After a better than usual night of sleep at the Mount Ketumbeine Motel before a big event that I’m managing, the morning was off to a great start! I chatted with some French people during breakfast with a Maasai NGO leader, Musa, who I have met before. The French people are working with water projects. Musa is the older brother of a former student of mine, and he is the research assistant for my US-AID researcher and Fulbright Scholar friend, Laura, who is a mentor for my survey methodology. It was nice to see Musa again, and what a coincidence to be at the same motel! Laura and I were both ELCA volunteer teachers in Monduli and caught the “Africa bug” that has kept us coming back again and again over 30 years.
The night before, we had a final preparation meeting face-to-face at our motel with our host, Lay Pastor Raphael, a natural leader with a winsome smile and facilitator of joy. He and his wife had a baby boy just 4 nights ago. I was able to congratulate him in person for what I believe is his 5th child.
Raphael was concerned that Laurie’s car, a Rav 4, would not be the best vehicle to get up the mountain, which is at least an hour’s drive over rocky terrain. With recent rains, the road was rather bad. So, he recommended that we rent a car for the day—a 4 x 4 Land Cruiser with higher clearance. The owner, a friend of Raphael, gave us a good rate, Tsh 120,000, ($47) for the day’s use with a driver who knows the vehicle and mountain. Our driver, Godi, would come along to enjoy the day, complimented by my binoculars and East African bird book. This was Godi’s first time to a Maasai village.
My team was prompt and ready to go at our scheduled departure at 8:00 am. That would give us time to get to our village about an hour up the mountain (to 7,500 feet altitude) around the announced start time of 9:00 am, but knowing that the sessions would not start until at least 9:30 am. However, while people were gathering, we could confirm that the consent forms had been signed by a parent or guardian and get settled for our sessions.
Me with research assistant, Joseph, and the teacher for the day, Rev. Megiroo (also the primary collaborative writer of the lessons for this research group).
Oh, the best laid plans in Africa! At 8:00 am, there was no Land Cruiser. We were waiting for at least 10 minutes, when the motel staff brought chairs out to wait in the shade.
Waiting for our ride!
At 8:30 am, just as I was going to call Raphael, the Land Cruiser showed up. We loaded up our 4 crates of sodas onto the top rack and roped them in. We are off!
Just 1 minute from the driveway, the driver stopped to chat with a man on the side of the road. The message is that the Land Cruiser needed an oil change. I said, one more day won’t hurt the car, and we have 60 people waiting for us. Then, the driver explained that the Land Cruiser was low on oil. I said I would pay for the oil to put in the engine now and go. So, we drove to the petrol station, where the driver opened the hood and pulled out the dip stick. There was no oil on the dipstick! I guess it was good to get some oil, though they didn’t allow me to pay, as I was renting the vehicle for the day.
Next, we drive up the road into town and stop. The driver asks if there is electricity now. Yes, was the response. So, we back in to this side of the road repair shop and get air in the tires. Then we are off—but the opposite direction—back to the very same petrol station we were at just minutes before! We need petrol! When putting air in the tires, the pastor in the front seat saw the fuel gauge and asked if had enough petrol. Ok, despite another delay, it is important to have petrol for going up the mountain where there are no petrol stations.
An hour later, we are off and pick up Bethany, who will join us for the day. I first met Bethany in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 1992, before she moved with her new husband to Tanzania. Over the years, we’ve had several lovely connections. In 2015, Anya (my daughter) and I even hiked up Mount Ketumbeine (3,000 meters; 9,840 feet) with Bethany, her husband and daughter who is just a bit younger than my daughter.
Ok, now we are finally going up the mountain! It was a very bumpy and at time precarious journey. Yet, we had a lovely view of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the other half-dozen other mountains in this area of the Great Rift Valley.
We arrived safely on a different road, as the other road was too dangerous. Not too long ago, a Land Cruiser slipped off the road and rolled down the cliff!
Mikitamayana Engai! / Mungu akubariki! / God bless you!