Well, here I am back in Africa. Another adventure has begun. I am very optimistic about this trip. It will be extremely busy but I am confident it will be productive. My sole objective is to explore partnership opportunities that can allow me to ensure the micro-entrepreneurship and development program for village entrepreneurs can become sustainable. More to follow on that front later.
I was sooooo excited to get out of town. It seems I spend more time getting ready for the trip than the trip itself. Packing in itself turned out to be quite an adventure. I am pleased that was largely due to the very kind donations of many people who gave me funds or items to bring back to the orphans or those most in need. I can’t wait to share with everyone when I actually hand over the gifts.
The trip was long but relatively uneventful (3 flights – 26 hours). My routing was actually quite good this time with my longest layover being 4 hours in Seattle. I only had a 2-hr layover in Amsterdam and usually this is longer. Unfortunately I only briefly napped on (perhaps a total of 3 hrs sleep) so was pretty tired when I first got Tanzania. I stay in a town called Moshi which is the 3rd largest centre in Tanzania after Dar es Salaam and Arusha. It is located right at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro so you can imagine the views I enjoy every day.
I am staying at a guesthouse (Pamoja Tunaweza – which means ‘Together We Can’). The guest house is actually a social enterprise with profits supporting the Pamoja Womens Centre. They provide support to high risk women in the Kilimanjaro region who suffer from poverty, gender based violence and who may be affected by the impact of HIV/AIDS. The organization was actually started by a woman from Kingston Ontario who is a doctor affiliated with Queens University. She spends her time equally between Tanzania and Kingston. The guest house generates revenue from those that visit Kili to climb the mountain but it also houses hundreds of volunteers that come twice a year to participate in a medical caravan that travels throughout East Tanzania providing medical care. The accommodation is great (and a super deal - $25 per day with breakfast included). It was just a bit odd when I got here. Since it is rainy season it is very quiet re tourists. There are 2 Queens medical students also staying in the house but I rarely saw them. Because it was the weekend, the 2 women that take care of the house were not working. As a result I felt like I was alone wandering through this 2-level, 15 room, 6000 sq foot house that in the evening is very dark since power is always an issue in Africa and light bulbs are low wattage. I felt like I was somewhere between being part of the Munsters or in the middle of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Happy to say by Mon morning it became a bit livelier.
It is great to be back in Moshi. I feel quite at home here. Having travelled here several times before it is comforting to know my way around – where to shop, find things, avoid problems, etc. It was nice to be reminded of the many of the things I love here …..
* Beautiful scenery
* Warm, friendly people
* Sense of excitement everyone has to greet each day
* Pace of life (favourite expression is pole, pole Mama – which means slowly, slowly Mama).
Then again, there are the things I’m not so fond of …..
* Wild dogs barking all night long
* Panhandlers (aggressive) on the streets
* Ants that will find any possible crumb and then invite 10,000 friends to join them
* And, of course – good old mosquito nets over my bed every night. I have no problem with the nets – it’s just that invariably you get all tucked inside only to find there is 1 little annoying mosquito who is inside with you. Although the temptation is to forget about it – this is the worst thing possible. Apart from the threat of malaria (minor detail), one little mosquito would view you as a banquet to feast on all night long. This actually happened to me during a previous visit and I woke up just covered in bites. Then of course, after you undo the net – get rid of the mosquito – and get tucked in properly again – that’s when you realize that now you have to go to the washroom. All in all the nets are just a pain. J
Lots going on. I will post more tomorrow.
Love to all!
I was sooooo excited to get out of town. It seems I spend more time getting ready for the trip than the trip itself. Packing in itself turned out to be quite an adventure. I am pleased that was largely due to the very kind donations of many people who gave me funds or items to bring back to the orphans or those most in need. I can’t wait to share with everyone when I actually hand over the gifts.
The trip was long but relatively uneventful (3 flights – 26 hours). My routing was actually quite good this time with my longest layover being 4 hours in Seattle. I only had a 2-hr layover in Amsterdam and usually this is longer. Unfortunately I only briefly napped on (perhaps a total of 3 hrs sleep) so was pretty tired when I first got Tanzania. I stay in a town called Moshi which is the 3rd largest centre in Tanzania after Dar es Salaam and Arusha. It is located right at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro so you can imagine the views I enjoy every day.
I am staying at a guesthouse (Pamoja Tunaweza – which means ‘Together We Can’). The guest house is actually a social enterprise with profits supporting the Pamoja Womens Centre. They provide support to high risk women in the Kilimanjaro region who suffer from poverty, gender based violence and who may be affected by the impact of HIV/AIDS. The organization was actually started by a woman from Kingston Ontario who is a doctor affiliated with Queens University. She spends her time equally between Tanzania and Kingston. The guest house generates revenue from those that visit Kili to climb the mountain but it also houses hundreds of volunteers that come twice a year to participate in a medical caravan that travels throughout East Tanzania providing medical care. The accommodation is great (and a super deal - $25 per day with breakfast included). It was just a bit odd when I got here. Since it is rainy season it is very quiet re tourists. There are 2 Queens medical students also staying in the house but I rarely saw them. Because it was the weekend, the 2 women that take care of the house were not working. As a result I felt like I was alone wandering through this 2-level, 15 room, 6000 sq foot house that in the evening is very dark since power is always an issue in Africa and light bulbs are low wattage. I felt like I was somewhere between being part of the Munsters or in the middle of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Happy to say by Mon morning it became a bit livelier.
It is great to be back in Moshi. I feel quite at home here. Having travelled here several times before it is comforting to know my way around – where to shop, find things, avoid problems, etc. It was nice to be reminded of the many of the things I love here …..
* Beautiful scenery
* Warm, friendly people
* Sense of excitement everyone has to greet each day
* Pace of life (favourite expression is pole, pole Mama – which means slowly, slowly Mama).
Then again, there are the things I’m not so fond of …..
* Wild dogs barking all night long
* Panhandlers (aggressive) on the streets
* Ants that will find any possible crumb and then invite 10,000 friends to join them
* And, of course – good old mosquito nets over my bed every night. I have no problem with the nets – it’s just that invariably you get all tucked inside only to find there is 1 little annoying mosquito who is inside with you. Although the temptation is to forget about it – this is the worst thing possible. Apart from the threat of malaria (minor detail), one little mosquito would view you as a banquet to feast on all night long. This actually happened to me during a previous visit and I woke up just covered in bites. Then of course, after you undo the net – get rid of the mosquito – and get tucked in properly again – that’s when you realize that now you have to go to the washroom. All in all the nets are just a pain. J
Lots going on. I will post more tomorrow.
Love to all!