Asante Sana

So much time has gone by....





And it embarrasses me to write to you all at this point in time. But I hope that you will understand. The time I spent in Bagamoyo with the children, youth and artists was so mind and heart changing. Three weeks was all it took for the love in Africa to take over my heart.

The majority of people I met and spent time with had very little but had everything.

Time was not kept with a clock, time passed as it was intended--through the travels of the sun throughout the expansive sky.

Smiling at small child would send them into a wit of giggles and then a wide pearly white smile would soon stretch across their faces.

Mambo?
Poa.


How are you?
I'm good.

I'm good was always the response. Although one of our friends my have not eaten at all throughout the day, they were still 'poa'. Are we always poa? Are we always thankful for what we have?

Anything is possible under the sun.


I want to share my experience with anyone and everyone that is willing to listen, however, I have yet to figure out how to do this. I am ever so thankful for everyone's support...and I feel extremely guilt ridden because I have yet to include you in my experience, but I am still in a reflection period.

My thoughts get stuck in my head, running around and around....when I try to express these thoughts and feelings in words....I become blank or the words in which I do think of aren't the thoughts I feel.

I will continue to try and I hope that within time, I will be able to share with you all the joys I experienced while in Bagamoyo.


Here is a link to some photos on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035808&id=1559940150&l=630cc77f56

One Bag Packed

Thanks to the generousness of numerous people I will be traveling with a 50 pound bag full of supplies for the children of Bagamoyo! Thank you Scott Baker (Champlain College Professor of International Business), Beeman Elementary School in New Haven, Vermont, the Champlain College library (even though you don't know it, I helped myself...you were recycling tons of teaching textbooks in the basement of the library and I decided to save a few!), the Champlain College Children's Club and to my family for their donations!

Donations
• 3 white boards
• Music textbook for teachers
• Geography textbook for teachers
• Business book
• Clock face overheads
• Math K-3 textbooks
• Pencils
• Pens
• Lead pencils
• Note pads
• Children’s reading books
• 34 jump ropes
• Balloons
• Playing cards
• Boys and girls underwear
• 20 Spin tops
• 4 pencil sharpeners
• Ruler
• 20 Frisbees
• 3 pairs sunglasses
• Sidewalk chalk
• Girls, boys, infant clothes

Donations

It is hard to believe that I will be traveling tomorrow! At 6PM I will meet Ashley in Burlington. From there we will drive to Dover, New Hampshire to catch a Greyhound bus around 1030PM. We will be arriving at Logan Airport in Boston around midnight and then meeting up with the rest of the group anytime between midnight and three AM. Without delay we will board our first plane to Washington D.C. at 6AM.

Tomorrow at 5PM will be the start to a very long few days of travel!

On another note, I wanted to share with everyone that throughout the semester our group was able to raise nearly $4000 to donate to the two organizations. We held a few events on campus including a night of African festivities, a coin drop and an silent auction with local and African items. Additionally, donations that were sent to the Center of Service for each individual group member helped the two organizations because 10% of the contribution went towards the fund raising fund and then 90% when towards the individual group recipient. Ashley sent the money via wire transfer last week and below is a message in response from IMUMA!

"Many thanks for the very very big support you gave to IMUMA. And the money came on the right time, because there is food problem here at IMUMA, we have to pay anual NGO fees, and the rest of the money we will start on cleaning the land farm we bought and we have to buy bushknieves/ matchetes, hoes, folks, rakes, axes, etc. All is all we are so appreciate for the supportive donations. Regards, Shariff"

I am happy to hear that we have already started to help!

More news to come in a few hours....

Malaria Monday's

Left to Right (Back): Christy, Joe, Brian, Me!, Aba, Amanda, Jess, Jen, Dave
(Front): Elisha, Chelsy, Ashley

Malaria Monday's start today for the group! Our trip is under way...Sort of :)

Moyo Mmoja Guest House

Here is a link to the guest house in which we will be staying at in Bagamoyo.


http://moyommoja.org/members/news?mode=static&cat=9108&zid=NOC10000589&mother=0&sub=0

The Countdown

I finished my exams last Friday and now I am able to concentrate on the trip! I have found it very hard to balance my time and my efforts in terms of what I need to do and what I want to do. For the past few months I had to concentrate on school one hundred percent, it had to be my first priority, I had to place my involvement with Tanzania to the back of my mind. Without Champlain College, what I do at Champlain and my academic performance I would not have this opportunity.

This Thursday I plan to meet with a couple who have recently traveled to Tanzania. I look forward to hearing their perspective of the country and the culture and thus comparing it with the experience in which I will have upon my return.

I also hope to speak with a father of a little girl who I watch at the after school program who worked in Tanzania and the surrounding countries.

