Karibu!

15Apr08

Published November 2008 by Transitions Abroad and Fall 2009 by Canadian Student Magazine

Volunteering in an Orphanage in Northern Tanzania’s Countryside

When my taxi comes to a halt at the dusty playground of the orphan centre in Ngaramtoni, many excited kids swarm around the car to meet and greet their new teacher. Enthusiastically they shout “karibu!” (“welcome” in Swahili) and stretch out their little smudgy hands through the open window.

I have arrived in the land of the Masai tribe, once semi-nomadic throughout Kenya and Northern Tanzania and famous for their success as warriors and their vast herds of cattle. They are also widely known for their distinct appearance of lean, long bodies wrapped in red and purple robes, as well as for their facial decorations such as cut ears and burn marks on their cheeks. Nowadays, some of the Masai have permanently settled in the foothills of Tanzania’s Mount Meru, about 60 miles from Africa’s highest mountain Kilimanjaro, where they co-exist with other tribes and make a living as small farmers.

Since there are many orphans and neglected kids in this area, a much-needed orphan centre was founded here a couple of years ago. Not only has life expectancy in Tanzania currently come down to 45 years as a consequence of the growing HIV epidemic, but parents’ unemployment or substance abuse is also forcing an increasing amount of unattended children into expoitative or dangerous situations as a way of survival. In 2005, the current director of the centre, Jane Sanare, and her husband James decided after unsuccessfully trying to conceive children themselves, to help the many needy children around them. They were able to raise enough money to build a one-classroom facility and successsively started the realization of their calling: keeping young, unattended tribe members off the street, providing them with nutritious meals, and offering them proper education. Today, the school teaches to 67 pupils in the 5-8 age group who are also fed two hot meals every day. In the weekend many more children from nearby  elementary and secondary schools come in to participate in recreational activities and to be fed as well. Some of the children are infected with the HIV virus themselves.

For the time being, most of the students still spend the night at home, in the care of older siblings, a grandmother, or others close to them. Six small children sleep in one of the director’s chicken coops, as there is simply no other place for them to go. They are all anxiously waiting for the completion of a larger building with dormitories that is currently under construction. With each new donation, the centre is coming closer and closer to its goal.

Needless to say, the Jane Olevolos Centre lacks proper and regular funding like so many other orphan centres in Africa, and it relies therefore heavily on national and international NGOs, churches, missionaries, visitors, and other interested parties who are eager to sponsor a child, do fundraising in their own communities, or donate clothes, educational materials, and know-how. That’s why they also gladly welcome English-speaking volunteers to assist and inspire their own, grossly underpaid teachers. The volunteers are recruited directly or channelled through the various volunteer organizations in Europe and North America, and placements range from 2 weeks to 6 months, sometimes even longer. 

As the centre is clearly still in survival mode and thus needs to focus first and foremost on getting food on the table, there is unfortunately not much organized training or briefing for newly arrived volunteers at present. For a relatively unprepared candidate like myself (the original project I signed up for – working with Masai women – fell through at the last moment), the experience was, although very rewarding, at times also quite challenging. The teaching methods currently used are still very traditional (memorizing and drilling are favoured), and the curriculum proves to be much too vague, often forcing  teachers and volunteers alike to fly by the seat of their pants. Books and visual aids other than the blackboard are far and few, and opportunities for physical education or creative expressions are scarce. However, for volunteers who would make the effort to prepare themselves in their home country prior to leaving for Tanzania by collecting educational materials and solliciting creative teaching ideas or ways to introduce sports, arts, or other stimulating activities from their local primary schools, this welcoming orphanage centre with their eager-to-learn students certainly provides fertile ground for lots of new initiatives! Also, a commitment of a couple of months would definitely do more good than a stay of a few weeks. First of all the volunteer would get more satisfaction from it, but an extended stay would also benefit the orphans who, already scarred by the loss of one or both parents, experience a high turn-over of teachers and volunteers.

For now, the young students of the Jane Olevolos Centre spend most of their days learning to read, write, and count by obediently copying words and numbers from the blackboard into their worn-out workbooks, while their teachers keep them in check and sharpen their pencil stumps with old razor blades. They write with the tip of their tongue sticking out of their mouth, hunched over simple wooden benches that serve as chair, table, or even bed. At the end of each exercise, the colourful stickers I happen to carry with me are a much-desired reward for a job well-done! 

When singing time arrives, the whole class comes suddenly to life. The kids are absolutely adorable when they all shout from the top of their lungs, clap fervently in their hands, and move their hips and heads rythmically to the tunes of their favorite songs. And come breaktime, they cannot run fast enough back and forth over the playground to unleash their pent-up energy. Invariably, they also fight with each other for a place in holding hands with their teachers, eager to feel special and noticed, if only for some precious moments.

After their starchy lunches (mainly ugali, a stiff cornmeal porridge, with an additional heap of spinach),  eaten with their hands according to Tanzanian customs, it is time to rest for an hour or so. That is pure luxury for them these days, as a generous volunteer recently donated a dozen mattresses to cover the wooden benches on which they quietly lie down like sardines in a can.

For as long as my placement lasts, I live in the house of Grace, the congenial grandmother of one of my pupils. In the rural enclave of Ngaramtoni, her home is considered one of the more luxurious places to rent a room, as it is made of stone, has concrete floors, and already receives electricity for part of the day. Grace cooks our dinners of rice, beans, and ugali over charcoal on the floor of her small kitchen shed. The toilet is an outhouse, and next to it I shower and shampoo with cold water, fetched in buckets and jerrycans from a nearby well.

The rainy season starting in March, suddenly brings a welcome change to otherwise dry Ngaramtoni. The farmers cannot be happier with the steady downpour as it helps the crops to grow and the fields to become greener for their cattle. The children at the orphanage centre, although they must keep their jackets on or have to cover their shoulders with old blankets because of the cold and dampness creeping through the windows without glass, now have at least puddles on the playground to run through, and plenty of mud to dirty themselves with. And my hostess finally gets a break from the tedious task of fetching water at the well. For once, with all her available buckets and bowls spread out over the open courtyard, Grace does not have to walk towards the water, as the water now readily flows towards her.

• The Jane Olevolos Centre in Ngaramtoni (Arusha), welcomes volunteers to teach boys and girls age 5 -8. Contact: tel.255 732 929 667 or janeorphans@yahoo.com 
• If interested in teaching chemistry, physics, math, biology, geography, or subjects such as sewing, horticulture or sports to girls age 12-17, the  well-organized Olof Palme Orphans Educational Centre close to Dar-Es-Salaam is a great option. A contribution of about $200 US per week is required to support the school and finance volunteers’ room and board. Contact: tel. 255 784 782 547/ 255 732928020, or  info@oloforphans.org
• For those wishing to combine volunteer work with a safari, the 100% Tanzanian-owned & operated Selous Adventures organizes relatively affordable wildlife – and cultural adventures to game reserves, national parks, and tribes/ bushmen settlements. Costs: around $140 US per day. Contact: tel. 255 713 301 915/ 255 713 479 772, or info@selousadventures.com. They also arrange volunteer placements all over Tanzania.

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Tags: orphanage, tanzania, volunteer