Holy Cow!

La Chica has to share a story that she heard from el chico. El chico is a Masai from Ngorongoro, a beautiful part of Tanzania famous for its enormous volcanic crater full of an abundance of wildlife. El chico’s dad is a full on Masai (4 wives, 28 children) and the latest goss is this:

There was a group of 20 morani, who are Masai men aged between 18 and 35 whose responsibilites are to be courageous, strong and protective of their families and livestock, historically they were also required to fight other tribes to the death when their valuable cattle or goats were at risk. These morani decided to kill a lion, as in the Masai tradition they would achieve true manhood and warrior status only when they had killed a lion with their spears and lived to tell the tale, with evidence comprising tails, toenails, hide, mane etc. Located on the border of Serengeti and Ngoronogoro (areas protected by National Park status) the Morani had a great choice of live lions to kill (illegally, unless in self defence or protecting their livestock). Imagine their delight to discover a lone lion. With typical Masai stealth they surrounded the lion and before it could attack or escape they simultaneously released their spears, succeeding in a kill. Little did they know that the lion they had chosen to hunt was the subject of a research project by a European scientist who was tracking the lion through its daily activities. During the hunt, the scientist was hidden nearby, observing the lion, and on seeing such a large crowd of morani, stayed hidden! He had a video camera for his work, which he continued to use, and so captured the kill. He then left the area to report the incident to the authorities, and handed in his video footage as evidence.

Meanwhile, the morani excitedly began to divvy up the lion, cutting it into 20 parts for each morani to show off to their communities to earn their warriorhood status and eternal respect. One morani’s prize piece of the lion was something odd that none of them had ever seen before – it looked something like a necklace as it was hanging around the lion’s neck – how the heck could a wild animal acquire a piece of jewellery?! This ‘lucky’ morani took his part of the kill back to his boma (home) and casually hung it around the neck of one of his cows. (No doubt it was a fascinating talking point and a unique find!).

Soon the European scientist returned to the killing site with the authorities, to find only traces of blood and nothing else of the lion. But this didn’t deter him or the rangers, as they had video footage. But….they also had something else. The scientist has put a tracking device around the neck of the lion, and so they followed the signal to eventually arrive at the lucky morani’s boma where his chosen cow proudly wore the necklace. Ooops….guilty! The lucky morani became the unlucky morani, and he was arrested. In custody he was encouraged to give the names of the other morani, but he insisted that he was the only one who killed the lion, and it was because the lion had attacked his goat. (A story his morani mates told him to tell, so they didn’t get any blame).

Next, the good ol’ justice system in Tanzania started it’s usual process – no, not one of a fair trial, but one of corruption. Seeing an opportunity to exploit the situation with evidence of the involvement of 20 morani in the killing, the authorities said they would kill the case if the community paid 5,000TZS ($3.30) per morani living in the entire district. As la chica writes this blog, the hat is being passed around, and she suspects that very soon the man in charge of the justice system in the district will have enough money to build a nice new house.

The moral of the story? If you kill a lion, for heavens sake don’t take the tracking device with you!

Testigo’s second water project in Longido nearing completion

After a frustrating few months following the temporary closure of the Longido Water Department, and a disappointing pump test showing that the World Bank funded borehole that Testigo was planning to develop had insufficient water and was too dirty to use, La Chica is thrilled that a borehole drilled to assist the Longido Secondary School will be further developed with additional tanks and pipes to also service the Altapesi community. Meetings have confirmed Testigo’s contribution, and the labour contribution to be made by the Masai, and the purchasing of materials has commenced with an anticipated completion date of 30 May. [Testigo's first water project in Longido was bringing borehole water to the newly built primary school in Altapesi so the supporting teachers houses could be completed and the students would have access to water on the school premises.]

Testigo Africa is launching a youth brand

Volunteers Jenny and Darren have designed some groovy Testigo Africa singlets and necklaces for the Gen Y market. Fellow Gen Y peer Lauren Rhiain Carpenter, currently a volunteer at St Judes School in Arusha, Tanzania, and also a professional photographer joined La Chica in Ngaramtoni area of Arusha for a photo shoot organised by Testigo country manager Emanuel Saakai. Emanuel rounded up some local youth to participate in the photo shoot – word got out and 87 young people aged from 6 to 25 years old turned up to help out! Lauren captured over 600 images of the young Tanzanians as they posed in Testigo’s white singlets. Stay tuned for the forthcoming launch of the singlets and necklaces. La Chica will be first in line (she feels like she’s still a young Gen Y….even if she doesn’t quite look the part!).

