Thoughts on Suji by Sean Murphy

Hello, for those of you that don't know me, and for those who do but have already forgotten, my name is Sean, also known as Jack to some people, I grew up in East Galway but have lived in England for almost the last quarter of a century.

I return home on a regular basis to the old sod to see my mum and siblings and in August this year we called to see my sister Maura who lives in Co Clare. Over dinner her husband John told us of his plans to construct an extension to a secondary school in East Africa later in the year under the auspices of TANZANIAN VILLAGE RENEWAL. http://tanzanianvillagerenewal.blogspot.com/ 

During the conversation my wife said I should go, I dismissed the comment and put it down to wine induced chit chat, However what you do not know is that my wife has the canny knack of being right 95% of the time, and sure enough 6 weeks later (following a dollop of "pillow talk") I found myself contacting John and volunteering to go on the charity trip.

A couple of weeks prior to going my wife asked me if I was worried about the forth coming trip and in an attempt to look macho I said of course not, but secretly I was concerned, would I live up to the charity's expectations?, would I be able to keep pace with the young wipper nappers?, would I be able to hack it with the professional builders? and above all would we be able to deliver on our commitment?

Its all very well making promises from afar.

Sunday 31st October 2010 was a chilly, dark morning, the onset of winter and at 4.00am all the team met up for the first time at Dublin airport for the flight to Tanzania, people struggled under the weight of luggage, hurleys, levels, and trowels protruded from all sides, a swift turn in the wrong direction and a possible mishap for life. The builders carried lump hammers, saws, chisels, tapes, hawkes and trowels, the graduates carried books on grammar, poetry and prose, maths, history, geography and all sorts of ologies.

Amazingly we all checked in on time and within our prescribed weight limits.


14 hours later we touched down at Kilimanjaro international airport on a warm sultry evening, the sense of anticipation was now great but we were in safe hands, Mr Clancy heading up the builders and Mrs Mescall in charge of the charity.

Maureen and John said they would organise our visas, this was great, no queuing, no standing in line, it was only a matter of minutes and we would be on our way. However, after about 15 minutes waiting I wandered outside and sat on a bench, it was a beautiful balmy evening.

For those of you not familiar with Kilimanjaro airport, its no Heathrow or JFK, we were the only plane that evening, those that got off mostly comprised of walkers and climbers heading for the mountain which the airport was named after. As we waited patiently some of the others came out and joined me, heels were clicked, fingers tapped and cigarettes were smoked, time rolled by, still no Maureen and John.
A mere 60 minutes later Maureen and John returned with our visas, this was our first experience with Africa and apparently "you cannot rush these things".

Not to worry Maureen said our carriage awaited, I had visions of an air conditioned bus with piped music, tv, mini bar and toilet facilities. We marched out looking for our transport walking straight past the vehicle parked on the forecourt, as we wandered by Maureen said, here your carriage, I glanced over my shoulder only to see an aged Chinese mini bus.

Somehow we had to fit 20 persons plus a small truck load of luggage into this compact vehicle, for a full 30 minutes we loaded, unloaded and re-loaded the luggage. Suit cases were stacked on their side, on their end and on their edge, all to no avail. Rucksacks were placed on top of the suitcases, face up, on their back and on their belly, all to no avail.

Tiredness eventually won out, we gave up, squashed in and sat on top of the luggage. A full 2 hours and 30 minutes after landing, we finally pulled out of a now deserted Kilimanjaro airport. That night we stayed in a nearby motel as it was now fast approaching midnight.

Welcome to Africa.
The following morning we set out for the final leg of our leg of our journey, which Maureen said would take 3 hours, but I am sure you are getting the trend, it somehow turned into 6 hours
"You cannot rush these things" or as the locals say "This is Africa"

As we trundled along the bus finally turned of the main highway (don't think M6 or M25) onto a dusty dirt track which ran down through the middle of a huge expanse of sisal, 10 minutes later we were at the foot of the Pare Mountains. Maureen piped up and said Suji is at the top of the mountain, "we are nearly there", by now I was doubting Maureen's assessments of gauging African timescales, it looked a doddle 15 minutes tops, but say no more it actually took 1 hour 15 minutes.

The pare mountains comprise of deep V shaped valleys and the Suji School sat on the rim of one of these valleys. On the day of our arrival some of the school children were on sentry duty and as we zig zagged up the mountain track, they alerted the other children of our arrival. Within seconds I could see hundreds of children pour out of the classrooms and line the final couple of hundred yards of our journey.

The reception was tumultuous, akin to a winning football team returning home with the cup, it was truly humbling, flags were waved, banners were hoisted and horns honked, we were treated to a series of Swahili singing, dancing, acting and speech making. This was followed by a banquet fit for a King.

We worked hard over the next 2 weeks but it was enjoyable and rewarding, the team got to know each other very well (some more than others !), the four young graduates threw their lot in with the hairy bum builders and Jim organised the school children into perfect chain gangs as and when necessary. Day by day the assembly/dining hall took shape and unbelievably we virtually completed what we set out to do.

Considering we were all strangers at the outset tied together by the common thread of helping the children, very soon friendships blossomed and a rapport grew. Trusses were made, bricks were laid, walls were plastered and roofs were sheeted without a single bad word or squabble.

Suji itself is a beautiful place unspoilt by modern living and untouched by multi national companies, my advise is see it before it disappears. at no time during my stay did I feel vulnerable or intimidated.

The children are bubbly and keen to learn, they are also have good manners and arrive each morning well turned out with polished shoes and sparkling white shirts, I have no idea how they do this.
Their parents spend the day fetching water and fire wood in addition to tending to their crops on small allotments perched on the steeply sloped valleys. Its hard work and they walk great distances each day, gyms are not needed here.

Six months ago I would not have imagined that I would volunteer for charity work, let alone in Tanzania, the experience will live with me for a lifetime and I have many fond memories to cherish.

However, none of it would be possible without the help of many people, to many to thank in this short slot but word of gratitude to the following;

to Marie and Dominic without your support what would I do, to John Clancy for planting the idea, to Maura for supporting us, to Noel for entertaining us along the way, to Maureen for organising the event, to Aisling, Aine, Belinda, Aaron & Jim for mucking in, to Peader, Niall, Tom, Enda, Darren and Ger for your help and patience, and of course to my Mom for simply being my Mom.

As for future charity work for me, who knows ! ask Maureen ?