An Interlude - Videos Taken During Mufindi Children's Project Visit in Mid-September

Before resuming the description and photos of the successful Mufindi Mountaineers Kilimanjaro climb, I would like to share with you some of the videos taken during our visit to the Mufindi Highlands between 15-19 September.  The Mufindi Mountaineers who made the visit included Gary Drobnack, Jennifer Lindwall, David Still, and Rich Wortley.

During the visit we were given a thorough Mufindi Children's Project overview by Geoff Fox, the founder of this project in 2005.  We also went on tours with the Interim Project Director, Amari Alexander, and one of the volunteers, Sasha Bill from Tacoma, WA.

We were shown the operation of the very successful Care & Treatment Center (CTC) where over 3000 people are now tested monthly and/or administered anti-retroviral drugs to combat HIV-AIDS infections. 

We also visited the Mdabulo Clinic which is adjacent to the CTC and which is being built out to accommodate more health services and equipment in order to qualify it as a hospital.  That classification will mean that the government will provide more doctors and health service providers locally and enable many more villagers in this part of Tanzania to have better access to health care.

We visited the Children's Village where orphans are housed, we visited or inspected the Igoda Primary School, the Luhunga Secondary School,  the Community Center, vocational training centers (batiks, sewing, carpentry), infant care and feeding program for babies whose mothers are HIV+, the Children's Village garden, school lunch preparation and distribution center, and we learned about other services provided like the Home Health Care initiative which reaches out to remote villages, sending local doctors and other medical staff, to assist people who haven't the means or health to travel to the local health clinics or dispensaries.

There are other programs underway in addition to these, but more about those later. 

Check out these videos taken during our visit.

 

This video features primary school kids playing a game in which they encourage the  child in the middle of the circle to pick up something on the ground with only their teeth and their legs straight.  During the attempt, everyone chants encouragement.

 

 

 

 This video features Mufindi Mountaineer David Still getting children at the Igoda Primary School all worked up over his "hand jive" demonstration.  It probably took days for them to settle down again!

 

 

 

 

This video features volunteer Sasha Bill and librarian-teacher Justo reading "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" to the kids, first in English and then in Kiswahili.  In secondary school and the business world in Tanzania, English is the preferred language.  Normally, students don't start learning English until high school, but such a late introduction to a "new" language often slows learning down so getting started earlier with English is a positive development.  Adult English classes are also conducted to help people in the community improve their job and career prospects.  All the kids were convinced that blonde Mufindi Mountaineer Jennifer Lindwall who was visiting was really Goldilocks.  The story tellers also had to explain to these students what a bear was.

 

The blog post that follows next will pick-up at the start of the Grand Traverse just as the Mufindi Mountaineers beginning hiking to Shira 1 Camp, their first overnight campsite on the 10-day trek.