Fact Check That (Part 2 of 2)

Welcome back to part two of Getting to Know Tanzania Through Facts and Figures.  This week we continue with facts and figures about the economy of Tanzania.

Despite it’s natural beauty, Tanzania is in the bottom 10% of the world’s economies.  Tanzania’s GDP, in terms of purchasing power (what goods in Tanzania would cost in the USA), is a trivial $57.5 billion in comparison to the United States’ $14.26 trillion. (At the official exchange rate (Tanzania’s GDP converted to US dollars), Tanzania’s GDP is only $22.16 billion.)  Per capita, this is $1,400 (201st*).  Per capita GDP in the States is $46,000 (11th).  The percentage of the population below the poverty line in Tanzania is 36%.  There is nothing surprising about this figure.  The percentage of the population below the poverty line in the United States is 12%.  I find this rather astounding.  How is it the country with the world’s largest and most powerful economy find itself with 36,865,454 people living in poverty? Tanzania only has 14,777,471 people living below the poverty line.  The US has almost two and a half times the amount of people living in poverty that Tanzania does but over 600 times the GDP.  Now it is worth considering what is meant by poverty line.  This metaphorical line is based on many figures and varies considerably country-to-country.  This means what qualifies as poverty in one country may not qualify in another.  Thus is should be noted that poverty in the US is very different from poverty in Tanzania where poverty means living on a dollar a day.

Tanzania’s economy is primarily agriculture, with 40% of the GDP comprised of agricultural activities.  This is rather amazing given that only 4.23% of the land is arable. (18.01% of the United States is suitable for farming).  Additionally, 80% of the labour force works in agriculture and 85% of exports are agricultural goods.  Things grown for mass-market in Tanzania include: coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, cashew nuts, tobacco, cloves, corn, wheat, cassava, and bananas.  Tanzania exports $2.744 billion in  gold, coffee and cashew nuts, manufactured goods and cotton to mainly India, Japan, and China.

In terms of public debt, Tanzania owes 24.8% of it’s GDP.  Externally, it owes $7.07 billion dollars.  These figures are pennies compared to the debts of America.  In public debt, the United States owes 52.9% of it’s GDP.  This, of course, doesn’t include state and inter-governmental debt.  If it did, add another 30% of the GDP.  In external debt, the United States owes $13.45 trillion.  That make us #1 in terms of debt.  Congratulations us.

Tanzania consumes 32,000bbl/day of oil (112th), all of which is imported. The United States, as the number one consumer of oil, uses 19.5 million bbl/day, of which only 8.514 million bbl/day is produced internally.  In 2008, Tanzania consumed 560.7 million cu m of natural gas (93rd) whereas the US consumed 657.2 billion cu m(1st).  Given these figures, it should come as no surprise that the United States is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide on the planet.  Congratulations again.

Tanzania has a striking number of cell phone lines: 14.723 million.  This figure becomes clearer when you know that many Tanzanians have two or even three different phone lines with different companies.  A more reasonable number is the 179,849 main lines Tanzania posses.  For comparison, the US has 270 million cell phone lines and 150 million land lines. 

Americans love their televisions.  The fact that as of 2006, there were 2,218 different TV broadcasting stations proves this.  Tanzania, on the other hand, has just 3.  The US is also home to 231 million internet users while Tanzania has just 520,000 though this figure is rising.

Ask any Tanzanian and one thing they’ll say about the country is the poor infrastructure.  And indeed, it hasn’t quite the development as the United States.  Of the 78,891 km of roads in Tanzania, 72,083 of them are unpaved. (The United States has more miles of roads than any other country coming in with 6,465,799 km.)  Tanzania also has 125 airports,of which only 9  are paved.  (Again the US has more airports than any other nation with 15,095.)

