Monday, May 19th 2008...Tanzanian Big Wigs

Waiting for the Police Station Tour
Today was our first full day of professional clothes, that's tough when it's this hot and muggy outside. I think we missed the whole "make your wardrobe out of linen" thing. Anyways...last night was tough, for some reason I didn't sleep a wink...I think this is only the third or fourth all nighter that I've ever pulled...too bad we didn't have any test or anything today, I just couldn't relax...maybe it was all the food. Well, our first stop was at the Ministry of Defense. Dar es Salaam was the capital city of Tanzania...Dr. G said it may have moved to Dudoma therefore, all of the important government buildings are here. The Ministry of Defense is basically the Police Headquarters for the entire country. The Inspector General of Police (#1 guy), Saidi Mwema met with us over tea and he was awesome. He talked about the planning for bringing the Olympic torch through peacefully and the need for information/ technology sharing between TZ and the US.

After the talk, we went on a tour of their facilities. We saw IT, they are just now starting to use forms to create databases in Access.(...eish...thought you would like that one James) The whole country is jsut light years behind technologically, they haven't inputed data ever...they are expecting 6 months time just to get the HR stuff compiled for the police employees.

Our next stop was down into the investigative bureaus. This center is responsible for the Crime Investigations for the entire country. We saw some awesome stuff from the Forensics labs...ballistics and counterfeit money inspection computers. Also, fingerprint files and Scene of the Crime tools that they use. The final stop was Cyber Crimes. I felt like I was back at Duke when I studied Forensic Sciences there for the summer before high school. I'm glad everyone else got to see how everything works, but the stuff that we had 7 years ago was way more advanced than the stuff they were using. Technology and human capital are their two greatest needs in this country.

Mayor's Office

Our next stop was really amazing. We met with the Mayor of Dar es Salaam. He was an interesting guy to talk to. His ideas are positive and he really believes in his solutions to the city's poverty levels. He was also you typical politician, long winded and head strong. It was nice though to share our thoughts on what he was doing and hear his dreams for the city.

My main improvement that I would make to the city is improving infrastructure. It is the backbone of the economy. At most of their major intersections, they do not have traffic signals...they just fight through. It is the most amazing thing to have 35 cars trying to weave in and out of eachother while turning left, right and squeezing through to go straight. I fear for our livelihood sometimes, but the drivers are pros. This city has 4 million people, it's like not have street lights on Broadway in NYC and trying to cross on 42nd...impossible.

We went out to the coast to eat...and we got to see the beautiful Indian Ocean. Here the beach and the horizon were gorgeous. The ocean breeze lifted the heat off of us in our suits and we were so thankful. We had a relaxing lunch and shopped a bit in the local market. Our last stop was back to the hotel to recover from the break neck pace of the morning and take naps. I am desperately in need of sleep. We are actually in for the rest of the night. I actually just woke up from a 6 hour nap and I'm afraid I won't sleep. But...maybe some "vitamins" will help.

Hope ya'll liked the pictures...I updated every post. More to come... Bye Bye from the Breezy Beaches of Dar. Britt