Day 15: Safari!

Leaving behind the friends we made in the village was hard. But the distraction of looking forward to safari made it a little easier. 

Two hour's drive took us to Tarangire National Park. The first few animals we encountered were feathered. These included an eagle and, less appealingly, a large number of watchful vultures. But, before long, we came across a small herd of impala, half a dozen languid giraffes, and a watering hole for wildebeests and zebras. They seemed confident that no predators were nearby and were completely at ease while waiting and drinking. 

Then we went looking for the elephants, for which Tarangire is famous; but, before we found any, we came across a sleeping boa constrictor bloated by the meal that it was still digesting. 

Although we were hungry for lunch by this time, our next encounter with wildlife made lunch worth waiting for. We parked our safari vehicles within a few metres of a herd of elephants, including a calf still not competent at pulling plants out of the ground but very good at nursing and stealing plants from the grasp of its mother's trunk. 

During our late lunch, we took care not to allow the monkeys to steal any of our food and noticed that some of the other safari groups were less fortunate. 

Afternoon sightings included a kingfisher bird and two enormous monitor lizards. We left Tarangire early enough to allow time to shop at the Masai market before going onto our lodge. 

Marianne is an experienced bargainer, but newcomer Frankie Song's coldblooded ruthlessness also won admiration. 

At the Twiga Lodge, some of us enjoyed hot showers; and we all enjoyed dinner and the thought of a second day of safari tomorrow in the legendary Ngorongoro Crater.

Day 14: Final farewells to Bacho

The warm Wednesday morning made any other summer day feel like winter. We slept an extra hour and took off to the project site after packing our rooms. 

Water bottles, sun screen (or cream) and chlorine drops filled up our backpacks as we headed up. 

In front of the big yellow building we helped to put up, we sat in a tent to watch the entire village thank us with beautiful singing and traditional dancing. 

They entertained us for almost 4 hours until we headed to the secondary school for a late lunch: rice and no beans but a furry (and cooked) goat that tasted good and looked alive. 

After a massive lunch we headed back to the institute under the 'equator style' sun for one last time and the view was even prettier, as if that was even possible. 

Cold showers, last time playing with the kids and safari outfits led us to the last dinner with kind words from Alfred, Mister Kaaya and Peter that put us to bed with teary eyes and heavy hearts.  

We leave at 6:30am for safari tomorrow! How safari can we get?

Day 13: Last day on project

Arguably one of our best mornings; we awoke to Marianne's jar of Nutella for breakfast. 

Next, we headed off to our last day of the project site on a sugar high. Cleaning tiles, cement floors, and our usual lunch classroom seemed to be a bittersweet moment for all of us. 

The maternity centre is finally starting to take shape, with pastel yellow walls and baby blue trimming. Everything was done by hand, from the cement mixing to the mopping. It was truly incredible to see the hard work we put in, even if it pales in comparison to the fundis (workers). 

Though we were exhausted from our last push at the worksite, the last walk back to the institute was still filled with excitement as Ling bought vegetables from the local market and was preparing another delicious meal for us. 

As expected, the dinner was incredibly tasty (curry pork and fresh salad!). It's currently almost nine o'clock and everyone is preparing for bed and the exciting farewell festival that will be held for us tomorrow.

By Janice and Ayana

Day 12: A poem

We walked up the hill that leads to the Center,

Of Birth that is being constructed with the leadership of our mentors,

Named Jack and julia who led two separate groups,

A path divided of the fun healthy youth. 

One went to school to teach art and play games,

While the other pushed onward through the vast construction plains.

At the setting of the morning sun, 

Came a band of children in a silent run.

They found the hands of the volunteers,

And welcomed them to a celebration of dancing and cheers.

At last the United group went back to base,

And some nighttime photos were taken of space.

And so concluded the day, another good one surely on its way. 

By Robin and Martin

Day 11: A Pea Fayre

Today was the second, much appreciated, day of rest from project work. 

