THREE: MAHUBO HOMEOWNERS - BUILDING THEIR NEW HOMES

THE BUILD

A spiritual focus was introduced by Leslie. It’s a voluntary way to start the day with a thought. While she told us more of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s program (OVC) she also started the spiritual focus in a way that sticks with me because of it's simple poignancy. She and Bob dropped many of the accoutrements of life (like salaries) to be a part of Habitat in a big way and are now on their 20th+ as leaders! When they started in the beginning they would come home from a feel driven to do more. People would pat them on the back and give accolades and she said that wasn’t it, that’s not the driving force (nor is it for me), it’s so much more. I’ve heard another team lead say she does this because every home owner is her sister. There is something so powerful and exquisite in this experience that some, the ones I admire most like Bob and Leslie will change their lives to give more.

For more on OVC http://www.habitat.org/hw/Sept_2008/feature1C.html

I was in a group of four with Gomez “chop chop, time is money” of foundation fame, a fun leader who kept us busy! Our homeowner for this first house was “Crazy Grandma” (CG) with her sweet granddaughter Juliette 15. CG loves her Juliette and has a smile that never seems to dim. Building materials were not on site to we went to “home depot” a storage lot on the dirt and sand paths, one left turn, one right turn away from CG’s location. We carried the wall posts in staggered shifts, then learned to start the foundation we would need rock and sand and lots of it, and none of it was close. We quickly saw that an older woman and her girls can haul wheel barrows full of rock and sand through the soft dry sandy pathways better than any of us, and they push these wheel barrows in bare feet! Those girls a strong. SEE a laboring culture. Gomez started outlining the circle for the foundation and we started shoveling, mixing, setting block and learning the rhythms that this build and the village would teach us and share with us.

Juliette helped us and then was with her Grandma for awhile. A smell of thick smoke wafted over our foundation building as we worked. CG was cooking inside her old hut and the smoke was our first introduction to a familiar daily occurance. SMELL the culture. This can’t be good for CG and her supportive women friends who cook everyday if they do this indoors. Some had more open cooking areas in their yards. Juliette is so you and the other kids who help, what does that smoke do to them eventually…we know but they may not. There would be many other odors during the trip to give us hints of life here, lives that we are blessed to brush up next to for a brief moment in time.

…NOT ENTIRELY CONCRETE…. A DIFFERENT KIND OF HOUSE

Habitat used to provide block houses but now the style is the local round reed huts with thatched roofs. The foundation is concrete to make sure the floor is dry and to help prevent termite invasions. The reed walls are thick to prevent rain and wind from entering. Each home will have a lockable door. The block and mortar houses became too expensive. Partly due to the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg cement is in short supply in Mozambique and has elevated in cost.

OVC is essentially a “disaster response” so women and children primarily can get into shelter rapidly. Habitat has partnered with USAID and a variety of benefactors including the Catholic church of Portugal.

Even though lunch is supposed to be at around noon(ish) this first day it was half past two. On the menu; kale in coconut sauce, green beans in garlic, white corn with the consistency of polenta.

Back at the CG’s site the community showed up and we had Chels leading a tamping dance with the kids and I on the foundation floor! Gomez is amazing, even with the slow start getting the supplies we finished CG’s foundation and she was happy. It was a great day.

Dinner decompression – we talked about the day and the surprises. Chels mentioned that knowing we were going into an area of such poverty she was surprised on the first day of the first build to be so happy. It was a lovely day.

SPIRITUAL FOCUS - BUILD DAY TWO

We got up early and while waiting for the van prepared for the day with a moment of focus. Team members volunteered to say whatever they wish…(excerpts will run through the blog entries).

“There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.


There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled.


You feel it, don’t you?”

- Rumi

We learned the first day that teamwork on wheelbarrows is key in the deep dry sand as we observed the local girls tying their sarongs or rope to the front above the wheel. After breakfast and before the van’s arrival we saw that the local sewing school had opened and we commissioned several strips of fabric for the wheelbarrows. And while we were at it selected fabrics for bags and aprons. What a pleasure it is to leave a country with a sourvenir after meeting the person who made it! (Photos by Bob Bell)

I was on foundations again for day two though some of the team had switched to walls. As long as the ole’ back can hold up I’m all for the labor of shoveling sand and gravel and mixing the ever precious concrete. Magaia and his pickup make appearances at the different home sites as he checks on all of us, works with Alex to attempt to keep the supplies on hand and juggles the myriad of problems, questions and interpretations that need his constant attention. Magaia is our anchor. He has such character, a velvety deep voice and a great smile and is entirely capable. In life, somewhere along the way we meet people who we know are destined to do great things, Magaia is one of those. His truck works hard too, especially when overloaded with a bed full of sand!

Today our little group ended up at the house where the rock and sand are piled up. More creature comforts, more shade and more sun today...and the ipod speakers I brought with me proved to be a huge hit with everyone once the tunes started!

We developed the knack for foundations and quickly worked the floor to the point where we could place the wall posts until we ran out of cement for the floor and came to a screeching halt. The first shift of kids was being let out of school. The oldest girl came straight home and started pounding the dried corn in a wooden mortar and pestle with more power and endurance than I could even when I was in shape! The younger kids hang out and play, they take strings from bags and tie them together to make a long loop and use if for Chinese jump rope. It is past noon on the second day, no concrete is available and so we play. The kids hung out with us and danced and sat in the dirt paths drawing with sticks in the dirt.

LUNCH! Same as yesterday, kale, beans, corn and rice and it’s oh so good….TASTE THE CULTURE.

Every day the lunches were the same menu and about the same time with an occasional dish of chicken or beef. It was all good. The lunch volunteers had stories of the pace of the lunch preparation, stringing both sides of each bean (for 30+ people!), chopping the kale with a dull knife, slow cooking over an open fire. Expedience was not a priority but the finished product was always welcome and more so to see Gomez, Albino, Tony the roof man and all the other builders pile the food on and take a break. Children were around for the first couple of days, watching them from a cherished shady spot one of the many highlights.




