I'm back in the office this week after having been in a place called Kibaha last week doing some field research. After a couple of days back in Mogo, we'll be heading to Ngorongoro for a couple of weeks to complete our research.
While we're in the field we'll be completing resource mapping work that we started last fall for the infectious disease surveillance systems for the animal and human health sectors. Clement, me, and Esron (who is a vet and lecturer here at Sokoine University) visited both the Kibaha (near Dar es Salaam) and Ngorongoro (up in the north near the border with Kenya) Districts last November to collect information about infectious disease surveillance and outbreak preparedness and now we will be returning to gather more information on healthcare human resources at facilities and in communities.
This time around we're also using mobile technology to collect our data. What that means is we have these nifty cell phones that have a touch screen and have a program loaded onto them called EpiCollect. Before heading out to the field we had created a short questionnaire for each health facility and ward (sort of like a county) to find out about the staff profile of the different animal and human health workers in the area.
That form was then loaded onto the phones and so once we arrive at a facility, we can fill out the form on the phone, take GPS coordinates for the spot and a photo and upload it all to the internet right there from the phone! It's pretty cool. By the time we got back to the office after last week in Kibaha, I could go online and look on a map at all the places we'd been, and then open up any spot on the map to see the questionnaire for that facility.
After we get back from Ngorongoro, we'll have a good idea of how the infectious disease surveillance systems are functioning in both a rural and urban area of Tanzania for both the human and animal health sectors. We'll use this information to work with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Development here in Tanzania to look at how surveillance systems can be strengthened within each health sector, as well as collaboration between the animal and human sectors can be enhanced.
But for now...back to Ngorongoro!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Saadani
A few pictures from a recent trip to Saadani, a national park on the coast just north of Dar es Salaam. It was one of those weekends where you find yourself riding around in the back of a pick-up truck, in the middle of a glowing sunset and drinking a Safari beer while looking for giraffes and you think...I really love my life.
Dad's Safari Video - now public
Sorry! I didn't realize the video I posted was private. I changed the settings, so now anyone should be able to see it.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Out of Africa! - Reflections by RLB
I had asked my family to share some of their reflections on their trip to Tanzania on my blog, and they've been gracious enough to write something for me. It's heartwarming and enriching for me to get to read about their experience. Here with some reflections, my dad...
The trip of a lifetime is what we anticipated when we made our plans to visit Angie in Tanzania. We were right on several accounts. You have all heard about the lost luggage, bus rides and volcano flight interruptions that extended our vacation from 14 to 22 days. Here are my impressions of country of Tanzania and the people of Tanzania.
It is very interesting to visit another continent and country, and see how people live. Of course, we all have the same basic human needs; but they are met differently. First of all, Tanzania feels like a unified country (not a bunch of competing tribes) thanks to the original wisdom of the original leadership adopting one language (Swahili). They have pride in their country and they want visitors to enjoy their stay. Tanzania people are friendly and genuinely kind. We felt safe and we did not see any hint of crime (probably better than in the U.S.). I was struck by how industrious the Tanzania people are, with minimal resources. They are always dressed nicely with clean clothes in spite of the lack of easy access to good water. I don’t know how they do that. The Tanzania people are not afraid of hard work. We saw many large fields of corn with groups of men, women and children hoeing weeds by hand. We also saw groups of men swinging hand tools to cut the grass that had trimmed miles of roadway. I don’t think we would have the patience in the U.S. for this type of work today.
The Tanzanian people are modest in how they dress. One of them suggested to Mary to put on some pants in Zanzibar (she was wearing jogging shorts). Their children are well behaved. We saw one lady with two small kids on a bus for seven hours; and we did not hear a peep out of them. Perhaps we can learn some important life lessons from these people. Tanzanians seem to know how to have fun in simple ways. Such as the group that gathered each evening on the beach in Zanzibar to demonstrate cartwheels and flips and jumps in the sand.
My lasting impression of Tanzania is the people have very little; yet they are happy and proud. Maybe we Americans should re-evaluate………….
