Blogs from Moshi, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 2

Graduation The BTC programme works with both in-school youth and out of school youth, promoting and teaching leadership and entrepreneurship skills. We had the honour of attending the graduation of the in-school youth in Mwika, a village about an hour north of Moshi. There were 8 youth who completed the BTC in-school program. The ceremony consisted of a few performances, presentation of certificates, speeches from the BTC team and partners and also, food and dancing. I think they were just as excited to meet us as we were them. Field Visits to Mwika The first two businesses to get approval and seed capital from Anza were mushrooms and onion businesses. During our first field visit up to Mwika, we got to see the site where the mushroom cages were going to be built. The BTC team, ... read more

Today was the first day since I arrived that Mount Kilimanjaro was visible for the entire day, and let me tell you...she was beautiful! For those of you who don't know, Kili is a dormant volcano and at 5,895 m is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world . The oldest person to ever summit Kili was an 87 year-old man, and the youngest was a 7 year-old boy, if you're interested in reading some other climbing records, check out this site : http://www.climbmountkilimanjaro.com/about-the-mountain/record-climbs/ ...I am so thankful that I have the great pleasure of living right beside the mountain, it's hard to not want to experience something that you get to see everyday, so I've decided to plan my hike for the end of March. I was originally thinking ... read more

Due to a huge rainstorm, we are having our first overnight blackout tonight! Since there are basically no street lights or back up generators, the whole town is pitch black. Lucky for us, we had a bunch of candles, flashlights and a few solar powered lanterns to take us through the night! Thanks to modern technology, I have enough battery life and a portable Internet stick for my laptop to let me write this post before bed! The lights went out around 6 p.m. just as the sun was starting to set, which just so happens to be the time we all make dinner. Fortunately, we have a gas stove and were still able to make a warm meal. We were bumping into each other a bit, but we made it work! It was actually kind ... read more

Two years ago, I never would have pictured going back to school yet again, let alone have the chance to live in Africa for 6 months – but, because of a crazy turn of events, it happened. My life now, funny enough, was the back up plan. Not bad. Fast forward to 2014, and here I am 1 week into 6 months in Tanzania, and I am loving EVERY second. HOME I share a large house, in a gated compound, with 9 other people; it’s like Big Brother, Tanzania style. Except no one’s trying to hook up with anyone, and everyone’s actually pretty cool. We have two German shepherds, Voodoo and a recently pregnant, Majiki, and a cat named Kevin (he WAS called Papaya, but we changed it to something less ambiguous). We also have a ... read more

Africa has a special way of making you feel small. The size and scale and magnitude of things becomes overwhelming. Not just the natural landscape… the cities, the people, the incomprehensible statistics. Spending six weeks gazing up at Kilimanjaro is guaranteed to alter your sense of perspective. The mountain isn’t a permanent presence. Hidden in clouds much of the time, it occasionally reveals itself, silently, taking everyone surprise. Walking home, someone will suddenly shout “Kili’s out!” and we all turn and stare. As if someone had just spotted an illusive safari creature which could disappear back into the bush at any moment. In this way you never become accustomed to the mountain. It will make you stop and look, every time. After my little detour to Zanzibar I arrived in Moshi, to spent time at the ... read more