THE PEOPLE, THE FACES OF A CULTURE

Today was the first introduction to some of our homeowners.

• Vitoria – her house fell down, she is 50 and her husband died. Her daughters are 12 and 14. She thanked us for being there.

• Juliette - representing her grandmother who was sick that day. She wanted to thank us all and asks God to bless us all. She is 16 years old and her mother died when she was 2 months of age and she is thankful for her Grandma. (CG in red in photo above)

• Maria Machalla – is 39 years old and wants to thank Habitat. She tried to keep up with her work, she lost her husband and she is grateful.

• Matilda Machaye – “I want to thank you for caring for us, for building a house. I lost my husband and am by myself with all of my kids.”

• Evelyn – She is thankful for having Habitat in the community. Her daughter separated from her husband and has had a difficult time. She has 5 children and will stay with 2 of them. 2 are studying in Boane. (I don’t know about the 5th).

HEAR the culture as they speak. Even through interpretation with Magaia they convey their emotion and their personalities.

On the second day we met:

• Ambrosa - (no information)

• Carolina - Natanlie 12, Avid 8 and Manuel 3 ½. “I never expected something like this to happen in my life and I feel so happy I want to touch the sky!”

• Penina Bila - is taking care of her grandchildren Fernando and Celia and ther mother Ruth. The mother is sick (this is the 2nd mother in 2 days). They left the Gaza area during the civil war and they haven’t seen the father since that time and assume he died.

• Alicia Zalias – “My grand daughter is Zalia 12 and I have a 5yo niece. I am taking care of my grandchildren and niece who have both lost their parents. I never expected this and it’s overwhelming to be given such a big wonderful thing as a house. Thank you for helping me go through the difficult moments.”

Not all of them are present, not all will want to speak. In the end we started 23 houses and didn’t meet every homeowner. All are special and each has a story, like beautiful Rosey. The joy shows on some faces like Vitoria and CG, but the impact of the statistics have etched themselves into the faces of others in a very real way....AIDS, abandonement, hard work. They are grateful for their new homes but we must never forget how their lives play out. They still need help and support.

Our builders have stories too; Francisco, Tony and sweet tortured Nando.

A CULTURE IN SONG

HEAR the culture in song; Vitoria led a song of thanks and blessings. Then Magaia led a song about the Mololo, the lazy boy. Phonetically are sounds like:

“Kuavala, kuavala

Kuavala kuavala tete!

Kuavala kuavala

Kuavala kuavala tete”

Vitoria dancing, Magaia in red shirt all singing the Mololo song>

The song is about the lazy boy who complains about pain here and pain there when he’s supposed to work, he needs to lie down instead. But when it’s time for lunch he’s there eating more than anyone and afterward he starts complaining about his aches and pains again and lays down for a nap.

A CULTURE IN PLAY

We have a terrific building team with Greg, Barb and Chels. The ipod and speakers brought smiles, and the Frisbees were a huge hit! They know Michael Jackson songs! The delays in delivery of more cement created down time to play. Chels taught the kids some clapping songs and we drew in the dirt, did cartwheels and danced to Michael Jackson.

The faces are beautiful! Most of the children smile right away and squeal when we take a photo and show it to them on the camera! They laugh and laugh. They also seem to stick together and the older children would carry or hold the younger ones. It made our hearts glad to see them together, even the two little girls who were inseparable; they stood side by side with their arms over each other’s shoulders, moving as one person. And they wouldn’t smile until, until, between Chels and Barb and I we managed to coax a little smile out of them.

One of their toys is a wheel that some of the boys roll skillfully with a stick. Some children were able to make a rudimentary swing. Kids like to get together and play after school just as they do anywhere. They also sometimes worry or irritate their parents and caregivers, just as they do anywhere.

We draw and play in the dirt and there’s a lot of it. Gardens do amazingly well, the corn was just below knee high and almost every garden has some. The chickens (Galina in Portuguese) run around with their chirping chicks, kicking up dirt and being free to roam. Goats and pigs aren’t so lucky; most are tied on 4-5 feet of rope and rotate sites.

A CULTURE WITHOUT

What can they do with all that dry dirt? How do they live in a village with a community well and only their ability to walk to get the water. No vehicles. There is a little power new “home depot” but what do our homeowners do with none; no power, no running water, no sewer and in many cases, no men. Many have known no other way, some have never even been to Maputo, and Boane would seem like a booming metropolis. And yet they have space, they have some support with each other and now support from Habitat for their family, the have their crops. They also have a short lifespan and disease. Many don’t know their actual age. HIV/AIDS leaves a lot of orphans.

See the culture of poverty.

TWO: THE TEAM

CANCER (June 21st - July 22nd)




I invite you to write down brief descriptions of the five most pleasurable moments you've ever experienced in your life. Let your imagine dwell lovingly on these memories for, say, 20 minutes. And keep them close to the surface of your awareness in the week ahead. If you ever catch yourself slipping into a negative train of thought, interrupt it immediately and compel yourself to fantasize about those big five ecstatic moments. This exercise will be an excellent way to prime yourself for a new age of unhurried bliss and gentle beauty, which I predict is just ahead for you. If you can keep the morose part of your mind quiet, there's a good chance you will stir up a new ecstatic experience that will belong near the top of your all-time list.

THE TEAM


Prior to travel team members send in bios, some email replies land in spam and we get a glimpse of the members of the upcoming adventure, but nothing written can measure up to being around these marvelous people and watching the layers peel away while teamwork at its best forges something that was not there before. In the case of Mahubo it was more than houses- and we buily several, it was the impressions and the touches on our hearts that we carried home with us and hopefully left with the villagers.



Sally came from Shanghai and had to work hard with the affiliate to even get a visa. Tim is a journalist, lives in Taiwan now via Australia. Chels the dancing Canadian and several of us from the US, including five from Oregon and Washington. What I came to know of these people is that they all wanted to do this, wanted to be there and are some of the most delightful and amazing people I’ve had the pleasure to know.



