It's been, as the title says, almost two years since I've been back from Tanzania. Even though it has been a long time since my return, people and events, my memory of Tanzania is still so real.
In movies, sometimes there's after-scenes where it shows the lives of people after the whole story has ended. Life goes on, not always pink and rosy, but it still continues.
So here's some after-scenes:
Andrew and Miriam are still the country representatives of EI Tanzania and continue to manage projects in the country. They have, however had an addition to their family, another charming blond boy named Samuel. I'm also still anticipating the adventures of Andrew, Miriam, Ben and Sam.
Not long after returning to Canada, Atu had new tumor growth. With the help of Andrew and Miriam, she had the opportunity to go to Kenya to see a specialist and have surgery. Her conditions seem stable at this point. I still pray for her health and for Bertha. Bertha must be so tall now and going to school!
While working with Bahatisha, a severely malnourished toddler, I felt quite hopeless when her situation was not getting better. I knew the consequences and have seen it over and over again in the village with children alive one day and dead the other. So I could only pray for her and God did the rest. The pastor's wife in the village has a dairy cow and when I told her about Bahatisha's situation (her mother did not have breastmilk), she offered her two cups of milk a day. We would boil the milk for sanitation and follow nutritional guidelines in diluting the milk to feed Bahatisha. In Iringa town, I consulted a British pediatrician friend about her situation. She prescribed me zinc, iron and vitamin A supplements. We also incorporated nutritious flour (milled from numerous local grains and nuts) to improve her protein intake. With these nutritional intervention and prayer, every month Bahatisha gained an average of 1 kg. Thick black hair began to grow on her head, replacing the yellow and brittle ones and her eyes were more attentive and aware of her surrounding. This is one of my biggest rewards and for Mama Bahatisha, she always has a smile when she sees me. That's a major change since her days at the clinic. I am still praying for her to healthily grow up, past the age of 5 and into adulthood because I know the harsh realities of the village.
The Rainwater Harvester project in Usolanga finished in December 2008. Now, women no longer need to carry buckets of water to the clinic to give birth. A small step in the water system of the village in my point of view is a major stride towards a safer and cleaner future for Usolanga.
As for us, Joe and I have recently both finished our master degrees. He studied International Relations while I concentrated on Environmental Assessment. Sacha is currently more than halfway through her master in Nursing. Sacha and I still see each other at least once a week because we both live in Montreal. Tanzania was once a place where our lives mingled so closely. Now, our personalities, interests and futures diverges completely. One thing for sure is that Tanzania will always be on our hearts.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a Christian school in China and give a presentation about children and life in Tanzania. It has been 3 years since I have visited China so to most of my friends, the newest event in my life was my trip to Tanzania. Preparing for the talk, I reviewed all my pictures and blog entries. There is no doubt that part of my heart is still beating for this land and their people, my people. I am part of my little village.
After the presentation, the primary school children wanted to pray for these African children. One of them prayed, "God, even though we have a lot and the African children have very little, please do not let us look down on them. Help us remember that we can learn from them about facing the hard things in life."
So, I was thinking to myself, was this Tanzanian safari a success? What did I accomplish? Realistically, my 9 months in Tanzania was too short to see any profound effects. As I was familiar with how things worked in the village and gained the trust of the villagers, I had to leave. I really don't know what success is and how it should be measured with my line of work. In text books and reports, it was the percentage of deaths lowered, the attendance at school increased, the rate of disease contraction decreased and so on. But what does that really mean? I believe my villagers in Usolanga has done more for me than I could ever do for them. They have showed me that there is no limit in the size of love and caring. They have made me one of them and opened a door for me into their lives. I learned from them lessons that I could never learn elsewhere. When I returned to Canada, people would say to me, "Life in the village must have been tough for you." My response was always immediate, "Not at all, it was great! I loved living there and would go back anyday!" Nothing was ever too hard. Actually, every new experience was a new adventure. I had a blast! Then I really pondered about this type of comments from friends and acquaintances when it came so many. If it was not for God's grace and calling in my life, I could not have gone to Tanzania and adjusted to such contrasting environment so quickly and happily. I think the same goes for Sacha, Joe, Andrew and Miriam. Rats and bats, snakes and cockroaches, the dry sun and dust, life without electricity and running water are part of the lives of those I love. And I love to be with them. Because of them, I lived a life worth living.
Well, I guess this is a nice wrap to my story of Tanzania. Maybe it is time for me to start another adventure and continue my documenting work.
So, Kwaheri (Good-bye) for now and Hello for later.
These are my final words on this blog, but I'm in the process of setting up a new one, so keep posted.
Note: You could catch me here at my new blog: http://www.proceedingwithgrace.com
Friday, March 19, 2010
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