PRIOR behavioural study in Moshi, Tanzania

The coming year I will be working on the
PRIOR Hiv/Aids behavioral research in Moshi-KCMC, Tanzania. My collegue is Gloria Mosha.

We will start the development, implementation and evaluation of ARV-adherence interventions in the Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania.

Our project objectives and research questions will include:
·Initiating behavioral research on knowledge, attitudinal beliefs, stigma, social norms and self-efficacy on the topic of Hiv/Aids, Hiv-testing and treatment.
·Collect information about environmental factors related to Hiv testing and HAART (Highly Active Anti Retroviral Treatment).
·Combine theoretical methods and practical strategies that are proven to be effective in order to:
·Increase Hiv-testing, promote treatment of Hiv with HAART and optimise adherence to HAART.

The last month Gloria and I have been working on a literature review on the topic of risk behaviour for Hiv/Aids, factors influencing Hiv-testing behaviour and adherence to treatment. We have summarised the information in diagrammes on the walls of the PRIOR-house. As soon as you enter the living room you are overwhelmed by information on Hiv/Aids. The next step was to define our target population. We have desided to focus on the most at risk population; 15-25 year old men and women. We will spend the coming months on collecting qualitative data from open interviews with people in this age-group. We are now working on the realisation of an interview scheme which will guide the interviewers to collect the necessary information. Yes….we will train 6 interviewers to do the interviews in Swahilli, and we will have people to transcribe the interviews and translate them into English. The coming week we will try to set up a three-day training for the interviewers (ideas are welcome).

Two weeks ago our supervisors from Holland came over to Moshi. They stayed in (my) PRIOR house for one week. It was a very welcome change of events. Not only they are great people to spent time with, but they managed (at least in oral agreements) to organise contracts, visa, the flow of money, housing arangements, clarification of misunderstandings etcetera. It still has to be written en signed in paper but at least the direction of agreements is more clear. It inspired me a lot in continuing the work we are doing here. Also they came with leaflets of the PRIOR-network which suddenly makes life a lot more easy here.. because now we can show people what we are working on in paper. Furhtermore the PRIOR-website is under construction. You will find the mission statements, goals and information on the people working on the different projects at www.priornetwork.org (you can find us at partners&expertise, under UM and Gloria under KCMC)!


As for now, Gloria has gone to Dar Es Salaam. We got a phonecall from an agency that my boxes with personal belongings have arrived in Dar. The next thing is to get them to Moshi from the harbor. That is of course (this is Africa) not easy. The agency that called us has to give permission to an other agency to clear the boxes and get them from the harbor. We need two agencies to get clearance for these boxes. Okay. But then we will have to pay each agency a lot of money to work for us. They charge us for every phone call or used paper about 50 dollars. Summing up this will be around 500 Dollars almost twice as much as sending the items from Holland to Dar!!! I am very happy Gloria felt the need to go alone to Dar to see what see can do to release the boxes. I would get so frustrated, wish I never send any of my personal belongings! Also the longer they are at the harbor (now already two weeks) the higher the risk of people opening them to see if anything will be usefull to them…..!!

Anyway… apart from work and materialism….I have a very interesting life here. It seems I am extraordinary in my ability to make close friends at short notice. Probably for you as my friend not a surprise “that is Nienja”(thanks Chris!), but here I am confronted with this aspect very much. Gloria is always amazed by my stories/activities, but her surprise I could explain through cultural differences. Here I noticed people have only a limited amount of very close friends. Maybe 2-3 people are actually coming over to your house to spent time with you. Furthermore you have your family. Other people from work or people you meet through friends you know and greet and talk to when you meet but nothing more. It is not very common to invite people to your home. Most of this seems to be related to fear of jealousy and fear of gossips. People here have a lot of (to me) unnecessary secrets and fears. This, at times, can make me feel very unwelcome and even scared of going out or speak out for myself. “Because you never know who is there with you that has bad intentions”! It is very tiresome when you meet friends and as soon as you tell them about other people you have met they start to warn you for the “smart people that only want to use you”. I try to rely more on, and listen to, my intuition and gut-feeling in deciding whom to trust, and I do trust life and people. People in Tanzania are great people! But it seems they make themselves smaller or more insignificant than they actually are!! Being afraid all the time makes people experience little breathing space. It is a feeling that also sometimes gets in me here. Andre (one of my supervisors) compaired it with being in a very hot country and on top of that also having a blanked over your head all the time. It is a great challenge not to let this bug infect me to much! Gloria herself also noticed this fear around her since she has been in Europe for her Masters. We have experiences we can really support eachother in changing attitudes and feelings by looking at what lies underneath these fears or misunderstandings. Also my other friends make me experience ups and downs in different ways.

People aske me about my activities in my free time…
Well, I have been looking for some ways to compensate for the great loss in Salsa dancing!!!! The first thing that I came across was the swimmingpool. I have been swimming 3 times a week the last month. In Holland I used never to go to swimming pools but here I was very happy to find some way of releasing tension from work and home. Every person I meet, I always ask about possibilities for Salsa dancing, dancing, going for exercises or something like it. I now have many possibilities to teach Salsa or dancing at different places. People are very eager to learn Salsa. But there is no dancing partner for me here to teach the real thing! So to all my male dancepartners… if you feel like teaching Salsa in Tanzania, there are plenty of possibilities (and I would be so happy)!!
Moshi has only two places where you can go out for dancing. Both are playing R&B music mostly. Apart from the fact that those places have a high density of people drinking a lot and prostitutes, the music does not inspire me anymore after two hours of dancing. That’s why I am now very happy to have found Aerobics!! I go for Aerobics three times a week now. Two times in town at a local gym. The teacher Abas, I met while dancing at a party. Yesterday I went for his classes together with a Norwegan girl who works here as a fysiotherapist. It was great, today we will go again! Furthermore I have some friends who are students at KCMC. They live at the campus (which is nearby) and we will soon be playing table tennis at their hostel!! It seems I will also have to learn how to play pool because that is something many people go out for.
Being at home I enjoy reading my books, writing emails, playing games (memory or Yatzee), doing Yoga or meditation and I dance on your music a lot!!!!

Tanzanienja No.1, I suggested different possibilities to contact me.
I have received some wonderfull letters and presents through post. Although it seems not everything arrives here, if I receive your letter I will definitely let you know! My Tanzanian address is:
KCMC hospital
PRIOR-project (Nienja)
P.O.Box 3010
Moshi
Tanzania.

December the 10th. I will get assistance from Holland. Jaap Schultz will come to work with us for 6 months to write his thesis as a student of Maastricht University.

Rest me to say: I still feel very close to you!
Enjoy the Winter time, Sinterklaas and Christmas, in Holland (hopefully it is possible to go ice skating!!) or elsewhere!

Lots of love,
Nienja