Karibu Cheka! - Part 1

Several years ago, a friend of mine 'G' travelled to Tanzania to be involved in a volunteering scheme.  Four years later and he now manages his own no-fee pre-primary school 'Cheka' which he has nurtured from tiny beginnings to 60 strong daily attendance, 2 teachers, 1 cook and 100% guarantee of sponsorship for graduating kids to go on to attend either a government or private primary school.  

Cheka kids receive two meals a day, uniform, stationary, shoes/bags. Poorer families are offered business start up & support.

G has also successfully founded and runs a large volunteer house/scheme which, in part, will secure funding for Cheka's future whilst moonlighting wherever possible as a joiner, bricky, translator, adviser, technician, messenger and teacher to transform the lives of hundreds.

I've followed G's progress with huge admiration for four years now, receiving regular photo updates between October and March and becoming increasingly addicted to hearing about the progress of several families that G revisits each year.  Not to mention seeing the kids grow through the school with significantly improved prospects when they come to leave. 

Typical Government School

Education in Tanzanian

Pre-school (3-6yrs) and Primary (7-12yrs) are not free to attend in Tanzania.  Government Primary education costs around £60 p/a in fees with an initial £20 outlay for essential uniform/shoes.  £20 is the average monthly wage for a labourer/cleaner and is around the same amount as one month’s rent in relatively comfortable one-room block.  Most families live this way and would chose food and rent over school fees any day. It is however illegal for Tanzanian families not to send their children to primary school.  Disgracefully, classrooms are cramped and teachers under qualified and corporal punishment is commonplace/legal. The kids are taught solely in Swahili.

At 12yrs old each child must sit English Issue examinations (having only been taught Swahili) - Government idiocy at its finest!  96% of kids will drop out of education at this point.  Secondary Schools in Tanzania are taught solely in English with Swahili as a second language.

Intel School

All the kids at Cheka are sponsored, either to attend a local Government School (returning to Cheka for free after-school English lessons) or to enroll at Intel School, a private English-Medium Primary School rated 16th in the country, following English Curriculum and giving kids the best possible change of remaining in the education system.

Working in a school allows great insight into the lives of local families.  Below are a few of the people and stories that have stolen my heart over the last few years and some that I was thrilled to meet and be able to help out first hand earlier this year.

Samwel and Noeli 

I posted this story on twitter in 2012 and the financial response was overwhelming by so many people I'd never even met.  Samwell's story is of a 10 year old boy who's leg was severely burned when he changed his family's kerosene tin.  The local hospital was desperately under staffed and under funded.  Samwell's burn's had not been dressed for ten days when G was alerted to his situation.  The hospital refused to discharge Samwell in order for him to be moved to a better hospital until extortionate fees (for things like dressings!) were settled. Samwell's treatment in the new hospital involved skin-stretching, grafts and finally, pain relief.  Twelve month's later Samwell's recovery and rehabilitation is remarkable.

On the day Samwell was to be moved, not one doctor or nurse was on the site of the hospital due to it being a national holiday. G had barely noticed another soul on the ward but little Noeli was tucked away and dangerously sick with burns to his arm and shoulder.  Noeli's horrific story is that his mother had tipped boiling water over him in desperation.  A child in hospital meant one less mouth to feed at home and a degree of respite for the family.  Not an uncommon situation - lack of education means that Noeli's Mum was unlikely to understand the full implications of her actions.  Noeli's dressings were not changed in three weeks and were welded to his tiny body when G found discovered him.  Noeli went with Samwell to the new hospital where his dressings needed to be torn from his body, peeling new skin with old (no anesthetic) sending Noeli's body into shock and left him very near to death.  Noeli's mother was so ashamed she did not return and Noeli's Grandma became his guardian throughout.  In Jan 2014, I enrolled Noeli into Cheka - a shy and timid boy who understandably didn't really want to mix.  I am extremely keen to see how he's no doubt come on leaps and bounds this Christmas.  

Lucinda and Sharon 

Lucinda is 13yrs old and was enrolled at a special needs school called Dymphna's which is often visited by Cheka volunteers.  When Lucinda was 5yrs old her parents abandoned her to an orphanage thinking she had learning difficulties.  A couple from Canada questioned Lucinda's diagnosis and no one at the school was able to say what was wrong with her.  The couple paid for her to be assessed and it was confirmed that she had reversable hearing issues which had delayed her speech and social skills in early life.  Nothing else was wrong. Lucinda had spent several years living with severely disabled children and once her hearing was resolved moved to New Life Academy for some serious catch up!  She's now a normal 13yr old girl and volunteers like to take her shopping often.  New Life are working towards reuniting her with her parents in the near future and the Canadian couple continue to fund her education.  

Sharon (6) is one of 7 children (3x twins +9wk old Vanessa) however only Vanessa and Sharon remain at the family home - very little is known about the other five children.  On Christmas eve the local men came home and threw Vanessa to the volunteers over several meters like a rugby ball after drinking too many Konyagi's!  Vanessa's Mother has no milk to feed the baby and the only meals Sharon receives are at Cheka - nothing at the weekend.  A high priority case, Mama Sharon has been given a crash course in business skills/counting and a starter bundle of clothes to sell. Cheka volunteers settled her 3 month rent arrears and Sharon is now sponsored to attend Intel School, soon to go to boarding school.  This leaves Mum with a very real chance of getting back on her feet and at no risk of having Sharon removed.  Cheka will closely monitor Mama Sharon's situation and offer support as long as she is willing to help herself.