The second day in country we were driven in a van we would come to depend on daily, through Maputo on a highway, past markets, apartments, slums and bars until the scenery slowly unfolded to an occasional factory surrounded by corn fields, mango groves, a narrower road and glimpses of the infamous red dirt that research and photos had shown us would surrounding us for the duration.

Talking and exchanging more detail about each other since our introductory dinner in Maputo we learned we had two nurses, a journalist, a lawyer, a former COO, teachers, our wonderful team leads Bob and Leslie, as we started remembering names.

The first “big town” before our destination on this hour plus route is Boane, a town with a hospital and markets, most of which are set up in converted storage containers sitting on the red dirt. Women and children were busy in the river washing and playing as we moved closer to Massaca. A left turn off the paved road onto a red dirt road was the first indication we had arrived and our accommodations, a new convent barracks was in view. With 2 or 3 to a room we dropped our luggage quickly and took off on foot in smaller groups without cameras to explore the dirt road village. A proud bar owner took us into his place showing off the pool table, the only one in town and made a point to invite us back any night. (Of course we would return).

With unpacking came the filling of the solar showers, those “baby hippos” we leave out in the yard that tease us every morning as with the promise of a hot, or at least warm shower upon our return. For the first few days it was hard to believe we were in Africa weather wise…it was cloudy which was great for stamina but alas no hot showers tonight! It’s important to remember that while we had showers, we had electricity…our homeowners would have their houses for sleeping provides protected and dry in their new shelter; they would have a new latrine, but no showers for them, no electricity.

Dinner was just across the street each night and was quite good! We know we made it all the way here, we’re ready, we have beer! And tomorrow we get started.

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE

How does a team get to know one another? Two truths and a lie is one way, a fun way to discover our quirks. Our journalist recently met the Dalai Lama, our leader Bob has been to 56 countries and counting, our leader Leslie is beautiful and young and smart! We had a gymnast, a quilter and Chels who can sing and talk with her mouth closed, well. When one said : I am a scuba diver, I’ve sung karaoke in NYC, My favorite book is to Kill a Mockingbird the guess of who was me….scary because that would so be me except the karaoke (never in NYC)…but I didn’t write it! It was Carol from New York and mine was much less interesting.

Early wake-up, breakfast at the same restaurant and a half hour commute to Mahubo village via a red dirt washboard road with a stop to pick up our workers and cooks ended in our first glimpse of Mahubo. Our cook Maria and her helpers were dropped off to get started on lunch while we split into little groups of 3 or 4 to work mostly on foundations to start, walls later with the specialists in those areas. Our builders work hard and manage with the command of only 3 or 4 English words to communicate well.

ONE: MOZAMBIQUE -

Welcome to Travel Grace Mozambique and South Africa!

The need in Mozambique - ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN
Behind the smiles and the songs of our beautiful homeowners in Mahubo Mozambique there is trauma and sadness. Some faces wear it more than others, they all have something in common; they've lost someone and because of that the children are vulnerable. Husbands and fathers die of AIDS or don't come back from working in another country.  HIV/AIDS, abondonement and other reasons cause many children to live with a extended family or someone in the village. Mud houses fall apart in the rain and floors flood. This creates a need that Habitat has answered by offering houses with no loan. Sweat equity is still an important part of the homeowner's contribution.

Read more about the Orphans and Vulnerable Children OVC on http://www.habitat.org/ame/stories/Mozambique_grant.aspx

25 things you should know about poverty:

http://www.habitat.org/hw/june_2009/feature3.html

HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD, A DIFFERENT HEMISPHERE a DIFFERENT CULTURE
Re-entry trauma,  a capsule hurtling at full speed through 17 hours, slamming back into atmosphere. OK, it isn't that dramatic, but going back to "normal life" and work mere hours after being with a great team and incredible villagers in Mozambique is an abrupt juxtaposition from somewhere and doing something important that ended much too soon. My third build and the first time I set foot on the continent of Africa was over. Over except for the memories for our group of 16 and the completed houses that won't last as long as our memories and provide as much warmth and happiness for the homeowners. This African build was more, it was different and it was better than I imagined it would be. Writing is my way of processing , preserving and clinging to the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, feelings and precious faces, I’m compelled to try and relive the moments that have become surreal and share the stories of the characters that made this trip to Mozambique so incredible. I'm not a writer, this isn't about me and I welcome any comments. It is about people and circumstances in another place as experienced through my trip. Here goes, Enjoy Travel Grace!

Before departing for Mozambique I had a brief time for a buzz around REI during a sale and found some hiking shoes (on sale) that are (not very attractive) an odd reddish, brownish, salmon color and I thought “this is perfect” as from what I’d seen in a couple of photos of off road Moz villages and from Google earth, these shoes could get dirty and it wouldn’t show very much! Little did I know how much dirt……as our commute was mostly on a dirt road to the village. Before departing there was so much work to be done there wasn’t a moment to slow down until the flight, two very long opportunities to anticipate meeting the team and the homeowners, to be excited for the opportunity to smell, taste, touch, see and feel another culture.

First an introduction, after flying in from the US, Canada, Taiwan and China our group met in Maputo Mozambique, the largest city in the country. After a night there we continued inland northwest to Massaca village on paved roads. Mozambique is narrow and long on the eastern coastline and as we travelled inland we weren’t all that far from Swaziland and the Kruger Park area of South Africa.

Our host coordinator, Magaia lives in Maputo and travelled with us to Massaca where we stayed and Mahubo, the village where the building for OVC would occur. Magaia is amazing, hard working, capable, funny and smart. He was also the only interpreter which in itself is a big job. He knows several languages and is currently in university to study law. Magaia is amazing, good looking with a deep voice and warm smile. He is important in the village and is very important to our group. the more we watched him and learned about him the more it became obvious that Magaia is one of those special people, one who will do something great and the world is a better place because he's here.

