Tanzania Volunteering

On the way to the home-base here in Rau Village, and on the way back from the safari, I didn’t know what to expect. I had grown to love the safari and I was a little bit nervous that I wouldn’t like Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS) as much as I liked the Safari. As soon as I got there, I knew how amazing it would be. Sara, a local Tanzanian that works at CCS showed us around the complex, told us NOT to touch the electric fence from 7pm-6am, showed us where the phone was, where we eat, and the basics of what goes on daily. When we arrived at our room, complete with two sets of bunk beds, a little closet like wall, bed side tables, mosquito nets, and a bathroom. It is a nice little cozy room. Once we all were settled in, we went outside into the common area, which is where we eat, talk, do work, and do many other things like that. We met some of the volunteers that were leaving and some
volunteers that would be with us for the next couple of weeks. We were the third group of people there, and the first two people were Sarah and Irene. Kim, Erin, Zack, Charlotte, and Barbie (Barbara) had already been here for a while. We all hung out that first day and over the next day or so, more people started coming. We spent the next two days (felt like two years) having orientation.

The next day was the first day of placements. My mom and I work at Kigangoni Nursery School, which is a nursery school with 3 to 6 year olds. It was a little bit frustrating because the classroom is a church with only benches. There are no desks and only one little black board that they bring in everyday. On top of that, they have no chalk. It is a dirt floor. On Sundays, it is used as the church. Instead of Kigangoni being a government school or a private school, it is a community school that was started by local families that need a cheap place for their kids to go. While it is frustrating, it is also a extremely good experience for my me and my mom. In the last few days, my sister started working with us. This is both good and bad. I love being with my sister, but it is a little hard because even after only a couple of days, I had already gotten into the swing of things and had figured out how to do some of the things in my way. It was great to have an extra hand because there are about fifty kids and one teacher who doesn’t speak English. Later two seventeen year old boys named Steven and Farahad came to help us out and translate for us. That made it a little bit easier. I am really happy that this is my placement, but I know it will be a challenge. I am really excited to be able to help as many people as possible and I know that this will be an amazing opportunity for me and my family. I know that I’m not going to change the world, but there are individuals that need help, and that is what I’m here for.

Since we’ve been here, we have done some pretty crazy and fun things. We went swimming at a surprisingly nice pool at the local YMCA, we bought fabric and we took to a tailor to have clothes made. Last but definitely not least (but craziest) I got my hair braided, extensions and all! It certainly hurt while we were getting it done, and it is extremely heavy to have so much hair. You’ll see a picture of it soon. I ‘m starting to get used to it, but it hurts. It looks funky, but it blocks the rooster’s cock-a-doodle-doo that wakes us up at 3am every morning. That’s always a plus!

One day after we spent the morning in town, we went to a women’s group called Kiwodea and painted all of the walls to fix it up for a meeting place, an orphanage, and a school. That was a lot of fun. We played with a little boy named Jafari, who was thought to have worms in his stomach, but he was just tested and he doesn’t have worms, HIV, or malaria which is really exciting. He was the cutest little boy that I have ever seen. After one day of seeing me, he ran into my arms, which I thought was the sweetest thing.

Overall I have loved Rau Village and Moshi. The whole experience is amazing.

I am really sorry for taking so long to post! I love hearing your comments and I’ll talk to you soon!!