Joshua & Jeremiah

Joshua and Jeremiah are both boys in their final term at Cheka.  Joshua's Mama has helped Cheka negotiate 'local's' prices on supplies and generally been very proactive to the school. She owns a red brick two-room home with small holdings, several chickens and running water - she is not considered poor however she shares a double bed with four children and the floor of her home is rubble.  We spent some time in January cementing the floor of her home and purchasing a new double bed/bedding for the girls (Bretta, Brenda & Dorkas) to share and Joshua and Mum to share the other.  A good night's sleep helps the Cheka kids to learn and has a huge impact on the whole family. 

Jeremiah is one of 13 children and a true Maasai.  He smells permanently of Kerosene and lives in a mud hut with the cow.  Not the brightest button but a happy chap with a remarkable life and a good start - which is one less thing for his parent's to worry about! 

I'll blog again very soon on some of the newest projects happening at Cheka, including a new home for 10yr old Victor who lives out in the mountains with progressive Muscular Dystrophy and the amazing plans for Cheka to far outgrow its current location.  

Please +1 this blog and find more links to Cheka news and photos, facebook& twitter here.

Calories, Cardio & Colitis

A little dubious about committing my best laid plans in black and white but health and fitness has begun to occupy my thoughts more and more recently and hopefully I will wean some longevity from sharing them with you.

I’ve been trying to lower my calorie intake and increase my activity levels since 1^st April* having wagered my Twitter account password/access on losing a stone in weight.  I say ‘trying’, as there has been no particular strategy in place despite best intentions; I’ve not been particularly mindful about setting achievable targets or confronting purpose or motivation - I’m not a 'miserable fatty' and the heart disease/diabetes still feels too distant to be of concern.  (Lest I forget my grandfather only had six years on me when he carked!)

Carping aside; four weeks into my T’wager I’d put on 2lb.

Last week I weighed myself for the first time in several weeks having been 70% good (for 80% of the time) since June 15^th and am pretty chuffed to have lost a miraculous 10lb - including those extra two.  I’ve been on and off myfitnesspal for years so can see I’ve lost a total of 27lb since my first entry as Chubby McChubbison in 2011.  The majority of this I can accredit to seven weeks pre UC diagnosis where food was the enemy.  Every cloud!  My major obstacle is how to maintain momentum and prevent boredom / slipping back into the old routine.

My superficial motivations are primarily several upcoming social occasions where clothes would fit better… blah blah.  However, two MUCH more significant benefits to me are in health and mind.  I spend too many hours caught up in my own negative analysis, often of situations that are entirely out of my control.  It’s a subconscious deflection of the real matters requiring critique!  I need to at the very least apply the expectations I have of others to myself and to do this I need to transform ‘trying’ into ‘succeeding’  with meaningful targets, motivation and strategy.  I admit I have a shorter than average interest threshold with a distinctly all-or-northing personality trait that has me jumping from one extreme notion to another, often excelling in short bursts before boredom (hard work) sets in.  So this will be my biggest challenge.  I’m already proud of myself for sticking with yoga over the last four months and seeing steady improvement.

My target is to return to ‘Three Peaks/Ski’ fitness of 2009.  It was a stupidly proactive & happy year for me and I was in significantly better shape... barely recogniable even!

My motivation (knowing myself as I do) needs to come from more of an immediate threat than the vain fate of ill-fitting clothes or the likelihood I’ll be a warfarin addict by 55yrs.  My bubble of stair-conquering agility has not yet been compromised enough to shame me into change… however my colitis diagnosis last year is definitely a factor I should be considering much more than I do.

The fact I am well and generally symptom free means I’ve sloped into a default nonchalant-demeanour.  The advice 12 months ago was to lose weight, ditch the alcohol/caffeine and cut down on spicy/sugary foods.  Easy to forget when the going is good!  A long term prognosis can be hugely influenced by my overriding state of health and wellbeing of mind.

Whilst neither are the cause of UC, both stress and food can be triggers, and the more stability I am able to gain in the early stages, the lower my risk of subsequent complications.  In October I am due to come off my Asacol completely which I’ve had mixed feelings about given the drug keeps symptoms at bay.  I’ve been secretly stockpiling tablets for the last few weeks in my kitchen cupboard as a failsafe, in case I don’t get my A into G and need to cushion the cold-turkey landing.  The main downside to Asocol is that it takes its toll on the Liver; whilst I’m still taking it, I go for six-monthly liver function tests.  The key to maintaining control off the medication is to reduce inflammation triggers in stress and food.  I’m finding (since hitting ‘The Zone’ this week) that my attitude has shifted significantly more towards wanting to embrace the prevention option rather than rely on my secret failsafe stash.  The downside to allowing flare-ups to re occur is that prolonged damage to the colon wall makes bowel complications more prevalent in later life - sticking with the meds helps to reduce - so the stats tell me.  So I’m either doing this, or not! (England's Lewis Moody is a well known advocate of ditching the meds and shaping up).

My strategy feels very clear and concise whilst external influences (temptations) aren’t in the equation.  Calorie counting and daily exercise is my fundamental game plan; no alcohol for the next few weeks and to continue with the yoga.  Tomorrow I will begin the nhs podcast ‘Couch to 5k’ which is a 9 week running program my friend Leyla recommended.

I expect they’ll be another blog to follow - either pictures of my new gym attire two sizes smaller or a string of excuses why it was never even possible in the first place!  (Extreme thinking is not part of my new healthy mind strategy).  At the very least I want my Twitter back… 

*puberty