We have been in Tanga now for almost a week ands things are surely different than what we thought! Dan and I are finding other areas to work in as our original plans are not as solid as we had hoped for.
There is a lot of corruption here but it is hard to see it as a newcomer to the area. We have been meeting many helpful people and one of the Malaria Dr's has informed us of scandals that happen quite often here with volunteer organizations and "orphanages." He said that often times, a volunteer group will start up here and charge people to come and then not have jobs for them once they get here and they end up wandering around the city with nothing to do. Some, NOT ALL, of the orphanages here are just a building with no one in it and when visitors come or when volunteers are lined up- they will just bring in local children and have them stay there so it looks legitimate! Then whoever was running it pockets the money and the money keeps coming. There have been no visible efforts made for sustainable development- sustainable meaning the local people are empowered with jobs and contributing to the improvement of their community and lifestyle. It's extremely frustrating to know that there is a lot of money coming into this area and it is being mismanaged in a way that is not developing the people by training them with job skills or education or their community for long- term success.
One of the Malaria Dr's had this to say in response to my frustration with the lack of sustainable development "the sun goes up, the tide comes in, the sun goes down, the tide goes out." Meaning, most of the people here are happy living day-to-day and do not see the impetus for improvement. Why make a better tomorrow if today is alright? The whole mind set is totally different. So, the best advice we have received was to just sit back and watch the way things work. Watch the local people, interact, have a good time and see how life moves here- then when we find the legitimate organizations to work with- we will know how to work within the current framework in order to improve things.
We are making good contacts thus far and meeting people who can really help us but the pace here is so relaxed and slow- it doesn't work to just have someone's contact info and call them up- you have to be introduced by whom they know or you won't be taken seriously. We are currently waiting to meet a lady who has a tourism center all set up in this region and she is very dedicated towards sustainable development from what we have heard. We are also waiting to meet the former President of the Rotary club who has some projects and we are also waiting to meet with the lady from the reputable orphanage here who also helps with another organization here. But presently, we are living the way of life here and gathering an understanding of how things work...an ethnographic study of sorts...
In the meantime, the local people have been taking us out to view the city in different ways. We have gone to very good and cheap places to eat right on the water and the food is delicious! We have gone to some of the local hot spots at night and it has been much fun. Touring the city and taking pictures of everything and documenting what is going on at each location, where the restaurants are, where the hotels are etc. is what we are currently doing so that we can take all of this information and compile it into brochures to place in the tourist office. So, hopefully these next few days we see and document as much as possible- which is a fun way to see the city!
Well, when we have further information as to what exact projects we will be working on- I most surely will let you know! This week when our friend Simon from Dar gets here, we will be going to the Lushoto region to tour the mountainside and talk with the guy who runs the agricultural plot there and also the guy who runs a carpentry center.
I hope you are all doing well!