Another thing Tanzanians will say about their country is it’s history of non-violence.  Tanzanians proud themselves on their passive nature.  Tanzania spends only .2% of its GDP on military (170th of 173).  The US throws 4.06% of its GDP ($578,956,000,000) to its military. Though the US rank appears lower, 28th world-wide, it is the highest among western nations and the countries ahead of it include: Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel among others. (Iceland comes in last at 0.00%. I guess there isn’t a lot of desire for invading frozen islands in the middle of the North Atlantic.)  Additionally, Tanzania has taken in more refugees than any other African nation (480,613) mostly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Comparatively the United States accepted 100,159 refugees from around the world in 2004-2005.

Though the USA may have better infrastructure and a longer life expectancy, this does not mean that it is a better place to live.  The United States is shackled with debt and produces an outrageous amount of green house gases.

Hopefully these statistics help give you a better picture of Tanzania and where it stands in the world.

 

* Disassociated numbers in parenthesis indicate rank among the world

Note: All facts and figures compliments of the CIA World Factbook and the math is brought to you by my handy Casio calculator.

Fact Check This (Part 1 of 2)

Recently, I realized that though I have given much commentary on Tanzania’s culture and landscape, I have supplied very few real facts.  This series will come in two parts, the first concerning social facts and the second, economics.  So here is a little commentary, and a lot of facts.

On the 9th of December, 1961, Tanganyika gained independence from British rule.  A few years later, the island of Zanzibar gained similar independence and joined with the mainland to form the United Republic of Tanzania on 26th April, 1964.  Hence the name, Tanzania.

The country of Tanzania is the world’s 31st largest with a total size of 947,300 sq km, roughly two Californias.  In comparison the USA is the 3rd largest nation with 9,826,675 sq km (3/10 the size of the African continent).  Tanzania is bordered by 8 countries and 1424 km of the Indian Ocean.  The country is home to many of the ‘continent’s greatest’ including highest mountain (Mt. Kilimanjaro at 5895 m), and the three of the largest lakes (Victoria, Tanganyika and Nyasa).  Additionally, Lake Victoria is the world’s second largest freshwater lake, and Lake Tanganyika is the world’s second deepest.  Tanzania is also home to part of the Great Rift Valley, Ngorongoro caldera and a plethora of unique flora and fauna.

Lake Victoria

The population of this African nation comes in at 41,048,532 (30th*), much below the USA which weighs in at 307,212,123.  This is only where the difference in population begin.  The median age in Tanzania is 18; in the United States it is 36.7.  The population over 65 consists of a mere 2.9% in Tanzania versus 12.8% in the US.  This statistic is more dramatic when seen from a different angle.  The average life expectancy for a Tanzanian is 52.01 years (206th of 224), 26.1 years less than the average American life expectancy.  It’s a little better for women who get an expected 53.51 years but it’s still much less than the American woman who gets 80.69 years.  Though we complain much about the costs and hassles of health care in the States, we really are getting a good deal.  That said, there are still 48 countries with better life expectancies than the United States.  (If you want to live long, move to Macau, Andorra or Japan.)  Infant mortality in Tanzania is 69.28/1000 live births (25th) – over ten times the rate in the US!  Like many developing nations, Tanzania’s urban population is on the rise.  25% of the population already lives in cities (compared with 82% in America) and that number is increasing at a rate of 4.2%.  The population as a whole is increasing at a rate of 2.04% (55th).

Tanzania, like all of Africa, is facing a HIV/AIDS crisis.  There are 1.4 million (6th) people living with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania alone.  There are 1.2 million infected in the States, but compared with population size, this is a much smaller fraction (6.2% for Tanzania versus 0.6% in the States).  Tanzania is also seventh in terms of HIV/AIDS deaths with 96,000 in 2007.

