Thoughts on returning home and the opening of Pamoja Tunaweza Women's center

The two weeks after climbing Kili were a whirlwind. Roman and I were able to help coordinate and complete the 'facelift' on the ground floor of the women's center building. It will soon become our office for our part-time administrator and our part-time social worker, both of whom we are in the process of hiring. The opening ceremonies were held on Monday May 28th. Th entire staff of KWIECO attended with great enthusiasm. We shared ideas about our vision for the center and partnership between them and us (CACHA's women's project) and, overall ,we just had a good time.
The highlight of the evening was the activity around the 'condom' basket. I had carried a large box of about a thousand condoms back to Tanzania after my visit home in March. I put the condoms out in a basket on the desk near the drinks during the opening. Before the end of the night, Roman had already refilled the basket once and our visitors had stuffed their pockets and their purses. Apparently they are a very hot commodity in Moshi! There was a lot of giggling and laughing about how they were snatched up and we were able to speak a bit about how that whole subject is still so Taboo in Tanzania and many parts of Africa. They told me to bring more on my next visit! I have posted some pictures of the evening. The day after the opening, the artist started on a wall mural (in the reception area) that will become our motif for the center. The artist's name is Abbas. He is quite accomplished and has a studio in Moshi. I was referred to him through my friend Jerry (the most connected soul in Mosdhi-who helped me with all my organizing of workers and translation). Abbas' main theme of his work is women and children. He finds those themes inspiring and is very involved in youth outreach as well. He showed me his work and I told him which of his paintings and themes I liked the best, we then came up with some ideas for the mural. While I was on Kili, he painted two 'sample' paintings for us to choose from. They were available for the opening and the group 'voted' on their favorite one. The mural was almost complete when we left for Canada. It is about 4 by 4 feet (with the edges fading out) and has two bodaciously figured African women holding hands and two children holding their hands on either end. The women have their backs to the viewer and are walking into the sunrise towards a glowing Mount Kilimanjaro. The colours are orange and yellow , green and blue. I think it will be beautiful and inspiring for women who come to the center and see that painting on the main wall. The opposite wall will also have a Swahili rendition of the words "Imagine a world where everyone is created equal" painted across the top. Abbas has promised to send digital pics when it is complete. We will use the motif for fundraising items such as gift cards, posters and T-shirts as we get more organized. I have high hopes for the center and the women it will help and I really feel like that is reflected in the mural.

As I sit and write this post I am already home in Canada and back to my old life. It is amazing how quickly you can switch between two very different worlds. I miss my wonderful friends and my 'life' in Africa but it has been healthy to re-connect with family and friends. Returning to my old reality also has helped me to reflect further on what I did and saw over the last 4 months.
Despite being 'home' I wanted to update you on the remaining time I had in Tanzania and keep you posted on progress regarding Malinga's adoption. He wasn't able to return home with us (as I had already hinted) however, we are confident that it is just a matter of time. He is busy at school and well cared for at the orphanage. Despite this peace of mind, we are anxious to get him here to be part of our family and to experience our 'world'. I plan to continue the blog posts regularly after he arrives in Canada. I want all of you to hear about his arrival and the way that he experiences our world in Canada through his eyes. I think he will have a lot to teach us all.