My family in Ngaramtoni

My homestay is in Ngaramtoni, a small village 30 mins north of Arusha by Dala-Dala, the public transportation... It costs around $0.20 to get to the village. Dala-dalas are small vans and do not leave until they are full, so you may have to wait an hour or more if you do not catch the crowd. They stuff as many people as possible inside and they ride is very bumpy and smelly. Dala-dala crashes occur frequently, but there are so many people inside that it acts an airbag.

About 80% of the population is Maasai, and the rest comes from various ethnic backgrounds. Most houses do not have electricity or running water. There is a large market on Thursdays and Sundays. A few other Mondo volunteers live nearby. All Nga volunteers stay there for the week, and at a hotel in town during the weekends.

I was first introduced to Mr. David Kinisi, the co-founder of the NGO I am working for. He had tears in his eyes when he saw me because he was so happy to receive help with his project. I had never felt so appreciated in my life. Mr. Kinisi runs a small restaurant called the New Sahara Cafe. Another volunteer told me that he food is very good but the washroom was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen. I will find out for myself soon enough.

I am staying with the family of Mr. Elias, the other co-founder. He is and educated, English-speaking father of 3 boys and 3 girls. He is the only one who speaks English in the family, and so far my interaction with the rest of the family has been very limited. We held very sophisticated discussions about African politics and the Western world. Mr. Elias has never been to the West, so he has many fascinating questions. I have taken my first bucket shower, and it's not too bad since they warm the water for me. The toilet is actually quite nice. It's a pit toilet but Mr. Elias built a "seat" around the hole at the same height as a normal toilet, so it's actually quite confortable. It even has toilet paper, a luxury here. The family uses the regular pit toilet. John says most Maasai people think that it is dirty to sit on something so I have my own private toilet.

Mr. Elias runs several businesses from our "compound". He runs a small walking-safari operation, raises 2 cows for milk and then sells them, rents out 12 rooms to local teacher, hosts up to 4 western volunteers, and invented a small clay-oven that is more energy efficient. He also has a decent patch of corn, which will be ready to eat by the time I leave.

I'm not clear whether the children go school, but I believe that the 2-3 oldest ones do. The younger ones work very hard to clean the compound and help Mama with preparing meals. The youngest daughter sweeps the entire compound with a branch to remove the dust every morning. It's extremely dusty here, and each time a car passes by, you have to keep your mouth closed in order to avoid a nice gulp of fine beige dust.

Food has been delicious and I am very confident in eating anything they serve. Mama prepares 3-4-5 different things each meal, but I have not yet eaten any meat, which is way more expensive than rice, vegetables and ugali. The family actually boils the water they drink themselves. The kitchen is located outside and Mama normally cooks on an open-fire. However, we do have electric hotplates inside. We also have a fridge, which is very nice and unusual. Mr. Elias even owns a Pentium computer!

I have my own bedroom, which has 2 single beds, two small tables and a mosquito net. I have only slept one night there so far but it appears decently comfortable. Living with the family costs me $2 per day, plus another $4-5 if I eat there.