In the morning half of the group went with Julia to the Lutheran church, and the other half stayed behind at the institute with Jack. 

These lazy loungers spent the morning napping, reading, and playing cards. A few of us even listened to music for the first time since our arrival, and were surprised  at how rich the sounds seemed. One of the things we are all experiencing here is that the absence of the usual (and often unnecessary) embellishments that fill our days at home creates an intense appreciation of such pleasures that we would normally take for granted. 

Tonight, for example, Nelson gave everyone a small bag of gummy bears, causing a ruckus of excited shouts of gratitude!

In the afternoon, we all participated in the "pea fair"; a sort of market of skills and talents organised by Julia. 

These talents included yoga poses, back massages, portrait drawing, personal haikus, song writing, Chinese name writing, and, my personal favourite, love advice. 

We are currently playing the game two truths and a lie after a fabulous dinner featuring Chinese food cooked by Ling. 

Usiku Mwema, Sam.

Day 10: Maasai

After a whole week of hard work and lots of fun interactions with the members of the local community, the volunteers were ready for a relaxing Saturday. 

Most of us spent the morning visiting a coffee plantation and learning about how it is cultivated, harvested, washed, peeled, and dried. 

After our regular lunch of rice and beans, we had enough time to rest, read, play games, and spend time playing with the local kids. 

Later in the afternoon, 3 Masai men and 3 Masai women visited us for a cultural exchange. We had the opportunity to hear about their culture and traditions as well as to bombard them with specific questions about religion, marriage, death, education, etc. 

They were just as curious to hear about our western culture and were quite surprised that we could not marry more than one wife, but could easily "abandon" her through a divorce. 

Later, they danced and sang for us and we had dinner together. Even though Saturday was a very relaxing day, it turned out to be culturally very rich. 

By Nelson

Day 9: Dareda Primary School

This morning was our first beautiful, clear morning; and, like every morning, we awoke to birds singing and roosters crowing. 

Don and Marianne met with the Dareda Primary teachers, who were grateful for the three classrooms and teacher's office that Karimu built last year. 

The maternity centre is looking better each day. The flooring is almost complete, and the tiles are being laid in the bathrooms. 

The group of volunteers conducted art activities and played games with the Dareda Primary students. The students really appreciate the interaction with the volunteers, because they rarely get the chance in classes of 60 to 80 students to engage in creative activities. 

In the afternoon, Don, Marianne, Nelson, and Luciana, went to a micro-finance meeting and learned how strong the community is in supporting each other in taking out small loans to improve their income and the lives of their children. 

The volunteers are all getting along beautifully. Everyone is positive and cheerful. They have worked hard all week, and they look forward to a day off tomorrow and a visit from the Masai. 

Marianne and Kelly 

PS martin says to Tom sorry about Brexit...

Day 8: Games

We woke up to a chilly morning, and after having breakfast, we started the walk to the site. 

The exterior of the building is painted with yellow and light blue around the edge. Under the direction of Mr Robin, along with Kelly's assistance, everyone stayed hydrated and protected. 

In the afternoon, Daniel the head teacher invited the adults to his house, where they enjoyed a delicious meal. The children and the leaders stayed at the secondary school and had an art class with the local kids. 

The students did a incredible job and we can feel their enthusiasm and artistic talents. 

The games that came after the art session filled the afternoon with laughter. 

On the way back to the institute, Marianne was assasinated by Luciana. Soon after we got back, Ling assinated Sam with a pair of flipflops but eased the pain by giving her a lovely present! 

It's Sam's birthday today, so we had a birthday party in the dining hall, played games and enjoyed soda. Good day!

By Frankie and Ling

Day 7: Midwives

Today the weather was nicer. After breakfast we had our pleasant walk through the village. On our way we were greeted by several adorable kids who day after day wait for us to pass. 

