KEEP ON TRUCKIN'

smoke on the mountain

Well, we have successfully completed one of our first projects in Kibakwe - a bio-intensive gardening and nutrition workshop that we held in the garden at our house. Seven people showed up and all of them took notes. Considering other volunteers have held workshops where no one showed up, we were content with the turnout. Also, some of the people who did come are the exact people we wanted to show. If we are able to teach a few influential people in the community how to do something, that's as good as a big showing of people at a workshop. In Kibakwe, everyone knows everyone else and they all talk, so new ideas are like a contagion...we hope. Another project we are currently working on is a series of Malaria posters that will be posted around Kibakwe: health clinic, hospital, primary and secondary schools, and one is already up at the village office. The next event we're looking forward to is World Women's Day on March 8. Carla had the idea to organize an HIV testing day for the people of Kibakwe. Great idea. When Zizo heard this he had the idea to get secondary students to sing and drum for the event to draw more people to get tested. Another great idea. When we met with the village leaders, they loved the idea and suggested maybe we could have a parade to celebrate World Women's Day, too. All really great ideas. Now we have to see if we can pull it off in less than two weeks. I've include some new pictures this time to show how the landscape in Kibakwe is changing with just a little bit of rain.




the path on the way to our house




watering the garden late in the afternoon

the first fruits of our labor - mchicha

zizo and gilbert teaching about nutrition





zizo and gilbert teaching about bio-intensive gardening




our neighbor chrispine




carla hangin' with cocu and pipi

MULTPILE MEANINGS = CONFUSION

The single most confusing thing about learning and understanding Swahili is that many words have multiple meanings. Therefore the only way to know the correct meaning is through context. I’ve compiled a short list of common Swahili words and their multiple meanings.

Ua – 1.a flower 2.a yard, patio 3.to kill

Mto – 1.a river 2.a pillow

Ziwa – 1.the breast 2.a lake, a pond

Paka – 1.cat 2. to spread on, to smear on

Kiboko – 1.a hippopotamus 2.a rawhide whip, any whip

Toa – 1.put out, offer, deliver 2.remove, subtract, empty 3.publish, produce, generate 4.excrete, exude, expel

Toka – 1.go out/leave 2.come from

Shuka – 1.get off, debark 2.descend, go down 3.decline 4.land an airplane 5.a bedsheet 6.a loincloth

Paa – 1.a roof 2.a gazelle 3.to rise, ascend

Chungu – 1.a clay cooking pot 2.heap, pile 3.bitter, sour 4.common black ants

Jua – 1.the sun 2.to know 3.know-how

Mchango – 1.a contribution 2.intestinal worm, a worm in general

Tembo – 1.elephant 2.palm wine 3.fibers

Meza – 1.table 2.to swallow something

Basi – 1.so, well 2.that’s enough 3.bus

Panga – 1.a bush knife/machete, a cutlass 2.to arrange/put in order 3.to rent a room/house

Panda – 1.a fork in the road 2.bugle made of an animal’s horn or a conch 3.to climb/mount/board 4.to mount for breeding 5.to plant, sow

Mpira – 1.rubber tree, rubber 2.a ball 3.tire 4.condom 5.elastic

Ngano – 1.wheat 2.a tale, fable, story