Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Back in the USA
I arrived home safely on Sunday afternoon and have been trying to sleep off the jetlag as of late. I will be posting up lots of photos soon. It was really hard to leave, I became very close with the students and it was a challenge to leave all of them. I am adjusting well.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Teachers at Tumaini
Teacher Patrick is leaving on Monday to go to college. I am really sad. He lives here too and keeps me company. He is a sweet, skinny, short boy of 23, who is very religious. He is an amazing genuine person and all the kids love him. He teaches Physics and Chemistry.
Teacher Phoibe will be going to college around the same time I will be leaving. She is 22 and it is really nice to have someone my own age to talk with about her life in Tanzania, boys, her friends, all that gossipy stuff. She is always willing and wants to take me around and show me places and exciting things and has introduced me to all of her friends. She teaches Geography.
Teacher Kamili is a quiet man in his late 20s early 30s. He is not married and can’t get married until he starts getting paid more. He is really devoted to the Ark Project, the kids and teaching. All the kids call him Baba (dad) and really respect him. He teaches Math, Kiswahili, History and Civics. He does it all and also is very involved in discipline at school and making sure that everything runs smoothly here.
Teacher Lornah is a new addition to staff and she is amazing. She is a mid-40s Kenyan woman with three kids who she raised all by herself because her husband was paralyzed in a work accident. She is bringing a lot of order to this school. She helped us draft our school rules, enforce punishments and bring a new level of discipline to the students. She also has gotten a completely English campus. The students only speak to us in English, they must bring all their problems to us in English. It is amazing how well it is working and how much better the kids English is already getting. It’s really exciting.
Teacher Phoibe will be going to college around the same time I will be leaving. She is 22 and it is really nice to have someone my own age to talk with about her life in Tanzania, boys, her friends, all that gossipy stuff. She is always willing and wants to take me around and show me places and exciting things and has introduced me to all of her friends. She teaches Geography.
Teacher Kamili is a quiet man in his late 20s early 30s. He is not married and can’t get married until he starts getting paid more. He is really devoted to the Ark Project, the kids and teaching. All the kids call him Baba (dad) and really respect him. He teaches Math, Kiswahili, History and Civics. He does it all and also is very involved in discipline at school and making sure that everything runs smoothly here.
Teacher Lornah is a new addition to staff and she is amazing. She is a mid-40s Kenyan woman with three kids who she raised all by herself because her husband was paralyzed in a work accident. She is bringing a lot of order to this school. She helped us draft our school rules, enforce punishments and bring a new level of discipline to the students. She also has gotten a completely English campus. The students only speak to us in English, they must bring all their problems to us in English. It is amazing how well it is working and how much better the kids English is already getting. It’s really exciting.
My African Birthday
Sorry it’s been so long since I wrote last. I have been very busy at school lately and by the time I am done with teaching and preparing for the next day I am too tired to ride the dalla dalla to the internet café.
I had my birthday in Africa. It was amazing. I woke up on the 2nd at 5:30 a.m. and sat in bed and began to hear my students get up. The next thing I knew I heard a knock on my door and when I went to open it I saw all of my boarder students outside with a big sign reading “Happy Birthday Sister Ema we love you” with hearts, stars and a picture of the house I live in drawn on it. I went back inside and showered and got ready and came outside to sit with Teacher Patrick. I was told that today I was to be like a baby and do nothing all day. That lasted for about an hour until I realized that all I wanted to do was know what was happening so I begged Lornah and Phoibe to let me get involved. Lornah showed me around. She brought me to the kitchen to see the students cooking pilau, which is rice with cinnamon, onions, tomatoes, cumin, garlic and stewed meat. Pilau is served with pili pili, a spicy pepper sauce and a nice cooling salad made with grated carrots, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers with a vinegar tasting sauce. The boys were in the nursery school setting up music and arranging desks. They were all singing and laughing. I spent a few hours watching students cook and preparing the order of events for the day.
At 12:45 p.m. the event started. I walked with Teacher Phoibe into the nursery school and all the 75 students started singing Happy Birthday. I was led to a couch covered in a sheet and coated in flowers. The table in front of me had love written on it and was covered in flowers. The silverware had pink and white flowers attached to them, the glasses had flowers and I put a flower in my hair. Two students prayed: Yassin (Muslim) and Samuel (Christian). Then Lornah gave a brief speech about why we were here and that the students shouldn’t asked my age. A student, Lusajo, did a drama in English where he talked on the phone with someone in America in a silly accent telling him all about my party and how pretty I was and how the American on the phone should come immediately to the party because we were all waiting for him. Then we ate, the food was amazing. Then Mama Neema showed up with cake and we had a very sugary cake, which we cut into 1 inch sized pieces so everybody could get some. A student Neema and Teacher Kamili both gaves speeches about me and thanked me for being here. Then it was time for gifts. The day scholars bought me a beautiful pink and yellow kangha with pretty flowers. The cook bought me another beautiful blue kangha. A kangha is a wrap around fabric that you can have sewn into anything. The boarders sang two songs with choreographed moves and gave me a beaded bracelet, the color of the Tanzanian flag. One girl student gave me a beautiful beaded necklace. Teacher Lornah crocheted me a bag. Teacher Phoibe gave me a beautiful pink scarf. Then it was my turn. I stood up, thanked everyone, I was pretty choked up and amazed that I didn’t start crying with happiness. Then I got to give out t-shirts to the best scholars as my little gift to the students after all they did for me. We ended with a dance and I was lucky enough to get to start the dance to much applause from the students. I dragged students up one by one to get them to start dancing and I even danced with Teacher Kamili. I supervised the dance for the rest of the night. I was blissfully happy.
I have a little less than two weeks here and I am starting to get excited to come home. I am really excited for a shower and seeing everyone in Seattle.
I had my birthday in Africa. It was amazing. I woke up on the 2nd at 5:30 a.m. and sat in bed and began to hear my students get up. The next thing I knew I heard a knock on my door and when I went to open it I saw all of my boarder students outside with a big sign reading “Happy Birthday Sister Ema we love you” with hearts, stars and a picture of the house I live in drawn on it. I went back inside and showered and got ready and came outside to sit with Teacher Patrick. I was told that today I was to be like a baby and do nothing all day. That lasted for about an hour until I realized that all I wanted to do was know what was happening so I begged Lornah and Phoibe to let me get involved. Lornah showed me around. She brought me to the kitchen to see the students cooking pilau, which is rice with cinnamon, onions, tomatoes, cumin, garlic and stewed meat. Pilau is served with pili pili, a spicy pepper sauce and a nice cooling salad made with grated carrots, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers with a vinegar tasting sauce. The boys were in the nursery school setting up music and arranging desks. They were all singing and laughing. I spent a few hours watching students cook and preparing the order of events for the day.
