Once again, it’s been a while since the last update… but
that just means there is even more to update you on.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been busy collecting footage
for what I hope will become some
enlightning or at least interesting documentaries. It’s been an eye opening and at times heart
wrenching experience for me, and that’s saying a lot considering I’ve been
coming to East Africa for the last 8 years. I like to think I’m pretty used to living in
Tanzania and don’t get too shaken by anything any more. Things that others might be amazed by are
just everyday events for me. I also used to think I’m pretty hearty. I can carry heavy cement bricks with boys in
the village. I can carry 20L of water on
my head with the mamas (alright, so they do it with out hands and without
spilling but we both make it to the end).
However, yesterday, I met my match and it broke my heart.
So, one of the documentaries I’m making is based on the
viral video we made last year called “ThirdWorld Problems Read by First World People.” If you haven’t seen it,
definitely check it out! For the
documentary, I decided to take five of the problems from the video and show actual
people who live with those specific problems and how they confront them. I interviewed them and then followed them
around as they completed daily activities.
Most of them are good friends of mine and it was really interesting to
get to know them on an even deeper level.
One of the problems from the video is “I hate it when I have to walk 10km to school each way.” Watching the video, you might think this is
an exaggeration, but I assure you it is not. 15 year old Beata does precisely that, five days a week. Yesterday,
she agreed to let me follow her around for a day and even after living here for
over 8 years, the experience was more overwhelming than I ever could have imagined.
So, let me take you through our day.
I woke up at 4am to
pack up my camera gear and be at her house for 5am. I biked to her house without seeing another
human being, just me, a couple of stray dogs and millions of stars. I got there for 5am and she was already awake
and getting ready. She had a quick
shower under the stars using a small bucket and probably much less than 5L of
water. She got all dressed in her school
uniform, grabbed her notebooks and with a full bags and empty bellies (yup, not a
bite of food or a drop of water for either of us), we were out the door. The time was 549am. There is something not right about starting
your day before the sun starts hers, but off we went. Her older sister joined us for the first 20
minutes and then turned off and carried on to her school which is only about 5km away. We kept walking. After 20 minutes on the main paved road, we turned
off down a dirt road to get to her school.
The school is right beside where our old land was so it is a route I’m
familiar with.. but on my bike, not on foot.
As we turned on to the dust road
we said good bye to the stars and the sun, the hot sweaty sun, joined us for
the rest of the journey.
We walked, we
chatted, we laughed, we walked some more.
Then we walked some more. We were
passed by some students on bikes and some other walkers joined us along the
way. We arrived at school at 806am. In case you forgot, we left the house at
549am. As we arrived, all the students
were lined up outside for the morning announcements. We joined the line, listened to the
announcements and then all students headed inside. We had barely sat down, only to be called
outside again. Apparently, completely unbeknownst
to me, we had arrived late and therefore we were punished. PUNISHED!
Off we marched to see the head teacher to hear our fate. After being counted off, all the late
students were handed a slasher (a long piece of metal used for cutting grass)
and sent out to the field to be assigned a location to cut grass.
I was lost for
words! Or rather, I wasn’t, I had tons
of words to say… but it didn’t matter what I had to say because nothing was
going to help! It didn’t matter that we
got up at 5am. It didn’t matter that we
left the house in the dark. It didn’t
matter we walked over 2 hours to get there.
Students are expected to arrive at 700am and we arrived at 806am. I honestly wanted to scream… “this is not
fair!” It made me think of all the times I heard students back home say “it’s
not fair!” If only they knew! Beata in stuck in an
impossible situation! There is no way
that she can walk to school and make it there for 7am.
It would mean walking up at 4am and leaving at 5am and that’s
just not safe. No parent would allow
their 15 year old daughter to leave the house at 5am. There are thieves, rapists, bad guys, boogey monsters and if that is not
bad enough, there are hyenas. It’s just
not possible! So that means, every morning, during her 2 hour walk to school, Beata knows
that at the end of the road, there is a punishment waiting for her. Sometimes it is cutting grass, sometimes it is
carrying water, sometimes it is going to the neighbouring farms and gathering manure (that’s the polite way of saying picking up cow dung), sometimes it is
making mud bricks by hand, and sometimes it just a straight up, good old fashion
caning. Every morning, Beata gets
punished, the only variable lies in the type of punishment. IT’S NOT FAIR! I experienced it one day and
was outraged, but Beata, at 15, just looked at me and said in her quiet,
innocent voice, “it’s ok, I’m used to it.”
So, she was assigned her location to cut and was sent back
to class with the rest of the late students, many of whom had walked many
kilometres just to get there. The grass cutting would be done later in the day so they did not miss out on their studies. Back in
the class, Beata got out her notebooks and began reading her notes. It was the first day back after a week of
mid-term holidays and teachers were still getting ready so the students did
independent study in the classroom. That’s
my polite way of saying not a single teacher made it to class to teach!
