Mwaka Kogwa, Annual celebration

It is the 19th of July, the beginning of the Mwaka Kogwa celebration.

This is a 4-day celebration but it has been shortened considerably because of the holy month when normally, no entertainment is allowed.

Usually, the 4-day celebration includes feasts, stalls of food, clothing and toys- but this year, only the 'fight' was included.

Huge crowds gathered at an open field to watch the 'fight' between the north and south participants of the village. Two young men started to wallop each other with banana stems/sticks, and then two more joined in.  Soon, everyone joined and there were over 300 men hitting each other.

It is believed that since everyone has had a chance to fight,and vent any hard feelings, there will be no future conflicts in the town in the coming year. Past year's misunderstandings and disagreements are exorcised and the new year can be started with a clean slate and in harmony.

We watched in total amazement. 

The highlight of the event was when a hut made of palm leaves was constructed, a witch doctor walked in and the hut was set on fire. The witch doctor then had to make his escape and he did! He always does! 

Can you spot the little boy picking coconut from the tree?
It is not unusual for young boys to climb up tall trees (100 ft or higher), pick a coconut or 2 and quickly climb down again.

Most of us would never let our 10 year olds climb any tree but children here often fall off mango trees and break their limbs.
To them, it is just a part of growing up!

Ramadhan Campaign to feed the hungry began

We delivered almost 400 bags of groceries to 5 different villages this week.

As you can see from the picture the truck was overloaded and ready to tilt.

At first I was scared it would topple over but the people around me didn't seem the least bit perturbed.

They redistributed the load and drove on!

The families were very appreciative of our efforts and they showed their gratitude first by Thanking Allah and then praying for all of us, our families, praying for our safety, good health and increase in sustenance.

The groceries will go a long way to help alleviate their problems and feed them the evening meal while they fast during the day.

The groceries were carried home the traditional way- on their heads. I can't believe how the women were able to lift and carry 60 Kg on their heads, but this is a normal weight for them.

I continue to teach Math, English and science at the school. I have found a university student who will take over when I change villages, and of course we will pay him the going rate for his efforts.
I will evaluate progress at the end of 3 months.

Week 2

I have been in Zanzibar for almost 2 weeks now and we have made progress in all of our projected activities. Above is a picture of only one of our wells we just completed. The pure sweet well water delivered to the villagers is something we can all be proud of 'Thank you and God bless the Donors chant the women!

Specifically we have achieved the following:

• Bought mattresses and bedding accessories for Futari (aged 100+) and her daughter Wanyo (aged 80). The family had been sleeping on a wooden bench and covered themselves with palm leaves for the past 50 years. They were so excited about the mattresses, pillow cases and sheets they told me that they have never slept so comfortably all their lives!

• Provided groceries to 50 very poor and needy families. As always, the families were extremely happy and grateful and spent hours praying for the donors.

• Provided milk and cookies to nursery school children and fed 220 very poor children

• Purchased and packed almost 500 sacks of Ramadhan groceries for distribution. This is the highlight of the activities at this time as 100% of the population fasts during the holy month and they don’t always have adequate food when the sun goes down. The groceries will be delivered to them next week.

All schools in Zanzibar close during the month of Ramadhan. However at Makunduchi secondary school, form IV (grade 12) students hold a one month long camp where they study during the day and evenings in preparation for their final exams in October.

We have committed to use some of the donated funds to provide them Mandazi and Uuji for iftaar (meal to break fast with) and rice cooked in coconut for Sehri (early morning meal) throughout the holy month. This has only been made possible only due to donors’ generosity and compassion.

Arrival in Zanzibar

Welcome to Zanzibar, the spice island, commonly known as ‘Unguja’.

Zanzibar has the most beautiful unspoilt beaches you will find in any part of the world with clear waters and soft white sand. However it is not the glorious beaches that lured me here for the past 5 years. It is the warm, friendly and hospitable nature of the locals that keep me coming back.

Zanzibar is a very safe place to be and once you set foot on the island and get to know the people, you will not want to leave and if you do, it is with the intention of returning to serve the people of Zanzibar.

I began working on project activities immediately after I arrived as there is so much to and so little time to do it in. I sit with them, eat and laugh with them and sometimes when I see their sad situations, I cry with them.

• Almost 90% of Zanzibaris in the villages do not have electricity so they make the most of the daylight hours- their day begins at sunrise at 6 and ends at sunset at 6 p.m.

• Almost 99% of Zanzibaris are Muslims, so the 5 daily prayers, fasting and other obligations are taken seriously. Most shops in the villages close briefly when the prayer is called. Some small kiosks are left unattended while the owner goes to pray in the local mosque

• The main income is subsistence farming, selling little ‘odds and ends’, and fishing. Seaweed farming is common in the South East part of Zanzibar, and so is making rope from coconut husks. These 2 professions involve women working 6-8 hours under the hot sun at low tide (see pic).

I am here and with the help of Abbas Syed Kazim and his family and local volunteers, we hope to focus on the following:

Education:

We work with the schools in and around 3 villages, namely Makunduchi, Nungwi and Uroa.

I teach Math, and science subjects at some of the secondary schools whenever I get the chance. The standard of education here is unfortunately very low. There is a considerable lack of trained and committed teachers, and about 1% of the students pass form IV (grade 10) exams which means that more than 99% of the students’ education ends here. We are working hard to change this by employing teachers to tutor form IV students to better prepare them for their exams in October.

This is an on-going program, the results of which we will inshallah see when they write their exams in October.

We are also working on equipping the schools with laptops, photocopier machines and printers to enable the teachers and students to learn to use computers.

We also provide the students with school bags filled with writing books, school supplies and basic stationery. As always, preference is given to orphans, the disabled and the very poor.

Relief of Poverty:

Feeding Pilau to 220 nursery children last week. They were so excited about their lunch they had to be reminded to eat slowly. They sang all the way home so the entire village found out about their lunch.

Currently, we are working towards feeding the poor during the month of Ramadhan. Our volunteers are busy buying, packing and preparing sacks of basic staple items like rice, beans, flour, sugar, oil, tea, dates and noodles. The sacks filled with the above items will be distributed during hroughout the holy month.

We are also working on developing and establishing sustainable employment programs and helping young adults set up their own little sustainable businesses.

These funds are given as interest free loans to be repaid within the next 5 years.

Health:

We are working with 2 different government hospitals run by British volunteer doctors.

Funds will be used for purchase of essential equipment, medication, training of local staff, educating new mothers on health, nutrition, and care of new-born. Currently we are also working on renovation of delivery and children’s wards.

Construction of Wells:

There is a huge shortage of water in Zanzibar especially in villages where villagers walk for miles to obtain a couple of buckets of water.

We have built more than 10 water wells most of them with electric pumps to help alleviate their problems. I am constantly directed to sites where there is an acute shortage of water and asked if we can build wells there.

Disaster Relief:

We hope to provide necessities of life and relief to victims of disaster, should they occur.