Paradise found

I've only got a few days left in Tanzania before I fly home and couldn't think of anything better than escaping the cold and dreariness of Arusha and spending my last weekend in Zanzibar.



I spent a few hours on the beach enjoying the sun and tranquility. The boys collected seaweed, the men built dhows and, amazingly, I was the only tourist in sight!

I stayed in a gorgeous hotel in Shangani, the area of Stonetown that's made up of a million tiny side streets lined with street stalls selling Tingatinga paintings, Indian sari's, Arabic antiques, African wood carvings, Masai beaded jewelry. Just about anything you can imagine (and many things you can't) are for sale, and if you bargain hard enough, at very cheap prices. I went to Stonetown with every intention of leaving with nothing more than I came with but ended up with a painting, a handful of necklaces, a new pair of shoes and a couple of masai masks. So much for resisting temptation.



I spent my evenings wandering around Forodhani gardens, one of the most amazing places I've ever been. There are dozens of artists selling their wares on the blanket covered pavements, beadwork and carving proudly displayed.



and dozens more chefs with tables piled high with delicious food. I managed to eat and drink for less than $1!

ICTR Arusha

Though I've had a lot of fun fitting in as much as possible along the way, the real reason I came back to East Africa is to do some research. I'm looking into the effects of HIV on justice for the Rwandan genocide. While in Rwanda I spoke to people in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) office in Kigali and my last two weeks in Africa I'm working at ICTR Arusha.

The Arusha tribunal is where the trials for the high level instigators of the genocide are taking place. "Lower" level criminals are being tried in Rwandan Gacaca courts in a more traditional way. Being here is pretty awful. On Wednesday and Thursday I watched the former prime minister Kambanda testify. He's already been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment but was a witness in another trial. Watching the clips of him inciting slaughter and then seeing him be as obstructive as possible (when he has nothing left to lose) was sickening.

I had lunch at a place just down the road from the UN buildings and spotted two of the defense attorneys eating. I know there are people tried for crimes they didn't commit and need (and deserve) a good defense, but the question that kept going through my head was, how do you defend someone that commits (and incites others to commit) genocide? I know someone has to do it, but how the hell do you live with yourself after getting someone off the hook for such crimes?

As for the research, it's coming along. I've had some good interviews with key people, and the answer is essentially: HIV is hugely affecting the outcome of the trials. According to the chief prosecutor, usually 1/2 the witnesses have died or are too sick to testify by the time cases go to trial. The genocide will continue until all the people (mostly women) that were infected with HIV as a result of the genocide have died. And all their partners who were subsequently infected have died. And all their children who were born HIV positive have died.

Safari pics

Abby and I just got back from a three day safari on the Masai Mara. I think the pics below probably speak more eloquently than I could...















Today we went to a giraffe sanctuary just outside Nairobi and I was able to feed (and pet) my favourite animals!

1994

I'm writing this a few days late because I needed time to think... I still need time to think. As much as I have read, heard, seen and felt about the Rwandan genocide, it is something I don't think I will ever be able to come to terms with. I can't imagine how those that lived through it can.

The week I spent in Rwanda I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. The scale of the killings was such that everyone in the tiny country would have been impacted in some way by the genocide: either knowing or being perpetrators, victims, or both. Driving through Rwanda there are signs every few minutes to mark massacres, constant reminders that the beautiful landscape was recently scarred by human slaughter.



On the last day I was in Rwanda, Abby and I went to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. There were displays showing events leading up to the genocide, the genocide itself, and how the country is trying to rebuild. Almost a million people killed by machete in a couple of months is something that is really difficult to comprehend. The numbers are so large and the violence so extreme that the people victimised become unreal to us and the perpetrators inhuman. The memorial did an amazingly good job of showing that the victims were people. Video clips around the memorial of survivors describing friends and family that were killed made the numbers seem real.

For me, the hardest section of the memorial were the quiet rooms on the top floor. Poster sized pictures of children were hung from the ceiling with a plaque describing the child below it. Name. Age. Favourite foods. Disposition. How they were killed.

There's nothing we can do now about the Rwandan genocide. There is something you can do about Darfur.

Kinigi, Rwanda

We were in Kinigi from Friday to Monday at the base of the volcanos, it's at a really high altitude and I felt breathless and tired most of the time I was there. Kinigi is a tiny village and tourist destination for all who trek the gorillas, monkeys and other wildlife on the volcanos. Most stay in Ruhengeri, a much larger town about 16 kilometres down a really bumpy road, and travel to Kinigi only for the time they are trekking. There are two lodges in Kinigi, a fairly pricey international lodge and the Kinigi Guesthouse, run by an NGO that supports women and children survivors of the genocide.