At 1040am, the students got a break and Beata picked up for
slasher and headed out to the field to get her punishment over. In her left hand, she was tightly holding a
piece of material. I asked her what she
was holding, turns out it was some candies I had given her at the start of the
journey. She explained that if she left
them in the classroom, they would be eaten.
For the 20 minute break, candies tight in one hand, a slasher in the
other, she cut away at the long, dry, thorny grass in the hot sun while other students
rested in the shade or the lucky ones bought tea, bananas or candies to ward
off some of the hunger pains. At 11am,
Beata returned to class for more independent study as still not a single
teacher had come to teach.
At 230pm, the
students gathered for the closing ceremonies and then we began our walk home,
up hill, in the blazing afternoon sun!
We left school at 240pm. We
walked, we talked with classmates, we practiced our multiplications, we laughed,
we walked in silence, we sweated, and we kept walking. We got to Kisesa at 443pm. Our bellies were still empty, our mouths
parched, and now our backs were nice and sweaty. For my own sake, we stopped at a shop to get some cold
water, some sodas and a few biscuits to tide us over for the last 15 minutes of the
walk to her house. By the time we
reached the door, the sun was already setting in the distance and there was
less than 12 hours until Beata would be awake for the start of a new day.
Her mom met us at the door.
Beata got changed out of her school clothes and we sat down to some tea,
rice and a few pieces of meat. (likely
cooked because of me, which makes me feel a more than a little guilty). We ate, and chatted with her mom is who an
absolutely wonderful lady and who, at 38, looks not a day over 30 despite
having three kids, the old who is 22 and already has a four year old and a 1 year old. After eating, Beata
went outside to wash dishes and play with her niece and nephew. She still had to wash some clothes and then
head to bed, hopefully before 9pm.
I took my bike and on tired legs, biked back to town… still
overwhelmed… and sat down to just reflect on the day. It was honestly beyond what I had imagined
the day would be. Walking over four
hours only to be punished for something that is out of your control….
While at the school, I talked to
the teacher handing out the punishment and tried to explain to him what Beata
had gone through just to get to school.
He said he understood her situation as when he started teaching at the school, he was biking
20k each way to get there. The problem
is work needs to be done and there certainly is not a budget to hire a
groundsman or a janitor. There is not a
budget for books so groundsmen is definitely low on the priority list. So, as a result, the students are required to
do the work… and the students who unfortunately cannot comply with the rules,
carry the brunt of the load. His explanation did not make me feel any better... if anything just more discouraged. He explained that many of the students that live closer to the school drop out early on as they and their parents have yet to see the value in getting an education and prefer to continue working on the farm.
The problem is so complex, that there is no easier answer, no easy
solution. The government cannot afford to
build enough schools to accommodate all the students or for that matter, maintain the schools that are already built. The
teachers are paid low wages which means they do not see teaching as a career
but simply a way to put food on the table and as a result, many do not have the
necessary education or the motivation to teach the future generation. The parents cannot afford to send their kids
to private schools so they need to rely on the government schools which, as I already explained, are few
and far between. All of this leads to
high drop out rates which means the future generation is uneducated and unable
to develop the country. Another huge issue is the high pregnancy rates. Many of the young students are being approached by male, either students or males in the community and being offered money or gifts, in return for sex... and when you are walking 4 hours on an empty belly, you are definitely prone to make decisions would not make on fresh legs and a full belly. It is hard to see
the hope in the situation… to believe that things will get better.
So, basically
that was my day yesterday. It was a lot
to take in. Like I said at the start, I
used to think I was somewhat hearty, but Beata put me to shame. And to think, she is doing that five days a
week, for the next four years. So, it is
only a band-aid to a larger problem, but I am buying Beata a bike today. I know there are tons of students like her
out there and many who live in worse situations and likely some who walk even farther.. and I know I cannot help all of them
and I know the problem lies deeper than a simple bike.. but at least one bike
can help one student.. and who knows
what that can lead to! I have to believe there is hope either wise I am not sure
how I will get up in the morning.
So, that was
just one of the five people featured in the short documentary. I’ll be screening the documentary on Saturday, November. 30th
at beautiful West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg, MB as part of LISTEN LOCAL! GROW GLOBAL!, the 4th annual benefit concert in support of GO!. If you are in
the area, please come check it out. The
night will also feature Jesse Lewis an amazing HYPNOTIST whose sole job is mesmerize your friends and convince them to donate all their money to GO! (just joking..maybe), amazing musical acts including emerging artist, 18 year old Elsa Kaka, and a second short documentary that shows how Tanzanians are taking what would otherwise be considered garbage and with a little creativity and ingenuity making long-lasting, amazing products! And of
course, as always, we will have awesome raffle prizes to be won!! If you have been at the concerts in the past you know
that it is a great night and as always, all the money goes to support a good
cause! Tickets are $20 in advance, $23 at the door and this year, there are group rates! Why not get your team mates, co-workers, friends, and family together to celebrate the holidays while support a great cause! Buy 10 tickets and get one free. Buy 25 tickets and get 5 free!
Hope everyone is doing well! I'm back on Oct. 23 and look forward to catching up!
