What
a tumultuous week it has been. The short of it is we are leaving Orkeeswa,
Tanzania and in fact Africa!
There
have been numerous issues from the onset. Our existence here has been fraught
with environmental impact: the drain on the precious water supply and the drive
to school being those, which most distressed us. We also have grave concerns
about the entitlement mentality that charity and volunteering seem to
engender. Having the night watch security, laundry, cleaning, and sundry other
household chores assigned to paid locals has also made us feel uncomfortable
and in fact we have persisted with doing most such tasks ourselves, which is in
retrospect is possibly another source of conflict between the management and
us. The school has been a source of frustration with respect to the
administration and lack of processes and accountability. So all in all we can
now see that this has not been a happy time. Nonetheless it came as something
of a shock to be told that we would never be happy here and that as far as the
current leader is concerned it would be better if we just left. This message
was delivered to us personally at home on Thursday and it certainly set our
minds spinning.
This
was not on our agenda at the time and we concede that it has been a struggle but
leaving has in fact become the current game plan. We were determined to make it
work……That is until this week. We returned to school to inform the Leadership Team
of the decision on Friday morning and
then chose to walk back into town before classes began. We have been told that
we are “just not a good fit” and that may or may not be true but I don’t want
to hear another “Pole Sana.”
We
had placed our focus firmly on the students and it was no easy task to win them
over initially, but we felt that we had. The turn over and relative lack of
experience of the staff is perhaps what makes students reticent to trust
newcomers but our assurances that we intended to stay 2 years and our determined
and committed efforts in the classroom brought about results. There have been
some very precious moments and there are some amazing kids out there at
Orkeeswa. We felt unable to explain our departure to them and are feeling not
just rejected and humiliated but in some ways as if we have let both them and
ourselves down. I only hope that they are told the truth and not fed lies. It
was not our decision to leave.
Having
said that after the initial shock subsided there was also a sense of relief!We
feel disappointed that we will not see the wildlife, or the country but our gut
reaction tells us to return to Asia. We will take a little time to travel and
to collect our thoughts before deciding where to next but we are not ready
to give up the game just yet.
Obviously you guys are too good for that place. Your impeccable scruples have upset the status quo. Best to follow the instincts and find a situation where you can thrive. I know we all miss you in Bhutan and what a difference you made here despite the system.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your return to the pearl of Asia!
All the Best Tim
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DeleteOh, I'm sad to see you go.
ReplyDelete