We continued the work loading sand, cracking the floor, sweeping, and drinking water. By mid morning four of us left the job to meet with the midwives.  We were really impressed by how much they still remember from what was taught before.  It was a very warming and productive meeting. 

As we got back to the job site, we could really see the progress of everybody's work. Back at the institute we had a fascinating talk about the Internet from Nelson who worked for Google. We finished our day with no assassinations but lots of happy tired people.

Claudia and Luciana 

Day 6: Tea with the Head

We woke up to a light drizzle and were encouraged by the thought that today would be cooler than yesterday. 

Upon arriving at the work site, with the weather still cool and overcast, we learned that Simon, the head master of Ayalagaya Secondary School, wanted to invite us to have tea and snacks with him and his wife Constancia, who teaches history and English at the school. 

The meal, which included roasted peanuts, was delicious; and the company of Simon and Constancia was very pleasant. 

Then, it was on to the work site. We applied two coats of pale yellow paint to the outside of the maternity ward; and, along with the paid Tanzanian labourers, who seem to never to rest and never to take a break to drink water, we also finished much of the interior flooring. 

Seeing so much work get done was extremely satisfying and made us look forward to the next day, despite our fatigue. Don and Kelly

Day 5: Starting work... And a Game of Assasins!

Waking up at 7 is quite early for a foggy day. That was how this morning welcomed us to the first work day at the project site. 

After a talkative breakfast we all gathered outside, seated on the grass for a little bit and heard Kelly's laugh regarding her own murder. The assassination game was on and our fellow friend was "murdered" by her own mother, very exciting for a Monday morning. 

With everyone's eyes wide open and no trust in each other, (we are taking the game quite serious) we headed up to the birth center.

Nelson was a good leader, Martin was good care-taker, the group was great at working and Jack was great at killing. Did I mention Janice died? Thankfully only in the game. Following the crime scene: some swiping, painting, breaking, cleaning, lifting, eating, drinking water, drinking water, drinking water... 

There was lots of work but a Swahili lesson for our lunch break. 

And with our Swahili well trained by Alfred, we were guided to a little more work and then the amazing view that the walk back carries. 

Back at the institute we divided ourselves between showers, photography class and working out and finally met again to play some cards and eventually have dinner. Ending the night with a quiz that made us go to bed reflecting about the world we live in. 

From Victoria.

Day 4: Church and Birthdays

On a beautiful Sunday morning, the group headed off to our very first church visit after a fulfilling breakfast of bread and sausages. 

During the spectacular trail of vast scenery of luscious trees, we attempted to hold conversations using only a guide book in hand. 'Nisiku missouri sana (?)', meaning what a beautiful day, seemed to confuse the locals more than we intended to. 

At the service, the church was filled with harmonious singing by the church choir which naturally brought the massive amount of locals together in a melting pot. It was a fascinating yet beautiful experience. 

We had the pleasure of being introduced individually to the crowd by the priest after Don's heartfelt speech (and we later found out that it was his birthday! Happy birthday again Don!!). 

After the service, we travelled back to the village and ended the day with a fun session with the local kids and a stressful game of 'stress'. We look forward to our last peaceful night, as the assination game will commence tomorrow. May the odds be ever in your favour Karimu volunteers!

-Janice and Ayana

Day 3: Getting to know Bacho

This morning we all had the pleasure of sleeping in a bit in order to recover from our jet lag. At 8:00 breakfast was served, and at 9:00, we started our one hour walk to the current project site, passing past projects on the way. 

First we passed the elementary school, and said Jambo (hello) to all of the little kids there. We all signed a visitor book which was full of names from previous volunteers, and met a very nice teacher named Clement. 

We arrived at the project site at around noon, and were all surprised at the large size of the maternity ward which should be complete by November. 

Next we toured the rest of the village, and saw another school along with a health centre and a teacher's house.  At 1:30 lunch was served in one of the classrooms, followed by a fun game of Banana Grams! 

Back at the project site, we talked to some of the local workers who helped us plan our duties for Monday when the work starts. 