Tanzanian education, as you may imagine, is lagging.  Literacy is at 69.4% (girls comprising 62.2% and boys 77.5%).  Part of this may be explained by examining education expenditures.  Tanzania spends 2.2% of it’s GDP on education (164th).  In comparison the US spends a little more at 5.3% (57th).  What do these figures translate into?  With a little math you find that Tanzania spends $27.61 on each student.  This figure is an estimate because because it is based on the population below 14 and not all children below 14 go to school and many children above 14 go to school.  Nevertheless it is in the ballpark.  The math for the United States works out at $12,200.86 per student but this figure is bound to be high as it does not factor in any student over the age of 14.  Surprisingly, the majority of the countries with the highest educational spending are those in the South Pacific, with the tiny island of Kiribati coming in first at 17.80%.  On the other hand, the countries with the lowest GDP are the same Pacific island nations.

Tanzania is comprised of mainly three religions. 30% of the population is some denomination of Christian, 35% Muslim and the remaining 35% of believers hold indigenous religious beliefs. The percentage of the Muslim population increases as you head east; the island of Zanzibar is over 99% Muslim.  In comparison, the United States is 78.5% Christian and only 0.6% Muslim (the remaining percentage comprised of other beliefs (4.9%) and unaffiliated/non-believers(16.1%)).  

Tanzania, upon gaining independence, became a republic and choose to develop a legal system based on English common law.  Like the States, suffrage is 18 years and universal.  The current president, Jakaya Kikwete, has been in office since 21 December 2005.  Presidential terms last five years and the next election is coming up in October 2010.  In the last election, Kikwete won with a resounding 80.3%.  Compare this with our last presidential election in which Barak Obama won with 52.4% (a percentage most Americans did not find close).

Tanzania’s flag, as shown, consists of four colours.  The green represents the country’s flora, the yellow for it’s mineral deposits, black for the people and blue for it’s lakes and rivers.

Now that I have given you a multitude of facts, take some time to mull them over and come back next week for part 2.

 

* Disassociated numbers in parenthesis indicate rank among the world

Note: All facts and figures compliments of the CIA World Factbook and the math is brought to you by my handy Casio calculator.

Tanzania Wears Prada

Brand names.  Americans love them. Abercrombie and Fitch, Banana Republic, Columbia, GAP, Nike, Talbot, Birkenstock. Fashion is important in America, especially to younger people.  Social status is defined by the names on the tags of your clothing.  Consumers faithfully return to their favorite stores, spending a fortune on a pair of blue jeans.  Many even fall into debt because of their want for the best, newest clothing.

In Tanzania, appearance is as, or perhaps even more, important than in America.  But people here aren’t concerned with brand names.  A different kind of style reigns.  It doesn’t matter who made your clothes, or so much how they look or fit.  What matters is that you are wearing nice clothing.  Everyone wants to look ‘sharp’ and respectable.  Brand names mean nothing to Tanzanians.  Clothing is clothing.  Having an outfit that matches isn’t key.  But your overall appearance is essential.  It doesn’t matter who designed your dress slacks just as long as they’re ironed and creased properly.  Westerners have the stereotypic image of an African child in a baggy, tattered shirt and old flip-flops.  This stereotype is wrong.  Sure, you can find children dressed like this.  But anyone who can afford it, dresses well.  You won’t find anyone wearing sweat pants and torn sweatshirts for anything other than working out.  People place much importance on looking good.  Not on having the right brand names or latest fashions, but on the statement that you have taken care to look your best. 

Though Western clothing has become a dominant style in Tanzania, tradition still holds on.  Traditional dress is still apparent, especially for women.  Custom-made dresses cut from richly patterned fabrics are sewn with old Singer machines on street corners.  These dresses come in countless styles and have a truly African flavor.  Swaths of fabric known as khanga are wrapped around the the waist as a skirt are sometimes worn with the Western T-shirt.  Many Maasai, a tribe in East Africa, completely refuse to wear anything Western and proudly display their traditional shúkà dyed deep red and blue.  On the coast, where Arabic influence is apparent, men wear white tunics with matching caps and women are hidden underneath floor-length burkas. 

