Hamna shida!

So much has happened in two weeks! I’ve now returned to the intern apartment, which means that Kinleigh and Jackel have left Mwanza and are now in Oyugis, Kenya. The FIFA world cup has started and you can definitely feel the excitement. Walking down the street you often see (and hear) many people sitting around watching the games. I love being right in the midst of it all and with so many international people in Mwanza you can always find someone proudly sporting their teams colours.

Work these past two weeks have been going well. Stephanie went back to Canada, but we are keeping in touch to make sure that what was started during their internship gets carried through. Olivia is now in Canada, which probably seemed like a short trip considering she went to Nairobi there and back 5 times; each one way trip equaling about 15 hours!  She was able to secure packaging from Tech pack in Nairobi, but because the labeling material was not available before she left, she returned to Mwanza without them. We now finally have the labels, packages and sealing machine procured and stored in the kitchen, but the process to get them had a lot of unexpected problems. Our next step is to look into getting the Tanzanian Board Standards (TBS) stamp. The first step to getting this stamp is to have SIDO (Small Industries Development Organization) come in for an inspection. The Ivey students contacted SIDO and the inspection happened the following week. It went really well and from this we need to follow up with a letter to be signed by the Health Department of Mabatini. This is all very promising and will help give legitimacy to the women’s operations. The Mama’s are very happy with the progress and now we just need to get them into the Market to start selling!

The packaging is great and will help with distribution of the probiotic yoghurt, but we have encountered a few setbacks. The labels, which were supposed to be waterproof, are not and with the condensation that builds up in the fridge, they begin to rub off. As well, the yoghurt when sealed begins producing some gas, which is building up under the tinfoil tops. We are still inquiring about why this is happening, but the yoghurt has been fresh that has been packaged, so we know it can’t be from contamination or the yoghurt having been spoiled. However, we have been informed from a few sources that the gas build up could potentially be the result of yeast contamination, which although not harmful may make the product less marketable to larger stores in Mwanza.  All in all, I think things will work out well with the packaging, but as with most things, there always seems to be little obstacles to overcome and work through. We also want to work with the Mama’s and determine the locations they feel the most motivated to approach to sell their yoghurt. By engaging the Mama’s we are hoping to ensure that the distribution will continue once we have left. We have also asked them for input on transportation of the packaged yoghurt. They would like to build an insulated box that can be wheeled by them. We encouraged them to purchase more buckets to transport the packaging, which can be carried on their heads, as this has already been successfully used in the past. The Mama’s went ahead and purchased these the other evening. We are hoping that since school is out, the Mama’s who would normally be working at the chapatti kitchen use this time to go to the markets.

With the rest of my time, I have been working at NIMR in the labs with Arja and Yolanda. They were continuing to test multiple methods for adding Moringa to the yoghurt and after countless attempts they were able to! This is very exciting, especially after finding a method that has worked after multiple trials. The sensory evaluation of the product is set to be done on July 1^st, so we are just in the process of making changes to the sign-up sheets for participation in the trial. In the lab I also had the opportunity to learn how to make agar plates, which is what Arja and Yolanda use to grow the probiotics. The medium is selective for the GR-1 strain of probiotic bacteria, which allows them to determine if the probiotics are surviving in the Moringa yoghurt product and actually count the survival rates.

Our other focus during this internship is looking into the start up of new women’s groups that can begin producing the probiotic yoghurt. In order to start up another group we need to find funding. We have been researching various funding opportunities and have set up meetings to discuss funding and micro-financing in Tanzania. We had a meeting with Attique from CRS, which was very helpful in understanding micro-financing for groups. Although this is not likely to be a viable option, it was very useful and the information was interesting. Another meeting we have set up for this week is with Maimuna, the executive director and founder of Kivulini’s Womens Group. She can hopefully give us insight into possible start up funding for the new groups. Our last meeting we set up is with Mr. Ngowi from TASAF (Tanzanian Social Action Fund). They have provided funding in the past and we are now hoping with the new budget coming out soon, that we can receive funding for the new groups.

Some other activities I will be doing in the near future will be in regards to quality control at the kitchen. I have discussed with the Mama’s already about coming into the kitchen for about a week and making observations on the process. We have noticed that often the yoghurt varies in consistency, texture and taste. Since we would like to start selling in the market and at stores, I think it is very important that more consistent products are produced. I will use my notes and test the yoghurt each day to compare and track changes in the process and product outcome. We have recently talked to Kinleigh, who is now in Oyugis and she has noticed a large difference in the quality of the yoghurt between the two locations. Although, we have been told people in Mwanza enjoy the lumpy yoghurt and overall the yoghurt itself, the problem is more in terms of using the correct process. We will be looking into the matter further.

On another note, aside from work I had the chance to go out to Starehe Orphanage, where our friend Salome works. The kids are adorable and Kathleen and I would like to go back a few more times. I also went with Sabrina to the baby orphanage, Forever Angels, and from there we went to an orphanage called Timinie. A few of the kids from Forever Angels were placed at this orphanage when they got were a little older and the workers from there wanted to go visit. It was very different; far out of Mwanza and they had their own cows, pigs, and a garden.

Sabrina is doing work here for her Masters and is surveying students that attend SAUT and Bugando regarding cervical cancer and HPV. I went to Bugando Hospital for the first time the other week with her. It’s a very large, ominous building that sits on the top of the hill. On the ride up to it you see many shops for coffins, which was a little bizarre to see.

The other really exciting thing we have gotten to do was to attend the Sukuma tribe festival. All the dance groups from various tribes were competing against each other. Olivia was still here and asked one of the dancers to teach her and I the dance. Which little did we expect this to mean him dressing us up in their costumes and throwing us right in to dance alongside the group. We were shown a few steps, but basically just had to learn on the spot, and in front of a couple hundred people (no big deal)! I definitely got a case of the stage fright right before going on, which reminded me a lot of competing in figure skating. The good thing was that as soon as we got out there, the stage fright went away and I had so much fun. The other girls we were with took pictures and even video of the whole thing. I am sure the local people were impressed by our dance moves!