At 12:45 p.m. the event started. I walked with Teacher Phoibe into the nursery school and all the 75 students started singing Happy Birthday. I was led to a couch covered in a sheet and coated in flowers. The table in front of me had love written on it and was covered in flowers. The silverware had pink and white flowers attached to them, the glasses had flowers and I put a flower in my hair. Two students prayed: Yassin (Muslim) and Samuel (Christian). Then Lornah gave a brief speech about why we were here and that the students shouldn’t asked my age. A student, Lusajo, did a drama in English where he talked on the phone with someone in America in a silly accent telling him all about my party and how pretty I was and how the American on the phone should come immediately to the party because we were all waiting for him. Then we ate, the food was amazing. Then Mama Neema showed up with cake and we had a very sugary cake, which we cut into 1 inch sized pieces so everybody could get some. A student Neema and Teacher Kamili both gaves speeches about me and thanked me for being here. Then it was time for gifts. The day scholars bought me a beautiful pink and yellow kangha with pretty flowers. The cook bought me another beautiful blue kangha. A kangha is a wrap around fabric that you can have sewn into anything. The boarders sang two songs with choreographed moves and gave me a beaded bracelet, the color of the Tanzanian flag. One girl student gave me a beautiful beaded necklace. Teacher Lornah crocheted me a bag. Teacher Phoibe gave me a beautiful pink scarf. Then it was my turn. I stood up, thanked everyone, I was pretty choked up and amazed that I didn’t start crying with happiness. Then I got to give out t-shirts to the best scholars as my little gift to the students after all they did for me. We ended with a dance and I was lucky enough to get to start the dance to much applause from the students. I dragged students up one by one to get them to start dancing and I even danced with Teacher Kamili. I supervised the dance for the rest of the night. I was blissfully happy.
I have a little less than two weeks here and I am starting to get excited to come home. I am really excited for a shower and seeing everyone in Seattle.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Don't Worry Be Happy
Don't be sad I'm not coming home for another month. I know that I am needed here and that I am really helping the kids. I love being in Africa and it has not been hard for me to adapt. I do not miss the food back home and while I would love a realy shower and I very happy with my bucket. I understand that it all seems a little strange and that maybe you might be worried about me staying longer, but I really love being here.
The kids have started calling me Mama Ema and coming to me whenever they need anything. I was not really a part of camp, I spent all of my time prepping for school to start, writing rules and working on the organization of the school. By Wednesday that week I had almost every boarder from school (about 10) come up to me and say how much they missed me and how sad they were that I wasn't a part of camp. I had to promise them that I would spend their lunches and dinners with them and that I would come and speak English with them. Fadhil said that he was very sad I had left him and that he wanted more English lessons. He felt like his English was getting worse without me there.
We have a new teacher. Here name is Lornah. She has been teaching for 28 years and she is amazing. She is really excited about getting the infrastructure of this school put together and making sure that the kids are getting the best education. I love working with her, she is incredibly committed. Two of our teachers are leaving at the end of August so we are also looking for replacements. The two teachers are going to University so they can't teach and go to school.
I love you all and am really happy that you are reading these posts. Your messages mean a lot to me.
The kids have started calling me Mama Ema and coming to me whenever they need anything. I was not really a part of camp, I spent all of my time prepping for school to start, writing rules and working on the organization of the school. By Wednesday that week I had almost every boarder from school (about 10) come up to me and say how much they missed me and how sad they were that I wasn't a part of camp. I had to promise them that I would spend their lunches and dinners with them and that I would come and speak English with them. Fadhil said that he was very sad I had left him and that he wanted more English lessons. He felt like his English was getting worse without me there.
We have a new teacher. Here name is Lornah. She has been teaching for 28 years and she is amazing. She is really excited about getting the infrastructure of this school put together and making sure that the kids are getting the best education. I love working with her, she is incredibly committed. Two of our teachers are leaving at the end of August so we are also looking for replacements. The two teachers are going to University so they can't teach and go to school.
I love you all and am really happy that you are reading these posts. Your messages mean a lot to me.
Back at school
Things are great here. I am really happy to be staying longer. I am helping to create a budget at school for the boarders, teachers and for the genreal running of the school. I am spending the next three weeks doing remedial, remedial English (starting with the ABC's). It's going to be fun. Learning nouns, tenses, all the basics so that they kids can really start speaking. It is too hard teaching biology in English when they don't understand anything you are saying. So we're starting from the beginning.
I am getting much better at getting around town without help. I can ride the dalla dalla alone and I am even starting to pick up some Kiswahili. I am much better at understanding what is being said and very bad at saying anything, but the kids love when I speak with them.
I am getting much better at getting around town without help. I can ride the dalla dalla alone and I am even starting to pick up some Kiswahili. I am much better at understanding what is being said and very bad at saying anything, but the kids love when I speak with them.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
I have been in Africa for a month now and absolutely loving it. I moved yesterday into a guest house that is attached to the school. I don’t live in the dormitory with the students, which gives me a little more personal space and time away from the kids to plan lessons. I have a sitting room with a couch, a separate bedroom and a bathroom. It’s wonderful.
I have some exciting news. I will be staying in Africa another month. I was a little shocked to find this out. Rhoi changed my plane ticket and was planning to change it so I came back the first week in August, but she couldn’t get a seat on the plane until August 25th and without hesitating she put me on that plane. At first I couldn’t figure out what I was going to do. I had to go back and work and pay rent, but Mama Rhoi told the students and they were so happy that I couldn’t change the ticket back. And not only could I not change the ticket for the kids, but they had already given away my old seat and there was no way to get it back. So another month in Tanzania, this gives me the chance to work with the older students doing reading comprehension on “Is It Possible”, “Mine Boy” and “Things Fall Apart.” The students are very happy to have me here to teach them more English and the other teachers want my help planning lessons and preparing for the next term.
We are getting a new English teacher named Lorna. She is wonderful. She is from Kenya and has been in Tanzania teaching for around 20 years. She likes to make visual aids and sing songs to help teach the students. I think I will learn a lot from her. I am also hoping that we can work together and plant more vegetables behind school and also get the kids involved in community clean up. We are thinking of ways to make Boko more green and get the kids to start picking up and getting the community to clean up trash.
We are having CAMP this week at school. Camp is a time for underprivileged youth and youth who have lost their parents to AIDS to come together and play and learn. The kids are focusing on leadership and HIV/AIDS and how to be leaders in their community. There are about 35 kids here and this morning we all got up at 5:30 a.m. and went running. We are supposed to exercise together every morning. I am not actually a part of camp because I didn’t plan it and I don’t speak Swahili, so I can’t really join in the fun. I am planning to study Swahili, go to the internet café and maybe try to go into town a few times this week while the kids are in camp.
I have some exciting news. I will be staying in Africa another month. I was a little shocked to find this out. Rhoi changed my plane ticket and was planning to change it so I came back the first week in August, but she couldn’t get a seat on the plane until August 25th and without hesitating she put me on that plane. At first I couldn’t figure out what I was going to do. I had to go back and work and pay rent, but Mama Rhoi told the students and they were so happy that I couldn’t change the ticket back. And not only could I not change the ticket for the kids, but they had already given away my old seat and there was no way to get it back. So another month in Tanzania, this gives me the chance to work with the older students doing reading comprehension on “Is It Possible”, “Mine Boy” and “Things Fall Apart.” The students are very happy to have me here to teach them more English and the other teachers want my help planning lessons and preparing for the next term.
We are getting a new English teacher named Lorna. She is wonderful. She is from Kenya and has been in Tanzania teaching for around 20 years. She likes to make visual aids and sing songs to help teach the students. I think I will learn a lot from her. I am also hoping that we can work together and plant more vegetables behind school and also get the kids involved in community clean up. We are thinking of ways to make Boko more green and get the kids to start picking up and getting the community to clean up trash.
