Blogs from Shinyanga , North, Tanzania, Africa

It took a helluva lot longer than I thought, but the survey has been completed. Actually, the survey itself was done probably about a month ago, but translating all the Swahili surveys (about 500 in total) into English and then complying all the data took me a few more weeks to finish. We also decided to make up T-shirts for the volunteers, and of course that took a lot longer than expected due to the usual obstacles that I have become accustom to facing here in Tanzania. We had 100 shirts made, sent the first 50 to be delivered by bus from Dar – and they got stolen at the bus stand. So, we had to wait another week until the next 50 arrived in town. Once I got to the village, I figured I’d be ... read more

A subject that is always talked about when development is being discussed is education. Without it, individuals and even entire countries will be unable to move forward. Knowledge is power and without proper education people become trapped in a world of ignorance and illiteracy. Lack of education is heavily correlated with poverty and is seen all over the developing world and Tanzania is unfortunately no different. The system is improving but there is a long way to go before the country can see significant dividends. The educational system in Tanzania is broken up into two groups, public and private schools. The government run schools have little or no fees until Grade 8, but the private ones can cost anywhere from about $2000-9000 Canadian (boarding and tuition), per year from Grade 1-13. With so many in the ... read more

Well, after our unexpected delay and the ones that are normal for these parts, we are finally off and running. Although my, well I guess now former associate has still not been seen since last Sunday, we have recuperated and have actually started to work in the village. On Tuesday, I met with the village elders, chairman, and board of trusties in order to discuss the upcoming survey we are about to conduct. And let me tell ya, after two weeks of doin nothin but paper work and research, day dreamin of what kinda burger I could be havin right now if I was back home, being at the village centre for the first time was well worth the wait. As soon as our car pulled in and we walked from one office where we signed ... read more

I came soooo close to riding in an 18 wheeler up to Shinyanga. So close! It would have been awesome. But instead, plans fell through, and after about a 13 hour bus ride, with a total of 3 stops made to go to the bathroom (which was like 2 mins each and two of those in the bushes), I arrived in Shinyanga town. The ride was actually pretty cool and I am extremely excited to finally be here. Today I had a chance to meet and greet many of the people that will be assisting us throughout our project. On Saturday I will head to Nhobola village to meet with the village elders and begin work on Monday. My associate and I will be conducting a sort of census or baseline survey in order to get ... read more