Part 1:
It’s been a very productive morning, and it’s not even 11. Chelsea had to head out to meet with the Jipe Moyo women’s group, so Jennifer and I ran into town to pick up some last minute things before heading to Majengo. Our first stop was a trip to the hot bread shop to finally find out what a “love bone” is. Many giggles ensued, but we came to the conclusion that it was much like biscotti with chocolate. The mystery is no more.
We had our coffee and set off for Aleem's. I decided that I was going to buy some staple groceries for the Ramadhani family. The only food that they eat now is what is given to them by Ramadani the headmaster at Jiendeleze. Aleems is a little more pricy than the market, but like a good Mzungu, I was willing to pay just a little more for the convenience of not bartering.
Aleems didn’t have everything we needed so we grabbed Philo, our most favorite taxi driver and took off for Mr. Price. We were hoping to find some beans there, but no such luck. We did end up with quite a bit of stuff.
For less than 60,000 tsh we bought 4 toothbrushes and 3 tubes of toothpaste (that was for you, mom), 4 more pars of soap, 2 kilos of maize flour, 2 kilo of brown sugar, 1 liter of cooking oil, 5 kilo of rice, 2 400g tins of enriched powdered milk, and a kilo of peanut butter. I will give Fatuma 10,000 tsh to buy some beans, water, and other food that she might need when this runs out. I wish I had a way to constantly supply them with food. Maybe over the next year I will have worked that out.
Then it was back into town to the Moshi Bookshop. We picked up 3 more of the textbooks we needed, but are still missing a history book and science book for Zubeda. The woman at the shop said they would be in next week, so I will leave Living with a bit of money to pick those up, or maybe even Thelma if she is willing. I don’t want to commit her to my project too much without letting her know.
Now we’ve got loads and loads of goodies and I can’t wait to drop them off…
Part 2:
this is the Ramadhani family. Fatuma, the grandmother, Zubeda in the back, Abeidi and Saumu. Living picked us up at the hotel and we went straight to Fatuma’s house. We saw Abeidi and Saumu and asked why they were not in school. Apparently I know nothing yet, as Standard 1 and 2 are half days, much like American kindergarten. They ran over to the shelf and grabbed their books to show us their work. They had the biggest smiles on their faces. They were proud, and I told them they did well. They said their favorite part of the day was writing.
We handed over the rest of their school supplies, with the exception of the two books for Zubeda, but told them we would get them soon. We then told her that we would like to help her to feed the three children, so that they would be able to concentrate on their school work. We passed out the supplies and she was so grateful. She said she has been struggling and that she couldn’t thank us enough. I told her that she has also done a great thing for these kids, taking them on, and I appreciate that. Smiles all around. She asked if she could make us tea for after our interview, and after a quick discussion about our mzungu bellies and that the water must boil, we agreed.
Next it was off to Jiendeleze. We walked in the room to see Hamisi and his mother, as well as Mussa (the boy we had previously turned down) and his mother. The questioning began. She wanted our money. She was trying to tell us Mussa was turning 8, and wasn’t in school and that he needed to go. We told her that yes, compared to us Wazungu, everyone here needs help, but we only have a limited amount of money to go around. We were choosing wisely, and helping people who needed it the most, like the Ramadhani family. We said that she had things like electricity and running water and that there were families here that needed our money more. Well, all this plus the fact that we had room for only one more family and we were going to talk to Hamisi.
Mussa’s mother was sitting at the desk dressed so beautifully. Gold nose ring, gold rings on her fingers, and beautiful clothes, almost silky, with stripes of gold fabric, and a very intricate head scarf. Se was beautiful, but she also noticeably had money. She told us that she too lived in a house like that Ramadhani family, and she would take us there to show us. I knew we were being duped, but living was firm about it. We asked them all to leave, except for Hamisi.
We sat him down and gave him a whole pack of cookies, which he quickly devoured, and began asking him questions. He lives in Majengo with his mother and baby brother (who is just over a year old and totally adorable). His mother runs a small fruit stand, and his father he knew nothing about (though we would come to find out about him later). He was enrolled at Njoro Primary already, his mother had come up with the 5000 tsh to pay for the form, but was unable to pay the rest and he was sent home. They have no running water or electricity at the house, and eat only ugali at lunch and dinner. He was dressed in some pretty tattered clothing, which didn’t seem bad in comparison to what he had been wearing yesterday. We asked him where he lived (just to be sure we would be taken to the correct house) and went outside to meet his mother, Zamaradi Daudi.
Hamisi with his mother and baby brother in their apartment We walked with her to her house, which is a much further walk from Jiendeleze than our trot around the back to the Ramadhani’s. It is in a row of about 4 “apartments,” or single room residences. This apartment is by far much smaller than the Ramadhani’s. There is room for one full sized bed and a small table and stools. For this she pays 4,000tsh a month. We sat down and asked the mother mostly the same questions as we had asked Hamisi, and were given thee same answers. Even his backpack was hanging on the wall behind us, so I knew it was her house. The mangos were stashed in the corner.
We told her that we were going to send Hamisi to school, but there were conditions to be followed. He had to attend classes regularly, and get good grades. Living would be coming twice a month to check in on them, and to report back to us. If we found he was not going to school then we would no longer fund his education (unless he was sick, of course). Hamisi sat there on the edge of the bed with the biggest smile on his face. He was really happy to be going back to school. We got up then and walked with the family over to Njoro and met with Leonia again, who welcomed us warmly. We paid the rest of Hamisi’s fees for this year and bought him the required tie. He had already managed to come up with the uniform. We had him put the tie on and he was so proud. So stinkin’ adorable as well. He will be able to start tomorrow.
We parted ways with the Daudi family, with the promise that we would meet them back at Jiendeleze tomorrow afternoon with school books, notebooks, and pencils, and to have Ramadani find Hamisi some shoes and more pairs of white socks. We then headed back over to Fatuma’s where she had tea waiting.
I was pretty concerned about the tea, but she sat us down and poured it out of a thermous. It was piping hot, and I figured after I wiped the dirt off the rim of my glass that he heat was going to kill everything (fingers crossed). It was really good! She had added cloves and maybe some cinnamon to the tea and sugar. Unfortunately, it was a sweltering 90+ degrees in her little room, and the tea didn’t help cool us down. I think I lost about five pounds in water weight just sitting on her couch. We talked a little and then fitted Abeidi with a belt to keep his little shorts up. When we told Fatuma that we had been to Hamisi’s house she was so happy! Her husband (who is now deceased) had two wives. Fatuma was the mother to Abeidi and Saumu’s father, and her husband’s other wife was the mother of Hamisi’s father. They are in some way related, all of the children have the same grandfather. Weird how things work out. After that it was time to head back home for a quick lunch and a shower before we took off for Tuleeni. Again she thanked us deeply. We told the kids we would check up on them again before we left so they better study hard, and started heading home. I think I am going to have a hard time being so far away from them all.
Abeidi getting his belt fitted. Look at that cute belly 
The ever cute Saumu Mission accomplished. We have four children registered in school now, and two very happy families. The hard work is done and we just have a few loose ends to tie up. There are a few books and supplies to buy and we should be all set. We are also going to supply Hamisi’s family with a few outfits from the clothes I bought here (all of his clothes are painfully small and tattered), and we are going to shop for them much like we did for Fatuma. Tomorrow will be another fun day.
Today might just have been one of the best days yet.
