Kwa-heri (good-bye)

I’ve been very, very inconsistent (aka "absent")  in contributing to this blog, and now I think the time has come to, if not close it, to at least change its focus.  And while MISSION is still my way of life, the locus has changed.  Since March I’ve left Tanzania, after 47 years, and now am living mission in the USA at the Maryknoll Center in New York.  And so certainly that’s a change, but change is growth-producing and positive (usually) so I’m looking forward to what is ahead.

 

Sufficient for today is a reflection from my final days in Tanzania:

GOOD-BYE THOUGHTS

Another good-bye today.

These good-byes come with nice words and loving eyes,

And sometimes a few tears.

Words to express care and thanks,

Words remembering connections,

Or simply “Lakini tumekuzoea”.

Another sentiment: “Tutakumisi”, and I can only think of those                                                       

People and places which I will miss:

A little girl coming to the door with a fistful of popcorn to share,

Children running to meet me when I arrive home.

Neighbors’ greetings and the ever-present “Karibu”.

Dawn hued meetings with others on their morning runs,

Children on their way to school as the sun comes up.

Innocent little ones touching stockinged legs and freckled arms,

Trying out something which is to them new in this world.

Family names – momy, mama, shangazi, auntie. bibi, grandmother

All mine, all ours.

Birds, dogs, pigs, cows, chickens, goats.

I gave away all my potted plants and returned home to empty spaces

Where my eyes were used to green friends,

And I had to catch my breath with the realization of what was happening.

But just as the plants will keep on growing with someone else’s care,

So will the people and the country grow with others’ care.

The young will build as they are meant to build,

The old will work hard and cement the building.

Politics and religion, the weather and crops, football

Will be talked about in loud discussions.

And my memories will be tucked in my heart

To be opened daily with gratitude.

I “won’t cry because it’s over but will smile because it happened.”

New Year 2015

It’s the beginning of another year.  This is a day to thank God for the blessings of 2014 and to think about  2015, and what can I do/be in order that this world (and me) be more peaceful and whole.

 

The celebration of Christmas was so good again this year.  Gathering with Maryknoll Sister friends is a tremendous blessing, and a good time was had by all.  It still, after all these years, is strange to be sweating on Christmas.  And that we were.  It was very hot and humid and impossible to be cool.  The ceiling fans helped, and the good company kept our minds off the heat

As Christmas winds down and the New Year begins, this piece by Howard Thurman speaks eloquently to me of my/our work during the year:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and the princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

                heal the broken,

                feed the hungry,

                release the prisoner,

                rebuild the nations,

                bring peace among brothers,

                make music in the heart.

Happy New Year to ALL!

A LONG DROUGHT

Not only has the Dodoma environment endured a long dry spell, so also has my blog writing.  Actually the dry season here has lasted much longer than my blog writing hiatus, but today seems like a good day to recognize a new season and get back to writing.

Yesterday morning’s rain has changed the face of the countryside.  It started to rain at about 3.30 a.m. and continued on for almost two hours.  There was a real downpour at the beginning and then it settled in to a more gentle rain for a total of almost 2½ inches.  All the dust that had been accumulating on the trees and bushes was washed away and they all look so green and shining today.

And as I walked this morning I saw numerous people on their way to their fields, each one with a hoe on one shoulder, a bag of seeds on the other and carrying a jug of water.  Every little unoccupied plot has been planted and certainly the rain has brought out the farmer in everyone.

One thing I especially noted on my morning walk was how many trees planted alongside the road have survived.  Nearing the end of the rainy season last year the City Council planted trees on both sides of all our new roads in this area.  Some were cared for by the people living in nearby houses; some were eaten by the goats and cows; some died from neglect; others that I noted today survived and now after this beautiful rain are standing strong and ready to grow during the coming season.  They will certainly beautify the area, as well as offering their shade.