After, we walked back through the fields, and admired the beautiful mountainous scenary. Once back, we all enjoyed taking a freezing shower, playing with the kids, and playing cards. 

At 7:00 dinner was served, and a fun connecting game followed. Overall it was an exciting and tiring day, which everyone of us can appreciate. We are all grateful to be a part of this trip, and new members of the wonderful Derusha community.

Martin and Robin

Day 2: Arrival into Dareda

After a lovely breakfast at charity lodge we boarded the coach to Dareda. During the 3 and half hour journey we were lucky enough to spot zebra and wildebeast grazing on the side of the road. 

We had a brief stop in a town called Babati where we met Mr Khaembe who facilitates and manages the Karimu projects from the Tanzanian side. 

40 minutes later we arrived at the Dareda agricultural institute where we are staying throughout the project work to be greeted by the most amazing welcome. 

A team of dancers welcomed us at the entrance and then we had 2 hours of dance performances and welcomes by the senior members of the community. 

Many of the volunteers were involved in the dancing alongside the locals who taught them new steps to varying levels of success. 

Following a delicious meal of rice, beans and veg we had our in-country orientation from our leaders Julia and Jack. The topics covered our project, weekly plan, poo and cultural exchanges. 

Everyone has gone to bed for a good nights sleep for tomorrow we head to the project for pur first day of work.

Swahili lessons over breakfast: 

Safe arrival!

Just a short note to let you know that the whole team have now arrived safely in Tanzania and are back at the Charity Lodge catching up on some well needed sleep!

Their Inspire Leaders, Jack and Julia (below) were ready to meet them and are looking forward to heading down with the team to Dareda tomorrow.

Pre Departure Info

Dear Team Karimu,

We hope that your preparation and packing is going well!

Just a couple of last-minute tips:

1.            Please remember to check your luggage allowance - it is usually 23kg maximum for the main hold + 7kg for hand   luggage. Please do keep to this allowance. It should be more than enough for all your kit.

2.            Please do not to pack any walking boots on the outside of the main hold luggage. They almost certainly won’t arrive still attached, we recommend you wear your boots for the flight to keep them safe (and save on weight in your main bag).

3.            Please also pack a change of underwear, toothbrush (not paste, unless it is less than 100ml) and any other absolute essentials in your hand luggage (i.e. medication, anti-malarial tablets), just in case any main bags go missing on the flight. It is unlikely, but best to be safe.

Keeping in touch:
We have set up this blog for your group, to keep family and friends up to date with what your team is up to. 

Your family and friends can comment on posts and photographs. We will be updating the blog as often as possible with your news. Please feel free to pass this link on to anyone who you think would like to stay up to date with the team’s activities.

Trip Information: 
Don’t forget you can find specific trip information and documents here http://www.inspire-worldwide.com/karimu-trip-information-2016 This page has some key documents (itinerary, trip information pack, risk assessments) plus general Inspire information and our Emergency number – also detailed below.

Flights and arrival: 

As you know your team will be flying with various airlines, all landing into Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania on the 16th June. We will update the blog to let your family and friends know when you have all arrived safely.

Upon arrival into the airport, Jack and Julia, the Inspire Group Leaders, will be there to meet you wearing their Inspire t-shirts. When the whole team has arrived you will take the short drive by private bus to the Charity Hotel, where you will have time to freshen up, have some dinner and do some in-country orientation with your leaders.

If your family need to contact a member of the team urgently at any point please make a note of the Inspire 24 hour EMERGENCY number: 07531 872 658. This number is manned in the UK 24 hours a day in case of any emergency situations where your family/friends need to contact a member of the team urgently.

For all other queries, please use the Inspire office number: 01273 249543.

If you have any last minute questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Otherwise we hope you have an incredible time and look forward to keeping your family and friends updated throughout your time in Tanzania.

With best wishes
Jess and all at Inspire Worldwide