We are having CAMP this week at school. Camp is a time for underprivileged youth and youth who have lost their parents to AIDS to come together and play and learn. The kids are focusing on leadership and HIV/AIDS and how to be leaders in their community. There are about 35 kids here and this morning we all got up at 5:30 a.m. and went running. We are supposed to exercise together every morning. I am not actually a part of camp because I didn’t plan it and I don’t speak Swahili, so I can’t really join in the fun. I am planning to study Swahili, go to the internet café and maybe try to go into town a few times this week while the kids are in camp.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Kitchen
I realized that I haven't explained the way that we cook here. We don't have a stove or burners. We put three rocks together and start a fire underneath them. The kids wash the plates in buckets and we only have 3 knives to do all our chopping. I have really been getting into cooking here. I love spending time with the kids and whenever I am there they will all try to speak in English. Even the kids that don't speak English in class. Last night when I was walking back from the village with the kids they all started telling me how much they love me. Neema, one of the girls who lives at the school, told me two days ago that she was so sad that I wasn't there cooking with her. She was so happy when I dropped by the kitchen. I am so happy that I get to brighten the kids lives and let them know that someone cares about them.
HIV/AIDS Training
Wendy Arnold came to Tumaini school this week. She started a peer education program for AIDS in Los Angeles in 1982 and has been teaching ever since. She is amazing. She is 60 or so and the most energetic woman I have ever met in my whole life. She never stops and she is so full of vibrance and energy that she lights up the room. I love being around her and she gets me jazzed to do this kind of work in my life. She has already asked me if I would want to go around the world with her teaching. I am so happy that I got to be in Boko while she is here.
We had the training for the students for the last two days and today we started the teacher training. The teacher training is exciting because this means that teachers all around the Dar es Salaam area will be able to teach their students about HIV/AIDS and have the real facts instead of the myths. You would be amazed at some of the questions the kids ask. They all are very unsure about condoms and constantly worried that condoms don't really work. They think they have holes or that the US sends Africa ones that don't work. They feel hopeless about AIDS and so many kids said that even though they know about AIDS they know their friends aren't using protection.
We had the training for the students for the last two days and today we started the teacher training. The teacher training is exciting because this means that teachers all around the Dar es Salaam area will be able to teach their students about HIV/AIDS and have the real facts instead of the myths. You would be amazed at some of the questions the kids ask. They all are very unsure about condoms and constantly worried that condoms don't really work. They think they have holes or that the US sends Africa ones that don't work. They feel hopeless about AIDS and so many kids said that even though they know about AIDS they know their friends aren't using protection.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Cooking
I am learning how to cook the food here. On Sunday I went to Mama Neema's house and her daughters taught me how to cook fried fish with curry paste, coconut tomato cream sauce with potatoes and cooked spinach. It was amazing. I am writing down all the ingredients. They told me whenever I want to come over and learn to cook they will teach me.
I am also cooking with the students. They have been preparing new kinds of food for me so I don't get bored with ugali and beans. The first new meal was eggplant with tomatoes and okra. Today we had potatoes with tomatoes and peppers. Everything is very simple to cook, but the flavors are amazing.
I am also cooking with the students. They have been preparing new kinds of food for me so I don't get bored with ugali and beans. The first new meal was eggplant with tomatoes and okra. Today we had potatoes with tomatoes and peppers. Everything is very simple to cook, but the flavors are amazing.
I'm a teacher!
I am a mwalimu (teacher in Swahili). This work I am working with the senior 1-senior 3 (oor freshman, sophomore, and juniors in American high schools). I am teaching remedial english and I love it. I get to assign homework, grade for a few hours every day and plan my lessons before class. My students are already getting more comfortable with me. I was able to get a student, who another English teacher has never heard speak in English, to talk in class and now he is teaching me Swahili while I help him improve his English.
I have been spending a lot of time with the kids while they cook. When I am around they try to speak English and there are always at least 10 students around the cooking pot when I am there. I am also picking up a little cooking this way. Fadhil is teaching me how to cook for the students. He is a wonderful boy who came from a farming town very far away. His mother sold her land to pay for him to take the bus to school. He lives on campus, like me.
I am having the students write lots of essays. Although I think I am being mean that other teachers tell me that the kids really like me and they like the way that I teach. Teacher Hassan keeps telling me that I should change my major and be a teacher because I am a natural. Today, while I was helping cook, Hassan asked the students if they loved teacher Ema and they all yelled yes! It was a really great feeling. Being here is amazing and the kids I get to spend time with are some of the most amazing, hard working, loving kids I have ever met.
I have been spending a lot of time with the kids while they cook. When I am around they try to speak English and there are always at least 10 students around the cooking pot when I am there. I am also picking up a little cooking this way. Fadhil is teaching me how to cook for the students. He is a wonderful boy who came from a farming town very far away. His mother sold her land to pay for him to take the bus to school. He lives on campus, like me.
I am having the students write lots of essays. Although I think I am being mean that other teachers tell me that the kids really like me and they like the way that I teach. Teacher Hassan keeps telling me that I should change my major and be a teacher because I am a natural. Today, while I was helping cook, Hassan asked the students if they loved teacher Ema and they all yelled yes! It was a really great feeling. Being here is amazing and the kids I get to spend time with are some of the most amazing, hard working, loving kids I have ever met.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Bugs, critters and creepy crawlers
There are many interesting bugs here. There are bees the size of a big, big toe that are bright yellow, orange and buzz around everywhere. There are lots of mosquitoes at night in particular, but I have a net and its makes me feel safe and secure. It also sort of makes me feel like a princess with a canopy bed. Geckos crawl all over the walls. I was cleaning the library and they kept scurrying out from behind the books.
There are these pretty black birds, the size of crows, that resemble tucans with smaller beaks and have a white patch on their breast. The smaller birds peck around the coconut trees. We also have many chickens at the center and roosters that wake me up every morning around 5 or 6 a.m. crowing.
There are stray dogs that lie in the streets and do not bark or move when you pass. I see goats and cows every day. One family keeps a cow tethered in their yard.
There are these pretty black birds, the size of crows, that resemble tucans with smaller beaks and have a white patch on their breast. The smaller birds peck around the coconut trees. We also have many chickens at the center and roosters that wake me up every morning around 5 or 6 a.m. crowing.
There are stray dogs that lie in the streets and do not bark or move when you pass. I see goats and cows every day. One family keeps a cow tethered in their yard.
Week 1
I have been at the Tumaini Secondary School, they changed from the One Stop Center, for a whole week now. The kids are amazing and never cease smiling. Today I came back from looking at the Dar es Salaam University and the boys were all playing soccer, laughing and falling over.
I have been taken around Dar lately by my new friend Abdi who I met on the plane. The first night we went to Sea Cliff, a rich neighborhood in Dar and went to eat at a beautiful hotel. Our seat over looked a cliff onto the beach. Last night we went out and played pool. It is nice to get to see the night life and activities around the city as well as work with the kids. This weekend everyone wants to take me to the beach. I am also probably going to go to the history museum, which has lots of cultural art as well as displays about ancient tribes and their practices.
