The week that was in Bulima, Tanzania and Power failures

This past week has gone rather quickly and went great until Friday when the inevitable power failures happened. On Monday I went to Mwanza to sort out the work permit, we arrived at the AIC compound and spoke to the person in charge of the process, after this was done we left to go and buy some books which are needed by the students. We were then called back to the AIC compound as they neglected to give me the necessary papers to fill in for a renewal of my work permit, this done we headed back into town to catch up with the rest of the group for lunch before I went in search of some items for the library.

It was a pretty hot day and during our time in Mwanza I had about 4 sodas which I drank like water. The person with me just could not understand how I was able to do this. Work this week had gone well in the library up to and including Friday when the power went out for most of the day, up till then we had about 1900 books on the system which meant I missed out on the target of having 2000 books on the system.  The advantage of the power failure personally is that the body could have a well deserved break from sitting behind a computer all day.

I am planning to put in long hours from Monday to Wednesday as the student will be having time off to study on Thursday and Friday most staff will disappear over the weekend I will be heading into Mwanza for a few days of rest myself with some other missionaries. Last night we watched movies with some other friends and whiles we were watching the movie on the big screen the power went out again, after having been on for a few hours, we were supposed to watch the movie on Saturday night but because there were no electricity, we watched it yesterday instead of going for our weekly Sunday evening walk. Actually I am glad the power was off on Saturday evening as I was also invited for supper with the neighbours Had the power been on I would have had to decline the invitation as I had already accepted the invitation to watch movies.

I don’t know how for how long the power was out on Sunday as I was out for the afternoon having lunch at the "Serengeti rest stop" with my host and another missionary. As this week is a short work week the plan is to spent long hours in the library doing as much as I can "electricity availability" permitting. We have also been blessed with some much needed rain this weekend as it is desperately needed by the farmers to help their crops grow. Walking back home last night in the rain was fun as we were slipping and sliding our way home in the mud puddles which reminded me of the hike I did at the Sipi Falls in Uganda last year.

Prayer Request:

Please pray for

My work permit to come through this week.

Maja who has not been feeling well.

The students who are getting ready for exams etc

Student finances are a problem, as many off them can’t afford to pay their school fees.

Myself as I consider and pray about what God has in store for me, once I return to RSA

My friends and family back home 

Dodgeball on the Tanzanian Highway

 Driving in Tanzania certainly leaves a lot to be desired and it’s a national lottery when you travel on these roads, bus drivers drives as if they own the road with no amount of care really for other road users and yesterday I saw another example of that as we were on our way to a pray meeting, and since I have been here I have heard of quiet a few fatalities on the road and with no ambulance service to take people to hospital that is not surprising. Every time you go out on the road you not only have to watch out for reckless drivers but also for people who walk on both sides of the road and off course stray dogs and cows who cross the road as if they own it. Fortunately for me I have only 2 more road trips to take, 1 into Mwanza on Monday and another 1 on either Sunday or Monday next week on my way to Nairobi.

Yesterday we had a Aim Prayer meeting which took place in the town of Kitonki which is about 1hr drive away from Bulima, it was a good get together and it was great to catch up with other Aim missionaries in Tanzania, unfortunately my fellow South African missionary could not make it to the meeting as she was waiting for another missionary to return from one of the islands.

My work at the library is just about finished and all I now have to do is to ensure that the student librarians are up to speed and can take over my responsibilities without the fear of making a mistake and a changed attitude as running a library take dedication. Since the 22 January over 7500 book were imported on to the system, another 150 – 200 new books and about 500 duplicate books are still in storage and it will be up to the student librarians to import these books on to the system. On Wednesday I will lead the praise and worship service and this will also be my goodbye to the school as from Thursday and Friday students will be writing exams so there will be no classes. I am hoping to use this week to reinforce the responsibilities that each student librarian has in ensuring that the library are run as effectively as possible, I will basically only have 3 days to do this as I won’t be at the college on Monday leaving only Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday to train the students.

This week we heard that 1 of the teachers sons who are studying in Nairobi got hurt in a fall where he was staying and he was hospitalised, staff members each made a personal contribution to the staff member and this enabled him to travel to Nairobi to be with his son, fortunately the news we got was that he did not require surgery and this was an answer to prayer after all the miscommunication we received from Nairobi, AIM Nairobi office also made some funds available to pay his cost which could amount to about $1500 ( I am not sure if this was from the College account or from the AIM account itself)

On Friday we will be having a staff get together to say goodbye to me and another USA volunteer and on Saturday I will be having supper with my neighbours whose sons are returning home for the school holidays. I have been offered a ride into Nairobi on Friday but this will mean that my travelling cost will be more and also staying in Nairobi will work out more, just for spending 2 days in Nairobi I have to pay almost R400 to stay at Mayfield guesthouse, the cost of the ticket to get to Nairobi is another R150 give or take. As I run down my time here in Bulima please remember me in your prayers and also the students who are writing exams on the 25 and 26 March

College life

 

I arrived in Tanzania last night after a 10 hour drive from Nairobi, the drive itself was uneventful and it went off without a hitch, at the Tanzanian border though I discovered I had to pay an entry visa which was not on the schedule off payment, we arrived in the town of Bulima and I spend my first night in Bulima and not in Mwanza as I had thought, I arrived at the college and spend my first day getting to know the area a bit and also the college library. Getting to know the staff names etc is going to take a little while though, the day was basically spend researching which library system will be best for the college, it does not look as if the library will keep me to busy and I will also help out at the college where I can.

The library has a few students who act as monitors and this Saturday I will be meeting with them to discuss the way forward for the library and how I will get them to work in terms of hours as the students are paid to work in the library, 1 of the first task that will need to be done is to have the library cleaned and I am thinking off getting the students to come in on Sunday and clean the place up. Where I will end staying is still up for discussion as I have an option of 3 places to stay, 1 being living on my own for the next 3 months this will however mean I have to cook for myself, it does however offer me privacy in terms off Cumming and going during the day and evenings when I might be working. My first full day in Tanzania has gone well and I already feel part of the community here. If you want to get in touch with me please email me at houties@live.com, my contact number is +255765542885.