Swahili Who-be What-e?

So I decided I wanted to be super prepared when I got to Tanzania and in my mind that includes being able to communicate with the people...a noble goal right? So I got the Rosetta Stone Swahili program and was totally excited to learn how to speak an African language. I was under the impression that the first things I would learn would be basic conversational sentences such as "Hi, my name is..." or "Where's the bathroom?" but instead, the first complete sentence I learned was "Mvulana na msichana katika mashua" which means...drum roll please..."The boy and girl are in the boat." Wow. Can you imagine me walking up to a local in the middle of the Serengeti desert and saying "Hey the boy and girl are in the boat!" I would be the laughing stock of Tanzania!! The remainder of my first attempt at learning Swahili taught me the following words:
gari= car
ndege= bird/airplane
mwanamume=man
mwanamke=woman
farasi=horse
ng'ombe=cow
nyekundu=red
njano=yellow
nyeusi= black
nyumba=house
and of course how to count to ten: mmoja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano, sita, saba, nane, tisa, kumi :)

I have yet to learn my "essential conversation sentences," but I am really enjoying Rosetta Stone and I think it will really help me be able to communicate effectively with those I am working with.

And It Starts...With a Short 27 Days to Spare

Well, I have been told countless times by certain individuals who shall remain nameless (look at me...you know who you are :)) that I need to get this blog going. It's true I have been dragging my feet a little bit because to be perfectly honest I know absolutely nothing about blogging, I leave that completely to my sister Meagan. However, seeing that I am leaving on the adventure of a lifetime in a short 27 days (YIKES)...I figured I should probably deliver on the promise I gave to all my donors to keep them posted on my endeavors and projects while I am in Tanzania. Speaking of donors, I am still a little short of my personal fundraising goal, so I was given the idea to post my fundraising letter on this blog so people can see what I'm going to be doing this summer to see if they want to contribute to my team...

 

Dear Family, Friends and Neighbors

 Over the past four years I have had the wonderful opportunity to study Public Health at Brigham Young University and will graduate in December 2011. As part of my graduation requirements, I need to complete an internship with a valued public health organization. This summer, I have been accepted as a volunteer intern with HELP International in Tanzania (www.help-international.org). The acronym of the organization stands for Help Eliminate Poverty and it strives to carry out this mission of sustainable development by carrying out humanitarian service projects as well as teach self-reliance principles among people in eight countries around the world—Belize, El Salvador, Fiji, India, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania and Peru.

Tanzania is a country in Eastern Africa where over 75% of the population lives below the poverty line. Most communities do not have access to clean water or clean living environments allowing diseases such as malaria, cholera, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS to run rampant. Because of these poor conditions, 69 out of every 1000 babies born will die before the age of one year, with another 150 dying before the age of 5. For this reason, I would like to spend my time in Tanzania providing education to women and children on the importance of nutrition and hygiene as well as other public health interventions in hopes to help reduce the mortality rate. Other projects in Tanzania include: adobe stove building, microfinance, square-foot gardening, micro-credit initiatives, English-class teaching, orphanage work, and HIV/AIDS awareness among others. All projects are done in collaboration with locally operated organizations in Tanzania. Projects taken on require commitment from the community they are aimed at helping, which helps ensure lasting changes within the community. We are not aiming to impose change upon the people in Tanzania, rather to empower them to make the changes themselves.

One of the unique aspects of HELP International is its ability to leverage a single donation to make such a broad impact. As a college-age student intern and volunteer, I have the time, mobility, health and energy to serve abroad. However, in order to participate I am required to raise at least $4650 which will pay for travel, room and board, and everything exceeding the program cost will be used to provide the resources needed to carry out individual in-country projects. I need to raise this money by June 5, 2011. I invite you to invest in this work and become a partner with a contribution to the cause. Together we can create real and meaningful change in the lives of many people in the country of Tanzania. While money is tight for everyone, especially during these difficult times, the amount of good that can be done for the people in Tanzania increases significantly with even a small donation. Understanding how the economic crisis has affected us in the United States, we can hardly imagine how much worse it has devastated those in impoverished countries. I am inviting you to join me and HELP International in serving the people of Tanzania by donating whatever you can. Checks should be made payable to HELP International with the tag “Hannah Brady” and “Tanzania” in the memo line, or through PayPal online at: http://help-international.org/donors.html, including “Hannah Brady” in the comments section. If you’d like more information please visit the HELP International website www.help-international.org, or email me at luckyduckee_24@hotmail.com, or you can call me at (801) 319-3186.
I thank you in advance for you support and partnership in this endeavor to help alleviate the suffering of poverty in Tanzania. I would like to keep you and your family informed on the progress of the various projects I will be assisting with in Tanzania. Here is a link to the blog I will keep this summer: http://hannah-tanzania.blogspot.com/. Please include your e-mail address with the donation so I can e-mail you an invitation to the blog.
Thank you!


Hannah Brady
                                                

PLEASE NOTE: Funds raised herewith are donations to HELP International, to be used at HELP International’s discretion. Donations are nonrefundable. HELP International is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit charitable organization. Your contributions may be tax deductible. Consult your tax advisor.

If any of you readers know of anyone who would be willing to support me and my team mates in our endeavors to improve the health of the people of Tanzania, please let me know.


I promise this blog will be much more entertaining in the future, I just needed to get the serious stuff out of the way first.