Clothes shopping is a mêlée of noise, heat and colour.  There are no shopping malls and clothing boutiques here.  Buying clothes must be done from a secondhand clothing market.  The clothing market near where we live sits atop red African soil and under the brilliant equatorial sun.  It’s quite expansive, extending a area comparable with that of a Western shopping mall.  The sharp smell of second-hand clothing permeates but doesn’t repel.  Wooden lean-tos with tarp roofing house ever type of clothing imaginable.  Some specialize in women’s blouses, others in blue jeans and others in hats.  In some, clothing is displayed from wire hangers and in others, clothing is left in rumpled heaps for the shopper to sort through.  Other vendors don’t have the convenience of a lean-to and pile clothes on low tables or on tarps spread on the ground.  Women with fanny-packs of small bills yell out prices like auctioneers and school-girls dig through piles of shirts for something that suits their fancy.

All clothing that passes through these markets is second hand, some used more gently than others.  Brand names are stuck next to nameless designers, with nothing to distinguish the two.  For some articles of clothing, it is clear how they got here – stained or torn or so terribly out of fashion they shouldn’t ever be allowed to be worn again.  Other garments are hidden treasures that don’t even show signs of wear.  Some obviously came straight from the garage sale, 25¢ masking tape price tag still attached while others could have walked right out of Macy’s.  The ones in better shape fetch higher prices - $2 for a shirt and $7 for a pair of pants at most.  If you’re lucky you can find great deals in the piles of clothing that would cost you only pennies.

Finding suitable clothing is somewhat challenging in this environment.  For starters, you have to find something that you like.  Once that is accomplished, does it fit?  Is it clean?  Is it damaged at all?  Finding an article of clothing that meets all of these requirements can be tricky.  But once you find something that works, you have a distinct feeling of accomplishment. 

Pole na Mazoezi

By Cindy Johnson

Pole (Po lay) is a Tanzanian expression that has no equivalent in English. It is a way of expressing sympathy for other’s work or difficulties in life. It is a wonderful and pervasive expression in Tanzania. It is a common greeting for roadside travelers burdened with a heavy load or firewood or water or for a friend whose car has broken down. It is a nice way of saying to someone, ‘I see you suffer from the inevitable burdens of life and I feel empathy.’

As I walk up the mountain toward my goal, the gate of Kilimanjaro National Park, I am greeted in many ways including “pole”, as villagers express empathy for my trudge up the mountain. “Asante, na wewe pia” I respond, and you too. The very idea that these villagers are encouraging me to keep trudging, gives me extra energy, but at the same time feels utterly ridiculous as I watch them also trudge up the mountain beneath a load of firewood balanced carefully on their head. Their burden is not by choice as mine is. I am exercising; they are working.

Exercising intentionally is something that mzungus (white people) do. We are joined by a small minority of Tanzanians who have similar positions behind computers or otherwise no longer have to harvest their food or fuel. Here on a college campus this includes many students, faculty and staff. But most Tanzanians have no need for physical exercise and must find it amusing to watch this mzungu professor marching up the mountain. They are physically strong with endurance that exceeds most athletes. Nonetheless they greet me warmly and offer encouragement.

I watch my fellow exercisers. A man pushes an old bike up the mountain laden with firewood that extends a meter in each direction from his bike. A young girl, no more than 8 years old, expertly balances a bucket of water atop her head as she heads for home. A woman squats while collecting forage; she is limber and flexible. This is what our bodies were meant to do, not run on treadmills.

I have never enjoyed exercising more than here on this mountain. Not only am I constantly encouraged and inspired by the many ‘pole’s I receive, but by the beauty of life. Walking (and running) has allowed me to explore my home on this mountain. With the assistance of students (lest I get lost!), I have explored villages, river gorges, paths that meander amidst banana plantations and stately coffee plantations. Everywhere I am greeted warmly and invited to partake in the local brew, mbege (millet beer). Most know me as the professor from the college. I am shadowed by children anxious to try out their English, wishing me ‘Good Morning’, regardless of the time of day. With few exceptions, I listen to villagers twitter and giggle with mirth as I pass; my Kiswahili is comical at best and I am happy to brighten their day.

