4th of July in Tanzania

Happy 4^th of July! As our trip is winding down, it is sad to think that we are leaving in three days. Today, we had another very eventful day that started with surprise cereal boxes on the breakfast table to celebrate our country’s birthday. The individual boxes of Honey Pops, Corn Flakes, Fruit Pops, and Fruit Rings sweetened the start of everyone’s day.

When we arrived at Orkeeswa, while waiting for the Fundi to arrive, all Groton students paired up with one or two Orkeeswa students and wrote a poem using lines that Laurie chose from the one on one speaking exercise we did last week. It was amazing to recognize some of the lines that we spoke and also to see how different they seemed out of context. After choosing lines to create the first 8 lines of the poem, we were given the opportunity to choose new lines, repeat already used ones, or write our own to complete the last two lines of the poem. One of the most amazing aspects of the exercise was how Laurie asked our Orkeeswa partners to translate the poem into Swahili (for some reason, they all sounded so much more beautiful spoken in Swahili). Some of the poems, both in English and Swahili, are going to be added to the Orkeeswa and Groton websites.

After the writing, we all jumped back into the concrete to finish the first layer of stairs. It was really cool to see the dried steps we made yesterday and to finish the first layer for all four steps. We still have a bunch of work to do, but Ferdinand, the leading Fundi, is optimistic and says that we can finish by tomorrow.

After lunch, the Groton and Orkeeswa students performed the short plays that they wrote and directed. The plays that were about 5-8 minutes were hilarious and ranged from a science experiment gone wrong in a hair salon to a family reunion at the disco. It was really fun to perform them after a week of hard work and creative thinking.

Before we returned to E’Manyatta for the night, we took part in a jewelry sale organized by Peter and Mze full of beautiful earrings, bracelets, necklaces, stars, coasters, and other ornaments and objects, all made by the mamas of Orkeeswa students. It was amazing to be able to buy such beautiful jewelry but also to know that the money spent is going straight back into the community to help our Orkeeswa friends and their families in so many different ways. We were all amazed to learn that one mama made over 200,000 Tanzanian shillings!  

Laurie and Brandt are leaving tomorrow morning, and we are so grateful for all of the work that they did prior to this trip and during our time in Tanzania. From getting us all together in the airport to making trips to the clinic and organizing interesting and fun activities, we cannot thank them enough. We all hope that they have an amazing time in Kenya and continue their African adventure safely.

--Olivia