The People We Met

Click the link for pictures https://photos.app.goo.gl/Csr01D2o307dwGqe2

One unique feature of all OAT trips is the opportunity to interact with locals.  On our way from Kenya to Tanzania, we stopped at a roadside shop and met Jane – a woman wedging a personal war against female genitalia mutilation.  She said that girls as young as 9 were cut in a very painful procedure and would never experience joy from sex.  It is illegal in Kenya, but some Maasai villages still do it.  She was outcasted from her family and village but established a boarding school for young women she rescued and taught to make and sell crafts to support themselves.

In the “A Day in the Life of a Maasai Village” program, we met a progressive chief, Joseph.  After completing his education as a teacher, he returned home to build schools and improve the lives of the villagers.  We learned how to milk goats, build fire from wooden sticks, using cow dung to plaster walls.  We also had frank conversations with village women about marriage, child-rearing, and their dreams in life.   When asked to name one item that most impact their life after interactions with outsiders like us, one lady looked at us and said ‘Everyone of you is educated!’

OAT supports a Maasai village school that we visited.   The school has classes from kindergarten through 6th grade.  Most of the children are from nearby villages, their parents would pay for the uniforms if they could afford, otherwise the government and donors like OAT travelers would help out.  We all brought pencils, crayons, books, world maps, and games for the students.   The students entertained us with songs and dances.  I shared a book about Columbia, Missouri, with one of the 6th-grade girls and encouraged her to pursue her dream of becoming a science teacher.

We stopped at the luscious garden of Coffee Lodge in Arusha, Tanzania, for lunch.    The lunch was great, but visiting the Shanga workshop in the lodge was quite an eye-opener.  This is a special place that employs people with disabilities.  They make beads, glassware, fabric art, and metal sculptures using all recycled materials.  Their motto is “KINDNESS IS A LANGUAGE BLIND PEOPLE SEE AND DEAF PEOPLE HEAR”.  We met some very friendly workers who proudly showed off their products.   Shanga is now a very popular tourist destination.

Along the way, we came upon a community watering post. Most of the households in this area still need to get their water from the water station. They carry a huge bucket on their head or, if they are fortunate, a cart. Most of the houses are huts made of mud. The small rooms, usually with bare essentials like a bed and mosquito net, are shared by the family. However, one entrepreneur couple set up a shop to sell beer made in their home.

We visited a small town at the foothill of the Great Rift Valley.   With irrigation, this area is quite fertile and agricultural.  We went to the local market, purchased ingredients, and visited a local coffee farmer’s home.   This family has a small coffee farm, and they process and hand-roast their coffee. It was one of the best coffees I have tasted on this trip.  I bought two bags of them to take home.  The hostess then prepared lunch using the ingredients we bought at the market.  She rolled a stick in her palm to mix the polenta, which worked like an electrical beater.  She also has a log hanging under her eaves, it has a mteal plate with holes nailed on it.  It turns out to be a beehive.  How creative!

Near Karatu region, we had the rare opportunity to visit several tribes.  Hadzabe is a hunter/gatherer and lives a primitive nomadic life.  They speak with clicking sounds like bush people.  The government tried to settle them in housing with access to medical care and education.  Within six months, they all left and returned to their traditional lifestyle.  We also met tribes specialized in wood carving.   Their intricate ebony sculptures are exhibited in galleries and popular in stores.   Another tribe melts scraped metals over hot coal to make tools, arrows, and jewelry.   Some beautifully jeweled Datoga ladies welcomed us to their hut and showed us how to grind corn using stones.

These encounters with local people were indeed enjoyable discovery and learning experiences. Although we all come from very different backgrounds, smiling faces always bridge the gap and bring people together.