The frogs are croaking away in the gully near our house, and viewing the road kill today I saw smashed frogs, lizards and those big black scorpions that make me shudder.  The water has gone down in all the nearby gullies but I could see where it had been high, way above its banks.  Because it has been so hot people have been saying that we’re going to have a heavy rainy season.  We shall see.

It feels like a new beginning with the rain, and the fact that the celebration of Jesus’ birth is only a couple days away just reiterates that feeling.  New life, new birth, new peace and loving kindness on our earth:  my prayer today.

14th October 2014 - Nyerere Day

Today is a public holiday here in Tanzania and it is nice to have an off day.  When I told the little scholars yesterday afternoon that today we wouldn’t have class but would rest, one of them said “Oh, yes.  We don’t go to school tomorrow either.  I’m going to sleep late, then get up and have breakfast, then  play all day.”  Now he knows how to make a plan!

President Nyerere continues to be an inspiration for Tanzanians and it is a day like today when he is especially remembered for his wise leadership from before Independence until he retired as President, and even beyond.  In 1970 he was invited to the Maryknoll Sisters General Assembly and gave a keynote speech which is well regarded as a model of how the church should be. 

At the end of that speech he quotes from the Encyclical letter of Pope Paul VI on the development of people, “If someone who has riches of this earth sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him?”  The pope then quoted St. Ambrose, “You are not making a gift of possessions to the poor person, you are handing over to him what is his.”  Later Nyerere quotes the letter again, saying, “To wage war on misery and struggle against injustice is to promote, along with improved conditions, the human and spiritual progress of all men, and therefore the common good of humanity.  Peace cannot be limited to a mere absence of war; it is the result of an ever-precarious balance of forces.  No, peace is something that is built up day after day, in the pursuit of an order, intended by God, which implies a more perfect form of justice among men.”

Students at Secondary School

We’re still a long way from that ideal even all these years later but all we can do is keep on trying.  It breaks my heart to see the news of ebola and how it is wreaking havoc in West Africa.  Last evening on BBC there was shown those in Liberia whose job it is to pick up the dead and bury them.  It showed the group in their protective clothing going into a very small mud house to collect the body of a young woman who had died, the mother of a three month old baby.  The reporter didn’t know what had happened to the baby but there was a picture of the husband, standing at a distance as his wife’s body was collected for burial, with none of the traditional and usual ceremonies usually associated with burial being carried out.  The day when all people can get decent health care, when everyone has access to education, when dignified and productive work is available for all – maybe that will be the day when there will be peace.

28 September 2014 - Back home

Tomorrow is back to school after nearly a month of being away.  We’ll see if the girls did all the work that I left for them, and, since I believe that they did do it, how well it was done.  I’ll be happy to get back to classes with them, and I hope that they feel the same way.  The little scholars have seen that I’m back and I expect they’ll be here with all the enthusiasm in their little bodies tomorrow afternoon.

It was a long trip and a busy time.  Travelling doesn’t get any easier as I get older, but the weariness of it doesn’t all have to do with age, I believe.  Every airplane that I flew in was fully booked, and it seems as though the seats become closer together and the aisles narrower each time I travel.  Cabin crews are busy trying to serve food and drinks and their voices asking hundreds of time whether one wants the “chicken or pasta meal” seems to get louder and more irritating as the time goes on.  However, even with the mostly comfort-less airplanes, it’s still a miracle that one can travel safely for more than 16,000 miles and in a relatively short period of time. 

The Maryknoll Sisters’ meeting was a wonderful opportunity to get together with 145 others of us, to get to know each other better, and to discuss some of what impacts our lives every day in our mission.  I especially loved being with the younger ones of us and to appreciate their wonderful gifts and dedication.  God is good and the Universe is kind to us.