We stayed in the NGO-run lodge for two nights. The guesthouse was really friendly and comfortable, easily the nicest place we have stayed at during our travels. Both nights I was in Kinigi I went out for a walk around the village, something that seemed to be almost a celebrity event for the children! No sooner had I left the gates of the lodge than I was surrounded by a young football team who asked me loads of questions about where I was from, what I was doing, and on the second night why I was staying! There were men in uniform with guns all over the village, the children explained that we were really close to the Congolese border where lots of 'bad guys' were (the exiled Hutu militants) and the RDF soldiers would protect our security. It was an eerie reminder of how recently the genocide occurred, and how few of the perpetrators have been brought to justice.



I ended up spending both evenings watching the children play and taking loads of pictures of them. They were very enthusiastic players and insisted I email them all the pictures I'd taken. As much as I enjoyed seeing the gorillas face to face, the best part of the trip to Kinigi was talking to the children.

Gorillas in the mist

This morning we set off early to the gorilla trekking base camp in Kinigi. After splitting into small groups we piled into a 4-wheel drive and bounced around the horrendous roads as far as could, then got out and walked up the volcano. After only about half an hour, I suddenly felt really faint and ill. My legs turned to jelly, I saw stars, I thought my stomach was going to explode. I thought I was going to have to turn back: I was only at the base of the volcano and already felt ill, we had at least an hour trekking in front of us at a much steeper grade than we had climbed so far. The guide told me to sit down, and after resting a few minutes and splashing cold water on my face and neck I felt much better. I got up again and started walking at the front of the group, much more slowly, with rests every few minutes.




The views from the volcano were incredible - we were surrounded by volcanic peaks and lush, thick vegetation. We climbed carefully, in addition to the altitude the prickly stinging nettles went straight through our clothes. What seemed like a very short time later, we turned a corner and came face to face with an enormous mountain gorilla! We spent an hour with the gorillas scrambling down the volcano through the nettles in a game of cat and mouse with the giant animals. The group we encountered had four babies - a couple of them played games running in circles around us and peeking out from the trees long enough for us to catch up with them before charging downhill again.


one of the babies, peering through the brush at me

Just as we were about to leave, the silverback (or chief) of the family stampeded down the volcano and stopped directly in front of us.

The wheels on the bus...

On Tuesday evening we set off from Mwanza on an overnight ferry to Bokoba, Tanzania. We had been assured that on the other side of Lake Victoria we would find a bus to Kigali, Rwanda. A bus that would wait if the ferry was delayed. This sounded a tad optimistic, but ever hopeful we set off. At about 5 in the morning I woke up to find the ferry docked and people disembarking. I poked a seriously disoriented Abby awake, jumped off the top of the three level bunk beds, scrambled to collect my things and marched off the ferry half asleep. We were just about clear of the dockyard when it occurred to me that not *everyone* was climbing off the boat, and maybe I should check where we were. A few minutes later, Abby and I slunk back into our cabin, much to the amusement of the ladies who had been chattering about the muzungos most of the trip.

When we did arrive in Bokoba a few hours later we found, not surprisingly, there was no direct bus to Kigali. We would first have to spend a day travelling to Kampala, Uganda, and then another day travelling down to Kigali. The daily bus to Kampala had already left, so we would have to wait a day in Bukoba before we could get going. Bokoba was a pretty sleepy town: we discovered the very slow internet connections, a New Rose cafe with good Tanzanian grub, and not much else.


scenes from Kampala

We stopped once on the long bus ride to Kampala at the Tanzania-Uganda border. We grabbed the chance to use the loo, and when we returned we asked the border guard which one was our bus. He pointed at it and said "I think it is even having mechanical problems" as if that were a good thing! Sure enough, the bus was having a tire changed, as the bumpy roads had bounced the previous one off.

Kampala was a chance to regroup, though after Tanzania everything seemed much more expensive! In the morning we set off again down to Kigali. The long Uganda-Rwanda border crossing, made even longer by a stupid muzungu who had her iPod stolen after she left it on the bus unattended, made us long for the tire change of the previous day.


the Rwandan countryside

After a full sunrise-sunset day on the bus we finally arrived in the capital of Rwanda and checked into our hotel. Though far more expensive than Tanzania or Uganda, the chance to soak in the bath was well worth it :)

Kwa heri Mwanza

On Tuesday Abby and I took Cha-Cha, Angela and Zainabi to the private hospital because we suspected that their constant coughing was a sign of TB. The doctor ran several tests on them and told us all three of them had malaria, a chest infection and worms but not TB. We were completely amazed that the children were so sick - they hadn't complained and it was only because we heard them coughing we thought they should go to the doctor. Joseph told us that the orphanage staff had suspected they (and several other children) were ill but couldn't focus on health care until they had enough money to feed the children. At the private hospital registration, consultation with the doctor, four lab tests for each child and all their medications (3-5 per child) came to a total of about US$30. It continues to amaze me that so little money can do so much here, and really makes you wonder why those that can afford it aren't doing more to help.



