Training Trainers and a Week Full of Events

David with "Cammo 4.0"

I am now fully in the habit of writing this weekly blog on a Monday, rather than a Sunday night. For some reason I am more exhausted on Sundays. Probably because we are out for most of the day and then need to work until late in the evening to be sure that Rebecca and I and the kids are ready to begin the week again at 5:30 am with uniforms, bags packed, lunches made, etc. There is little room for error as we live quite far away from school and work.

Last Monday, I had mentioned that I was in Karatu after a complicated process of leaving the house after losing my keys. I did end up traveling up by taxi and took a daladala back.

I was up there for a training-- a pretty common development activity. We call them TOTs or training of trainers, because much of the work we do in training is to create a multiplying or cascading effect as those trained will train others in their community.

The training I was involved in last week was for a recently launched maternal and child health program in Ngogongoro crater region. The training was meant to prepare facilitators to train traditional midwives to motivate women to have facility-assisted births, complete all of their antenatal care visits, and breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. It was my job to recruit the main trainer and approve the curriculum. I was happy to find a very capable community health person with an MPH who was really up to the task named Bernadetha. As a bonus, she herself was Maasai and although the training was in Swahili, she could speak Maasai as well. (This was especially good because the project is taking place in a Maasai community.)

She expertly led the group of 11 participants, some were nurse midwives others were members of the community, to think about what the particular barriers were in their context to women practicing "health seeking behaviors" like the kind of actions we were promoting. It was fascinating to hear the group share and reflect on their experience. It was also good to see Bernadetha not coming as an expert with all the answers, but truly a facilitator to help them solve their own problems.

The group was interested and enthusiastic. For them I think they see the particular challenge of bringing about changes in behavior in a community like the Maasai who strongly hold onto tradition, not unlike the Amish in the US. All of the facilitators are Maasai themselves and they live with a foot in both worlds in a way. They see the need for certain cultural practices to change, but they are also aware of the complex cultural institutions that keep them in place.

Among the participants was at least one Maasai elder, who serves on our partner's board of directors. It was good to see him listening and reflecting on what was being shared.

I stayed in Karatu for two of the five training days heading home on Tuesday afternoon. I got home in time to drive to a school play that David was involved in. It was an original script prepared by the drama teacher about the writing of Roald Dahl that the 3rd-5th graders have been reading. (David read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.) It was a very clever production with a fabulous backdrop. The story took a short journey through about 7 of his stories. Some, like "Matilda" I had never heard of, other like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and the BFG were familiar. The kids sang and danced. David had a few lines that to be honest he looked a bit petrified to be saying.

We enjoyed watching it, but ended up getting home quite late in the evening. We repeated the same routine on Wednesday. Thursday we were very happy to be home for dinner. On Friday the kids got out of school early but had to wait at work with us while we finished the work day then went to Gymkhana for a swim and dinner.

The weekend was fairly busy as well. There were competing events on Saturday. We were invited to a wedding of the son of the Mennonite Bishop of Arusha. I felt some obligation to have someone represent us there, but did not think the kids would be very well behaved if we all went. so I went in the afternoon alone while Rebecca took the kids to a Christmas fair. The wedding lasted about 2 hours and was a very lively event. There was a live band even out in the parking lot as the bride came out of her car.

The music inside was much more lively than we have in the US in a traditional wedding and the bride and groom actually danced down the aisle with their entourage. The choir also danced when they were singing. Despite all the movement, the bride and groom did their best to not smile at all. This is because, I was told, a wedding is seen as a solemn event and they should not look like they are taking it lightly. I still sensed that they were really into it though.

Once I was done, I took a rickshaw to meet Rebecca and the kids at the gigantic Christmas fair which is held at a coffee plantation called TGT. It is also a kind of club like Gymkhana. I had no idea how big it was, but heard it is considered the event of the year. It was gigantic! There were so many food and merchandise boutiques, art, handicrafts, performances, etc.

I arrived just on time to see an amazing dance performance by the dancers from the Ibuka Dance Foundation based in Arusha. A choreographer based in the UK (he was French named Johnny Autin) who did physical theater came and worked with the group for a week and created a piece that was nearly half an hour long. They used used tires as props and the dancers had a physical virtuosity that reminded me so much of the downtown dance I used to be into in New York City when I was dancing and choreographing myself. I wish I had a video to put up. It was as good as work I have seen by David Dorfman or Doug Varone(for those of you who are reading this with a dance background.) I was impressed that there is a group of Tanzanians that has familiarity and ability in this particular genre of physical theater.

We went from the fair to a big farewell dinner for some new friends at our church. It was a good chance to build community and talk to friends we have been getting to know as most everyone we know was there. Another night getting home late.

Sunday was actually a lot of fun because the worship team asked me to play djembe for some of their songs. I was happy to oblige. We were also officially welcomed into the church as new members. Rebecca was teaching Sunday school that day as well, so I feel we have been integrating and making ourselves useful pretty quickly.

Christmas break has already started for the kids, so they do not have school on Monday. We will be going as a family on an MCC team retreat, more about that next week.

David has been continuing to cycle through pets. We let his hedgehog go free on Sunday because of out of town events coming up when we knew we could not feed him. (Also, quite frankly, he was really stinky!) David is currently on "Cammo 4.0" his 4th chameleon that he is keeping on the tree outside our back door. The problem is, they tend to wander off after about 4 days. I guess there just is not the kind of bugs they like there. He is sad about losing the hedgehog but will get to dog sit next week. Hopefully that will cheer him up.