Additionally, my birthday partner Phoebe Barash traveled to Tanzania when she was a teenager and did volunteer work in the country.

There are so many local connections to Tanzania within our community. I would have never guessed. It was through speaking up and putting the world out there that people came forth with a tremendous amount of advice based upon their experiences to offer me.

I believe that everyone's perspective will be useful for me to hear!

Group Website

Joe Mester, a Junior at Champlain College and also member of our trip going to Tanzania, is very talented with computers. He graciously used his skills to create a brochure for our trip and also a group website. The website provides the history of the trip, information about the current trip, news from the two orphanages that we will be volunteering at and photos from the previous year. Members of this years trip have blog links (linking you to this site!) and also biography pages with photos. To access our biographies, follow the "Current Trip" link and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Thank you Joe for bringing our trip to the land of "Virtual Life", the world wide web. Please feel free to share the group website with anyone you know!

Homepage: http://www.teachfortomorrowcc.com/index.html

My Biography: http://www.teachfortomorrowcc.com/nichole_baker.html

Bottle Drive Update

A quick update: As of March 31, 2010 I have redeemed 18,000 returnable cans! Thank you to everyone for their support!

The Road Has Been Paved & I've Been Poked

The tickets were finally purchased this week by the group travel agent. Ashely (one of our group leaders) sent us the message on Monday. What a great day Monday became! Seven months ago I became aware of this opportunity at a Champlain College student club fair. For seven months, I have been dreaming and for the next two months I will be in overdrive trying to understand, predict, become more culturally literate and envision the experience I will have.

Let's have some fun, do you think can guess my itinerary?

Below are images of the locations in which I will be stopping in order to get to my final destination.

I'll be driving to this location _________________.



Then flying to ___________.



Departing and flying to ______________.



Making a quick connection to catch a flight to _______________.



And finally, trying to contain my excitement on the last leg of my journey to __________________.




I will be flying from Boston to Washington DC to Rome, Italy to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and then finally to Dar es Salaam!

How well did you do?

The road has been paved. The tickets have been bought. This is real. So what was my next step?

The international travel clinic at Fletcher Allen. Today I had the joy of becoming someone's personal voodoo doll. $400 later, I was able to go off on my merry way with three bandages and a few written prescriptions to be filled right before my departure.

Today I received the Yellow Fever vaccination, a Polio booster and a delightful typhoid immunization. I also will be taking Mefloquine malaria pills before, during and after my time in Tanzania and if needed I am prepared with Ciprofloxacin (let us leave it at...you don't want to know what they are for...).

Let the time drift on by until May 17th. On the 18th when I arrive, let time stop...or at least continue in slow motion....until I eventually arrive back in Boston on the 8th of June.


Stay tuned for a few documentary recommendations soon!

The United States Relationship with Tanzania

At our weekly meetings in the Center for Service & Civic Engagement office at Champlain College we brainstorm and report about fundraising, talk about Tanzanian culture, learn Swahili phrases and hear from individual members about a topic of their choosing relating to Tanzania.

Tomorrow is my day to report on the United States relationship with Tanzania. Through online research I read an article by Tony Waters the Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at California State University. His article American Relations with Tanzania was composed through outside research and also with insights of his involvement with Tanzania as a Fullbright Scholar at the University of Dar Es Salaam and also through work he has done in country.

Here is a link to his article:
http://www.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v8/v8i3a3.htm

Here are some important bullet points from his article;

• US and Tanzania have had good relations historically
• Our relation tightened with Tanzania after the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Dar Es Salaam
• With the election of President Kikwete Tanzanian relations with the US improved
• President Kikwete was the first African president to meet with President Obama



• The United States supports programs in peace and security, democracy, health, education, economic growth and natural resource management
• There are approximately 147 Peace Corps volunteers currently stationed in Tanzania
• US assistance is often considered as ‘funding’
• Current US involvement/funding in Tanzania are in these major projects;
President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
President’s Malaria Initiative
Millennium Challenge Account
• Since Tanzania isn’t able to offer the United States much economically, the United States funds programs more favorably in other countries
• “Official American today often treats Tanzania as a mildly annoying child”
• The programs which Tanzania is receiving aid from are ‘grab bag programs’
• One ‘grab bag program’ is the Millennium Challenge program which was signed by President Kikwete and also former President Georege W. Bush as a bilateral development fund and went into force in 2008. This five-year grant program of $698 million currently goes towards reducing poverty, stimulating the economy and increasing household income through projects in transportation, energy and water. For more information a fact sheet is available at
http://www.mcc.gov/mcc/countries/tanzania/index.shtml

While it is clear that the United States does not pay as much attention to Tanzania as other countries in the world, the government is still assisting the country. The question becomes, how much aid can and should we provide Tanzania? Is it our responsibility to assist nations that are less developed than our own? How do we best help the people and the government of Tanzania develop? The answers to these questions are often hotly contested from numerous standpoints. That is why in my opinion work through the Peach Corps and also individual volunteers like myself enable work to get done directly. Volunteers who see a void and try to fill that void create change.

