Debra & Peter Martyn:: Some Days Being a Volunteer in Africa Makes You Feel Like This Picture

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Some Days Being a Volunteer in Africa Makes You Feel Like This Picture

This is how I feel today

Our house is in the background

Some of my favourite clothing had minor stains. Remember I only have four shirts and four pairs of pants to my name here in Tanzania. Debbie showed our efficient cleaning lady how to remove the stains by scrubbing. The maid got confused and put the bleach bottle to my clothes and then scrubbed in the bleach.

Just imagine what my clothes look like now.

Posted by Debra and Peter Martyn at 01:19

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1 comment:

Streams Full of Stars12 January 2012 at 08:07
Too funny, Peter! (Not for you - but for us - the inimitable way you have of telling a story!!!) Have you got the "tie-dye" look now? Back to hippie days??? Happy New Year to you both! Cheerio! Sharen
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Debra on Jambiani Beach, Zanzibar

Boat on Jambiani Beach, Zanzibar

This is a fishing boat at low tide. We have been spending a few days on Jambiani Beach in Zanzibar.

Peter and the CERC Staff

Mr. Ndee organized a luncheon to say good-bye

Juanito VSO Colleague from Pemba

Juanito was here in Kibaya on a working holiday. He is helping to prepare a VSO report on success stories in education. Note to our Chinese readers:This is not the Dalai Lama

White Sails in the Sunset

A sailboat off Kendwa Beach at dusk.

The Two Peters

We stayed for a few nights at Peter and Jane's house in Zanzibar. VSO volunteers are like family. Where ever we go in Tanzania we are always sure of a warm welcome.

Michael and Mindy Helping to Cook Supper

We get the most delicious avocados in Kibaya. Here are Mindy and Michael helping to make a dinner of bananas and avacados

We Have a Welcome Visitor

Fran, a fellow volunteer working in Morogoro, came for a two day visit. She braved the long and dusty road to Kibaya. Here she is with Debra preparing some bananas for supper.

I Said I Would Never Do This But. . .

Here I am with my plastic bucket fetching water from the nearest supply. The pump at the district water supply is broken and the replacement parts are hard to get. So, we are hauling water. Notice the fearsome look on my face.

Mr. Isaac Using the Model Classroom

The model classroom at Chemchem Primary School is now completed. Many thanks to the Tanzania Development Trust for providing the funding for this project.

Rumble Fish

Secondary students reading S.E. Hinton's classic adolescent novel of self-discovery and teenage angst. Teenage angst is not really something that is common here. It is a product of wealth and development. These kids will get a glimpse of another culture. Many thanks to English teacher Jamie who donated this set of books.

The Great White Shark that did the Trip

Repairing a Plastic Basin Rwandan Style

Landscape in Northern Rwanda

Rwandan Kids

Run for the World Rwanda

We are taking on 5K in Kigali Rwanda in support of women's empowerment

Debra Sorting Books

It may be old school. . .

but even the chalkboard got a fresh coat of paint.

Two Heads are Better than One

Henry and Peter trying to assemble a chair

Beth Sends a Wonderful Box of Books

Just a few of a brilliant selection for young children.

Richard and Peter Outside B-9

We brought back a Rover load of teaching materials and books from Dar es Salaam

Musa Getting a Teaching Award

Musa, one of our very enthusiastic primary teachers getting an award at the May Day ceremony

Peter and Debra in Teachers' Union shirts and hats

Peter and Debra standing in Kibaya while remembering back to the 1970s and 1980s during the teachers' strikes in Quebec when it was, 'Solidarity Forever, the Union Makes us Strong.'

Primary School Students Marching in the May Day Parade

Cooking With English

In the second in a series of 'Cooking with English' activites our teachers discussed and created recipes for green bananas. We cooked them according to their delicious recipes.

Work on our model classroom continues

Mr Jonas paints the outside of the classroom at Chemchem Primary School while some pupils look on

Kaloleni Primary School in the Rain

This is one of our primary schools shown during a recent down pour.

