Devika said "... When you've grown up hearing about Tanzania, you begin to look forward to certain aspects, because you've been conditioned to think they're the most important. Building houses, teaching students, bonding with classmates are all experiences we thought we were ready and able to tackle. One thing they dont tell you about? One thing you cant possibly prepare for? Leaving the children. ..."

"... Leaving the hundreds of faces smiling up at you, grabbing your hands and begging you not to go. The tearful grasp between individuals with children they tried not to get so emotionally attached to. The somber faces of those who look on, over the sea of flurried people, trying to maintain enough composure for the rest of us. Leaving Mwereni meant leaving a part of ourselves behind, as corny as that sounds, because we had learned so much in such a short amount of time, that there was no way once we'd left that we'd ever feel this connected to ourselves and to each other. This world we'd immersed ourselves in, this lifestyle we'd created was rapidly disintegrating before our eyes, and even though we knew from the beginning that leaving Tanzania would be difficult, we never knew just how true this was. Let's just say there's a reason we can openly say we're suffering from "Post Tanzania Depression" and everyone who's been there, and experienced this truly memorable trip, completely understands. ..."

Posted by admin.
Permalink | Comments (0)

Fran said "... The room was filled with children trying out new toy cars and putting on bangles and it was obvious how much these small presents meant to each of them..."

For Christmas the grade 9’s had all made a shoebox present for all of the visually impaired children at Mwereni School and it was the job of the grade 11’s visiting Tanzania this year to make sure that they all arrived safely. Packing the 50 plus shoeboxes along with other donations in our bags was difficult though definitely worth it in the end.

"Once we had gotten them all to Tanzania and sorted through them so that we new each child would receive a box we finally got to hand them all out. On the Thursday afternoon all the visually impaired children went into the special UV protected hall to receive their box, the anticipation among them as they waited for their name to be called was clear. Their faces when they were finally allowed to open the boxes was amazing to witness, even though some of them were blind as they were feeling and realizing what each present was their faces were lighting up. The room was filled with children trying out new toy cars and putting on bangles and it was obvious how much these small presents meant to each of them."

Fran

Posted by admin.
Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by admin.
Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by admin.
Permalink | Comments (0)

Everyone is straight into teaching. Seems like you can't keep a good man down...

Posted by admin.
Permalink | Comments (0)

At 0630 a small group of us left the Masai Village to climb to the top of the Escarpment. 2 hours later we reached the summit and were rewarded with views over the Great Rift Valley. The steep climb was followed by a difficult descent over scree. After breakfast we walked out across the plain to the Masai Village for our annual football game. Despite plenty of chances early on, the 3/nil result was a fair result.

Posted by admin.
Permalink | Comments (0)

Sandwiched between the Serengeti and the Maasai mara is the spectalcular Ngorogoro crater. Numerous close encounters with wildlife were captured on Camera. Not quite in the spirit of Hemingway, 4 of the big 5 were bagged on HD and RAW.

Posted by admin.
Permalink | Comments (0)

Perched on top of the escarpment of the great rift valley, we're sleeping in tents tonight, ready to descend into the Ngorogoro Crater at first light.

Much of today was spent driving, the party divided into five land cruisers specially adapted for the harsh terrain.

The road ended at Mto wa Mbu (translates as the River of Mosquitoes), where we entered the Manyara National Park. In the humid afternoon heat, wildlife encounters were few and far between, although we had sightings of giraffes and elephants.

The weather is hot and humid and only a significant rainfall during the night will prevent us from entering the crater at daybreak. We've heard tales that there are large numbers of wildebeest on their annual migration and expectations of close encounters with the wildlife are high.

Posted by admin.
Permalink | Comments (0)

After a longer than anticpated journey, both groups were reunited late last night at Kilimanjaro Airport. We had all arrived safely - although our bags didn't! Most of the remaining luggage arrived on the next flight from Nairobi.

After a few hours sleep, we left Moshi this morning for the UN building in Arusha. After passing security, we made our way to the court room where the Rwandan War Crimes Tribunals are taking place. Needless to say, hearing the prosecution grilling an ex-Military Commander accused of genocide was a sobering experience. We sat on the other side of the plate glass, hearing the live translation as the General attempted to defend the decisions he made in April 1994. The prosecution reminded the court than nearly one million people were killed in a 100-day period.

We head back to the lodge this evening for a desperatley needed nights rest. Everyone is tired but excited to be here - the sun is scorching, the horizon wide... and Mount Kilimanjaro stands magnificent in front of us.

Posted by admin.
Permalink | Comments (0)