By: Adam L.
After another delicious breakfast provided by the Lutheran Centre (fresh fruit, eggs, and toast), Paul gave us our second (and final official??) lecture of the trip. Since our background in fluid dynamics was refreshed in yesterday's lecture, we were able to work on a real problem that the village of Kising'A is currently facing - a lack of safe water in close proximity to villagers. Four students will be leaving to this village on Friday while the remaining eight will be split between the villages of Mtera and Lucani.
We were all quite ready for a good break after a few hours of problem solving, so we split into two groups to go to two different restaurants for lunch: Neema's Crafts and what we call the Bookstore. I ended up going to Neema's which is actually where we will be staying sometime next week. Neema's employs many disabled people, especially the deaf, and so it offers a completely unique experience.
Following the satisfying lunch, the group headed into the downtown markets of Iringa where we were surrounded by fresh fruit, fish, spices, clothing, baskets, and many other essentials. The colors and amount of activity in that area were truly amazing sites.
At about 3:30, we met up with Gary and Carroll of the Lutheran Centre along with Peter, Heute, and Haniel of St. Paul Partner's to make a trip out to Iringa University. Iringa University was founded in July of 1993 with theology being the only degree. Now, about 4000 students attend and study 45 different degrees! Interestingly, almost all of the buildings were paid for in cash and built by hand to help promote the local labor force. Gary gave of us a full tour of the beautiful and unique campus and we met three community development students that will be coming with us to the villages on Friday. Ben, Kwege, and Upendo were very outgoing and friendly so we invited them to eat dinner with us!
We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant in the outskirts of Iringa at the end of a long, bumpy road. Despite the rollercoaster ride, the food and company were absolutely worth it. It was great to be able to connect with our guests a little bit more.