The trip of a lifetime is what we anticipated when we made our plans to visit Angie in Tanzania. We were right on several accounts. You have all heard about the lost luggage, bus rides and volcano flight interruptions that extended our vacation from 14 to 22 days. Here are my impressions of country of Tanzania and the people of Tanzania.
It is very interesting to visit another continent and country, and see how people live. Of course, we all have the same basic human needs; but they are met differently. First of all, Tanzania feels like a unified country (not a bunch of competing tribes) thanks to the original wisdom of the original leadership adopting one language (Swahili). They have pride in their country and they want visitors to enjoy their stay. Tanzania people are friendly and genuinely kind. We felt safe and we did not see any hint of crime (probably better than in the U.S.). I was struck by how industrious the Tanzania people are, with minimal resources. They are always dressed nicely with clean clothes in spite of the lack of easy access to good water. I don’t know how they do that. The Tanzania people are not afraid of hard work. We saw many large fields of corn with groups of men, women and children hoeing weeds by hand. We also saw groups of men swinging hand tools to cut the grass that had trimmed miles of roadway. I don’t think we would have the patience in the U.S. for this type of work today.
The Tanzanian people are modest in how they dress. One of them suggested to Mary to put on some pants in Zanzibar (she was wearing jogging shorts). Their children are well behaved. We saw one lady with two small kids on a bus for seven hours; and we did not hear a peep out of them. Perhaps we can learn some important life lessons from these people. Tanzanians seem to know how to have fun in simple ways. Such as the group that gathered each evening on the beach in Zanzibar to demonstrate cartwheels and flips and jumps in the sand.
My lasting impression of Tanzania is the people have very little; yet they are happy and proud. Maybe we Americans should re-evaluate………….
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Nostalgia
And it begins...
I got into my office this morning, and after the requisite saying hello to everyone, spending 10 minutes getting my ever-aging computer working, and making a cup of tea, I sat down to get to work. But instead of diving into emails, I first turned my head and looked outside; to the green hills of the Uluguru Mountains and the clouds hanging just below them that are visible from my office window, and felt the first pangs of sadness at the thought of leaving this place.
Morogoro and I have had our differences. But like a long-negotiated relationship of necessity, over time we've come to first respect each other, then appreciate and finally enjoy one another. It's taken along time, but I finally feel like I have a life here. I have taxi drivers I know, someone at the market to buy my vegetables from, people to call when I get locked into my office (like I did on Monday night), I have friends.
And Morogoro may be it's own small, quirky world, but me and the people in my life here have made it home for the here and now. We've thrown house parties and dinner parties, and held movie nights and pizza nights, we've gone 'shopping' for new clothes at the market, cut each other's hair, climbed up mountains and swam in waterfalls. We've gone on yogurt runs and beer runs and out for Indian food. And we've become a little community because we all know that we're all we've got here. And I will miss this.
I will miss Karen. And Dimitri. And Matema, and the little Norway's, and the Madoffe's and Clement, and Grace and Onesmo. I will miss little kids saying "Good morning teacher" to me on my way home from work at 6pm. And I will miss some of the ease and simplicity that life in a very small community with very limited options affords you.
As me and a few of my friends here look towards the close of our time in Morogoro, it feels like there is some sort of centrifugal force pulling us together and to this place. We all will be excited to go onto what's next in our lives, but we all will be sad to leave. So in the time we have left, we hold on to one another and enjoy our strange, crazy, sometimes frustrating, sometimes amazing, life in Morogoro.
I got into my office this morning, and after the requisite saying hello to everyone, spending 10 minutes getting my ever-aging computer working, and making a cup of tea, I sat down to get to work. But instead of diving into emails, I first turned my head and looked outside; to the green hills of the Uluguru Mountains and the clouds hanging just below them that are visible from my office window, and felt the first pangs of sadness at the thought of leaving this place.
Morogoro and I have had our differences. But like a long-negotiated relationship of necessity, over time we've come to first respect each other, then appreciate and finally enjoy one another. It's taken along time, but I finally feel like I have a life here. I have taxi drivers I know, someone at the market to buy my vegetables from, people to call when I get locked into my office (like I did on Monday night), I have friends.