I am trying to learn Swahili. The word I hear the most is mzungu. Mzungu means white person. The young children in the village yell it when I walk past. The teens whisper it and laugh. I am really interesting to people. The truck drivers slow down to stare when they pass me and honk their horns. There are more white people in the city, but very few, maybe none, where I live.
Please excuse all spelling errors. I only have a short time using the computers and the keyboards make it difficult to type.
I have been taken around Dar lately by my new friend Abdi who I met on the plane. The first night we went to Sea Cliff, a rich neighborhood in Dar and went to eat at a beautiful hotel. Our seat over looked a cliff onto the beach. Last night we went out and played pool. It is nice to get to see the night life and activities around the city as well as work with the kids. This weekend everyone wants to take me to the beach. I am also probably going to go to the history museum, which has lots of cultural art as well as displays about ancient tribes and their practices.
I am trying to learn Swahili. The word I hear the most is mzungu. Mzungu means white person. The young children in the village yell it when I walk past. The teens whisper it and laugh. I am really interesting to people. The truck drivers slow down to stare when they pass me and honk their horns. There are more white people in the city, but very few, maybe none, where I live.
Please excuse all spelling errors. I only have a short time using the computers and the keyboards make it difficult to type.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Tanzanian Food
I have had many wonderful things to eat here. The first day that I got here I had potatoe wedges and lemon chicken with a big class of mango juice. For breakfast I had potatoe wedges in an omlette. There a potatoe wedges in everything. I had a wonderful dinner at parlaiment with fried fish, chunks of beef and tomatoes, plantains, and grilled chicken. When we rode the bus to Dar es Salaam in the morning the vendors come and bring all sorts of different food. They had over-cooked corn cobs, a few kernals pop into popcorn, it is smoky and wonderful. They sell somosas in big buckets and all kinds of drinks. I also got to eat peeled oranges cut in half that you suck the juice out of and the best apple I have eaten in my life.
At school we eat rice and beans and ugali (corn meal) and beans. They girls brought me cooked corned today and everyone is trying to take me into town to feed me more exciting things. The boys bought me bananas from the market today. The fruit here is amazing, I have never had anything better. I could eat fruit all day. I am going to have fried fish later this evening and I will tell you how that is soon.
At school we eat rice and beans and ugali (corn meal) and beans. They girls brought me cooked corned today and everyone is trying to take me into town to feed me more exciting things. The boys bought me bananas from the market today. The fruit here is amazing, I have never had anything better. I could eat fruit all day. I am going to have fried fish later this evening and I will tell you how that is soon.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
I'm Here
I arrived in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, one day later than expected due to a plane delay. I spent the evening in a hotel in Ethiopia. It was amazing. I spent the time there with a group of wonderful people my own age: Lionel, Josh, Abdi, Omar and Enoch. We were served buffet style Ethiopian food, which is spicy and delicious. Then we went around the corner to an authentic Ethiopian bar, where I learned how to dance Ethiopian style from a prostitute. I safely got on the plane the next morning and arrive in Dar four hours later, after only sleeping 4 hours in 3 days.
I got off the plane and straight onto a bus to Morogoro. Mama Neema and I were staying the night in Morogoro before catching a bus to Dodoma (Capital City). We were going to Dodoma for a conference on early childhood education, I was representing the Ark Foundation. The first lady of Tanzania was at the conference as well as many UN representatives. I have meetings with them while I am staying here. On Saturday morning we left, taking a cramped bus, back to Dar and then caught a taxi to Boko Village.
I am now in an internet cafe a little away from Boko Village (Boko means hippo). I have my own room with a lock on the door. They painted it blue, installed a light and I have a pretty white mosquitoe net. Since I arrived on Saturday evening there only children that are here are the ones who live on campus. There are two dormitories, two school buildings and an office. The buildings have large windows with wire mesh to keep a breeze running through. I have spent most of my time with Teacher Hassan, a 25 year old Ugandan who volunteers to teach at the school. Everyone is sweet, although there English is lacking. I have spent some time speaking with the students who run PEP, their peer education group, and they are hoping to meet with me so I can teach them all that I know about HIV/AIDS.
The food is wonderful. The children cook meals for everyone, so far I have eaten rice and beans, sweet potatoes and Ugali (which is cooked maize flour). I ate well during my travels with Mama Neema. Vendors run up to the sides of the bus and sell you different kinds of food. My favorite was over-cooked corn on the cob, chewy, smoky and delicious.
I love being here and I want to thank everyone who helped make this possible. I am going to try to write more than once a week, it is easier than I thought to get to use a computer and much faster than I expected.
I got off the plane and straight onto a bus to Morogoro. Mama Neema and I were staying the night in Morogoro before catching a bus to Dodoma (Capital City). We were going to Dodoma for a conference on early childhood education, I was representing the Ark Foundation. The first lady of Tanzania was at the conference as well as many UN representatives. I have meetings with them while I am staying here. On Saturday morning we left, taking a cramped bus, back to Dar and then caught a taxi to Boko Village.
I am now in an internet cafe a little away from Boko Village (Boko means hippo). I have my own room with a lock on the door. They painted it blue, installed a light and I have a pretty white mosquitoe net. Since I arrived on Saturday evening there only children that are here are the ones who live on campus. There are two dormitories, two school buildings and an office. The buildings have large windows with wire mesh to keep a breeze running through. I have spent most of my time with Teacher Hassan, a 25 year old Ugandan who volunteers to teach at the school. Everyone is sweet, although there English is lacking. I have spent some time speaking with the students who run PEP, their peer education group, and they are hoping to meet with me so I can teach them all that I know about HIV/AIDS.
The food is wonderful. The children cook meals for everyone, so far I have eaten rice and beans, sweet potatoes and Ugali (which is cooked maize flour). I ate well during my travels with Mama Neema. Vendors run up to the sides of the bus and sell you different kinds of food. My favorite was over-cooked corn on the cob, chewy, smoky and delicious.
I love being here and I want to thank everyone who helped make this possible. I am going to try to write more than once a week, it is easier than I thought to get to use a computer and much faster than I expected.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Brief Information on the Problem and My Program
A serious issue facing sub-Saharan Africa is how to adequately care for children orphaned by AIDS. Neglecting the rights and needs of orphaned children is heartless, and ignoring the grandparents who are taxed with the burden of raising children again is callous. The Ark Foundation of Africa is committed to providing support for orphans and impoverished youth as well as the grandparents who support them. The Ark Foundation focuses on providing education for children and involving the community in sustainability projects that enable programs started by the Ark to remain in villages without outside support. In order to address the problem of orphans, more support needs to be given to promoting and funding youth education and creating sustainable projects within villages that enable them to become self-sufficient and economically stable.
The Problem
As the AIDS epidemic ravages Africa, affecting primarily the working force between the ages of 15 and 49, orphans and grandparents are left with little support. In 2001 there were 28.5 million people infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, 2.3 million of which died that same year, often leaving behind their children and parents. In 1999 there were an estimated 13.2 million orphans worldwide, 12.1 million of which were located in sub-Saharan Africa (Ghosh: 2004, 304). Orphans are defined as children under the age of 15 who have lost one or both parents. Orphans are vulnerable to malnutrition, lack of education and adult guidance and often are forced to enter into the informal sector for work. Grandparents are frequently left with the burden of caring for the young of their children with few resources and little energy to take care of their new family. While much attention is paid to those infected with HIV, orphans and grandparents receive little attention or care when they both so desperately need it.