Electrical Problems

We had a huge rainfall the day before yesterday and our electrical connection is now kaput. Power is getting to our house but the circuit breaker keeps cutting out leaving us in a powerless situation. We are presently fridgeless, ironless and toasterless. Thankfully we are cooking with gas. Hopefully a fundi will appear soon.

Brainstorming the Best Fish Recipes

This is a picture of our primary teachers discussing their best recipes for dried fish. They wrote down their recipes and then explained them to us.

Delicious Fishes Dishes

These are the fish that we cooked using recipes given us by our primary teachers. The sauce was made from tomatoes, onion, ginger, green peppers and coconut cream. We served the fish with rice.

Debra Washing With a Very Small Carbon Footprint

This morning Debra washed our clothing in rain water collected yesterday. Eco-billionaire Al Gore would be very proud of her as would Canadian Enviro-warriors David Suzuki and Elizabeth May. I am sure wash day in their homes is exactly like this. Now, if only we could get rid of the tar sands development, reverse the industrial revolution and get back to our roots as hunter gatherers. We might have famines and plagues but at least our 'footprints' would be very small.

Our Library Boxes being Painted

Abrahmini painting our library boxes an attractive shade of green.

Debra and the Jiko

Debra cooking Easter morning pancakes on the charcoal jiko.

We Get a Visitor

This is a picture of Lesley, a fellow VSO volunteer based in Dar es Salaam. She braved the 13 hour bus ride to Kibaya to spend Easter weekend with us. Here she is cutting up some carrots for a stir fry.

Jiko Cuisine

Normally we don't cook on these little charcoal stoves called Jikos. We have a propane two burner hot plate in our kitchen. Lately, however, it has been extremely difficult to buy propane and so we have resorted to cooking on charcoal for the time being at least. Here I am stirring a delicious beef stew.

Goat

This baby goat spent the morning enjoying a few choice leaves in the field next to our house.

Scaling the Heights

Kids Hanging Around

Teaching Methodology Discussion

In a recent workshop with our secondary teachers we discussed The Big Debate in teaching methodology. Should learning be based on discovery or should it be based on what the teacher tells the students? Opinions varied but most of our teachers saw the benefits of both approaches.

The Beginning of Our Libraries in Boxes

Books, sent from Canada by generous donors, will soon fill these metal boxes. These libraries in boxes will be distributed to our primary schools. They can easily be carried from class to class by the students.

Pascal Antony

Happiness

This is picture of Happiness. She is a teacher at Kiteto Secondary School. She is one of our Champion Teachers. She is a young teacher who is inspiring to her students. We have met so many dedicated and hardworking teachers since taking up our placement.

Njoro Secondary School

Njoro Secondary School is very typical of schools in our area.

Njoro

Njoro is a village very near Kibaya. We take a taxi up there once a week. The trip takes about 30 minutes. One of our schools is in Njoro. The scenery is very beautiful and the taxi ride up there, with African music blaring from the Taxi's speakers, is sensational.

Debra and the Sunflowers

Sunflowers are a major crop in Kibaya. There are many fields of sunflowers near our house. The sunflower seeds are pressed to make cooking oil.

Tortoise at the Honey Badger Lodge

This big fella did not run the marathon

Debra Pool Side

Debra catches some rays at the Honey Badger

Mr. Aloyse

A Pile of Books Arrived Today

Many many thanks to the folks at Willow Lodge and to Don and Sharen for their generous donation of much needed children's books

Our Neigbour's House

This picture shows the house of our nearest neighbour, Robert. His house is about 20 feet behind ours. He has been gone for a week doing farm labour. At the corner of his house you can see the remains of his cooking fires.

Water Matters

Our water problems are back. We didn't get water on Wednesday and yesterday it took us two hours to pump enough water to last a few days. The water from the district came through the pipes in small spurts. It's been very dry here. We haven't had rain in more than three weeks. The picture shows Debbie waiting for water. Her hand is on the switch that controls the pump.

Book Arrival

Tis Encylopedia of World History arrived on Monday. This is a wonderful book, filled with pictures of historical events. It will be much appreciated by our secondary school students. Many thanks to my kind and generous daughter who donated this book in lieu of my Christmas and birthday gifts.