And Morogoro may be it's own small, quirky world, but me and the people in my life here have made it home for the here and now. We've thrown house parties and dinner parties, and held movie nights and pizza nights, we've gone 'shopping' for new clothes at the market, cut each other's hair, climbed up mountains and swam in waterfalls. We've gone on yogurt runs and beer runs and out for Indian food. And we've become a little community because we all know that we're all we've got here. And I will miss this.
I will miss Karen. And Dimitri. And Matema, and the little Norway's, and the Madoffe's and Clement, and Grace and Onesmo. I will miss little kids saying "Good morning teacher" to me on my way home from work at 6pm. And I will miss some of the ease and simplicity that life in a very small community with very limited options affords you.
As me and a few of my friends here look towards the close of our time in Morogoro, it feels like there is some sort of centrifugal force pulling us together and to this place. We all will be excited to go onto what's next in our lives, but we all will be sad to leave. So in the time we have left, we hold on to one another and enjoy our strange, crazy, sometimes frustrating, sometimes amazing, life in Morogoro.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Reflections on Tanzania - by Delite
After Delite returned home from her recent visit to TZ, I asked her if she'd like to write something for my blog about her time here. Below are her eloquent and insightful thoughts. Thank you Delite.
When I was thinking about and planning a trip to Tanzania I was excited to see a new place, experience a different culture, get a glimpse into the life of my friend Angie and into the life of Tanzanian’s, and of course for the adventure it would inevitably bring. I also spent a lot of time questioning what the purpose of my trip was. Why was I really going? Did I think I would go to Tanzania and spend two weeks trying to give something to “poor people”? Did I want to volunteer while I was there so it wouldn’t just be a vacation for me and I could feel less selfish about the trip? Did I want to go see wild and exotic animals so that I would have interesting stories and exciting pictures? Was I going to hang out with my friend who was living there?
All of these things filled my mind many times and I questioned myself and whether I should really go. It seemed like the money spent on the flight alone could do a lot of good if I just sent it to a charity and stayed home. Even after going, having an amazing experience and returning home again, I still have those thoughts, but with all the lessons I learned and experiences I had that opened my eyes, mind and heart, I have to believe that the trip was not just an expensive vacation. I know that making it more than that depends on me living in a way that reflects those lessons and experiences.
The one thing that keeps coming to my mind is the thought of “we are all more alike than different”. Angie and I talked about this quite a bit while I was in Tanzania, I observed it, I’ve thought about it a lot and have shared that thought with many since returning home. Maybe it’s arguable, or maybe there’s more truth to it than we want there to be.
The first week I was in Tanzania I was in the town of Morogoro. Morogoro has a population of about 300,000 people, Sokoine University is located there and the town sits at the base of the Uluguru Mountains. Compared to most of Tanzania, where National Parks full of animals abound and Mt Kilimanjaro is waiting to be climbed and the Indian Ocean and beaches of Zanzibar offer peace and relaxation, there is really no reason most tourists would make Morogoro a destination on their Tanzanian adventure. And because of that, I had the rare opportunity to see “real” Tanzanian life happening around me.
In that life, I saw people waking each morning and sending their kids to school, going to their jobs, I heard people talk about their families and the weather, people went to the market to get groceries, they did their laundry and fed their animals, they cooked dinner and ate as a family, they talked and laughed with their friends, they biked, walked or drove to run errands, they worked hard, they rested and relaxed, they lived. None of these things were all that different than how I and my friends and my family life our lives. Sure there are differences within each of those activities, but are those differences really more important than the similarities?
As I realized this, I started thinking about who we each are as people. What are the goals and aspirations of Tanzanian’s vs. American’s? What are Tanzanian’s striving for vs. what are American’s striving for? What defines success in life for each group?
I think in the answers to these questions, we can even see a lot more similarities. Humans all have basic needs that we are trying to meet. We all want to be happy. We all want to be cared for. We all want to provide for our families. We all want to be loved. We all want to live a life that has some sort of value or meaning or purpose.
I know that those are general statements and the definitions of each of those things are really where the differences in each of us lie. Being happy means different things to different people. The idea of a life with meaning or purpose is very different for each person based on our own passions and personalities.