As the number of orphans rises in sub-Saharan Africa there are few support nets to help them safely to adulthood. The effect of being orphaned on the household is a lowered access to basic necessities, which can drive children to contribute income, often by begging, stealing or engaging in sexual acts for food. Older children frequently take on the role of parent caring for the other children or their ill parents (Guest: 2004, 322). Many orphans are unable to attend school due to cost and miss out on socialization. Emotionally, orphans face the grief caused by the loss of their parent as well as the pain of social exclusion and stigmatization because there is no one there to care for them. A paternal orphan loses the financial security provided by his father and often loses his mother because she becomes infected with HIV by her husband. The best way to provide support for orphans is to give support to caretakers, keep children in school, meet their emotional needs and provide them with legal and human rights protection. Orphaned children deserve love, attention, and support, and it is essential that community, programs and organizations assist them with living to their full potential.
As parents pass away as a result of AIDS, valuable skills passed from generation to generation are lost. In Africa, women are responsible for caring for the household, maintaining crops and producing food on distant plots, collecting firewood and water and preparing meals for the family. Women produce 80% of the subsistence food in Africa using the labor-intensive agricultural method of horticulture, which involves planting on small plots of land, with little to no irrigation, low productivity and no draft animals (Goody: 1989, 121). Women are responsible for passing these skills on to their children. AIDS is having a devastating effect on households by “undermining rural household production, contributing to declining agricultural output and affecting the very integrity of families and their sustainability as viable units” (Baylies: 2002, 612). Without parents around to teach their children agricultural practices, youth are without the means to provide for themselves.
Grandparents invest heavily in their young so when they grow old their children will be able to care for them. The intergenerational burden is a human contract that enables African societies to survive without social welfare because adults become caretakers of their elderly parents (Lecture Notes: 18 April 2007). The HIV/AIDS crisis has eroded these social security nets and has left grandparents who have already provided for their own children caring for their grandchildren. Grandmothers are most affected because they provide almost sole care for the grandchildren. Grandmothers are often unable to give adequate care to their grandchildren because they do not have the funds to do so. Studies show that grandmothers who receive Old Age Pension in South Africa are able to give better care, shown by improvement of nutrition and health, to their grandchildren (Duflo: 2000, 398). Providing aid to grandmothers to assist with school fees and food, as well as money generating donations (like a cow), gives grandmothers the chance to sufficiently care for their family. Support for grandparents is vital to providing orphaned children with a bright future.
The Organization: The Ark Foundation of Africa
Rhoi Wangila, a Ugandan refugee, first thought of the Ark Foundation of Africa when she was 16 and saw the suffering caused by the violence in Uganda. She said to her brother that she wished she could harbor all the Ugandan children in an ark and keep them from harm. Rhoi knew that she could not hide the children from harm, but she could help to create safer, more economically thriving communities. Rhoi realized that educating communities to become self-sustaining was the best way to help villages remove their dependence on others. The Ark Foundation of Africa (AFA) operates in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to promote the rights of children and assist communities affected by high HIV/AIDS prevalence, conflict, poverty, and lack of education (Scher, 2007). The Ark Foundations stresses the importance of self-sufficiency to enable communities to learn a trade/skill and education to teach those skills to others. All programs are run and crated by Africans whose extensive knowledge of the opportunities and challenges within their community enables them to design programs that work. The Ark Foundation believes that Africa’s way to freedom out of debt, poverty, war and disease lies with their people: “rather than continuing aid or charitable projects – the Ark Foundation invests in Africa’s young people, committing resources to a child or community only when it is clear that support can be maintained until such a time as it is no longer needed” (Ark Foundation website). The Ark’s work is committed to educating young people.
The Ark Africa Foundation focuses on strengthening community. Ark operates on five principles: investing in people, not just projects, helping create self-reliant communities, implementing holistic care models that address the range of challenges within a community, fostering ties with other like-minded organizations and providing training to local and international organizations to implement models similar to AFA. The Ark Foundation believes that investing in youth education is the path to stop the cycle of HIV and poverty. AFA education programs focus on getting all children and teenagers into the education system and assisting with school fees and guidance. The Ark Africa Foundation builds and maintains education centers that include income-generating activities to assist with the burden of school fees that enable the centers to become self-sustainable within 5-7 years. AFA also builds and staffs free preschools and secondary school programs, assists with school fees and gives scholarships to enable poor youth to complete secondary school and often college. All education facilities include mentorship programs, guidance, and academic assistance. Programs are also in place to assist with school re-entry for teen mothers, who are often denied education due to cost and social stigma. Education is vital to giving these children a chance at a better life. (Ark Foundation website, Our Work).
The Ark Foundation built and staffs the One Stop Center for Youth in Boko Village, Kinondoni District, Tanzania providing free secondary education for youth ages 13-20. The Center provides education for over 250 teenagers affected by extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS in Dar es Salaam. At the heart of the One Stop Center is a holistic program that gives youth a second chance by providing a safe place where students feel at home, make friends and receive guidance from volunteers and teachers. Some students live at the center while others live at home with their caretakers, parent(s) or grandparents. AIDS has orphaned 67% of youth at the One Stop Center. Moses Victor Mbaga, 13 years old, is a student at the Center who lost his mother at a very young age. He loves studying English and “hopes to be a pilot on day so that he could see more of the world and fly through the clouds” (Student Profiles: 2007, 3). Mary Elisafi, 15 years old, is also a student at the Center who works selling vegetables with her cousin, who cares for her, in order to pay the fare to ride the dalla dalla to school every day (Student Profile, 2007: 2). The Center’s goal is to alleviate poverty, reduce the incidence of HIV among children and young adults and fight the high prevalence of child labor. The Center funds itself through several income generating projects and spends an average of $32 a month of youth to cover education expenses, healthcare, meals, management and staff. The children who benefit from education at the One Stop Center are dedicated to creating a better life for themselves and for their families and are determined to be educated despite the many challenges facing them (Ark Foundation website, Our Work).
The One Stop Center also support a group of five teenagers in their Peer Education Program (PEP) in Tanzania. The PEP 2007 officers include Yassin, Kazito, Mariam, Beatrice and Lusajo who meet weekly and discuss their outreach and peer training responsibilities. Their 2007 goals are to educate youth about the changes and growth in their bodies and minds, maturity and educating others about the importance of education. Yassin got involved with the PEP program “to educate himself and then advise others is a gift. The disease is killing our people so we must learn how to protect our citizens” (Student Profiles: 2007, 5). The PEP youth are typically asked questions about AIDS, prevention, condom use and how to help those around them who are HIV positive. Lusajo became a PEP officer because “PEP works specifically with teens and as a teen himself he was attracted to this work. He feels that is it so important to educate youth and help to challenge and educate them” (Student Profiles: 2007, 5). The teenagers work throughout Tanzania with villagers and students enrolled in primary and secondary education. This program gives teens a voice and enables them to be part of the education process, encouraging other youth to get involved and get educated.
