Images of Africa - Part 7

One of my tasks while in Tanzania was to shoot photos of all the Mavuno kids that I met. So I figured I'd post some of those below as well as some generic "slice of life" shots that I happened to get while in Eastern Africa. The first photo below is an example of this. Typically anything to do with agriculture in this area is done by hand and considered women's work. Below you can see the hoeing tools they use to kill weeds out in the fields. (Click on the photo for a larger file to view.)

This is Malucha (Mavuno's off-campus facilitator) with two little Mavuno orphans named David and Martin. The amazing thing about these 3 photos is the difference between how the boys look now and what they looked like when Mavuno first took them in. For a reference go to www.mavunovillage.com and look for David and Martin Paulo's story under the "Mavuno Children" tab. It was great to see them doing so much better.

We interviewed David and Martin's foster parents for the video presentation. The interview was done in Swahili and Malucha helped me translate a few days later. It was quite the experience as I'd never done anything like that before. It was fun but I'm very grateful that Malucha is a patient guy! While we were interviewing the parents a fairly large group of village kids gathered outside their yard and I got some photos of them below afterwards.

A couple of the older boys were showing off a bird they had caught to Dave Helsby. These kids seemed very intrigued to have a couple westerners visit in a rarely seen Toyota Land Cruiser.

This is Daniel. He is another Mavuno orphan we stopped to visit.

Mavuno's staff taken at the Christmas get-together outside the team home.

We all headed down to the beach of Lake Victoria to play some sand volleyball as part of the Christmas festivities. As you can see it was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. The huge dude in the white shirt is yours truly. Showing off my crazy American VB skillz :)

This is Eva. She is a Mavuno orphan who is doing very well in her studies as well as with her new family. She has learned enough English that we were able to interview her for the video in English. I'm pretty excited about that as her story is motivational and she is doing great!

Eva's family... The Tobotobos. They are living on the campus of Nassa Theological seminary where Lameck and his wife are students.

These last two shots are a couple of kids at the George family residence where we stopped to visit one day. Dan Tanner and Mavuno Village are very involved in helping this family as the father has passed away and the mother has HIV. Four of the George kids are under Mavuno's umbrella of care.

Images of Africa - Part 6

This post is dedicated to some of the more interesting wildlife that I saw on Mavuno's campus. Because we were so close Lake Victoria I saw an incredible variety of birds. I think my favorite was a kingfisher that lived near the staff house. The shot below is him sitting on the Helsby's mini-wind generator. You can't tell from this shot but his back feathers are bright blue. So when he took off in flight, he looked like a little flash of blue lightning. (Click on each photo for a larger file to view.)

This is a shot of the first spotted hyena a saw in Africa. I was up early and hiked the ridge overlooking Mavuno's campus and heard a rustle in a bush below me on the opposite side of the ridge. I didn't see anything so I started setting up my video camera. I sorta felt like I was being watched so I looked back again and saw this lone hyena watching me from the bottom of the little valley between the ridges. The tallest point in that area is called hyena hill and this guy must've been from the clan that hangs out on that hill. He soon lost interest and took off.

After getting what I needed on the ridge I moved down to a different pile of rocks and saw my first monkey. Below are a couple shots of him checking me out.

These are Vervet monkeys and actually considered to be pests by the locals. They will raid gardens year round and farm fields at harvest time. They are smart enough to steal the seeds out of the ground after being planted. I even saw scarecrows that were for monkeys... I'm kicking myself for not taking any photos of those as they were pretty strange looking. Below are a couple shots of the troop that lives on Mavuno's campus.

This is an African Fish Eagle. It looks very similar to the American Bald Eagle but the African version is actually larger. There is a pair that lives near the beach on Mavuno's campus. The last morning I was there I walked down to get some good photos and this guy let me get pretty close to his perch to take his portrait. I was hoping he'd go fishing for me but he soon took off to chase some white terns way out on the lake and did not return.

Here is another shot of a kingfisher. You can see some of that bright blue that I was referencing above a little better in this shot.

Images of Africa - Part 5

My stay in Eastern Africa was an eye opener to the large amounts of bugs, lizards, ants, snakes, and spiders that reside there. I thought I was used to insects as I'm from South Dakota and in the summer, you can be swarmed by mosquitos, gnats, and biting flies among other things... but Africa is on a whole other level.

This is an Agama Lizard. The males show off to the females with his gaudy red an blue colored skin. (Click on each photo for a larger file to view.)

These lizards seem to be everywhere in the Mwanza region. On the rocks, in the windows of open air building and I even saw and heard them in the rafters of a church.

