Week Five and a bit???

Hi there Everyone

Well it's been a bit longer than I intended since my last blog.  I blame in part the lack of electricity!! The past week or so has been pretty bad and we have been subject to many blackouts.  Anyway now that we do have electricity I should probably update you with life here in Dar.

Progress with TAWLA

If memory serves me correctly I had presented my strategy paper on the hotline service.  Well since then I have been gathering our resources in TAWLA to determine what we material we currently have on file.  While there is some material in kiswahilli I have learnt that there is much to do! I have decided to review the main legislation that will be most relevant to the queries which will be raised through the hotline service (this is based on my discussions with my colleagues who have informed me what the main issues that present themselves in person at the office).  To this extent over the next couple of weeks/perhaps months I will review the Marriage Act, the Child Act, the Civil Procedure Act and the Land Act with a view to setting out the main elements of each Act in a " Frequently Asked Question" format which can be used by the volunteers in TAWLA  when addressing questions raised by members of the public.  I will prepare the various manuals in English and my colleagues will translate the manuals into Kiswahilli which can be used internally by TAWLA.

So in light of the above I think that I will be quite busy over the next while!

I had mentioned in my last blog that I was presenting a seminar on the principles of good legal drafting.  I think that this went well and I got good feed back from my colleagues.  In this regard a number of my colleagues have asked for me to assist with their drafting so that they can incorporate the principles that I spoke about during the seminar, so I will take this as a good sign!  As I am currently based in legal aid I will begin to sit in on consultations again.  The reason is twofold: from a selfish perspective it will help me improve my kiswahilli and will also allow me to assist my colleagues in drafting pleadings for upcoming course cases.

I am also currently reviewing the current HR policies in place by TAWLA and proposing amendments where appropriate.  This is part of the internal good governance initiatives which TAWLA is currently seeking to implement.

We are all hoping that the electricity situation will improve so that work over the coming week will not be interrupted as much as it has been over the last week or so.  I am lucky because we have an inverter at home so it means that I can charge my laptop and work from home as needs be but unfortunately in the office we do not have a generator so when the electricity is off (which at the moment it frequently is) it means that work progress is hampered considerably!  We are hoping to get some additional funding so that we can fix the generator which is currently broken...This would greatly improve the situation.  I have been forewarned that the electricity situation is only going to get worse but at the moment I am continuing to be optimistic...here's hoping my optimism is not in vain....

So the past week has been a mixed bag.....


Immigration Disappointment


Well again I will start with the positives...I have been approved for a work permit in Tanzania but on the downside the cost of the permit has increased from $120 to $500 with effect from 1 July 2011.  I am disheartened because I submitted my application on the 29th of June but the Tanzanian  government will not be swayed and I must pay $500...When you are not earning and are working on a volunteer basis this additional cost is regrettable but I will just have to absorb the cost....On the plus side it means that I will have legal status to stay here for two years so in the grand scheme of things I guess that's not too bad.

Fun stuff...beach...beach and more beach


Well I guess you cannot feel sorry for me at all considering every weekend I do get to enjoy the  beautiful Indian Ocean every weekend....The past two weekends seem to have blended into one so I will try to remember what I got up to! The weekend before last it was my housemates' Tende's birthday and we celebrated with a full moon party at Paulo's (an Italian guy who lives near us) with lots of dancing and plenty of wine..(.the party was at the house of an Italian's so naturally there was plenty of wine)... Last weekend I went to Michocheni and stayed over with two of my colleagues..We went to Rose Garden for dinner which is a long established hangout for Tanzanians and had a feast of ugali and goat...incredibly delicious! On Saturday I went to Jess and Josh an American couple who live near my house for a BBQ which was lovely...I met up with a lot of ex-pats who have lived in Dar for a number of years so it was lovely to meet up with people who have been here for a long time and learn from their experiences! On Sunday I went to mass in my local church.  I have been there a couple of times now so I think people are starting to recognise me.  It is all in kiswahilli so I don't understand much but the beautiful music and singing from the choir makes up for the fact that I cannot understand the sermon or much of the mass for that matter!  Sunday afternoon two of my colleagues and friends Julienne and Miriam came and stayed in Kigamboni with me.  We went to the beach and I worked on my non-existent tan!! I cooked dinner and we just sat around and chatted :)

Home Alone....


So my housemate Elaine and her baby Tara have flown back to Ireland for a holiday.  It will be the first time that Tara has met her aunties and uncles so it very exciting for her and for Elaine to see her family.  It's been three years since she's been home.  On a selfish note of course though I will miss them lots! Tendekye is away on safari and is not back on until the 8th of August so until then it is just me and the cat princess :)

Anyway, I better finish this one off and head off to bed.  We have electricity at the moment though so maybe I indulge myself and watch a DVD on the laptop!

Until next time,
Eithne