Life as it exists here on the mountain is rich and full. Children, neatly dressed in school uniforms and in no hurry, walk home for chores and homework. A small boy dressed in winter ski cap slaloms down the mountain on his imaginary skis and his crude stick poles. A villager under the influence of too much mbege, calls loudly after the mzungu. Pods of women, sharing the day’s news, meander slowly up the mountain. Theirs is a sharing that has happened for centuries; burdens made lighter by comrades. An older man tugs at the lead rope to his cow, switch in hand trying to maneuver man and beast up the mountain. The butcher peers past the carcass that hangs from the ceiling of his small stall, watching and waiting for customers. Chickens skitter across the road and dogs sulk in the shadows. Blue Sykes monkeys perform wild aerobatics teasing me to watch their antics.

Omnipresent, is the mountain. My routes include up and down, both are inevitable. I can choose, up first and then down or vice versa, but always they come together. The mountain provides encouragement, inspiring glimpses of fresh snow contours or full throated cheers of magnificent clouds playing peek a boo with the summit in the colors of twilight.

It was the mountain that provided the inspiration, along with enthusiastic coaching from students, for me to enter my first ever marathon. Yup, a marathon…. Err half marathon. The Kilimanjaro Marathon is one of the premier African marathons that happens to run up the very road I live on at the college. Frankly, I have never understood why anyone would want to do a marathon…long training, boring and/or repetitive routes, hard on the body, etc. However, since I have been blessed with an awesome ‘gym’ on this mountain, I have found my excursions nothing but refreshing, inspiring longer and faster treks. I laughed at the first suggestion of me doing a marathon, but simultaneously and secretly made a promise to myself.

As it turns out, the Kilimanjaro Marathon is a big deal attracting over 3000 runners and 36 countries. There were more mzungus than I’ve seen in a while, but we were outnumbered by Africans of all kinds including those who sit behind computers and those who train professionally. Without contest, the fastest were Africans (Kenyans). Me, I coveted the beautiful medal and knew I could do it just to get the medal. Well 21 kilometers in 3 hours got me a medal, and a time only 30 minutes behind most of my students (1 minute for every year of age difference?). Heck it was easy…. Every few kilometers there was a stand issuing water, food and dripping sponges not to mention the Tanzanian music blaring loudly. It was a hoot, like a big moving party. I never expected it to be fun; hurt yes, but fun? My mostly solitary treks across the countryside had prepared me physically, but I simply didn’t anticipate the fun. Everyone was encouraging and friendly, how could one not succeed given such a huge cheering squadron?

My student coaches have all but signed me up for the next full marathon. Me, I am content to savor my one and only marathon medal (and t-shirt). I will keep trekking across this beautiful countryside soaking in life in its wonderful beauty, diversity and glory. To all you marathoners or marathoner ‘wanna be’, “pole na mazoezi”, I extend my empathy for your exercise.

Ready, set, remember!

Of all the subjects offered in school, physical education is the one students take least seriously.  Gym is the ‘fun’ class where you receive little or no homework, play games most days and are guaranteed high marks if you just come to class. 

Most days, at the beginning of class we would do some exercises which would be followed by a rousing match of whatever game it was we were focusing on that week.  We played (attempted) every game imaginable.  We tried everything from softball to bowling to dodge ball .  We even played unconventional games like crab soccer (soccer played in a crab position with an oversized stuffed ball) and Mission Impossible (a game of teamwork involving crossing the gym without touching the floor).  A unit on a legitimate game that had real rules (think any sport found in the Olympics) was always anteceded by a test on rules, strategies and scoring.  The announcement of a unit test was always met with groaning because, as everyone knows, you don’t get tests in gym class.  No one ever liked gym tests because (1) they were out of place, and (2) when would we ever need to know how the dimensions of  a lacrosse field or how to keep score in bowling?  Needless to say, the information we learned when studying for these tests were quickly lost deep within our grey matter after the exam was over.  After all, it wasn’t like these were skills we would need to know in real life.