As the AIDS epidemic ravages Africa, the problem of AIDS orphans has come to the forefront and is putting strains on the family structure. The Ark Foundation is committed to strengthening families and communities with programs that support grandparents and train foster parents to care for AIDS orphans. AFA helps HIV positive children and teaches the children’s caregivers to provide adequate care and protect themselves from transmission. Because grandparents often care for young children who have lost their parents to AIDS, the Ark Foundation supports grandparents in a variety of ways. Single grandmothers are given monthly cash transfers to help them care for their new family. The Adopt a Grandparent Program is supported by international individuals or groups to support grandparent headed households and ensure secure and adequate housing for grandparents. By supporting grandparents the Ark Foundation is able to ensure that orphaned children have access to education and proper nutrition (Ark Foundation website, Grandparents as Primary Caretakers of AIDS Orphans).
The Adopt a Grandparent program costs $25 a month and gives donors the option of connecting with their sponsored family by sending and receiving letters from the family. Ms. Grooms is a 94-year-old retired schoolteacher who lives in Washington, DC. She adopted a Kenyan grandmother, Kezia, and her nine grandchildren, ranging in age from preschool to 18, in November of 2004. Kezia uses the $25 a month from Ms. Grooms to buy essentials such as paraffin, medicine, sugar, salt and school supplies for her grandchildren. Ms. Groom and Kezia have become friends although they live miles away from one another by exchanging letters and sharing their ideas and support with each other. During the holidays Ms. Groom send extra money and cards. Kezia writes frequently to Ms. Groom keeping her informed about her grandchildren, sending pictures and letters from her grandchildren. The Ark supports Kezia by paying for her grandchildren’s school fees. Through partnership with donors the Ark Foundation is able to provide complete support to grandparents and their grandchildren (Ark Foundation website, Success Story).
Looking Towards the Future
The Ark Foundation of Africa is run by Africans for Africans, taking into account the special needs of each country they work in. The Foundation designs its programs based on the needs of the village it is working with and works with the community to create sustainable programs that will last long after Ark volunteers and workers leave. A problem associated with many organizations working in Africa is that they design programs without the input of the African community and make assumptions about the needs of the particular group. In order for the Ark Foundation to become more effective, it needs more funding to enable it to send the many children who desire education to school. In Uganda it costs $1000 to keep a child in school a year and $500 to keep a child in school in Kenya. This means that many children who desire to go to school are unable to pay the school fees. The Ark Foundation has had to turn down over 4000 qualified applicants because there is not enough funding to support them (Scher, 2007). In order to move forward with its goals, AFA needs to collect more funds to help students and also campaign to have school fees absolved in African countries to allow all children to become educated.
The orphan problem continues to grow in Africa. A 1994 study showed that there could be “as many as one orphan for every two healthy economically active women by year 30 of an unchecked epidemic” (Gregson et al.: 1994, 455). It has been projected that by the year 2015 there will be 15 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, an increase of almost 3 million in 15 years. As the number of orphans grows there are little social security nets to protect them and enable them to go to school and have a healthy diet. Organizations like the Ark Foundation works in countries burdened with extreme poverty and Structural Adjustments Programs that have dissolved the social sector funding. In order to African countries to begin to thrive both socially and economically the debt and weight of SAPs needs to be removed and spending needs to flow into social programs like free education and greater access to healthcare. Lobbyists, activists and some politicians are working diligently to bring greater focus on Africa and the importance of spending in the social sector. Hope for Africa lies in the removal of foreign debt and increase spending on social welfare and education.
Bibliography
Baylies, Carolyn. “The Impact of AIDS on Rural Households in Africa: A Shock Like
Any Other?” Development and Change. Vol. 33, No. 4, (2002): pp. 611-632
Duflo, Ester. “Child Health and Household Resources in South Africa: Evidence from the
Old Age Pension Program.” Papers and Proceedings of the One Hundred Twelfth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association. Vol. 90, No. 2, (May, 2000): pp. 393-398.
Ghosh, Jayati and Ezekial Kalipeni. 2004. “Chap. 22: Rising Tide of AIDS
Orphans in Southern Africa.” In AIDS in Africa: Beyond Epidemiology. pp. 304-315. Blackwell.
Goody, Jack. “Futures of the Family in Rural Africa.” Population and Development
Review: Supplement Rural Development and Population: Institutions and Policy. Vol. 15 (1989): pp. 119-144.
Gregson, Simon, Geoffrey Garnett and Roy Anderson. “Assessing the Potential Impact
of the HV-1 Epidemic on Orphanhood and the Demographic Structure of
Populations in sub-Saharan Africa.” Population Studies. Vol. 48, No. 3 (Nov., 1994): pp. 435-458.
Guest, Emma. 2004. “Chap. 23: Excerpt from Children of AIDS: Africa’s Orphan Crisis:
A Mother to Her Brothers: A Child-headed Household’s Story, Johannesburg, South Africa.” In AIDS in Africa: Beyond Epidemiology. pp. 316-322. Blackwell.
Macklin, Eleanor D. “AIDS: Implications for Families.” Family Relations. Vol. 37, No. 2
(Apr., 1988): pp. 141-149.
Nsobya, Marla. “Ark Foundation Secondary School, Boko Village, DSM, Student
Profiles. 2007.
n2cveXjDWsbUkBk5b1LRfNOcY3RlcKsF>
Poku, Nana. “Chapter 3.” In AIDS in Africa: How the Poor Are Dying. Pp. 85-123.
Scher, Steve. “Grandparents and AIDS Orphans.” Weekday, National Public Radio.
19 March 2007.
Wangila, Rhoi. The Ark Foundation of Africa. 13 May 2007.
Wojcicki, Janet M. “She Drank His Money: Survival Sex and the Problem of Violence in
Taverns in Gauteng Province, South Africa.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly.
Vol. 16, No. 3, (2002): pp.267-293.
The Problem
As the AIDS epidemic ravages Africa, affecting primarily the working force between the ages of 15 and 49, orphans and grandparents are left with little support. In 2001 there were 28.5 million people infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, 2.3 million of which died that same year, often leaving behind their children and parents. In 1999 there were an estimated 13.2 million orphans worldwide, 12.1 million of which were located in sub-Saharan Africa (Ghosh: 2004, 304). Orphans are defined as children under the age of 15 who have lost one or both parents. Orphans are vulnerable to malnutrition, lack of education and adult guidance and often are forced to enter into the informal sector for work. Grandparents are frequently left with the burden of caring for the young of their children with few resources and little energy to take care of their new family. While much attention is paid to those infected with HIV, orphans and grandparents receive little attention or care when they both so desperately need it.
As the number of orphans rises in sub-Saharan Africa there are few support nets to help them safely to adulthood. The effect of being orphaned on the household is a lowered access to basic necessities, which can drive children to contribute income, often by begging, stealing or engaging in sexual acts for food. Older children frequently take on the role of parent caring for the other children or their ill parents (Guest: 2004, 322). Many orphans are unable to attend school due to cost and miss out on socialization. Emotionally, orphans face the grief caused by the loss of their parent as well as the pain of social exclusion and stigmatization because there is no one there to care for them. A paternal orphan loses the financial security provided by his father and often loses his mother because she becomes infected with HIV by her husband. The best way to provide support for orphans is to give support to caretakers, keep children in school, meet their emotional needs and provide them with legal and human rights protection. Orphaned children deserve love, attention, and support, and it is essential that community, programs and organizations assist them with living to their full potential.