This is Lauren Helsby holding a lake crab from Lake Victoria. I also saw many snails on the shores of the lake. It was because of these snails that I could not go for a swim (even though the beach was beautiful, and the days were hot). The snails carry bilharzia which is a parasite (I think) that burrows into your skin and can be deadly. Something I didn't really want to mess with.

One night the Helsby house was attached by a roaming troop of siafu or "biting ants." Below you can see them coming through the front porch in lines. The concentrations on the edges of the rug are where they are mobbing and eating a cockroach and a grasshopper.

These ants bite instead of sting and have incredibly strong pincers. They can kill and strip clean chained dogs to the bone. I have heard of infants falling victim as they had no way to get away. These ants basically mob their victims and suffocate them by blocking the airways. Then they eat the victims on the spot. It is crazy to see them in action. Below is close up shot of them taking apart what used to be a big cockroach.

Here they are attacking a grasshopper. Luckily I wasn't bit and Dave Helsby was able to kill all the ants that got into the house that night with about 3 cans of bug spray and keep the rest at bay putting salt along the porch and window sills. Apparently they don't like crossing salt. Good thing as I heard later that if the siafu troop is big enough that sometimes people just move out of the house for few days and when they come back the house is picked clean. Crazy!

Ironically the same night we had the siafu attack was the night of the lake fly swarm. There was no moon and the lights of the house attracted these flies which are small as mosquitos but don't bite (thankfully). We were eating supper in the porch when we started hearing a high pitched whine and looked up to see the flies swarming the lights. We quickly moved inside only to realize that the smaller flies were fitting through the screen and swarming the lights inside as well. So we shut off all lights. Later, Dave was packing his suitcase for an upcoming trip when he saw the siafu attack on the other side of the house with his flashlight. I was sitting there journaling on my laptop when I heard him say "uh-oh" and then saw by his light that two lines of siafu where under my chair!

Below is a photo the dead lake flies on the porch window seal the next morning.

Their are native islanders on Lake Victoria who actually gather these piles of lake flies and fry them into patties and eat them. I guess they are oily and have a fish taste.

I did not see any of the three poisonous snakes that inhabit the region (Black Mamba, Puff Adder and Spitting Cobra), but I'm not complaining as growing up in rattlesnake country has instilled a hatred of snakes in me. I did see a lot of spiders and one giant millipede that were all freaky looking but did not take any of their photos. I do have some video of a gecko being eaten by one of the Tanner's pet tree snakes though. That was interesting to watch, to say the least.

Images of Africa - Part 4

This post is a little tough to do as it revolves around a very sad and tragic story. Mavuno Village has an albino boy named Manyashi in their care. I got to meet Manyashi and rode along with the Mavuno staff one day to pick him up from a boarding school he was at. We took him to the eye doctor in Mwanza and then back to Mavuno's campus as he transfered to a new school after the holiday break that is safer and closer to Mavuno's campus. Below is a photo of him (in orange) and all his friends in the boarding school yard before he left. (Click on the photo for a larger file to view.)

Albinism, although rare, is more common in this part of the world than almost anywhere else on the planet. To be born an albino is a curse. Superstitions and old, animistic religion rites/beliefs still exist and are practiced regarding albinism in Tanzania. Hair, body parts and even blood of an albino are thought to bring the owner of such macabre trophies good luck, wealth and "the good life" in general. Although such practice is illegal, in a country as poor as Tanzania, either the body parts themselves (as good luck charms) or the possibility of getting paid to obtain them are very tempting to thugs, witch doctors and the like. Manyashi lost his sister to such thugs.

His mother had went to social welfare as she did not feel she was able to care for or keep her two albinos safe anymore. Social welfare then inquired with Mavuno to see if they could help. During this transition time, Manyashi and his sister were staying at their grandfather's home with their other non-albino relatives. One night, the hut where the girls were sleeping was broken into and Manyashi's sister was murdered for her body parts and blood... the siblings that were sleeping in the hut with her were tied up and awake while this gruesome act happened. Dan Tanner, the director of Mavuno Village, told me that this event was one of the few moments in his lifetime that he truly questioned humanity. Stuff like this is tragic beyond words and I wonder if Manyashi will ever know life without fear of some degree.

This is Manyashi, he's a very smart and inquisitive boy. Due to albinism, he has very sensitive skin and bad eyes. So lotions and protective clothings like hats are a constant need.

The boarding school were Manyashi stayed was sparse to say the least. The boy's dorm below slept three to a bed. The whole compound is fenced for security. There were no playgrounds or grass inside the fences that I could see. It felt like a prison, yet is very needed for the safety of these kids.