 

Emanuel and friend modelling the singlets

Our simple message

The cool necklaces

Lauren photographing our star models!

Photos by Lauren Rhiain Carpenter

 

La Chica reveals all…

…in Melbourne’s Weekly Review. Journalist Sarah Marinos has written an article about La Chica’s life. See ….   http://www.theweeklyreview.com.au/article-display/Out-of-Africa/4796  ….or read it below.

 

Out of Africa

12.44PM  8-3-2012

Sarah Marinos

Tracey Sawyer with her friend Nakai and another Masai girl.

LAURA MORGAN

Tracey Sawyer was living the good life in Hong Kong, working for an international law firm and earning a six-figure salary. Home was a luxury flat on the 46th floor overlooking the harbour. Her wardrobe was filled with beautifully tailored Armani suits and every six weeks she had her short, sleek hair trimmed – an exercise that cost her $300 a time.

Most weeks Sawyer flew business class to other Asian cities, New York or London, where she stayed in five-star hotels while she liaised with colleagues about the law firm’s growing business opportunities.

But then her life began to unravel.

“My working life in Hong Kong was good for the wallet but bad for the soul. Hong Kong is about making money – it’s very materialistic,” says Sawyer, 47.

“People go there and get premature promotions, and there’s a lot of arrogance that comes with that and with the money. It corrupts the soul. I was there for three years – until I had a meltdown.

“I pushed myself to the limit and didn’t spend more than a week at a time in my apartment because I was always on a plane or in hotels. That might sound amazing but it was lonely and exhausting and I ended up seeing a life coach because I began to wonder what I was doing with my life. I had got further in my career than I thought I could get. I was earning more money than I thought I was entitled to earn – but what was it all for?

“I spent any spare time I had in a gym to try and release some stress. But while I was physically fit, inside I was falling apart. I had to take pills to sleep at night because I didn’t want to dream or think. And I was lonely because I’d put 200 per cent into my career and wasn’t in one place long enough to have a relationship.

“So I saw a life coach and that’s when I had that breakthrough, my ‘aha’ moment. There was an instant when she was asking me questions about my life and myself and I remember suddenly saying, ‘I just don’t want to face myself’, and then I gasped …”

Sawyer’s life today couldn’t be further removed from her life as an international lawyer, accountant and marketing executive. The “meltdown” forced her to take time off and to travel – this time to work out what she wanted to do next rather than as part of a demanding business schedule.

She spent time at healing retreats in Greece and Scotland but with her 40th birthday approaching in 2004, Sawyer felt an inexplicable desire to explore Africa. It was a trip that really did change her life and gave her the peace she was searching for.

During the last hour of her trip to Africa, while she explored the bustling cobblestone streets of Zanzibar, she met an imposing Masai man, Lesaloy. Tall and striking with ochre in his hair, he was selling traditional Masai jewellery to tourists.

They began talking and Lesaloy asked Sawyer to stay in touch with him via email so he could improve his English. During their email exchanges, Sawyer said she planned to return to Tanzania later that year to explore the country further and Lesaloy invited her to his village, Longido, to watch a traditional coming-of-age ceremony.

 

Tracey with her Masai hut builder Oleborlala (his name means ‘white teeth’ in Maa).

KASHANGO

During that visit she was introduced to Lesaloy’s brother, Olengunin, and his wife, Namnyak, who is now one of Sawyer’s best friends. She says they and the rest of the village helped her find a new purpose – raising $35,000 to establish a reliable fresh-water supply to the village.

That has led Sawyer to set up Testigo Projects Inc, a charity she hopes will not only bring fresh water to Longido but eventually raise money to help other underdeveloped communities access fresh water and grow crops.

“My workaholic approach to my career has been transferred to this,” Sawyer says, laughing, during one of her stints in Melbourne. She now divides her time between Melbourne, her hometown, and Longido where she has her own traditional Masai mud hut, or boma.

