Our original plan was to leave for Mwanza from Shirati at 6 am Thursday, but Fred still had some receipts to get signed to fulfill CACHA and CRA project requirements, so we changed the departure time to 8AM. That allowed us to have a final breakfast of mandazi, chipata and pineapple at the dining hall instead of while driving. It was just as well, because rain started around 5 am, heavy at times but by 8, had slowed to a light drizzle.
Once loaded, and final goodbyes said at the Diocese, we made a final stop at 8:05 am at the Technical School to see what progress had been made. The electrician’s work was completed, just waiting for the 3 Phase meter to be registered, and the Shop Classrooms would be powered as originally designed. The plumbers had replaced all the defective drains to the septic tank, shower stands installed, the buried water line from the tank on the rock was in place, and they were actually doing final base prep to mount the tank and fill it with water. After a spirited goodbye from the boys (and girl) in the Welding/Mfg class, we set out for Mwanza, some 5 plus hours away.
Rainfall was sporadic, some places heavier, some places hardly at all. We pray that more will come, it has apparently been inordinately dry this year. Fred mentioned that on one of his recent trips from Mwanza to Shirati, he had seen over 100 elephants in the area where the Serengeti National Game Park abuts the main highway. His thought was that they were scavenging further into civilization because of the drought. We only saw wildebeests and zebras in this area. Only! Still pretty amazing to see them.
The trip was uneventful, except for about six speed traps along the route. Kaeecee, our driver, was slightly late to drop below 50 kmh at one, and promptly received a 30,000 TZS fine ($17 CDN). Fred’s comment was that it is the Tanzanian Police budget that is being augmented. The placement of several of the 50 KMH zones made little sense in terms of population or safety. We arrived safely at the Otieno’s home in Mwanza around 1 pm, and enjoyed a fantastic lunch of pizza and juice. It sure was great to taste pizza again!
After lunch, Leisha, the kids, and all of the team except Terry and Fred went to check out the beach. Mwanza is situated on the shores of Lake Victoria, same as Shirati, but further south. Although cloudy and cooler because of the intermittent thunderstorms, it was still very comfortable for the Canadians and the children. Fred and Terry headed uptown to look for replacement parts for the Diocese’s older Toyota Hilux pick up truck and to a hardware store to get some new tools/spares for the Welding/Mfg. shop at the Tech School. Things like a set of quality drill bits, hacksaw blades, 4” grinding and cutting disks, a new small vise (It’s interesting how a pipe extension on a small vise handle can cause unwanted consequences!)and grinding wheels for the bench grinder. Pretty normal for a couple of guys to spend the afternoon hanging out at hardware and auto parts stores I would say.
After we all arrived back at the house, we had a supper provided by a catering owner friend of Leisha’s. Curried chicken, rice, meat filled chipatis, fresh garden salad, and pop was on the menu and enjoyed by everyone. After supper, some played games or read with the Otieno children, and others caught up with their devices, then heading to bed. Friday noon will be the beginning of approximately 25 straight hours of flights and layovers, starting in Mwanza, then Kilimanjaro, Addis Ababa, Dublin, and finally Toronto. The last leg from Addis Ababa (with a short refuelling in Dublin) to Toronto is listed as over 16 hours.
Our trip has been amazing. We have learned things about each other, ourselves, another country’s flora and fauna, and another culture. We have been kept safe, healthy, and been humbled by our hosts and hostesses’ friendliness, hospitality, and humble generosity. We will never be the same as we were before we arrived. Our thanks to all of you who have supported us with prayers, good thoughts, messages, meditations and following us on this blog. We could not have done this without you!
This will be our last post for Shirati 2017. Check with us as to when we will present our report at Shantz church sometime in the next 6-8 weeks.
Thanks again!
The Shirati 2017 team:
Anson and Connie Ehgoetz, Zach McGrath, Katie Hamm, Jane Schultz-Janzen, and Terry Janzen