drumroll, please

The results are in: our Women's Day hiv testing event was a BIG success! Our doctors and nurses tested a total of 313 people (WAY more than I thought we would), and 7 turned out to be hiv positive (five female, two male.) 11 secondary students made posters advertising the day, which we posted all over town; over 30 secondary school students sang, danced, and played drums; a group of mamas also sang and played drums, and we all marched together in a big parade, gathering people as we went along, from one end of town to the other. The head doctor, who was our main supporter in organizing this day, hired a dj (who had HUGE speakers) to play music, which attracted tons of curious people. Everyone was very, very pleased with the amount of community interest and involvement, and we are more eager than ever to continue doing hiv-related projects. In fact, we are working on grants to sponsor two hiv education days: one for our town's teachers, so that they can confidently implement hiv education into their teaching, and the other for our town's members of an hiv/aids awareness and outreach group, so that they can confidently educate and support their fellow villagers. Anyway, three disappointments from Women's Day, despite how well it went overall: our counterparts, Zizo and Gilbert, didn't show up to help us, because of family problems; the testers ran out of testing supplies (they didn't expect such a high turnout), so there was a period of 2-3 hours while we waited for more to be brought--did people lose their motivation to be tested because they had to wait??; and finally, not a surprise, the majority of teenagers that I spoke with that day refused to be tested because they were scared to learn the results. As one young guy told me, "I am afraid to test because if I learn today that I have hiv, this is the last day of my life." This will be our biggest obstacle, truthfully: helping people overcome their fear of learning their hiv status. By and large, most people in our town (maybe in Tanzania??) just don't want to know. This is why we have an AIDS epidemic. Our head doctor estimates that 15% of the people in Kibakwe are hiv positive, and it was recently confirmed from the headmaster of our secondary school that prostitution is an on-going concern within the student body population. We have a lot of work to do; as we say in Kiswahili, hatua kwa hatua ("step by step.")

Ok, other delightful news: I am recovering from my first case of intestinal amoebas, or some other lovely creature that decided to take up residence in my colon. Not pretty, that's all I'll say. Once I'm back in America, I will never again take for granted the comfort and grace of having explosive, uncontrollable diarrhea while sitting on a toilet.

We haven't had much rain, which is freaking people out. Our water supply from the pump in our yard has been mostly uninterrupted, so our garden is coming along really well. Tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, various greens, cucumbers and zucchini have all started, as well as sunflowers. We pray for rain and study the skies every day; if it doesn't come, there will be disastrous results for the farmers--and just about everyone in Kibakwe is a farmer. No rain=no crops to sell=no money to buy food. Please send rain vibes our way.

Pipi the kitten is continuing to purr her way into our hearts. Truth be told: I am her favorite person. She likes to spend her days playing in our neighbor's cornfield and climbing our fence, pausing occasionally for naps on my lap.

Other regions of Tanzania have had lots of rain, so our big veggie market in Mpwapwa is exploding: giant cabbages, mountains of avocados, huge carrots, fresh peas, watermelons, and squash are currently in abundance. In sad news, mango season is over, and pineapples are dwindling. I already mourn the loss. Now that I am on the mend from my recent bowel adventures, I will again be cooking giant pots of coconut rice and spicy peanut sauce, my current faves.

We hear that spring has arrived in the states. Enjoy the melting snow, the emergence of green grass, and maybe even the daffodils that might be peeking out. As always, I'll keep you posted. I am sending love and smiles from Tanzania.