Despite the stark differences between the two places, Sawyer says Longido and her hut, with views of Mount Kilimanjaro and the African bush, is as much her home now as her Melbourne birthplace.

“I was blown away from the moment I first arrived in Longido. It sounds strange, but I can only describe it by saying I felt I’d arrived home. I think my heart was opened,” she says.

After years of studying – first at Vermont High School and Methodist Ladies’ College and then at Monash University doing degrees in economics and law – and then climbing the career ladder in Australia, London and Hong Kong, Sawyer has discovered peace in a small Masai village alongside the main road from Nairobi in Kenya to Arusha in Tanzania’s north.

“On my first visit to Longido I remember arriving by taxi in this dusty village with very basic buildings on either side of the main road. There’s no electricity but there are a couple of cafés, including one with a concrete floor, walls a few feet high and a woven leaf roof,” Sawyer says.

“The Masai live in traditional bomas, or mud brick huts, further back, and they build these in groups with thorn-bush fences around them. The first time I visited for the coming-of-age ceremony I had to hang out with the women because the men, the warriors, take part in a separate part of the ceremony.

“So Namnyak took care of me and the Masai women sang songs for the girls who were coming of age. As it grew dark, everyone formed a circle and the singing continued throughout the night … it’s a magical experience that just takes you somewhere else.

“I remember when I needed to sleep Lesaloy found me a sleeping mat and I slept in a hut with baby goats and puppies around me.”

Sawyer has since returned regularly to Longido and her Masai friends recently gave her a parcel of land and helped build her own traditional boma.

“It’s a few kilometres out of the village and in one direction I can see Mount Kilimanjaro, and in another direction Mount Meru, and then bush. I walk out of my place and there are giraffes and ostriches walking around,” she says.

 

Tracey in traditional masai dress with village children.

ADRIAN BROWN

The Armani suits and slick hairstyle have long gone. Today Sawyer is happiest in jeans, a sweater and with her hair longer and loose.

“My house is made with traditional mud and sticks and a woven roof, and the garden has been landscaped with stone walls and seats. But there’s no electricity. I use kerosene lamps. I hate cooking, full-stop. So when I’m there, Namnyak cooks for me and I pay her for my food.”

Sawyer is using her considerable professional experience and contacts to grow Testigo Africa – the African division of Testigo Projects Inc.

After qualifying as a lawyer, she joined KPMG as a tax accountant – but hated the restrictive nature of that career.

“At school I loved history and I wanted to do arts and history, but that wasn’t very vocational so I did the ‘right’ thing and did vocational degrees. I did a year at KPMG but it didn’t suit my personality and who I am. The tax work was compliance focused – checking tax returns of high net-worth individuals or doing fringe-benefits tax returns. The part of my job I enjoyed was doing roadshows to universities to get new grads on board. I loved that.”

She moved to London in 1994 to take on a role with Sweet & Maxwell, a British company that began publishing legal books in the 1700s.

“It was such a shock because I went from a dynamic young publishing company (Centre for Professional Development) to a company that was very English and conservative. They’d have garden parties in the barristers’ chambers – green grass, white linen tablecloths – and we’d have afternoon tea. But it stifled me,” says Sawyer.

So she studied marketing at night and then moved to an international law firm in London to manage its information centre.

Part of her role involved travelling to the firm’s 25 global offices to do an audit of how they could better manage and access its information system. The job took Sawyer from Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, Warsaw and Moscow to Rome, Milan, Turin, Dubai and New York.

When she was approached by a headhunter and offered a job as business development and marketing director with the biggest law firm in Asia, based in Hong Kong, Sawyer felt she had nothing to lose. It would be another experience.

“They offered me an obscene amount of money and I thought what the heck?” she says, shrugging her shoulders.

But the long hours, pressure and the Hong Kong lifestyle took its toll.

 

“I want the energy behind this project to be because I’ve inspired people.”

JOHN DONEGAN

“At the time I had my meltdown I was sick and my heart wasn’t in it, so I stopped. But that was a big decision for me because then I was lost. I didn’t know where to go. Being a professional, wearing a suit and working in an office was all I’d known,” she says frankly.

The trip to Greece to a retreat and then time spent at a Tibetan haven on a remote Scottish island helped the healing process. But it has been in Africa that Sawyer has truly found a new purpose and happiness.