I’m certainly not trying to say that we are all the same and that the diversity among isn’t important. In fact, even more than ever I want to celebrate the differences in each of us, because those differences are beautiful. I just want to challenge myself and anyone else, to think first about the similarities between me and others before I think about the differences. Doing so will lead me to being a more sensitive, caring and loving person and give me a better perspective in which to celebrate the differences in us. I hope it will help me make decisions from a gracious and loving perspective. I hope I will approach others with less judgment and more acceptance and understanding. I hope it will lead to less division and more unity.
Tanzania is an amazing place, full of beauty and life. Asante, Tanzania, you have given me so much.
When I was thinking about and planning a trip to Tanzania I was excited to see a new place, experience a different culture, get a glimpse into the life of my friend Angie and into the life of Tanzanian’s, and of course for the adventure it would inevitably bring. I also spent a lot of time questioning what the purpose of my trip was. Why was I really going? Did I think I would go to Tanzania and spend two weeks trying to give something to “poor people”? Did I want to volunteer while I was there so it wouldn’t just be a vacation for me and I could feel less selfish about the trip? Did I want to go see wild and exotic animals so that I would have interesting stories and exciting pictures? Was I going to hang out with my friend who was living there?
All of these things filled my mind many times and I questioned myself and whether I should really go. It seemed like the money spent on the flight alone could do a lot of good if I just sent it to a charity and stayed home. Even after going, having an amazing experience and returning home again, I still have those thoughts, but with all the lessons I learned and experiences I had that opened my eyes, mind and heart, I have to believe that the trip was not just an expensive vacation. I know that making it more than that depends on me living in a way that reflects those lessons and experiences.
The one thing that keeps coming to my mind is the thought of “we are all more alike than different”. Angie and I talked about this quite a bit while I was in Tanzania, I observed it, I’ve thought about it a lot and have shared that thought with many since returning home. Maybe it’s arguable, or maybe there’s more truth to it than we want there to be.
The first week I was in Tanzania I was in the town of Morogoro. Morogoro has a population of about 300,000 people, Sokoine University is located there and the town sits at the base of the Uluguru Mountains. Compared to most of Tanzania, where National Parks full of animals abound and Mt Kilimanjaro is waiting to be climbed and the Indian Ocean and beaches of Zanzibar offer peace and relaxation, there is really no reason most tourists would make Morogoro a destination on their Tanzanian adventure. And because of that, I had the rare opportunity to see “real” Tanzanian life happening around me.
In that life, I saw people waking each morning and sending their kids to school, going to their jobs, I heard people talk about their families and the weather, people went to the market to get groceries, they did their laundry and fed their animals, they cooked dinner and ate as a family, they talked and laughed with their friends, they biked, walked or drove to run errands, they worked hard, they rested and relaxed, they lived. None of these things were all that different than how I and my friends and my family life our lives. Sure there are differences within each of those activities, but are those differences really more important than the similarities?
As I realized this, I started thinking about who we each are as people. What are the goals and aspirations of Tanzanian’s vs. American’s? What are Tanzanian’s striving for vs. what are American’s striving for? What defines success in life for each group?
I think in the answers to these questions, we can even see a lot more similarities. Humans all have basic needs that we are trying to meet. We all want to be happy. We all want to be cared for. We all want to provide for our families. We all want to be loved. We all want to live a life that has some sort of value or meaning or purpose.
I know that those are general statements and the definitions of each of those things are really where the differences in each of us lie. Being happy means different things to different people. The idea of a life with meaning or purpose is very different for each person based on our own passions and personalities.
I’m certainly not trying to say that we are all the same and that the diversity among isn’t important. In fact, even more than ever I want to celebrate the differences in each of us, because those differences are beautiful. I just want to challenge myself and anyone else, to think first about the similarities between me and others before I think about the differences. Doing so will lead me to being a more sensitive, caring and loving person and give me a better perspective in which to celebrate the differences in us. I hope it will help me make decisions from a gracious and loving perspective. I hope I will approach others with less judgment and more acceptance and understanding. I hope it will lead to less division and more unity.
Tanzania is an amazing place, full of beauty and life. Asante, Tanzania, you have given me so much.
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