The Rotary Club of Cedar Falls

Hello all: Sunday May 11,2008
    On Saturday evening Steve and I were invited to attend a special meeting and dinner pool side at the Oasis Hotel. This was an indoctrination meeting for 4 new members to this 3 year old club of approximately 20 members. The Country Chairman was in attendance from Dar es Salaam to perform the official event. 20 were in attendance including the 2 Iowa Rotarians and family members of the inductees and spouses of Rotarians. Raphael who is the chairman for the club for the water projects and other special projects was one of the 4 inducted. He is about 30 years old and has put in many hours of service. Also inducted was Barbara who hails from Seattle,Washington. The protocol was quite similar to what we would do in our club. We had a chance also to visit with Immediate Past President Chawesa and his wife whom I met last year. Steve and I and our club's immediate Past President,Jim Brown,have exchanged dozens of emails over these many months. We feel a natural bond in this common goal. President Steve gave a heartfelt speech to the Morogoro Club that was well received. Riyaz,the current President,said that he felt this project and the others their club is involved with has assisted them in sustaining enthusiasm with the membership.
    Previously we mentioned that the 2 wells we drilled last year were not currently functional. Since that time we have visited both sites. We have also visited with the Village Leader at each site. It was especially difficult for me personally to greet the kind,celebratory,Tanzanians who last year had their dream come true of safe water from a nearby well only later to find that it did not last and yet again they must travel for miles. We also have met in person with last years driller,this years driller,the head of the Morogoro Water Commission,an engineer at the Water Commission and also the person at the Water Commission in charge of the water tests. I will spare you the details at this time however it appears that perhaps all is not lost and that these wells with repairs may be able to again function as intended.

Monday May 12,2008
   Good news! Maji (water).Today the drilling has achieved the required depth of 50 meters,approximately 150 feet. The correct sized hand pump has been purchased and will be installed on the day of our departure,Tuesday. We are a bit forlorn that,try as we might,we are unable to send a picture of water flowing from this well and the celebration that will take place with the Tanzanians at this village. The Morogoro Rotarians assure us that since our club donated a digital camera to them that they will provide us with one at a later date. They will also then update us as to the final water and pressure tests that will be completed. This well will serve 2500 + people that before walked up to 8 miles for water each day. The future maintenance is also in place via the Rotary Community Corp.
   Tomorrow morning the President Elect of the local club will be taking Steve and I to Dar Es Salaam. He is going to attend a Rotary District Conference. This district includes the country of Tanzania,Kenya,Ethiopia and  two others that we are unable to remember. A huge area.We plan on attending this meeting as our flight departs at 10:50 p.m. We are really looking forward to being mobile for more than 46 hours "body time" as we chase the clock backwards. Can you say first class seats please?! Nope,coach. Someone send the Gulf Steam jet please and we will give you some ebony souvenirs.
   Steve and I have had quite a trip. We have made friends with many from Tanzania and will cherish these memories for the rest of our lives. Just watching the people see themselves on a digital camera,not to mention streaming video played back is worth the trip. An instant bond is formed with big smiles all around. We have handed out one at a time most all of our 750 miniature Tootsie Rolls to so many small hands reaching up to us again with a huge grin in anticipation. Each of us has traveled extensively throughout the world but when you are able to attend weddings,baptisms,confirmations,Rotary meetings,church services in the bush,live amongst missionaries from all over the world,live with Tanzania's brightest students,eat with your clean hand in a communal plate,it is different than taking a cab to a modern hotel and ordering room service. For the record my wife,Pat,would say we have never ordered room service and please don't touch the mini bar in the room!
   Most important is that absolutely none of this would have been possible without the generosity of all of the countless Rotarians throughout Iowa. This is about YOU ,not us. We simply provided an assist/service. Many from our club and around the district also gave of their time. Thank you. Also others in our community became involved. If you see Phil Connelly,President of A.C.E.S  thank him and also Dick Robert and Associates Realtors, Dick Robert for each donating used laptop computers. Also as I have mentioned before Paster Herb Hafermann and his invaluable,personable,Evangilist Luka deserves so much of the credit for their countless hours,the difficulties they dealt with and delivering us to this cultural exchange without renumeration. Also many thanks to the Morogoro Club, President Riyaz,Treasurer Leo,Raphiel and all the other members for their hours and hospitality. Steve and I also owe a big thanks to our families for letting us out on such a long leash.
     As you go home tonight and secure your water from your kitchen sink or refrigerator door bask in knowing that because you have it so good you spent some of your resources to help enhance the lives of countless others that you will never meet. You have accomplished what I believe should be the goal of all in the human race,to leave the world a little better than the way you found it by giving back.
    Again a big thank you from Tanzania and we will see you in a few miles.

President Steve Boeke and Gale Bonsall 

The following was written by Steve Boeke.
 
Friends and Family:
 
The weather here has been real a surprise. I was expecting that it was going to be oppressively hot. Gale believes that on average the temps this year have been about 10 degrees cooler than what he experienced at the same time last year. The weather has been absolutely beautiful here.
 
I might have worn shorts everyday and probably would have it was hotter than it has been. On the day after our arrival in Morogoro we went out into the bush and Pastor Herb told me a story about the Masai school boys that we saw at the village. On that afternoon we saw the Masai boys come home from school wearing, what is considered in Tanzania, the standard elementary school uniform. They wear blue shorts and a white shirts - all of them. Shortly after the boys got home from school they change into their traditional Masai dress which is a brightly colored tunic with a belt. I imagine that they feel the same way that I do when I get home and take off my shirt, tie, and dress pants and put on my comfortable clothes.
 
