Blogs from Tanzania, Africa - page 316

So much has happened since our last blog update, I hardly know where to begin. The campaign continued throughout the week, with many people working to make it a success. We are thankful to Greg Neill, who did a wonderful job preaching for our gospel meeting each evening. It was interesting to watch numerous people, hanging back in the shadows, yet listening to the gospel message each evening. The children’s classes, held every afternoon, Wednesday through Saturday, were a big hit with the kids. We are so proud of the ladies of the Moshi congregation, who, for the first time, taught all of the classes. On Thursday evening, George started feeling a bit sick, with flu-like symptoms, so Friday morning he went to a local clinic and was checked for malaria. Sure enough, that’s what ... read more

Hello again! Camera charger fixed but blew my I-Pod :( Think the power surges may be causing problems around here. We now have a computer in our house but there is only enough power for it between 2 and 5 in the afternoon (when most people are out we are reckoning!). Right now I should be doing my washing (always by hand), hence this is a perfect time to write! Lots of news I think. I'm really excited about the new school building. Some work has been done on it and it now has a yard with a fence around it and a front gate. Today we finalized things with the carpenter and he is starting work on desks and shelves today. They should be ready by the end of next week, as should the ... read more

So last time I wrote it was the day before we were due to start our Kili climb. We had all our gear checked and packed, provisions bought and were geared up for 6 days on the mountain....then disaster, I woke up in the middle of the night before our climb vomiting. I hoped it would be gone by the morning but I was a complete wreck the next day, barely able to make it out of the bedroom let alone start hiking up a mountain! Then later the same day Suzanna was struck down too. So there we both were, lying in our hotel room which had a lovely view of the mountain just to make us feel even better! We hoped it would pass in 24hours and that we could still make the climb, ... read more

The day I have been dreading for weeks has finally come, saying goodbye. While my adventure here is not over the time to say goodbye to the children of Meru Peak has come. I can honestly say that walking away from Meru Peak on friday afternoon was the hardest thing I have ever done. The children there have filled me with so much joy and even in the face of extreme poverty, incredible hope. While the frustration for what their lives will inevitaby hold was at times overpowering, just seeing a smile come across their faces made it bearable. If the last three weeks has taught me anything it is as my friend Kito says everyday, life in africa is crazy. It should not be so difficult and no one should have to live in the ... read more

Last week we visited the SOS Childrens Village - Arusha. My friend Hazel will be volunteering for SOS when she returns to England later ths summer so she wanted to take the opportunity to visit one of the villages while in Tanzania. I was glad to go along with her and anxious to learn more. What we found after our long journey was shocking to us both. It felt as though we had been transported into a small scandanavian village. The students were still in school so we had time with one of the administrators to have a tour and learn about the history of SOS childrens villages. The first villages emerged in the 1940's, founded by Austrian, Herman Gmeiner. Today there are SOS childrens villages in roughly 140 countires around the world. SOS comes from ... read more