to connect the places we work and help Moshi become more integrated and a community that can grow together and support each other. Ramsey had an amazing time painting. He created a picture of his favorite animal – simba – in the grass with Kilimanjaro in the background. It was so beautiful!! Sibo helped him with the background and guided him in how to draw and paint his lion. Ramsey added grass and painted his name and “Afrika Animal” on the top of the painting. I have never seen a bigger smile on his adorable face. We took a lot of photos and I got teary, of course.

            After our painting adventure Becca and I met Amani and Susan and got ready to take Susan to the airport. I wish I could say goodbyes get a little easier just because I’ve gone through multiple, but that would be a complete lie. Saying goodbye to Susan was too hard. Her sweet spirit and beautiful heart really permeating everyone that she was with. It was so strange to feel her leave; I miss her everyday (along with the other people that have left). On the way home in the car the song “I’m Coming Home” came on and I just cried and cried!!

I can’t believe the days keep passing and I move along with them…closer to going home. However, I now have left a part of my heart in Africa, which means I am definitely coming back. I have been given a wonderful opportunity to head volunteerism and aide to a new orphanage here – which means I also have an opportunity to return here and create a tangible project in Moshi with orphans!! Though this is exciting news, this leaves a lot of work for me to do – the proposal for my school, the work with and for the orphanage and finishing the profiles for my kids – and I feel like I don’t have enough time! I do know that I will be able to get it done, however, and that this is definitely not my first and last time here.

I am so grateful for the love and support I have been given prior to and during this time in my life. My mom is my role model and my hero – if she had not given me a chance at life and provided copious amounts of opportunities for me I would not be here. I am fueled by her love and guidance even when she isn’t with me – so thank you mama for being you. My sister and grandma – both of you have shaped who I am and I am so thankful for your continual strength! My other friends and family back home – I am always in awe of how you continually change and grow and I love that we can remain close despite any distances. And my friends here in Africa- you all have shown me how to love in many different ways and how to face all kinds of circumstances. I feel so lucky to have met people with hearts that mirror mine in many ways and people who really understand where I am coming from. I know that together we can change the world and become ambassadors for those in need.  Last but certainly not least I would have to put my kids and the people of Africa – I cannot put words to this experience nor to the amount of times they have stolen my heart! Coming to Africa has proven to me that I will be serving children forever and that helping people in developing countries is going to be a part of my life permanently. It is as though I finally did the thing my heart was waiting for – that sounds oh so cheesy – but it is definitely the truth. Asante san asana Afrika, una iliyopita maisha yangu milele.

Upendo and amani. Ninakupenda sana. 

I felt like posting a poem.

Clouds at ground level.

We drive
small,
incongruent silence
through the evening’s
twilight hour.
I am fascinated by the shadows -
crunchy tan leaves
articulating the
wind’s shape,
voices echoing after-dinner
elation to
unseen listeners.

The awful thing is,
I haven’t found any
reason for asking.
I can’t seem to care about the colorful
how’s and why’s of your
unspokens.

When traveling through fog,
our light
merely brightens the
dense, grey-cold air
around us.
(Perhaps when we quiet the light,
we’ll finally see in the darkness)
You say sure,
we’re not lost,
without any reason

Over one billion people
understand English
and yet,
we find ourselves yearning for
reciprocal, unspoken
moments
the most.

Kaloleni/A catch up post.

This week has been quite fun and also, surprisingly, relaxed. Even though I have stayed up late (past one) during the week and of course was up late at La Liga on Friday – I have found myself feeling more relaxed. My kids are unbelievable, as usual. Everyday Glory and Angela make it even harder for me to think of leaving this place. I have to apologize because I haven’t been blogging lately. I have found it hard to commit myself to sitting down and really typing out a decent blog. I am so consumed with the everyday events and with trying to cherish my stay here.

            So, where to begin? I will start with my first trip out to Kaloleni. Kaloleni is an area out near a gigantic dump on the outskirts of town. The people that live out here have either been ostracized or forgotten about due to where they live. The community is literally a hedge away from a huge dump. The dump is just piles among piles of trash. Sibo found this community and had a desire to help the people here by starting a women’s group in hopes that educating the women will give them opportunities to get jobs and to then help their community economically. Sibo always amazes me – from UPAA to Uru to Kaloleni – he sees a need and immediately works to change it. I admire him very much and aspire to be like him. I want to work here and do something truly meaningful for the children. I hope that when I see what I want to do I will just do it and not be inhibited. So…that being said, Kaloleni is a great location for volunteer work and it brought me to tears the moment I saw it. The women here used to dig through the trash each day and bring back things for their families to eat and use. With Sibo’s help and the infusion of volunteers the women now have a chicken coop full of chickens and they receive education in English every other day. The classroom is a small square area where they lay tarp for carpet. It is open and has a ledge lining it where the women sit. There is a board that one would tack messages and it was painted with black paint that can be used as a chalkboard.