Yesterday was our last day in Mwanza. Abby and I took the horrendous falling apart dalla-dalla to Buswelu just outside of town and when it failed to start after it's first stop we decided to get out and take another one. The fare collector completely ripped us off, but after several minutes of arguing we gave up and let him keep the extra 'muzungu' fare, we were thankful to be away from the decrepit vehicle. We jumped on another and ended up walking from the main road to Hisani (the orphanage I volunteered with last year). Despite taking at least half an hour to get there, we noticed the dalla-dalla we got out of didn't pass us at all - very satisfying to know we made the right choice :)



When we arrived at Hisani all the kids came running out shouting my name - I was so suprised they all remembered me after so long! I handed out photos to the children which they were very happy to receive: most of the kids don't have any pictures of themselves or their families. Hisani now has links with Volunteer Africa and the difference in the orphanage was really amazing: the children had tiled floors, proper beds, loads of room and even a computer with internet connection! It was great to see them all doing so well.


Mwanza, taken on Lake Victoria

After lunch we headed back to Fonelisco and said good bye to all the children - they made us promise we would be back and this year I'm sure I will be!

50 kids go adventuring

Yesterday we all got up really early to head off to Saa Naane island, a small island in the middle of Lake Victoria that acts as a miny zoo and picnic point. We arrived at the orphanage around 7 am just in time to see the kids having breakfast. Most of them were tucking into a rather slimy looking gruel made from the same stuff as ugali: maize powder and water, but some of the boys had decided to collect a little protein to along with it.


When they realised how disgusted the muzungus were with them eating grasshoppers, they insisted on posing with their food and throwing grasshoppers at us to hear us squeal!



While some of the other volunteers studiously made hundreds of samosas as lunch for the children and staff in the morning, I played with Happy and the other children. A new boy, Charlie, had joined the orphanage the night before and had been really shy and sticking to himself a lot. I gave him my camera: he soon mastered the art of photography and made quite a few friends in the process.

After 5 hours or so of cooking and preparations, the dalla dalla arrived to take us all to Saa Naane. There were far too many kids and staff to fit into one dalla dalla, so we had to make two trips to the ferry point. Only ten people could (officially) fit in the tiny boat, so we had five (very packed) journeys back and forth to the island until we all arrived. After all that effort, it wasn't until about 3pm that the entire group reached Saa Naane.



The staff and volunteers were totally exhausted by all this, but the children absolutely loved seeing a lion up close and having a picnic with such amazing views. All that hard work was definitely paid off seeing their smiling faces at the end of the day :)

The places we go

One of the things you learn really fast in Tanzania is that nothing happens quickly: time is a rather flexible concept. Yesterday Joseph asked us if we wanted to take a 'quick walk' in the afternoon to do some home visits. When he can, Joseph arranges for older children to be adopted into the community with their families or other guardians, that way he can take in more children at the orphanage and keep more kids off the streets. The home visits are to check on the children and make sure they are in a safe and good environment, this particular visit was to check on one of the children that had been placed with his grandparents a few years ago.

We asked a few times how long the walk would be when we diembarked from the dalla-dalla, and Joseph assured us it would only be about 15 minutes. A very scenic and rigorous hour later we arrived at a tiny mudhut and met the family. A very elderly couple welcomed us warmly, and struggled to find places for us all to sit. They borrowed wooden chairs from neighbours and eventually brought their 'bed' - a very used and thin sack stuff with straw - out for us to sit on so we would be comfortable. It was really painful to watch them trying to comfort us as much as possible when they clearly had nothing. You might think from my description of seats that not many people lived in the hut, but the couple were looking after four grandchildren from their own children who had died, and another four grandchildren and wife of their son who had run off.


the family with Joseph (2nd from the left)


The husband had been a business man but had long since retired and now had to make sisal ropes in order to support the family. He showed us the 'machine' he used to shred the plants - a mere scrap of metal - and demonstrated how long it took to carefully twist the strands together. We could see that it would take him at least half an hour of twisting to make a rope that could fetch about 300 TSh (30 cents) at market, and he was supporting 11 people by doing this. The boy we had come to visit wasn't there, as the family had absolutely nothing and the children had gone to town to beg for dinner. Joseph told us that the situation was common and that was why he had to monitor the families children were placed with often to make sure the children weren't starving to death. He told us it was likely the boy would have to return to the orphanage as it was clear the family was unable to support him.

