Farkwa to Kondoa, Tanzania, Thursday October 2nd

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With no need to leave very early on the bus, and no need to keep the rolls for a picnic lunch on the way to Kondoa, we had the most unusual meal of bread and honey for breakfast. It was just as well that we had the extra time because there were still things to be done.

We set off with Rosie and Ticha to pay a visit Maria, the mother of a new baby, and of course, a relative of Ticha’s. Progress was very slow for Keith, who tottered along like an elderly gentleman due to his back injury. A painted sign on a doorway was graffiti and said the name of a previous prime minister and ‘problem’. Apparently he took lots of money and ran off from his job as PM and is now living in Arusha or somewhere. As we passed the tailor, Mama Rosie’s house, Rosie heard that her latest new top was ready.

Maria and her baby are alike and both very beautiful. The baby is unnamed as yet and just over a week old. Unlike us, who pore over baby name books and internet lists, with the majority having decided on a boy’s name and a girl’s name before the birth, here the parents meet the baby and then consider the name to suit. Rosie gave a tiny little knitted cap, one of many that an Australian donor had sent. It is a most welcome gift and will be worn even in the heat of the afternoon. On days when we are staying in the shade, tiny babies are wrapped up and invariably wear little knitted hats.

Upon our return, I swept out the house, washed sheets, and then played UNO with Maria, Hawa, Fide and Adam. Keith went off for a slow walk to take some photos of plants and other natural features.

Over the morning we had special visits from Fidelisi, Bibi and Inyasia, all thanking us for coming. Bibi added that she had been pleased that we had been part of their fiftieth anniversary celebration, and very happy that I had danced to help her celebrate. Inyasia expressed her gratitude to us for sponsoring Adam’s education. We have the beautiful letter that Adam wrote to us in the school letter writing session, and look forward to his next, since when he signed off he said that it was ‘to be continued’.

It was a bit anti-climactic to still be there at lunchtime, with the car arrival time moving back as the estimated times passed. While I was minding Jarvah, we ended up over with Fidelisi and Bibi, in their little house, the one they have lived in all these years and will leave to move ten metres away when the new house is finished. Small as it is, there are spots for everything. It is made of baked mud bricks and sticks and has a roof of mud and thatch.

Eventually Rosie had finished her preparations, and both Keith and Sebi were having a sleep. A World Vision vehicle swept into the yard, carrying a lady from Sydney who was visiting her sponsor child in Gonga, a nearby village. She had been offered the chance to meet Rosie, Ticha and family, and Rosie had agreed, as long as they came to the house. She was also being shown the hostel being built up at the school. She was full of enthusiasm and had seen many animals on her safaris. She was a very pleasant person, and represented for me the outside, the people we really were, although after two and a half weeks of action packed involvement in the family and village, I felt as though we could never be so simply that again.

Once we and Pius started taking final photos, the emotions overwhelmed Hawa and Rosie, so it was a sombre group who waited for the Safari car to come. When it did, the slow motion of the morning was replaced with a feeling of ‘fast forward’, with the last goodbyes to everyone, the luggage stashed and us all in and driving off, taking less than five minutes. Freddy’s friends were there to see him off, and for him and Pius, this was one of the most momentous events of their lives as they set off to live in Australia.

There was plenty of room, with Keith in the front seat with our driver, Derek, Rosie and me in the middle nursing the boys, and Ticha, Freddy and Pius in the back. The roads were terrible, and even with Derek’s very careful driving, Keith’s back felt every bump. We passed villages, road and bridge site works and stretches of dry bush in the middle of nowhere, where someone would be walking or riding a bike. Rocky mountains surrounded us. I felt strangely embarrassed to be flashing past in such a fancy vehicle, and conscious of our white skin and Keith sitting in the front seat taking photos through the window. People often waved, and children called out to us.

Almost as soon as we were out of Farkwa Rosie spotted a dik dik (the smallest antelope) and from then on we were hoping to see interesting wildlife. Sebi was fully into looking for animals and was interested in dry rivers and bridges, which was just as well as they well and truly outnumbered fauna spottings. We were intrigued by the golden, straw balls so obvious in some of the leafless trees, and Derek told us that they were weaver bird nests. We were so anxious to see some wildlife that we were disappointed when the wild pig spotted by Keith turned out to be a dog. A little plantation of gum trees reminded us of home, standing out, tall and ungainly and covered in green against the squat, bare shrubs and trees.

Peace, child-wise, ended when Jarvah woke up, and he was not happy in any position except on Rosie’s knee and not even then unless he was sucking non-stop. Later, when Sebi wanted to sit on Rosie’s knee and Jarvah had at last been passed to Ticha, Jarvah screamed his protest at his brother having a turn on the coveted lap. A swap of children brought protest cries from Sebi. Luckily another bridge was in view and Sebi, at least, could be distracted by it.

The houses became more frequent and eventually we realised that we were in the outskirts of Kondoa, a large town with government buildings, a bank, many shops and residences. The roads were lined with hair dressing salons, with the first we noticed called the ‘Apollo 14’ salon, and many others echoing the space theme. The paintings on the walls of what the clients turned out like were obviously aimed at some sort of ideal ‘modern’ look, appealing to vanities and insecurities in the same way as in Australian salon advertisements. The difference was in what was considered appealing, with many men depicted in leather jackets, sunglasses and even with hats hiding the hairstyle, and with women being sleekly plaited or with hair straightened, and wearing smirks and out of date western clothing. Other shops and businesses had bizarre names inspired by western culture, such as Beach Boys Investments.

We pulled up in front of the New Planet Hotel, in a dusty street with shops along it of the variety that has large steel or wooden doors over the whole façade when the shop is closed.A small crowd of children gathered round, and I was surprised that they did not use the respectful ‘shikamo’ in responding to my Swahili greeting. We checked that the rooms were fine, with intact mosquito nets and fans, and then we went to the restaurant at the back.

The place was full of children sitting at tables, with two or three on some chairs, and one bottle of pop between five, and other children waiting to come in or their way out. No adult, other than the patient waiter, was in sight, and the children ranged in age from about five onwards. They were wearing good clothes so we deduced (and never found out one way or the other) that it was an end of Ramadan party night, with this being the venue for the children’s parties. Seats were made available for us, and we gave our orders, but from then on the steady flow of children took precedence. Rosie felt uncomfortable having children looking in the windows at her and even more so because others were leaning over the railing and making comments immediately behind where she and Ticha were sitting,. Eventually she told the children, quite angrily, to go away, and the waiter, enlisted in the cause, tried to make them move away too. After five minutes Sebi started running off, and after an hour, with no food, Jarvah, who had been fed by Rosie, was ready for bed and screaming. Attempts to keep the boys happy by taking them outside failed and eventually Rosie called it quits and she and Jarvah went to their room. We all waited on, challenged by Sebi, until he had to be removed momentarily to be changed. What a night! Through it all, Freddy and Pius sat on patiently, not saying anything unless spoken to, and certainly not complaining. At last our meals arrived, Ticha took Rosie’s to their room, we all ate, and the evening was over.

The kids play soccer on this dirt field behind the grandparents'house. Rashidi has one shoe and one thong for playing.