Anyway, Pastor Herb told me that when Tanzanian school boys graduate from elementary school they no longer are required to wear short pants anymore. It is like a rite of passage. Now they are young men, they are proud of their manhood, and always wear long pants in public. After hearing Herb's story I decided right then that I would wear long pants whenever I left our campus. Well, Gale has been wearing shorts everyday except when he attends church services. Since he has been in Tanzania before, I assumed that he knew about the short pants/long pants thing so I never talked to him about it until this morning when one of the vendors at the Morogoro market started calling Gale shortie pants.
 
After we got back from the market, we had tea with Pastor Harold. Harold started telling us that in Africa it is considered inappropriate for adult males to wear shorts out in public. Men wearing shorts is especially frowned upon by Muslim men. Well, we spent a good deal of time this morning in Rotary Club President Riyaz's place of business. Riyaz is Muslim. I just hope "Bawana shortie pants" hasn't given Rotary a bad name! It will be interesting to see how "Bawana shortie pants" dresses for the the rest of our visit.
 
The cultural differences are often times surprising and occasionally seem silly. 
 
The top ten reasons we know we are not in Iowa anymore:
#10  The cattle farms have no fences.
#9   There are stomachs hanging up for sale in the open air butcher shops.
*8   A calf is born twenty five yards from the altar during a Masai church service.
#7   Seeing microbuses packed to the gills with people hanging out the windows.
#6   The toilet is a hole in the ground or floor.
#5   The Big Dipper is upside down and there is no North Star.
#4   Women and children eat last.
#3   No one uses their left hand while eating.
#2   An offer to marry a man's daughter comes with a dowry of cattle. Lucky father!
#1   Elephant crossing warning signs along the highway.
 
From Steve Boeke and Gale Bonsall
 
 

 

 

 

 

Hello all: Thursday May 8,2008
     Time for a break. On Wednesday at 1:00 Steve,the Wartburg students and I depart Morogoro bound for Mikumi Wildlife Refuge. The drive is west down the good road about 2 hours. We know that we are not in Kansas anymore when we see the triangular sign along the side of the road reading,"watch for elephants". Mikumi is 4000 square miles,mostly low flat grasslands land bordered by mountains. 

We arrive at 3:00,check in to our thatch roofed huts,and board the bus again on the hunt for Africa's "big 5". Not much time goes by and we see dozens of impala's,zebra's,giraffe and birds that I cannot name even though I was told. I do remember the vultures and thinking they would like the soft meat on our Iowa bones.

The roads are 1 lane natural gravel and sand paths that travel over small streams and wind all over the park. This is the end of the rainy season so at some crossroads sticks are laid across the path warning that they are not yet passable. We go to the hippo pond and are entertained by watching 6-8 hippos as they come up for air. Further along we see warthogs,baboons,gazelles  and water buffalo. Also wildebeest by the score. The migration of the wildebeest is the largest migration of animals anywhere in the world. Their numbers are estimated at 1.5 billion. They travel back and forth northward and then southward across Africa each year. I have seen video from an airplane of the migration and the line is nonstop for miles and miles.

As the sun is setting we spot 3 lions in a tree. The sunlight turns them a golden color making this a great shot for the newest National Geographic photographers from Iowa. Of course I thought it would be a good idea to get out of the bus, but that is not allowed. Good rule I guess. Eventually all 3 climb nimbly down and walk right in front of our bus to join some baby cubs that were before obscured by the tall grass. Cute.

As the sunsets we travel back to the lodge for a great dinner under a huge thatched roof that is built around a very old and large native reddish tree. The structures are all made to blend into this natural environment. While they are modern they are not over the top. The generator goes off at 10:00PM and we are all under our mosquito nettings for a nights sleep. Weird noises are all around. Dozens of impala are about 25 yards outside of our hut. They fight once in a while as we shine flashlights on them to see their eyes glow back at us. The stars here are unbelievably bright with dense clusters. We see the big dipper upside down since this is the southern hemisphere and the southern cross that is not visible in the northern hemisphere. Truly amazing and worth the trip.

   Wide awake again at 5:30 a.m. to see the sunrise as we again travel around the park in the bus. Just as the sun rises we spot a leopard in a tree. Great timing again. Seeing the lions and a leopard is somewhat rare for the infrequent visitor. Last year we saw neither. The big 5 are in Africa are elephant,lion,hippo,leopard and black rhino. We see all but the rhino.

    Pater Herb Hafermann sees a pile of rocks at an intersection of  the road. These,chest high piles of rocks serve as markers for the guides and provides distances to the next intersection. Herb,one of the better story tellers I know, begins to capture our attention by telling us that last year as he,his wife Kirsten and his family were here the SUV became immobile. So Herb the warrior set out on foot to save the family. The sun sets and it is dark. Pitch black. Herb hears noises as he sits atop of one of the "markers at an intersection waiting for the park ranger to make a last check for those who have checked in for the day. While atop of the rocks he hears the load crunching of grass,the noise comes closer and closer and louder and louder. A heard of elephants of course. There are numerous signs throughout the park cautioning humans not to mess with elephants. They are now almost side by side with him. What should he do in the blackness? He bangs a stick and makes load guttural sounds and scares them away. A brave and lucky warrior indeed! His new granddaughter,born just after he left Waverly for this trip will have great bedtime stories from grandpa.

     By 10;00 it is back to camp and time for a super large American like breakfast. By 1:00 we depart back to Morogoro,with a short stop at the snake farm, where cobras are king, knowing that we could not have scripted a better 26 hour safari.
     More later.

  

 

 

 

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