GETTING TO KNOW MOZAMBIQUE
From the GV website:  "Housing need
Why Habitat is needed in Mozambique;   http://www.habitat.org/intl/ame/138.aspx?print=true

Mozambique has suffered a series of setbacks in its struggle to develop during 32 years of independence. Following a 10-year liberation struggle, a 13-year guerilla war took the lives of 1 million people and left 5 million displaced. Only with the rise of the African National Congress and the end of apartheid in South Africa, was Mozambique able to broker peace and disarm the guerillas in 1992.



During its 15 years of peace, Mozambique has had one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, yet the country has a steep hill to climb. Since the war, HIV/AIDS has been sweeping through the country, with an estimated 17 percent of the population infected in the country and as much as 30 percent or more in certain cities along transport lines.



As a result of these deaths, children are left orphaned, often without adequate shelter and sometimes homeless. To make matters worse, in 2000, the country was devastated by the largest flood ever recorded in Africa, which left half a million people homeless.



Formed in 2000, Habitat for Humanity Mozambique has worked with poor communities, local volunteers and international teams to build hundreds of houses in Maputo Province and in the provinces of Manica and Gaza.



Habitat for Humanity Mozambique's initiatives include providing housing in partnership with the country's most disadvantaged groups. Originally, Habitat Mozambique houses were made of cement blocks. In the last few years, Habitat has adopted local materials and methods which lower costs and increase efficiency and community involvement. Additionally, Habitat Mozambique can reach the very poorest families in each  community as rapidly as possible"

• 200 million population

• 500 people a day die of AIDS and 500 people a day contract it.

• The village where we built has very few men; many villages have lost men and women due to AIDS.

• During civil war it was the poorest country on earth, now ranks 172nd of 176 on the poverty scale

• The average income is low, villagers will often barter and trade. Some can work in banana or citrus farming. There is little formal employment. Many workers cannot even afford the bus.

• Maputo does have a university and some like Magaia work in professional positions.

• The Gorongosa Park and the Carr Foundation are trying to repopulate the animals indigenous to the area that were practically wiped out by war, poaching and other hardships. The effects of the civil war are hinted of on occasion, even through they're independent now it is a communist country with elections happening. It's been so recent that even some of our builders were soldiers then, one guarded a bridge to prevent rebels from crossing.

• The government gets support from other countries. There is little tax income and resources are hard to get to without funding.

• The people in the village grow corn and some other vegetables and raise chickens and sometimes have pigs or goats.
 - Shangaan and Portugese are spoken primarily though there are 14 languages.(There is another reference to Shangaan in the section on Soweto).  Many names are based on Portugese. Ceasear is a local man who has an African name but is called Ceasar. H ased his grandfather why he and his father are both called Ceasar. The grandfather said "bring me a bottle of wine and I'll tell you." Two years he waiting then taking a bottle of wine to his grandfather he finally learned about the big man of Rome.

As a team we first saw a glimpse of Maputo including venturing out on foot for a couple of blocks, camera in hand to explore. The local market in a side alley consists of clothing hanging on fences and shoes set out in lines of singles all pointing in the same direction, in parallel, making a pattern of lines. Across the street from the church boarding house where we were staying is a local bar and three of us had fun trying to by coke and beer with the help of the locals. One message came through clearly, bring the bottle back! The people were friendly though seemed amused by the oddity of these blonds who wanted beer but couldn’t articulate the different between light and dark.

In a short distance and even shorter period of time before dinner we discovered the juxtapositions of Maputo on one main road…two buildings looked brand new, important and bespoke of government or wealth, or both. On the same street the church stood out in its AFrame glory as one of the largest buildings, close to high end auto dealerships with fencing and guard dogs. In one direction a small bakery and the lineup single shoes of the sidewalk show salesmen. Down the hill toward an open market of everything from hardware to spices line up along the road, hiding behind these stalls the stark reality of slum. Lean to shelters built of corrugated metal walls and roofs held down by rock. Many of us have bathrooms bigger than these houses.

Guidebooks cast aside; (they have little) we explored based on hints by some expats about where to walk. Others who’ve traveled to Africa mentioned that many people don’t appreciate having their picture taken, but we found the opposite in Mozambique with one exception. Taking a side road toward the harbor past a bank we walked toward three men, one armed and looking very much the role of bank guard. He smiled at us “tourists” and spoke in quite good English asking us where we are from and saying how good it is that people come to learn about Mozambique.

It started looking a little rough on the side street so a U-turn was in order. On the other side two young men were walking toward us, pointing to the camera. They smiled and leaned toward each other and the photo was taken, they were delighted and satisfied with simply looking at their image on the camera display, smiled and said a few words I didn’t understand and moved on. After dinner with our group we settled in and it was a good day. Travelling to Massaca (luggage in one van, people in another) was on the agenda for the next morning.

It's a good day. See the culture for the first time. We aren't even at our ultimate distination, the village for the build that would leave us better than we leave it.

Seventh - Deeper stories, unpeeling the onion revealing good, bad and ugly, real life in Tajikistan

There is a gentleness in the people we've met and worked around. No doubt we are still "tourista" and even though Khujand is a large city, it is also small, word gets around that there are tourists about.

The streets are very clean, women are out every morning sweeping the roadsides and the parks. It's difficult to find trash or a trash can. Every once in awhile trash would rear it's ugly head in the form of smoke, around the apartments they incinerate a lot (and I thought that concrete stove thing was a BBQ!) and sometimes we'd catch a whiff of burning plastic, rubber and general stuff.

ROSES -

are everywhere, in Dushanbe and in Khujand and they're lovely. Maybe Portland should become a "Sister City!"

GIVING THANKS

MMJ showed us how to give thanks, they have a prayer after the meal and hold hands out, both palms up, then take both hands, put them on their face palms in and stroke downward. Hard to describe here but it is lovely.

PROGRESSIVE REALITIES

While there is a great deal of traditional dress, we also saw girls in jeans, and our sweet friend Hamida showed herself in a variety of fashions. A couple of women from the Habitat Affiliates in both cities had been to the U.S. and speak English well and wear very western, current fashions. Alot of woment work.

