Making Progress

It’s hard to believe we have been here four weeks already. There are now many volunteers here: two physicians, a young woman from Canada who is teaching English to a group of HIV positive women, and a Minnesota nutritionist who has been volunteering with WellShare in Uganda. She is waiting out the election there because the possibility of violence is always present during times like that.

We spent time this week putting together a slide show on the moringa tree for presentation to people in the villages. This will be translated by staff into both Swahili and Iraqw, which is the largest tribe in this area.

Laying the groundwork
We wrote concept papers for both TAPP (TZ Agriculture Productivity Program) and TAHA (TZ Horticulture Association) outlining what we would like them to do. We also developed questions for Anna, the Hadzabe teacher that we videotaped on Sunday. This will be used to create a summary of the issues in the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes to present to possible funders. The NGO we met with twice in CA and who twice visited our program last year will be stopping again next week. They have been very impressed with what is happening here and hopefully will help fund income generating activities and education for WellShare.

Market day drama
On Friday, we went with the drama troop to market day in the village of Endobash. Each area here has market on a different day, always the same date of the month. In that way vendors can make the rounds of all the markets.

There have been some issues in this area with domestic violence, so Jolene asked the drama troop to put together a new skit about the problem. They started in the food area of the market with a dispute between a man, his wife and his girlfriend. As they argued with each other they moved through the market and attracted a huge crowd that was following and hollering comments. They led the crowd to the performance area where it finally became obvious to the crowd that his was a staged drama. A policeman recruited to participate finally “arrested” the man. The crowd was large, with audience participation about the issue. There was also a skit about a man with multiple wives and children, and the conflict this generated. The performances are interspersed with dance, drumming and singing, making the whole event entertaining as well as informative. Although most of the discussion was about the misbehavior of husbands/boyfriends, the men stayed around. It was a long and very successful performance

Hadzabe/Datoga meeting
Sunday was another amazing meeting with the Hadzabe (the last hunter-gatherers in East Africa) and Datoga (pastoralists). At the end of our trip last year we were able to witness a moving meeting. Both tribes previously denied they needed help when WellShare first started their project; now they are asking for help with health care and education. (Please see last year’s entry for information about these tribes.)

They formed the Datoga/Hadzabe Association (DAHA) through which they could organize and learn how to influence government to provide the services they need, save money and develop the resources to solve some of their problems. The Hadzabe don’t have a cash economy and in the past couldn’t financially contribute to the group. This year there is a new sign saying that tourists who visited these tribes, many to experience the lifestyle of the Hadzabe, needed to contribute $5 each to the village fund. This will provide cash for the association.

Last year we learned that the tribes got paid very little from the tourists, who were paying guides high fees to visit them. Some guides would ask the Hadzabe to provide “cultural” experiences, make drinks from their honey, or even to have their children run around naked, to look more “primitive”. Then, the guides would say the tourists didn’t have any money to pay! The organization has now decided to only work with guides that don’t exploit them.

It was clear at this meeting that these people have found their voices. The agenda involved electing representatives from each tribe to an executive council, with leadership training provided by WellShare. When the nominations began and a couple of Datoga men were recommended, the Hadzabe participant who clearly was viewed as a leader said no, they would not allow it because these men were liars! Talk about frank political dialogue! Next, they were to elect an adviser to be the accountant. A Datoga was selected, but the Hadzabe said they would not participate if they didn’t also have a representative. This was quite amazing since the Hadzabe tend to be a quiet people. It was wonderful to see democracy in action. We feel so lucky to be a part of these momentous events that will shape these tribes for years to come and hopefully ensure their survival.

Then Silvery from WellShare presented information about the moringa tree to the tribes. Many were familiar with it for medicines, but had no knowledge of its nutritional value or water clarification qualities. They are very eager to get training and seedlings.

After the meeting Jolene and Silvery asked each tribe about domestic violence; if it is okay to strike a child or wife, etc. It was very interesting how the different tribes dealt with a drunken, abusive husband and under what circumstances a woman had a right to leave or when it was okay to strike a child.

Once our meetings were finished it was time to buy their crafts - lots of jewelry, bows and arrows, and gourds. We were swarmed! This was obviously an important meeting, many of the Datoga women dressed in beautiful beaded leather dresses.

Making Connections
As we left, the leader of the group told me he was so grateful for our efforts to bring more resources to the area. I told him we could not guarantee results but we would do our best. And on Monday that process began! We met with Dorothy from TAPP, who already has a successful moringa project. We were delighted to find out that she was very interested in providing the training and supplies to get small holder farmers in our area involved with moringa and vegetable cultivation for their own nutrition and for export. In our proposal we suggested seven villages and two schools as a start. We are very hopeful that this can move quickly and take advantage of the coming rainy season. TAPP also does drip irrigation and water catchment systems, which would also be wonderful, especially for the schools.

We are now working on editing videotaped interviews as part of the presentation to our NGO visitors when they visit next week.