 |
Laughter and TearsBob Barclay — Mississauga, ON
One of the many reasons I came to Tanzania was to get a better understanding of the people and their culture. The bedkit interview presented a great opportunity to talk directly to some parents and their children. The main objective is to discuss the bedkit with the parents using a list of questions. I was on interviews for two days and was lucky enough to find five parents to interview with the help of a Swahili/English translator, usually the local school’s English teacher whose English was certainly a lot better than my Swahili. I will always remember the first parent we approached: a grandparent with her granddaughter whose parents died of AIDS. The grandmother was extremely thankful for the gift of the bedkit; however, her main concern was having enough food to feed her grandchild. If one looked carefully there were a few tears in her eyes.
Overall the five interviews went very well. At times communication was difficult, however it improved as the parents gained confidence. The families were quite large, with three to five children ranging from one to twenty years old. The parents were extremely proud of their family and were all pleased to receive a bedkit. A few of them smiled and laughed as they answered questions such as “What do you think of the quality of the bedkit,” “What are the two best items,” or “Would you prefer a different type of mattress.” The answer was always “Everything is really good,” and “I need all of the items included in the bedkit.” It was also clear that they are leading extremely difficult lives. Health problems including malaria are a major issue. The families had one or two mosquito nets which were shared by seven family members. The parents were very happy to receive a new net in the bedkit. Other health issues included eye problems and headaches. It was clear that their needs are great and that everything helps. We spent some time discussing the need for school shoes. Every parent indicated the children are required to wear black schools to school. In reality very few can afford to have shoes. Most of the shoes were flip-flops, or shoes that were too small with several holes. A large number of children were in bare feet.
The people I met were very proud of their families and were coping extremely well with the limited resources that were available to them. I am sure that the gift of a bedkit will help turn a few tears into more laughter. |