Or so we though.  This year I have found myself reintroduced to all of the games I knew from Phy. Ed. like badminton, tennis and volleyball.  Finding myself back on the court, I regretfully wish I had paid more attention in gym class.  How was the proper grip of a badminton racquet again?  How was scoring in tennis done? I remember something of ‘love’ and ‘advantage’ and such, but then again, it was never was real clear in the first place.  It doesn’t help that I have abominable hand-eye coordination and a terrible sense of depth-of-field.  There is a reason I am a swimmer and a runner.  On the other hand, it doesn’t really matter if you know the rules of the game if the people you play with don’t always follow the traditional rules.  I don’t know much about volleyball, but I’m not sure it was intended to be played with kicking and heading as you might find in a soccer game. 

Despite my lack of skill and finesse, it is fun to play these games again.  And perhaps it is even more amusing for the other players to watch the girl who has no coordination and can only hit the ball two out of every five times.  So let this be a less to all of you 9th graders out there – pay attention in gym class.  Students always complain, “When will we ever need to know this?”  The answer is, even the most arcane bits of knowledge have a purpose and undoubtedly, they will come in handy when you least expect them to.

Sit! Stay! Roll Over!

Puppy chow, catnip and hamster wheels.  Americans are obsessed with their pets.  They feed them gourmet food, buy them little outfits for cold days, and leave them messages on the answering machine when they are away.  Coming from a culture like that, it can be hard to understand African’s adversity to dogs and other animals. 

Here dogs are for security and cats are for mouse control.  Dogs bark at intruders and cats do away with any pests.  They are purely practical.  For the most part, they are ignored and paid little attention, except for perhaps avoidance.  Many people here don’t like dogs, which is understandable.  Pets aren’t cared for here as they are in the states.  Dogs may not be friendly, they may have diseases.  With those circumstances it makes sense why people would be afraid of dogs.  

In the States, things are at the other extreme.  Some people lavish their pets with more attention than they give their friends and spend more money on their pets than the government does on education.  People take Fido to the doggy-playground so he won’t get lonely during the day, Mittens to the vet to have her teeth cleaned, and build Squeaky a veritable palace that connects his cage to every room in the house.

I find both of these extremes a bit absurd.  Pets can be great companions and useful as guards and pest controllers.  On the other hand, they are just pets and don’t need monthly check-ups at the vet’s, one hundred and one play toys or food better on par with human fare. 

The Snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro

Living on the slopes of the tallest mountain in Africa can, at times, yield an impressive view. Some days, the ones with out clouds, we have a spectacular view of the mountain.

There is even a good view reflected out front door:

 

On most days, however, the mountain is shrouded in cloud leaving little…   

… or none of the mountain visible.

Post-rain periods hold their own surprises. Like rainbows…

  

… and snow!

Five Stars

Some of the most surprising differences in life here versus in the States are from the more common things that you normally don’t think about.  One example would be movies.  Acquiring and watching movies in Tanzania is quite different than in the States. 

Movies can be bought in small electronic shops or just off the street.  Unlike in the States, where movies come in fancy plastic cases, DVDs here come in plastic sleeves inside a flat folder of thick paper.  And unlike in the States, movies here are sold in bunches.  When you buy a DVD you get anywhere from ten to thirty movies.  What I find most surprising is that they somehow fit twenty-odd movies on one DVD.  The grouping of the movies has little reason to it.  They could claim to be grouped by comedies, action or other criterion but in actuality tend to be mixed.  A DVD of comedy movies might contain ten comedies, two dramas and an action movie. Once you have made your selection, you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank to pay for the movies.  Buying one DVD with perhaps twenty movies costs only about $2.30.  Yes, with two dollars and thirty cents you can buy more than twenty movies.  How is this possible, you ask?  Let me illuminate…

Think back to the last movie you watched.  What was the first thing that came up on the screen?  Piracy warnings.  What was the last thing?  Credits.  Both of these things are removed from the movies here.  All of the movies are clearly pirated and many appear to have been recorded in a movie theater as you can hear the audience’s laughter in the background.  I can now understand why writers, producers and other are so concerned about the copyrights of their films. 

