Friday, September 29, 2017

Perspective

I am enjoying the experience of being here in Tanzania, and to a far greater extent learning a lot.  It is impossible to understand the privilege to which we are accustomed until we live and work with people who have almost nothing.  I am, for example, aware of the great privilege of having an indoor kitchen at the house where I am staying, complete with the luxury of a single propane ring on a spindly shipping crate - I don't have to cook on a wood fire on the ground outside as most do.
Today's project is adding LED illumination to the single classroom at our school.  The one window admits some light, but not enough for my old eyes to discern colour properly as we are learning names of colours in English.  36 watts, $25, and a bit of engineering later, the transformation is striking!

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Arrival

In the daily frenetic pace of North American life, my writing here has been set aside for five years.  Perhaps that is part of the motivation for my current endeavour: I am living and volunteering in Maji ya Chai (River of Tea), Arusha region, Tanzania for several weeks.
I am here to teach and to help with development of a free primary school for children who would otherwise have no access to education.  But I am here to learn as well; as with most things in life what one gives one receives back amplified and enhanced.  In a few short days here, I have been welcomed and embraced by a nation of warm, generous, patient, and enduring people.  I will struggle to find words to capture this interaction - it is far removed from the insular and self-absorbed world with which I am familiar.
Peace and serenity,
Scott