In the interim she has taken on jobs to pay the bills, including a recent stint with National Australia Bank’s legal department in Melbourne. She has also studied documentary making so she can depict the beauty and the harshness of life in Longido.

A recent three-year drought in the area decimated the livestock, leaving many villagers without income, food and status.

“The drought affected everything. Young boys and girls had to find water for the surviving livestock so missed school to do that, and there was fighting in the villages over access to the scant water supply,” says Sawyer.

“About 90 per cent of the livestock died, and that is the villagers’ wealth. They sell livestock when they need money and so villagers were down to eating one meal a day – mostly rice and beans. And there were suicides because they had lost everything and felt they had nothing and had no hope. For the Masai, self-esteem comes from ownership of their livestock.”

The drought has broken but life is still harsh for some villagers who have to walk long distances to access water. After months of campaigning and fund-raising, Sawyer and her supporters raised $35,000 to have bores drilled in the village in the hope of providing a water supply so the women and children don’t have to walk as far to get fresh water. She also hopes the water supply will enable the villagers to grow more crops.

“I could go back to my own career, earn the money in a few months and give it to the project. But it’s not the right way. I want the energy behind this project to be because I’ve inspired people,” she says.

“I’ve never been happier. I am doing what I’m meant to be doing. Now I like getting up in the morning and I’m passionate about what I do again. I lost that for a while. I’ve no doubt this project is what I am supposed to be doing with my life now – and I won’t give up.”

For more information about the Testigo Projects Inc, go to www.testigoafrica.org/

 

Pump test – tick!

La Chica was very excited to welcome Maji Tech to Longido to do a pump test of the World Bank borehole in Altapesi subvillage. La Chica and Testigo’s country manager Emanuel waited by the police point on the main Arusha-Nairobi road to meet the Maji Tech team carrying over 150 metres of tubing and equipment to allow them to carry out a test of the borehole. Picking up the District and Subvillage Chairmen en route, they drove down the dusty dirt roads of Longido, past Acacia trees, termite mounds and herds of cows and goats protected by young Masai boys to the metal capped borehole. The Maji Tech team cut off the metal cap, and after assembling the tube and attachments they started pushing the tube down the borehole. They arranged the open end of the tube over a nearby termite mound (La Chica was hoping that any meercats living in the termite hill had already taken refuge, otherwise they’d have an unexpected wash or drowning!). The first surprise was that the borehole was only 70 metres deep – the incomplete completion report stated that the borehole was 120 metres deep. The second surprise was the quantity of water that flowed once the generator powered pump was activated – a whopping 3000 litres an hour – La Chica was ecstatic! However this was shortlived when 45 minutes later the pump ran dry. A few adjustments to the pump pressure showed a later reading of 400 litres an hour. La Chica is eagerly awaiting a report from Maji Tech explaining the findings and the recommended action. Will Testigo be able to put in a windmill, a solar pump, or a hand pump? The third surprise was that the water was ‘dirty’ – the Maji Tech team said that the borehole hadn’t been cleaned, and they expected the extra expense of cleaning it to be up to US$8,000.

La Chica was very touched when three small Masai children walked to the termite mound and the tube outlet with empty water containers. The children aged between 4 and 7 had somehow found out on the bush telegraph that there was running water. Unfortunately the water was very dirty with sediment from the bottom of the borehole, so the children found themselves playing in the water instead of bringing clean water back home to their boma.

Maji Tech doing the pump test

The long day ended just as the sun was setting, with the Maji Tech team reversing the process, extracting the tube from the borehole and re-soldering the metal cap back on the borehole casing. La Chica is hopeful that the borehole can be utilised, and that the people of Altapesi village will be able to access potable water shortly.

 

AFAP rep visits Longido

La Chica and Testigo’s Tanzanian country manager Emanuel were delighted to welcome Jacky to Longido to visit La Chica’s boma and the World Bank borehole Testigo is completing. Although Jacky is from Sydney, and La Chica from Melbourne, they had to travel all the way to Tanzania to meet in person! Jacky is the Africa program manager at AFAP, the DGR auspicing body for Testigo. Jacky was accompanied by Nelson, a Kenyan working for Concern International, and doing similar water projects as La Chica. La Chica showed Jacky the capped borehole and surrounding area, and La Chica’s best Masai friend Namnyak cooked lunch for everyone.

