Travels to Tanzania

With Theresia Matinda, my sister of thirteen years, in front of her craft store in Iringa, Tanzania

Dear friends,

Welcome back! A disclaimer: this this post does not involve refugees, hosts, or trees. More of that to come soon. Instead I wanted to share a few stories from a very memorable vacation and reunion with family in Tanzania over the past two weeks.

Our team finished research activities with 159 participants by the end of July, very close to our target of 160. It seemed like a good time to take a break and get refreshed before finishing with our final 60 participants in September-December, as well as a good opportunity to see my Mom who agreed to meet up with me for her second, and my sixth, trip to Tanzania.

Before leaving Imvepi, I was able to get Robilert and Alex set up to do tree measurements on some of the refugee and host compounds we previously missed. This keeps them fully employed until I return towards the end of August. We held a training session in my friend Lilly's neighborhood, with Alex (right) measuring trees and Robilert (center) recording data in the phone app.

Robilert and Alex recording tree measurements on a refugee plot in Village 18

For those who don't know, I have had a strong connection to Tanzania since first travelling there in 2011 to study Swahili. That year I spent one month at a language school, then moved to work on a dairy farm in Morogoro for a few months where I "really" learned Swahili given that most farmworkers did not speak any English. During those months I became very close to the farm manager, Raymond Lucian, who helped me get involved with farm tasks like milking cows and harvesting maize. I was having a great time on the farm and ended up begging my parents to extend my plane ticket by a few weeks. This was really fortunate as during those last two weeks a new worker named Theresia Matinda showed up at the farm to cut grass to feed newborn calves.

Theresia and I (left) and Raymond (right) on the Shem Dairy Farm in 2011

Theresia and I deeply bonded during those two weeks. Theresia is Maasai, a pastoral tribe in Tanzania and Kenya. She was only 20 years old and came to the farm to escape marriage as a third wife to a much older man back in her home village. The bravery of this decision, to leave home with absolutely no resources, cannot be overstated. While working on the farm, she stayed in a small hut with no bed or stove. As a 19-year-old who had enjoyed every privilege of a middle-class upbringing in the US, I was deeply moved by Theresia's story and wanted to make some difference. I started by helping her purchase some basic necessities such as a bed and stove. Then, my Mom offered to support Theresia in getting technical training in whichever field she preferred. Raymond helped us locate a vocational school so that Theresia could pursue her dream of becoming a tailor.

After finishing her tailoring training in 2014, Theresia moved to the mountain city of Iringa in central Tanzania where she set up a small store with other craftspeople in the Maasai Market. She started selling beaded jewelry and sewn crafts, mostly to tourists who visit between the months of June and September. But Theresia was spending most of her small income on renting a room, where she was living with a niece and a cousin whom she brought to live with her from her home village so they could access better schools. To help relieve the burden of rent, I decided in 2017 to send Theresia funds to buy 2 acres of land and build a house.

Theresia's farm (top) and home (bottom) in Kigonzile village outside of Iringa

The land has been quite productive and provided Theresia with a maize crop consistently for the past several years to feed her family or sell for supplemental income. We planted several fruit trees last year and this year Theresia purchased a milk cow. The house has six rooms and has improved a great deal over the past few years thanks to additional support from my parents. It is now home to Theresia, her young cousin, and two children of her own.

In 2015 my Mom came to visit Tanzania for the first time. She bonded with Raymond and Theresia, who each regard her as their mother and my Dad as their father. Currently in the middle of my fieldwork in Uganda, I didn't want return all the way to the US to visit family so my Mom generously agreed to come and meet me in Tanzania to have a reunion with Raymond, Theresia, and their families whom she has never met. Additionally, my Mom now sells Theresia's crafts via Etsy (she is a genius at this, check out the website here) and needed to stock up on merchandise to bring back for sale in the US. All merchandise is purchased from Theresia and additional profits returned to her.

My travels involved 1) bus ride to Kampala, 2) flight to Dar es Salaam, and 3) bus ride to Iringa, Tanzania

Inside (top) and in front of (bottom) Theresia's craft store in Iringa's Maasai Market

Iringa is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains, and always a pleasure to visit this time of year when temperatures are a bit cool yet sun shining everyday. My mom found an Airbnb apartment in the center of town where we hosted Theresia's family and eventually Raymond's family, who travelled down from the remote southwestern Tanzanian region of Kitulo, where Raymond is a potato farmer an agricultural extension agent. On my first morning in Iringa, I made my annual sunrise climb to the top of Gangilonga, a huge rock overlooking the whole city.

Views from Gangilonga Rock at sunrise

We made a visit to Theresia's farm to meet her new (pregnant) cow. At the farm, my Mom presented Theresia and the young kids with many gifts, including two incredible quilts which she sewed. She also brought Theresia materials for sewing reusable menstrual pads as a potential new business opportunity.

Meeting Theresia's new dairy cow

A homemade quilt for Theresia's children (top) and materials to make reusable menstrual pads (bottom)

When Raymond and his family (his wife Sasha and two daughters Sarah and Sarai) arrived from Kitulo, my Mom also presented them with two homemade quilts, which will surely be well used in his chilly village high up in the Kitulo mountain range.

Another quilt, for Raymond's two daughters Sarah and Sarai

Having our own space at the Airbnb apartment was lovely, as we could cook for ourselves and enjoy private space to celebrate 13 years of friendship between Theresia, Raymond and myself. We also celebrated two birthdays (for my Mom and Theresia's daughter Inot) with birthday cake. The kids really enjoyed watching (and dancing to) cartoons on the big screen TV, a treat for all of them. Theresia and Raymond's kids are now essentially cousins to each other and their bonds grow stronger each year when we meet up.

Birthday cake for Mom and Inot (left) and Inot and Sarah endlessly brushing my Mom's hair (right)

Cousins dancing together in front of the TV

I insisted that my Mom not leave Tanzania this trip without at taking a safari to see some of the beautiful animals in Ruaha National Park, outside of Iringa. Though Raymond's family could not join us, we took Theresia and her kids for a full-day adventure to the park where we caught some great sites of giraffe, elephant, antelope, and zebra.

On safari in Ruaha National Park

Theresia, Mom, and I eventually took the 12 hour bus ride back to Dar es Salaam the day before my Mom's flight to US. This gave us a day to enjoy swimming in the Indian Ocean. Theresia and I jumped in and floated in refreshing saltwater as Mom enjoyed the ocean breeze before her long journey home.

Beach time, and saying goodbye to Theresia at our hotel in Dar es Salaam

Goodbyes are never easy with Theresia but I know that I will be back before long to enjoy needed family time and brush off my ever-improving Swahili. Nor was it easy to say goodbye to Mom, who I won't see until I return home this winter. I am always amazed by her resilience in weathering long bumpy rides back and forth across Tanzania, and incredible generosity to my friends.

From here I will spend a week in Kampala and Gulu to catch up on computer work and meetings, before back to Imvepi next week. Looking forward to returning to fieldwork and sharing more posts in the near future. In the mean time, stay well!