In the picture below, a little boy is showing us his toy car made of a belt buckle, toothpicks and bottle caps. I also saw a wadded up "ball" of garbage bags held together by rubber bands that they used for a soccer ball. It's hard for the western mind like mine to imagine places like these, so I was sort of at a loss witnessing it first hand. I'm thankful that Mavuno Village is willing to help vulnerable kids like Manyashi. I just wonder about the rest of the albinos that didn't get to leave school that day. Will they ever know a better tomorrow? I pray so.

Images of Africa - Part 3

One afternoon Mavuno Village was blessed by a visit from a baby home from Mwanza called Forever Angels. This organization was founded by a very nice lady from England named Amy Hathaway (whom I was fortunate enough to meet and visit with). Amy was in Mwanza with her husband for business purposes and soon after she saw a need for a baby home. So she decided to do something about it. Thus Forever Angels was created to help the overcrowded orphanages and sick or dying mothers (HIV) who could not care for their infants any longer.

Amy was gracious enough to let me photograph and videotape some of her "angels" at a couple different locations on Mavuno's campus to use as supporting media in partnership with Mavuno Village. Forever Angels raises up to 40 little ones to the age of 5 all the while hoping that they can be returned to their family (where applicable) or adopted.

Two of the little girls that were visiting Mavuno are getting close to "graduating" from the baby home and sending them to Mavuno Village is a very real possibility. I think it is wonderful that two agencies with like minds can work together to help these precious, but vulnerable little ones. Please visit www.foreverangels.org to find out more information and/or ways to help. Click on the photos below for a larger file to view and thanks for looking!

Me shooting some video of the Forever Angel picnic on Lake Victoria's sandy beach.

A little boy named Michael enjoying the picnic.

We organized an impromptu race on the beach. The kids were loving it!

I think this little boy's name is Charles. He was the one winning the race in the photo above.

This little girl's name is Zawadi. She is beautiful. I'm going to help sponsor her through Forever Angels. What a privilege!

John Mbugua is Mavuno Village's first on-campus dad and is helping a little girl named Bianca down from a rock. I think this photo says a lot about the mission of both Forever Angels and Mavuno Village trying to help the orphans of Tanzania. Her look and his help. Sometimes a single photo is better than paragraphs of explanation!

Zawadi with flower they found near the beach in her hair.

This little girl's name is Pila and she was being very shy around me and my camera... she would just look away and smile and laugh. Made for a great photo!

Zawadi had me go through all the photos I took while she named every one of her Forever Angel friends she saw. All in an English accent... pretty cool.

Me and Michael. Thanks to Becky Helsby for snapping these of me and the kids.

Images of Africa - Part 2

The campus of Mavuno Village is located on about 200 acres of rocky but picturesque land in the Mwanza region of Tanzania. This post is dedicated to some of the beauty of Lake Victoria and the surrounding Mavuno Village landscape.

Mwanza is called the "rock city" because of the abundance of the huge granite rock outcroppings that dot the landscape. This holds true for Mavuno's land as well. The campus is nestled between a large ridge with three jutting arms and the shores of Lake Victoria's south eastern shore. It is a great place to watch a thunderstorm develop or simply take a walk and enjoy African nature. Please enjoy the photos and feel free to click on the photo for a larger image to view.

A photo stitch of Mavuno Village Campus with an arm of the lake beyond... this view is roughly looking east-northeast.

Same as above but I had some photoshop fun giving the landscape a "faux" infrared look.

A sailboat looking northwest into the vast expanse of Lake Victoria proper. These boats are used by the local villagers to get to and from the large city of Mwanza.

Same as above with a black and white/sepia effect added.

One evening a thunderstorm was building in the east. Storms come from the Indian Ocean in this part of the world so they generally travel east to west. At supper time, I happened to notice the clouds dramatically changing color with the setting sun so I hastily grabbed my camera to get some shots. The Helsby kids followed and soon asked their folks to finish supper outside on the rocks in order to enjoy the light show. I couldn't blame them as it was an amazing sight to behold.

The photos below are as accurate to the true color that night as I could make them. It was odd that my camera couldn't figure the color out on the spot and made everything too orange and yellow even when I changed white balance... good thing I shot in raw format and was able to adjust later. Gotta love modern technology!

A panoramic of the sky that same night. On the far left are Carter and Jake Helsby who climbed the rocks for a better view. Notice the rainbow on the far right. These photos still don't do justice the actual experience of seeing it in real life.

One early morning I got up to get some video of the campus in the "golden" hour after dawn. It turned out to be a little cloudy so it wasn't that golden, but I was able to climb one of the ridges to get this nice shot looking east at a few bays and inlets of the lake. The sailboats are commuters, the middle size boats are night fisherman coming in and the small boats in the foreground are day fisherman going out. They are made of elephant grass and quite tiny and seem a little unsafe. I have some good video of one being maneuvered but sadly no photos.