I have noticed the only western product or service that the really poor people who live near to me use is – as they would say – soda.Which is coca-cola and the rest of their brands.There are many coke posters around town and adverts on the TV.I was wondering what proportion of these people’s disposable income is spent on coke; I think it would be remarkably high.I was also thinking what would happen if the equivalent service was provided by a local firm that could reinvest profits back into the economy as opposed to returning them to the US.I think one of the most powerful development tools would be to do just that.For a group of socially minded corporations to put their heads together to establish the production and marketing of a Tanzanian or at least East African soda company, which employs local people at every level and pumps profits back into the economy.Surely customers could be persuaded to change their habits to buy a local product?
I have promised to Allen, my younger brother while I am here, to find him a western girlfriend.He is convinced that the right white girl is out there for him and that I am the man to find her.He is 14, a very good football player and will be a civil engineer when he has finished all his schooling.He likes noise and makes plenty of it.So anyone know a 14 year old who would like to hook up with this cheeky chappy?
I moved in to my new home on Thursday. It is about 30 minutes walk outside of Arusha in a place call Sinoni. There is tarmac half the way there and the rest is a mud track with some occasional rubble thrown into the bigger holes. Not dissimilar to something you would find at Brick Kiln Farm. I live with an extended family around a small court yard used for washing and cooking. There is mama and baba, and their too sons Boneface and Allen. Then there is Francis who is an orphan and has been with my family for some time. 2 other girls that don’t speak English but I gather are some kind if house maids. There are also three young children, but am not sure to whom they belong.
The home is very basic – no hot water, a squat toilet, all cooking on coals outside and a tin roof, but also very friendly indeed.
So having arrived safely in Arusha I have taken the last couple of hours to rest and catch up with some much needed sleep.Refreshed now, it is late afternoon and I am able to quickly right this before meeting with Janet the volunteer coordinator who will take me for some dinner.
The flight which was half empty – so everyone had at least 2 seats to themselves – was early into Nairobi, which would have been excellent only I had to wait a few hours for the shuttle connection to Arusha which was seamlessly laid on for me.
The 5 ish hours in the little mini bus was brilliant, with just a quick stop at border control (Kenya / Tanzania) in order to pay for my 50$ visa, it was a very good drive.It was great to see some of the countryside, and my god, there is a lot to see.What really hit me from the journey is the sense of emptiness.I think I counted 4 settlements throughout the journey; these being very tiny villages smaller even than Westhall.The rest just open space with the odd building or heard of cows scattered about.
The bus did what seemed to be a constant 55 mph all the way, regardless of any obstacles that threatened its path – like squeezing between a bike and a truck on the narrow 2 line road, or rounding some passing goats.
As we got to within about 1 hour of Arusha I noticed a change in the scenery, it suddenly became much more green, the land seems to be very fertile and a number of crops are in the fields, mainly maize.I didn’t really expect the area to be so lush, but although not yet witnessed it was explained that it is thanks to the current long-rains season.Hope the photo shows it for you.
Arusha itself is bustling to say the least with apparently half a million residents, it has seen huge population and economic growth in the last decade. More on this another time, but for now here is the view from my hotel window to give a sense of the bustle.
As promised, a shaky little video from my ski weekend to Gstaad, Switzerland with work mates. We were almost the only people on the mountain. It was great. Nice footwork Wency, oh and Manjo – what are you doing sitting down?
Jetset-Gipsy welcomes you in true jetset style – from Geneva airport with a 2 1/2 hour delay back to London. Jetset is far from amused; but I suppose grateful for the chance to begin adventures in both the real world and the blogosphere.
