Diarrheal disease, chickens, and Excel training

By Sarah Sevcik
Tanzania
July 18, 2008

One of the biggest childhood mortality causes in Tanzania is diarrheal disease. Therefore, we have decided to make a video (with a newly donated video camera—thank you!) emphasizing hand washing. A drama group will be working with us to create a story involving a demonstration of proper hand-washing (identifying a clean water source, using soap, etc.), the appropriate times to hand-wash (before preparing or eating meals, before feeding children, after defecation, etc.), and how to get appropriate treatment when diseased.

In order to prepare for the video, however, we want to help people come up with ways to identify clean water sources. Water here is super expensive—water costs more than tea, coffee, or soft drinks, and a small bottle cost about the same as ½ the price as a main meal. Therefore, we want to develop “water stations��? made of old plastic water bottles that are heated in the sun in order to kill bacteria and other organisms. We’ve been doing some research to figure out the safest way to do this, and so far we’ve gathered some positive notes. This week Lizz and I wrote letters to 5 major water companies used in Karatu to inquire about the type of plastic used to make their bottles. The last thing we want is to find out 20 years from now everyone has cancer from plastic. At this point, things are looking good to go, however!Capacity building: One of my goals for this summer is to help MIHV with community capacity-building activities, and today I had a chance to put my skills to use! The entire MIHV staff sat in on a 4-hour Excel training that Lizz and I put together, with a good break for lunch in the middle. We brought in every computer on site and walked everyone through our “Comprehensive Introduction to Excel��?, including the use of formulas and charts. Although many staff members had used Excel, they all agreed today’s training was by far the most useful training. One woman said she had taken four courses at the university and understood more today that she’ll actually be able to use than all of those classes combined. I had such a joy teaching; all my “students��? were completely engaged and grateful for the lesson. One way they showed their thanks was to all rub their hands together quickly while chanting “pasha��? (which means “warm up��?) and then clapping their hands together at the same time while shouting “choma!��? (which means “burn��?). In other words, they are giving me the “fire��? to do a good job. Check out the photos below of the training.

















































For lunch today we ate rice, beans, and chicken. Merci and Eveline (MIHV staff) then became my teacher by explaining to me the difference between the “indigenous��? chicken and the “exotic��?, or “modern��? chicken. As I learned, the indigenous chicken has culture and a history, as they live for about 2 years. It is a ‘true kuku’. These chicken are really independent. When they wake up in the morning they wander all day and find their own food and water. Around 6pm they come back home to sleep. They are disease-resistant chicken. Their eggs are yellow. When you eat them, you use your hands. Modern chicken, on the other hand, only lives a number of months. They are very dependent chicken who eat modern food, fed to them by humans. They need electricity in their very small house, where they are not free to wander. They need a lot of care, for if you let them wander on their own, they would probably eat bad things and die, or get diseases. They produce white eggs. When you eat these chicken, you have to use a fork.I’m wondering, can you tell which chicken comes from American farms?? Gosh, I just love how Merci and Eveline gave such a persona of these different chickens. I was roaring on the ground laughing when they told me this story. I have a new nickname: “Pabichi��? (pa-beech-i) which means “wet spot��? or “place of water��?. I was given this name because every day when I pour water from my 5 liter jug into my 500ml bottle I spill water on my floor into a wet spot. Lizz loves it. :-)