Relgion - like many: some pray, some don't, some drink, some don't; some smoke, some don't; some follow rules, some don't....sound like everywhere!

WHAT IS THEIRS

This historically has been a mother in law society in the sense that she is the head of the household. We heard several variations on the theme, but historically this meant that when a (usually very young) girl was chosen for marriage she would move in with her husband's family after the wedding and be under the tutelage of his mother. Sometimes the goal was to "break the girl in". Girls could refuse to marry but probably under great consequence. Divorce was allowable but the in-laws keep the children. Even our three young women friends were originally a girl gang of five friends, and two have been married, one is pregnant. The idea of what is too young, or what is best should probably be left to the individuals of the culture to change for their best interests, but I sure wanted to share with Hamida that she's so bright, she could go to Europe or the US and continue learning and carve her future.

David mentioned that some girls end up very depressed and suicidal under the mother in law heirarchy. Hamida shared that her parents who she adores married "for love" and she misses her father and older brother so much as they are working in Moscow.

There is a system of "getting what you pay for."

For instance: say you are a student going to the local library for a book required for school. The librarian says they do not carry that book. If 20 or so Somoli appear, suddenly the book appears as well.

Apparently the "American Corner" had to restructure with an NGO because the library head was embezzling from the US Embassy. Now that middle man is no longer in the embassy and is not losing money any more.

Degrees can be paid for, test results can be paid for.

The curriculum - for English it's more detailed English structure than I ever knew. David mentioned structures I barely remember, yet the students have to know and have to pass the tests based on this curriculum. The texts are from the '70's which is better than the Chemistry texts which are from the '50's. David says there's not much he can do about the curriculum yet it also speaks to people like Farhod, MMJ, Hamida and Parvina that despite trying to learn English and not really being taught it conversationally, they SHINE and converse so well and are hungry for more.

Phillip with Mercy Corp said that women, particularly married child bearing women actually eat very little meat in this meat heavy society. The husbands and fathers get the meat first. This creates anemia amongst these young women, many of whom become pregnant right after marriage. Translate to difficult pregnancies and infant malnutrition. Plus some woment die in childbirth. Mercy Corp has done and measured education on Breast Feeding and recognition and treatment of infant dysentary. Due to the education in the region and the wisdom of Mercy Corp to reach out the the leaders, the village heads and the mother's in law, over the years they have seen an 80% improvement in dysentary rates of treatement and prevention compared to the majority of countries where they would be thrilled to see 30% improvement.

There is some malaria (though I brough my malarone and never saw a single mosquito, but it can happen), typhoid and again, the bribes. Phillip said you can pay for anything in this country.

THE BAD

Global crisis. Alot of construction work in Russia is no longer available which means local unemployment is rising.

History - MMJ talked about his parents stories of time during the USSR. During that time, people here were afraid to practice their religion. MMJ's parents were forced by teachers to eat and drink during fasting times. People were killed.

It's time for all of us to remember that "NEVER AGAIN" should mean never to anyone, anywhere at anytime. No more genocides, witholding of basic freedoms etc.

Girls get better opportunities if they are not in head dress and are not traditional.

The Cotton - farmers may own their land but the government tells them what to plant. Cotton is king, problem is it can leach nutrients from the soil and render it weak if crops aren't rotates and the soil allowed to regenerate. The labor comes from the students...best learned about in this link

http://enews.ferghana.ru/article.php?id=2475 David told us about this article he wrote about the "slave labor disguised as volunteerism" cotton harvest.

We met MMJ's boss, Phillip from Mercy Corp. He joined us for dinner one night and told us stories of his time as an expat here for the last couple of years. He actually lives in Portland, the home of Mercy Corp HQ and his wife is here in PDX, she is Uzbec. He knows the area well and talked also of the system of bribery. Though it doesn't seem the locals do many drugs, there is drug money that comes through from Afghanistan which grows a lot of poppies and the flow is through Tajikistan to Russia with stops along the way. People in the line of flow and in the know make money.

THE UGLY

Amongst our own - when someone has a problem there seems to be an emotional juggling constantly between compassion and frustration. This happened with one of our own, who would disappear sometimes. Drink more beer than anyone else. Stay out later. One morning at 6am, the room-mate of our problem child came to our room to speak with the team lead because the team member had not arrived back to the apartment at all. We decided to go out for a walk, split up in different directions and look. It was a gorgeous morning and I'd always wanted to walk before the work day, but I didn't want to do it a 6am looking for a body in a ditch anymore than anyone else did. We reconvened after 20 minutes to discover that our team member had arrived back during that time by taxi, smiling, with a black eye and no recollection of how that occured (are there prostitutes in Khujand?) Big possible YES on that one....This created anxiety, more work for the team lead, concern amongst the group, frustration and due to the involvement of alchohol a little less enjoyment in regards to beer and ice cream. God speed to you team member, take care of yourself.

Sixth - A whole new light. Meeting three wonderful girls and others who shed more light on our learning of Tajikistan

After a few days of building, Farhod announced that we would have visitors, some students from the University who heard we were in the area and wanted to meet us and practice their English. And so they arrived, three lovely smiling beacons of graciousness and excitement and chatter! That first day we learned how often cultures are more similar than different. Hamida (seated in jeans skirt and 3rd from left in lower left photo), Parvina (seated in white dress and in had in next photo) and Fatima (seated in black next to Carol in lower left photo) are lovely and interesting and interested! Time flew as we talked and talked. They showed Carol crochet styles and talked about the patchwork quilts that are so much a part of Tajik heritage. And then they described what they did as young children at play:

• Cafedor - when children are in 2 lines and they call on over... what we call Red Rover
• Lakpar - when there are squares drawn on the sidewalk and you skip from one to the other and pick things up....Hop Scotch!
• Lanka - they sew sheepskin around some pebbles and kick it around....Hacky Sack
• Oshuk - a boys game of flying kites, it sounded like the Kite Runner

Hamida and Parvina speak quite good English, Fatima is a little more shy and self conscious that she doesn't speak as well, but so very sweet. We invited them to stay for lunch but they refused saying they had not earned it and had not worked, but would come back in work clothes the next day. And Hamida and Parvina did!

