Frustrations, Realizations, and Renewed Hope

The first time I sat down to write this post it began as an ode to my Tanzanian banking woes. I had had 10 full days of anguish trying to set up an account that money could be transferred to and had seen no real result, so the original form of this post was really more of a rant than anything else. However, in the last twenty-four hours my outlook has changed slightly because I realized that if anything happens quickly or easily here in Tanzania it probably isn’t legal.

This realization came after having a safari guide tell me (after hearing through a third party that I was having banking woes) that he could pull some strings at a Kenyan bank and within 48 hours we could have an account in our name and have access to the cash. This came at the end of my 10th day of misery, after having three international and reputable banks tell me that there was no way for me personally to open my own account in Tanzania without first becoming/obtaining a Tanzanian residential visa. Some may have jumped at this offer, however it was clear to me then and it is even more clear now, that the easy way out here often involves bribes, backhandedness, and dark alley negotiations, and I did not want to be any part of it.

So, it is taking us a little longer than we anticipated in terms of getting the money to flow this way, however, I have been encouraged that it will happen by the end of this week. We were able to open a new account using Mary’s residential status and my bank has agreed to figure out how exactly to get money into the account in the most expedient and safe way possible. As of today the money has left my account in Michigan and is somewhere in the land of wire transfers. It should hopefully be arriving safely sometime this afternoon in Arusha.

Unfortunately it means that I don’t have any stories of groundbreaking or any pictures of all of the work we have accomplished, because the pictures would mostly contain grumpy pictures of me sitting in a hot bank waiting in line only to be told I don’t have the right color pen on my paper work. However, it does mean that I am working on it and will continue to work on it until the money is here in the most respectable and traceable way possible.

Every story has to have some nasty turns and pitfalls. Here is to hoping that this is our biggest and only problem.

My spirit was renewed in the project today when I heard word from home that Brick by Brick had received a donation from a family in Joliet. It wasn’t so much that the amount of money renewed me although I assure you that it was incredibly uplifting and exciting but it was more the letter that accompanied the check. In it I was informed that the children in this family had decided they were going to donate part of their monthly allowances to help to build St. Dymphna. And it was in this act, the act of children being taught to care for other children that they had never even met and never would meet that my faith was renewed. I was reminded that this project is more than just about building a school for disabled children in Tanzania, it is also about education and awareness to all who are a part of the project with the hope that we will all become better global citizens and learn to care for all of humanity regardless of race, nationality, economic status, or ability.