As parents pass away as a result of AIDS, valuable skills passed from generation to generation are lost. In Africa, women are responsible for caring for the household, maintaining crops and producing food on distant plots, collecting firewood and water and preparing meals for the family. Women produce 80% of the subsistence food in Africa using the labor-intensive agricultural method of horticulture, which involves planting on small plots of land, with little to no irrigation, low productivity and no draft animals (Goody: 1989, 121). Women are responsible for passing these skills on to their children. AIDS is having a devastating effect on households by “undermining rural household production, contributing to declining agricultural output and affecting the very integrity of families and their sustainability as viable units” (Baylies: 2002, 612). Without parents around to teach their children agricultural practices, youth are without the means to provide for themselves.
Grandparents invest heavily in their young so when they grow old their children will be able to care for them. The intergenerational burden is a human contract that enables African societies to survive without social welfare because adults become caretakers of their elderly parents (Lecture Notes: 18 April 2007). The HIV/AIDS crisis has eroded these social security nets and has left grandparents who have already provided for their own children caring for their grandchildren. Grandmothers are most affected because they provide almost sole care for the grandchildren. Grandmothers are often unable to give adequate care to their grandchildren because they do not have the funds to do so. Studies show that grandmothers who receive Old Age Pension in South Africa are able to give better care, shown by improvement of nutrition and health, to their grandchildren (Duflo: 2000, 398). Providing aid to grandmothers to assist with school fees and food, as well as money generating donations (like a cow), gives grandmothers the chance to sufficiently care for their family. Support for grandparents is vital to providing orphaned children with a bright future.
The Organization: The Ark Foundation of Africa
Rhoi Wangila, a Ugandan refugee, first thought of the Ark Foundation of Africa when she was 16 and saw the suffering caused by the violence in Uganda. She said to her brother that she wished she could harbor all the Ugandan children in an ark and keep them from harm. Rhoi knew that she could not hide the children from harm, but she could help to create safer, more economically thriving communities. Rhoi realized that educating communities to become self-sustaining was the best way to help villages remove their dependence on others. The Ark Foundation of Africa (AFA) operates in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to promote the rights of children and assist communities affected by high HIV/AIDS prevalence, conflict, poverty, and lack of education (Scher, 2007). The Ark Foundations stresses the importance of self-sufficiency to enable communities to learn a trade/skill and education to teach those skills to others. All programs are run and crated by Africans whose extensive knowledge of the opportunities and challenges within their community enables them to design programs that work. The Ark Foundation believes that Africa’s way to freedom out of debt, poverty, war and disease lies with their people: “rather than continuing aid or charitable projects – the Ark Foundation invests in Africa’s young people, committing resources to a child or community only when it is clear that support can be maintained until such a time as it is no longer needed” (Ark Foundation website). The Ark’s work is committed to educating young people.
The Ark Africa Foundation focuses on strengthening community. Ark operates on five principles: investing in people, not just projects, helping create self-reliant communities, implementing holistic care models that address the range of challenges within a community, fostering ties with other like-minded organizations and providing training to local and international organizations to implement models similar to AFA. The Ark Foundation believes that investing in youth education is the path to stop the cycle of HIV and poverty. AFA education programs focus on getting all children and teenagers into the education system and assisting with school fees and guidance. The Ark Africa Foundation builds and maintains education centers that include income-generating activities to assist with the burden of school fees that enable the centers to become self-sustainable within 5-7 years. AFA also builds and staffs free preschools and secondary school programs, assists with school fees and gives scholarships to enable poor youth to complete secondary school and often college. All education facilities include mentorship programs, guidance, and academic assistance. Programs are also in place to assist with school re-entry for teen mothers, who are often denied education due to cost and social stigma. Education is vital to giving these children a chance at a better life. (Ark Foundation website, Our Work).
The Ark Foundation built and staffs the One Stop Center for Youth in Boko Village, Kinondoni District, Tanzania providing free secondary education for youth ages 13-20. The Center provides education for over 250 teenagers affected by extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS in Dar es Salaam. At the heart of the One Stop Center is a holistic program that gives youth a second chance by providing a safe place where students feel at home, make friends and receive guidance from volunteers and teachers. Some students live at the center while others live at home with their caretakers, parent(s) or grandparents. AIDS has orphaned 67% of youth at the One Stop Center. Moses Victor Mbaga, 13 years old, is a student at the Center who lost his mother at a very young age. He loves studying English and “hopes to be a pilot on day so that he could see more of the world and fly through the clouds” (Student Profiles: 2007, 3). Mary Elisafi, 15 years old, is also a student at the Center who works selling vegetables with her cousin, who cares for her, in order to pay the fare to ride the dalla dalla to school every day (Student Profile, 2007: 2). The Center’s goal is to alleviate poverty, reduce the incidence of HIV among children and young adults and fight the high prevalence of child labor. The Center funds itself through several income generating projects and spends an average of $32 a month of youth to cover education expenses, healthcare, meals, management and staff. The children who benefit from education at the One Stop Center are dedicated to creating a better life for themselves and for their families and are determined to be educated despite the many challenges facing them (Ark Foundation website, Our Work).
The One Stop Center also support a group of five teenagers in their Peer Education Program (PEP) in Tanzania. The PEP 2007 officers include Yassin, Kazito, Mariam, Beatrice and Lusajo who meet weekly and discuss their outreach and peer training responsibilities. Their 2007 goals are to educate youth about the changes and growth in their bodies and minds, maturity and educating others about the importance of education. Yassin got involved with the PEP program “to educate himself and then advise others is a gift. The disease is killing our people so we must learn how to protect our citizens” (Student Profiles: 2007, 5). The PEP youth are typically asked questions about AIDS, prevention, condom use and how to help those around them who are HIV positive. Lusajo became a PEP officer because “PEP works specifically with teens and as a teen himself he was attracted to this work. He feels that is it so important to educate youth and help to challenge and educate them” (Student Profiles: 2007, 5). The teenagers work throughout Tanzania with villagers and students enrolled in primary and secondary education. This program gives teens a voice and enables them to be part of the education process, encouraging other youth to get involved and get educated.
As the AIDS epidemic ravages Africa, the problem of AIDS orphans has come to the forefront and is putting strains on the family structure. The Ark Foundation is committed to strengthening families and communities with programs that support grandparents and train foster parents to care for AIDS orphans. AFA helps HIV positive children and teaches the children’s caregivers to provide adequate care and protect themselves from transmission. Because grandparents often care for young children who have lost their parents to AIDS, the Ark Foundation supports grandparents in a variety of ways. Single grandmothers are given monthly cash transfers to help them care for their new family. The Adopt a Grandparent Program is supported by international individuals or groups to support grandparent headed households and ensure secure and adequate housing for grandparents. By supporting grandparents the Ark Foundation is able to ensure that orphaned children have access to education and proper nutrition (Ark Foundation website, Grandparents as Primary Caretakers of AIDS Orphans).