They did pitch in too, in the bucket brigade and with the brick transfer at the second house. Parvina had to leave on Friday early as it was her mother's birthday and she wanted to get a cake and put on a good party. With Mahmudjon she also told us that she wanted us to come to her house on Sunday night (May 31st) to celebrate her 21st birthday which was June 2. Fatima was ill for the next few days and Hamida worked with us on Saturday, gushing about her birthday and how important 21 is as it is the transition to adulthood. The girls spoke a great deal about a woman who had visited and made an enormous impression on them, Brenda Flanigan, an author. They also spoke a great deal about David, their English teacher from Seattle. We discussed politics, music (they love the Backstreet Boys), their friends, Hamida talked about milking her cow twice a day and of her mother and grandmother. They also spoke a lot of time that they were out of school for several weeks to go and pick cotton. Of the builders and the girls it was so refreshing that the topics of discussion were many and varied, delving into politics, culture and social issues such as poverty and "global crisis". They have phones and the internet (albeit slow), everyone knows of Obama and asked us about him. They're very encouraged. As we learned more about their history and politics we could as more as well. MMJ and Farhod would talk about the civil war and the time of the USSR in detail, also even though things are better now, so much that was promised has yet to be seen. The museum tours taught us much, and meeting the locals and expats brought out even more and show us the layers of this wonderful place; the history, the struggles, the current status, the mother -in - law as family head.

As Saturday ended we had dinner at a new place for kabob, a bit of a drive but terrific outdoor food. All kabob, all the time, a place Farhod held in memory as good since his days in Khujand as a University Student. It was fantastic and the workers at the restaurant waved good by to us, in the photo there is a man with his hand on his chest, I loved this greeting pose for hello and goodbye. Taste the culture. Feel the culture.

R&R - ADVENTURES IN EXPLORATION AND CHANGE OF PACE

Sunday, first R&R day! So much planned, first we walked to the museum which is very well done. At the end some children arrived and Barbara had them swarming around her as she took photos and I had photos of them looking at her photos! (Also a note, about that time some strange things were appearing on my camera like no more memory messages etc. The card had slipped out just a bit so I put it back in and since I'd not had a chance to backup since Istanbul, I replaced the card with a new one....only to take about 400 photos and have that card fall out of the camera the last day in Dushanbe...and the only Kodak shop in town I could find had a disc drive that didn't work so my attempt to backup failed). Future photos of May 31 onward will be shared because my team members graciously share and will be given credit.

After the history museum, a small architectural museum and then to the palace. This is not a residential palace but a place of government and forums. It's very pink! The community built the palace, in the auditorium each panel in the ceiling and on the walls is hand painted, each different. There is a big focus on literature and literacy, on farming and the crops that Tajikistan can produce. Also history of USSR and the civil war after the breakup. Civil war peace negotiations took place in the auditorium of the palace. MMJ did a wonderful job of interpreting what our guide said as he spoke in both Tajik and Russian. We learned that women earned war medals during WWI and WWII as well and there were many references to both. Two posters struck me as so on point and touching, first, a blindfolded man walking toward the edge of a cliff depicting a metaphor for illiteracy. Another was a woman with her arm around a small boy, their backs to us looking at the images of two soldiers marching, several feet above the ground which I took to mean a widow or a mother seeing her lost husband or sons. The ceilings in every room are gorgeous, all hand painted, each very different from the other.

THE REAL DEAL, MARKETS AND OSIM'S KABOB

Osim had been talking for days about having us to his kabob stand in the market. So on our day off we made our way out to one of the market's quite a distance from town. Driving in we could see the livestock, many black sheep and some cows. We were led into a tight little enclave filled with people and kabob stands and there he was, Osim with a huge smile on his face! (Currently I have not photos from this point onward, but keep checking!). He put us into a room with long tables and the feast started arriving, first the best bread we've had, then tea and salad. Soon the kabobs started coming and they were really good. Some with ground meat, some cubed. Osim introduced us to his partner, the bread man, a tall, lanky fellow with a kind face and incredible almond shaped eyes. They have worked together for many ears. We were probably there for almost an hour and were treated like celebrities and the goodbye was like many in theis area, one of being escorted out by our new friends, with many smiles, "rahmats" (thank yous) and the posture of putting the right hand to the chest and holding it there which looked and felt to me like genuine gratitude, a "pleased to meet you and pleased to have served" kind of stance. This was truly a local meal in this meat based society and it was so good. Only upon leaving did we also learn that Osim had treated us to this lunch, it was on him. Throughout they gave more than they received, but they probably don't feel that way. They're very gracious.

MARKET TIME, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH MARKET TIMING....THINGS LOST IN TRANSLATION, SOMETHING GAINED

So we expressed wanting to see clothing and textiles in a market, things authentic to the area. Just a short drive from Osim's Kabob we Farhod took us to an extension of the same market. Here is where the locals shop, it was full of clothing and shoes, housewares and some shawls and textiles. And it was different than we thought it would be...this is an important market for the people, most things made in China, of prices affordable to the locals and so we had a glimpse of real life. Remembering the average wage is about 200 Somolis a month ($50). I loved the dress Parvina wore the day we met her, a white gauzy dress and she said it was in the Sunday market. Well here we were! All of us split up and I was with MMJ and as we cruised through one hallway where every booth started to look the same, I saw only 1 place that had two dresses like Parvina's. MMJ helped, no actually did the negotiations and I skipped away with two dresses for 50 Somoli, $10, not knowing if they would fit (they do). Everyone in our group was a little restless thgouh wanting to find a place that had more traditional and historic textiles and crafts. So we met at the van early. Farhod did a good job of taking us to what we asked for "textiles and clothing"...and Carol came away with a cute pair of shoes for her daughter. We also had to be more specific about what types of items we would like to see, so Farhod took us to a crafts shop that was closed that day, but we went on Monday and Barbara came away with an antique traditional quilt that is quite something.

