On Friday evening, we flew to Dar es Salaam. The reason we went was to do a fundraiser for Hope To Others. They are forming a Hope to Others branch here in Tanzania.
Saturday morning the New Life Band began the event by playing for an hour. Then Karen and Rick spoke about their ministry of Hope to Others. After the meeting, we had about five hours before the evening concert.
Ondo borrowed his sister's car and took Judy, Kaity, and I out for the afternoon. First we went out to eat at Steers. This restaurant would be very similar to a Burger King in America. We ate burger and fries. It was really good and reminded us of our last trip to Africa because all the teenagers loved eating at Steers. Then Ondo drove us down to see the Indian Ocean. It was beautiful. We sat for awhile and watched all the people playing in the water. It was also a special place because it was where Ondo proposed to Judy. Sweet memories!
Then the best part of the day was we drove down the shoreline to a place called Slipway. This was a cove off the ocean so the water was smooth as glass. We went into a restaurant and sat in a tiki hut just enjoying the beautiful scenery! We ate ice cream and just savored the beauty. Then we walked down the pier and observed some very beautiful hotels!
Our time ended and it was time for the fundraiser concert event. The New Life Band had the place rocking. It was fun dancing with everyone. Then we had a dinner and an auction. The evening ended around 9:00.
Sunday morning we attended a local church in the area. The New Life Band were the guest worship leaders. The service began at nine thirty. We sang and danced for two hours straight. It was quite the aerobic workout! Then the pastor had the Americans do the sermon. I was first. I talked about what I wrote about in my second blog. Then Karen talked for an hour and ended with Rick sharing a good story about a fork. After the service, they catered in a special lunch for us. We finished around 3:00.
Then the Bishop made an arrangement for us to speak with a group of people who are concerned about the education system of their country. It is very evident that the government has made it very difficult for students to be successful within the guidelines of their countries requirements. Students receive a free education through their primary years which would be equivalent to Kindergarden - fifth grade. These classes are all taught in Swahilli. Then when they pass their examination they can move on to Secondary school equivalent to our sixth grade through sophomore in high school. These classes are all taught in English. So students now have to do everything in English at school. They also have to pay for school. The fees are about $850 a year. Not including books, uniforms, and any other supplies. These are two huge barriers for the African people to continue education. Within the past few years the government has allowed for private schools to open. The people here feel that is the only way they can help their young people. Open more schools, however they need to figure out how to get the cost down so everyone can attend. Another barrier is the supplies need to teach and finding good teachers. The pay is very low for teachers and they are not motivated when hired. The people here realize they have a corrupt government and they cannot change their ways. So they are thinking outside the box on how they can best service the young people. They really care about what is happening and they want their country to pull out of poverty. We learned many things from listening to their concerns.
The meeting ended after 2 1/2 hours. I was exhausted!
Rick said we deserved a nice dinner so we ate at The African Hotel next door. It was really good. Felt like we were eating an American steak dinner.
Monday we got to experience the true Dar es Salaam! Today's mission was to visit two school sites. The first site was a secondary school outside of town. It took about an hour 1/2 to get there. The traffic was so busy and there were so many people everywhere. We toured the school site and listened to their dream of what they wanted to build on the land. They used to have dorms, but last year an army base that is located at the bottom of the hill had an explosion accident. All their bombs and missiles exploded shooting everywhere in the area and destroying buildings. This school's dorm was hit and all that was left was a pile of rubble. The owner wanted Hope To Others to find sponsors so that she could take the orphaned children in the village to her school. The children in her area can not afford to go to secondary schools. While there, we observed a chemistry class where they were mixing chemicals to change a color into colorless. That was interesting to watch.
After we left there, we drove another one 1/2 hours to the YWAM school. Karen and Rick know the owners of this school. We began the visit with rozela juice, coconut pieces, and maandaazi. If I compared it to America snack it would be cherry kool-aid with donuts. The owner, Jeremiah, told his story of how he became to be the owner of this ministry. Then we went for a tour. They had a primary school, skills school such as carpentry, sewing, welding, and masonry. They also have a medical clinic for women and children. They are in the process of building a brand new clinic. It was actually a beautiful building. They predict it will be open in three months. The final building was a staff house. All the hired staff and visitors live in the same building. They are desperately looking for teachers and medical staff. I think she was trying to offer me a job...he! Anyone looking to serve a DTS, through YWAM, this might be a great place to serve. We left about 4:00.
Then the crazy nightmare began. We drove for about 20 minutes and then came to a complete hault. Actually all the cars turned off their engines. We sat there for two and 1/2 hours! There is so much traffic coming out of Dar, that they close off all the incoming traffic. They open all the lanes from the city so the people in the city can get out. It was ridiculous! Finally they opened the roads and then chaos happened. There was suppose to be one lane going into the city. After about five minutes there were six lanes on each side. Cars were driving on the shoulder, the sidewalks, the yards, and in between. If a car could fit somewhere it did. Of course then, noone could move again! Everyone is honking their horns. Seriously this had to be the most out of control driving there could be. Finally, we slowly crept forward and the traffic became one lane. All of sudden, Ondo yells,"Yipes, what do I do now?" We looked out and the opposite traffic has taken over all the lanes. We literally had no choice but to drive on the sidewalk. How can traffic do that? We were all getting so mad. A trip that could have taken 30 minutes, took us over three hours! I was never so glad to back at the hostel.
Tuesday morning we are at the airport flying back to Arusha. I hope that was my last trip to
Dar es Salaam! Forever!
Sent from my iPad
Sent from my iPad
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