Safari Njema (a good journey)

This last week we had a wonderful journey, filled with fascinating events and great animal viewing.

Up until recently, most of our time has been filled with the following activities:
•Finding the best agricultural training and resources through partnerships with other organizations for the Survive and Thrive Groups (STGs) WellShare has created.
•Developing proposals for alternative or additional funding to expand the STG program, and address the challenges of the Hadzabe (the last hunting-gathering community in east Africa).

Lately we have added assisting where we can on WellShare’s new proposal to USAID for funding. The current project here in Karatu officially ends September 30. The goals have been met and continued funding here from the U.S. government isn’t possible. (That is the reason we are looking for alternative funding mentioned above; a scaled-back, low-cost effort here in Karatu could build on the successes of the last five years and have a big impact.)

The new USAID proposal is for Bariadi, a district west of Serengeti National Park and near Lake Victoria. Funding is very competitive, so the grant application has to outline innovative programs. The brainstorming sessions and draft writing have been very interesting.

To have credibility, the proposal has to be supported by the local government, and so we headed west with Jolene to find that support. To get there and back we had to go through the Serengeti, an area about the size of Connecticut. The animal viewing was amazing – lions, zebra, cape buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe (two kinds), impala, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelles, topi, waterbuck, baboon, vervet monkey, elephant, hippo, warthog, vultures, jackal, hartebeest, mongoose, along with ostrich, white stork, hornbill, secretary bird, ground hornbill, and many more birds. We saw tens of thousands of animals!

Throughout the drive Jolene was reminding us she had never seen a cheetah (hard to find) or a leopard (very hard to find). This has been a running joke over the last three years. As we were driving, a cat walked across the road. Because of the lighting, it appeared to be a lion, but when it got to the other side, we could see its spots. It continued to stalk something in the tall grass and was hard to see. There was a nearby tree and Sharon was hoping it would climb it, which it did! Then it proceeded to relax on a limb and stare at us! This was a beautiful leopard, and a thrill to see.





The serious work was revising the presentation, and the meetings with government officials. We were thrilled that the main meeting included all the district leadership, including the district executive officer and the lead officers for health, planning, education and agriculture. They are completely supportive to the ideas Jolene presented. The visits were a complete success. This gives Jolene what she needs to help sell the ideas to Tanzania national government officials.

There are many challenges in this district. It is very hot, being at a lower altitude, and the malaria risk is higher. Many men have 6-10 wives (pastoralists with many animals might have 20!). The average number of births per woman is over 6 (we were told that when women marry, they agree to have a certain number of children, with men wanting large families). Not surprisingly poverty can result, leading to poor education and health. Both last year and this there have been cholera outbreaks (part of our proposal is to use seeds from moringa, the tree we have been investigating, to clarify and dramatically reduce bacteria). We interviewed a few local women and were shocked to learn they have no latrines in their village, people use the river and fields, and they don’t wash their hands. Dealing with these simple issues could dramatically improve the local health. There are precious few trained health workers in the district to address even the most curable problems, and this is where WellShare’s proposal is the most innovative and exciting.

The origination of working in this district came from a meeting between a priest and WellShare back in Minneapolis. Father Paul (79) is originally from Wisconsin but has lived in Africa for 50 years, mostly in Bariadi district. Over the years he has built and staffed an impressive clinical facility complete with an incredible manual file of all of his patients. The latest projects are a larger lab that will include a blood bank, along with housing for doctors/nurses. He is laying the groundwork now for a 150 bed hospital, returning to the U.S. this summer to raise funds. All the buildings are equipped with solar power for lighting and medical refrigerators. (Electricity is even more limited than in Karatu; the town of Bariadi has none between 10AM and 6PM). In addition, Father Paul is a wonderful host. There were comfortable rooms and great meals for us, including perhaps the best popcorn we have ever enjoyed. Father Paul has acted as his own contractor on his projects and has learned by doing along with his workers.

Besides Jolene we had two other travel companions – Kombo, our always-entertaining driver, and Amy, an emergency room doctor and WellShare volunteer. During our time we met a friend of Father Paul’s, Father John. In the “small world” department Amy and Father John discovered they have in common family roots from Dubuque, Iowa. The amazing coincidence is that Father John had dated Amy’s grandmother, including taking her to the high school prom!

Of course, we had to eat elsewhere besides Father Paul’s. We enjoyed wonderful fish dinners several nights, fresh from nearby Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world. We have never seen tilapia so large; it was served in slices and there must have been about five large pieces per fish. Our driver was happy to get his favorite, the head.

Roads in Tanzania can be punishing on vehicles, and especially on 16 year old Land Cruisers. Kombo worked minor miracles on this trip. We found out that when radiators start leaking, Serengeti drivers add tea leaves, which expand and reduce water loss. People here are very innovative.

During the Serengeti we stopped to help another vehicle with two flats, plus a flat spare from a previous incident. During our multiple stops to deal with the radiator, invariably others made certain we were alright before going on. Driving in wild animal country with only one place for repairs in an expanse the size of Connecticut requires everyone to help.

We are having a wonderful time!