One of our missions was to find a birthday present for Hamida, they guys were of little help even though they're Tajik. So was asked MMJ to ask his wife for her suggestion that that wasn't such a good idea, the poor guy said he couldn't call his wife, only 19 and pregnant, her first thought would be why is he buying gifts for another woman? So he did what any self preserving young man would do and he called his mom who said we should buy her something for entertaining guests. We went to the Thursday Market, closer to town and open every day. We bought some glasses and a pitcher then later went to a flower shop where we bought pink roses and had the gift wrapped. Success! Herding cats, a couple of the guys went into the Thursday market and all us had 15 minutes. We met back at the van on time and found that MMJ had gone to pray. We're a restless bunch, don't like to sit and wait, could have stayed in the market longer. Farhod and I took a few minutes to find him a Coke and I found a bottle of wine for the apartment, we met back at the van and many had dispersed on their own for the few minutes and come back to the van, so in the end all was well. (A note about the wine..most restaurants don't serve alcohol at all, Jeri and I enjoyed having a little to share in our apartment. Wine was hard to come by so we made it last. Made in Monrovia, not high on Wine Spectator's list!

We returned to the Thursday market the next day, Monday and it was a sight, a very open hall with a second story on the perimiter. There is a section of spices, a butcher's section against the wall, a section of produce, a section of nuts that we went nuts over - sweet almonds and roasted pistachios, yum. These made great snacks for the work site. The camera was working hard in their and the second story gave us a great overview of the place.

IN A TAJIK HOME, SWEET HAMIDA'S 21ST BIRTHDAY DINNER IN HER FAMILY APARTMENT, THE FEAST AND A GLIMPSE OF HER HOMELIFE AND HER COW

Free time to relax, clean up and prepare to go to Hamida's for birthday dinner. Dressed up (as builders can be) our driver found her apartment actually quite close to the job site, but to the west a bit, past the University. The outside of the apartment looked very much like the outside of the apartments where we stayed. A lovely Hamida in traditional dress of light blue greeted us with her beaming smile. We took our shoes off in the hall and entered a room set with an astonishing array of foods. Parvina was there as well in a lovely dress. We all sat around the table and Hamida catered to us, never sitting but flitting about while brining in the next course until the coup de gras of Plov! She was so happy. David was awaited and he did arrive after walking back from where the taxi dropped him due to directions lost in translation. He is their English teacher and has been in Khujand almost a year through the embassy. He's a high school teacher in Tacoma.

No one else came to the party, it was clear that she wanted to have an evening with us and with David. Hamida served us cake as mother and grandmother came in for an final appearance. They would come in briefly, both beautifully dressed. Mother looks quite lovely, grandmother is full of smiles. Women of older generations have had some tough times and it shows, the younger ones in general are beautiful. As we started to leave Hamida cried she was so happy and then insisted we go to the back of the apartment and meet the cow, two goats and the chickens! Grandmother came with us and showed us a gazebo with beds on it where she relaxes on hot days in the shade near her animals. Time to go, but we knew we would see Hamida again and maybe the other girls. Sweet little Fatima was still ill. It was a nice evening, long for some as some foreign exposure issues were taking effect (food problems not too bad here, but it happens).

Next post - what David and Phillip from Mercy Corp say, the good, the bad and the beneath the surface ugly.

Fifth - On the job site

The job site is only 15 minutes van ride from the apartments and our driver is terrific. We follow the main road from town, cross the river, toward the mountains up hill onto dirt roads. And here we are, our work site # 1 is a plot of land with a house under contruction next door. The family are currently living in an apartment, the mother, 5 sons, daughters in law and the children, 18 people in all. They qualify for a Habitat house meaning they will put in the many hours of sweat equity and be able to pay the 0 interest loan.

INTRODUCTION TO THE JOB SITE, SAFETY BRIEFINGS AND THE END OF CLEAN CLOTHES!

We started with a meeting an empty room of the house next door, a room which was our meeting room, dining room, "hide in the shade" room. Mukim was the contractor, a fun guy who has a great sense of humor even though it all came through MMJ's interpretation. Every day we had a safety briefing which consisted of: "Thank you for being here, safety is very important. Be careful. Do not drop a brick on your foot. Do not drop a brick on anyone else's foot. Do not drop a brick on Carol's foot :-)" Then we would sign the paper and off we went to the site. First order of business, meet the homeowner and his brothers where were helping, plus a few friends. MMJ and Farhod were worked continuously as interpreters and helped us off to a good start. First; DIG THE TRENCHES - the soils is dry dirt and rock and as we could gaze to and almost touch the mountains to the northwest, images of the mountains of Afghanistan, a few hundred miles to the south came to mind. So we would dig until - "chink" shovel hits a rock. Some were small enough to get out, but after the first few days we were consistently impressed by the men's ability to get boulders out of the trenches with a rope and manpower. Mike had the good idea of just pouring the concrete around some of them, but they were removed anyway. Thus brothers started consulting Mikey, aka "Ahnold" because he's from California. Smile and jokes started on the first day even though all we did all day long was dig trenches.

I'm frustrated that I've forgotten the homeowner's name, one of his brother's is Osim, tall, great smile. There is a younger brother as well, tall, big shoulders, cutie patootey! The guys were digging and they didn't have gloves. We had 2 bags or red gloves so I started handing them out and the homeowner didn't want a pair, so I tried again thinking something was lost in translation when he showed me a broken blister on his hand. So I went to the first aid kit in my backpack and grabbed a bandaid and with sign language got him to rinse and dry the blister so I could put on the bandaid, then he could wear the gloves! Many, many smiles.

