Crew from WOU
                        in Tanzania

Team Blog
Day One
Day Two

Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight
Day Nine

Day Ten
  Sunday
Day Eleven
Day Twelve
Day Thirteen
Day Fourteen
Day Fifteen
Day Sixteen

Day Seventeen
  Sunday
Day Eighteen
After Day 18

Before
The Flight

First Full Day
VIllage Bound
A Birthday
Garden Beds
Hot Springs
Back Again
Jane

Church
Computers
Electricity
No Electricty
Packing
Start Safari
Safari

Heading Home
Washington
Follow up

O.F.F. Site

Email us

The Birthday - and More

It sounded like a sick forelorn cow, our morning alarm. In answer another cow bellowed and then another. Soon it was a chorus with with bells and crescandoing sounds as they drew closer and passed by the bedroom windows on their way to grazing. It's hard to imagine what they can find to graze as it is so dry and everything reasonably close is eaten to the ground. Herds often can be seen in fields that appear as if they have just been plowed.

We shared a candle with Emily at breakfast to start her day of celebration. The female team members met and discussed how they would discuss health issues with the ladies of the village.

I headed to Moshi, as know as Kilimanjaro, with Gladness to buy supplies for the playground equipment. When headed for the pickup, I found that it was filled with empty pop bottles with two Maasai women sitting on them. Every trip with a vehicle is a bus ride one way or another.

In Moshi we went from shop to shop buying steel for the welder to assemble if he has electricty, wood, rope and plastic for the play equipment and rasied garden beds. It was interesting to watch Gladness, a woman in bue jeans, in a world of men among men. The board of Orphans Foundation Fund was meeting this evening and Gladness being on the board along with Senator WInters and Dr Lace both from Oregon and who are both in the country for this meeting was compelled to attend so her son Jestard drove us back to the village. There are no road signs, man made or natural, so it was not a surprise that we didn't know when path to follow back to the village. The other truck that we met in the desert gave us some directions and soon even I recognized some landmarks. By 2:00 or 3:00PM we rolled in to the compound for lunch.

During this morning, back in the village, the remainder of the team visited the school and shared some gifts such as a soccer ball. They also had an interesting time with some of the women of the village but talking about health, HIV-AIDS and safe sex. The latter involved placing a condom on a model of a penis. The latter generated considerable giggling.

Next we climbed into the Land Rover and the back of the pickup to head for a climb on a big rock or small hill east of the village. Standing in the back behind the cab, bouncing and swerving around, I was reminded of John Wayne capturing rhinos in the movie Hatari (danger in Sawhili) in 1962. I actually felt like 37 instead of 67 years old. And we have to duck for frequent overhanging acacia.

After the rice and beans supper a birthday cake was brought out for Emily's birthday alond with a bottle of water which was dumped on her face. Soon members of the village showed up in the courtyard in preparation for an evening of entertainment and dancing. First, the children and then some ladies. Finally, the men who were hestitant to start because apparently our tip for their entertainment was too small. But they did dance and soon everyone was bouncing, jumping, shaking their hips or just their pants, and wagging their shoulders.