Hello everyone, hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year and are ready to start 2007 afresh. Last year you received our first fortnightly instalment from my colleague Catherine, this time it is my turn, and what a fun way to begin 2007 by updating you on events here in Dodoma since the last blog. As Cat told you my name is Victoria and I started working with STT here in Dodoma last October. So all in all I suppose I have been here two months now. And I must say, it has been enjoyable working with another social development professional, our bottom up approach to working in Dodoma with the DEP and tree planting project is paying off dividends with our partners. They have really welcomed the new professional style STT is demonstrating.
Concerning me, I am no stranger to being in Africa as I am from Sierra Leone myself and have worked in Ghana as a Development Planner. But, it was my first time to be here in the East coast and it has been quite interesting observing the similarities and vast differences between Tanzanian culture and that of my home country. Although I came without any Swahili, I have had intense Swahili lessons which are paying off handsomely. In only two months, I can communicate with people quite well, which is a necessity if one is going work effectively and build up the trust and confidence of local people, including our partner organisations. Our partner organisations DODEA and MIGESADO have often complimented me on my effort. Although not having Swahili is not really a barrier, it does serve as an added advantage and shows respect for a local culture if you are willing to learn the language, especially as one should never assume that people will speak English. I will continue learning and who knows maybe my next instalment will be in Swahili! Since Cat’s last instalment a lot has happened which I hope you will enjoy reading all about.
Cat left Dodoma on the 8th December and it was quite a hectic event as Kenya Airways told her at the last minute that her flight had been cancelled. So Cat was in panic trying to sort out an earlier flight and when she eventually did she had to leave Dodoma in a whirlwind. One minute she was here, the next minute she had gone. It was sad to say good bye, but I knew she was heading for a good holiday in the UK, what with her graduation, UK Christmas experience and travel to Switzerland – phew! I thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Dodoma during Cat’s absence. It was an opportunity to see how I would cope having to manage the office, our local partner organisations and the house on my own and try to be understood in Swahili without Justin or Cat as a backup. On the whole I don’t think I did too badly. The partners’ funds were disbursed on time, MIGESADO’s outstanding reports were submitted to STT, I created with Justin new stove and tree posters to go up in villages and I attended a networking workshop which was conducted all in Swahili. The workshop was organised by an environmental networking organisation called DONET which STT regularly write articles for. It was a focused on their strategic plan and was a great opportunity to meet other organisations working in the environment sector in Dodoma. I was impressed by the gender equality and intergenerational make up of participants. Justin Chidawali, our tree and agriculture expert came along too and due to his long standing relationship with DONET he introduced to me to a number of DONET staff and member organisations. 
My time here also involved having to organise my permit papers at the last minute (which had to be done in quite a hurry before I left and was quite a hectic experience). I moved forward on the Urban Appraisal with a planning meeting held with the Chief Community Development and Social Welfare Officer of which I prepared a briefing paper for him and we agreed my work plan for his Extension officer who I will begin working with on the 10th January. So as you can see it was still a very busy time right up until I left.
Oh, and not forgeting one of the main drama’s of my past two months in Dodoma. I also had an issue with a snake! What I thought was a Black Mamba had made its way into our house one morning and I noticed it just as I was getting ready for work. However, our cleaning lady Mama Elisa (who is like a mother to us really) tackled the fiendish creature and trampled upon it. The whole incident happened in a matter of seconds. Brave Mama Elisa came to my rescue. Despite its wriggling and writhing it could not withstand the might of Mama Elisa. Although the snake was no longer than and thinner than a pencil, it was still scary! Since then we have had three more snake incidents, so much so that our gardener Ima found a nest and has cleared it. Hurray! I eventually established that the original and subsequent snakes were not a Black Mambas has I had thought, but still one does not want get too friendly with the local snake varieties if you know what I mean.
The day I left Dodoma on the 19th the weather had turned bad, it was raining all day. For local villages this is excellent news as it now means Dodoma has exited its 24 month debilitating drought and farmers are in hope of cultivating a harvest in 2007. The rains mean that Dodoma has transformed from a dry, dusty and windy town to a lush, green oasis. In many villages what had become an empty river bed has now changed into a surging river, full of nature’s goodies. One hopes and prays that the rains continue steadily until the end of the raining season which is in April. Although some places have been flooded, having the rains is overall very positive. However, what it meant for me was that I was leaving the rain behind in Dodoma to return to raining dark London. It’s amazing how people survive under such long periods of darkness!
Anyway, Cat and I are back in Dodoma and it is great to be here. Work has started off at a pace with lots to do. And new and exciting work to begin, but we’ll let you know all about that in our next instalment. Bye for now folks.
My time here also involved having to organise my permit papers at the last minute (which had to be done in quite a hurry before I left and was quite a hectic experience). I moved forward on the Urban Appraisal with a planning meeting held with the Chief Community Development and Social Welfare Officer of which I prepared a briefing paper for him and we agreed my work plan for his Extension officer who I will begin working with on the 10th January. So as you can see it was still a very busy time right up until I left.
Oh, and not forgeting one of the main drama’s of my past two months in Dodoma. I also had an issue with a snake! What I thought was a Black Mamba had made its way into our house one morning and I noticed it just as I was getting ready for work. However, our cleaning lady Mama Elisa (who is like a mother to us really) tackled the fiendish creature and trampled upon it. The whole incident happened in a matter of seconds. Brave Mama Elisa came to my rescue. Despite its wriggling and writhing it could not withstand the might of Mama Elisa. Although the snake was no longer than and thinner than a pencil, it was still scary! Since then we have had three more snake incidents, so much so that our gardener Ima found a nest and has cleared it. Hurray! I eventually established that the original and subsequent snakes were not a Black Mambas has I had thought, but still one does not want get too friendly with the local snake varieties if you know what I mean.
The day I left Dodoma on the 19th the weather had turned bad, it was raining all day. For local villages this is excellent news as it now means Dodoma has exited its 24 month debilitating drought and farmers are in hope of cultivating a harvest in 2007. The rains mean that Dodoma has transformed from a dry, dusty and windy town to a lush, green oasis. In many villages what had become an empty river bed has now changed into a surging river, full of nature’s goodies. One hopes and prays that the rains continue steadily until the end of the raining season which is in April. Although some places have been flooded, having the rains is overall very positive. However, what it meant for me was that I was leaving the rain behind in Dodoma to return to raining dark London. It’s amazing how people survive under such long periods of darkness!
Anyway, Cat and I are back in Dodoma and it is great to be here. Work has started off at a pace with lots to do. And new and exciting work to begin, but we’ll let you know all about that in our next instalment. Bye for now folks. KWA HERI!