Time Difference

Time differs all around the world. Common knowledge of the standard time zones is important. However, cultural time differences that are not published may be even more important. For instance, the time difference between the local time in Vermont and Tanzania is eight hours (TZ 8+). This is knowledge in which anyone could find online or by asking a travel agent. But, what is not published is ever so crucial.

Swahili Time versus Mzungu Time.

To start, mzungu means white traveler or white man in Swahili.

When making an appointment with a Tanzanian it is important to ask if the schedualed time is in 'Swahili Time' or 'Mzungu Time'.

The difference is significant.

A six hour difference.

If a Tanzanian casually says that he'll meet you at 3...what he really means is that he will show up at 9.

When traveling in different parts of our own country and abroad, clarification can save you a lot of hassle!

Let's hope I remember to ask, "Mzungu time or Swahili time?"

"Good" Service

At our group meeting last week, we were asked to read three articles that discussed what is 'good service' and why is it important to talk about service.

This conversation rarely happens. As a volunteer who has had many different roles and served at many diverse organizations-I thought I was doing 'good' for others. But as I read these articles, I had to reflect...what I was doing, was it benefiting the people/animals/area in which I was helping...or did the service that was preformed help myself more so than the targeted audience?

The definition of 'good service' is a very tough concept. One thing that I agree with is that it is important to limit stereotypes and try to overcome power differences when volunteering.

Here are some quotes I feel strongly about in regards to community service.

"Foster education as the practice of freedom rather than reinforced domination" (Tasha Souza; Creating Social Justice in the Classroom)

"This world is small, so your ills are my ills; your goods are my goods" (Adam Davis)

"To talk of service, to really look at it, would require us to look closely at inequality. This is a difficult and an uncomfortable place to look." (Adam Davis)

"Ill-conceived or unwanted or badly executed or questionably motivated service-might not be good. Some--and perhaps all--service activities might be both good and bad." (Adam Davis)

"...we're not improving those we serve; we're only improving the conditions in which they find themselves." (Adam Davis)

"We should move towards equality." (Adam Davis)

"...inequality is present and in many ways desired and that this accounts in large part for the fact that service is not simple." (Adam Davis)


With these ideas in mind, I will continue to think about my service and the service that I will be preforming. This conversation will play on. I hope that you take a moment to think about what motivates you to take part in community service, is the service that you preform 'good', does 'good' service matter in your life and what actions or thoughts we can possess to help 'move towards equality'.

Until next time...

Locations-IMUMA

Here is the website to one of the locations that our group will be working at while in Tanzania.

http://friendsofimuma.bbnow.org

"The name IMUMA is an abbreviation of Imani (Faith), Upendo (Love) and Matumaini (Hope)" -Friends of IMUMA



Faith, love and hope are essential to life. All people do not need to have faith in the same God, person, creature, religion or object. But having faith,sharing and feeling love and believing in the power of hope--keep many people driven for a better tomorrow.

On a personal note, when I was in Lublin, Poland as a Rotary Exchange Student in 2006-2007 my host mother Halina used to say, "Jutro bede dobrze" in Polish. Tomorrow will be good.

Jutro bede dobrze with faith, love and hope in our lives.

Community

Definition of community :

* a group of people living in a particular local area

What is a community? One definition stated that a community was, "a group of people living in a particular local area". A community is so much more than those ten words. Communities are found in all the corners of the world. Communities as defined in our definition come together to help one another. Community members care not only for themselves but for the good of others.

A community can be as small or as large as one imagines.

In Vermont, we have neighbors who live on our street, a town in which we call home and a county in which we reside. All can be considered communities. Within Addison County there are many organizations that support the members within our community. I am interested in discovering if these 'community support systems' are also present in Bagamoyo, Tanzania and to what extent they are accessible to the public.

I am experiencing how important and emotionally rewarding being a member of a community truly is.

Just after Christmas I decided I would conduct a bottle dive on my road. I hoped I would collect $10 worth of bottles. I thought that I was aiming high, that people wouldn't be responsive. But boy was I wrong. My neighbors and community have been very generous. I received over 900 refundable bottles within a week. I honestly prefer requesting bottle donations than monetary donations. I know that many people are facing financial difficulties and are approached for numerous fund raising efforts throughout the year. I have become aware that, a donation of 5 cent in the form of bottles, adds up considerably.

Raising $2,500 may take longer by conducting bottle drives, but it sure is more rewarding and inspiring to know that so many people support you and your personal goals.

In conclusion to this post, I want to thank everyone who has helped me raise funds this far!