The Adopt a Grandparent program costs $25 a month and gives donors the option of connecting with their sponsored family by sending and receiving letters from the family. Ms. Grooms is a 94-year-old retired schoolteacher who lives in Washington, DC. She adopted a Kenyan grandmother, Kezia, and her nine grandchildren, ranging in age from preschool to 18, in November of 2004. Kezia uses the $25 a month from Ms. Grooms to buy essentials such as paraffin, medicine, sugar, salt and school supplies for her grandchildren. Ms. Groom and Kezia have become friends although they live miles away from one another by exchanging letters and sharing their ideas and support with each other. During the holidays Ms. Groom send extra money and cards. Kezia writes frequently to Ms. Groom keeping her informed about her grandchildren, sending pictures and letters from her grandchildren. The Ark supports Kezia by paying for her grandchildren’s school fees. Through partnership with donors the Ark Foundation is able to provide complete support to grandparents and their grandchildren (Ark Foundation website, Success Story).
Looking Towards the Future
The Ark Foundation of Africa is run by Africans for Africans, taking into account the special needs of each country they work in. The Foundation designs its programs based on the needs of the village it is working with and works with the community to create sustainable programs that will last long after Ark volunteers and workers leave. A problem associated with many organizations working in Africa is that they design programs without the input of the African community and make assumptions about the needs of the particular group. In order for the Ark Foundation to become more effective, it needs more funding to enable it to send the many children who desire education to school. In Uganda it costs $1000 to keep a child in school a year and $500 to keep a child in school in Kenya. This means that many children who desire to go to school are unable to pay the school fees. The Ark Foundation has had to turn down over 4000 qualified applicants because there is not enough funding to support them (Scher, 2007). In order to move forward with its goals, AFA needs to collect more funds to help students and also campaign to have school fees absolved in African countries to allow all children to become educated.
The orphan problem continues to grow in Africa. A 1994 study showed that there could be “as many as one orphan for every two healthy economically active women by year 30 of an unchecked epidemic” (Gregson et al.: 1994, 455). It has been projected that by the year 2015 there will be 15 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, an increase of almost 3 million in 15 years. As the number of orphans grows there are little social security nets to protect them and enable them to go to school and have a healthy diet. Organizations like the Ark Foundation works in countries burdened with extreme poverty and Structural Adjustments Programs that have dissolved the social sector funding. In order to African countries to begin to thrive both socially and economically the debt and weight of SAPs needs to be removed and spending needs to flow into social programs like free education and greater access to healthcare. Lobbyists, activists and some politicians are working diligently to bring greater focus on Africa and the importance of spending in the social sector. Hope for Africa lies in the removal of foreign debt and increase spending on social welfare and education.
Bibliography
Baylies, Carolyn. “The Impact of AIDS on Rural Households in Africa: A Shock Like
Any Other?” Development and Change. Vol. 33, No. 4, (2002): pp. 611-632
Duflo, Ester. “Child Health and Household Resources in South Africa: Evidence from the
Old Age Pension Program.” Papers and Proceedings of the One Hundred Twelfth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association. Vol. 90, No. 2, (May, 2000): pp. 393-398.
Ghosh, Jayati and Ezekial Kalipeni. 2004. “Chap. 22: Rising Tide of AIDS
Orphans in Southern Africa.” In AIDS in Africa: Beyond Epidemiology. pp. 304-315. Blackwell.
Goody, Jack. “Futures of the Family in Rural Africa.” Population and Development
Review: Supplement Rural Development and Population: Institutions and Policy. Vol. 15 (1989): pp. 119-144.
Gregson, Simon, Geoffrey Garnett and Roy Anderson. “Assessing the Potential Impact
of the HV-1 Epidemic on Orphanhood and the Demographic Structure of
Populations in sub-Saharan Africa.” Population Studies. Vol. 48, No. 3 (Nov., 1994): pp. 435-458.
Guest, Emma. 2004. “Chap. 23: Excerpt from Children of AIDS: Africa’s Orphan Crisis:
A Mother to Her Brothers: A Child-headed Household’s Story, Johannesburg, South Africa.” In AIDS in Africa: Beyond Epidemiology. pp. 316-322. Blackwell.
Macklin, Eleanor D. “AIDS: Implications for Families.” Family Relations. Vol. 37, No. 2
(Apr., 1988): pp. 141-149.
Nsobya, Marla. “Ark Foundation Secondary School, Boko Village, DSM, Student
Profiles. 2007.
n2cveXjDWsbUkBk5b1LRfNOcY3RlcKsF>
Poku, Nana. “Chapter 3.” In AIDS in Africa: How the Poor Are Dying. Pp. 85-123.
Scher, Steve. “Grandparents and AIDS Orphans.” Weekday, National Public Radio.
19 March 2007.
Wangila, Rhoi. The Ark Foundation of Africa. 13 May 2007.
Wojcicki, Janet M. “She Drank His Money: Survival Sex and the Problem of Violence in
Taverns in Gauteng Province, South Africa.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly.
Vol. 16, No. 3, (2002): pp.267-293.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Just to give you an idea...
Here are some photos taken by Pangea, a group that supports the Ark Foundation of Africa. These are pictures taken at the One Stop Center and in Boko Village. I will be volunteering at the One Stop Center working with youth age 13-20 who are in secondary school and in the preschool and kindergarten.
The One Stop Center for Youth: Kinondoni District-Boko Village, Tanzania
The center provides free secondary level and other youth-focused services to more than 200 younger people from the age of 13 affected by extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS living in the Dar es Salaam area. The focus is an integrated holistic program which gives children a hopeful second chance at life. This demand-driven project provides a safe place where children feel at home, make new friends and receive guidance. The center works to alleviate poverty, fight child labor and reduce the incidence of HIV among young people through the objective of preparing each individual child for a productive meaningful future. Some children live at the center while others live with family members.
The Center operates several income generating activities that augment the cost of program operations. The Ark Foundation spends an average of $32 per child a month. This cost covers meals, basic health care, educational materials, staff salary, management and other support services under one roof. These children aspire to a better future for themselves and their families. They are determined to have an education regardless of their situation. At least 67 percent of the students in this program are AIDS orphans.
Orphans at One Stop Center in Boko Village
Teenagers at the One Stop Center in Boko Village
More Secondary School Students
A Grandmother with all the children she is caring for.
Thanks for your contributions and support of my trip. I leave in 6 days!
The One Stop Center for Youth: Kinondoni District-Boko Village, Tanzania
The center provides free secondary level and other youth-focused services to more than 200 younger people from the age of 13 affected by extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS living in the Dar es Salaam area. The focus is an integrated holistic program which gives children a hopeful second chance at life. This demand-driven project provides a safe place where children feel at home, make new friends and receive guidance. The center works to alleviate poverty, fight child labor and reduce the incidence of HIV among young people through the objective of preparing each individual child for a productive meaningful future. Some children live at the center while others live with family members.
The Center operates several income generating activities that augment the cost of program operations. The Ark Foundation spends an average of $32 per child a month. This cost covers meals, basic health care, educational materials, staff salary, management and other support services under one roof. These children aspire to a better future for themselves and their families. They are determined to have an education regardless of their situation. At least 67 percent of the students in this program are AIDS orphans.
Orphans at One Stop Center in Boko Village
Teenagers at the One Stop Center in Boko Village
More Secondary School Students
A Grandmother with all the children she is caring for.
Thanks for your contributions and support of my trip. I leave in 6 days!
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