 

Jacky from AFAP, Olengunin, Emanuel, La Chica

Testigo’s Tea Time fundraiser

La Chica and her new best friends Emmie and Alex hosted a women’s afternoon tea in Melbourne.  Attended by 30 women, the event was opened by Emmie, with cups of clean filtered water served to remind us of the privilege of having access to water when the Masai in Longido, Tanzania, have none.  La Chica showed her documentary and talked about her latest trip to Tanzania, and her Masai friend Judith shared a very touching and personal account of life as a Masai woman.  Liliane Grace talked about making dreams come true, and her book ‘The Mastery Club’.  The afternoon raised a whopping $3008 for Testigo Africa’s project in Longido.  The generosity and extraordinary compassion and empathy displayed on the afternoon touched La Chica deeply.

Alex, Emmie and La Chica

World Bank, Water….

La Chica returned to Tanzania on a mission – to get the water project underway in Longido village.  Having sweated and worked extremely hard with her Testigo Africa committee members and volunteers to raise money from calendar sales, talks and a number of fundraising events, and securing a last minute grant from David Morawetz, she was returning with funding!  After showing her brother (Peter) Longido and other places in Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda (Peter and his company HSD are a major sponsor of Testigo Africa and its water projects) she took up residence in her mud hut in Longido to assess the latest water situation – not good.  Residents are now required to pay for water – from 1000 to 1500 Tanzanian shillings for a 20 litre bucket (this translates to around A$0.60 to A$1) – perhaps not a huge sum for foreigners, but typically the daily income for a Masai family, resulting in many families having to make a daily choice between having water or having food.  The water of course needs to be carried – often up to 10kms – so mothers and young girls are often absent from their bomas and schools.

However some good news greeted La Chica – in her absence the World Bank had financed the drilling of boreholes in Longido district.  Of 13 holes drilled, six had hit water; one of these was a borehole in Altapesi, the sub-village that La Chica had promised to help.  The World Bank funding had only provided for the holes to be drilled, not to pump the water, so funding was still required to actually access the water for the drought affected population.  La Chica met with the Longido water department, the Longido district council, the chairmen of Longido village and its five subvillages including Altapesi, trying to get information about the borehole.  Many frustrating meetings later, she called in the troops!  She engaged the help of her Masai friends Daniel and Emanuel – Masai from different regions of Tanzania who not only spoke Masai and Swahili but also spoke excellent English – a huge asset in trying to move ahead.  The water department continued to promise copies of the World Bank completion reports and pump tests for the Longido boreholes, but never delivered, despite many requests and many more face-to-face meetings.

Fast forwarding through some very frustrating weeks – La Chica was told that the Longido water department was currently closed!  Fast forwarding further – La Chica has secured the services of Maji Tech, an American owned and managed drilling company that has previously installed an Aussie style windmill in Longido village.  Maji Tech are going to carry out pump tests for the Altapesi borehole, as it seems the World Bank contractor didn’t undertake the tests and seems to have left the hole partially done and run off with the money.  Headlines in the newspapers in Tanzania often cover corruption issues – espousing that corruption is crippling the country and giving examples of the extent of corruption (there is even a government department charged with dealing with corruption) – it seems La Chica has now witnessed it firsthand, but thankfully she held off with any financial dealings.  The poor victims are of course the Altapesi and Longido residents – particularly the women and children who are in a daily struggle to survive, and the Masai men and boys trying to keep their remaining livestock alive through the worst droughts in Tanzania’s history.  La Chica is now confident that through Maji Tech the water project will be completed, and is excited that their work with Testigo Africa has commenced.   Here is a photo of La Chica standing on the capped borehole in Altapesi – running water here we come!

Altapesi Borehole!

A Masai man’s not a man until….

