Karibu!

Karibu (you are welcome) to Arusha, Tanzania. Since last week I have begun the constant balancing act of this mzungu (white person) working in Africa, clinging to the pendulum that rocks my brain from the purest peaceful joy and deepest philosophical concerns. The classic struggle reignites the moment I step off the plane and into a taxi towards my temporary home on Themi Hill, Njiro Road for the Arusha-wise: how in a world so full of rich resources is there still rampant inequity? Millions fantasize of leaving Africa for America but cannot and even if they did would still live in poverty. I pick up easily, fly to Tanzania, and live comfortably, even cheaper than in the States.

Kiangazi (summer) 2007 brings me this amazing opportunity to manage an HIV Outreach Programme with Work the World, a UK based organization offering med students volunteer healthcare placements in Tanzania and Ghana. I met Dave, the founder, last year in Ghana and will be applying the many lessons learned from Freedom for the Future to build and implement a similar prevention programme here with Arusha clinics and schools. Working with Baptista (Tanzania Programme Manager) has been a joy thus far and our conversations a catalyst to my many in- and external dialogues.

I spent many of my first moments here in cheerful nostalgia of Accra. I tip my face downward and smile secretly, madly even, as I grip any section of ripped upholstery to survive the wild turns of a daladala (trotro; public bus) driver; as I observe Baptista argue with our carpenter and key maker in KiSwahili when the chairs and keys aren’t finished on time; as a street vendor wanders towards our table in the restaurant selling remote controls. But here in Arusha, I am not traveling the same dusty, dry, cracked earth roads as Accra. 1300 meters above sea level I watch a pastel sun rise over looming Mt. Meru, streaked with clouds of high altitude, bringing a cool and wet atmosphere to the slick, muddy streets. It is here in Arusha that, in the next few weeks, I will be visiting clinics and schools to properly develop an effective and realistic HIV outreach program. I am blessed with the opportunity to explore this land beyond the limits of my programme, and had my first safari experience this past weekend. (Dad, I drove a Land Cruiser 4x4, standard, and here the driver’s seat is on the right…and no wildlife or passengers were harmed!) Outside the city the long ride to safari reminded me of any long drives through Ghana, Burkina, Mali. Endless horizons of earth pulled up into hills and dipped down into small pools where cattle graze. More to come on that peaceful and beautifully experience - I will post those pictures once the time and technology is available.

And on that very promise, I hope through this blog you will not only be following my journey but applying my small struggles to the larger global picture. I understand I’m writing to a diverse audience so I apologize if anything is too presumptuous or intellectually belittling – I will try my best to be straightforward and engaging. So, for example, wonder why, one among many levels of inequity between the north and south, AIDS is ravaging this continent? Obviously many reasons, but one is such, “I will [insert goal here] once the time and technology are available”…nurses and doctors are working hard to distribute the free antiretroviral therapy that the government has developed a plan to provide to hundreds in Tanzania. The computer equipment is not available, nor reliable electricity power, to create and manage excel spreadsheets to keep organized their efforts. The internet capabilities are not available for them to jump online and e-mail the next clinic or doctor or drug provider. It’s not that the doctors and nurses I have met don’t want to help their patients fully; it’s that there are many daunting daily challenges that complicate and precede the goal of providing constant and reliable quality healthcare.

Despite my initial tendency to compare (as I did between America and Accra last time!) this is not Accra, it is a new road, and I look forward to updating you on the progress of the project as often as possible! I will try to post weekly, although unreliable internet connections (and the significantly longer time it takes to post!) may hinder my hopes! So thank you for your patience and for being interested in this journey! Comments are incredibly appreciated so please post.

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW OTTO!!!!! Nakupenda! I LOVE YOU!