This morning, we spent time practicing our Swahili and purchasing souvenirs in the Iringa marketplace. This is the primary market for Iringa Town, and you can buy groceries, clothing, bags, and many other items. Alex and Amanda are pictured below purchasing custom-made African shirts! Other popular items included machetes and elephant pants, which are best described as African zubaz. The people in the marketplace were very friendly and willing to help us increase our 12 world vocabulary!
After shopping at the market, we got on the bus and went to Ihemi to gather information for finalizing the design proposed by last year’s students. First we met with the water committee and village elders to introduce ourselves and let them know why we had come. Byemerya (who is standing in the picture below) and Andrew (who is to his left) helped translate for us.
Then some members of the committee showed us the current water system which pumps water from a well to a 4000 L tank on top of a tower built by the villagers.
Current water system (above)
4000 L tank (below)
Following this, we were able to hike to the newly developed well and proposed location for new water tanks. It was an elevated, beautiful view overlooking the surrounding countryside which will soon be benefiting from the proposed system.
We finished our day with a little free time, which included more shopping and cards, followed by dinner at a local watering whole called The Haven. There we feasted upon local specialties including steaks, fish, burgers, and spaghetti and meatballs.
Till Next Blog… Lala lafofo!