Nane Nane

The sights and sounds of Nane Nane:  As I mentioned last time, this day is set aside to honor farmers and peasants, and is always held at the very large fairgrounds just on the outskirts of Dodoma.  Since the day has to do with farming, there are lots and lots of exhibits showing different crops, gardens, animals, including bee keeping (honey production is a big industry here in Dodoma region), sunflower oil making, etc.  We saw demonstrations on solar power and energy efficient wood-burning stoves.  And a lot of government offices had places where they announced and taught the services that they provide.  There was used clothing galore, shoes (new and used), lots of household good being sold along the roads and in other places being auctioned.  The Wildlife and Tourism Ministry brings in a few exotic animals (lion, hyena, boa constrictor, etc) and that’s always a popular place for people who have never seen the wildlife of their own country.

I made a beeline to the place that I remembered from previous years, the place that Tanzanian craft is sold.  There wasn’t as much displayed this year as last year, but some of the craft was of new designs and very nice.  We didn’t go all around the whole fairgrounds because of the sun and dust but saw lots of interesting things.  Before we left, we had our meal, in a tent with a couple of small tables and the cooking being done in the back of the tent by a woman who had set up her kitchen there for the duration of the fair.   It was tasty (spiced rice) and some vegetables.  This is a great time of the year to do business, and everyone with anything at all to sell was there at Nane Nane grounds, hawking their wares.  We also noticed a lot of extra traffic on the main road, as well as people walking back and forth, and motorcycles galore.  A good time was had by all.

It seems like our season is finally changing.  Everyone has been remarking that our cool season is exceptionally long this year but now I think it's finally finished.  It's been nice while it lasted but now my blanket has been put away and the time has come again to begin sweating.

And tomorrow will start the final week of school for me for almost a month.  I’ve been preparing lessons for the classes to do while I’m away and I think that’s ready.  The students will have a week of mid-term break during that time as well so we’ll all have a time away from each other.  I’m looking forward to seeing friends and doing the work we need to do as Maryknoll Sisters to prepare ourselves for the future.  My motto during these months of preparation leading up to our General Assembly has been:  Trust in the slow work of God.  And so I do.

WILD WEEK

3 August 2014

I guess some weeks are like this last one – lots of extra-ordinary events – and dealing with them is tiring.  It started out on Monday with the whole afternoon (4+ hours) spent at a meeting with the discipline committee, that is the committee made up of teachers whose responsibility it is to keep ahead of the students on discipline matters.  The background to our long meeting was a surprise inspection of the dormitories that had been carried out the previous week.  School rules prohibit certain things from the dormitories, and during the inspection a LOT of contraband was found.  Mostly the first and second year students were alright, but the third and fourth year students showed us that they have the knack of sneaking things in down to a science.

 

And so on Monday we began the task of interviewing some of the biggest offenders, and then realized that we needed parents’ help, and so arranged that parents come for a meeting on Friday.  Not all the parents of the students concerned were able to come so our job isn't finished, but a number did manage to come and we spent all Friday afternoon meeting with parents and students, with parents admonishing their daughters and daughters crying and asking for forgiveness.  And not only students asked for forgiveness but mothers as well.  One mother threw herself down on her knees and begged that her daughter be spared punishment!  I guess we must have hard hearts so all offenders are being given something to remember that, like it or not, some rules are made to be followed.  Some are suspended for two weeks, some will do outside work during class time, all of the offenders are barred from going out to the Nane Nane fair, and all have to write statements admitting their wrongdoing.

 

These exercises are very tiring and time consuming and not fun to be involved in at all.  And yet it seems like rules need to be in place so that more than 350 girls living together can do so fairly peaceably and well with some order.  I wish I knew the answer as to why living outside the rules is so enticing!

Going to Nane Nane is one of the highlights of this time of year so staying home while others go hurts quite a bit.  Nane Nane is the eighth day of the eighth month and is designated as Farmer’s/Peasant’s Day here in Tanzania.   Here at the Nane Nane fairground in Dodoma there is always a good time to be had, with many demonstrations, exhibits, sales, food, music, dancing  – everything under the sun.  I always go for a couple hours just to breathe in the excitement of the crowd and, even though the bright sun and harsh wind aren't very conducive to strolling around, it’s worth it for a short time.   And it’s on my schedule for this afternoon!