There's no Royal Road to Learning

Nikki and Debra in Zanzibar Shopping

Nikki and Debra are shopping for African cloth in a Zanzibar market.

Peter Hauling Water

Here I am hauling rain water in a lovely orange coloured bucket. The water will be used to flush our squat toilet. Conserving water is one way that we are hoping to reduce our carbon butt print. My good friend Al Gore taught me how to do this.

Mindy and Debbie

Our neighbour and Peace Corp volunteer, Mindy is showing Debbie some computer tricks.

No Comments From the Peanut Gallery

Debbie sorting peanuts prior to roasting

60th Birthday

Hongera Sana Peter Kwa Kutimiza Miaka Sitini!! Which means congratulations on your 60th birthday. Laissez les bons temps rouler. Bring on the pension.

Huge Bugs

There are some pretty big bugs hereabouts. This one was almost the length of a pen.

View of Our House

Our house is located in a very bucolic area of Kibaya.

Masai Toilet Paper

Kisiyoki, our Masai friend is showing us some Masai toilet paper. It's soft, one ply and biodegradable. I am sure that my favourite environmentalists, Al Gore and Prince Charles, have sprigs of this in their toilets.

The High Commissioner of Canada to Tanzania and Peter

The High Commission of Canada to Tanzania hosted a wine and cheese reception for Cuso International and VSO volunteers. We enjoyed some wine and great snacks. It was a perfect night to be a Canadian.

Waiting for the Ball to Drop

We made our own New Year's Eve ball--just like the one in Times Square.

Debbie Giving Peter a Haircut

The barbers in Kibaya are unfamiliar with our type of hair so we give each other haircuts.

Margaret Modeling Masai Jewelry

We took Margaret to a Masai village on Boxing Day. She modeled some traditional Masai jewelry

Collecting Rain Water

We have been busily collecting rain water in beautifully coloured plastic buckets. We use this water for everything from cooking vegetables to washing our clothes. My two favourite environmentalists, Al Gore and Prince Charles would call this activity 'sustainable.' I'm sure they both collect rain water. All this makes me realize how fortunate we are in Canada. We turn a tap and out flows the water. Let's hope our enviro-friends never talk us into rationing this resource in the name of 'saving the planet' or 'reducing our footprint.'

Our New House

This is the back yard of our new house.

Peter In The Kitchen

Cutting up mango and bananas for the Christmas breakfast pancakes.

Margaret Showing Off Her Masai Sandals

These sandals are made from old truck tires.

Debbie Opening her Christmas Necklace

Masai Market

The Masai Market, held once every two weeks sells everything form cattle to used clothing. At the last market we saw shirts from Value Village.

Livingstone's

A Zanzibar Beach Bar at Sunset

Dhow off Zanzibar Beach

A traditional Zanzibar fishing boat

Home-made Board Games and Dice

Our students are making board games to teach primary students verb forms

Students doing Role Plays

Laundry Day

Man Power

Getting on the Ferry

African Dancing

Students celebrating the arrival of the Freedom Torch

Our Room at the Convent in Morogoro

Debra and the Pies

Peter and Gary at the Grill

Dig in to a Virtual Dog

Virtual BBQ

We know you want to come to our fund raising BBQ but if you can’t, you can buy a few virtual hot dogs and some pop. A $10 dollar donation to CUSO/VSO will get you imaginary hot dogs and drinks, but a very real tax deductible receipt.

Make a secure online donation now

Fund raising BBQ on Sept 22 at Scotiabank

Grill us on our Kswahili

About Me

Debra and Peter Martyn: Peter has been a high school English and history teacher. Debra has many years experience working with special needs children. We have taught ESL to primary students in South Korea and university students in China. We are Canadians who love to travel with just our backpacks, planning as we go. Our travels have taken us through Europe, India, Nepal, China and South East Asia, Morocco and Egypt. We met while students at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. We have two adult children, one cat and a variety of tropical fish.

View my complete profile

Blog Archive

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Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in the blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of CUSO-VSO.

Map of Africa

Cool links

CERC - where we'll be working
CERC Kiteto Tanzania
Brothel Justice part 1
Education Managers 'In their own words' video
CUSO/VSO's webpage