Harrison - Baby Steps

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Wow the first week seems to have gone by in such a breeze. It feels like just yesterday I was arriving at the old school and making the walk with the kids to the new one. Now a week later, bonds have been made and things are starting to pick up the pace. The first week with the kids was extremely entertaining as well as confusing. I was shocked at the lack of shyness and abundance of joy that all the kids held. But was even more amazed that even though we didn't speak the same language as the kids, we were able to communicate ideas and even have small conversations.

However the first week was just preparation, breaking boundaries. We were able to accomplish a lot in the first week, such as planning, but now, only two days into this week, swing sets have been raised, signs have been put up, and mural ideas have been sketched. More than I had hopped or expected has gotten done, and at the same time, I feel like so little has been done. I am proud that we have been able to do so much for these kids. But at the same time, there are those kids who still don't have anything. It makes me sad to think we have accomplished so little in comparison to the country.

But as I said, baby steps. So much can be done to really help Tanzania out, and I am finding that I am not alone in feeling this. Some of my classmates have even started talking about opening an organization that sponsors students in Tanzania to attend a university. And just to put thing into perspective, I was looking at the weekend gross of the new Indiana Jones film. $126 million in 3 days. It cost about $1000-4000 dollars to send a student to college in Tanzania for 1 year. So if that money was spent being donated to Tanzania, that would send 7875-15750 kids to college for all four years. Making real changes here is not an impossibility, it just takes time and a little good will.

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