Cars, Cows and Cleaners

This weekend was the big Talladega Nascar race. I have, most unfortunately, never been to a Nascar gathering in my life.
It seems a bit odd though; sitting around a track and watching cars drive around in a circle really really fast. I imagine the most exciting parts are the times when a car smashes into a wall or flips over across the runway. And everyone is excited…although hoping no one gets killed.
But as I’ve said…I’ve never been to a Nascar race.

Saturday we went to Fufu. Fufu is a village about two hours outside of Dodoma on a long, straight, sandy dirt road. In the dry season the bumps and ditches aren’t too bad. The wet season, come November, will make passing on the road a nightmare.

As we drive along there are people walking or riding bikes on either side of the road. On their heads carrying water, sticks, vegetables, charcoal. Some even have 10+ chickens hanging upside down off their handlebars. I bet PETA would have something to say about that!

Just as the whole “left-hand side of the road” doesn’t exist outside the city, people never really seem to follow a pattern of which side they walk on.

One bulky teenage boy had on shorts and a soccer jersey. Chewing on some sugarcane he turned his head to watch as we drove by. Then he continued on his way with a sack of flour the size of a car tire sitting gently on his head.

Most bikes hear the car coming and have to stop their bike quickly and run it off to the side of the road. Then they turn and watch us as we drive past. The sand and gravel doesn’t really lend for stability on the edge of the path when a large Land Rover is driving relatively fast past you and there are three buckets of precious water hanging off your bike.

Older people walking past with canes, and mothers with babies strapped to their backs. They too are seen running out of the way of the car coming. Off the side of the road into a shallow ditch and up into the bushes a bit. And when you see their faces as you pass they aren’t upset or annoyed. They just look curiously into the windows of the car to see who is inside.

There were quite a few cows in view. The cows are different from our cows. But they act the same of course. They were mostly seen gathered in packs of 30 around a not-so-big leafless tree, apparently trying to stay cool in the “shade.” There were a lot of donkeys in Fufu as well. It is interesting and somehow refreshing to watch women walk behind two donkeys who have been laden with four huge yellow plastic (previously cooking oil) buckets full of water. It feels like a picture we would have drawn in school trying to portray “back then.”

But it isn’t back then of course. It is now. And it isn’t just here in Fufu. And it isn’t just in Tanzania. There are many programs training locals to use homemade plows; from wood, cloth, rope, scrap metal. It is an example of what is called “appropriate technology.” In South Africa they have wells that manually pump water by the merry go round that kids play on and push in a circle. One environmental NGO in Dodoma works with women in building new stoves that produce less smoke, (they cook indoors) and use less wood. In rural Peru there are projects of “drip irrigation” where large barrels are built to collect rain water—and then very small amounts of water are released at a time over the crops. Appropriate technology in theory uses local materials, local labor and technology which is appropriate for local culture and wealth.

Speaking of local crafts, (well, sorta), I have to mention the shoes that are made locally in Tanzania. Used rubber, (from car or bike tires) are cut into strips and made into sandals, held together by small, used nails. They are worn mostly by boys and men. They are thick and sturdy. And they form to your foot like Birkenstocks. Pretty cool, eh? And they cost less than a dollar to make. If you want a pair of awesome hippie authentic recycled rubber sandals, just let me know! ;)

That is one of the things I appreciate most about Tanzania. They don’t throw anything away. Everything can be fixed. At CAMS we have this magically wonderful man who can fix anything. Anything from a water heater to a stove to a water filter to a car to an iron. He is great. And all over town you’ll find shops, or just a chair and a table, where someone is waiting to fix—whatever it is you need fixed. In the US it is cheaper to just throw a vacuum cleaner, phone or VCR away rather than taking it to the repair shop. What a waste.

I remember stories about how in Louisiana after Katrina there were numerous fridges sitting at the curb waiting to be hauled off and thrown away. No one wanted to deal with cleaning all the food out of it. I don’t blame them. Who would want that job?
Plenty of people here in Tanzania! Cleaning is a huge industry. Millions (mostly women) make their living cleaning. Cleaning office buildings, churches, schools, the streets or houses.

Housecleaners here often have their own housecleaners.

People with cars hire people to drive them. And why not; Driving here isn’t exactly a pleasurable experience.
It was a bit of an adjustment though; having people hired to drive you long distances and wait long hours; getting someone to wash your floors, iron your clothes and put them away for you. Having a bowl and pitcher of water brought before you so they could rinse your hands for you before eating the meal they prepared for you. (Like what I used to do for the priest when I was an acolyte...)
Sitting at the front of a village church I have to introduce myself. I am Kelly. I am American. I have been in Tanzania teaching for one year. Now I work for the Carpenter’s Kids.
Then later my colleague adds to my introduction. She is the daughter of a Bishop in the US. She has left her home: her my family and friends to come here to Tanzania to work for orphans.
And yes. All true. But I enjoy my job. I don’t feel I am “doing a good thing for the world” anymore than anyone else…anywhere, (well except maybe George Bush...or the owner of Exxon, or Mugabe in Zimbabwe...).
We all are just doing what we are good at --- or what we enjoy. Or both if we’re lucky. And I am learning a lot being here. But mostly I just feel lucky to know that next year if I go to the Nascar race in Talladega…I’ll think back on a year ago and remember how different it was: a Saturday, in a large car, driving on unpaved roads, people watching, without cell phone service, drinking overly sweet tea and eating unhealthy carbohydrates…
or maybe, in many ways, it’ll be exactly the same.