Mwanza revisited

Yesterday Abby and I arrived in Mwanza and were extremely warmly welcomed by Joseph and all the children in Fonelisco. The children at the orphanage (and the staff) put on a wonderful performance singing and dancing for us. At the end Abby and I were forced to get up and join everyone - so it was a good thing we got some rest in Nairobi otherwise we would have been knackered!


the staff performing a local dance

Last year while I was here I took a group of streetkids out to dinner at the local pizzeria that's run by another orphanage in mwanza. Yesterday when I walked into Fonelisco I saw Jimmy straight away, one of the streetkids I had told to go to Joseph's orphanage a year ago. I couldn't believe that he had taken my advice and it was so nice to see that he was healthy, happy and safe :)


abby and jimmy

hakuna matata

Abby and I arrived in Nairobi first thing this morning and it seemed very likely to turn into one of those days where everything goes wrong. We'd heard the stories about 'Nairobbery' so had planned to go straight to Mwanza to catch up on sleep and explore Nairobi on the tail end of the journey. The flight wasn't until 3pm so we would have had 6 hours at the airport waiting to fly but we couldn't fly today because seats to Mwanza were fully booked. We checked into a backpacker dive and have spent the day resting, seeing a bit of the city, and discovered that our phone was broken so managed to get it fixed, something that would be really unlikely anywhere else we are travelling to! The city is much nicer than I imagined and it's the first time I've been anywhere in Africa and totally ignored - after all the stories you hear about the place it has been a wonderful first day and it is fantastic to be back :)


this is Mt Kilimajaro by air on the way to Mwanza

Truancy, as usual

I've noticed that a lot of people are finding me through looking for info on volunteering in Tanzania, if that's the stuff you're after you can find it here and here.

Sorry I haven't been posting very regularly recently, I've got loads of work to finish before heading back to East Africa in June. I'm taking Abby (my little sister) with me this summer... will be far more travelling than I did last summer - we plan to do a loop of Lake Victoria but I'm not sure if we can stomach the grueling day long bus journey from Mwanza to Kigali - so it might involve a bit of backtracking though Uganda. I'm going to spend a week in Mwanza and can't wait to see the kids again and catch up with the wonderful people I met there :) Then Abby and I are going of to gorrilla trek in Rwanda. Abby wants to be a primatologist so I'm hoping it'll be some inspiration for her! We will be darting around like mad - look forward to some real (and hopefully interesting) posts starting the end of next month.

Please don't tell me you're surprised

Today the Post's Shankar Vedantam reports that the pharmaceutical company which sponsors a drug trial is most likely to find their own drug works 'best'. Comparison of Schizophrenia Drugs Often Favors Firm Funding Study goes onto say:

...when psychiatrist John Davis analyzed every publicly available trial funded by the pharmaceutical industry pitting five new antipsychotic drugs against one another, nine in 10 showed that the best drug was the one made by the company funding the study."On the basis of these contrasting findings in head-to-head trials, it appears that whichever company sponsors the trial produces the better antipsychotic drug," Davis and others wrote in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Such studies make up the bulk of the evidence that American doctors rely on to prescribe $10 billion worth of antipsychotic medications each year. Davis pointed out the potential biases in design and interpretation that produced such contradictory results. Other experts note that industry studies invariably seek to boost the image of expensive drugs that are still under patent. Moreover, they say, the trials are relatively brief and test drugs on patients with simpler problems than doctors typically encounter in daily practice.

By contrast, when the federal government recently compared a broader range of drugs in typical schizophrenia patients in a lengthy trial, two medications that stood out were cheaper drugs not under patent. The medication that worked best for patients with severe, intractable schizophrenia was clozapine, whose sales lag well behind every other drug in its class. And an earlier leg of the study found that the largely unused drug perphenazine had about the same risks and benefits as far more expensive competitors that are widely assumed to be safer.

US govt policy at work

AIDS prevention efforts are being undermined by spending restrictions in US foreign aid the Washington Post reports today. Despite years of evidence showing that tied aid is less effective than untied aid (Sachs, 2005), Bush's PEPFAR plan requires that a significant proportion of US funding must be spent on abstinence only prevention efforts. This means that in many cases struggling health systems have had to cut spending to more necessary areas in order to fulfill US demands.

Of the 15 "focus countries" -- 12 African countries, plus Haiti, Guyana and Vietnam -- nine reduced the amount of money for programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in their 2006 budgets to meet the spending target for abstinence promotion.

In one, mother-to-child funding was cut from $1.4 million to $1 million, and in another it was reduced by $300,000, said GAO's David Gootnick, who oversaw the report.

In perhaps the largest adjustment, one country cut from $8 million to $4 million its spending on prevention services for couples in which one person has HIV infection and the other does not -- an extremely high-risk group -- as well as on sexually active youths and sex workers.