…he has been circumcised.  La Chica accompanied Zac to Manyara, a Masai region of Tanzania famous for its lake and National Park, to witness Masai boys become men.  Five Masai boys, aged between 16 and 20 years old, became men in front of La Chica.  Arriving in the evening, La Chica and Zac went to the boma hosting the ceremony, to find only men present.  Masai women are not permitted to witness the male circumcision ceremony – it seems La Chica is not considered a woman for Masai purposes….hmmmm…. Anyway, five boys were standing naked, surrounded by their male relatives and friends.  Earlier in the day, the boys had been shaved of all body hair, including the hair on their heads, their eyebrows, and the hair ‘down there’.  They had worn plain black robes and all their jewellery had been removed.  Early evening, they washed in cold water, removed their black garments and stood still – for something like 12 hours.  During this time each Masai man in attendance sings words of advice to the boys, sometimes gently slapping their cheeks or bottoms to highlight a point.  The advice includes the need to act like real men (in other words, when they are circumcised with a razor blade and no anesthetic, to not flinch or show any emotion whatsoever).  The singing and slapping continues through the night until the break of dawn, when one boy at a time is moved to the boma’s perimeter next to the thorn bush fence, sat down on a cow skin with his uncle or other close family relative holding him as he spreads his legs and allows the professional Masai circumciser to circumcise his penis.  Any boy who dares to show any reaction will bring shame on himself and his family forever.  (According to the circumciser, no boy out of the 500 odd boys he has circumcised has failed to be strong).  La Chica watched as the procedure took around three minutes for one boy, squeezing the arm of a poor Masai man standing next to her so tightly she’s sure she left bruises.  However when the first boy was being guided away, and his body went into shock and convulsions, La Chica found herself shaking and feeling sick, much to the amusement of the Masai men.  A ceremony not for the faint hearted.  La Chica finally understood what it takes to be a Masai man, and was in awe of the control and strength exhibited by the Masai boys.  After each boy has been circumcised, they are accompanied into a mud hut where they will remain for a month – eating meat, drinking cows blood, and recovering.  They will then emerge as Spolio – the name given to the group of boys who have just been circumcised – and during this period they continue to wear plain black, with white painted foreheads and Spolio specific jewellery, including brass and copper rings on their fingers and toes.  During this period they must follow certain rules, never being on their own but always accompanied by at least one other spolio, not eating in the presence of women, and scaring everyone they come across!

More than just hot air

It all started when La Chica arrived back in Tanzania on 13^th June 2011.  After her long journey from Melbourne, stopping in Bangkok and Nairobi en route, La Chica arrived in Arusha intending to allow herself time to recover from the inevitable jetlag by taking it easy for a few days.  She hadn’t reckoned on catching up with her Masai mate Zac on the day she arrived, nor being invited to leave Arusha that same afternoon to accompany him to Manyara to witness a coming of age circumcision ceremony for Masai boys.  La Chica hesitated for a second, screamed ‘yessss, ok!!!!’ and without even a toothbrush in hand ran with Zac to the dalla dalla stop to try to get a mini bus to the Manyara area before it got dark.  After waiting for a short time, rather impatiently, La Chica pointed out a posh four wheel drive parked nearby, and told Zac that if he were a true Masai gentleman (whatever that is…) he’d arrange for them to get a lift in the 4WD.  Zac responded to the challenge and spoke to the driver, to be told that as the driver had a client he was unable to give La Chica and Zac a lift.  Not one to accept ‘no’, La Chica went up to the 4WD and brazenly spoke to the client sitting in the front passenger seat.  ‘Excuse me, are you driving to the junction (of Manyara and Tarangire)?  Yes, well, would you mind giving us a lift? Oh, you need to check with your driver – no problem, I’m sure he’ll be fine giving us a lift.’  Seconds later La Chica and Zac climbed up into the posh 4WD.  The client turned out to be Graeme, fresh off the boat from Scotland, a hot air balloon pilot who had been employed to start up hot air ballooning in Tarangire National Park.  Graeme and La Chica exchanged mobile phone numbers, became friends on Facebook, and to cut a long story short, on Friday 26 August La Chica lost her hot air ballooning virginity thanks to Graeme.  La Chica has done many adventurous things before (abseiling, caving, land yachting, sailing, water skiing, snow skiing…etc) but had never been up in a hot air balloon.  She felt blissfully serene and alive, floating quietly over one of Tanzania’s most famous National Parks, seeing the famous baobab trees from above, watching herds of zebra running from the shadow of the balloon, spotting masses of wildebeest moving through the park – only being jolted out her meditative mood when the gas was released into the balloon with a roar!

The moral of the story – don’t get a dalla dalla when you can ride in a posh 4WD, you never know what will eventuate!  Thanks Graeme!