Though the majority of films are of good quality, some of them are less adequate.  As I said previously, some have been recorded and the sound tracks have external noises in them.  Many of the films are accompanied with subtitles, though not always accurate ones.  For example, the subtitles in the Disney children’s film Up contain quite a few swear words that are definitely not in the movie.  Other movies have subtitles that convey the same meaning as what is said but in very different words.  One movie I watched was originally in English but had been dubbed in some East European language and had subtitles that were terribly confusing and clearly had little to do with what was happening on screen.  Despite these viewing difficulties, the overall watching experience has been positive.

Ingenuity

If you were to ask someone of the street what words they would use to describe Americans, chances are the word ‘ingenious’ would be among the resulting list.  From founding fathers like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Edison and Bill Gates, we believe we hold a strong lineage of ingenious minds.  But I believe this is not due to an inherent ‘American nature’ but results from chance.  The real inventors are those in developing nations.

Inspired by the local atmosphere, we have done some of our own improvising.  When you can’t rely on a Target or Wal-mart to provide little necessities, you have to find other ways of making due.  We’ve created candle holders and a rolling pin out of old bottles,  a Tanzania version of Monopoly out of old cereal boxes and bottle caps, and house decorations of seed pods found in our backyard.  The cupboard in our hallway has been dedicated to raw materials and all scraps are deposited there until they are needed.

Ingenuity springs from making due with what you have.  In third world countries, resources are limited, creating an ideal playground for an ingenious mind. Here, children create play toys from discarded water jugs and old bicycle rims, women make handicrafts out of plant materials and men rig bicycles with grindstones to sharpen blades.  The creativity exhibited by the children in developing countries is precisely what the world needs when trying to tackle the problems like energy shortage and climate change. 

Unfortunately, the education to improve this creativity is not what it should be.  If you were born in Tanzania, you may not have had the opportunity to attend school as is granted in the States.  Success lies in opportunity.  These children have been given the priming for creativity and ingenuity but they lack education.  If given the education and opportunities, the children of developing nations could easily become the world leaders, inventors and scientists that will drive our world forward in the years to come. 

The Ascent

I have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.  I did it.  Well, I didn’t climb to the top, but I’ve climbed a little.  The college at Mweka is just a few kilometers downhill from the park gate.  We’ve walked up to the gate a few times just for the fun of it.

Setting off under marshmallow clouds, we turn left onto the paved road which turns to gravel meters past the college.  The village of Mweka lies just uphill from the college and consists of a few shops and a scattering of houses.  The shops are all small, but packed with items.  As you walk along Main Street, you can see a pharmacy, tailors at antique Singer sewing machines, and the butcher shop (a small white tiled building with carcasses hanging from hooks in the ceiling). The areas between houses are filled with banana plants and maize. 

We follow the rocky volcanic road as it winds up the mountain, past two primary schools and through a second village.  This village has many restaurant/bars filled with more white plastic chairs than the village probably has people.  These ‘bars’ that line either side of the road, are short, open structures with a barred counter in the back.  White and red plastic chairs crowd around wobbly plastic tables on the packed dirt floor. As you pass through the town, old men offer a local brew from large, brightly coloured plastic cups. 

As we continue on the road inclines sharply but we are rewarded at the top of the rise with spectacular views of golden plains and blue mountains under pillow clouds.  Up here, the view puts into perspective how far up the mountain we actually are.  As we reach the gate, banana trees give way to forest and tree ferns. 

All along the way, children run out to greet us with “Jambo!” or “Good morning” (even when it is the afternoon).  Some are quieter and shadow us a few paces back.  Often, they ask for money or chocolate, which of course, everyone carries when they go on a walk, right?  Older folk are amused by our limited knowledge of Swahili greetings.  They enthusiastically greet us and laugh good naturedly when we get the response wrong.