Community Service: Tanzania A 2011

Greetings! We have had a busy week and weekend. Last week we wrapped up work on our classroom project (except for a few minor details) and it looks great. We also got to attend a briefing and information session about the ongoing Rwanda war crimes tribunals at the Arusha International Conference Center. In addition, we took part in a beading session with two local Mamas and spent an afternoon in Arusha. Wow, we’ve been busy!

This weekend we traveled a small town at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We stayed at a cool little hotel which often serves as a jumping off point for adventurers attempting to make the 5 day trek to Kili’s Uhuru (Freedom) peak at over 19,000 feet! We hired a guide to take us to some fantastic waterfall hikes as well as into a cave system that was created and used by the Chaaga people to hide from invading peoples from other regions. Everyone had a wonderful time and especially loved the hot showers.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, we head off on our safari and will most likely be out of contact until Sunday or Monday. The safari is guaranteed to be an incredible trip during which we will see picturesque megafauna, glorious flora, and experience Tarangire National Park, Ngoro Crater and conservation area, as well as some lesser known destinations. Our safari company puts on an incredible trip and has a long standing partnership with Putney– we  could not be more excited! Morale in the group is high.  Our students are really grateful for the opportunity to be here experiencing this place and learning about the region. One thing is for sure… we will return with plenty of stories to tell! We miss you all and will see you soon.

-Bob, Liz, and Team Tanzania

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Greetings from the A Team! We’re enjoying a restful weekend at the farm of Putney friends Pete and Charlotte. Yesterday we were greeted with singing and dancing from all different regions of Tanzania, and even had the opportunity to share a little piece of American culture; the Cha Cha Slide! The dance troupe taught us a traditional dance that young men and women perform, and we shared this dance with all of the children and volunteers that live here. We participated in a youth forum today, and went for a nice hike before heading home to the village. For the week ahead, we are looking forward to day-long home-stays in our village, finishing up our renovation project, and going on some hiking adventures.

Bye for now,
Liz and Bob

Post 'Duck Duck Goose' Hokey Pokey

The floor is finished, here we're working on the walkway!

Fearless leaders learning about the whispering cave from Kaika

Maasai man riding his bike on the road to the waterfall

Greetings from Tanzania!

We are enjoying a weekend of exploration in and around our village. This rest is well deserved after a hard week of work. At the school we dug trenches for the foundation of the veranda, covered the classroom floor with rocks and gravel, began mixing and pouring cement to make a new floor, and began prepping the wall for painting. Our fundis (local foremen) have been showing us how to do various jobs, and the whole group has been working very hard to accomplish of task of renovating this classroom. We have made a lot of new friends in the community, and have been playing a lot of soccer. Yesterday we even played a game of Wiffle Ball!

We went on a nice hike to an overlook outside of our village, where we could see corn fields and dirt roads for miles! On a clear day, we can see Mt. Kilimanjaro from our compound, and Mt. Meru is very prominent most days. After our hike, one of our askaris/security guards took us to the Whispering Cave, a really magical spot down the path from us. This morning we were welcomed by the whole community at a church service, joined in with the singing and dancing, and even got to share our own song (“You Are My Sunshine”). This week we are hoping to make a lot more progress on the classroom, as well as begin visiting bomas (homes) to learn more about this community.

Happy 4^th of July!!!
- Liz and Bob

Hello and welcome to the first installment of our Tanzania group blog from Bob, Liz, Alex, Casey, Alexa, Helena, Emma, Luke, Nathan, Maddie, Eleanor, Amanda, Lauren, Cara, Georgia, Caroline, Lulu, and Taylor!

We are safe and sound and really enjoying our new home. Our house is set in a beautiful location right next to the school where we will be working in this small village. So far, in our first two days here we have already completed a major job, breaking up and removing the old concrete floor of the classroom we are working on. We have also played soccer with school kids, enjoyed a welcoming celebration, had a Kiswahili lesson, and today some of us are going to the market to shop for produce with the Mamas, who are taking wonderful care of us and cooking amazing meals.

In the next days we will continue to work hard painting and getting ready to put in a new concrete floor at the school.  Also, we have plans for a Maasai elder to give a talk to us about traditional Maasai culture, as well as the changes and challenges they are facing today.  It is another beautiful day here and we are ready to head over to our worksite and get to work.

Tutaoanana! (Until next time!)
Liz and Bob

Morning in the kitchen

Floor busters!

Evening soccer game behind the school

Group photo outside of our house

We’ve received word from the leaders that the group has arrived.  All is well and they are on their way to their village.

We know that parents love to keep up to date on their kids’ activities during our programs.  While we expect that most of our participants will take the time to be in touch occasionally, we have found that it is helpful to parents for our leaders to post periodic updates on this blog.  Obviously, blog posts will not provide detailed information about your child, but they will let you know about some of the group’s activities, projects, and excursions.

The frequency of blog posts varies from program to program depending on internet access (which can be limited), and each group’s itinerary and busy schedule of activities.  Please rest assured that we can reach leaders at any time and that we will discuss any important issues concerning your child directly them and with you.  As you know, you can reach us by phone at our office during business hours, and on our emergency line 24/7 if necessary.

We suggest that you subscribe to the blog during your first visit so that you will receive e-mail notifications at the end of the day if a new update has been posted that day.  To subscribe, enter your email address under ‘Subscribe to this blog!’ form on the right-hand column of the blog.

Have a fantastic summer!