Swahili Word of the Day: kuku means chicken
Excerpt from Zach’s blog:
There is pretty much one road into the city center, and there is always a “big jam” or “long queue.” Traffic flow is slow, but vicious. Nobody has the right of way. We have asked Francis what the Swahili term is for “right of way” to no avail. If you want to turn right (British style), you nose into the oncoming traffic and flash your lights until someone honks. If you want to cross the road as a pedestrian, you run. The safest thing on the street is a goat. If you are a goat, you can cross. If I were making up the term “right of way” in Swahili, it would be goat. For some reason, everyone has a soft spot for the stupid animal.
After the morning traffic, it is always a relief to arrive at CCBRT to familiar faces. Many of the doctors and nurses enjoy fresh chapatti and tea in the outdoor cafeteria area before beginning their shifts.
Today I conducted an interview with Erwin, the CEO of CCBRT. Our team was excited for this interview because of Erwin’s passionate personality. I feel the need to paraphrase a short portion of his interview that moved me,
The people of the hospital are incredibly appreciative of their treatment. They often cannot pay for surgery, yet they feel responsible to give what they can. One time a women walked into my office with a chicken and she set the scrambling animal down on this desk, right here. Her family was behind her. I also must tell you that here in Tanzania a chicken means a lot. She said she wanted to give it to me for her treatment because it was all that she and her family had.
He took a sip of his coffee and continued, looking away from me and into the camera,
I believe in the good. Everyday when I wake up my children I tell them, ‘Be Good.’ I also believe people will give when they can. So I say, instead of having a meal out tonight, donate that to a surgery. And tell your American friends, the good people, to bring _kukus back to Tanzania._
Signing off,
Erica