As the days progressed we noticed that the brothers and their friends made progress before 8:30 am and after 4pm when we weren't there...a lot of progress. In the trenches we started putting in wood frames for the concrete. At this point there were a variety of jobs and the reminder that in third world countries things are slower because you work with what you have. 3 shovels (1 broke), several buckets, a water tank, a couple of picks, 3 hoes and some rebar. A rebar grid went into the bottom of the trenches and the brothers pulled in some sheets of metal and put them next to the two large piles of gravel. And so it started, shovel by shovel, bucket by bucket the gravel went onto the metal sheets. When it was about 1 ft high and levelled off we put on 3 bags of cement. Then the water, bucket by bucket when the brothers with a shovel each would start mixing the gravel and the cement powder from the pile while one of us would pour on the water. (No hose available from the tank, there are some great photos of Carol sitting very Zen like on the tank filling buckets for us). Mixing concrete with a shovel is not easy task, each shovel full is heavy. They would fill buckets with the wet concrete and our "bucket brigade' would pass it down to the guy at the end who poured into the frames...alot of concrete, a lot of buckets.

PLOV!

The days flew by, Farhod would always run off to get lunch and the break at mid-day was always welcome and enjoyable. Food usually consisted of meat, lentils, some vegetables after we started requesting, juice and always, every meal, bread. Round, decorated with a "pounder" the bread is something to behold. One day the homeowner said he was supplying lunch and we were treated to a fantastic "Plov" - pilaf, rice, meet and vegetables.
It was fantastic! The brothers and their friends were so kind, they learned more English that I learned of Tajik. My favorite word is "rahmat" (roll the r, gargle the h like a ch - but not like cheese, it's a throaty sound) for thank you. The brothers would come back with "you're very welcome!" A couple of times mama, the wife and the 3 children came to see us.

AN UNLIKELY PAIRING

At the end of each day we had a ritual (at least until the R&R time and a shift in dynamics) of going directly from the site to the little outdoor cafe near the apartments for the best thing ever, ICE CREAM AND BEER! After a hot day of shoveling and digging it was such a great reward. Even though as I would sit in the shade and the dust would "poof" up from my clothes...we truly looked like "Pig Pen" from Peanuts...all of us had an "ahhhh" moment at this time, usually around 4:30pm after the work day ended. It was good while it lasted and the ice cream man loved having us there and asked about us when we stopped the ritual.

Even though we made a lot of progress on this build, the foundation was about 3-4'high and 18" thick to prepare for the brick to be laid upon it, there is so much more to do for their house. Another team will be there in August and when we left it was already getting quite hot, mid-summer would be difficult. The winters are cold though so they need that thick foundation. It could be a year before the house is complete. They were so grateful though. Mama came on the last day and gave us all kisses, hugs and scarves, while the kids were checking us out, so adorable!

Everyone asks why anyone would pay to help someone they don't know build a house while on vacation. And yet the brother's friends were there everyday, helping. They indicated that strangers probably would not have helped and Tajiks probably wouldn't travel to a foreign land to help someone they didn't know build a house. And yet they gave us so much. Feel the culture.

At #2 just down the road, some of our group went to help move brick. This house has progressed beyond foundation to brick wall building and there was a lot of brick to move from piles outside the house to inside the house. The men of that house were jolly, sweet fun as well, different personalities but very happy. A pile of brick can seem infinite, thank Mikey for spontaneous trivia quizes and things to keep our minds active while passing bricks down the line!

Talking with people ; one time we were all shoveling and no one was talking, so I asked MMJ to ask the brothers and their friends what they would want to ask us. So happy that no one is shy about opening dialogue about world events, "global crisis", Obama, religion.

Fourth - Getting to know the area before the work actually begins

Tajikistan and particularly Khujand (which I heard pronounced "hoJHAN") were part of the silk route. A very rich history reaching back centuries into the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, and farther and farther back to make this place impressively unique and interesting.

History - originally Persian, Islamic, this area became a buffer zone during WWI when Briain was in India. The USSR take over gave the people infrastructure, heat, oil, etc., but many poets and mullahs were killed, Qurans burned and there was little education. Culture was lost and now they are trying with celebrations and education to allow ritual and religion and pride in their culture and history to show and be experienced. Recent history is visible, the breakup of the USSR in the very early 1990's resulted in a civil war in Tajikistan for several reasons, some tribal, some financial, some to do with government. Farhod was a very young boy when the civil war occured and though his eyes things were good under the USSR, they had food, all was provided. During civil war (that lasted about 5 years) people stood in lines all day for bread and sometimes came away empty handed. Much promised support from Russian has yet to be seen, even in the current time. There was also a conflict between Uzbec and Tajikistan and apparently Uzbec was/is the favored child, so when land was divided the prized Samarkand went to Uzbec after the collapse. During the USSR the people of these regions could not exercise their freedom of religion, now that is open to express.

The average wage is about 200 Somoli = $50. Unemployment has increased because many men would work construction jobs in Russia, but those are less available due to the "global crisis" (a term heard in Turkey and in Tajikistan). In the language I could sometime hear though not understand the Russian, and most speak Tajik and Russian.

Farhod hired his friend MahmoudJon to interpret for us. Another sweetheart, MMJ :-) is in his early twenties as well and works for Mercy Corp. He speaks Tajik, Russian, Uzbek and English and was a joy to have around. Both of them were actually as they have an incredible sense of humor and weren't shy about teasing any of us. MMJ is married to a 19yo bride who will have their first child at the end of June, beginning of July. In their culture the baby's name will be selected by the father and the grandfather.

The gentle part of their history includes a pride of poets and scientists. We learned at the museum about Rumi and Sino....Sin, medisin, medicine, the father of medicine.

We spoke at lunch about the bazaars, one for each day of the week such as the car bazaar, the animal bazaar and the daily bazaar (glorious bazaar with a section for spices, a section for nuts, a section for produce, a section for meats....so beautiful to behold from the second floor looking down through the arched ceiling to the main floor). Agriculture in Tajikistan consists mostly of cotton, raisins, almost, apricots and angora (goats). I bought the best tasting roasted pistachios at the markets...loved them!

More culture in the coming days during the build as we meet expats and local students