Danielle Macdonald - Our 200th Intern!
Danielle is participating in the NetCorps Canada International Program funded by Industry Canada. She left for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in July and will return to Canada in December 2003. Danielle is working with a Canadian group Aiding Youth for Life and a Tanzanian group called Healthscope.

Read the 1st Installment, July 2003 -
Befuddled in Dar es Salaam

Read the 2nd Installment, August 2003 -
The Rant

Read the 3rd Installment, September 2003 -
In the Middle of Nowhere
 

Patience is a Virtue…

Before my time in Africa I never would have considered ‘patience’ to be a skill that could be developed with practice.  Recently, I have spent many hours at the Ministry of Education – a dismal gray and crumbling building in the heart of Dar es Salaam’s center.  Aiding Youth for Life (AYL) needs written approval from the Ministry of Education to continue in-school HIV/AIDS education.  It seemed so simple…

My first visit to the Ministry of Education was an indication of things to come.  I asked to see the Director of Secondary Education and was directed to ‘Room 107’ where I found the Policy and Planning Department. I was re-directed to ‘Room 307’ to find the Permanent Secretary’s office.  Again I asked for the Director of Secondary Education and was told to try ‘Room 204’…a luke-warm success.  I found the Assistant Director of Secondary Education and he was kind enough to direct me to ‘Room 309’.  After finding ‘Room 309’ tucked around a corner I learned that the Director of Secondary Education was on Safari.  Back to the Assistant Director - he seemed eager to help and asked many questions about the education and ‘financial incentives’ the organization could provide.  I did some fancy dancing around the ‘financing issue’ and was promised that a letter of permission would be ready for pick-up the next week.

Danielle teaching proper contraceptive use

The following week I was greeted by the Assistant Director wearing a smug expression – there was no letter and I was advised to return the next week.  The receptionist now knew me well and became more agitated each time she saw my shining face.  The third visit proved no more fruitful but I was prepared with a foolproof back-up plan.  The plan was to work my way through the building knocking on every door until someone agreed to sign my letter.

Bad plan.  I found myself back at the Ministry the following week explaining myself to yet another slew of people with official titles.  A stately looking Tanzanian man explained, “Sorry, but the Ministry of Education does not have an official process for your request.”  In the next breath he went on to clarify, “official processes must be followed, you must have Tanzanian NGO status before we can grant you official permission to do interventions.”  I reminded myself to breathe and summoned my growing patience. 

I explained, “To achieve NGO status I need a letter of permission from the Ministry of Education.”  I find myself caught in spiral between the Ministry of Education who grants permission for the interventions and the Ministry of Home Affairs who grants NGO status.  Patience, patience, patience.

Things continued to progress slowly as the majority of Dar es Salaam’s population is Muslim and have been fasting for the month of Ramadan.  Opaque screens covered many of the city’s open-air restaurants so that the Muslims wearing their “P.Diddy” t-shirts and Muslim caps couldn’t see the non-Muslims enjoying their mid-day meals. 

Halfway through the month of Ramadan AYL held its first annual Leadership Conference with secondary and university students from across Tanzania.  The students represented two post secondary institutions and four secondary schools. Students received information on fundraising, HIV/AIDS condom-use and de-bunking myths that are still very common among youth in Tanzania.

I’ve finally made a decision to stop taking my anti-malarials.  Malaria has to be much easier on the system than the ‘cotton-ball head’ effect I get after every pill, out of body experiences and the sensation of loosing my mind.  I don’t recommend risking malaria, but I do recommend spending the money to get an anti-malarial that has NOT been banned by the US Military.  I am currently sane and malaria-free…I hope it lasts because the rainy season has started to produce little reproductive puddles for those damn mozzies.

This morning’s downpour had me trudging through unavoidable, ankle-deep sewage back-up.  I’ve spent half my morning busy flipping through my ‘Healthy Africa’ book trying to figure out what deadly parasites and diseases I may have been exposed to.  Maybe I should be worried about that Cholera thing…

The diesel fumes have become soothing and the constant sweat a reminder that two feet of snow await in Calgary.  I will spend the next few weeks finishing the “Ishi” Campaign website and saying goodbye to the many people who made me feel welcome, invited me into their homes and laughed hysterically at my Kiswahili.  We part with the words, “Tutakutana tena Mungu akipenda,” “We shall meet again if God wishes.”