Source: Africa: "Savanna Homecoming"
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This video segment from Nature/National Geographic presents the life of Flora Salonik. Flora, a woman from the busy city of Arusha, moves with her husband, Loshero, to his home in Kijungu, a village in one of Tanzania's most remote areas. Flora has a college education, speaks four languages and, before she married Loshero, owned her own business. Flora left her family as well as the comforts and modern conveniences of the city. Now she lives in a world where there is no electricity and it is a forty minute walk just to get water. Learn more about Flora's existence in this three-part series including, "A Hard and Lonely Life" and “A Decision is Made.”
Download and ShareThe following Frame, Focus and Follow-up suggestions are best suited for middle school students using this video in an English language arts or social studies lesson. Be sure to modify the questions to meet your students' instructional needs.
What is Frame, Focus and Follow-up?
Frame (ELA) What motivates you to do what you do?
Focus (ELA) What motivates Flora Salonik to live in Kijungu and work hard?
Follow Up (ELA) Discuss how motivation can determine the actions of a character in literature (both fiction and nonfiction).
Frame (SS) What everyday responsibilities do you have at home, school and in other environments?
Focus (SS) What responsibilities does Flora have as a woman living in Kijungu?
Follow Up (SS) Discuss why it is important for people to act responsibly and for example, to take care of themselves and their families, accept responsibility for their actions and adhere to moral principles. Discuss the responsibilities various cultures sometimes place on males and females.
NARRATOR: Flora Salonik is also from the city. She has a college education, and speaks four languages. She too has run her own business. But her entire livelihood now depends on the earth…because she fell in love with a man from the Dorobo people.
FLORA: About 10 years ago I met this man.. We fell in love and got married.. We met in Tana, got talking and started dating...He was working as a hunter then.. But soon he brought me here to Kijungu.’
NARRATOR: For Flora, the transition couldn’t have been more profound. Flora is from Arusha, one of Tanzania’s busiest cities, situated almost halfway between Capetown and Cairo. After they were married, Loshero took her to a tiny village on Tanzania’s South Maasai Steppe…a four day journey on foot. This is about as remote as Tanzania gets.
FLORA: When I fell in love with him, my family wanted us to move to the city. But I said no way! We love each other.
NARRATOR: Flora’s family knew what life would be like for the wife of a Dorobo man. They knew she’d be leaving the comforts of the city for a world without electricity or almost any modern conveniences…a world where it takes a forty minute walk just to get water.
FLORA: It’s a difficult life here but I have my husband…and now I have children. I stay because of them and because I love Loshero.
NARRATOR: Hunting and gathering was the dominant lifestyle on the savanna until about four thousand years ago when cattle and crops were introduced. Now hunter-gatherers like the Dorobo are a small minority.
LOSHERO: I really love Flora...but I have to go into the bush to get food. I often think how hard it is for her at home.
NARRATOR: Although Loshero and Flora have some cattle and crops, their Dorobo lifestyle still revolves around hunting and gathering. Loshero is already out in the bush…He adds red hot embers to a bundle of dry grass...Clutching this bundle, Loshero’s friend Lokadouma, scales a baobab tree. He’s going in search of a Dorobo delicacy – honey. The smoke is supposed to make the honey bees less aggressive..
LOKADOUMA: Ouch! Damn bees!
NARRATOR: Much of the time Flora is left to look after their three kids, their farm and their home by herself. She gave up everything for Loshero, and now she hardly sees him.
FLORA: ‘I’ve been here 11 years now… and I do miss Arusha. But my children do get a lot of good things here. They learn how to hunt and collect honey. It’s a good place to bring up children.’
NARRATOR: Even so…Flora dreams of going back to the city.
FLORA: Sometimes I pack my stuff… ready to go back to Arusha.. But I have children so I can’t go home.’
NARRATOR: The years have slipped by, and without telephones or mail service, Flora has had no contact with her family since she came to the village eleven years ago. Lately, she finds herself missing them more and more.
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