            My first day there we taught the women introductions and worked on singular and plural pronouns. We taught him/her, us, we, me…etc. The women here changed my life. They range in age from twenty something to seventy something and they are incredible. I don’t even have words for how amazing these women are. They are warm, loving, funny and they have a huge desire to learn. I immediately fell in love with them and decided to go once a week with Becca. I cannot explain how beautiful and wonderful this community is. The women love to learn, they love to laugh and joke and they are surrounded by impenetrable warmth. It’s so refreshing to be around people that don’t speak your language and be able to fully communicate and connect with them!! After teaching the women we walked to the chicken coop and then when Sibo arrived we stopped at the dump. The dump is just around a set of tall hedges. It is so massive and overwhelming. The moment I saw it I began to cry. Not only was it HUGE and next to Kaloleni, one of our women was digging through the trash (along with others who were standing on top of the hills of trash) to find food and other items. I couldn’t handle seeing this…it not only broke my heart but it really inspired me to keep helping these women. It made me want to do everything in my power to improve their lives.

            So…basically being anywhere that Sibo is affiliated with has really affected me and I admire him so much!! I want to be like him…to see a need and do what it takes to address it and take care of it. I also just do not want to go home. This is where I want to be!! I am going to start planning my next trip out here (hopefully for next summer). Sibo said that’s not soon enough, but I think it will be June because of school.

            So, after this first experience of Kaloleni I had a pretty normal weekend. Normal meaning we went out a lot and I cried a lot because people were leaving. The Friday before TaChyla and Amanda left we all went out and it was so amazing. I will never forget my nightly soulmate chats on TaChyla’s bed or my moyo to moyos with my Canadian Amanda. We all had an amazing bonding moment at La Liga this night because we all did the line dance together. This line dance originated in South Africa and it really is the most atrociously boring dance I’ve ever done. It is a diluted verson of the Electric Slide and the Africans LOVE IT. I truly do not understand it. It is so boring and no one ever does it all in the same direction and it literally lasts for a minimum of 10 minutes once it starts. The songs will run and run and continue and people will just keep doing the dance. Oh my goodness. It’s awful, but in a funny way. Afterall, TIA. So on this particular night all of my closest friends and all of our local friends were on the floor and we all did the line dance together and to be honest – it was just magical. The next day I cried a ton and we said goodbye to TaChyla and Amanda…I still miss them terribly to this very day.

            One weekend we went on a free coffee tour with Kira and her mom. This was amazing!! We went with Oscar (from Pristine) and we had quite an “organic” experience. The coffee tour begins with an explanation and of how coffee originated and how they began to make it. Then, you get to see a coffee plant and the beans on the vine. Next, you get to make the coffee by going through the process of de-shelling the beans, picking out the bad ones, roasting them over a fire and hand grinding them!! After this we drank our coffee and began to hike to the waterfall. The waterfall is unbelievable!! It is 80 meters high and the face of it is smooth rock. When we walked up to it we all lost our breath. It was truly unbelievable!! When you stand near the waterfall you get drenched in its spray due to the wind. We drank hot coffee at the base of the waterfall, took a million pictures and then began to walk back. The day was such a beautiful one and we saw a bunch of chameleon, yuka leaves and a banana slug while on our way back. I also got to talk to Kira’s mom which was really great. She is an amazing woman and she has been through some incredible experiences. I really hope to be adventures and fun like her as I get older and become a mom!

            My placement/school has been running well. Not too many hitches except that some new volunteers came and they had no interest in being with the kids or working with us. I won’t lie – I am very protective and possessive of my kids. I know I don’t own them or anything, but after 7 weeks with them I truly would do anything to help them out and each one of them has a place in my heart. So, when a set of volunteers came (volunteers that were actually PAID with our tax dollars to come and paid to go on two extravagant safaris) it was hard to have them be disinterested in the kids and their learning progress. I am very invested in helping the kids at my school and making sure they have individual profiles, test scores and ways to track their progress. This is something I have been working on since I arrived and I’m very passionate about it. So, I am very tied to them and like to keep them moving forward and the other volunteers were a little bit difficult to work with. Otherwise, things have been great!! My kids are fun, they all like to yell “Teacher Jennica” when we are walking or driving away and they will always say they miss me when I’m gone. J I am in love with them, truly. I can’t even BEGIN to imagine leaving them.

            Things went pretty smoothly the following week until Wednesday. On Wednesday Becca was walking to Kaloleni by herself and a few children accompanied her. Becca has walked to Kaloleni alone quite a few times and it has never been a problem. This time, however, there was a young man waiting a mere 100 feet (if that) outside of the town’s edge on the path. This guy said hi to Becca and she said hello back and went on her way. A moment later she felt a tug on her shoulder and then saw the same guy running away with her purse. He had cut the strap of her bag with a knife and stole it!! She chased him quite a way until he disappeared into a forested area and then she ran back as fast as she could to Kaloleni. The minute one of the women heard what happened the ENTIRE community went out looking for this guy. They searched and searched and after Becca came back to Home Base they found a way to trap the guy and then Becca had to go back out to meet him. This meeting consisted of a Sibo, Ibrahim and Daniel taking Becca and Chelsea out to where he was (in the CCS van, mind you) and then accosting the guy and throwing him in the van and taking him to the police station. The entire day was so crazy. There was a lot of yelling and confusion and Becca was caught in the middle of it. It was a really PFS day…so we made sure the take good care of Becca after that.

            Since then we have done a lot of wonderful things and spent a lot of time with wonderful people!! I have been really glad that I can talk to people at home and stay plugged in.  It is also really great to make local friends and connections. This facilitates coming back next year (or anytime) and aids in my hope to pursue continual work here. I have to write a separate post about Ramsey’s day at Upendo with Sibo, the Upendo House and my feelings as of late. Amani na Upendo.